Jing He noticed his expression and couldn’t help but worry as well. Just what had Qiu Ling thought of? He wanted to ask but didn’t dare to. In the end, he could only avoid looking at Qiu Ling and change back to the previous topic. “I was surprised when I remembered being in contact with a fallen god. To be honest, I still feel a bit scared but you didn’t seem worried at all.”

Qiu Ling tried to shake off the panic that had gripped his heart and forced himself to nod. “Yes, that … that’s true. I …” He wasn’t sure what to say and closed his eyes for a moment.

He knew he had to tell him. Jing He would need some time to remember but the millennium spent in that secret realm hadn’t been that eventful so procuring those memories should go fast. If he had already remembered until there, then it might only be another one or two weeks until he knew everything up to the point where they had entered the realm.

Between that time and the time he had told him … it had only been a few years, hadn’t it? And who knew if he hadn’t let something slip in between as well? After all, Jing Yi had known so there hadn’t been a reason to censor himself when talking about this.

There was a chance that Jing He wouldn’t understand even if that was the case because he lacked the background and probably couldn’t even begin to imagine that he wasn’t a full-blooded dragon but still. The possibility was there. And even if he didn’t pick up on some off-hand comment, he’d still remember sooner or later. Before that, he had to tell him.

He took a faint breath, once again wondering how to ease Jing He into this. His beloved wouldn’t take kindly to this. He could accept him and Jing Yi getting married despite the fact that Jing Yi had tried to kill him. He could accept having been friends with a fallen god even though he would be deathly afraid of him in this incarnation. He could accept him suddenly having a family and both of them having met Tian. But he couldn’t accept his lover being part demon. It just wouldn’t fit with his picture-perfect image of their future.

Talking about Xiang Yu seemed like a chance to make Jing He relax on his stance on some things. But then again, it wasn’t clear if this would really be the case or if it could extend to the demons as well. After all, fallen gods had originally been trueborn gods. Most of them fell through no fault of their own as well. At the very least, you could feel sympathetic toward them. It was much more difficult to think of the demons that way when your people were at war with them and there had been another big battle literally just a month ago.

Qiu Ling opened his eyes again and weakly gave it a try. “Well, Xiang Yu isn’t bad. Actually, he seems pretty harmless to me. Not at all what I would have expected. I guess … somebody’s … well, identity doesn’t really make the person?”

Jing He nodded. “Of course not.” Actually, he wasn’t so sure if this person was really harmless. He clearly remembered him suggesting killing people several times. But then, just like he listened to his parents now, he intended to listen to his husband in the future. So if Qiu Ling believed this person could be trusted, then that was the case. His trust in Qiu Ling was strong enough to extend even to others.

Qiu Ling looked at him, his lips opening faintly before closing again. Jing He had agreed but … why did he not feel any better? Was it because they were just talking about the concept in general but not in regard to the demons? Or was it because this didn’t seem to be about him and Jing He’s choice of a partner? Maybe it was even that he couldn’t rest assured as long as this was only a hypothetical situation and not especially about himself?

He tried not to let it get to him and instead continued in the same vein. “I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot. You know how we have been trying to include the half-bloods in the dragon realm more?”

Jing He nodded. “You mentioned it and I also remember.” In fact, this had been done for his sake so just thinking of it, he felt sweet. It also made him feel proud of Qiu Ling. Clearly, he was a good king. Using this opportunity and making even more out of it showed his foresight.

Qiu Ling gave a hum in response. “Well, it’s been so long since I took the throne but I never spent much time on their situation specifically. I should have done that though. This issue … I should have been aware of it from the start.” He glanced at Jing He to gauge his expression but he only saw the same gentle one as usual. Maybe there was a hint of comfort in his eyes but nothing out of the ordinary. He probably didn’t get his drift.

Jing He reached out and covered Qiu Ling’s arm with his hand. “Don’t worry about it. To my knowledge, it isn’t any different in the Nine Heavens. We have simply … not realized this issue before but I don’t think their life should have been that bad. We were just missing out on using the special opportunities this presents.”

Qiu Ling nodded and wrapped his arms more tightly around Jing He’s waist. “You’re not wrong. It’s just … I feel like I’ve let them down. Some of them … face a lot more issues than they might let on at first glance.” I know because I am one of them. This sentence was what he should say but once again, the words got stuck in his throat.