Jing He carefully poured a cup of the midnight lotus tea for Qiu Ling before adding a second cup for himself. Only then did he sit down. Before he had time to give an explanation, An Xin came rushing over from the study and jumped onto his lap.

The little flame heart rubbed against his hand and gave him an aggrieved look. The last week had been so good. The whole time, he would be carried around and if not that, then Jing He would at least look after it. But since yesterday, it suddenly didn’t feel as important any longer. Yes, Jing He was still paying attention to it but as long as that other person was there, most of his attention was focused on him. So annoying!

Jing He gave a surprised sound and then rubbed An Xin’s head to calm the little beast down.

Qiu Ling who had just picked up his cup to take a sip looked over with a thoughtful expression. They had talked about a lot of things but not much about this beast he had brought back from the mortal realm. “I hope it’s not giving you trouble. I admit I brought it back somewhat on a whim because it looked lovely but also like it could put up a fight. I’m not sure how hard or simple raising it will be though.”

In hindsight, maybe just putting down some more arrays would have been better. But at the same time, he also had to admit that formations were static and thus couldn’t react to all changes in the environment as well. If he forgot to take anything into consideration and that happened, then Jing He would have been the one to suffer. Jing Yi’s attempt on his life was proof of that.

With the flame heart, that problem wouldn’t exist. As long as it was there and realized what was happening, it could react flexibly and give Jing He the maximum protection. Of course, there was a limit to what this kind of small beast could do but it was better than nothing.

And, well, the fact that it was cute had been an added bonus. Even though he had originally grabbed it without much intention, he was still clear that Jing He should like such a beast. He seemed like the type to adore cute things.

Looking at the way Jing He was currently rubbing the head of the flame heart with gentle movements, it seemed his idea had been exactly right. He really liked it. Although even if not, just the fact that this beast had managed to save his life once was enough to warrant bringing it back.

Jing He smiled when Qiu Ling said that. His mother and Qiu Ling’s advisers had said that the flame heart was meant to protect him. It had sounded as if this had been some kind of plan Qiu Ling had made to ensure his safety. When he explained it himself, it sounded more like a coincidence though.

Jing He wasn’t unhappy about this idea. On the contrary. If Qiu Ling went out and stumbled upon something and then thought of him, didn’t that just prove that he was at the very least always at the back of his mind? How could he not be satisfied with that?

He looked at An Xin, his heart beating wildly. “An Xin is indeed very lovely. At first, I was a bit confused but your advisers said you had left it for me. I hope catching it didn’t give you any trouble?” He raised his head again, still somewhat worried about this. Even though any injury received while catching An Xin hadn’t been the reason for his absence in the past week after all, that didn’t mean it hadn’t happened.

Qiu Ling raised his cup with a smile. “A scratch at most. Nothing to worry about.”

Jing He nodded. He wasn’t sure if this was indeed an accurate description of what had happened or if Qiu Ling just didn’t want to scare him but it was alright. Considering his trial had been a lot longer than he had originally expected, an injury that Qiu Ling received maybe halfway through wouldn’t be a problem any longer.

Qiu Ling gave a faint hum, thinking of what An Xin had done once again. This matter, he still hadn’t told Jing He about. Now was probably a good time? He put the cup down with a sigh and then pushed his chair closer to Jing He, reaching out to take the hand that wasn’t busy with An Xin.

Looking at the other one, he was in a subtle mood for a moment. In the past, he had never needed to pick which of Jing He’s hands to take. He wouldn’t have to share his attention either. Now, it was suddenly different but he was even the person who had brought the beast here. Did this count as picking up a stone to smash his own foot?

He shook his head at himself and focused on Jing He again. “There is something else you should know about your trial. It also concerns this little beast … An Xin.” He remembered that this was apparently the name Jing He had picked. Since he liked the flame heart, it was best to keep these things in mind as well. In the future, after they got married, Jing He would likely take it along to the dragon realm, after all.

Jing He only looked at him patiently, waiting for him to continue.

Qiu Ling’s eye twitched but he forced himself to speak further. “You do know that your mortal reincarnation ascended. Well, he had also found out about his true identity while in the mortal realm. Then, after coming here, he was basically told to wait until a solution was found to return your soul to your original body without activating the curse of the dragons. He … took it alright at first but later, he seemed to think that he shouldn’t have to sacrifice the rest of his life for you. He … tried to kill your body and it was only thanks to An Xin that he didn’t succeed.”