"Someone attempted to kill His Highness’ mortal reincarnation!"

The God of War was startled out of his thoughts by this sudden call. "What?!" He leaped to his feet and stared at the Heavenly Guard standing in front of him. It was actually Mu Kun, one of the Heavenly Guards normally standing watch in front of Jing He’s palace. Qiang Yan frowned. "Somebody tried to assassinate our crown prince?"

Mu Kun nodded. "Longjun came by and had the other two dragons wait outside. They were contacted by someone from the dragon race soon after. Apparently, someone of a human sect called Chun Feng Sect attempted to kill His Highness but was intercepted by that person from the dragon race."

"I see." Qiang Yan sat down again, taking a deep breath. So nothing had happened to Jing He. He was alright. At least for now. This couldn’t be allowed to go on though. Jing He had already come of age. It was time for him to pass his first trial. His mortal reincarnation definitely couldn’t die prematurely. They had to stop this madness as soon as possible.

He drummed on the table with his fingers. He didn’t know everything yet but the most likely culprit was Yin Lin Lin. Especially if she had sent someone to kill Jing He’s mortal reincarnation. Making things difficult for the Fate’s Scribe was probably just an added bonus. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything without evidence or at least a detailed story. Just how exactly had she done this?

He furrowed his brow. Maybe that Ru Zhen had already found out something? Well, he should first make sure of that. Maybe he had indeed managed to find a clue as to what exactly had been going on.

He looked up at Mu Kun again. "Go fetch Ru Zhen for me. After —"

"And what might you want from my Ru Zhen?" A man in a gray robe stepped into the room and leveled him with a dark look.

Qiang Yan tensed. What was this god of plague doing here? Don’t tell him Ru Zhen had run into trouble at Yin Lin Lin’s palace and took cover at his father’s court?

Li Yin ignored him and turned to Mu Kun instead. "Don’t bother looking for my son. You can just go and do whatever the God of War wanted you to do 'after'."

Qiang Yan grimaced but still waved at Mu Kun. "Just go back to your post."

"Yes. God of War. God of Justice." Mu Kun bowed and left the room.

Qiang Yan leaned back and stared at the person that sat down uninvited. "Ru Zhen got into trouble?"

"My son acquired some information for you."

"What information?"

Li Yin looked out the window. He could actually see the pavilion where the dagger had been kept. Ah, just how had Ru Zhen been able to lose a weapon like that? Who knew if he would be able to keep him safe this time?

"Li Yin, come on! I sent him to inquire about that information. Now, he not only doesn’t report to me himself but you won’t even divulge what you know?"

"I just want to protect my son."

"And I want to protect my nephew. So out with it!"

"The crown prince?" Li Yin raised his brows. It seemed his son had really gotten himself into trouble this time. "Can you promise that Ru Zhen won’t get into trouble?"

"Li Yin! I don’t have time for this!"

"Promise me."

Qiang Yan rubbed his forehead. He had no idea just what Ru Zhen had done but he knew Li Yin too well. This guy doted even more on Ru Zhen than the Heavenly Emperor doted on Jing He. If there was even the slightest chance that this was detrimental to Ru Zhen, then he wouldn’t utter a single syllable even if you called him the God of Justice a hundred times. "Fine! I promise! Now tell me."

"Someone stole that dagger. And it seems to have been at the command of Yin Lin Lin."

Qiang Yan stood up and looked out the window. There were two guards standing next to the door. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just how … He closed his eyes and groaned. "I had him guard the pavilion with Gang Tai. Don’t tell me …"

The God of Justice looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to have heard anything.

Qiang Yan also didn’t know what to say for a moment. In the end, he sighed. There was already no changing what had happened. Thankfully, Jing He’s mortal reincarnation hadn’t been injured. Otherwise, he would really regret to death that he had been so slow in investigating this.

He turned back to Li Yin. "If you want to keep your son out of this, then you’ll have to help me solve this. I want to know every last detail of what Ru Zhen found out and I want to know now. Tomorrow morning, I will report this matter to the Heavenly Emperor."

"Ru Zhen’s involvement …"

"Was only helping me investigate."

"And the Heavenly Emperor will accept that?"

Qiang Yan smiled wryly. "He isn’t much less protective of his son than you are of yours. With someone trying to harm his son, do you think he’ll care about some guard? I will handle it, don’t worry."

"Alright then. Ru Zhen is in my study. Let’s go over."

Qiang Yan nodded and the two men left the study to finally solve this issue once and for all.