Qiu Ling smiled faintly at that. It really was nice to see that in his beloved’s family, there was somebody making sure that Jing He would be alright as well. He knew that they were all working on this together but sometimes, he still felt alone. Because in the end, his situation was the one that caused most of the trouble here.

If not because he was involved with Jing He and because he was affected by the curse of the dragon race, then this matter could have been solved already. He wouldn’t even have known what happened to Jing Yi and he probably would have followed whatever fate the fate’s scribe had come up with at the beginning.

Even if things had somehow gone awry and Jing Yi would’ve ascended anyway, he would’ve just been killed and all those consequences never would’ve happened. He likely would’ve sat at Jing He’d side, just waiting for things to come to pass. He wouldn’t have known about his reincarnation and his life, or what it would mean for Jing He. He would’ve just kept going with guarding his immortal body until the day he opened his eyes again.

Qiu Ling sighed when he thought of that. “A lot of this situation is my fault. But … to be honest, I don’t necessarily regret it.” Yes, while there was a lot of anxiety surrounding Jing He’s trial, there were also some good sides.

Qiang Yan raised his brows in surprise, not quite sure where that was suddenly coming from. “You wouldn’t wish it was different?”

Qiu Ling’s expression was complicated. “It isn’t that I don’t wish that it was different. It is just that this trial …” He didn’t quite know how to say it and needed a moment to sort his thoughts. “I don’t know. Maybe it is that I feel that it also had some positive consequences. Not in regard to the situation with Jing He but just in general.” He furrowed his brows, not quite sure how to explain.

A lot of the things were something that he couldn’t admit to. Qiang Yan wasn’t allowed to know about his heritage. That was something that definitely needed to be kept secret. But on the other hand … he also knew about some things. “You know, like that matter with …” He gave him a look but Qiang Yan didn’t catch his drift.

“Which matter?” The dragon king was really speaking in riddles right now as far as he was concerned.

Qiu Ling grimaced, feeling that this was really harder than he would’ve thought it might be. “That person. If not for Jing He’s trial and me following him, I wouldn’t have met him again. I wouldn’t have known. And while in some ways that might’ve been better, it still would have been a pity. Don’t you think so?”

Understanding dawned on Qiang Yan and he finally had to nod. “Right. I can imagine that that is quite an important development for you.” Come to think of it, he himself probably was in a similar situation. His gaze turned distant and he finally sighed. “If not for this trial, I never would’ve found out about Bai Mu either. So I guess I should also count myself lucky that things went the way they did. I just can’t help but worry about Jing He.”

Qiu Ling nodded. “That is the only downside in this. And I’m still not quite sure how to deal with it. I have … some plans but there are so many things that I can’t plan for. I’m not sure if it will work out either. I guess I can only do my best.”

Qiang Yan nodded at that and got up, looking out at the garden. “Isn’t that the same for all of us? We don’t know what is right and what is wrong. At this point in time, there’s just no way to make sure of that. We can only go with what we think is right and then see where it leads. Maybe we are all wrong though. I guess we’ll see.”

He turned back to look at Qiu Ling, giving him a wry smile. “In any case, I feel like I interrupted something here. I’m sorry about that. I just like to come and take a look every now and then to make sure that everything is in order. I probably wouldn’t need to but it gives me some peace of mind at least.”

Qiu Ling nodded. “I guess that might also be why I’m here. When I was still in the mortal realm, it wasn’t that difficult to just not think of it. After all, I was far away and I couldn’t just run over here all the time instead of just every now and then. But now, things are different. Knowing that he isn’t that far away, I just can’t help myself but constantly worry and want to make sure. It’s not a good feeling, to be honest.”

“It’s just a matter of time. I know that the people of the Court of Justice have been working on this nonstop. And I think they are roping in the people from the Tower of Wisdom as well. I guess it shouldn’t take them that long to find some kind of solution.”

Qiu Ling gave a hum but he looked rather doubtful. “This situation has never occurred before. Even if it did, it likely wasn’t solved any differently from usual. The ascended deity would get killed and if there was some dragon involved, they’d just have to deal with whatever the fallout was. Now, the only difference is my identity. If I wasn’t the dragon king, nobody would think twice about killing him.”

Qiang Yan sighed, feeling that Qiu Ling was right. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about this other than to just go forward. Now, I’ll leave you alone again. I already saw what I wanted to see.”

Qiu Ling nodded and watched him leave and finally also got up. In any case, he really couldn’t plan anymore. No, right now, he should just go and take a look there. Maybe it would calm him down for at least a while.

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