Jinde and Leng Jin Yu slowly made their way over to the guesthouse where they had gotten a room for the time being. They didn’t hurry considering the time difference in the immortal and mortal realms. Even if they needed an hour to go there, it wouldn’t really make any difference to Qiu Ling. To him, it would be as if they had reached back out to him after just a minute.

Jinde couldn’t help but glance at his husband, giving a hum while he clung to his arm. “My dear, don’t you think your son was being a little strange just now?”

Leng Jin Yu glanced at him, noting how Jinde had called Qiu Ling his son. “Judging from his attitude just now, I’m afraid he wouldn’t appreciate being called like that.”

Jinde tsked and shook his head. “He’ll have to get over that then. Unless … you wouldn’t want to be seen like that either?”

Leng Jin Yu’s gaze became complicated again. “That is a question that I have a bit of trouble answering if I’m being honest. After recovering my memories, I won’t deny that there are some feelings there. I know that I didn’t treat him well enough and that I wanted to do better but never knew how. I really messed up. And that is something that I can never make up for no matter what I do now.

“And I think that the fact that I am basically a new person now doesn’t make it any easier. If I could, I wouldn’t want to be in this situation. It would be easier if we were unrelated to each other in any sense.”

Jinde gave another hum, feeling that he could somewhat understand where his husband was coming from. “On the other hand, that isn’t something that you can change. It just is like that. Just because we want something that doesn’t mean that we will get it. So since you are related like this and since you already know now, wouldn’t it be better to find a way to deal with it?

“What will it really accomplish if the two of you just ignore each other and pretend that nothing happened? In any case, I don’t think that either of you would be able to really convince yourselves of this. The matter has already been brought to light. It’s better to learn how to deal with it.”

Leng Jin Yu nodded, feeling that what his husband said made a lot of sense. “Well, it’s not that I can’t imagine doing that. But I’m afraid it won’t be that easy either. I’m not quite sure if Qiu Ling really wants to. Even if I say yes, it might not work out.”

“Well, thankfully, you don’t really need to ask for his permission to make up your mind. Just go ahead with whatever you believe is right. Either he’ll follow your lead or he’ll go in the other direction. That isn’t something that you can influence but at the very least, you will have some clarity for yourself.”

Leng Jin Yu nodded and leaned closer, rubbing his head against Jinde’s. “I’m glad that you’re here. This situation is one that I wouldn’t be able to navigate without you.”

Jinde smiled brightly and tilted his head, kissing his husband’s cheek. “But of course. Between you and me, that bear child was always closer to me. It doesn’t matter which life it is, that fact won’t change.”

Leng Jin Yu glanced at him, feeling that his husband was gloating a little too much considering that they had just talked about how much of a problem his relationship with Qiu Ling was to him. But, well, he also understood that the circumstances were special for Jinde as well. He had seen him grow up for the first couple of years after all and they had been rather close despite the tension between Jinde and Biao Han. Getting along with Qiu Ling now even though a lot of time had passed since that time was something that meant a lot to Jinde. “Ah, I guess I will have to be careful when the two of us have a child together then. I wouldn’t want to be the bad parent.”

Jinde laughed while the two of them entered the guesthouse attracting the gazes of the servants that were standing around the counter. Even though they had both changed their appearance, the temperament of a dragon and an ascended deity couldn’t be hidden that easily. The two of them could probably act like they were somebody else but since this journey was also for their own enjoyment they didn’t feel like acting all the time and had just been themselves apart from the way they looked. They ignored people in situations like these and pretended not to notice the stares.

As soon as they were out of sight, he gave his husband another deep look. “I didn’t know that it was a requirement for there to be a bad parent. I thought that this time around, we could just both do our best. Wouldn’t that be much better?”

Leng Jin Yu laughed as well and leaned over, lowering his voice. “Hearing you say that makes me feel that it really isn’t far off anymore.”

Jinde opened his mouth and wanted to say something but then reconsidered. “That is something we’ll have to talk about at length. Right now, let’s not get sidetracked. Since Qiu Ling asked for your help, we should deal with that first. After that, we can make a decision.”

Leng Jin Yu nodded and went to sit down at the table while Jinde went and put down an array that would keep the conversation private. Then, he went to join him and took out the transmission stone again, imbuing some spiritual energy to contact Qiu Ling. At once, the connection was established and the pair of father and son looked at each other once again.

« ToC »