Oh. My. Fate?!

Leng Jin Yu sighed. Alright, he shouldn't have said something like that. It was his own fault. "Qiu Ling. It's absolutely impossible to have both the crown prince and his mortal reincarnation with you. I merely asked because …" He shook his head. "You'll have to decide."

"Then why did you mention having both of them?"

Leng Jin Yu didn't take his grumpy tone personally. This was obviously not a simple question to answer. If somebody asked Jinde whether he'd like to be with the original Chun Yin more or with him who was also his mortal reincarnation … Even though they were happy, he was sure that Jinde would have trouble to choose. After all, he shared years of memories with Chun Yin. That was the person he had originally fallen in love with. It was also somebody who understood him much better just based on the fact that they were of the same race, of the same time. How could he as a human that was born several hundreds of thousands of years later compare? He only had the luck that he carried Chun Yin's soul and that the original wasn't there anymore. If that was different, then he would lose.

Qiu Ling was in a similarly difficult situation now just that in his case, both people were still there. He could decide actively. He had to. And exactly that made it so troublesome for him. After all, he had to condemn one and lift the other above him. That couldn't be easy.

Leng Jin Yu leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed. "When you thought that both of them might be at your side, what went through your head?"

"That it's great that I have two hands but that it'd be difficult to talk to both of them at the same time."

Leng Jin Yu's lips twitched. Alright, maybe he had been thinking too much. He still felt that this thought was worth following. "Then how do you think their reaction would be?"

"Huh?" Qiu Ling blinked at him. What did he mean with that?

"Your beloved. Both of them. If they could truly exist together and you would have to split your attention and … more importantly, your affection between them. What would they think? How would they react?"

"Split my … affection?" Qiu Ling stared ahead in a daze. He hadn't thought about this before but now that he did, he couldn't help but be anxious.

Back when he had just convinced Jing Yi to be with him in the mortal world, he had gotten trapped in his inner self. Jing Yi had followed him to save him and on that occasion, he had seen Jing He. Back then … he had cried.

Qiu Ling's face twitched when he thought back. He had thought his heart would be torn apart when he saw Jing Yi like this. He had never wanted him to be like this again. If he had to share him with Jing He, with the person who had first managed to win his heart … wouldn't he be just as sad again?

On the other hand … Qiu Ling thought back to the ten years of wooing Jing He. His beloved had been reserved in the beginning and only slowly opened up to him. He hadn't dared to get too close for fear of what might happen but in the end, he had still given in. Jing He trusted him and he obviously loved him more than anything else in his life. Otherwise, he never would have picked up the soul-engraving dagger and hurt himself like that.

Now, if Jing He had to share him … would he be able to take it? He was so serious, he might misunderstand. He might feel that his love for him had diminished, that his feelings weren't reciprocated anymore. It was entirely possible.

Qiu Ling took a shaky breath and turned back to Leng Jin Yu. "Neither of them would be able to take it."

"Then don't you have your answer?"

Qiu Ling frowned. "Why? You said … they can't be there at the same time."

"No. But they'll think about it. If you choose Jing He, then Jing Yi will have to die but before that, you'll have to deal with him feeling betrayed. If you don't and instead decide on Jing Yi, then should he die someday and the Son of Heaven wakes up again, then he will wonder why you didn't want him to return. It will be the same as if you had both of them live side by side. It's something that isn't easy to decide and it'll have consequences. You have to keep that in mind."

"I see." Qiu Ling nodded and turned away again. He had feared as much. This issue … as much as he wanted to, he couldn't just ignore it. He would have to think about it.

Qiu Ling took another deep breath and reached over, patting Leng Jin Yu's shoulder. "Didn't you want to sleep, old man? Why don't you do so now? I … I'll wait here and … pay attention that nothing happens."

"Ah. That's … reassuring." Leng Jin Yu smiled and shook his head. Honestly, if he was worried about that, he definitely wouldn't trust Qiu Ling while he was in the state of mind he was now. Well, that was his own fault. Maybe he shouldn't have said things this clearly. Then again … this was what he thought and it was something Qiu Ling should probably think through too. It was just a pity that it meant they hadn't been able to finish everything else.

Leng Jin Yu glanced at Qiu Ling again. "Qiu Ling?"

"Mn?"

"When you've thought things through … let's talk about your family another time. There are … still a lot of things I'd like to know."

"Oh." Qiu Ling nodded but it wasn't sure if he had really listened or not.

Well, maybe the next time, he would be the one to bring the subject up.