"Ah, Qiang Yan, come in, come —" The Heavenly Emperor stopped when he saw the person walking in behind his brother-in-law.
The God of War bowed as if nothing happened. "The God of War, Qiang Yan greets His Majesty Tianjun."
Leng Jin Yu hurriedly bowed too but didn't say anything. He still didn't understand what had happened and his status in the Nine Heavens wasn't high enough to just talk to the Heavenly Emperor at will.
Rong Su took a look at his wife and cleared his throat. "God of War, what brings you here?" And please, don't tell me it has anything to do with Jing He! Didn't that Shun Tao just say that his trial was back on the right track? What could have happened now?
Qiang Yan looked at his sister first before he turned to face Rong Su again. "Leng Jin Yu came back from the mortal realm to report on Jing He's situation."
"The Fate's Scribe already reported that Jing He passed a major trial. What else could there be to report?"
Qiang Yan sighed and stood at ease. It had already gotten this bad. What use was there in pretending anymore? His sister and brother-in-law also wouldn't want him to waste time with needless formalities. "Leng Jin Yu was able to find out some details about the memories Jing He acquired. One of the things his reincarnation described was a red dagger.
"We already went and talked to Li Yin. Jing He was at the Court of Justice two days prior to his descent to the mortal realm. The official reason he gave was to inquire some information about the mortal realm from him but shortly before that, the array around the prisons was triggered, plunging the whole court into chaos. It wouldn't have been impossible to take a trip to the repository and … use the soul-engraving dagger."
The faces of both the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress had paled. Rong Su shook his head. "No. No, this can't be. Why should Jing He do that?"
"We also went to Yue Xia. Jing He spoke with him and … He asked him not to tie the red thread for him. I'm afraid he did this for Longjun."
The Heavenly Emperor shook his head again. "No, this can't be. Why would he do that?"
"Rong Su …" Bai Fen sighed and turned to Qiang Yan. "Is it certain that he used the dagger?"
Qiang Yan motioned to Leng Jin Yu. "What exactly did he say?"
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "He described the dagger as being completely red and his surroundings as being dark which matches the repository of the Court of Justice. He mentioned that he felt pain but he didn't say directly that he used it in any way. He only said that he placed it on top of an altar. It could be that he didn't remember more than that."
Bai Fen closed her eyes, her brows knitting together. "That sounds as if he used it. Ah, this boy … How could he do something like this? What if something went wrong? He should have just talked about this with us!"
The Heavenly Emperor slammed his hand down on the table. "He wouldn't! If that damned dandy had harassed him to this point, he certainly would have told me! He knows I would have sent some guards with him to protect him!"
Bai Fen and Qiang Yan both looked away pointedly. Leng Jin Yu also lowered his head again. He couldn't help but wonder though. Could it be the Heavenly Emperor didn't know of the relationship between the crown prince and the dragon king? But that should be impossible! Wasn't it obvious?
Rong Su stood up and paced up and down. "This bastard! Actually driving my precious son so far as to actually do something like that!" He was shaking with rage. What had that bastard done now? What if something had gone wrong?!
Bai Fen sighed. "Rong Su, sit down. This isn't going to help."
The Heavenly Emperor continued to pace around. "I know! Nothing will help now! If he really … Argh, it's all that damned dandy's fault! Why can't he just leave Jing He alone?!"
Bai Fen slapped the table. "Shut up and sit down! How is this Qiu Ling's fault? It's clearly you who's forcing Jing He! Jing He clearly likes him but how would he dare to say so when you're always against him? Haven't you been badmouthing Qiu Ling since the day they met?! And now Jing He was desperate enough to do something like this! What are you going to do if something went wrong? That's his soul we're talking about here!"
Leng Jin Yu lowered his head further, earnestly praying that somebody would remember that he was here and kindly dismiss him. He definitely didn't want to be involved in the familial problems of the Heavenly Emperor's family!
Unfortunately for him, the other three people were all occupied with the current drama.
"What do you mean with that?" Rong Su looked at his wife with a blank expression. "Jing He wouldn't … He wouldn't get involved with someone like that! He promised he wouldn't!"
"So you do remember that you forced him to swear something like that!" Bai Fen leaped to her feet and pointed at her husband. "I've had enough of this! It's all your fault! If not because you were so against it and used every opportunity to tell Jing He to not even consider it, the two of them could have long been married!"
The Heavenly Emperor took a shaky breath. "That's … Jing He wouldn't even want that! He knows what kind of person that Longjun is! He wouldn't even consider him!"
"Then kindly tell me why my son would go and injure his own soul before descending for his trial!"
Rong Su stared at his wife. Yes, why would his son do this? It wasn't anything that could be done easily. The probability of being discovered was high and he would have trouble to explain himself if someone found him in the repository. And the danger involved in using the soul-engraving dagger wasn't anything to scoff at either.
"But … if that was the case, then why would he … Why would he break up after remembering his life in the Nine Heavens? Doesn't that mean that he hates that dandy and doesn't want to be together? Isn't it just that that bastard tricked him into being with him and now that he knows who he is Jing He broke up with him?"
Why else would his son break up with Longjun right after seeing him again when he had recovered his memories? That was the only explanation he could find.
Leng Jin Yu used the opportunity to make his existence known with a cough.