Jinde stared at him, feeling that they could really count themselves lucky that they had Xiang Yu on their side. He was … well, he was an all-around talent, it seemed. Not only could he make any kind of array, but he was also a really good watchdog when you instructed him.

Shaking his head at the thought, he turned to Qiu Ling instead. Anyway, while Xiang Yu seemed to have become especially attached to him, this was neither his wedding nor his palace any longer. So, Qiu Ling was the one who should make the decisions.

Qiu Ling gave a hum. “Outright killing him isn’t a good idea. We should find out what he wants first. Can you … well, pull him over here? I can do the questioning.” He didn’t really want to do any of this on his wedding day but since those demons just had to come knocking on his door, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice.

Xiang Yu nodded, opened a gate behind the demon, and pulled him into the courtyard.

Qiu Ling had been waiting so he immediately grabbed the guy, his claws already extended. “Care to tell me what you’re doing here?”

At the same time, Xiang Yong’s brows shot up when he recognized the person. “That’s the demon who has been bothering An Bai before.”

Qiu Ling glanced at his adviser instead of caring about Ye Yang’s response. “Oh, so that’s him. Should we kill him outright then to rid An Bai of a worry?”

Ye Yang’s lips twitched. “Longjun, you do realize I’m helping you, right?”

“Helping me?” Qiu Ling finally turned his attention back to him and wondered whether he should indeed kill this guy. He wouldn’t just allow anyone to strut in here and bother his people. Especially not a demon. An Bai deserved better.

Ye Yang decided not to care about his poor reception and took the time to explain. Well, not that he had much of a choice. He was surrounded by the dragon king and his people which … apparently included a fallen god since the last time he had been here. Even though he was strong, this wasn’t quite the type of fight he wanted to get involved in. If the odds were this bad … no, he also had a survival instinct.

“I’ve been providing your advisers with information on the current state of the demon realm. No matter how bad your personal relationship with Jin Ling is, you also have to admit that things have been rather calm since he acceded to the throne, right? It would be a different matter altogether if Yong Hai were to take over. Which … is precisely what might be happening this very instant so I’d suggest you let go of me and let me tell you in detail.”

Qiu Ling gave him a scrutinizing look but finally indeed took his claws back and even backed off a step. “Well, I indeed heard about something like that. Speak then! What’s going on in the demon realm?”

Ye Yang heaved a sigh of relief and then glanced at the fallen god that was still almost glued to his side. Looking at that face, he fell into a daze. Fallen gods had no business being this cute.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to Qiu Ling, trying to ignore the scorching gaze from his side. Anyway, as long as he didn’t make a wrong move, he wouldn’t be killed … right?

He cleared his throat and then started from the beginning. “I’m not sure if you’ve been told but a few days ago, Jin Ling vanished. I was worried that this would embolden Yong Hai to try and take over in his absence but he was lying low these days, probably thinking it was a trap.

“Now though, he has apparently had enough. This morning, some spies of Jin Ling and I found out that he had gathered everyone who was willing to follow him. By now, they have taken over the demon king’s palace and Yong Hai has crowned himself, saying that Jin Ling abandoned the demon realm. In line with his promises to his followers, the first thing he will do is to attack the dragon realm and try to reclaim it.”

Qiu Ling stared at him blankly and then rolled his eyes. “Of course, this had to happen on my wedding day.”

Ye Yang blinked his eyes in a daze. Wedding day? He looked at the bright red robe of the man in front of him and then the same robe on the body of the youth behind him. Well, seems like there was indeed something going on. Surprisingly enough, he hadn’t heard even a whisper of this.

“I’m sorry about that but right now, I don’t think this can be changed anymore. Even if we were to find and drag Jin Ling back right now, Yong Hai already has the demons riled up and itching for a fight. They won’t just back off. In any case, a legitimate king or anything like that … they don’t respect it. In fact, if Jin Ling were to return right now, I’d expect him to get killed.”

Qiu Ling took a deep breath and then glanced at Jinde. He knew that he wouldn’t want to see Jin Ling die. And personally, he also didn’t care too much to throw that guy to the wolves even if he hated him. After all, that wouldn’t spare the dragons from the attack either.

He retracted his gaze and then sighed before motioning at Fu Heng. “Well, you heard him. Get ready to defend the borders.”

Ye Yang cleared his throat before Fu Heng could leave. “I wouldn’t bother about that. Yong Hai has illusions of grandeur. He’ll barge in at one point, force his way through as far as he can, and then attack your capital city directly if he gets far enough. If he can’t he’ll still die trying.”

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