Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume #1)

31 Grandfather?!

Qiu Ling pulled his beloved closer,barely resisting the urge to hug him. "Little boy, you know,running into the forest all alone isn't good. Not even mentioningthat your mother would worry about you what would you have done if Iwasn't here anymore?"

Jing Yi drooped his head.

"There, there." Qiu Lingpatted his head, his hands itching to ruffle his hair a bit more. Mn,this felt so good ... He never would have dared to do this to JingHe's meticulously combed hair. Ah, his beloved really had suchwonderful hair!

Qiu Ling smiled brightly but stilldidn't forget his current mission. "You had luck this time.And for the next time ..." He took a jade bracelet out of hisspatial ring and handed it to Jing Yi. It was too big for him to wearnow, but when he grew up it would be a different matter. Ah, justimagining how his beloved would wear the jade bracelet he had givenhim ...

Qiu Ling coughed. "This is amagical artifact. If you ever want to ask me something or need myhelp, you just have to hold it between your hands and call for me.Then I'll immediately hurry to where you are."

Jing Yi turned the bracelet in hishands and examined it from all sides. He had never seen somethingthis beautiful! With sparkling eyes, he looked up at Qiu Ling. "Thankyou, grandfather!"

Qiu Ling grabbed his chest. My love... what did you just call me?!

He masked his hurt with a cough butinwardly tears were streaming down his face. "Well, that'sonly natural. We met two times here in the forest by chance. Thatmeans there must be fate between us ..."

"Fate?" Jing Yi didn'tknow what the old man was talking about but he put the shiny braceletaway. He would use it to talk to this friendly grandfather again sometime.

Qiu Ling nodded. "You know ...In fact, I'm a master of the dao. As a Daoist Master, it's myduty to help other people."

"So it's like that!"

"Mn." Qiu Ling wanted tospend more time with him but he still motioned to the village. "Youshould return now. Your mother's probably worried about you."

Jing Yi nodded and turned around. Heran some steps, then turned around and lifted his small hand to wavegoodbye. At this time, Qiu Ling, who had stood behind him had alreadyhidden his figure. He seemed to have vanished on the spot.

Jing Yi stared at the place where hehad last seen him and turned in a circle to look if he could find himsomewhere else but he came up with nothing. He thought a bit, thentook out the jade bracelet. He placed it between his hands and calledout: "Grandfather!"

Qiu Ling had black lines runningdown his face but he still reappeared in front of Jing Yi. "Whathappened? Didn't you want to return to your mother?"

Jing Yi nodded and put the braceletaway again. "Goodbye, Grandfather!" He waved at him, thenran away.

Qiu Ling sighed. "Ah, just growup a little faster. I don't know how long my heart can take beingcalled 'grandfather' by you." He shook his head, hid hispresence again and followed Jing Yi.

When the boy reached home, he foundhis father kneeling in front of the doorstep and admitting his faultto his mother.

"My wife ... I ... I lost ourson again!" He had searched everywhere around the paddy andasked the other men but no one had seen Jing Yi and he just couldn'tfind him.

Madam Zhong whacked him over thehead just like the last time. "What are you talking about? He'sstanding right behind you!" She ignored her husband and pickedup her son. "Where have you been, Jing'er?"

"I went to look for thefriendly grandfather!"

"Oh?" Madam Zhong carriedhim into the house. "Did you find him?"

"Mn!" Jing Yi took out thejade bracelet and showed it to his mother. "Look, he gave methis! I can call him with that."

"Call him?" Madam Zhongtook the bracelet and turned it around just like her son before inthe forest.

The bracelet was made out of white,translucent jade and immaculately carved. Selling off the whole oftheir family's property wouldn't amount to even one finger'sbreadth of this bracelet and somebody had just gifted it to her son.

Before she could ask further Jing Yilooked up at his mother curiously. "Mommy, what's a DaoistMaster? Does he really help all people?"

Madam Zhong smiled. She had seen QiuLing's true face the night Jing Yi was born and she had seen hisaltered face some weeks later when Qiguan Cheng Da came. And now itseemed that the old man from before was him too. She didn't knowmuch about those deity sects or cultivation but she understood thatthis man had somehow taken a liking to her son and would help him forthe rest of his life.

She patted Jing Yi's head andnodded. "That's true! You know on the day you were born, aDaoist Master came to our village too. If not for him, the two of usmight not even be here anymore. So, when you see a Daoist Master inthe future be sure to be respectful to him!"

"Mn!" Jing Yi noddedearnestly. If a Daoist Master had saved his mommy, of course, hewould be respectful! He didn't want anything to happen to hismommy!

On that day, Zhong Jing Yi heard ofDaoist Masters for the first time and he decided that when he grew uphe also wanted to help people! Unfortunately, until then a lot oftime would be needed and who knew what would be his fate until then?

Anyway, in the village of theZhongs, a new story soon made it's way around: Somehow all thegirls had fallen into mud holes that magically appeared at theriverbank and near the path to the forest. But nobody else than thegirls fell in and when people went to look they never found anyholes.

Zhong Jing Yi saw all of themfalling in so nobody said anything when he avoided them from this dayforth. The women with daughters or nieces his age just hoped thathe'd soon forget about it and would still marry one of them when hegrew up.

Well, even if he forgot, somebodywould make sure he remembered. Though, tricking him would beincreasingly difficult with each passing year.