Qiu Ling pursed his lips and indeed turned away. These guys! How could they do this to him? They pretended to be his family but they actually dared to show him their affection while his beloved had been separated from him and needed to fear for his life in the hands of some despicable fallen god! They were so cruel! Hmph. He'd just ignore them. Contacting Xin Lan to get his beloved back was much, much more important. Thus he imbued his spiritual energy into the pendant and waited.
Naturally, he didn't need to wait long. The pendant had only lit up and managed to pulse once when Xin Lan's face was projected above it. "Ma—" He frowned. "Why do you have His Majesty's pendant?"
"He lent it to me." Qiu Ling lifted the pendant a little, letting Xin Lan see the scene behind him. By now, Jinde had managed to climb onto his husband's lap and had burrowed his fingers into his black hair, smiling happily while they kissed.
Xin Lan stopped frowning and instead put on a neutral expression. Where Qiu Ling couldn't see it, he clenched his hand into a fist though. Just why did he have to see this? He was already in the demon realm, far away from his Master. Why could he still not escape this sight?
He closed his eyes and gulped, before looking at Qiu Ling again, shoving the thought aside. "I've seen. So what do you want?"
"Tell me how to find that fallen god."
Xin Lan raised his brows. "That fallen god?"
"The one from the bastard's palace, of course! He stole my beloved!"
This time Xin Lan was stumped for words. That fallen god? And he had taken the Son of Heaven? But hadn't he still been in Jin Ling's hands a short while ago? "That can't be. I talked to Jin Ling just a while ago and he was the one who took the Son of Heaven."
"Well, he lost him! Now, where can I find that fallen god?"
Behind Qiu Ling, Jinde stopped and glanced over. Had he heard right? Qiu Ling didn't want Xin Lan to confront the fallen god but instead intended to go himself? He looked at his stepson's back and couldn't help but feel conflicted.
Despite the story behind Qiu Ling's birth, he had always thought of him as part of his family. This child should have been raised by him and the issues Qiu Ling now had were his fault to a large degree. After all, he hadn't been at his side when Qiu Ling needed him. Seeing this child in such a situation now …
He couldn't let this happen, could he? But sending Xin Lan wouldn't be much better. He didn't doubt that Xin Lan would do so if he asked him but there was no guarantee that he could win against a fallen god. And even if he did, the price would still be too high to imagine. That wasn't anything he could demand. He didn't mind to ask for Xin Lan's help but not in this situation. It would be for the best if they could find another way out of this.
He got up from Leng Jin Yu's lap and walked over, peering intently at Xin Lan's face. "Xin Lan … Do you know where that fallen god is? And do you think there is any way to save the Son of Heaven without confronting him?"
Xin Lan's heart calmed down seeing Jinde's worried gaze. Ah, even though this person couldn't love him, he still worried about him. He couldn't disappoint his expectations. "I don't know where he is. Normally, he turns up at random. You've also seen that the last time."
"Ah. Right." Jinde's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of it anymore but the last time he contacted Xin Lan, he had actually seen that fallen god. "But since you're alright …"
"He isn't as deranged as the rumors say. He's a bit … strange but not hostile in general. He can turn hostile if he is upset though. I hope the Son of Heaven knows how to deal with such a person." He glanced at Qiu Ling before turning back to Jinde. "I could try and talk to him should I see him but as for anything else … I'm afraid I can't be of much help."
"I see."
"Don't think I'd fall for that!" Qiu Ling narrowed his eyes at the projection. "If it wasn't me asking but him, then you would find a way. Isn't that right?"
Xin Lan didn't answer. It wasn't completely wrong. If his Master was the one asking, then he would put more effort into finding a way. Still … "There is no way to predict a fallen god's behavior if you didn't know them before their fall. You should at least know that much, shouldn't you?"
"I'm sorry, my father never told me."
Leng Jin Yu looked up at the ceiling. Ah, he'd never live the mistakes of his previous life down. Well, if he wanted to do that, then he'd need to make up for what his past self had done.
He cleared his throat and also went over, conveniently hugging Jinde's waist. "How about asking someone in the Nine Heavens? Maybe there is someone who indeed knew this person before their fall and could give us an idea of where to search for him."
Qiu Ling looked up with wide eyes, making Leng Jin Yu shift on the spot. Just what was his so-called son thinking right now?
"Not bad! I can ask my mother-in-law!"
Xin Lan snorted. "Then what do you want to ask her? 'Mother-in-law, do you coincidentally know who that fallen god from the demon realm is?' I'm sure the Heavenly Empress will be thrilled to tell you everything about him."
Qiu Ling pursed his lips. Was there a need to ridicule him like this? "It doesn't have to be my mother-in-law. There are a lot of people in the Nine Heavens."
"Yes, so many that you'll need several years to find one who coincidentally knows someone that became a fallen god. I'd love to watch how you search for that person."