Tian looked at the water mirror in silence. He hadn’t paid actual attention so he only now saw that Qiu Ling seemed to have been writing a letter. He couldn’t read minds either so he had no idea how he had suddenly arrived at this question. Was it even relevant? Jing He hadn’t yet made it through a single day of being a fallen god while conscious so he was far from recovering. Why think about what was to come even later than that?

Qiu Ling didn’t get a response and his eyes roved about, wondering what else to do. Had Tian heard him and was just ignoring him? Or was the supreme sovereign not paying any attention? He had no idea and no way to verify so he could only give it his best guess. Judging by what had happened earlier … he might just be annoyed with him.

Clearing his throat, he tried to explain his problem more clearly. “I have been thinking about my relationship with Jing He. Surely, part of his fall was caused by me and the things I have kept from him. It seems only right that I admit to all my wrongdoings and the things in my past that he doesn’t know about. So … I wrote some of it down and thought that I could give him this letter after he came back. But now, I can’t help but wonder if that would hurt him.”

He looked at the half-finished letter in front of him, his brows furrowing. “I want him to be well. Not just … now but … for the rest of his life. I owe him this honesty but I also owe him not to hurt him even worse. I can’t let him know right now but I have to let him know one day and I’m afraid I’ll choose the wrong one. If you … had some guidance for me, I’d be very grateful.”

As previous interactions had proven, Tian reacted a lot better to people being humble in front of him than he did to people making demands. Or, well, maybe he was simply very biased about who he thought to help and to which degree. Either way, the water mirror in front of Qiu Ling changed from Jing He’s palace to Tian’s.

The supreme sovereign’s expression was still as solemn as usual but he did take Qiu Ling’s worries seriously and started to explain. “In theory, as long as there is a healthy soul, it can break. So yes, after becoming a trueborn god again, your lover could fall anew if he was driven to that point.

“Make no mistake though: Fallen gods are exceedingly rare and they are for a reason. The amount of anguish it needs to shatter someone’s soul is not easily reached. It usually happens under extreme circumstances.

“In this specific case, you have no reason to worry. By the time the crown prince of the Nine Heavens recovers, he will have resolved the knot in his heart. This means he won’t have just made a temporary decision between your side and his father’s side.

“What he needs to do to recover his identity as a trueborn god is to come to terms with his own thoughts and values. By that time, this system won’t easily be shaken again. When he decides on you, he will have chosen love over duty, and he will have decided to love you despite your different race, despite your parentage, despite whatever faults he or others may see in you. Even if you add to those faults, it won’t pose much of a problem because the underlying decision has been made and he will be content with that.”

Tian lowered his head, glancing at the person lying in the jade coffin in front of him before looking up again. “Of course, this doesn’t mean that he will continuously choose you. His decision is one of principle, not of the people involved directly. He is deciding on his values, not necessarily on his spouse. So if give him enough reason, he might choose love and still not choose you. You should keep that in mind.”

Qiu Ling stared at him in a daze. This … made sense but Tian hadn’t spelled it out directly for him before so he hadn’t understood it this way before. Now, he suddenly felt worried. He looked at his letter and gulped but finally, he could only smile wryly. “Even if he does, I’ll have to live with it, don’t I?”

Tian’s expression didn’t seem to change but the look he gave him seemed to express something deeper.

Qiu Ling pondered and then coughed. Right. He was a dragon with his soul bound. Even though Tian had been relatively nice to him, it wasn’t like he was about to lift the curse. So if Jing He was truly fed-up with him and left him, then sooner or later, he would die. ‘Living with it’ were empty words in his case.

“I suppose I should just trust that this is going to be alright. He won’t be impressed with the things I have done but I think he’d cherish my honesty. Also, these letters will prove that I have been thinking of him while he was gone. That should count for something.”

Tian didn’t reply and simply continued to look at him.

Qiu Ling paused and then coughed. “Uh … I am probably keeping you from important matters.” Not that he had any idea what the supreme sovereign was doing every day. While the High Heavens were technically his realm, it wasn’t like there were a bunch of people living there. Was there anything to do?

Realizing that his thoughts were drifting off, Qiu Ling hastily pulled his focus back to the person shown on the water mirror and tried to think of a few sensible parting words. “That … Thank you for showing me Jing He’s side. I miss him a lot so … this was very much appreciated.”

“And that even though it has merely been a few days. You should count yourself lucky that your separation might only be a short one.”

~~~

Little Theater:

Qiu Ling: It is really difficult being without my beloved. My heart feels pained as I wait for our reunion. I have decided to write a biography while waiting. It is a good way to solve some of our issues. Speaking of which … how should I best confess my mistakes to him? I feel like this would hurt him and I don’t want that. The timing seems to be important but I can’t make up my mind …

Tian: Do I look like a therapist? *turns off magical mirror*