Qiang Yan might have been doubtful when Li Yin brought this idea up in the beginning, but the longer he thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense. Yes, if not for his soul being injured, how could Zhong Jing Yi come up with an idea as deranged as this?

Most people wouldn’t even think of killing somebody as a solution to their problems. Even if the thought crossed their minds, actually doing it was still a different matter altogether. The majority wouldn’t be able to go through with it. And then there was the fact that this wasn’t just any person. It was the crown prince of the Nine Heavens, somebody who was guarded both by their people and those of the dragon race. Usually, you’d expect a lot of hurdles if you really had this kind of plan.

Despite all this, Zhong Jing Yi had still gone through with it. He had thought of it and he had implemented the plan, making use of the circumstances and really giving it a go. That was … incredibly cold-blooded and also far past the abilities he expected of his nephew’s reincarnation.

Qiang Yan furrowed his brows when he thought things through. He hadn’t rushed over to his sister’s place immediately and instead sat down in his study, taking a moment to really consider everything. He didn’t want to make trouble if there was no need to, after all. And even if he finally figured that Li Yin was likely right, he still needed to be collected when he told his sister and brother-in-law about this.

Now, matters seemed to become more and more clear. He also couldn’t help but think back to the time when the demon king had caught Jing Yi. At that time, he had threatened Qiu Ling and them with Jing Yi’s life. In return … that child had told him it would be alright to die. He had even amicably called him ‘uncle’, just like Jing He always did.

Qiang Yan furrowed his brows. He hadn’t thought about it before but the difference between then and now was really too big. He was afraid that Li Yin was right and there really was some damage. But then, at that time, Jing Yi’s soul had also been injured already, hadn’t it? So what was the difference?

No matter how much he thought about this point, he couldn’t come up with an explanation. He also wasn’t sure how to solve this matter. But thankfully, he knew somebody who might be able to shed some light on both these aspects.

Qiang Yan got up and left his palace. Instead of going to his sister’s place though, he left the Nine Heavens and instead flew to the dragon realm’s capital city. As a frequent guest in the palace, he was let in without any questions.

The person he wanted to see was Jinde. Even though he didn’t know all the details, he was aware that he had somehow managed to heal his soul even after being injured by the soul-devouring dagger. It stood to reason that his knowledge of souls was much deeper than that of anyone else.

He didn’t know which room the two of them stayed in and considering Jinde’s identity, it wasn’t convenient to ask just anyone. Thankfully, he knew exactly who to approach.

When Bai Mu opened the door, he couldn’t help but raise his brows. “Now that’s a surprise. Why didn’t you mention that you were coming over?” He might not have an official position in the dragon realm but with Nie Huang having reached the third layer and not aging any longer, the two of them also went out often. If he imagined that his father might have come and stood in front of a closed door …

Qiang Yan shook his head. “Actually, I didn’t come to see you. I’m looking for Jinde.”

“Oh.” Bai Mu actually didn’t mind. The two of them were much closer now than they had been in the beginning but it wasn’t like either of their worlds revolved around the other person. There were many things they did that had nothing to do with each other at all. Also, when Qiang Yan came to the dragon realm — no matter what the original reason was — he usually still came to see him. “Well, let me bring you over.”

The rooms of Qiu Ling and his advisers, as well as Jinde’s and the one he and Nie Huang shared, were all on the same corridor, so it was only a matter of pointing out the right one. When he knocked, there wasn’t a response though. “Mn, seems they are out right now.”

Qiang Yan clicked his tongue. He shouldn’t have expected that he’d be this lucky. “Could they be with Qiu Ling?” Anyway, he’d rather find them sooner than later and with the relationship between them, it was indeed possible. He sure hoped this was the case.

Bai Mu shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t know but we can check.” Walking over to the next door, he knocked as well but there wasn’t an answer either. “Doesn’t seem like it. Why don’t you use the transmission stone?” By now, he had gotten used to the convenience of this kind of thing. In the mortal realm, it was indeed faster to just go and visit people but in the immortal realms, just doing a transmission was much more time-effective.

Qiang Yan shook his head. “I could have but this is something I would prefer to do in person. Also, if they are all out, it might be important. I wouldn’t want to disturb them.” Anyway, it wasn’t like this needed to be solved immediately. They should have at least one more month before it was time to deal with this.

Not to mention … when it came to dealing with a ‘young couple’ such as those two, he was too embarrassed when thinking about what kind of thing he might disturb. Back in the day, he and Huan Yin surely hadn’t been any better, but nowadays, as a single man, he still had trouble adapting.

« ToC »