When Yi Zan and Qiang Wei couldn't reach Fu Heng and Fu Min even after several minutes they stopped trying.
"Maybe they're indeed in the demon realm and it isn't convenient to talk. We shouldn't continue. It would be dangerous if this diverts their attention."
"Mn." Qiang Wei weighed the transmission stone in his hand and frowned. "Xiang Yong alone will hardly be enough support for His Majesty. Should we contact An Bai?"
"Xiang Yong should have done that already. An Bai was still in the dragon realm." Yi Zan turned to look at Jing He's motionless body. "Ah, if just His Highness wasn't …" He furrowed his brows. Would their king really be alright after losing him like that? It wasn't news that he hated the demon king and now it was exactly this person that had taken his loved one from him.
"Don't worry too much. Even though he acts like an idiot if it's about His Highness, he's still a warrior at heart. And he's stronger than all of us together. They won't easily injure him. Didn't he manage to survive all these years without problems?"
"That's not what I'm worried about." Yi Zan continued to look at Jing He's body and sighed. "If this was just His Majesty … naturally, he wouldn't have any trouble. But the Son of Heaven's mortal reincarnation is there and even though he is but a reincarnation, His Majesty certainly feels different."
"You mean they might threaten him with His Highness?"
Yin Zan looked back at his friend and smiled wryly. "Would you do anything else if you were the demon king? He has the perfect bargaining chip in his hands while our king …" He shook his head. What could their king offer in exchange for His Highness? "The only thing I could think of would be him stepping down. But if we lose our king …"
Qiang Wei nodded. "It's possible. He would do that for His Highness." He tsked. "That Jin Ling, he really is too vicious using the Son of Heaven like that."
"I guess we can only hope that Xiang Yong reaches there before anything bad can happen and that the gods are able to exert their pressure. With both our races standing together, there might be some room to negotiate. And the God of War has a favorable impression of our king. He'll look out for him."
Qiang Wei nodded and the two of them went back to their posts. There was nothing they could do besides waiting and continuing to guard the crown prince. Everything else was in the hands of others now.
At that time, Xiang Yong had already informed An Bai and the two of them had set out together with their race's warriors, finally reaching the demon realm. They had circled around to the position where their king had most likely entered it. The most important thing was to find him as soon as possible and make sure that nothing happened to him. After that, they had to find out whether there was any additional information they could use to locate the Son of Heaven and free him to eliminate the chance of him being used by the demons.
The dragons rushed into the demon realm, not caring whether anyone had declared war already or if it was alright to kill those standing in their way. This time the demons had gone too far. They could try and harm anyone but not the Son of Heaven! He was their king's future consort, after all, his other half. How could they let the demons harm this special person? Wasn't that a direct attack on their king and their whole race?
Thanks to Tian's curse, the dragons took relationships very seriously. Even though their king hadn't officially married the Son of Heaven yet, with how he had told everyone and some more about how much he was in love with him, everyone in the dragon realm regarded this as a sealed deal. The rest were just formalities.
Correspondingly, they were enraged that their king's partner had been targeted and were itching to pay the demons back. A lot of them had already turned into their dragon forms, flying through the clouds and calling up a storm. The winds rushed across the land, snapping off every tree they could, the rain flogged the ground and flooded the valleys. And the clouds drew still further together, darkening and darkening while thunder rumbled and lightning crackled, prophesying the incoming disaster.
Jin Ling watched the spectacle from his palace, his copper-colored hair dancing freely in the storm and his sleeves flapping. He didn't seem to feel the cold or hear anything happening around him as if he was in a separate space. His eyes were trained on those dark clouds though, trying to take in every last detail.
He knew it was stupid but he couldn't help and hope. Maybe somewhere in there, somewhere between all those normal dragons, he would be able to spot a golden one. Maybe he would descend in front of him and turn back into his immortal form. He would draw his beautiful brows together and scold him like he had done when he was a child, his gaze already gentling when he saw him about to cry. He would sigh and scoop down, picking him up and letting the matter go just like he always did.
"Jinde …" Jin Ling raised his hand and watched the rain hammering onto it. The cold sensation made his thoughts stray even further, back to the time when he had still been with the person he loved.