The two men inside the room looked at each other. Leng Jin Yu had seen the Fate’s Scribe outside of the courtyard of the idle gods so he wasn’t surprised when he stood in front of him.

Shun Tao hadn’t expected this kind of person though. He might have taken a look at the people inside the courtyard that day but he hadn’t paid attention to those he deemed unlikely as the culprits behind his misery and afterward, the task had been given to Hong Bao anyway so he didn’t have an impression of Leng Jin Yu.

Since he knew that Leng Jin Yu wasn’t a trueborn god and instead an ascended deity that hadn’t gotten a position yet, he had felt that this person probably wasn’t too skilled and thus wanted to make use of the situation at hand and get himself a position. After all, that was what often happened in the mortal realms. Now that he saw him though …

This Leng Jin Yu only looked to be about in his mid-twenties, maybe approaching his late twenties but not older than that. His long black hair was neatly secured at the back of his head and he wore a pristine white robe. He certainly didn’t look the part of a villain. Well, people often didn’t look how they should considering their inner thoughts.

Shun Tao raised his chin and his lips curled up in a smile. "So it’s the idle god, Leng Jin Yu. I wonder what you came here for? A position in my palace? My position? But, no, Hong Bao said you wanted to become part of the God of War’s palace. I’m afraid I can’t help with that though. The God of War, Qiang Yan, is rather picky. He wouldn’t take anyone in just because I ask him to. So if that was your goal, I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time."

Leng Jin Yu didn’t get angry at the allegation. He could imagine that the Fate’s Scribe was under a lot of pressure these days. The crown prince was important to the gods, after all. If something went wrong with his trial …

He gently shook his head. "That isn’t what I came here for but I gather the Fate’s Scribe already knows that Hong Bao told me everything."

Shun Tao had just wanted to retort when his breath caught in his throat. Wait. What? Hong Bao had told him everything?! "I thought you figured it out on your own."

Leng Jin Yu’s brows raised. "How would one figure something like this out on their own? I don’t know about the current tasks of the Fate’s Scribe. I certainly wouldn’t have linked the monitoring of the idle gods’ courtyard to any problems relating to His Highness, the crown prince."

"That girl …" Shun Tao massaged his temple again. Why had he chosen Hong Bao of all people to help him? Thinking about it that way, he was a little afraid of what she might do while searching for a solution. Maybe she’d go and plead with the Heavenly Emperor on his behalf, thus alerting the person in question to the problem? Ah, that might actually be possible …

Leng Jin Yu didn’t wait for Shun Tao to sort his thoughts further and got to the point. "I thought I should go and report this matter but then again, I only know what Hong Bao told me. She isn’t really a reliable source so who knows what exactly has happened? As far as I know, His Highness might not even be in grave danger. Other than that, there should still be time to salvage things. In short, I came to offer the Fate’s Scribe my help."

Shun Tao was pulled out of his thoughts but he could only stare blankly at Leng Jin Yu. "Offer your help?" Hadn’t this person wanted to report him to the Heavenly Emperor? Why would he suddenly want to help him? Or maybe …

He narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Does the ascended deity Leng Jin Yu suppose this might get him into the God of War’s palace?"

"I suppose hard work will get me into the God of War’s palace sooner or later. I also suppose that nothing may happen to the Son of Heaven and that the Fate’s Scribe is of the same opinion regarding that. So even if I had ulterior motives, can you really refuse my help? As far as I know, you still haven’t found the culprit behind the derailing fate."

Shun Tao tightened his lips. Unfortunately, this was true. He sighed and motioned at the chair opposite him, letting go of the hostility he had inevitably felt upon seeing the person that might ruin him. "Alright then. Why don’t you sit down and have a cup of tea? We can talk about everything slowly."

Leng Jin Yu nodded and took a seat. He didn’t wait for Shun Tao to pour him tea though and instead started with what he deemed the most important question. "What I’d like to know first is just how much of what Hong Bao said is actually true. How grave is the situation?"

Shun Tao smiled and slowly poured the cup of tea before pushing it over to Leng Jin Yu. "I don’t know what she said but the situation is quite grave. For me, naturally, but also for His Highness. I don’t know how much you know about this as an ascended deity but the trials for the trueborn gods have several restrictions added to them. They have to meet a certain graveness to a god’s life and the god can’t exceed a certain age when attempting them."

"I’m vaguely aware of that." Leng Jin Yu furrowed his brow. He did know that there were such trials and even why they were done but he never would have thought that even the age at which the gods had to attempt them was important. "Then His Highness …"

"He has almost exceeded the time for his first trial. In other words, nothing may go wrong in this attempt or it will mean his death."