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

109 Asking for a Favor

"What exactly is going on?" When it came to this person who had almost become his brother-in-law, Hua Lin Rong had a lot of good feelings. In fact, he only regretted that Xiao Yu and Xin Lan hadn't managed to get married in the first place. If they had ... maybe everything would have turned out differently.

Xin Lan sighed in response. "Since you already know about his true identity and the trial, then there isn't much to say. He has somehow decided that he wants another try so his soul has now reincarnated somewhere in the mortal realm while his body ..." He pointedly looked at the person in his arms, his expression a little annoyed.

Seriously, even though he had now known for a while, he could still hardly believe just how stupidly Xiang Yu had gone about all of this. Especially just vanishing without telling anyone. What had gone through his head at that time? He really couldn't imagine.

Hua Lin Rong who didn't know the ins and outs of the story simply inclined his head. Seeing Xin Lan's expression, he had some doubts but this wasn't important yet. "So you came here to ..."

"To ask if you would keep him here for a while." Xin Lan cleared his throat with some embarrassment. "I know this is a lot to ask. Usually, I would do it myself but there are some circumstances ..." He wasn't sure how to phrase it and could only raise his brows, silently cursing Tian in his heart. "Let's just say I have to find his soul again and I can't very well take his body with me while I do. With his identity as a fallen god, it's not good to leave him in the immortal realms either. They'd kill him as soon as they see him."

Hua Lin Rong furrowed his brows. When he originally met Xiang Yu, he only found out that way that his beloved younger brother had passed away. Naturally, his reaction hadn't been the best. In the decades since then, he had calmed down. By now, he'd rather have Xiao Yu's original self around. No matter what, this person was still his brother in a certain sense. Even though his Xiao Yu was gone, his memories lived on. It was only the body that had changed.

Hearing that his brother's original self would be killed when found, he obviously felt reluctant to accept it. Objectively, he also knew that Xiang Yu was a fallen god and that fallen gods were problematic. If it was anyone else, he'd even advocate for them to be disposed of. But when it concerned his brother ... he simply couldn't do it. He wanted to keep him safe, no matter how exactly that looked like.

Without needing Xin Lan to say anything else, Hua Lin Rong nodded. "I will do it. Nobody will find out that his body is here. You can rest assured. I'll personally watch over him."

Xin Lan inclined his head, finally feeling relieved. "Thank you. Also, you'll need to put him in a jade coffin or prepare an array. I can do the latter for you but that might be more eye-catching."

Hua Lin Rong shook his head. "No, I'll prepare ..." He wanted to say 'the coffin' but finally couldn't bring himself to do so. Maybe in the immortal realms, it wasn't odd to place a living person in one of those but, in the mortal realm, by the point you entered a jade coffin, chances were you were as good as dead if not irrevocably lost. Seeing who this was about, he simply couldn't get the word past his lips.

He gulped and shook his head before getting to his feet. "Anyway, I'll prepare one. It would be best to have him stay in my room. I was in retreat to cultivate anyway so it shouldn't make anyone ask questions if I return there and don't come out until his trial is over."

Xin Lan hummed but didn't say more. He wanted Hua Lin Rong to protect Xiang Yu's body. Since he had agreed, he wouldn't fuss about the details. He wasn't as familiar with the mortal realm of today as Hua Lin Rong was and he certainly didn't know more about the Hua family's estate than their young master did. So no matter which direction he looked at this from, his opinion really wasn't worth much.

Hua Lin Rong motioned for him to follow, his gaze brushing over Xiang Yu's figure again. Leading Xin Lan toward his own courtyard on a way fewer people took, he couldn't help but ask more. "So ... this trial of his, what will he do in it?" As a member of a long-standing cultivation family, he naturally knew that the trials existed but many details eluded him. He usually wouldn't ask about it since it wasn't his business but since this was about Xiao Yu ... He at least wanted to know a little more. It didn't need to be any specifics but he just wanted to rest assured that his brother was doing well.

Xin Lan looked at the fallen god in his arms and wasn't sure how to respond. After hesitating for a while, he could only shake his head. "To be honest, I don't know. He ... didn't exactly give me much of a heads-up when he left. It's more that I pieced together what happened later by myself. In fact, I still have no idea how to even find him."

The two of them had reached Hua Lin Rong's room and he left Xin Lan in and motioned to the cultivation platform at the side. "Put him down first. As for finding him, is there no information to be had in the immortal realms? I don't know much about the trials but they seem to be a big thing. Surely, they wouldn't happen without preparation?"

Xin Lan could only sigh. "Usually, that would be the case. But with him being a fallen god ..." He shook his head. "I'll have to rely on luck for the most part."