Qiang Yan was surprised at that suggestion, especially when he saw how fired up Leng Jin Yu was. This wasn’t quite the impression he had had of him. In his mind, Leng Jin Yu had always been levelheaded. Even if he wanted to fight, he would bring it up differently. But now, he had gone into this with a rather direct approach.

But, well, maybe he was wrong. Even in the Nine Heavens, it had been several years since they saw each other last. And looking at it from the perspective of the mortal realm where Leng Jin Yu had been, more than a thousand years had passed. That was quite some time even for somebody who had ascended to the status of a deity.

Why wouldn’t he change a bit? Especially since he was now in a different situation than back then. He now had a partner who was preparing to have a child with. Most likely, he was eager to get better to be sure that he would be able to protect them even in the immortal realms. That really wasn’t strange.

Thinking of that, he finally nodded. “Sure, why not? Then, do you want to do it here or go to the Palace of War?” The Palace of War was definitely better equipped for that kind of thing but maybe this palace was a little further away from prying eyes.

Leng Jin Yu thought for a bit. Right now, every step they took needed to be thought about thrice. Jinde couldn’t be found yet, his relationship with Qiu Ling also couldn’t be figured out, it wasn’t that easy. But officially, he was still on a mission that the God of War had given him. So it shouldn’t be that strange to spar with him, right?

“If the God of War wouldn’t mind, then I think I would prefer the Palace of War. It will make things look a bit more official. If it was here, it might also bring trouble to Qiu Ling. If somebody mistakenly thinks that you came to blows with some of the dragon king’s people, that wouldn’t bode well. From what I know, the current situation is already dire as it is. I don’t want to add to that.”

Qiang Yan nodded. “Well, let’s go over then.” He got up and then looked at Qiu Ling and Jinde, raising his brows. “The two of you …”

Jinde waved his hands. “While I would love to see my husband being awesome, I think it would be better for me to stay inside for the time being.” He reached up though, cupping Leng Jin Yu’s cheeks and then craned his neck for a kiss. “You’d better do your best! Don’t chicken out like when you fight me.”

Leng Jin Yu chuckled and tilted his head, giving him another kiss. “Don’t worry. When it comes to chickening out, I would only do so in front of you.”

Jinde also laughed and then let go of him, leaning back.

Qiu Ling just watched the two of them but didn’t say anything and continued to sit, silently giving Qiang Yan his answer. When the two of them had left, he turned to look at Jinde. “Are you afraid of returning?”

Jinde sighed and tugged at the top of his veiled hat, pondering whether he should take it off or not. “You know, even if I was exposed, the consequences might not be that dire. I’m already healed. Even if Jin Ling finds me, there isn’t much he could do to me.

“At most, there would be Jin Yu I need to worry about. But I think that after regaining his memories from his past life, he has also advanced a bit. Give him some time in the immortal realms and that will become even more pronounced. So in a while, there wouldn’t be that much of a problem anymore.

“And in the dragon realm’s capital city, there would even be other people to fight at our side. Would Jin Ling really have the chance to do anything? Even if something goes wrong, I wouldn’t have to worry.” He fell silent and shook his head, giving yet another sigh. “And yet, I can’t help it.

“I worry every minute. I know it is the right decision. I know we need to go there to go forward with our lives. I know that. And still, there’s always a small voice that maybe it would be better not to do so. Maybe this place will just continue to bring us pain. Maybe it would be better to find a place for us somewhere else.”

Qiu Ling nodded. “I can’t say that I don’t understand that. Back when I returned for the war and people asked me to go to the capital city, to accede to the throne, I felt pretty much the same way. And even though it has been thousands of years since then, I have never once calmed down. It is a chore being there.

“Even though that is the place where we should be happy, we just can’t. Our past and our identities already make that impossible. I guess it is only when everything has come to light, when the last secret has been uncovered, maybe then we will be able to finally find peace.”

Jinde nodded. “Yes, maybe we can. It’s just that these secrets need to be kept a little longer.” He looked over to the window, his gaze turning thoughtful. “Speaking of which, I still haven’t seen that lover of yours.”

Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. “Didn’t I —” He wanted to ask if he hadn’t brought Jing Yi to see him but then realized that that wasn’t what Jinde meant. “It’s not like his soul is there right now anyway. Do you still want to have a look?”

Jinde turned to glance at him, not quite sure what to say. “Mn, I don’t have to. Only if you feel comfortable. It is just that while I’ve heard quite a bit about him, I never had the chance to get to know him. I feel a little strange about that.”

Qiu Ling couldn’t help but be reminded of how Chun Yin had said that he had missed out on being able to meet his real lover. He didn’t want a repeat of that. Thus, he finally nodded. “Very well. I’ll bring you over.” In any case, nothing should go wrong with this, right?

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