Romancing the Son of Heaven

Stratagem 7: Take Every Chance to Be with Your Beloved ... (4)

Seeing Qiu Ling's blank look Jing He folded his hands in front of his chest and looked ahead at his father's palace. "Legend has it that there once was a river originating in the High Heavens that flowed through all the immortal and mortal realms until finally ending in the sea in the underworld.

"The High Heavens are where everything is destined. So in a sense, this is the place where life begins. The immortal and mortal realms are where life takes place and finally, it ends in the underworld. So this Da He river accompanies every living being from beginning to end."

"I've never seen that river."

"Mn. It's also said that the river was later on divided so now all that's left are rivulets if one compares them to the original Da He."

"And ... that is why this festival is being held?"

Jing He nodded. "Yes. It is a festival that for one, worships Heaven as the one giving life. It also celebrates the twists and turns of life and finally, it acknowledges that everything will come to an end before something new begins." He sighed and glanced back at Qiu Ling. "For most people, it is a festival they use to look back at the previous year and imagine what might come in the following one. Originally, the meaning was much broader."

"Oh. Most likely, not many people know about that." Qiu Ling rubbed his cheek. He had listened to Jing He when he talked to An Bai. Back then, he had also just mentioned this reason for the festival and he had believed that that was all to it. Who would have known there was more to it? Why didn't he talk about that with An Bai?

Eh? Qiu Ling lowered his hand. Could it be ... Did this mean Jing He was rejecting An Bai's advances? Did he want to say that he was much more important to him than An Bai so he told him the real story while An Bai only got the new one? Ah, so his beloved actually requited his feelings! He was probably just too shy to admit it and too nice to harshly reject An Bai. Mn, he should help him out with that sometime later.

Jing He had no idea what the person next to him was assuming and continued with the previous thought. "Yes. Those old legends have bee forgotten by many. It is quite strange. Even though a lot of time had passed, one would have thought that at least those stories about Heaven would be remembered. After all, our races' fate is closely tied to him."

Qiu Ling nodded absent-mindedly.

This time, Jing He also stopped talking, his thoughts drifting in another direction. Heaven ... Tian ... This kind of person, he couldn't understand how the immortal races were able to forget about him.

He lifted his gaze to the sky. That person ... should still be up there in the High Heavens, shouldn't he? A true immortal, bound to the fate of all three thousand higher, middle, and lower realms. A sovereign, a leader, a lover. This truly was someone everyone should look up to.

When they reached the square in front of the Heavenly Emperor's palace, Qiu Ling looked over and was met with a slightly lost gaze that Jing He directed at the sky. His heart jumped. Could it be ... Was his beloved lost in thoughts of their future?!

"Jing He." He reached over, grabbed him and pulled him over in a single motion.

"Ah!" Jing He was rudely awakened from his thoughts. He almost lost his balance and instinctively reached out, grabbing onto Qiu Ling's robe. His fingers curled into the fabric and his weight rested on the arm Qiu Ling had snaked around his waist.

He panted and his heart jumped madly. He lifted his gaze to Qiu Ling's eyes and suddenly, even the remaining strength seemed to leave his body. His fingers unclenched and only pressed lightly against Qiu Ling's body. It was only the arm in his back that held him upright. Jing He took a trembling breath but still didn't manage to look away from those dark eyes. It was as if they had taken him captive and shackled him, forever holding onto him.