Ye Yang stared in a daze for a moment before lowering his gaze. Whether it was Lin Shi or him, they had only seen the side of the person facing them, and from a distance at that. Standing right in front of him, the fact that the other side looked worse finally became obvious. The most problematic part was that you couldn’t even overlook it: The right side of his face was bruised, with a faint trace of dried blood at his temple. It didn’t help that the person’s eyes widened in fear as soon as he saw him. If anyone witnessed the current scene, wouldn’t they believe that he was the one who had done that to him?

Ye Yang’s lips twitched but he forced himself to calm down. The dragon king wasn’t unreasonable and since he had sent someone to inform him ahead of time, surely, this would work out somehow. Taking a deep breath, he raised his gaze again and then let his hands follow, trying to show that he wasn’t going to harm him.

“Don’t be afraid.” He looked at him intently but the other person seemed about to run away. If he didn’t convince him that he was harmless soon, this could lead to trouble. “My name is Ye Yang. I …” He hesitated, not sure if introducing himself as the demon king would make the other person calm down in the slightest.

In fact, Jing He didn’t need to be told. He had flinched when someone suddenly appeared and for a moment, he didn’t know who he was but then, hearing his voice and even his name, he remembered that he had seen this person before: At the end of his trial, he had come to the dragon realm to warn them about the impending battle. Later on, Qiu Ling had mentioned in one of his letters that Ye Yang had acceded to the throne of the demon realm. It seemed like he still held that position.

Jing He lowered his gaze a little, unsure what to do. Demons shouldn’t be trusted, that was a core belief of his. But then, maybe some core beliefs would have to be abandoned. After all, Qiu Ling had some demon blood and he would never be afraid of him. Of course, he wasn’t a full-blooded demon either so maybe that didn’t matter. But then, Ye Yang had helped them before so he seemed a little more trustworthy.

Thinking it through, Jing He finally raised his gaze again. “I know who you are, Mojun.”

Ye Yang raised his brows but then relaxed and lowered his hands again. “If the Son of Heaven is aware, then that’s good. I really mean no harm. I know those words might not sound trustworthy coming from me but it is the truth. You probably don’t know but since you disappeared, all three immortal realms have been looking for you. I don’t know what happened to you and if my people were responsible for this but I swear that I won’t harm you. I will also hold responsible whoever this was if they are any of my people.”

Jing He hesitated but then shook his head. Naturally, there was no such thing but hearing the words indeed made him feel a little better.

Ye Yang also saw that the other person wasn’t as stiff any longer and felt vaguely hopeful that they could solve this without issue. For now, it seemed best to continue talking to him while he stayed where he was. “One of my subordinates discovered you earlier and came to inform me because they were worried about making matters worse if they approached you rashly. I have sent someone to the dragon realm and the Nine Heavens respectively so the dragon king and your father should be informed that you’ve been found soon enough.”

Jing He keenly noticed that the dragon realm and the dragon king had been mentioned before the Nine Heavens and his father. He wasn’t sure if this was due to the connection Ye Yang himself had to the dragon realm or if it was because he somehow deemed his relationship with Qiu Ling as more important.

The Son of Heaven didn’t respond but Ye Yang didn’t feel that it was an issue. At the very least, the person hadn’t run off and vanished. Currently, that was good enough. At the very least, they could still discuss the rest. “Do you want to wait here for them to find you or do you want me to bring you over?” He looked at him questioningly and then realized that the other person had wandered further away from the Nine Heavens. He wasn’t sure whether this was because he didn’t know exactly where he was or if he was traveling toward the dragon realm. Hesitating for a moment, he pointed in the southern direction Jing He had taken. “The dragon realm is that way but as far as I am aware, the dragon king is currently in the capital city of the Nine Heavens which would be that way.” He pointed to the northwest but kept his gaze trained on Jing He’s expression.

Jing He froze and followed Ye Yang’s finger with his eyes. He had gone the right way in his vision after Tian sent him down the mountain so he followed the same strategy in real life as well. Who knew that if the conditions varied even slightly, he would end up in the wrong realm?

Jing He lowered his head, his brows furrowing. Suddenly, he understood just what it meant that there were endless possibilities for the future. Even a change as small as Tian sending him to the top of the mountain instead of directly to its foot changed the direction he traveled in and who he met on the way. Realizing this, it seemed a bit hard to trust in what was to come.

He stayed silent for a moment but finally raised his head. “I … would like to return home earlier, if possible.” No matter what, he had to see Qiu Ling. He still couldn’t shake the image of seeing him die in that vision and he just had to see him with his own eyes and hold him with his own hands to accept that none of that had happened yet.

Ye Yang inclined his head. “Then I will bring you over right now.” He looked in the direction, thought of the dragon king who clearly loved this person deeply, and then looked at Jing He’s face sheepishly. “Uh … about your face …”

Jing He’s eyes widened and he hastily raised his hand, covering his forehead. It seemed … he had forgotten to check whether the Mark of Wisdom was gone?