As for the person that Jing He was eagerly anticipating, he had already left the dragon realm and was now making trouble in the demon realm. He didn’t think much about it. In fact, he wasn’t thinking at all. He only saw that scene replaying in his head how Jing Yi had laid in his arms, blood pouring from the wound in his chest, and how he finally closed his eyes.

He could see the agony in his features, the fear of death, the hopelessness. His beloved … he shouldn’t have had to suffer like that. It was his fault for not protecting him well enough. It was the demons’ fault for doing that to him. And he … he would make them regret doing this.

Behind him, Leng Jin Yu was still keeping an eye on him. He had relaxed somewhat after Fu Heng and Fu Min arrived though. Before this, he hadn’t been able to worry constantly. After all, he didn’t know whether he would be of much help.

If Qiu Ling was besieged by a group of demons, how many could he take care of for him? Likely not many. Maybe one or two. More than that he couldn’t take on, he was sure of that. With the experience of two lives and the body of an ascended deity instead of a dragon, he knew his limitations.

Leng Jin Yu sighed to himself. Really, in this family, he was a bit useless. He knew he shouldn’t think like that but he couldn’t help the thought. In his past life, he had abandoned Jinde and hadn’t done much for Qiu Ling, finally abandoning him as well even though that hadn’t been of his own free will. Now, he hadn’t been able to protect either of them in the battle, making them lose a person they dearly loved.

The image of Jinde clinging to Jin Ling’s body came back uninvited, making Leng Jin Yu grit his teeth. Jinde had suffered so much back then and now, when everything should have been perfect, it still wouldn’t stop. From one moment to the next, he had turned from the one valiantly defending Qiu Ling behind him to a mess himself.

That shouldn’t have happened. At that moment, there shouldn’t have been a need for Jin Ling to insert himself into the fight. He should have been able to do so for his husband himself. But he hadn’t because he had been too weak.

The worst of it all was that while he knew how badly Jinde had taken what had happened, he really wanted to go and question him. He wanted answers. He wanted to know what exactly was going on and why he had never told him about Jin Ling.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying not to let it get to him. Still, he vividly remembered Jin Ling’s face. Before this, he had never met the demon king and he trusted Jinde so he had never doubted anything he told him.

When Jinde said that he had taken in Jian Heng’s child based on some kind of deal because a demon wouldn’t care even for their own child he had believed it. He had regretted his choices from his past life because he had failed to give Jinde what he wanted back then, driving him to accept that kind of deal in the first place. He had never thought that there might be another possibility but now, it was obvious.

The moment he saw Jin Ling’s face, it all became clear. These two … they resembled each other. It wasn’t obvious at a glance. No, the first thought anyone would have when looking at either of them was what kind of stunning beauty they were. But he was Jinde’s husband and while yes, he would agree any day that Jinde was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on, he wasn’t as stunned seeing that appearance as others were. He was able to see much more than that. And Jin Ling … he showed a close resemblance to Jinde in several parts.

The most obvious might be the smile. Even though he hadn’t seen the kind of brilliant smile on his face that Jinde usually gave him, he had shown one of those faint smiles he knew from the very beginning of their encounter in this life. The shape of their eyes was similar as well while the rest of his face likely bore a greater resemblance to Jian Heng.

Come to think of it, he had seen Jian Heng once or twice when he was young. But then, that had been so long ago and he had hardly paid any attention to him. If he wasn’t wrong, then Jian Heng should have been a visitor of their Master though what he had wanted was beyond him. The war hadn’t raged as much back then so maybe there had been some kind of negotiation but he couldn’t say for sure.

Either way, he had only seen him in passing and at that age, he hadn’t cared at all so he couldn’t say how much Jin Ling really resembled his father. But then, it didn’t matter much. Whether it was Jian Heng or somebody else entirely, he didn’t care about that. He only cared about Jinde’s involvement and why he hadn’t mentioned it.

No, not even not mentioned it but actively hidden the truth from him. Leng Jin Yu clenched his hands, his mind unwittingly ringing with a few sentences from his memory that had resurfaced when he looked at Jin Ling’s face for the first time.

You know, you can tell that new husband of yours a lot. He isn’t of the immortal races, he doesn’t know that much yet. It’s not strange that there are some things that he wouldn’t be able to understand. Just getting back a few of his memories … I think I actually see a bit more than he does.

The words were spoken with his voice but the one saying them wasn’t him but Chun Yin when he returned for a few short hours. His past life’s self … had been able to see what he hadn’t even though he hadn’t met Jin Ling either and he had gone out of his way to hide that revelation from him to honor Jinde’s wishes. Knowing that … it pained him even more.

Author’s Note: In case you don’t remember, the situation Leng Jin Yu is referencing is from volume 7, more specifically the conversation in chapter 472.

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