Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 10, Part 2)

354 Not Surprised

Jinde and Leng Jin Yu finally decided not to dwell on what Xiang Yu had said. Instead, Jinde decided to switch the topic again.

"Have you been to the capital city before? I mean, in a way where you have had time to look around?"

Xiang Yu nodded. He had lived here for three years with Xin Lan. Naturally, he knew the place well. From the palace to all the interesting places in the city, he was familiar with all of them.

Jinde turned to his husband and raised his brows. He hadn't expected that. Now, he wasn't sure how to continue.

Xiang Yu could see that he seemed unsure so he tugged at his sleeve. "Well, that was on my trial though." He still remembered all of it but he didn't want Jinde to feel bad.

Jinde shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure. If you're familiar with the capital though, there's no reason to go and have a look now. Instead ..." He gave a hum and thought for a moment. "Well, since you're staying, how about going to find a good room for you?"

Xiang Yu nodded. He didn't care much where he stayed but it was alright to go and look for a place. Anyway, there wasn't anything else to do.

Jinde inclined his head and then got back to his feet, waving for Xiang Yu to follow. "We should probably tell Qiu Ling's advisers that you're here as well. It wouldn't do to surprise them."

Xiang Yu hurried to keep pace with him, looking up at Jinde's face. "Oh, I just met two of them though."

Jinde stopped in his tracks just before reaching the door and stared at him. "You ... well, what did they say? I mean, how did they react?" There wouldn't be a regiment of soldiers in front of his door when he opened it, would there?

Xiang Yu tilted his head. "They seemed surprised? But then, they just said hello and I think they should have left after I entered your room."

Jinde rubbed his forehead. "So ... they were alright with you?"

Xiang Yu pondered. "It seemed like that? Ah, well, I did meet them once before."

Leng Jin Yu had also joined the two of them and rubbed Jinde's shoulder. "I guess if you know each other, it shouldn't be a problem. Anyway, we'll explain to the others and they'll certainly understand. Let's go to Xiang Yong?" He faintly raised his brows, feeling that they shouldn't drag Xiang Yu around too much.

Even though he had said that he knew the city and whoever he had met just now might not have been afraid, he was still a fallen god. Before they cleared up a few things, they shouldn't let him run around indiscriminately.

Jinde nodded. "Sure. Anyway, it's just across the corridor." He finally opened the door and then led the way to the door on the other side while trying to keep a neutral expression.

He knew his status in the palace was ... fragile. Qiu Ling wanted him here and his advisers accepted him but especially this Xiang Yong was also worried about his presence and not without reason. After all, if his true identity became known, it would cause trouble. Especially in light of Qiu Ling's relationship with the Son of Heaven, that couldn't be allowed.

Either way, with things already being like that, he knew he should try to be more low-key. Parading a fallen god through the dragon king's palace definitely went against common sense. But then, what could he do? When he looked at Xiang Yu, he simply felt heartache because he seemed like a lost child. He just ... he just wanted to help and make him smile a bit more.

He had always loved children. They were precious to him. And even though Xiang Yu looked like he was at that age where he almost would have come of age, he still felt like looking at a child when he saw him. Ah, maybe those were his paternal instincts.

He finally knocked on the door and then entered as soon as he heard Xiang Yong's answer.

Qiu Ling's adviser looked up and then faintly raised his brows when he saw him. "Scholar Jiang Li." He nodded, his gaze traveling to the people who entered behind. Then, his expression froze.

Jinde coughed while Leng Jin Yu conscientiously closed the door behind the three of them.

"Well, we got a guest and we were wondering if you could give us a room for him. One that is close by, preferably."

Xiang Yong still stared at Xiang Yu, trying to decide what to do. A fallen god would usually be grounds to establish the emergency protocol but ... he was brought in by the previous dragon king who also happened to be the current king's stepfather. Said person had even called this fallen god a 'guest' so his status was clear. Really, being an adviser seemed unnaturally harsh these days.

He cleared his throat and slowly got to his feet just in case. "Does His Majesty know about your ... guest?"

Xiang Yu nodded before Jinde could answer. "He does! Well, originally, I was supposed to come here with him after that gathering in the mortal realm. But actually, I don't know many people here and I had a gift for Jinde that I wanted to deliver so ... I came a bit earlier. But I'm sure Qiu Ling wouldn't mind."

Xiang Yong nodded slowly. Right. Why was he not surprised that their king was also hanging out with a fallen god? Somehow, it seemed that he and the previous king were both the same type of people. "I guess if that's the case ... let's find the closest room possible." Even though he didn't agree with any of this, at least they could keep a close eye on him. Not that it would change anything. After all, you couldn't take on a fallen god by your lonesome.