Chapter 499 - He Engraved His Soul

Leng Jin Yu blinked. Before he could react to that flying cup Jinde had sidled up to him, his fingers stroking his arm and his head coming to lie on his shoulder.

"Mn, my dear, I'm so happy that this misunderstanding is cleared up now. I felt horrible when I saw that child kiss you. I even feared my heart might break."

Leng Jin Yu's hand was grabbed and pulled purposefully onto Jinde's chest.

Qiu Ling whistled and turned away, intending to leave.

"Ah, wait!" Leng Jin Yu wanted to get up but Jinde wouldn't let him. He grimaced. "Jinde, whatever issue we have we can still talk about it later, can't we? There's something I have to tell Longjun."

"Is that really more important than me?" Jinde slid even closer and his other hand pulled at his lapel, revealing that clavicle once again.

Leng Jin Yu closed his eyes. "It's about his fiance."

"What's with him?"

Before Jinde could do anything, Qiu Ling was already kneeling in front of Leng Jin Yu with his eyes wide open. He didn't even seem to notice that Jinde had been in the process of showing off his body. Jinde gritted his teeth. Ugh. Now what? Could he still strip in front of his stepson?

Leng Jin Yu opened his eyes and carefully took his hand back. "I went to report to the Nine Heavens after we returned from the secret realm. Besides this story about 'Tian', he only revealed one other detail about his memories. Further investigation showed that it is related to something called the soul-engraving dagger."

"What?!"

Both Jinde and Qiu Ling jerked and stared at him incredulously. Leng Jin Yu tried to loosen his shoulders but their gazes made him tense again immediately.

"Well, I don't really know what that is but it seems His Highness has used it. The Heavenly Emperor sent me to ask that Senior Xin of your race for help. I was supposed to ask him to take a look at His Highness' soul but he refused and said that the chances of this would be more successful if you did it because you already have a connection to His Highness."

Qiu Ling nodded but he was obviously in a daze.

Jinde sighed. "It's no wonder you don't know about this. The soul-engraving dagger is an old artifact. It is a pair with another weapon called the soul-devouring dagger."

Leng Jin Yu frowned. "I know of that one." After all, that had been the weapon Hong Bao stole to help the Fate's Scribe. "It seems the soul-devouring dagger is able to destroy a soul, is that right?"

"Mn." Jinde nodded and lifted his left sleeve a few inches. He absentmindedly caressed the pale scar that could be seen on his wrist. "Legend has it that long ago a god and a demon fell in love. But the demons originally can't love so to reassure his lover he forged this pair of daggers. The soul-engraving dagger was left with him and he used it to engrave his soul with the promise to never stop loving this god and stay true to him until the end of time. The soul-devouring dagger was given to the god and he was supposed to make use of it in case the demon should ever break his oath."

"Did he break it?"

Jinde smiled. "Of course not. There is hardly anything more compelling than an engraving to the soul. Unfortunately, the daggers somehow ended up in the wrong hands later on. In my —" Jinde coughed and barely stopped before he could blurt 'my reign' out. "In my youth, I heard that the soul-devouring dagger had ended up with the demons and was used in the war against the dragons and gods. Thousands of them died, their souls obliterated."

Qiu Ling resurfaced from his daze and stared at Jinde unblinking. His youth? Wasn't that when he had led the army in the charge against that bastard Jian Heng?

"Then the soul-engraving dagger?"

Jinde sighed. "I don't know as much about this one. It was kept with the gods if I'm not wrong." He looked away, his golden lashes shielding his gaze. "It's not as harmful as the soul-devouring dagger although it'd be possible to wreak havoc with it. Most of the time people would decide to use it themselves though."

"For the purpose of engraving their souls?"

Jinde nodded but Qiu Ling interrupted before he could explain further. "This doesn't make any sense. Why should Jing He engrave his soul?"

Jinde covered the scar on his wrist and smiled. "Why would somebody willingly mutilate their own soul? Of course, it'd have to be because of the same reason that led to this dagger being forged in the first place. He did it out of love."

Qiu Ling frowned. "But …"

Jinde pulled his sleeve down decisively. "You should be able to understand. You've already bound your soul to him. We dragons are able to do so naturally but that doesn't mean that we're the only race that loves deeply. He probably wanted to bind himself to you, even while he was attempting his trial. And his only chance to do so was the soul-engraving dagger."

"Mn …" Qiu Ling frowned.

If it was him, he also wouldn't have hesitated to engrave his soul to make sure he could stay with his beloved forever. But Jing He … He shouldn't have to do something like this. It was too easy for a god to injure his soul if they attempted it. They weren't dragons, after all. Their souls weren't meant to be parted.

"I should go and take a look then. I'm just afraid he won't let me after what happened before."

"Should I talk to him?" Leng Jin Yu wanted to get up but Jinde still held onto his arm and didn't seem to intend to let go any time soon. Leng Jin Yu could only sit back down.

Qiu Ling shook his head. "No. Even if you told him about his soul, it wouldn't make a difference. Right now, his feelings for me …" He sighed. "He has his guard up so taking a look at his soul would be difficult. I'll have to make him realize first that I'm the one he remembered. After that, I'll make sure he's alright."

"Alright. If you need help …"

Qiu Ling's gaze flickered. It had been ages since he had seen his father and honestly, their relationship had been a little strained back then. He hadn't noticed as much when he was a child but it was obvious in retrospect. Having him offer his help was a little strange.

"Uh, no need. Just … enjoy your time with the old geezer. I'll go and follow Jing He." He turned away and left the house, concentrating on the mark he had left on Jing Yi's body at his birth. Ah, never mind his father, at least his beloved hadn't really stopped loving him.