551 Those Gates
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Jing Yi could feel Qiu Ling’s skepticism but he wasn’t about to give up that easily. They did need a way to get out of here after all. If Qiu Ling didn’t even try, then how would they do that? So no matter what, he had to encourage him to deal with this somehow. "Well, maybe there are things you can’t change but you can learn to live with them, can’t you?"

"What if it’s not about yourself but about other people instead?"

"I’m not sure I understand."

"Maybe that’s better." Qiu Ling kissed his cheek and then let go of him. "Let’s continue. There’ll be some way out of here further ahead. I’m sure."

Jing Yi followed him but he frowned. A little while before, Qiu Ling had still sounded as if he knew exactly how to get out of here but suddenly, things were different. He seemed to be searching as well. And also … the things he had just said didn’t sound as if they were helping Qiu Ling at all. Instead, it seemed to only make matters worse.

Qiu Ling seemed … hopeless. Yes, that was the right word. The look in his eyes was as if he had lost all hope as if there was no way to deal with whatever it was that was bothering him. The inner demon that senior martial brother Yu had mentioned didn’t seem to have been dealt with in the least.

The worst thing was that he still had no idea what exactly that inner demon was though. How was he supposed to help him with it like this? He had to find out and fast. Thinking about it … It should have to do with the things that had happened in Qiu Ling’s past but how were these things connected? He couldn’t understand that.

Maybe that woman had known Qiu Ling’s parents. That would explain why she had a part in this. But if Qiu Ling had fought in that war, then he would have needed to be an adult by then. Could that really still be tied to his parents? After all, he seemed to have been a child when they died.

Just where was the connection?

Jing Yi furrowed his brows but finally looked up at Qiu Ling. "Qiu Ling …" He wanted to ask but there was still some hesitation. He didn’t want to rip some old wounds open but he also couldn’t imagine how they would get out of here if he didn’t do something. After all, Qiu Ling didn’t seem to have any idea how to deal with this either and didn’t seem to want to open up at all. But they had to try something!

"What is it, my love?" Qiu Ling seemed unperturbed by the endless darkness around them as if none of this was important and they were just taking a leisurely stroll like they had done back in the Yun Zou Sect.

"Your parents … What happened to them?"

Just as he had expected, Qiu Ling tensed. "That … Let’s not talk about that, alright?"

"Why not?" Jing Yi tried to look as neutral as possible so as to not give Qiu Ling additional pressure. He just wanted him to be honest so he could understand. He couldn’t make him pull back completely.

Qiu Ling evaded his gaze though. "It was long ago."

"But it must have had a big influence on you. Losing both your parents early …"

"It wasn’t that bad."

Qiu Ling might have said so but his expression was wooden. Obviously, this was something that still haunted him. And, well, if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been here. While Jing Yi didn’t understand these things too well, that was what he had gathered from what he had been told before.

He wasn’t wrong either: The inner self was a place that showcased a person’s state of being. If they weren’t calm, their inner self wouldn’t be either. If they were caught up in memories, those would clog their inner self up, weaving a tight net around anyone that visited this place. The fact that they were running into such scenes left and right was evidence that Qiu Ling had never managed to deal with many things of his past.

Unfortunately, Jing Yi didn’t know enough to actually argue that point. Right now, he could only lower his head. He didn’t want to hurt Qiu Ling. But what else could they do? He searched for something he could say to continue the conversation but before he found anything Qiu Ling started to slow down.

Jing Yi looked up at his face and noticed that his gaze was locked on a point in the distance. He turned around and lifted his brows. There was a pair of magnificent gates in front of them. They were still far away so he couldn’t see any details but that wasn’t necessary either because the gates themselves weren’t the astonishing thing.

No, what really surprised him was the fact that whatever was behind those gates wasn’t shrouded in the same grayish darkness the rest of Qiu Ling’s inner self was enveloped by. Instead, that place was brightly illuminated like it was an especially sunny day there.

Jing Yi looked at Qiu Ling’s face again, a question written in his eyes: Just what is this place? But this time, Qiu Ling actually wasn’t paying attention to him. He was completely focused on the gates in front of them.

It didn’t need to be said how big of an influence these gates needed to have on him to actually make him ignore the reincarnation of his beloved. There was probably only one reason that would make Qiu Ling react as such.

Without thinking, Qiu Ling already hurried over, not even considering for a split second if Jing Yi could keep up with him. Thus was the appeal of what lay behind those gates.

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