An Rong gave a wry smile, quietly wondering how he had even gotten himself into the situation in the first place. He didn’t dare to waste any time though. “I apologize for that. Honestly, seeing you just now surprised me so I was a bit distracted.

“As for the question you asked, it’s quite simple to answer. You might not believe me though but you can check it yourself.” He motioned at the mark of wisdom between Xiang Yu’s eyebrows, his smile turning a little lighter. “I guess there’s no need for me to explain its use anymore, is there? Anyway, I already told you that I can be considered old in the demon race, didn’t I?”

Xiang Yu hesitated but still nodded. He wasn’t a trueborn god. His trial wasn’t exactly the same as theirs. It was only supposed to run until the objective had been achieved. That was why, as soon as he was mortally wounded, he had died despite the timely help. Although, to be honest, Xiang Yu didn’t think that his objective had really been reached.

But either way, this was also the reason why he immediately had all of the memories at his disposal, not needing to wait for all of them to be uncovered one by one again. Right now, he knew exactly what An Rong was talking about, and remembering how An Rong had tried to explain everything to him, gave him a bit of pause. If he hadn’t known that this man was a demon, he might not have believed it if he was told.

Seeing that he didn’t have anything to say, An Rong continued to explain, not wanting to give that fallen god any chance to come up with ideas on his life. As he had said, they were crazy. Fallen gods had absolutely no capacity for nuances. For them, everything was black and white. If this fallen god thought that demons were bad, then he thought they were bad, and it would be difficult to convince him otherwise.

So if he made the slightest mistake, he would likely be killed. And that … No, he couldn’t let that happen. He had worked for so long to bring Duan Gui Ying back. Now that only one last step remained, he definitely couldn’t fail.

“Well, I was alive at the time when Tian cursed the immortal races. But I happened to get around being afflicted with that curse. Surely, you must’ve heard that there were a few people who managed that.”

Xiang Yu tilted his head, not even needing to use the mark of wisdom to get the answer to that. Xin Lan himself wasn’t cursed because he had been conceived but not yet born at that time and Tian had let go of the whole generation of those children. But then, An Rong had said that he was alive, not a child about to be born. “You’re lying to me.”

His voice sounded flat, making An Rong’s terror rise. He smiled wryly and hastily shook his head. “No, I’m not. Didn’t I say that you could check with the mark of wisdom?” He pointed at it, just in case that Xiang Yu had somehow forgotten about it. “I’m not sure what exactly you know but, actually, there were a few loopholes in the curse. Some managed to get around it because they had not yet been born, others were not in the scope of the curse because they were not in the immortal realms at that time but in the mortal realm, and then there were those who managed to find some other means to circumvent the curse.

“I was one of those who was lucky enough to be in the second category. I had a life before the curse when my race wasn’t like it is now. Originally, I had only come here for a short time, wanting to explore the world, trying to see what is out there. When I returned, the realm and my people had already changed beyond recognition.

“That is why I came back to the mortal realm later. I simply couldn’t stand being around the others any longer. These weren’t the people I grew up among. The curse … it changed them beyond recognition.

“It wasn’t as bad in the first few generations who still had their memories of what had once been. Even though they couldn’t feel love, they held up the previous code of conduct because they didn’t want to succumb to fate and become these hateful creatures. But with each new demon being born, that stance was eroded further and further.

“I don’t even want to take a look at what the realm has become by now. They’re not my people any longer.” His voice sounded a little hoarse when he spoke of the curse and what it had done to his people. To be honest, this was one of his regrets.

Originally, the demons had been … normal. They might have been a bit overbearing but they hadn’t been the kind of race who would just ignore anyone’s feelings and do whatever because what was beneficial to them.

Certainly, there had been demons like that. But for the gods and dragons, it was no different. There were bad people in every race. By now, with love gone — and not just the romantic kind but any kind of love — there simply wasn’t anything left that they could structure their society with. What other than benefits did still exist?

To see his people reduced to such a state, it was indeed hard. That was why he had created a life in the mortal realm. And when he had met Duan Gui Ying, he had thought that he had a new purpose in life. With him, he felt the same as he had before. And with the Hei Dian Sect that the two of them had founded together with Huan Yin and Feng Jian Hao, it had been like having a family again, both people and a place that he belonged to.

But then, that had been taken from him. Feng Jian Hao failed to ascend while Huan Yin stayed behind, having to care for their child on her own. And then later, she went out to wander the lands, taking Bai Mu with her. As for Duan Gui Ying, he was finally killed. At that time, he felt like he was plunged into darkness once again.

He simply … he simply wanted the life back that he had come to love. He wanted a place to belong to again. He wanted to hold his beloved in his arms, to look into his eyes and talk to him. He missed him. He missed him even more than he had missed his original family after the curse struck.

Maybe this was the obsession of the demons but no, he felt that he truly loved him. Otherwise, his heart would never be in as much pain as he currently felt.

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