Bai Fen didn't even want to think more closely about what could be important enough for Qiu Ling to let her wait. Normally he would jump at every opportunity to give her a good impression.
"It's alright. Listen —"
"Mother-in-law, have you decided to help me?" Qiu Ling winked at her. "I knew you wouldn't just ignore Jing He's plight! So when will you send an ascended deity down to open the array?"
"Uh … That's not it."
"Hah?" Qiu Ling was stunned. She hadn't contacted him to tell him that she would finally get Jing He out of that stupid secret realm? "Then why did you …?"
"I need your help. See, Jing He started to remember his old life."
"Really?"
Bai Fen sighed when she saw Qiu Ling's eyes light up. "You know that this isn't a good thing. Jing He is still attempting his trial right now. If he remembers, it'll be troublesome."
Qiu Ling pursed his lips. Alright, he could understand that. "Then what do you want me to do? It's not like I can go in and tell him not to remember. Even if I wanted to do that, I still can't. After all, he's trapped in that secret realm." His gaze said that this was obviously her fault for not lending her help.
The Heavenly Empress withstood the urge to curse him. For now. "Look, I get that you're angry about that. But what was I supposed to do? Jing He has to do this trial. If he gets trapped in another dimension, then that is nothing I should interfere in."
"But you want me to interfere now that he remembers." Qiu Ling looked at her skeptically before hurriedly taking a glance at his surroundings. Mn, this talk with his mother-in-law would probably take quite a bit of time. He should make his way over to the palace in the meantime.
"That's not the same. Whether he in that dimension or not won't have much of an impact. But if he remembers that he was a god and finds out that he is only attempting a trial right now, that would render the whole trial pointless. Heaven won't accept that.
So I want you to help us make sure that he won't remember his real life. You also understand that that is necessary. Think about what happened with the soul-devouring dagger. You don't want him to be in danger again, do you?"
"No, of course not. So what do you want me to do?" Qiu Ling finally relented but still started to walk into the direction of the demon realm's royal palace. His mother-in-law might not think it was a good idea but he would get his beloved out of that special dimension! And that annoying Xin Lan would help him with that.
Bai Fen took a relieved sigh when Qiu Ling's attitude softened. She had really been afraid that he wouldn't agree. It wouldn't be impossible to have the boy drink the water of the river of forgetfulness but it would become more difficult. Especially if Qiu Ling even worked against them. Now, with his help, things would become a lot easier.
"He remembered because of a herb he found in the special dimension. The process hasn't finished yet so there isn't anything we can do for now but as soon as we know that he has acquired all memories we can open the secret realm. Then we'll have him drink some of the water from the river of forgetfulness."
Qiu Ling stopped walking and looked at Bai Fen. He furrowed his brow for a bit before narrowing his eyes. "Mother-in-law, do you think of me as an idiot?"
"No. Why —"
"I might not be a terribly cultured man but even I now that if he drinks the water from the river of forgetfulness as a human, he won't just forget the memories he acquired from his previous life but all of his memories. Including those from his new life as a human."
"That's true. But where's the problem?"
"He would forget about me, too!"
Bai Fen sighed. "Qiu Ling, I understand that this is hard for you, too. But it's the only way. We can't have Jing He remember everything. If he figures out what this is all about, then … Heaven will punish him. That can't happen."
Qiu Ling looked at her, his mind working fast. He never would have thought he'd have to say this one day but … "You're trying to dupe me. You don't even know what he'll remember. You're just randomly guessing and you still want me to make him forget everything."
"Qiu Ling …"
"No!" Qiu Ling frowned. "Mother-in-law, I respect you very much and I don't want any trouble with you but I won't do this. This trial … I know it's important to Jing He. I respect that, too. The mistakes I made before … I've already stopped being like that. When something bad happens I'm not interfering anymore.
But this is the life he is supposed to live and we can't take it from him. So, no, I won't do this and you better not try to send somebody else to do it in my stead. I won't allow it."
He pulled his spiritual energy from the transmission stone and put it back into his spatial ring. Don't kid him. This would ruin everything he had achieved in this life. He had waited so long for Jing He to grow up and then waited again for him to accept him again. Why would he sabotage himself?
Qiu Ling shook his head and flew toward the palace. He wouldn't help her with this. And he wouldn't let her succeed in having somebody else do it. He would find that Xin Lan and he would get Jing He out of that secret realm with his help and then … He'd take him away.
He wouldn't return to the Yun Zou Sect with him. These guys' hadn't let them marry anyway and just made up one excuse after the other. It would be much better to leave and start a new life somewhere else. If he explained it to Jing He in a believable manner … Ah, no, maybe he wouldn't even need to do that. Now that Jing He remembered he would probably want to leave himself. After all, hadn't they decided to marry anyway?
A smile bloomed on Qiu Ling's lips. Yes, soon enough they'd be happily married and everyone else could just get lost. It would only be the two of them.