A servant girl like Hong Bao could, of course, not detain a former practitioner like Leng Jin Yu. Since she knew, she didn't even attempt it and just watched him leave, yelling some parting words at him: "You'll regret betraying me like this!"
Leng Jin Yu closed his eyes. Yes, he also didn't like this. One should be loyal to his friends. But in this case, there was more than one life at risk. Could he really ignore that? No, he couldn't. In this case, he had to pick something else over this friendship.
With a heavy heart, he went to the god of war's palace. He had already talked to him about the situation once, so he would take his words seriously. Furthermore, as someone who had cultivated into a deity just recently, there was no way he could just go and see whoever he wanted. Gaining an audience with the heavenly emperor just based on something a servant girl said? Dream on!
Leng Jin Yu hesitated in front of the entrance. This is the right thing to do, he reminded himself. But he also couldn't help but remember Hong Bao's incensed gaze, when he walked away. This certainly wasn't something he liked to do.
Still … the crown prince is important to the gods. Him dying would be like losing the successor to our sect master back in the human world and that with the added pressure of not being able to find another one. The heavenly emperor's only child … That isn't something, that could be casually replaced. If he died, the gods would descend into chaos and the demons might just attack.
Leng Jin Yu gripped the handle of his sword and breathed deeply. Yes, he had to tell someone. And the god of war was the only person he could think of and probably a good choice, since this could have to do something with the demons.
Leng Jin Yu took a step and wanted to enter, but finally put his foot down again and turned around, returning to the courtyard he was staying at.
Had he given up on the thought of telling the god of war? Of course not. But he felt like he owed Hong Bao to consider a while longer, if there was another possibility. Maybe he could really help her find out, who the culprit was, and then the fate's scribe could report to the heavenly emperor himself. That would certainly yield a better result for him.
And what could the heavenly emperor do with the information anyway? Maybe he could send people to monitor the crown prince, but that was all. It would still be up to the fate's scribe to rewrite the fate for the trial and the culprit would still need to be found.
The problem might be solved a little sooner, but there was no guarantee for that. And a human's life, though short in the eyes of a true born god or a cultivated deity like him, still lasted several decades. Waiting another day wouldn't be too much.
With this thought in mind, Leng Jin Yu returned to the courtyard. In comparison to Hong Bao and as a former cultivator, he was more perceptive. Just stepping in, he felt the gazes of the others on him and noticed the lack of sounds in the courtyard. There were no conversations, no turning of pages and no faint scratching of brushes. Even the clacking of metal from the continuous sword fights was missing.
Leng Jin Yu looked toward the direction, where he normally trained with the others. Without exception, he met complicated gazes and furrowed brows. Leng Jin Yu stopped under the archway. This … What was going on? Hong Bao had just told him about the situation. It couldn't be, that everybody already knew, that he hadn't reported and instead returned here to think it over, right?
He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling and went over, as if nothing had happened. But the gazes followed him and nobody took up his activity again. Leng Jin Yu stopped in front of the friends he had made here in the nine heavens.
"What happened?"
The man in front of him furrowed his brow even more. "You still have to ask?"
"This …" He shook his head. "I don't know." It couldn't have to do with the matter regarding the crown prince. He was sure of that.
"It's out in the open", one of the others chimed in and his expression looked anything but friendly.
"Indeed", confirmed the third one.
Leng Jin Yu's gaze flickered from one to the other and finally went back to the first one, Duan Ming. He had come from the mortal realm just like him, though they hadn't known each other there.
"I wouldn't have thought you to be that kind of person." Duan Ming gripped the handle of his sword. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His frown receded. "Alas, we can't see, what people think in their hearts. If that is, how you want to advance, then so be it. I wish you luck." He turned around, his whole being radiating disappointment.
"What are you talking about?" This really didn't sound, like it had anything to do with the crown prince. Though not reporting on it would be wrong, being loyal to your friends even in such a situation was something Duan Ming wouldn't look down on. He was sure of that. "Duan Ming, what happened? I don't understand, what you are talking about."
Duan Ming halted, seemingly wanting to clarify, but then he proceeded forward without another word. Whatever had happened, must have been too much of a disappointment for him, if he didn't even want to speak about it.
But Duan Ming didn't have to say anything, because there were others who gladly took the opportunity. "You dare ask!" Lan Ling's fists shook. He was the only one of them, who was a true born god, but he still looked up to Duan Ming and — until today, that was — to Leng Jin Yu. Now that the man he had looked up to turned out to be such a person, disappointment wasn't enough to describe his feelings. "I can't believe you did that! What's with the way you acted like a good guy before!"
"Lan Ling, what are you —"
"I'm talking about you sleeping with the woman of the fate's scribe and blackmailing her to get into the god of war's palace!"
Leng Jin Yu looked at him in a daze. That … seemed somehow wrong? How come, he was stumped for the second time in a day up in the nine heavens, while nothing had been able to move him down in the mortal realm? What had he gotten into here?