Back in the demon realm, Jin Ling narrowed his eyes and looked at Yin Lin Lin. "That is to say about half of my followers are willing to betray me just for the promise of going to war with the dragons again?"
Yin Lin Lin nodded her head in agony. This absolutely wasn't what she had imagined when she married Jin Ling. She had wanted to be the queen of the demon realm, the person above everyone but her husband. How come her husband was now in danger of losing his position?
If he really did, what would become of them? With how ruthless the demons were, it could very well be that that Yong Hai would kill Jin Ling to make sure he couldn't become dangerous to him. And then she would have nowhere to go.
"Do you have any idea what to do? We have to stop this. Otherwise, the two of us will …" She furrowed her brows and looked at him worriedly.
Jin Ling rubbed his fingers against each other and gave a hum. "That Yong Hai is ambitious but a weakling. The only thing he currently has going for him is his willingness to march to war. If I allowed them to do the same or gave them something else to do that would make them happy, I'm sure that most of them would still be willing to follow me. It's just a matter of how to use the situation to our advantage."
Yin Lin Lin nodded even though she wasn't quite sure what she should think about this. Back in the Nine Heavens, even though she hadn't had a title and officially only been an idle goddess, she had never needed to think about anything like this. If she wanted something, she only had to yell at one of her servants and it would get done. The only thing she couldn't have was the man she wanted to marry and the position she had had her eyes on.
Now, she even had to fear for her life and that of her husband. She started to feel that … She hadn't done the right thing back when she followed him from the mortal realm over to the demon realm. That had been a folly.
If her father was still alive, he would certainly scold her. Unfortunately … That wasn't the case. Nobody had been here to warn her. The only person that might've warned her had also turned against her because of that matter with the crown prince. So in the end, she was left all alone. She could only rely on Jin Ling now.
The demon king continued to ponder. He really didn't think much of this. Back then, he had managed to snatch back the throne for himself by using the situation. He had waited for the best possible moment by pretending not to be a danger to the previous king. And then, he had made the most beneficial alliances and struck when nobody expected it.
This kind of deceit … His father had been a master at it. Obviously, he had inherited quite a bit of him. As much as he disliked to say that, this time it would come in handy.
"You don't have to worry. I do have an idea of what we can do. We only need to make sure about some small details. Then, it won't be difficult at all. I will need your help though. In fact, you might be the one playing the most vital part of this. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Yin Lin Lin nodded. Anyway, what choice did she have? She could try to help Jin Ling and secure the position that she currently had or she could put her hope into being treated well by Yong Hai later on.
From everything that had happened so far, she couldn't be sure that Jin Ling loved her but she at least could be sure that he wouldn't break off the relationship with her. She didn't know enough about Yong Hai to guess how it would end with him though. So for her, it was much better to trust in Jin Ling. In that case, she had to do her best to help him out.
Jin Ling smiled with satisfaction. "Very well. Then here is what we'll do: You will go and tell Yong Hai exactly who is willing to work with him."
Yin Lin Lin raised her brows. "I'm supposed to tell him? Wouldn't it be better not to let him know? Or to give him fake names?"
Jin Ling shook his head and laughed. "You're thinking too simply. Yong Hai might be an idiot but he's not that much of an idiot. Whether or not you're able to tell him anything worthwhile will determine if he wants to work with you any further. And he needs to be thinking that he can trust you. Otherwise, how are we going to get any information on his future plans?"
Yin Lin Lin nodded with some realization. What Jin Ling said was true. She still felt that it was too much of a risk though. "How about I tell him just a few of the names?"
"A few? Well, we can leave out a few but you can't tell him just a bit. Otherwise, he will feel that you aren't useful enough. Actually, you might make him suspicious that way." He tapped the armrest of his chair and narrowed his eyes. "No, just write a list with all the names. Tell him that most of those are definitely on his side while some say they would be but you're not quite sure if they weren't just acting. That would be a response he anticipates. It should allow you to gain his trust most easily."
"If you say so."
Jin Ling nodded. "Trust me, that's the best way. In the meantime … I'll make sure to consolidate the relationship with the ones who are still on my side and offer the others something they won't be able to refuse. Just keep Yong Hai busy and tell me if there are any new developments. Knowing what he is up to is the most important step in this so you can't mess this up."
Yin Lin Lin straightened up. "Don't worry about that. I'm able to deal with that much. You can count on me."
Jin Ling nodded. "That's good then. I guess we should get started then." With that, he got up again, preparing to head out to make a few more deals.