While Xin Lan came to a conclusion as to what might be up with his recent reactions, Zheng Yin finally pulled his hand back in puzzlement. “I can’t detect anything. Are you sure that something really happened?”

Xin Lan pulled out of his thoughts and wanted to say that this was naturally the case. Just when his lips parted, he stopped though. Actually … He thought back to that day and what exactly Tian had said, his brows slowly rising.

At that time, Tian had asked: When have I ever gotten involved in the matters of the lower realms? Obviously, it wasn’t that he couldn’t help Jinde without gaining something in return. He simply didn’t want to because he didn’t care. Which … was as expected. Tian really wasn’t a charitable person. He might do somebody he liked a favor but definitely not a random person or even somebody he disliked.

Realizing this, he had offered to do whatever it took to gain his help in return, and Tian … might have seemed a little intrigued by that idea when he asked him how far he was willing to truly go. Asking him to give up his own life in exchange … Maybe that had been more of a test than anything else? After all, he hadn’t truly killed him afterward.

Come to think of it now … at that time, Tian had said ‘I see you’re serious about this. In that case, I will grant your wish.’ Granting his wish was not the same as saying that he agreed to this deal. It might indeed just mean that he would grant his wish while not asking for anything in return. In this case, there might indeed be nothing wrong with him.

It was just … since when had Tian been so nice? Even more so, when had there ever been a time when Tian showed him personally any goodwill? This really didn’t seem likely. So why would he spare him if he could righteously kill him off or torture him in some other way in exchange for that promise?

Unwittingly, a certain fallen god’s face appeared in his mind. Right. Tian had a bit of a soft spot for fallen gods thanks to his own history. And Xiang Yu probably seemed innocent enough to him that he wouldn’t want to harm him if it could be helped. So if what Jinde had guessed was true and Xiang Yu held some feelings for him and Tian was somehow aware of that … maybe he was willing to let him off as a favor to Xiang Yu?

Xin Lan’s mind turned this way and that, but in the final conclusion, this was the only idea he could come up with: Yes, it seemed like he had been spared any consequences for his request and this was the case because Xiang Yu liked him.

“Huh.” Xin Lan’s brows climbed even higher and there was a difficult-to-describe expression in his eyes.

He didn’t know when exactly Xiang Yu’s feelings for him had changed. It should only have been after the trial but then, had he actually run to Tian at that time to tell him? Otherwise, how would he know?

Well, no matter how this had happened, it was still good for him. Anyway, while he had indeed been ready to accept any consequences as long as he could help Jinde that didn’t necessarily mean that he wanted to die. He had been at that point once but it wasn’t like that anymore. After all, even if there currently wasn’t anything to live for, he knew now that there could be such a time again in the future. There was no need to throw that away.

Xin Lan sighed and finally gave Zheng Yin half a smile. “If you’re asking like this, I have to say you might be right. Maybe there really isn’t anything wrong and it was just my misunderstanding. Anyway, if you can’t find anything, I should really be alright.”

Zheng Yin nodded but then hesitated again and glanced at his desk. Thinking for a moment, he turned back to Xin Lan. “You’ll have to know whether you understood it right or not. Anyway, I couldn’t find anything but that is only physical. You’ve also seen the situation of Longjun these days: We couldn’t find anything wrong with his body but his soul was affected. If you’re still worried, you should probably get somebody to take a look at that as well.”

Xin Lan’s expression that had just eased turned tense again. His soul? Well, Tian could certainly affect that with just a simple gesture. Doing so also wouldn’t be too much considering he had said he would even give up his own life. Since this was the case … was there something wrong with him after all?

Xin Lan cursed under his breath. That bastard … Why hadn’t he told him directly what he intended to do to him?! Even if not before he did, he should have let him know after he woke up. As expected, Tian really couldn’t be trusted. He was still the very same asshole he had always been. He shouldn’t have expected anything else.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and finally got to his feet. “Well, I’ll deal with it. Thanks for your help.” He nodded at Zheng Yin and then left the room without a look back. He wasn’t sure yet what today and right now, he didn’t want to think about it either. Anyway, it might be his soul or it might be something else. Maybe it wasn’t even something that had happened yet and Tian would only collect this as a type of debt in the future. Since he hadn’t said either way, it was entirely possible.

Thinking of all these possibilities, he finally didn’t return to the courtyard. No, right now, he was too upset to face Jinde and make conversation. Instead, he left the palace and simply walked through the streets of the capital city. Unfortunately, seeing the places again that he had once frequented with Hua Lin Yu made him even more upset. Not knowing what else to do, he also left the city, trying to find a place where he could actually calm down.