An Xin stared at Qiu Ling, clearly not sure if this person could be trusted. Considering the way it had originally been grabbed, that didn’t seem to be the case. Although then again … It did like Jing He who was now gone and it would really like to spend time together again.

Thinking back to the few weeks after Jing He finally woke up and glancing to the other room where there were still spots dedicated to it, the little flame heart finally crawled toward Qiu Ling’s hand. No matter what had happened to Jing He and where he currently was, it seemed better to follow him.

Qiu Ling gently grabbed the little beast and pulled it out from under the bed. The palace was well taken care of, so it wasn’t even dusty. He still smoothed out its fur before stepping back through the portal and inclining his head toward Tian.

“I will bring it to Jing He and then leave. When he wakes up …” He hesitated what to say. He couldn’t very well ask the supreme sovereign to inform him, could he? In the end, he coughed lightly. “I suppose I won’t hear from him for quite some time.”

Tian glanced at the flame heart before raising his gaze to Qiu Ling again. “That will depend. To be honest, compared with other fallen gods, his issue isn’t that severe. He is insecure and lacks the ability to stand up for himself. But the reason for that is his upbringing. He has never left his family’s side so with his father’s overbearing manner, he could never develop a will of his own.

“Now, he will have that chance for the first time. Being on his own might allow him to see clearer what he expects from life. This way, it might not take too long for him to come to terms with what had happened and make a decision of his own. And when he does … you will naturally see him again.”

Qiu Ling nodded. He wasn’t sure if he would agree that Jing He’s issue wasn’t severe but then, the only other god he knew was Xiang Yu and he wasn’t exactly sure what reason there had been for his fall so he could hardly compare. Anyway, the important part was that Tian thought this was more easily solvable than expected. Why wouldn’t he be happy about that? Hopefully, the supreme ruler was indeed right about that.

“Then I will go now.” He raised the flame heart again and when Tian didn’t say anything else, he turned around and rushed back to Jing He’s palace. Right now, he couldn’t do more than this for his beloved. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Stepping through the door and around the screen behind it, he saw his beloved again and sighed faintly. If this matter wasn’t severe, then just how had it come to this? He didn’t dare to dwell on the question and instead walked over, setting down An Xin and patting its head.

“Well, here you go. Jing He is … a fallen god now and currently unconscious so he won’t be able to pay any attention to you. Tian said it would only take him another week or so to wake up though so you probably won’t have to wait much longer. Just be patient until then and stay at his side. Anyway, it’s not like you’re not used to this.”

The flame heart glanced at him while he spoke but most of its attention was on Jing He. In fact, the difference between a trueborn god and a fallen god that one could perceive was only cosmetic. It wasn’t like they gave off a different feeling or Jinde and Leng Jin Yu never would have dared to bring Xiang Yu to the Nine Heavens. Since this was the case, it also meant that An Xin didn’t feel any different about Jing He. It simply recognized him as the person it had been with before and happily went to find a spot to lie down.

Qiu Ling watched as the flame heart once again made its nest in Jing He’s hair and sighed. He had just straightened out his beloved’s hair earlier but … well, it didn’t matter. As long as Jing He wasn’t all alone when he woke up, it would be alright.

Just like the time when he woke up after his trial, the little beast could keep him company. Even if there was nobody else and he didn’t understand what was going on at first, he might find some comfort in having it there. That was all that mattered.

Qiu Ling smiled faintly and reached out, rubbing the flame heart’s head again. “Alright. You know what to do. Don’t randomly run around before he wakes up. You have to be here when he opens his eyes.” He gave the beast a deep look and then simply hoped it understood. Anyway, it wasn’t like he would get a response.

Humming to himself, he turned around to look at Jing He instead. He reached out, cupping his cheek with a hand before bending down and kissing his forehead. “Take as much time as you need. When you’re ready … come to see me as soon as possible. I’ll miss you terribly.” He sighed and straightened up again, taking a last look at his beloved before he turned around and walked out of the palace.

He didn’t dare to look back again and just walked down the street, finally leaving this replica of the capital city behind and making his way back to the top of the Tian Shan. He raised his head and looked up at the sky, his gaze lost.

Now, he once again couldn’t do anything but wait. It was vexing but then, he couldn’t change it. Well, maybe while being in the Nine Heavens, he could indeed make his father-in-law soften his stance. That would at least make their separation somewhat worthwhile and Jing He would certainly be happy when he returned and saw some improvements. Yes, he should focus on that. Anyway, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.