Chapter 406 - The Allure of a Beauty

Pin-drop silence engulfed the throne room. This definitely wasn't something one heard just any other day. The one sitting on the demon race's throne right now and who had done so for a long time … actually possessed mixed blood? Especially the Heavenly Emperor's expression was queer upon imagining this.

The one who was uncharacteristically silent was Qiu Ling. Looking at him one could have thought that this wasn't a secret to him but something that Xin Lan had shared with him long ago. Needless to say, this was just a facade. Inside him … he was cursing a certain someone.

Motherfucker! Hadn't that bastard mocked him for his mixed descent all these years?! Now it turned out he himself wasn't a full-blooded demon! Just where came that guy's sense of superiority from?! He really wanted to go over and laugh in that bastard's face right now!

The Heavenly Emperor finally coughed. "Is this really true?"

Xin Lan nodded. "Mn. The late king personally confirmed it." He paused before clearing his throat and looking back up. "I didn't really want to bring this up but now that it has come to this … It was actually a mistake on our part. You might not know about this but back then it was His Majesty who personally carried that child home. The dragons had no idea that he was of mixed blood. In fact, they don't know about it even until now and I certainly don't intend to tell them. It would only serve to mar the late king's image in their hearts which would be beneficial to the demons. So, I guess it would be better to just let the matter rest. Everyone regards him as a demon anyway."

The Heavenly Emperor nodded. He too had known the late king Jinde and his impression of him was a good one. He certainly didn't want to do something that would damage that person's image.

His brother-in-law wasn't as easily convinced though. "But how can this be? As a dragon himself shouldn't he have been able to tell that this child had demonic blood? How come …"

Xin Lan sighed. "It's not that easy. You also know that we were originally one race. The differences between the dragons and the demons … I'm afraid they are so marginal that no one is able to tell for sure. Especially so if the person tries to hide it. And that Jin Ling really hid his demonic side very well. Even I didn't notice." He shook his head. "That Jian Heng, he was too good at taking advantage of people's weaknesses. The late king never married but he loved children. When he brought Jin Ling back he was … really happy. He never said so but maybe he actually had intentions of passing his throne to him in the future. Thankfully, Jin Ling revealed his true colors before that could happen. Otherwise …"

The Heavenly Emperor rubbed his forehead. How could that be? Even someone as knowledgeable as the previous dragon king fell for such a ploy? And why had he never heard of that? If the dragon king really brought back a child, then shouldn't the gods have heard of it?

Xin Lan could also tell that the Heavenly Emperor wasn't completely satisfied with his short explanation but he didn't intend to say more than this. It was bad enough to have exposed this secret that his master had wanted him to guard. Well, in exchange for the key to freeing that man from the secret realm and letting his master finally reunite with him it was probably worth it.

"Now that Your Majesty knows … What is your decision in regard to the scrolls of fate?"

The Heavenly Emperor gritted his teeth. This information really was too shocking. He would have expected a lot of things but certainly not this. The demon king was actually someone with mixed blood and nobody had been able to tell. What would be revealed next?

He turned to look at his self-proclaimed son-in-law. For all he knew, this shameless dandy that had pestered his precious son for all these years might also be a demon in disguise. Mn, when Jing He came back he had to tell him all about this and warn him again not to trust this bastard! He definitely wouldn't let his son fall into the dirty hands of someone who might be a demon!

Seeing the Heavenly Emperor's gaze on him Qiu Ling gulped. Why did it seem as if his father-in-law had already figured out his own unclear origin? No, this couldn't be! He was prepared to talk about it with Jing He when he finally returned from his trial but he certainly wouldn't let his father-in-law find out! Not until after the wedding, at least. After that, he might acquiesce if Jing He found it really important to tell his family.

For now, he had to divert his attention though. "Father-in-law, don't be like this. I know you don't like me but after that Jin Ling is done with us dragons he would come after you gods. Just think of Jing He! Imagine how scared he would be if a horde of demons suddenly broke into the Nine Heavens!"

The Heavenly Emperor's expression darkened. Indeed. Assimilating the dragons into their race was the easiest and thus the first step but naturally, it wouldn't be the last one the demons took. No, they would come after the gods after that.

Yes, it wasn't the first time they waged war against each other but all this time they had been allied with the dragons. Most of the time the demons hadn't even been able to take a single step into the Nine Heavens. If the dragons weren't helping them anymore or, even worse, instead helped the demons, then it wasn't sure what would happen! It could very well be that they managed to reach the capital and Jing He …

The Heavenly Emperor and Qiu Ling imagined the very same thing at that moment and suddenly both their expressions derailed. Shit! Wasn't it said that that bastard Jin Ling was a lover of beauty who had a harem of a hundred people and didn't care whether the one he lay with was a woman or a man? If that kind of person saw Jing He, would he still be safe?!

The two of them exchanged a glance and even though they normally didn't see eye to eye they had a sudden understanding between them: That bastard! He shouldn't even dream of thinking about getting his hands on their Jing He! They would rather cause chaos in the mortal world than allow that!

Thus, the Heavenly Emperor turned to Shun Tao with a serious expression. "Fate's Scribe, hear my command: All scribes of your palace are to concentrate on this task and only this task from now on!"