Jing He finished washing up and soon went back to open the door, inviting Qiu Ling inside. It was already midday by now which meant that half of their last day together before the trial had already gone by and yet, they actually hadn’t seen much of one another. Thinking of this, he felt regretful. He should have made sure to wake up earlier so he could accompany Qiu Ling a little longer.

The dragon king stepped inside, his gaze brushing over Jing He’s figure as if inadvertently. He quietly thought to himself that it was a pity that Jing He had covered up again but overall, he was just happy that he could see him now.

He grabbed Jing He’s hand as he walked past and gently led him to the table, sitting down opposite him and looking into his eyes. “How do you feel now? If you are still tired, I wouldn’t mind if you rested for a while longer.”

Jing He shook his head. “It’s alright. I … I suppose I simply slept longer today because there were things to arrange this past week and I have been a little worried about the trial.”

Qiu Ling nodded, holding onto his beloved’s hand. “Is it going to be difficult?”

Jing He hurriedly shook his head again. “No, not really. Anyway, I won’t remember while I am down there. It is simply another life lived or maybe I should rather describe it as a long dream which you can only awake from at the very end.”

Qiu Ling felt reassured hearing those words. He hated to see Jing He in any difficulty and he wasn’t really sure what to expect of this trial since he knew hardly anything about this practice. He only understood that it was a very big deal to the gods.

“Well, it’s good if it is like that. I was a bit worried.” Simply calling it a trial made it sound like it would be tiresome. In fact, with Jing He’s description, you might as well call it a nightmare. After all, if you had good dreams, would you even want to wake up? Although, of course, no matter how good his dreams were, he’d rather be awake to spend time with Jing He so he was probably thinking too much. Anyway, he had already decided to accompany him secretly so he didn’t have to worry about that.

“Now, what do you want to spend our last few hours today with? Is there anything you are in the mood for?” He personally didn’t care much. Even just sitting with Jing He like this was alright. In fact, maybe it would be for the best. He still looked a little tired so they shouldn’t do too much.

Jing He thought for a bit. He would be gone for two, maybe even three months if the trial took a long time. While he had taken care of his side so that he wouldn’t stray while in the mortal realm, he was worried about what his prolonged absence would do to Qiu Ling’s feelings. In this case, maybe it would be good to do something special that would stay in his mind for longer.

Usually, they would stroll through the garden, maybe sit in the pavilion and drink tea or play a round or two of weiqi. He didn’t mind this kind of quiet life but it was possibly boring to Qiu Ling. He personally had no aptitude for the exciting things the dragons valued though. As for things that were out of the ordinary for them …

“How about I play a song for you? You liked that the last time, didn’t you?” Yes, he hadn’t played much for Qiu Ling yet but he was confident in his ability. If he played a moving love song that could express his longing, surely it would become a fond memory.

Qiu Ling gave a thoughtful hum but finally shook his head. He didn’t want Jing He to put in too much effort. If he was just playing for fun, it would be alright but he knew him well enough to be aware that it wouldn’t be like that. No, if Jing He started, he would certainly have high expectations of himself.

“I’d feel like I was taking advantage of you if I let you do that. After all, you just had a tiring week and even if you won’t remember your true self during your trial, that life as a mortal probably won’t be easy either.” Yes, chances were that his life in the mortal realm wouldn’t be able to compare to the one in the Nine Heavens. After all, he was currently the crown prince of the gods. Nobody in the mortal realm could compare to that, not even the actual ruler of a country.

“Instead, let’s do something that will be relaxing to you. How about I play for you instead? Or maybe you’d prefer something we can do together?” His skills with the huqin had certainly gone up in the past few years but it definitely couldn’t compare to Jing He who had been learning several instruments for decades or even centuries. Having to listen to him play might rather be torture for his ears. Instead of that …

Qiu Ling faintly pursed his lips and then motioned to the study. “How about painting? We’re both good at that and we wouldn’t need to pay much attention anyway. Also …” He leaned closer, smiling lightly. “We could paint one painting together in commemoration of finally becoming one after your return. How about that?”

Jing He’s cheeks flushed when he heard that description of their future. At the same time, his heart thumped in excitement and he nodded before he could even think about how they would do this.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Qiu Ling got to his feet and pulled him up as well, directly pulling him into his arms. For a moment, he gazed at him, not intending to take another step. He had the urge to lean down and kiss him but he knew that that would likely destroy the atmosphere. Jing He had such thin skin, after all.

With another faint smile, he pulled him to the desk in the study and gently pushed him to sit down. Taking out another chair from his spatial ring, he sat next to him and pulled over an empty painting scroll. “I wonder what we should paint …” He pulled the ink slab closer and started to grind the ink, feeling that this would be too tiring for his beloved to do. Instead, he simply handed him a brush at the side.

Jing He watched as Qiu Ling ground the ink, content just waiting without starting yet. “I usually paint landscapes. I don’t think I’m all that good at painting other things.”

Qiu Ling hummed, even though he wasn’t sure if he should believe that. Jing He was clearly very talented or, well, maybe it was simply the result of his hard work throughout the years. Anyway, he didn’t think that his beloved wouldn’t be able to paint anything else to a satisfactory degree. But then, it didn’t matter. “You know, I believe I excel more in portraits. Since we intend to paint together, I will let you do the landscape and I will take care of the figures and faces. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”

Jing He nodded even though he wasn’t sure how exactly this would turn out. Still, simply doing something together with Qiu Ling made him happy so he wasn’t unwilling to give it a try.

Qiu Ling put down the ink stick and motioned for Jing He to start. Even if it was painting together, he first needed a rough outline of the landscape before it would make sense to add any figures. In this way, Jing He could later take a rest. That also wasn’t bad.