Chapter 241 - A Fallen God (1/2)
Qiu Ling stopped on one of the roofs of the Alchemy Division. He couldn't see Jing Yi but he didn't go and search for him either. Speaking of Jing He's position he had suddenly remembered something.
It had been a few years after he met Jing He for the first time. By then, Jing He wasn't that guarded against him anymore and maybe he had even started to view him as something like a friend. One of those days, they had been sitting in the pavilion behind Jing He's palace and drank tea.
Qiu Ling had admired Jing He's elegant posture, the way his eyes seemed even darker in the shade of the pavilion just like the starless night sky and how his hair flowed down behind his shoulders. He had felt that Jing He was even more beautiful than usual.
Well, it probably couldn't be said like that. Jing He was always beautiful but at this moment there was a special quality to his beauty. He suddenly seemed less like the Son of Heaven and more like a young god who could spend some of his leisure time with a friend.
Seeing him like that Qiu Ling hadn't been able to hold back a question that had been bugging him for a while: ”Say … about your title as the Son of Heaven. What does it actually mean?”
”I'm afraid I don't understand your question.”
”Well, there have been several gods who were appalled that I dared to go after their Son of Heaven and looked at me as if I was a sinner. Why that? I'm still the dragon king. Don't tell me I'm not a suitable partner for you?”
Jing He had opened his mouth and closed it again before finally averting his gaze. It was obvious that he was appalled at the implication of Qiu Ling's words. Qiu Ling hadn't minded, though. He didn't feel like it was a problem to be this direct. He had fallen in love with this person and was set on marrying him. Why shouldn't he be allowed to say so?
”You don't know?”
In the end, Jing He sighed and picked up his cup of tea. ”It's probably because of that old story about … how that title came to be.”
”Oh? What kind of story? I'm afraid I haven't heard of that.”
Jing He had lifted his gaze to him again, surprise written in those limpid eyes. Qiu Ling had only given a smile. What was he to say? He had never heard of that because he had left the capital and had lived alone after his parents' death. Where could he have heard such stories? He didn't even know much about the dragons. The gods were more or less a blank slate to him.
”It might not be so well-known to the other races anyway. It … has a lot to do with the gods.”
”I'd like to hear it.” He really did. Not because he was really interested in the story but much rather because he wanted Jing He to tell it. His beloved had an especially soothing voice. He couldn't explain why but every time he heard it he felt his heart calm down. Whatever he had experienced in the previous years … It wasn't important anymore while listening to this special person.
Jing He put the cup down and lightly cleared his throat. ”There isn't much to say. But once upon a time, there was a god called Xing who was the son of the Heavenly Emperor. Back then, the gods and especially their sovereign often married more than one wife and this son had been born by just a concubine.