Chapter 656 - How Is This a Fallen God?

Qiu Ling raised his brows. "They … haven't finished yet? Oh. And here I thought my old man didn't have the stamina anymore after being reincarnated. Turns out he could hold on longer than expected."

Xin Lan frowned. That really wasn't anything he wanted to think about. "That's nothing you should worry about."

"Oh, well, I don't care anyway." Qiu Ling turned away and went back onto the courtyard, slowly ripping the petals from the flower.

Xin Lan's brows twitched. "What are you doing there?"

"Oh, it's about my beloved." Qiu Ling turned back to him and showed him the flower that had already lost a third of its petals. "See this?" He ripped out another. "It means I'll get him back." He held the petal and finally out it into his storage ring, then he ripped out the next one. "This one means I'll get him back soon." He put the petal into his spatial ring too and ripped out the next one. "I'll get him back." Another petal found its way into the spatial ring. "I'll get him back soon."

"This is ridiculous."

"Hmph." Qiu Ling ignored the person that didn't get his brilliance and continued to pick the petals of the flower.

In the corridor, Xiang Yu stared at the flower and how Qiu Ling silently repeated his words. He couldn't help but think back to his own past.

That day the sun had shone brightly, making the water in the river sparkle so much that it blinded them every now and then. A soft breeze had rustled the grass and their hair, gently brushing their skin. Sitting there on the hill, looking over the familiar place where he had grown up, he had felt so comfortable as if life had shown him what perfection was for just a short moment.

Yan Xia had reached over, his elegant fingers closing around the stem of a flower right next to him.

"What are you doing?" He had leaned over, his hands clasping Yan Xia's shoulder and his chin put on top.

Yan Xia hadn't said anything. He had quietly raised the flower and picked one of the petals, looking at him while he let it fall to the ground. "He loves me."

"I do."

Yan Xia picked another petal. "He loves me not." Once again, it was thrown to the ground.

He had laughed in embarrassment. "What are you doing? Of course, I love you."

Yan Xia hadn't stopped though. "He loves me. He loves me not." One after the other, those petals were picked and let go off, falling to the ground silently. Just as silently as his tears had fallen later on when he finally realized that this man wasn't what he had believed him to be.

Just why hadn't he been able to understand it that day already? Why had he … silently felt pleased watching him like that? Why had he thought it was romantic to sit there like that and watch his lover pick those petals? Why had he looked up to his face, feeling as if he was falling for him all over again? The gentle kiss they shared that day, the careful embrace … Why had he not looked closer? Why had he not been able to judge people better?

Maybe then … Maybe then instead of a man that would pretentiously rip apart a flower in front of him just like he had ripped his heart and body apart later on, he could have found a man that would silently treasure him and hope for his swift return like this one. Wouldn't that have been much better?

Xiang Yu watched those petals vanishing in the spatial ring one after the other, unable to extricate himself. Was this how it was supposed to be done? Weren't they normally … thrown away? He blinked his tears away and finally called out. "You … Why are you putting the petals into your spatial ring? Shouldn't you throw them away when you have your answer?"

Qiu Ling didn't even bother to turn around. "Hmph. Every one of those petals symbolizes that my beloved will return soon. How could I just throw them away? That's like throwing my beloved's promise away." Qiu Ling paused. Eh? Come to think of it … He turned to Xin Lan. "What about that fallen god? Did you find out anything from my uncle-in-law? Do you know where he is? Have you found Jing He?" He dashed over and reached out to grab onto Xin Lan's robe but the other dragon stepped out of his reach.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Ah? How could I ask him myself? Jing He —"

"Not him. The fallen god. Didn't you just talk to him?" Xin Lan motioned to the house with a smirk. Just great! With this, he could get rid of two annoyances at the same time. This was perfect.

Qiu Ling blinked and turned to look at the door. A head was peeking out from the doorway. A pair of big black eyes blinked back at him and just when he wanted to tilt his head, the person in the door already did so.

Qiu Ling turned to Xin Lan and frowned. "Bastard! What are you even saying? How is that a fallen god?!"

Both Xin Lan and Xiang Yu stared at him but Qiu Ling didn't care.

He turned back to his flower, hurriedly picking the last petals. In the end, it turned out … "Ah …" Qiu Ling sighed. "So my beloved will return to me very soon. That's great." He stored the last petal as well as the stem of the flower in his spatial ring and turned back to the door. The strange person was still standing there. "So who is he?"

"The fallen god that kidnapped the Son of Heaven."

Qiu Ling frowned and went over to the doorway. He ignored Xiang Yu's protest grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of Xin Lan. Then he pinched his cheeks. "Are you kidding me? Just look at him! He looks like a stupid child! How is this a fallen god?"

Xin Lan watched in horror how Qiu Ling dared to knead the cheeks of a certain fallen god. This … His Master wouldn't hold him responsible if Xiang Yu killed Qiu Ling in a bout of madness, would he? Because, honestly, he didn't know what to do right now.