The two of them fell silent and just held each other as if they weren’t currently in the headquarters of the greatest demonic sect of their time. Well, Qiu Ling didn’t care about the conflicts of the mortals.

He didn’t actually consider himself a disciple of the Yun Zou Sect or the righteous faction so he also didn’t see the demonic faction as an enemy. To him, this was really just like an extension of the period he had been granted to travel with his beloved. Looking at it that way, he really liked this mission quite a lot. That Sect Master Yuchi might as well give them a few more of this sort!

In any case, there was no danger to him and also no danger to his beloved as long as they stayed together. They could just slowly do whatever task and enjoy their time together.

The one who finally got things back on track was naturally Jing Yi. He sighed and patted his fiance’s chest before leaning back and looking up at him. "Alright. Sitting here won’t solve the problem. We should have a look around now and try to find more information whether that is about the missing disciples or just the sect itself. If they haven’t realized what is going on yet, we might need to stay here for a while after all.

"That Nian Hai showed me the general outlay of the sect and gave me a bit more information on the Alchemy division already but I haven’t seen what it’s inside of the other divisions. We should probably start with that. If we can both join a division, we will be able to take a closer look around there and gather more news. It’s more efficient than to join the same division."

Jing Yi looked excited when he said so but Qiu Ling’s expression immediately fell. His beloved didn’t want to be in the same division as him? He wanted to split up?

"My love!" Qiu Ling hurriedly hugged him tighter. "The only good thing about this mission is that we can be together. Why would you want to separate?!"

Jing Yi smiled wryly. He felt that his idea had been pretty good but … well, it wasn’t strange that Qiu Ling would react like this. He probably should have expected it. He lightly cleared his throat and then reached up to cup Qiu Ling’s cheeks. Now, it was probably time to coax his lover. Otherwise, they would never be able to actually work on the task the Sect Master had given them.

His smile turned brighter thinking of how they might be able to actually solve this problem if they worked together well. "Ah, right, I didn’t have time to tell you yet but I had that Nian Hai enlist me for the Alchemy division. If you really find an explanation for that thing about your name and we can stay here, then I’ll be able to learn a lot about how to refine pills and potions. So, if you get hurt in the future I’ll be able to help you."

"Oh." Qiu Ling nodded, his previous worry seemingly forgotten. "I’ll try to get hurt more often."

Jing Yi closed his eyes and repressed another sigh. Honestly, what was Qiu Ling thinking? That wasn’t what he had meant at all! He opened his eyes again and gave him a reproachful look for even suggesting it. "You don’t have to. Actually, I’d be especially happy if I never had to use the things I learn here."

"Alright. Then I won’t get hurt." Qiu Ling was actually a bit relieved. After all, it wasn’t that easy for a dragon to be hurt. Fulfilling that wish of his beloved would have been a problem. "So, how about we take a look at that … division together? You can tell me what it’s all about while we’re at it."

"Mn. Then come on." Jing Yi felt relieved when it seemed like Qiu Ling actually wanted to work. He got down from his lap and led him around the estate of the Alchemy division while he slowly recounted everything he had found out from Nian Hai.

By the time they got back to the entrance, he felt like they had made a lot of progress considering that this was their first day. He had managed to find his place in the Hei Dian Sect by entering the Alchemy division and could even learn something valuable while he stayed there. On the other hand, while Qiu Ling might not be an official disciple of the sect yet since he hadn’t joined any division, they already knew that there were at least two more divisions in the sect that he could join.

Qiu Ling had also managed to catch the eye of the Grandmaster. This was especially great considering that the first clue for their mission that they found meant that this Grandmaster was somehow involved in this. Now, they only needed to follow up on it and this mission would probably be accomplished soon.

The only thing Jing Yi was worried about was that upcoming duel. They had already slipped up once and might have a difficult time to explain themselves. If this duel drew more attention to them and something went wrong … He didn’t even want to think about it. Well, at least it was still a few days until then. They could make preparations.

Jing Yi probably would have been more worried if he knew that they weren’t the only ones making preparations. Even more so if he knew that these preparations might be able to separate him and Qiu Ling for a long, long time.