Xiang Yong and An Bai couldn’t help but furrow their brows. Both of them couldn’t help but think that this was rather dangerous.
Qiu Ling saw their expressions but could only sigh in response. “You think I’m not worried about that? Of course, I am. But me being there would just make trouble for him and I don’t think he wants that. On the bright side, there are a few people there that know Leng Jin Yu and Jing Yi made clear that he had some kind of relation with him. So I think that they will take care of him.
“And the God of Justice probably wouldn’t do anything to him considering that there are too many people around who might realize who he is. That is a risk that he wouldn’t take.”
Xiang Yong still furrowed his brows though. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Your Majesty. In any case, as long as Zhong Jing Yi dies, the situation will be resolved from his standpoint. If somebody finds out afterward, it wouldn’t be a problem since the risk of that being used against His Highness would already be gone.
“Before this, you were always in the way. Now though, if he is alone in that courtyard, then there is nobody who would get in the way. Even if these people want to help him, will they really step in if the ones coming over are officials from the Court of Justice or maybe the heavenly guards from the Palace of War?
“I don’t think so. I’m sure that they might try to argue but if they see that there are some kind of charges, then they also wouldn’t do anything. They would just stand back. They don’t have a vested interest in keeping him safe as we do.”
Qiu Ling furrowed his brows as well. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about that but … “I don’t see a way to achieve both. Jing Yi really needs this. He needs something to separate himself and Jing He. And that courtyard of the idle gods is our best bet there. I don’t want to ruin that by hanging around all the time even though I would feel a lot better if I could. But in any case, I can’t have both.”
Xiang Yong had to nod begrudgingly, admitting that his king was right. They couldn’t have both and while they definitely couldn’t let Zhong Jing Yi die just like that, it would also be wrong to interfere in this matter. After all, there really were quite a few benefits to letting him do this.
Meanwhile, An Bai’s expression had turned thoughtful. “His Majesty can’t be there. The two of us can’t be either since we are rather well-known and also need to work with the Court of Justice to solve the situation at hand. But that doesn’t mean that others can’t.
“Back when that situation in the mortal realm arose with demon-hunting sects, didn’t we gather some people that were half-human and half-dragon? Let’s contact some of those again. Have them join that courtyard as well.
“In any case, they are half-god, they have a right to be there. I don’t think that the God of Justice can say anything against it considering the circumstances. If they want to argue, we can bring out the curse again as an explanation for why this is necessary. They can’t really argue with that. And these people not being well-known will also make sure that they don’t give His Highness’ identity away.”
Xiang Yong raised his brows. “That is indeed a good way to deal with it. Well, give me a moment. I’ll contact Fu Heng. He should be able to get them back together in just a couple of minutes.”
The other two nodded and Xiang Yong got up and left the room, contacting Fu Heng outside to make sure that he wouldn’t disturb his king and An Bai. Right now, time was crucial. It was best to give them the opportunity to already talk about everything else.
Just as he had expected, Qiu Ling turned to An Bai as soon as the door closed. “The two of you should probably still return to the dragon realm. It will be easiest to prepare for things with him if you do.”
An Bai smiled faintly. “Your Majesty need not worry about that. To be honest, Xiang Yong and I already talked it through before you returned and came up with a plan. If Your Majesty agrees with it, it wouldn’t require us to leave here. In any case, we’re still working together with the gods to solve the situation with His Highness and his reincarnation. It probably wouldn’t do to leave for now.”
Qiu Ling raised his brows but then just motioned for him to go ahead. “Just tell me. I guess we’ll see how good it is.” But to be honest, he wasn’t too worried. These years when he didn’t really care about governing the dragon realm, these two were the ones who had done most of the tasks. He knew that so he was sure that they were definitely able to come up with something to make Jinde’s and Leng Jin Yu’s wish possible.
“The crux of the matter is that he needs some kind of identity. Naturally, we could just make something up but it will be more believable if there’s somebody speaking for him. That will give the identity more credibility.
“We were thinking of Yi Zan’s brother-in-law. Your Majesty might remember him?” An Bai’s expression turned a little careful. Even though he had seen that Qiu Ling behaved differently these last few weeks, that couldn’t change the fact that he had seen him act like an idiot for several millennia before that. It was really difficult to shake that impression.
Qiu Ling smiled though, faint appreciation visible in his eyes. “Oh, I know him. He has blond hair and bright blue eyes. His son’s hair is completely golden if I remember correctly. That is indeed the kind of family that would be the best to explain his looks. If he stepped out and said that he was some distant relative, there would at least be a chance that people would accept that explanation.”