With the difference in time, Jing Yi figured that he might as well first go and see everyone else before going to talk to Qiu Ling though. Thus, the next morning, he made his way up the Sect Master’s peak to go and see Wu Min Huan.

He had already caught up with Nian Hong Fang and Ma Zhi Wu a bit and it would take a while for Shao Hai to return. Other than them, the only person he had really been close to in the Yun Zou Sect was precisely the Sect Master’s head disciple. Well, he sure hoped for Wu Min Huan that he still was the head disciple.

Jing Yi’s lips twitched when he thought of how Wu Min Huan had originally lost that title to Leng Jin Yu. Back then, he hadn’t thought much of it. After all, he had believed him to be a regular disciple like anyone else. The fact that he was that good spoke for him so the Sect Master changing his mind seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Knowing that Leng Jin Yu had already ascended and was only making a trip to the mortal realm to help his trial along changed everything. Just what had Wu Min Huan suffered that rejection of his Master for? It seemed that he was one more victim of that stupid curse that Tian had put on the gods.

Yes, maybe he was biased but Jing Yi really didn’t see how they were supposed to help. What the gods were living might be a mortal life but it was a fake one. If fate was written for them, then how could it teach them anything? They couldn’t make their own decisions so whatever consequences there were to their actions, it didn’t matter.

Shouldn’t the trials be done by the gods themselves? In a life that was … similar to their own? One where they would make decisions just like they would as their trueborn god-self?

If they did that, then they could see the outcome of wherever they went awry. If there was a problem with their way of going about things, a flaw in their character that could lead them to commit mistakes over and over again, then this mortal life could show them what to fix. But right now, he didn’t think they were doing that.

The trials were useless and they caused a lot of collateral damage. What about the other people written into that fate, after all? Weren’t they just props? Something to propel the story forward? And weren’t their choices already made for them as well?

Wu Min Huan was one example of such people but the longer he thought about it, the more he felt that this was only the tip of the iceberg. For example, what about his parents? Surely, his father’s death hadn’t been as accidental as he had always thought. And what about Shao Hai? His falling in love with him might have been because of whatever fate had been written as well, instead of coming genuinely from the bottom of his heart.

Every single person that he had met while on this trial, had been affected by it and it seldom would have been in a good way. The gods were toying with mortal lives. They didn’t hold any regard for them.

Well, even if they did, they might also feel like they didn’t have a choice. Previously, he hadn’t understood this but after seeing what Tian’s curse did to Qiu Ling after he almost saw Jing He die, he had a better understanding: The curse was vicious and there was no way to get around it.

For the gods, this meant that they had to be careful with the trials. Descending and having a mortal life was nice but if he wasn’t wrong, then they also needed to do a specific number of trials. If they messed up accidentally because their life just didn’t play out that way, then what would happen? Thus, writing a fate that took this into consideration was the only way. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fair to the mortals around them.

Jing Yi sighed to himself. Rather than coming back to leave a mark of his life as Zhong Jing Yi, he should probably go and set right whatever his existence had messed up. But then, this was the mortal realm, and more than a millennium had passed since the time he was born. Most people he had crossed paths with weren’t around anymore. The only ones who were were the cultivators and those likely wouldn’t need his help to set anything right.

He shook his head at himself and then just pushed the thought away. Anyway, he wasn’t the one who had wanted this trial and he also only had limited time left. He might as well leave making amends to Jing He if he as a trueborn god even felt the same. As for him, he’d focus on what he had come here to do.

With that, he hastened his steps, finally making his way to Wu Min Huan’s doorstep. Looking at the familiar door, he only hesitated for a moment before he knocked. He couldn’t help but wonder how Wu Min Huan would look though. Was he in a good state or a bad one?

Jing Yi didn’t need long to find out. After just a moment, Wu Min Huan already opened the door. He looked … well, he didn’t look bad but he also didn’t look quite as he had originally gotten to know him.

The Wu Min Huan of that day had been calm and collected, unhurried, and always with a smile on his lips. Today, he seemed a bit … stressed. Apparently, being the head disciple set for following in the Sect Master’s footsteps did come with a lot more responsibilities and demands on his time. But then, he didn’t look unhappy so maybe this was what he had been hoping for after all, collateral damage from the trial be damned.

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