Wu Ya furrowed his brows when he suddenly didn't get an answer. This question wasn't any more invasive than the previous ones, was it? Why were these two making such a big deal about it? "What? You don't want to tell me?"
Before Leng Jin Yu could say anything, a voice sounded from a few steps away. "Shouldn't the question rather be how it concerns you what the dragon king does or doesn't?"
Wu Ya turned around, furious that somebody was interrupting his interrogation just when he felt that he was close to finding the answer he wanted. The angry words at the tip of his tongue dispersed though when he saw the person in question. He stared at Qiu Ling, his expression blank.
Qiu Ling tensed up, the hand he was holding behind his back tensing and his claws extending. He knew what this person was. He also knew that there was a certain chance that he might be exposed.
But … With what seemed to be going on with the spirit beast people, he wouldn't be able to run away forever. Now that he was aware, he would have to engage with this matter and have the spirit beast people that were still imprisoned somewhere in the human realm freed.
Sure, he would send other people to deal with it and he might even be able to send one of his advisers to the spirit beast tribe to deal with it but … Sooner or later, he would encounter these people. He had to find out before that if they were able to realize the difference between him and other dragons.
If they did … One person could be killed, then for other people, he might be able to come up with a plan. Other than that … He couldn't help but have a faint hope that maybe things would be different. Maybe his father's blood was enough to make these people take him as one of the dragon race. Maybe he would be safe. Maybe he could go on pretending to be what he wasn't. He certainly wished for that outcome.
Wu Ya continued to stare at him, scaring not only Qiu Ling but also Jinde whose grip on Leng Jin Yu's hand turned tighter and tighter. He knew what Qiu Ling was thinking. But this confrontation … He didn't want to see it. Naturally, he didn't want that stepson of his to be exposed. He also didn't want to have an old friend die. Especially not in front of his eyes. It seemed that he could only try to ease the situation on his own.
He cleared his throat and wanted to speak up when Wu Ya already did so.
"Are you …"
Qiu Ling's eyes narrowed and even the last muscles in his body tensed, ready to pounce on this person as soon as he uttered the first wrong syllable. "What?"
"Are you … related to a person by the name of Chun Yin?"
Qiu Ling who had just wanted to attack almost fell to the ground before he looked at the person as if he had lost his mind. "What kind of question is that?!" This guy had made him panic for nothing!
Wu Ya was a little taken aback by that response. On the other hand, it made his lips twitched though. "Well, disregarding the fact that you look a lot like him, your temperament is also remarkably similar. So are you or are you not?"
Qiu Ling continued to stare at this person for a moment longer before he finally raised his chin. "He is my father. So what?" Now, if this person didn't ask about his mother, that would really be good.
Wu Ya was slightly taken aback. He had thought that the two of them might be related but he wouldn't have thought that they were actually that closely related. Although he had to admit that they did look very much alike. "His son, so …" He furrowed his brows and looked at the ground as if pondering something deeply. "Then …" Looking up again, he seemed to be searching for something in his features. "What about somebody by the name of Jinde? He wouldn't happen to be your other parent, right?"
Qiu Ling stared at him in a daze. Jinde? His other parent? For a moment, he was spellbound. It certainly would be nice if that was the case. After all, the old geezer had always treated him better than his actual parents. Unfortunately …
Next to them, Jinde's grasp on Leng Jin Yu's hand loosened and he raised his other hand below the veil and touched his forehead. This Wu Ya … Was something wrong with his head?
Leng Jin Yu just raised his brows and looked from one person to the other, trying to silently fill in the gaps. This story certainly seemed like an interesting one.
Meanwhile, Wu Ya furrowed his brows. "Boy, is something wrong with you? Why aren't you answering?"
Qiu Ling tsked at that. "Why would he be my parent? We're not blood-related at all." While he said so, his expression was pretty smug. Anyway, he felt that he was allowed to look like this. Obviously, this person wouldn't ask this if he was able to sense that he was part demon.
In that case, it was probably safe to assume that nobody of the spirit beast tribe could. So he wouldn't have to worry. In the future, he could just behave normally in front of these people. They wouldn't be any easier or more difficult to trick than his own. That certainly was a nice surprise.