Xiang Yong faintly raised his brows when he heard what his king wanted. “Zheng Yin? Yes, he is still here.” It was really early in the morning though and he wasn’t too clear on the refiner’s habits. If he went over now to talk to him, who knew if he wouldn’t wake him up?

Pondering for a moment, Xiang Yong figured that it might be best to stall for a little time or at least figure out what exactly his king wanted before he went to bother Zheng Yin. Even though Qiu Ling had gotten a lot better about being a nuisance who knew if he was completely cured? Especially in a situation where he was basically trapped in the Nine Heavens without Jing He around. Chances were he would go stir-crazy.

“This … May I ask what exactly we are contacting him about?

Qiu Ling gave him a long look, guessing what his adviser was stalling time for. He wasn’t angry. He knew he had given these guys a lot of reason to distrust him for a while. Just like the situation with the spirit beasts, it would take time to make up for that. While he could shorten that process by staying on good behavior and making some efforts, a certain period was still to be expected. Considering that his advisers had been affected by his previous behavior the most, he probably wouldn’t get away with anything under a year or two.

“It’s about the spirit beasts.” Qiu Ling glanced past the transmission stone to check whether he was still alone but nobody could be seen yet. Thus, he had no trouble going into detail. “I didn’t take good care of the relationship in the past. Now, I want to change that.”

Xiang Yong nodded. They had started with that since the matter with the demon-hunting sects had happened. To be honest, he himself had been involved in that since Qiu Ling was still off gallivanting in the mortal realm and didn’t want to take charge of it. He had, however, given the original comment which showed that he attached importance to this. Now, it seemed that he wanted to go further.

“What we’ve done recently can barely be counted as making minimal effort. It’s … the absolute baseline of what they deserve and I don’t think we should let that continue for too long.”

Xiang Yong nodded again. “I agree. However, the spirit beast king seemed a little wary in the past. To press ahead with too much force would make him even more uneasy.”

Qiu Ling could only smile wryly. “I do fear the same so I won’t rush it. So far, my thoughts are that we need to make more efforts but it’ll have a better impact if it seems … organic. Not like we are forcing something on them but that it comes from the inside.

“To make that succeed, what we need first is a person from the spirit beast tribe itself. They’ll have a deeper understanding of the current situation and might be able to give us some ideas on how to proceed. With their help, things would also be accepted more easily by others from the tribe.

“As for who to choose, I don’t think there are many possibilities. The only ones I am acquainted with are Wu Ya and Zheng Yin. I don’t know where the former is so that only leaves Zheng Yin for the time being. He was very helpful before so I think he might be willing to give this a try. I’d just like to ask. Even if he rejects it, we can still look for Wu Ya. What do you think?”

For the third time in a row, Xiang Yong nodded, not seeing a problem with his king’s words. This was something they had been slowly working on. Since then, three years had already passed so taking another step in the right direction shouldn’t look too hasty. Zheng Yin was also somebody who was easy to talk to. As long as they spend some time on this, it wasn’t impossible.

To be honest, the only thing that worried him a little was Zheng Yin’s feelings for Senior Xin Lan. He had been able to spot his heartache at a glance and even though Zheng Yin hadn’t said much, it was obvious that there was a little more to this than an unrequited crush. Zheng Yin simply didn’t seem like the type who would get upset over the one he loved showing interest in somebody else. So, more than likely, he was looking at this from the position of a jilted lover.

That idea also fit with Xin Lan’s reputation in the dragon realm. People admired him and many were willing to give it a try with him but clearly, most were well aware that the chances of actually being with him in the long run were slim to none. Xin Lan … simply wasn’t like other dragons and it truly showed in this regard.

It didn’t seem odd for Zheng Yin as a spirit beast to fall for his charms when he likely hadn’t known about this. If dragons were willing to try despite the grave consequences it might have for them, then why wouldn’t he? But now, he was clearly still in love with him while the other person had already moved on. As long as he stayed in the dragon realm and they ran into each other, this would be even more of a problem.

Xiang Yong’s mind moved fast and he finally gave a hum. “I agree with choosing him but … would Your Majesty be alright with me speaking to him first? We have spoken a few times while you were unconscious and I think we get along fine. He might also feel less pressured if it were to come from me.”

Qiu Ling nodded but his thoughts couldn’t help but stay on the part of those two ‘getting along fine’ for a moment longer. Finally, he couldn’t help but propose a bold idea: “Say … you wouldn’t be interested in marrying him, would you?”