Qiu Ling didn’t speak up this time and just quietly waited for Tian to continue.

The supreme sovereign didn’t seem like he intended to say much more though. “Jealousy can drive people to do many things. By the time I arrived in the Nine Heavens, he was already used to it. And afterward … things calmed down but it was only a short reprieve. Later, it only got worse. And finally, Xing could not bear it any longer. He fell and indeed vanished from the Nine Heavens.”

Qiu Ling had been aware that this was roughly the story of these two so he wasn’t surprised. He still didn’t get what Tian wanted to say though. “Then what? You loved him so much. I am sure you never would have given up.”

“I didn’t. I searched for him. Of course, with me being who I am, I did not have that hard of a time. The problem — and that is also the one that you face now — is that finding them is hardly the end. They will still be a fallen god and what was lost will still be lost.”

Qiu Ling looked at him silently. The point seemed to be … what to do after you found your beloved.

Tian also kept quiet for a moment but then hummed. “I tried many things but none worked. My words were worthless and so were my actions. At that time, there was nothing to fill the void that had been left in Xing’s heart.”

Qiu Ling pressed his lips into a tight line. If even the supreme sovereign couldn’t do anything, then … did he even have a chance?

Tian didn’t pay his expression any heed and simply continued the story he had been telling. “No matter what, Xing was the one I loved, my lover, my spouse. How could I give up? But there really was nothing I could do so, in the end, we came to an agreement.”

This time, Tian gave Qiu Ling a deep look. “Xing is still here in the High Heavens and he is waiting for me to uphold my end of our bargain. When I manage to do so, he will awake. Not a day sooner and not a day later. Until then, he will stay as he is now: Asleep for what might be an eternity. All these years, I have simply waited for him and I will continue to do so until I make true on my promise.”

Qiu Ling nodded faintly even though he wasn’t sure if he understood all of this. What kind of deal had these two made? Just what was it that even Tian hadn’t been able to do up until now? He wasn’t exactly sure about the timeline of that deal but it should have happened around the time of the curse. That was … ages ago. How come it still wasn’t solved?

Qiu Ling felt curious but he didn’t dare to question Tian so he could only wait for the supreme sovereign to continue telling this story by himself. Unfortunately, once again, Tian didn’t seem like he wanted to go into too much detail. Instead, it seemed like he was willing to circle back to the original reason he had started to tell this story.

“When my promise has been fulfilled and Xing wakes up, he will not stay a fallen god but will return to being the trueborn god he was.”

Qiu Ling’s eyes widened. “A trueborn god … again? Is this …” He didn’t even dare to finish that sentence.

Tian inclined his head. “This is why I said the immortal races don’t know much about the fallen gods. None of them are aware but it is indeed possible to turn a fallen god back into what they had once been. Of course, it is not an easy feat to do so and it requires the fallen god to be willing.”

Qiu Ling turned to look at Jing He, his heart racing. He would naturally stay with Jing He even if he was a fallen god. But then … Jing He himself would likely feel better if he could become a trueborn god again. As his lover, he should naturally help with achieving that goal. “Then how would one go about that?”

Tian motioned back at the Mark of Wisdom between Jing He’s brows. “By knowing the reason for their fall and making them come to terms with it. In the case of your lover, he is plagued by the wish to please the people important to him despite their different wishes.”

“So … if I can get the Heavenly Emperor to agree with him marrying me, that would be enough?” Well, of course, this wasn’t an easy task but Jing He had already fallen. He didn’t think the Heavenly Emperor hated him to the point where he’d rather see his precious son in this situation instead of married to him. If these two options were put in front of him, he would definitely opt for the latter and even prepare the ceremony himself.

Qiu Ling was slowly getting excited, feeling that what had seemed like an insurmountable hindrance to their future life was actually easy to tackle. Before he could stay happy for long though, Tian already shook his head.

“No. Of course, you should work on this. After all, you want to marry him and his father’s blessing should be obtained if possible. But this won’t solve the issue. Not the underlying one at least.”

Qiu Ling calmed down and realized that there was a difference when Tian pointed this out. “You mean … what truly is problematic is Jing He’s attitude. He … needs to let go of the desire to please everyone and instead make up his own mind about this even if it risks one or more people being unhappy with him.”

Tian raised a hand in acquiescence. “Of course, this task is much more difficult to accomplish and … I’m afraid you’ll be worthless as his support in this.”