Tian looked up but there was no surprise in his expression. Of course, he knew that Leng Lu had been listening since they started speaking but it mattered little to him. “Every word I spoke was true.”

“And yet, you left out so much and beguiled him until he couldn’t say no to your suggestion. Clearly, you have other plans and Xiang Yu was getting in the way so he had to go. It’s probably his good luck that you still hold some tender feelings in your heart or you might just have killed him instead.”

Tian didn’t bother to respond. He opened a portal and gently placed Xiang Yu down on the other side before stepping back. Either way, while Leng Lu’s words might not be wrong, he didn’t intend to hurt Xiang Yu either. On the contrary, this trial would be good for him. As for everything else … he really didn’t need him to worry about it.

Leng Lu watched as Tian closed the portal, silently approaching. “The worst might be that even after he returns, that dumb child probably won’t realize that he was schemed against. Instead, he’ll be grateful. Brilliantly done. As expected of a sovereign. They all know how to play with the minds and hearts of the people, including those closest to them.”

Tian only gave him a glance. This was Leng Lu’s obsession: the betrayal of the person he had been loyal to and the loss of the one he had loved. Now, wherever he looked, he could only see manipulation and scheming. Of course, he wasn’t wrong in this case but it was also a very limited view. He wouldn’t hold it against him though. The fallen gods were like that.

Leng Lu only stopped when he stood next to him. “So what is it that you have planned? Wanting to get rid of that child, it should be something sinister.” He stared at Tian’s face but he might as well have been looking at a mask. There was absolutely nothing worth seeing there.

Leng Lu raised his chin, unhappy with this silent response. He didn’t just leave though. Instead, he walked around Tian, his mind churning. “Sending him away … it’s so he doesn’t see and tries to get involved. That has to mean it has to do with the people he cares about.” He paused next to Tian, his lips curving up faintly. “Are you going to kill them? Oh, but maybe not all of them. Then … the crown prince of the Nine Heavens? It would make sense. You have always hated his family, after all.”

Tian glanced at Leng Lu but still didn’t answer. This kind of paranoid person, they shouldn’t be encouraged further.

Leng Lu hummed. “You know, if it’s like this, just say the word. I might even give you a helping hand. In fact, since you’re at it, why not get rid of the whole Heavenly family? You detest them, don’t you? For what they did to the one you love?” He leaned in closer, his gaze on Tian’s face again as if he was looking for traces of any sign of emotion in that cold expression. Unfortunately, he once again found nothing.

Tian finally turned to him though. Well, at the very least, he slightly tilted his head toward him. “If you want to kill somebody, you could kill the incumbent Heavenly Emperor. I don’t care much for him. I will give you some advice though: You should weigh your lover’s feelings first before you act. He might not like him either but he is loyal to him, not to mention that the current life he has there relies on him. If you kill the person, don’t you think it would make a lot of unnecessary trouble for him?”

Leng Lu laughed lightly. “I am not a child like Xiang Yu. You can’t just say a few words to confuse me and send me on a wild goose chase. The Heavenly Emperor doesn’t matter to you but his son does. At this moment, he should be in your hands.

“Ah, it makes sense. A freshly fallen god … Since they all end up here sooner or later, he should have been brought straight to the right location. You’ve truly shortened his journey. I wonder what that was for.”

He tilted his head, his gaze directed into the distance. “I believe I saw a new palace appear earlier. That is odd. Usually, inside this city, not a single stone will be changed. And yet, here we are, with a whole new palace claiming its spot, looking just like its counterpart. Back then, only your lover had that treatment, wasn’t that so? So what is he to you? A replacement? Did your feelings finally cool after so many years? Or is it the other way around? Are they still burning so hot that you can’t take the wait anymore?”

Tian stared at the fallen god next to him, his expression still the same as usual. Leng Lu was trying to rile him up so he would make a misstep and tell him what he wanted to know. He was indeed a lot better at this than Xiang Yu who hadn’t even realized he was being manipulated and walked right into the trap. Still, what had he not seen or heard in his long life? Leng Lu really underestimated him if he thought that this alone could make him lose his calm.

He leaned closer until his lips almost touched Leng Lu’s ear. “Why don’t you go and worry about your own lover instead? Wouldn’t it be a pity if the Heavenly Emperor gets angry at him for not doing an efficient job at searching for his son and harmed him as a result? Oh, your son should also be part of one of the palaces looking for the crown prince right now. That does seem quite the dangerous task right now.”

Leng Lu didn’t respond. His fingers moved and the next moment, he vanished through a portal, appearing in a secluded corner in the Nine Heavens. He wasn’t naive like Xiang Yu. He didn’t trust Tian. Not at all. And he feared nothing more than the possibility of losing Li Yin and Ru Zhen. Thus, he indeed had to go and watch over them. Ah, it would have been nice if he could have killed Tian, just to get rid of the one true danger that was still left to them in this world. Everything else, he could easily take care of, after all.