"Qiu Ling!" Qiang Yan hurried after his nephew-in-law but couldn't reach him. "Qiu Ling, wait! There's something we need to talk about!"
Qiu Ling frowned but still stopped. He couldn't let his uncle-in-law find out what he was planning. Wouldn't that give his plan away? "What is it? I want to see Jing He."
"I know, I know. It's important though." Qiang Yan caught up to Qiu Ling and looked at him solemnly. "Qiu Ling, I know you love Jing He very much. You also know I've always been in favor of the two of you being together. But you aren't just Jing He's lover. You're also the king of the dragon race. Please keep that in mind."
"I know. What do you want to tell me?"
Qiang Yan sighed. "Don't do anything stupid. Not only Jing He would grieve if you did. The dragons would be the same."
Qiu Ling blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"That fallen god. Don't go and confront him. Defeating a fallen god requires a whole army and even then you need an opportunity. So don't even try. That isn't a fight you can win. And even if you have an opportunity … don't do it. Injuring a fallen god isn't something you should do."
Qiu Ling looked at him in confusion. "Why?" Wouldn't it be good if he did? Then Jing He might be able to flee and he could bring him back to the Nine Heavens. Shouldn't Jing He's family also want the same?
Qiang Yan sighed. "You probably don't know but the fallen gods are a special existence. Killing one of them or even injuring them to the extent that blood flows will reflect back on you. If you take any chances and attack that fallen god, even if you manage to defeat him and free Jing He, it won't be the outcome that either of you wants. So please be careful."
Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. "How bad can it be?"
"I can't say for sure but it's said to be on the same scale as Tian's curse of the immortal races. Dying might be the best case so don't take any chances."
"Oh. I've got it. Don't worry about me, uncle-in-law. I'll take care of myself. I wouldn't want Jing He to become a widower even before we can marry." He smiled and wanted to say goodbye when he remembered that there was an even worse issue he hadn't thought of. "Uncle-in-law, say does Jing He know about this?"
Qiang Yan raised his brows. "About what?"
"The thing with the fallen gods. What if he attacks him because he's afraid? Would it be a problem?"
Qiang Yan froze. He hadn't thought of that either. Indeed. "Jing He knows but as for his mortal reincarnation …" He furrowed his brows. It was unlikely. Even though the boy had remembered parts of his life as Jing He, it couldn't be too much considering how old Jing He was. The likelihood of remembering something about the fallen gods when Jing He had never come into contact with any of them wasn't high. "Well, he's a mortal right now. For him to injure a fallen god wouldn't be easy even if he wanted to."
Qiu Ling nodded. That was also true. Then again they couldn't be sure. "I'll try to get him out as soon as I can."
"Mn. I trust you." Qiang Yan sighed. "I'll better go back inside and see what we can do. Being up against a fallen god is even worse than having to deal with the demon king. Ah, this trial of Jing He's seems like it's a trial to us all. I hope he can finish it soon and return here. I'll feel much better when he's back." He nodded at Qiu Ling and returned to the Heavenly Emperor's palace.
Meanwhile, Qiu Ling returned to the dragon realm. Even though he had to deal with the fallen god, he still couldn't forget about Jin Ling. And thankfully, the key person to both these problems was the same. Now, he just needed to get a handle on that guy!
He went to his rooms that he had hardly ever used and searched around for some ink and paper before jumping onto one of the beams below the roof. He couldn't let any spy see what he wrote here, after all!
He thought for a while and then wrote two notes. He carefully read over them again and wondered if he had forgotten anything. No, this should probably work out. With sat up, took a deep breath and jumped down from the beam, leaving the ink and the brush up there.
He hurried to Xiang Yong's study and kicked down the door. "Xiang Yong!"
The dragon jumped to his feet and extended his claws, prepared to defend against whoever wanted to attack him. When he saw his king, he stared at him blankly. Just what was His Majesty doing here? And why had he stormed into the room like this? "Your … Your Majesty, you —"
"Stop jabbering! I have an extremely important mission for you!" He ran over and smashed one of the notes against his chest, making the other dragon recoil.
Xiang Yong hurriedly grabbed the note. "This is …?"
"Something I want you to deliver to Qiang Wei!"
Xiang Yong stared at the little piece of paper. This could at most be a short message. "Deliver to Qiang Wei?" Why should he do that? Wouldn't it be faster to use a transmission stone? The look his king gave him suggested that asking this question wouldn't be a good idea though thus he nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty. I'll go at once."
"Wait!" Qiu Ling threw the other note at him. "Give this to him to. He's not supposed to read it though!"
"Alright?" Xiang Yong to the second piece of paper and tugged it away in his sleeve to make sure he wouldn't mix them up.
Qiu Ling smiled with satisfaction. "Then go. Don't take your time. It's really important!" With that, he turned around and walked away.
Xiang Yong raised his brows but still left the dragon realm and made his way to the Nine Heavens. He didn't need to understand what his king was thinking. It should be alright as long as he did as he was told.