“They are indeed pitiful. The curse of the dragons and that of the demons is in direct opposition to each other, one being unable to love and the other getting deeply attached.” He tried to keep his voice steady as he said this but his mind was filled with scattered thoughts.

This point he was making, didn’t it prove that he could only be counted as a dragon no matter his blood? Actually, maybe their curses were all related since they had all come from the same source. Would things change at all in the demon realm with a new king on the throne? If only he hadn’t told Jing Yi, it might have never come out since Jin Ling was now dead and he was the only one among the people in the know who was against him.

Qiu Ling forcefully suppressed those thoughts and focused on Jing He again. “In the past, they have used this against us. When the war was at its height — mostly during Jinde’s reign back then and that of his predecessor before him — they would consciously approach dragons and make them fall in love with them.

“There was nothing we could do about it since dragons and demons especially are tough to distinguish. With this happening again and again, it weakened the stability of our race considerably. Especially so since they chose their targets wisely.”

He gulped, realizing that just one sentence would be able to sum up what he needed to say: In fact, my father himself was targeted by them and while he had already fallen in love at that point so they didn’t succeed in the way they intended, there were still worse consequences to it. After saying that much, he could simply explain his own origin.

“Actually …” The plan was there but when the words almost left his lips, his lashes quivered. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. He lowered his head, telling himself to check Jing He’s attitude even more closely. Anyway, they were on the topic already. It was alright to take a few more moments to get to the point.

“The targets they chose were sometimes ordinary people, other times soldiers that were part of the cities’ defenses, and at times even high-ranking members of our race …” Like the king’s right-hand man who you already know was my father.

Jing He nodded. “This way, they had people everywhere to gather information and also make any plans your people came up with collapse from the inside out.”

Qiu Ling nodded. “Yes. It is one of many reasons why every young dragon nowadays is cautioned to stay away from the demon realm and not fall in love early if at all possible. Of course, it’s not that easy.”

Jing He nodded. In fact, just thinking of his own experience of falling in love, this was more than obvious. He hadn’t wanted to and yet, it had happened. At that time, many things had spoken against them becoming a couple so he had consciously told himself that Qiu Ling was not a suitable partner. The dragons were in even direr straits if they fell for the wrong person but that didn’t mean that they could control their feelings and stop doing so.

“It must have been a tragedy. To find out that they were used like that … their heart would not be able to take it.” He wasn’t a dragon but even he understood as much. If Qiu Ling were to reveal that he had only been with him because of ulterior motives, it would break his heart for sure. He wouldn’t even know how to go on living.

Qiu Ling nodded. “Indeed. But that wasn’t the only tragic part.” He looked deeply at Jing He, his heart hammering in his chest. There was another opportunity in front of him but he was just as afraid as he had been a few minutes ago. It seemed that nothing he did could alleviate this feeling of anxiety in him, not until he had brought it up and seen Jing He accept it with his own eyes.

Jing He looked at him questioningly. When Qiu Ling didn’t speak up immediately, he tried to figure it out on his own though. “They … probably wouldn’t just feel hurt because of this betrayal. Because of Tian’s curse, the consequences should be even more dire. Most likely, many of them died?”

Qiu Ling nodded. “Yes. Just in the same way that many died because their soul-bound lovers were killed, causing them to lose their minds and often take their own life if the demons weren’t faster in battle. But … this still isn’t all of it.”

He took a deep breath, his expression showing how tough it was for him to talk about this. And yet, Jing He didn’t doubt anything. To him, who didn’t have a deep knowledge of the dragon race even though he had learned much more than the average trueborn god ever would, this was simply the king of the dragon race feeling pained for his people. What else could there be?

Qiu Ling watched Jing He’s expression closely as he continued to speak. “Not everyone abandoned the dragon in question as soon as their objective had been achieved.

“In fact, a dragon can still live after losing their partner as long as their soul is not bound. It’s not always easy but it’s possible. And if they try to bind their soul, they would find out that the one in front of them isn’t a dragon themselves.

“Thus, many never got to that step. They did get married though and many of them also had children with each other. Because of this, the number of half-bloods with demon and dragon blood flowing in their veins skyrocketed at that time and even now, there are likely many people in the dragon realm with such a heritage. Many of them … were born not knowing themselves.” Just like he had until the time his mother killed his father and told him about where she actually came from.