"You don’t know but my beloved descended to the mortal world for a while. I also don’t understand why but it’s some kind of thing the gods just do. I didn’t really have a say in it. Well, it’s not like I would mind. If it’s something my beloved wants, then I’ll naturally go along with it. Originally, I also thought that it would be a great chance to marry him as soon as his father was out of the picture. But then when I followed him down here I had to find out he had become a child and I had to wait until he grew up.

"Well, I’m not an impatient man. Naturally, I didn’t mind giving him a few years. But then, before that time could arrive he somehow ended up as a disciple in that Yun Zou Sect. Naturally, after already waiting for so long, I wouldn’t just give up so I followed him over there to be admitted as well.

"Unfortunately, I’m just too awesome so instead of becoming a normal disciple like him, their Grandmaster took me in. I was a bit miffed at first but then I thought this would be good as well because then nobody would dare to bully my beloved after we got married. So I finally accepted my fate and was about to move onto my next step. But then that so-called Master of mine told me that we couldn’t marry as long as Jing He was just an outer sect disciple.

"This was pretty troublesome because, apparently, becoming an inner sect disciple isn’t that easy and his aptitude wasn’t high enough. But I wouldn’t be me if I just left things at that. No, I naturally went to gather all the ingredients for some miraculous pill that could change his aptitude and had someone refine it. Unfortunately, my beloved didn’t want to take the pill after it was prepared because he felt that it was making things too easy for him. Ah, he’s such an honorable person! Anyway, of course, a devoted lover like me would always honor my beloved’s wishes so we just forgot about it and gave the pill back to the sect since I didn’t have a use for it anymore.

"It wasn’t that important anyway because we thought that as long as Jing He was able to reach that whatever stage in a year it would be alright even if he hadn’t these spirit veins. So, we went to travel together and he had nearly managed to get to that stage when my Master called me back ahead of time.

"I thought that this time for sure we could finally hold our wedding but once again my Master didn’t allow us. This time he used the excuse that my beloved didn’t have these spirit veins so even if he managed to reach that strange stage it wouldn’t be enough because there was no saying how far he’d be able to go after that.

"Finally, Jing He and I couldn’t take it any longer. Honestly, who is able to separate a loving couple such as us over and over again? If he wasn’t that old I might just believe he was interested in Jing He himself!"

Shen An De slightly raised his brows and averted his face. Grandmaster Zhangsun from the Yun Zou Sect was younger than him and he had already heard of dragon king Qiu Ling when he was growing up and still had a slight connection to the demon realm. How could this man be shameless enough to call Zhangsun Xun Yi old? That man was a child, no, an infant compared to him!

Qiu Ling didn’t notice Grandmaster Shen’s peculiar expression at all. He was completely immersed in his story. "Naturally, Jing He and I couldn’t accept what he said. From how things had gone up until that point, it seemed that even if we managed to find another compromise, he would still go back on his word in the end. As long as we stayed there, we would always be kept apart. Realizing this, we finally fled the Yun Zou Sect and came here.

"Since then, everything seems to be going well for us: We were taken in without any trouble, Jing He was even accepted into that plant division you have, and we are living together like a married couple despite not having been able to hold the wedding ceremony yet.

"It sure seemed like we had made the perfect decision and our brilliant future was about to unfold. But now, that bastard Jin Ling is getting involved! How am I supposed to marry Jing He in this situation? So, no, I definitely can’t leave here! Things will just get even worse if I do."

Hong Ai didn’t know what to say anymore. Her sister had found herself in familiar waters though. "Oh, wow! That is such a nice story!"

Qiu Ling harrumphed, not happy with anything she said. "It’s not a story. It happened exactly like that." More or less.

"Don’t you worry!" Hong Bao clutched his arm like she had done back in the teahouse while her eyes seemed to sparkle. "I’ll definitely help you to marry him!"

Qiu Ling blinked. Eh? It seemed he remembered that this servant girl was someone hopelessly romantic. Even more so than he himself … "Well …" He looked at her with a bit of hesitation. "You do owe me for what you almost did to Jing He. It’s just right that you help me out a bit."

"Mn! Don’t worry! I’ll definitely help you get married! It’ll be the best wedding you can imagine."

"Actually, I don’t need anything fancy." Then again … his beloved would only marry once. It should be something special. Qiu Ling smiled sweetly. "Alright. It’s a deal. You help me out as compensation."

Mn. This really was such a good idea. Really, what could go wrong?