Qiu Ling stared at her in a daze. "Jing He never mentioned that."
Bai Fen lightly shook her head. "He doesn't know about it. That was something we did not want to burden him with." She kept quiet for a moment and then reached out, taking Qiu Ling's hand. "I know he is still on his trial but since we're talking about it, I will tell you the whole truth. In any case, you'll get married someday and might also have a child. You have to be prepared for what's to come."
Qiu Ling lightly furrowed his brows. Somehow, he didn't like the way the sounded. "What whole truth?"
"You are the dragon king so I don't need to tell you about Tian's curse. But one thing that you might not know is that additionally to the curse put on the three immortal races, he also cursed the Heavenly Emperor's family line directly. After all, those were the people that hurt Xing the worst."
Qiu Ling's expression immediately turned grave. "Does this have to do with the other child and with Jing He? He wouldn't be in danger, would he?"
Bai Fen shook her head. "No, at least not anymore. But there was a time when things were different. That is also why his father clings to him so much. You have no idea how hard it is to actually get a child to adulthood as the Heavenly couple.
"Back then, when Tian and Xing were living among the gods, our race was not monogamous. The Heavenly Emperor had many wives and many children so naturally, he did not care about all of them as much as he probably should have."
Qiu Ling nodded. This also wasn't new to him. While he hadn't actually known the story of Tian and Xing thanks to his less than stellar upbringing, he had at least had a general understanding of the history of the dragon race. And with them, it had been the very same. In fact, outgoing as they were, the dragons had probably engaged in this type of practice even more. It had probably been a bit similar to how the demons still lived today just with a few more rules attached so that it didn't end up in utter chaos. But a man or woman with several partners definitely wasn't something that was only seldom seen. Big families were the norm instead. It seemed it hadn't been that different with the gods.
"Xing was one of the unfortunate children. His mother was not really loved and neither was he. His father more or less abandoned him and did not care about what happened to him. But his first wife, the Heavenly Empress from back then, did care quite a lot. She made his life hell, both before he met Tian and after.
"It might have been meant as a reminder to never let something like this happen again but with this curse, the children of the subsequent generations were fraught with bad luck until the day they finally came of age."
"But there's only ever one child, isn't there?" Qiu Ling had actually heard of that part. If anything, he would've thought that this was already the most that Tian would do but apparently, he had thought wrong.
Bai Fen nodded. "Yes, there has only ever been one child at a time since then. But they tend to die so …" She sighed and shook her head. "Even now, so many generations after that time, we are still suffering the consequences of what that generation did.
"When Jing he was younger, there were several moments where we actually thought we would lose him. That is why we can't help but be worried about him no matter what happens. And even now that he is an adult and this particular curse will not affect him any longer, there is still always that worry in our hearts that maybe something will happen to him."
She looked at her son that still seemed as if he was sleeping, a bit of fear in her eyes. "Truth be told, I don't know if I could go through all of that again. There's no chance that there will be a second child after Jing He for as long as he lives. But if something were to happen to him … I still don't think I would want another one. I just couldn't take that."
Qiu Ling also looked at Jing He, fear gripping his heart as well. It was his luck that he had managed to meet Jing He after he had already become an adult. Otherwise, he really wasn't sure if he would be able to take it.
The worst thing was that even if Jing He was out of the picture, they would indeed have children together later on. In fact, he would have liked to have more than one. But how could he put Jing He through such suffering? How could he himself watch his children die in front of his eyes?
"Is there any way this cycle can be broken?" He knew that Tian was vindictive. He had taken revenge for his lover in a way that impacted all the immortal beings. Not a single soul — no matter how innocent in what had happened — had been able to get away. That kind of man … would he really ever leave a way out? But he still had to ask. If there was anything he could do, he would do it. He would not let his family suffer needlessly.
Bai Fen lightly furrowed her brows. "That's a good question. So far, nothing of the like has happened. But … there is at least a legend that has been passed down. It is said that what finally pushed Xing past what he could endure was the fact that the child he and Tian were awaiting was killed.
"Legend has it that the child will one day be reincarnated in the family of the Heavenly Emperor. That is why the Heavenly Emperor's sons, like Jing He, will be referred to as the Son of Heaven. Because one day, one of them might be the reincarnation of that actual child of Heaven's.
"So this title is a reminder for us that when that day arrives, we have to be prepared. At that time, the curse on our family might be lifted because Tian certainly wouldn't put his own child through such suffering.
"And maybe, just maybe, even the curse on the three races will be lifted. It is not for certain but there is such a chance."