Qiu Ling stared at Tian blankly for a moment before finally reacting. He had been with Jing He for ten years so, naturally, he understood him to a certain degree even if his beloved hadn’t always been open about his feelings. With Tian’s words prompting him, he had no trouble realizing the implication.

“It isn’t a direct result of loving me but a result of loving a man his father disagrees with.” He lowered his eyelids, glancing at Jing He’s face again.

Yes, this much should have been obvious. Jing He had always … paid a lot of mind to what others thought. When it came to strangers, it was enough to uphold the image of the perfect crown prince of the Nine Heavens. To the him who had practiced this for two thousand years, it couldn’t be called difficult even if it took a lot of effort. The problem was that the same couldn’t be said about the relationship with his parents.

The Heavenly Empress and the Heavenly Emperor had opposite expectations of him. One wanted him to find love and live out their relationship in marital bliss while the other expected to choose his future spouse for him and have him follow his lead. Between these two, Jing He already didn’t know whose lead to follow because he didn’t want to disappoint either of his parents. It was still alright though. After all, it wasn’t urgent and he probably still hoped that he would be satisfied with his father’s choice.

No, the problem occurred when somewhere along the way, he fell in love. His own heart suddenly told him what he wanted. His mother was alright with it and encouraged it but his father actively spoke against it. Suddenly, nothing was easy any longer. Instead, going forward or stepping back both didn’t seem like good options.

This was why they had only progressed excruciatingly slowly in those ten years after they met. Of course, part of it was Jing He’s reluctance to fall in love in the first place but after that, he didn’t dare to move in either direction and they could only dance around the obvious attraction to each other and the love that had filled their hearts to the brim. It had needed him to take drastic measures to change that status quo so that Jing He finally agreed to get married.

With the trial having passed and another life shared between them, the good feelings had only deepened. Also, with Jing He’s personality, he naturally couldn’t bear the thought of having lived together like that and not getting married. This had certainly tipped the scale Tian mentioned in his direction. It was a pity … his father’s refusal was even stronger than before.

Qiu Ling held Jing He’s hand, his brows furrowing. “I should have taken him away.” If he had done so the very moment the Heavenly Emperor told them that he would never allow it, this wouldn’t have happened. They could have been married by now. Even if the relationship between their races couldn’t be repaired, he could also take it.

Behind him, Tian shook his head. “You are thinking too simply. I said the issue is in his heart. Even if you move him elsewhere, his heart will still be uneasy. You would simply push him in another direction.”

Qiu Ling finally raised his head again and looked at the supreme ruler. “You mean to say that there was nothing I could have done?” Was this Tian trying to console him? If it was anybody else, he would have assumed so. But looking at the perpetual solemn expression on the supreme sovereign’s face … he had his doubts.

Of course, those doubts were appropriate to have. Consoling people really wasn’t something Tian would waste much effort on. Maybe he could do it for Xiang Yu but that was about as far as he would go. Qiu Ling … no, he wouldn’t even think about it. In fact, he saw no issue in being honest. “No, I wouldn’t say that. But it was likely too complicated to see at that time. Anyway, it has happened now so there is no use thinking about the past. You should consider the future instead.”

Tian said that but, to be honest, as the party involved, it wasn’t as easy to ignore this. What Tian was saying was that he could have prevented Jing He’s fall if he acted differently. So in other words … if not for him, his beloved wouldn’t have had to suffer the pain of his soul being shattered. He wouldn’t have been in mortal danger and needed the supreme sovereign to save him. He wouldn’t be unconscious right now, waiting to awake and deal with this new situation that would likely scare him beyond belief. As the one who loved him, how could that thought be easy to bear?

Tian continued to speak as if he didn’t see Qiu Ling’s tangled expression. “I gather it will take him more than a week before he wakes up. The process of falling affects every trueborn god differently. In his case, I am afraid the blow was especially hard. It is already good if he can wake up at that time.”

Qiu Ling pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked up at Tian. “After he wakes up, he will be alright though, right? I mean, yes, he will be a fallen god but he won’t be in pain and his condition … it will get better, won’t it?”

Tian faced him, his expression still not changed. “The issues in one’s heart, do you truly believe they will be gone just because your soul shatters?”

Qiu Ling stared back and finally hung his head. This was to say that even after Jing He woke up, he wouldn’t find happiness. Even if he stayed with him, he would still feel twisted up inside. The only difference now was that there was no intact soul left to break so no renewed pain could come. It was only the remaining aches left in his body and soul that would accompany him for the rest of his life. This … truly wasn’t something to look forward to.