While the God of Justice was planning on how to make use of the current situation, Qiu Ling was standing in front of the gate to the courtyard of the idle gods, feeling lost.
As soon as that Duan Ming and Lan Ling had returned, Jing Yi had pretty much thrown him out. It might have sounded as if he politely bid him farewell, but considering their relationship, it was really anything but that. It really was vexing to think about it.
But unfortunately, he also understood where Jing Yi was coming from. It made sense. In fact, maybe it was even the right call to make in this situation. Getting away from being Jing He’s shadow … that would definitely give Jing Yi some peace of mind. And if he had that, then whatever they came up with in the future regarding Jing Yi’s situation, he might be able to take it much better.
So he should be in favor of doing this. He should be willing to make sacrifices. But unfortunately, he still felt ill at ease. Maybe it was because he trusted neither the Heavenly Emperor nor the God of Justice with Jing Yi’s life. But just knowing that he was there and he wouldn’t be able to see him regularly made him afraid. What if something happened? What then? He would never be able to forgive himself if he let that happen. But he also couldn’t do anything. The situation really was hopeless.
He stood there, unsure where to go. He could go back to the palace they had both been living at or do some work but he didn’t think that he would be able to focus on that. He also couldn’t stay where he was. After all, he would definitely draw too much attention that way. But then again, where else could he go? He hadn’t even finished that thought when immediately, the image of Jing He’s palace sprang up.
Qiu Ling closed his eyes, cursing himself inside. He was once again going back to the root of this problem. If he was able to not think of him for at least a little time, then things might be different. But like this, he really wasn’t helping the situation. And even though he knew, he was sure that he would still turn up on Jing He’s doorstep in the end. He just couldn’t help himself.
He rubbed his forehead and then took a last look at the courtyard of the idle gods before he left to indeed go to Jing He’s palace. When he arrived, everything was as usual. Huang Lan and Mu Kun were standing in front of the door. When he sneaked around the building as he was already used to he could see the figures of Yi Zan and Qiang Wei next to Jing He’s bed just like when he had left.
Qiu Ling continued to stand in the garden and sighed. This whole matter … he really didn’t know how to deal with it in the long-term. What could he do? He had no idea. This trial … Sometimes he felt that Jing He wasn’t the only one going through one. Maybe he himself was in a similar situation. Although that was probably a ridiculous thought. He sure had his troubles dealing with this but it probably couldn’t compare to how things would be when Jing He woke up again.
He lowered his eyelids and looked at the pavilion where he had sat with Jing He many times before. He walked over and sat down, looking out over the garden.
By now, a couple of years had already passed in the Nine Heavens since the day that Jing He descended to the mortal realm. It didn’t show. At the very least, it didn’t to him.
He wasn’t quite sure why that was. Maybe Jing He had taken care of this place so well that even after many years, there wouldn’t be a difference in how things looked. Or maybe Bai Fen had come by to clean things up a bit every now and then. Maybe she had also sent somebody to take care of it. Who knew? There were many possibilities. In any case, Jing He would probably be happy when he woke up and saw that everything was as he left it.
That thought gave Qiu Ling a bit of pause. It reminded him of what Leng Jin Yu had said. Would Jing He really be overcome by some feeling of dread after he woke up? And what could he do to help him through hat?
Confessing his own identity … He did agree that it would be better if he told Jing He himself instead of waiting for him to recover his memories of his mortal life and find out that way. This matter was just too important to leave it up to fate.
How to tell him though … He was still unsure. Could he just sit him down and tell him? Just straightforwardly say ‘Jing He, my love, you need to know that my mother was a demon’? He probably couldn’t do that.
No, he would scare Jing He out of his mind with that. He also didn’t necessarily want to tell him the whole story at once. He had done so with Jing Yi because he had been stimulated at the time by what Jing Yi had thought about his parents. And Jing Yi had just been a mortal, a young, impressionable one.
Jing He was different. He might not actually be that much older compared to the Jing Yi at the time if he factored in the lifespan of the gods but he was just a completely different person. His personality … he was afraid that with how cautious Jing He was and how much attention he paid to his image, it would be really difficult to let him know. Because this would really shatter Jing He’s world.