The matters around both Yawen’s death and the appearance of the demons had been cleared up as far as possible. On the other hand, things were looking different back in Qiu Ling’s inner self.

Jing Yi had continued onward from where he had found the bodies of Qiu Ling’s parents. He came upon a few other places like a big city and a palace but this time, he couldn’t quite figure out what they were about. Anyway, as long as Qiu Ling wasn’t currently there, he knew he shouldn’t spend too much time there. Even if it might help him with figuring out what had gone wrong and trapped Qiu Ling here, the most important thing was still to find him.

"Ah, just where are you?" Jing Yi looked around, his brows twisting together. There was no clue at all as to where Qiu Ling might be and he couldn’t help but start to worry that he might never be able to find him.

Just how long had he been in Qiu Ling’s inner self already? A few hours? A day? A few days? With everything being shrouded in the same dim light that made everything look kind of washed out and faded, he couldn’t tell at all.

The longer he meandered through this place, the more worried he became that maybe he had been here for so long that it was too late for both of them. Maybe neither he nor Qiu Ling would ever wake up again, damned to wander this place for all eternity while those outside could only mourn them.

He stopped where he was and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I can’t give up. Maybe it isn’t too late yet. I can still find him. I can still save him. It’s only too late if I really give up. I’m sure senior martial brother Yu will make sure that we have as much time as possible."

He opened his eyes and then sped up his steps, continuing in the direction he had gone in before. Maybe it was the wrong one or maybe it wasn’t but at least he was moving forward. That alone would make his chances of finding Qiu Ling higher, wouldn’t it?

Jing Yi walked and walked, the landscape around him only changing slowly. It was the only indication that he was actually moving forward and not just going in a circle.

He didn’t know how long he had been moving when a forest appeared in front of him. It was the first one he had seen in Qiu Ling’s inner self so far so he couldn’t help but hope that it might be a sign that he would find something important from his life again. This kind of place would certainly have the best chances of actually encountering Qiu Ling himself.

Jing Yi once again sped up his steps until he was almost running. He entered the forest and followed the trail until, finally, he happened upon quite the peculiar scene: The line of trees before him slightly opened up, first exposing the sparkling band of a small stream running through the forest before a meadow appeared in the distance.

Jing Yi tilted his head and then continued walking toward it. He felt like he was hearing a voice coming from there. Even though he couldn’t make out individual words yet, it didn’t seem to just be indistinct chattering like he had heard before when he went through that palace. When he came closer, he might be able to get a clue from that.

Jing Yi broke into a run, rushing to find out what was going on there. Getting closer, he could see the trunk of a tree that had fallen probably quite some time ago. Two people were sitting on it, their backs turned to the forest. One of them was a young woman. She had blazing red hair and from what Jing Yi could see, the dress she wore was simple but neat. He had no idea who she might be to Qiu Ling but he didn’t have the thoughts to spare to ponder the question any longer either because his gaze was attracted by the other person sitting not far from her.

That person … he had long black hair that was dancing in the wind and wore a dark robe with some golden embroidery on the edges that made him look especially elegant and mature. For a fleeting moment, it made Jing Yi even think that the two of them weren’t from the same world. But, naturally, that couldn’t be true.

Even though he was behind him and couldn’t see his face yet, Jing Yi was sure that this person was none other than the man he had searched for and wanted to save: Qiu Ling, his fiance. Finally, he had managed to catch up with him. Finally, they could leave this cursed place.

Tears entered Jing Yi eyes and he bit his lower lip, pausing for the slightest moment before he started running again, stepping out of the forest and onto the meadow, finally able to see Qiu Ling’s expression that showed just how discontent he was with his current situation.

A sob came out of Jing Yi’s throat, drawing Qiu Ling’s attention over. He stared blankly for a moment and then leaped to his feet, rushing over to Jing Yi’s side and pulling him into his arms, enveloping him in his familiar warmth and making him grab onto him tightly.

Jing Yi’s tears spilled over and he buried his face at Qiu Ling’s chest, tightly holding onto his robe. Finally, Finally, he had found him again. Finally, they were reunited.