Oh. My. Fate?! (Bl, Volume 9, Part 2)

222 No Way to Escape

Meanwhile, Jing Yi pulled out the sword that he had borrowed from the God of War's palace. Looking at the blade, he almost wanted to laugh. Wasn't it ironic that he was actually about to use a weapon from the palace of Jing He's uncle to do this? But, well, he also didn't feel that it was wrong. In fact, this was probably a fitting end.

He stepped closer to the bed and once again looked at the beautiful face. Right now, he was getting angry again. This person ... each step of his path, he had been getting in the way. And that was even without being conscious.

He should probably be happy that there wasn't just a part of the soul split off for the trials or this really would've been much more difficult. He didn't think that if Jing He had been awake, there would have ever been a doubt who Qiu Ling would choose. No, the one saving grace about him was really that he was like this. Well, he would make sure that he would stay like this forever.

He raised the sword, a mocking smile on his lips. Qiu Ling hadn't wanted that he learned how to use a sword. Well, for this kind of thing, what did you need other than brute force? Even he would be able to do that.

He raised the weapon high and then slashed down. His eyes widened while he focused on that delicate neck, figuring that this was the easiest to injure. And also the best place to make sure that it would be fast and irrevocable.

The blade whooshed through the air, the gust making Jing He's hair flutter slightly, almost giving the illusion of him being alive.

The blade connected, and then, Jing Yi was thrown back.

He gave a yelp, and the blade was flung to the side, hitting the ground somewhere with a metallic sound and skidding further until it hit a wall. Jing Yi hardly registered that. He just stared up at the bed and the small creature that had leaped out from between those black strands of hair, its claws being what had deflected the weapon at the last moment.

He stared at Jing He and realized there was no blood at all, merely a gash in that pristine white robe of his.

Jing Yi closed his eyes, muttering under his breath before he jumped back to his feet. Since he had yelped, it was already over. Now, he could only give it a last try.

Behind him, Mu Kun and Huang Lan already rushed inside, giving a yell of their own. Jing Yi raised a hand to fire an attack, hoping that a spell would be able to completely incarcerate that body in front of him.

The creature on the bed gnashed its teeth and hissed, the fur leaping up into flames as if to scare him into holding back. But Jing Yi's spell had already taken flight and was rushing straight at the two figures. It reached the edge of the bed and then hit a wall, the flames spreading out to all sides and sending sparks back in Jing Yi's direction. But none of it touched the white-clad person on the bed.

Mu Kun leaped and tackled Jing Yi to the ground, grabbing his wrists and forcing them below both their bodies while another hand pressed his head on the ground right next to the glowing lines of the protection arrays Qiu Ling had set long ago.

Jing Yi howled in rage but there was nothing much he could do. He could use his spiritual energy even without his hands but not without seeing what was up there unless he tried to burn down the whole palace. And clearly, even if he tried that, it would just result in everything but that person being scorched. It seemed that no matter what he did, he couldn't kill Jing He.

At the same time, Huang Lan rushed forward, trying to take a look at Jing He but he was hissed at by the creature whose fur was now bristling with flames flaring brightly. Huang Lan cursed but at least the flames didn't leave its body or seem to hurt Jing He.

Outside, steps sounded and Qiu Ling rushed in, his eyes wide with fear. Seeing the chaos inside, he sagged down to the ground, staring at the creature that was standing on Jing He's chest as relief flooded him.

He wasn't dead. Thankfully, he had grabbed that little thing back at the Court of Flames back then and brought it here, making it protect Jing He. Otherwise, it would've been too late. He would've been too late. He wouldn't have been able to protect him.

He reached out to the door frame next to him, tears gathering in his eyes. Just the thought that, because of his own negligence, Jing He could have died today ... He choked and then closed his eyes, his claws sinking into the wood of the door frame, leaving deep furrows behind.

The Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress that had rushed right after him arrived a step later, fear gripping their hearts as well when they saw Qiu Ling kneeling on the ground, weeping.

They rushed inside, wanting to get to their son's side only to be attacked by the little creature as well. The Heavenly Emperor was once again acquainted with a ball of fire but he couldn't care less. He picked the little creature up, holding it tightly while he looked his son over, trying to see if there was an injury anyway. Not finding anything, he sagged to the ground as well, clasping Jing He's hand.

His son was alive. He had really survived. Even though it had been a close call, he was still there.

Bai Fen stood next to the bed, her gaze focused on the part of the fabric that had been cut. She didn't think her husband had noticed yet but it hadn't escaped her eyes.

Seeing this, she was filled with fear and trepidation. But the next moment, there was also burning hot anger. If she could have, she would've turned around and rained hell on the person who would dare to do this. She could not let anything similar happen again.

But she also couldn't forget that that person was still the one carrying her son's soul. And while she would've given a lot to free that soul right now and have it returned to its original body, she had also just seen what that would mean for Qiu Ling. Not just back in the hall but also right now when they arrived here.

If she did this, if she killed her son's reincarnation, she would hurt him and then, in turn, hurt her son as well. That thought alone made her clench her hands into fists and hold back.

She wasn't able to look at either of them though. Thus, she just tried to keep up a facade of calmness. "Qiu Ling, take him away from here." She didn't specify but she was sure that she didn't need to. Qiu Ling would be able to understand her without having it spelled out to him.

At the door, Qiu Ling opened his eyes, the tears still falling silently. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with Jing He, to gather his body into his arms and make sure that he was alright, to stay with him and make sure that he would continue to be alright.

But he also realized that he couldn't let Jing Yi stay here. Even though he had been tackled to the ground, even though there were still people around and the arrays were still working, their lines faintly glowing on the ground, this was a risk he couldn't take.

He fought himself back to his feet, and even though he realized that he was unsteady, he stumbled a few steps into the room, taking another look at Jing He to make sure that he really hadn't overlooked anything.

Just like Bai Fen, he also saw that gash in his robe and he knew what it meant. He forced down the fear in his heart and then turned to Mu Kun and Jing Yi, stepping down to grab Jing Yi by the arm and pulling him up off the ground. "We're going to the dragon realm."

He didn't say anything about what had happened, he just pulled him up and out of the palace, not daring to look back. He didn't want to see what else he might not have known yet. He just wanted this to be over.

Unfortunately, he also knew that it wouldn't be so easy. For as long as Jing Yi lived, what had happened today would stand between them. But he did not have the heart to end it and neither did Jing Yi. They were ... trapped together through no one's fault but their own. And even though they continuously hurt each other in this trial, there was no way to escape.

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Author's Note: And now we've finally reached the end of this volume. Guess we'll start with the next one tomorrow 😁