Qiu Ling furrowed his brows and looked around. This place was one of the courtyards of the palace. In fact, it wasn't far from the private chambers of the king. He might not have spent much time there since he became king but he remembered it pretty well. Back when he was a child, he had once run here after making trouble and his father got even angrier than usual when he caught him.
Qiu Ling sighed at that thought. "Well, it figures the old man would pull out this one out of all the places, huh?"
"Qiu Ling?" Leng Jin Yu leaned around the corner and raised his brows. He had heard a voice but hadn't been too sure if it was the person he thought of. It was indeed … his son. "What are you doing here?"
Qiu Ling turned around and furrowed his brows. "I should be the one asking that!" He motioned around in the courtyard in an agitated mood. "What is this?"
"Well, your uncle-in-law told me that I could already craft the realm as long as I only tied it down with a basic array. So I did."
"That's not what I'm asking about! I want to know about … this." He once again motioned at the courtyard, his expression as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.
Leng Jin Yu walked over and took a look around. "Do you recognize this place?"
"No shit! This is my palace! Naturally, I'd recognize it."
Leng Jin Yu furrowed his brows. "Your palace?" Why had he remembered the dragon king's palace? Ah, wait! Hadn't Jinde told him that the two of them had been the disciples of the previous dragon king? Well, the one who had been the king back when they had been young in his past life. So most likely, this was a place they had often gone to while growing up. He really wondered what it was about.
Qiu Ling clicked his tongue when he saw Leng Jin Yu's expression. "Could you not think of him while I'm here? It's disgusting. You have no tact whatsoever! I'm suffering, alright?"
Leng Jin Yu pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned back to his so-called child. "Suffering? What from?"
"Heartbreak! Obviously, I'm heartbroken. Can't you understand at all? I have to hurt my beloved. Naturally, I won't be happy about it."
Leng Jin Yu rubbed his brow but didn't know what to say. How had they even gotten to this point? "Qiu Ling, if there's something you want, just say it. I'm not up for guessing what's wrong."
Qiu Ling harrumphed. "Well, it was to be expected. You never had much time for me."
Leng Jin Yu sighed again. "Qiu Ling, you also know that I'm just your father's reincarnation. He probably did lots and lots of things wrong. I'm sorry about that but you can't really say that it's my fault. So why don't you just tell me what's wrong and I see if there's something I can do about it?"
Qiu Ling turned around and walked away, finally sitting down under the tree.
Leng Jin Yu stared at him, feeling that something was wrong with this picture. Ah, Qiu Ling was probably right. His father hadn't paid enough attention to him. His mind had probably been filled too much with Jinde. Even after he had reincarnated, the only things he remembered were about Jinde. It even went so far that he felt that something wasn't right if the person sitting at the spot where he remembered Jinde at wasn't the person he loved.
He pushed the thought away and follow Qiu Ling to the tree, sitting down next to him. "So?"
Qiu Ling leaned against the trunk and sighed, staring at the leaves above them. "You won't understand I guess. Back then and now, you've always had Jinde. You just … Well, you messed up. But I didn't do anything like that. I was always faithful to him. I saw him and I knew immediately that he was the person I wanted. I've never regretted it since then. Never doubted anything. I was sure that this was the person I should spend my life with. But now … He's in his trial and you said it yourself, I can't have both. I don't know what to do."
Leng Jin Yu nodded. So it was about that again. Well, he probably should have figured. It hadn't been too long since they talked about it and this was very important for Qiu Ling. After all, his whole life revolved around the Son of Heaven. Unfortunately … "Didn't I say the last time already that I couldn't help you? This is something you'll have to figure out yourself."
Qiu Ling shook his head. "Then you tell me how to figure this out myself. I just … I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to hurt either of them. Well, in the end, it's for sure that Jing He will be the one who will live, isn't it? The gods would never accept anything else and … that was originally his soul. But still, what am I supposed to do? I can't just do nothing, can I?"
Leng Jin Yu gave a smile. "Why can't you? What else do you want to do? You could kill Jing Yi or you could decide that you want to give up on Jing He. We've already gone over this. If you do nothing, then things will turn out as they are supposed to be. From the very beginning, the problem was that you got involved in this trial. Otherwise, he never would have started to cultivate. That was because you got involved. I know it's hard to hear that but that is the truth. Maybe things would return to normal if you stop doing anything."
Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. That easy? He could hardly imagine that. And, well, how not to get involved? They were engaged. Jing He and he were and Jing Yi had also promised to marry him. In any way … "I'm afraid it's too late. He said he wanted to focus on cultivating so that he could ascend soon and go with me to the dragon realm."
Leng Jin Yu sighed. "I'm afraid it's even more difficult then. I don't think there's anything you can do in that case. Well, maybe leaving wouldn't be bad. Who knows what would happen if you're not here?"
Qiu Ling laughed. "You can't imagine how much I'd like to do that. Looking at him … it's surprisingly hard right now. I just can't help but think of Jing He every time I do. I feel that I've let him down. This shouldn't have happened. I'm his fiance. I should've done what's the best for him but he has gotten into such a mess. It's not even sure that he'll be able to wake up. I'm an idiot."
"I always thought that all people turned into idiots as soon as they fell in love. Well, I understand now. We might be idiots but it's alright as long as it turns out well for that person. Look at me. I died but I came back and the person I love is still happy again. So whatever happens in your case, it will turn out well in the end too. Don't think too much about it. Just continue what you are doing."
Qiu Ling nodded even though he felt that his father's case was much easier than his. After all, they had never needed to decide anything. All this time, it had only ever been them even though his father had reincarnated. From beginning to end, the two of them had loved each other and there was no need to choose between the past Chun Yin and the current Leng Jin Yu. Naturally, things had turned out well for them.