Li Yin stared at Jing He in a daze. To be honest, any god would deny that this was the case. They all knew that it was a separate life, after all. You couldn’t really ask somebody to … well, save themselves for you, could you? But in this case, the person in question was a dragon which made everything much more complicated.

Looking at Jing He, he seemed a little pale as if this had really weighed on his mind the last few days. So, he realized this issue very clearly. Now, it was also obvious why he didn’t dare to bring this up to his own family members and would instead come to him. He certainly couldn’t be perfunctory about answering him.

Li Yin took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. “It is difficult to give you any advice on this. While I have gone on my own trials, your situation is naturally special. For one, this is your first trial which means that anything could happen while in the mortal realm. Then, you are in a relationship already which was never the case for me. Your parents could likely shed more light on this but I can see why you wouldn’t bring this up to them. Lastly, the dragon himself is naturally something to consider. He isn’t a god and is likely not too familiar with the trials. Have you spoken to him about this in detail?”

Jing He shook his head. “No, I … admittedly, I am worried how he would take it if I told him. He already wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of me leaving for up to three months.”

Li Yin gave another hum. He could imagine. That dragon king liked to cling to their crown prince the whole time if possible. If he was allowed, he’d likely stick to him the whole day and then even stay the night. Leaving him for so long was naturally not going to go over well. “I believe that you will have to tell him though. Imagine there was a relationship: It is not something you can prevent from happening but he might take it better if he was at least somewhat prepared for such a possibility.”

Jing He nodded. “I suppose so.”

Li Yin could see that he wasn’t happy with it though. Well, this was something that couldn’t be changed. “Frankly, even if your relationship was official already, I don’t think it would change much. To him, the two of you are a couple and nobody else should interfere. He would see any other man who dares to have illusions about you as competition. Somebody that succeeds … that will naturally cause problems.

“If it soothes your mind at all, I don’t think he would blame you though. Instead, he would blame the other person more. So the impact …” He paused and finally shook his head. “Well, it shouldn’t damage your relationship. As for that human, they’d be long dead by the time you remember enough to let him know so it won’t be an issue.”

Jing He nodded. This was actually a really rational way to look at it. If he could stand even a speck of dust dirtying his relationship with Qiu Ling, he would likely see it the same way. In reality though, he felt nauseous just thinking about it.

He lowered his head, wondering if he should pretend that he was satisfied with this but he finally couldn’t bring himself to do so. He sighed before looking up again. “I suppose you are right. He has never blamed me for anything. It is just … I would feel sorry for him. He deserves better than that, doesn’t he?”

Li Yin quietly examined Jing He’s expression and couldn’t help but feel slightly worried for this family member of his friend’s. It seemed that their crown prince held a few rather extreme views. He couldn’t say that he was too surprised. Qiang Yan had shared a few things in the past when he worried about his nephew and there had obviously been signs before. Either way, it wasn’t good. Not in a situation like this. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much he could do. A few simple words would never change a deep-seated belief, much less such an extreme one.

In the end, he could only sigh. “I see why you would think so. You love him so you want only the best for him. Now, you are afraid that you will be unable to give this to him. Still, the fate of your mortal reincarnation will be out of your hands so you can’t be blamed for what happens down there. If you really feel anxious, why not speak to the God of Love and the Fate’s Scribe?”

Jing He nodded. “To be honest, I have done so. I just …” He took a shaky breath and then shook his head. “I still worry. If no red thread is tied, that only means there will be no fated relationship for me. That is better than nothing but it can’t change that something else might happen. I simply don’t want that for Qiu Ling.”

Li Yin watched his already downcast expression change to one of anguish. Obviously, he was suffering just thinking about this. At this point, he didn’t know how to comfort him though. This worry wasn’t rational. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t lessen. There was no way to …

Li Yin suddenly paused and then raised his brows. Actually, while there might usually not be any way, it wasn’t impossible if the person in question was the crown prince of the Nine Heavens and the other party was the king of the dragon race. While the trials usually shouldn’t be interfered with, sending a guard or two to stare at his mortal reincarnation and simply prevent any possibility of a love life from happening wouldn’t cause too much issue.

He thought for a moment to make sure that he wasn’t overlooking anything but there didn’t seem to be anything speaking against this. Their crown prince could still do other trials so Tian’s requirements would be fulfilled and he wouldn’t suffer any consequences. On the other hand, if this could ensure that the dragon king from going nuts over his beloved being snatched during the trial, it would be best for everyone involved. They didn’t want to accidentally start a war, after all.

Li Yin relaxed when he finally thought of this. It was definitely making an exception and he usually wouldn’t stand for that but … it wasn’t like this was a law. It was only common sense to leave the trials alone. If the interference was kept to a minimum though and really only concerned his love life, it should be alright.

He picked up the cup, downed the rest of the tea, and then gave Jing He another deep look. “Well, your worries are understandable. I think —”

He didn’t get further. In the distance, an explosion sounded, making the whole building shake. Li Yin jumped to his feet and directly rushed to the side of the crown prince who had flinched at the sound. He raised his hands, his gaze trained on the door.

Something like this happening while their crown prince was here … that sounded very much like a deliberate attack with him as its goal.