While Tian pondered the past and future, Jing He was also lost in thought. He stood in front of the replica of his palace for a while before he managed to pull himself out of his thoughts. Shaking his head at himself, he walked the rest of the way and slowly stepped inside.

It felt odd not seeing his usual guards in front of the gate but then, there was nothing to guard him from now. In fact, if he were to appear in the Nine Heavens, people might feel that they needed to be guarded from him.

Jing He sighed and told himself that he shouldn’t get hung up on being a fallen god now. Tian had promised to help him so he would surely return to being a trueborn god in a few months at most. It was just … he had trouble believing in that when he couldn’t even answer the first question Tian had asked him.

What was different about the story of Tian and Xing that appealed to him?

He furrowed his brows but before he could ponder further, the faint tapping of paws sounded and then, An Xin jumped into his arms with a faint sound. Jing He’s eyes unwittingly lit up and he hugged the small flame heart, his fingers brushing through the soft fur.

“You must also feel odd about being in this place where nobody else is. I’m sorry for leaving you alone for so long.” He wasn’t sure how long he had stayed in Tian’s palace as his mind hadn’t been very clear but it couldn’t have been a short time. After all, he felt as if his whole life had passed by in front of his eyes.

An Xin actually didn’t mind much. It had been living in the Court of Flames by itself for many years before Qiu Ling fished it out of the lava lake and carried it around for ages in his spatial ring. By now though, it had gotten used to having Jing He around so it was nice to see him again. Anyway, this person liked to hug it and would also do anything he could think of to make sure An Xin’s life was good so it was happy enough staying with him.

Jing He’s lips stayed curved in a faint arc while his thoughts traveled to the person who had given An Xin to him. How was Qiu Ling doing now? Apart from that first letter when he woke up that morning, he hadn’t heard anything from him. Was he still living in the Nine Heavens, accompanying his parents?

He couldn’t very well imagine that but since Qiu Ling had written that that was what he was doing, it had to be true. It couldn’t be easy though. His father was so … opinionated and that was putting it lightly. Qiu Ling would definitely suffer if he stayed at his place and tried to spend time with him. Hopefully, his mother was trying to help. Of course, there was also his uncle. Qiu Ling should get along well with him.

Jing He absentmindedly stroked An Xin’s fur, continuing to think about how life in the Nine Heavens had to be right now. To be honest, he wanted nothing more than to see Qiu Ling. If he was able to plunge into his arms and just feel his warmth for some time …

He tilted his head and closed his eyes, trying to imagine the feeling. It seemed to have been forever since he actually felt that sensation. When had it been? It seemed to be the day before he fell. That night, Qiu Ling had stayed with him in his palace, gently holding him throughout the night …

Oh, he’d love to spend a night like that just one more time. If he did, maybe his mind would be calm enough to think about what Tian wanted to hear from him. Anyway, if he could speak about his issues with Qiu Ling, he would certainly be able to advise him. After all, Qiu Ling had seen so much more of the world and had experienced many situations that he could only vaguely imagine. Surely, he might have an idea what the true root of his interest in this story was.

Jing He opened his eyes and walked further into his palace, finally sitting down at the table where he had spent many hours with Qiu Ling. It was a pity … he couldn’t see him at all. The only thing he had was that projection of their previous encounters Tian had shown him. He’d have to make do with just that.

He sighed but he knew it couldn’t be changed so he could only accept it. “It’s such a pity. I am sure Qiu Ling would know the answer we are looking for.” He leaned down and kissed the top of An Xin’s head. Well, at least he had more or less seen Qiu Ling recently and there was also the mythical beast his lover had found for him. Just thinking of these two things gave him some strength.

Jing He continued to pet the little flame heart but his thoughts finally returned to the question Tian had asked him: Why was it that their story impressed him so much more than others?

The first thing he could think of was Xing’s identity. Just like when it came to the reincarnation of Xing’s child being more likely if he was the one having the child, maybe this story being related to his own bloodline also left a deeper impression on him. After just a moment, Jing He shook his head and dismissed the idea though. Wasn’t there also the story behind the spatial ring he had once gifted Qiu Ling? That was something that had been passed down through his family as well and yet, he cared little about it.

If not Xing, then maybe Tian was the reason. After all, he was the supreme sovereign of all realms. There could be nothing more special than that. So maybe … it was this power that attracted him? If that was the case, he really was too shallow. Somehow, that seemed to make this response rather likely in his eyes.