At the same time, Xin Lan made his way into the dungeon of the demon realm's palace. He might have had to follow Jin Ling to prevent him from finding out about his master's whereabouts but that didn't mean that he had forgotten the last task his master had given him. He was supposed to help Qiu Ling get that Fu Min and Fu Heng out of the demon realm. Since he had already promised he wouldn't go back on his word. After all, that would just give Qiu Ling an excuse to go bother his master.
Xin Lan walked into the dungeon unhindered, not even sparing a glance for the demons guarding the place. In some regards, the demon realm was a lot easier to live in than the other realms. If someone saw that you were stronger than him, then he would just step out of your way and avert his gaze, not seeing what you did.
They didn't have close familial ties so in contrast to the dragons and gods nobody could rely on a status acquired through birth. A mere guard could kill the child of the demon king and nobody would bat an eyelid. On the contrary, he might enjoy a higher status because of that. Everything in the demon realm was about strength. As long as you were strong enough, nobody would dare to mess with you.
So when a demon was born he was the same as everyone else. A weak child that had to grow into its strength as fast as possible so as to not be killed. Everyone had the same chances, the same difficulties. In a way, this was better than the lives of the dragons and gods. Had he grown up as a demon instead of as a dragon … Maybe it would have been more fitting.
Xin Lan reached the cells and spotted the two dragons. His lips curled up in ridicule. So that was that Fu Min that had a soft spot for him? It sure didn't look like that. At this moment Fu Heng was leaning against the wall at the back of the cell. Fu Min had curled up next to him, his head resting in Fu Heng's lap. Considering that they were dragons they looked like a pair of lovers.
Xin Lan didn't go forward any further and just watched as Fu Heng gently combed through Fu Min's hair with his fingers. Lovers … Yes, whatever that Fu Min thought, this Fu Heng was obviously in love with him. Who knew if he hadn't already bound his soul to him?
"Stupid."
Xin Lan turned around and frowned at the person behind him. "What do you want?"
"What's it to you?"
Xin Lan waited but didn't get any further response. The other person only looked gloomily at Fu Min and Fu Heng. Xin Lan faced the other side. Ah, he hadn't wanted to do this in the first place. Now, he even had to deal with this.
The person next to him finally moved. His black robe slid across the ground but nothing could be heard. Not even his steps broke the oppressive silence of the dungeons. It was as if he wasn't there at all.
He reached the front of the cell and examined the two dragons inside. Ah, looking at the surface, they seemed perfect. A red-headed warrior, robbed of his weapon but still intent on calming down his lover. The way he let him rest on his lap when they were in such danger and how he gently combed back his hair while his gaze never left his lover's face … It was too beautiful to look at.
Unfortunately, all this was just an illusion. Looking deeper they obviously hadn't merged their souls yet. They were still free and unfettered, ready to abandon and betray each other at the drop of a hat.
He lifted his chin and stared at the two of them, his gaze darkening the longer he looked. Pretending over and over again. He would rid them of this disease. His presence flared.
Fu Heng's eyes widened and he looked up in a rush, finally noticing the person in front of the cell. His hand on Fu Min's head stilled. Oh no, this couldn't be true.
Fu Min stirred in his sleep. "What's going on?" He groggily lifted his head and rubbed his eyes.
They had already been several days here in the demon realm. In the beginning, he hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep because he couldn't help but imagine what the demons would do to them. But over time he realized that the demons didn't seem to have any intention to hurt them. Well, at least not for now. So in the end, he had just curled up next to Fu Heng and caught up on the sleep he had missed before.
Fu Heng pulled him closer without another word and motioned to the front. Fu Min frowned. Just what was going on? He rubbed his eyes again and turned around. When he saw the person on the other side he froze.
The man wore a black robe without any embellishment and his equally black hair fell down to his hips. Even his eyes, whether it was the pupil or the iris, looked as if they had been painted with ink. Not to speak of the symbol between his brows. If not for the white skin, he could have been mistaken for a shadow instead of a person. Well, to a certain extent this wasn't wrong.
Fu Min's eyes widened and his body trembled all over. He unconsciously grabbed Fu Heng's hand and tried to burrow deeper into his arms but there was no way to escape the penetrating gaze of the man outside the cell.
"Fu Heng, that … that's a … a fallen god, right?"
Fu Heng nodded with a dark expression. Yes, the man in front of them was indeed a fallen god. The only kind of person that was even worse than a demon.