Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 1)

69 Don't Give Up

Qiu Ling indeed felt a bit inspired by Jinde's words. "Well, I would like to stay with Jing He for as long as I can. This should also reassure his parents. Even if his father doesn't like me personally, he should want somebody to be able to keep an eye on Jing He for now and make sure his state is alright. So, since that's the case, I agree that one of you should go over. Just do a transmission at the side so I can talk to them as well. They'll want to hear about this first hand."

Also, he didn't say this part, but doing so might take some of the heat off him. If there was another person the Heavenly Emperor could focus on, he might be a bit calmer. At the very least, he hoped that this was the case.

Jinde nodded and turned to look at his husband. "It's not convenient for me to go so I'm afraid you'll have to do it. I guess just grab the God of War on the way and then go to the Heavenly Emperor's palace together. With him there, that guy won't dare to make too much trouble."

Leng Jin Yu nodded and hummed faintly. In general, it would be preferable for Jinde to go since he was clearly better at dealing with these matters but it couldn't be helped. Even though Jin Ling was now gone and they could technically expose Jinde's identity whenever they felt it to be appropriate, there was still Qiu Ling's wedding to the crown prince of the Nine Heavens which was questionable. Especially under the current circumstances, it was indeed better to wait a while longer.

On the other side of the transmission, Qiu Ling nodded. "Yes, that, and grab An Bai as well while you're at it. Knowing him, he'll have some oblique knowledge that could come in handy. Plus, he has been my adviser for a while so ... he should be familiar with how to smooth things over already." He pursed his lips after saying that and then reached out to interlace his fingers with Jing He.

Anyway, it couldn't be helped that he had been a troublesome king in the past. In the future, after his beloved woke up, solved his issue, and returned to marry him, he'd completely clean up his act in front of everyone. In fact, come to think of it, this was actually a good opportunity.

Previously, even though not many people had come into contact with him, those were unfortunately some of the more important characters in both the dragon realm and the Nine Heavens. They had certainly had some doubts about his behavior but since the work still got done, they never questioned his personality.

At the same time, his feelings for Jing He were hardly a secret even to the gods and they held special meaning in the dragon realm. After his beloved was supposedly kidnapped and vanished for a long time ... wasn't it normal that he would turn into a more serious person? So, in this way, his change could be explained seamlessly to others.

He hadn't cared too much before but by now, after everything that had happened, he did to a certain extent. And even if he didn't, he knew that Jing He would. Considering how much his beloved had to go through just so they could hopefully be together in the end, he naturally wanted to give him the satisfaction of having a husband who others only admired and whose sanity they didn't doubt every step of the way. This way, he could be what Jing He saw him as.

Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked at his beloved's beautiful face. What Jing He wanted ... if he truly couldn't work through it, he would stay a fallen god. In that case ... Qiu Ling took a deep breath and turned back to the transmission stone. "Jinde ... Leng Jin Yu." His expression turned solemn as he called out to them. "What I'm going to say next doesn't have to be discussed with people in the Nine Heavens but I want to make it clear to the two of you.

"There is a chance Jing He can't return to what he was before. Knowing him, it means he will never return. At that point in time, I can only accompany him here. Of course, that will make ruling over the dragon realm impossible. So I hope ... you'll be ready when the time comes." He gave Jinde a look when he said so, clearly implying a deeper meaning.

Jinde sighed. "Let's not talk about that now. I still believe it can be done. If it can't ... we'll solve it by then."

Qiu Ling shook his head. He understood what Jinde meant but ... "I would feel better if I knew you were willing. These are still my people. I can't leave them in an uncertain situation. Especially not after the demons just changed kings. Those guys would try something again for sure if I just abdicated without a plan in place."

Jinde hummed. Even though such a future might be years away, he could also see that Qiu Ling was serious. "Well, then I promise you. If there is really no way for Jing He to work through his issues and he stays a fallen god for eternity, then I will take over your duties here so you can accompany him with ease of mind.

"Let me make it clear though that I don't want to see that future happen. There is still much left to do for you, be that as king of the dragon race or as the child of my family. So don't you dare to give up ahead of time. No matter what happens and no matter what anybody else says — even if that person is the supreme sovereign — I don't want you to give up before you haven't tried even the last possibility. Do you understand that?"

Qiu Ling inclined his head. "I understood. And I promise you that I will. Even if I didn't want to for my sake, I always will for Jing He's."