Back in the Nine Heavens, Jing He was playing with the spiritual beast Qiu Ling had left behind. To be honest, the longer he looked at it, the more he loved it. Of course, part of that had to do with the fact that the man he loved had captured it for him but it was also lovable in its own right.

The body was covered in thick black fur that felt smooth to the touch. The pointed ears seemed a bit too big for the small head but they sure added a few points of cuteness. And then there were the soft paws and that agile tail that would curl around his fingers as if the beast wanted to play.

For somebody like Jing He who had never had friends and usually spend his time alone, with his family, or with Qiu Ling, having this kind of pet was naturally a delight. This was especially true in the current situation when he worried about what might be happening in the dragon realm.

He didn’t know how Qiu Ling was doing, whether he had gotten injured or was currently embroiled in a fight of life and death. He could only hope that news would arrive soon and that the news would be good. In the meantime, he would cling to the one thing Qiu Ling had left for him.

He rubbed the beast behind the ears, his gaze thoughtful “Mother is right. We can’t leave you without a name forever. Since Qiu Ling didn’t give you one, he probably wanted me to do so.”

The beast hurriedly nodded its head and then reached out with its front paws to grab Jing He’s hand. Yes, please, name it before that bad person could! If it was left to that guy, it just knew that whatever he came up with would be horrible.

Jing He laughed and caught the paws, rubbing the soft pads. “We will have to think about it well. I’m not exactly sure what type of beast you are but we should probably take that into consideration. What if you grow big and strong in the future? It wouldn’t do if you had a cute name then.”

The beast nodded again and nudge Jing He’s hand with its head to show that he should continue rubbing its head.

Jing He happily obliged and pondered. “I am not sure where exactly you came from. Adviser Yi Zan mentioned it was somewhere in the mortal realm but I’m not very familiar with that place. It might be different after the memories from my trial return but it’ll be at least a few days until then. I don’t think we should wait that long.”

He glanced at the door to the garden that had been tightly closed when Qiang Wei and Yi Zan left. “It’s a pity we are currently in this situation. With the war raging in the dragon realm, I can’t very well leave my palace. Otherwise, I could have gone to the Tower of Wisdom and tried to look up some information in the scrolls and books there. Or maybe I could contact adviser An Bai and see if he knows more.”

He rubbed the beast’s head absentmindedly, wondering if there was any other way. He could probably name it something that would fit either way but then, he was still curious what type of beast it was. Anyway, caring for it would also require more knowledge.

He picked it up and held it in front of his face, scrutinizing it more closely. “Your body is really warm. You should be a fire-type beast?”

The beast nodded, stretched out a paw, and let the flames that usually surrounded its body leap up.

Jing He’s brows raised faintly. “I see. In that case, you probably like it a lot warmer. The palace must have been uncomfortable these days.” His gaze turned pitying and he pulled the beast back into his arms, rubbing it gently. “I guess we should first take care of that.”

He got up from the table and went to look through his palace. Usually, gods weren’t that much influenced by the temperature since they had all types of magic at their disposal. When sick though, their resistance was low. At such a time, they naturally used other ways to keep the temperature just right.

For him, it had only been a few years since he had been sick so there should still be a brazier somewhere. He could set that up in a corner so the little beast could retreat there when it wanted it a little warmer. Other than that, a few arrays should do the trick. He wouldn’t notice the temperature himself but the beast would be more comfortable.

He looked around for a while and finally found the brazier in the corner of his study. Right, that was likely where it had come from originally. He had sometimes burned his sketches after all if he thought them too outrageous.

Jing He’s expression turned subtle at that thought. Well, that time was long past and soon, Qiu Ling would return to his side. They would bring the matter with their wedding up to his father and then, the wedding itself should soon follow. After that, what reason would he have to feel embarrassed?

He gently put the beast on top of the brazier and smiled. “See if this is comfortable. Can you light it up by yourself?” Of course, he could also do it but he wanted the small beast to be comfortable even if he was out in the future. If it couldn’t ignite the brazier by itself, it would be best to add an array.

The small beast turned this way and that and finally spit a small fireball. The coals around it ignited and it looked up at Jing He, looking for praise.

Jing He smiled and nodded. “It seems I don’t need to worry. Well, we’ll leave this one here first. It can be your special spot in the study. For the rest of the palace, I will place some arrays. What do you think about that?”

The beast happily nodded and jumped from the brazier directly into Jing He’s arms.

Jing He hurriedly caught it and then glanced at his sleeves which were now full of soot. “Oh, it seems we will also have to take care of that. Come to think of it, do you like water?”

The beast only looked at him in confusion but Jing He didn’t mind.

“If you don’t know, it doesn’t matter. Let’s give it a try later today.”

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