"The races have kept the details of Tian's curse to themselves for the most part so others would not be able to take advantage that easily. Even those with the blood of more than one race would not easily speak about this or might not be in the know in the first place since it never had to do with them. Thus, it is no wonder that we have trouble understanding each other in this regard.
"Back then, when His Highness descended to the mortal realm to start his trial, we did not know what it entailed so some mistakes were made. We are sorry for that and we have tried to remedy the situation as well as we could. Now, our understanding of the curse on the gods runs a little deeper.
"We do know that not letting His Highness' soul return is a problem. Usually, we would not get involved in this. If it is for His Highness' benefit, it is naturally for the benefit of the dragons as well." This time, he did not mince his words. In any case, it was the truth and the relationship between their king and the Son of Heaven was necessary to understand what he was about to explain. Thus, he could only spare the Heavenly Emperor's feelings by being not quite as explicit as he could have been.
The Heavenly Emperor's brows slightly furrowed at that thought. He had a few choice words to say in regard to that. What did his beloved son's trial have to do with the dragons? They'd better shelve these dishonest thoughts!
Bai Fen noticed that her husband was getting angry again and hurriedly reached out, lightly touching his arm. Right now was not the moment for that discussion. They had more important things to speak about. If he wanted to verbally abuse Qiu Ling, he could still do that after they had gotten their son back.
The Heavenly Emperor's mood still wasn't good but he also realized what his wife meant. Seeing that this might bring him his beloved son back sooner, he kept quiet and just glared at Qiu Ling for a moment, even more unhappy with him than he had been before. This guy better shouldn't expect that he'd ever entertain the idea of letting him marry Jing He after he had pulled a stunt like this!
An Bai pretended not to see anything and continued to explain. "I believe that it is not known to the gods what our curse entails either. To put it simply: The dragons were cursed to only ever love one person in their life. This person is destined not by appearance but by the soul.
"His Majesty has already been bound to His Highness and when his soul descended, he was still bound to the mortal Zhong Jing Yi. To kill the destined partner of a dragon might in the worst case result in that dragon's death. I hope you understand why we are so worried now." He looked at the Heavenly Emperor directly, his blue eyes so earnest that it was hard to say anything in response.
Meanwhile, Li Yin furrowed his brows. "In other words, if Zhong Jing Yi was killed to reawaken His Highness, the dragon king might come to harm. That's what you want to say."
An Bai retracted his gaze and then turned to look at Li Yin, inclining his head. "That is precisely what we are worried about and why we have tried to stop you, yes."
Li Yin wasn't willing to accept it that easily though. He had worked with enough criminals to doubt everything he heard no matter who it came from. Mortals, ascended deities, trueborn gods, the people of lower standing, and even those in the highest positions who were responsible for thousands of lives were willing to lie and deceive.
Even he himself as the God of Justice wasn't an exception. As long as he was given the right incentive, he would make up the grandest tales. For him, his son's well-being and happiness were that incentive and he would also be willing to do so to keep a few secrets of his.
As for the dragons … naturally, he wouldn't just believe them either. The dragon king might seem simple and easy to get along with at first glance but this guy was likely deeper than all of them taken together. Who knew what he was trying to hide or what he wanted to achieve? In any case, if they wanted his trust, they would need to answer quite a few questions first. And even then, he would still take the time to verify every single response they gave down to the last letter. That was what he was supposed to do after all.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at each of the dragons one after the other, a faint light igniting his gaze. "If that is truly the case, then that would mean His Highness would never be allowed to return so that your king can be saved. That would put us in a difficult situation, wouldn't it? Furthermore, you just said that what Longjun was bound to is not a certain incarnation of a person but their soul. But this soul would not perish. When Zhong Jing Yi is killed, the soul will merely return to the body it originally belonged to, that of our crown prince. So why is it that you seem adamant not to allow us to go forward in this endeavor? Surely, there should not be a problem with it?"