Leng Jin Yu answered his transmission stone without delay. He couldn't help but raise his brows when he saw the face of the God of War though. "God of War, what a surprise."
Qiang Yan grimaced. "Certainly not as big of a surprise as the one I just got. I hope you don't mind me asking but who did you say your husband was again?"
Leng Jin Yu kept his previous expression of surprise, not giving any other hint whatsoever. "I don't think I mentioned anything other than getting married. The person is somebody I met in the human realm while on the mission. I'm afraid the God of War doesn't know him."
Qiang Yan nodded his head. "I might be a little too young to know him."
This time, Leng Jin Yu had trouble holding his lips back from twitching. Thankfully, he wasn't anywhere where Jinde could hear this conversation. Being called old by somebody like the God of War certainly would've made him upset. "I'm not sure what the God of War is trying to say. Not that I want to boast but the person I married is a beautiful young man."
Qiang Yan clicked his tongue. "Sure enough, the dragons age differently from us. Even Qiu Ling doesn't look old even though he's pretty much of a more senior generation than me."
Once again, Leng Jin Yu had to try hard to school his expression. Who would've thought even his son was this old? "I really don't know what the God of War is talking about. The person I married —"
"Leng Jin Yu, you can try to fool somebody else. The list of ingredients we got was written by that person. The God of Medicine recognized his handwriting. So you should better tell your husband not to casually write down anything that could be found by other people. This is dangerous."
Leng Jin Yu's carefully maintained smile finally collapsed. "So the God of Medicine knows?"
Qiang Yan shook his head. "The God of Medicine is of the impression that this is something the current Longjun gave us because he had something to do with this. They think he gave us some old notes. But if more information comes up, this will be very difficult to deal with."
"Thank you for telling me. I'll tell him to be careful when I see him the next time."
Qiang Yan raised his brows. Suddenly, he remembered what Leng Jin Yu had said before. "The problem in your marriage …" His expression derailed. "Wait. Wasn't he cut with the —"
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "He was. So his condition isn't too well."
"Then the array …?"
Leng Jin Yu raised his brows. "The God of War knows about that too?"
Qiang Yan gave a wry smile. "The one you asked about it was my son. He had some trouble coming up with a suitable array and asked for my help. He didn't say who this was for and what it was about. If not for the God of Medicine mentioning that person right afterward, I wouldn't have figured it out. So you don't have to worry about Bai Mu. He wouldn't say anything. I also talked to him right now and told him that he definitely can't mention this anymore."
"Thank you."
"What about Qiu Ling? Does he know?"
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "He does."
"And you have nothing to say to that?"
Leng Jin Yu sighed. "What can I say? He knew about it before I did."
Qiang Yan furrowed his brows. Qiu Ling had actually known about this? And for a long time? He wouldn't have expected that. If that was the case … Ah, but what could he do? That person being alive was a fact now. They could only try to hide it to make sure that Qiu Ling wouldn't lose the dragon race's throne. They had to prevent that at all costs. After all, if he did, then there was no way the Heavenly Emperor would let him marry Jing He. And never mind that Qiu Ling wouldn't accept that, when Jing He woke up he wouldn't be able to accept it either. It had taken ten years for the two of them to get this close. But by now, Jing He was completely smitten by this man. Not being allowed to marry him after his trial had been finished, that would be like torture to him. He couldn't let that happen.
Qiang Yan took a deep breath. "My wife was the one who was really gifted with arrays. I do know a bit about how she came up with this one though and since I now have my memories from the trial, as well as the ones from my life in the Nine Heavens … I'm sure I'll be able to set one up in the way that you need it. Don't worry, I also have some interest in having that person stay in a place that nobody can enter."
Leng Jin Yu smiled. "It's a pity though. He doesn't deserve to be trapped like that."
Qiang Yan sighed. "Well, it's only for the time being with regard to the issue I'm worried about. After Jing He and Qiu Ling have married, I don't mind him walking around in broad daylight."
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "He doesn't intend to challenge Qiu Ling's claim to the throne. He always wanted him to inherit."
Qiang Yan sighed. "That might be the case but he was very beloved in the dragon realm. I can't say for sure how true these things are considering it was such a long time ago but it's likely that it is true. He was probably the king they loved the most. Letting Qiu Ling contend with that … I wouldn't be too sure that he'll be able to win."
Leng Jin Yu nodded. "That might be true. Then again, he has reigned for a long time already. Things are different now. The dragons are satisfied with Qiu Ling as their king. Even if Jinde returned, it is not sure how many of them would actually want to follow him.
"We also have to take into consideration that a lot of the old people are already dead. There are new generations by now. Dragons that were born and grew up under Qiu Ling's reign. They only know now this king and they only follow him. The previous one … They might have heard stories but that's it. I doubt they would really want to return to how things were before they were born. I do think Qiu Ling has enough appeal for that. There's no reason to worry too much."