Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 1)

38 Another Show of Goodwill

As Xiang Yu started on a new adventure, everyone else was still busy with the matter surrounding the Son of Heaven. The people at the Palace of War and the Court of Justice continued to investigate but just as Li Yin and Qiang Yan had thought, nothing came of it. Finally, after a day had passed and people started getting anxious, they could only announce that a yet unidentified god had fallen and kidnapped the Son of Heaven and vanished.

This likely wasn't the truth or at least not the full truth but it was the only one they could spread so far. Until it was proven without a doubt that Jing He had fallen himself or wasn't alive any longer, they didn't want this stain on his reputation. He had always cared about his image and even dying at the hands of a fallen god would be a better outcome in his eyes than being seen as one himself. He would care about that.

From then on, the different palaces got busy painting his portrait and distributing it throughout the Nine Heavens. Should Jing He indeed just have been kidnapped and turned up somewhere, he would be recognized at once and news would travel to the capital city in no time.

Needless to say, the dragons joined in the effort. They had a vested interest in the crown prince of the Nine Heavens being found as well considering that they regarded him as their king's future spouse. Thus, his portrait was distributed there too. In any case, Qiu Ling himself had had many of them lying around so it wasn't difficult for his advisers to choose a few more neutral ones and have them copied.

Surprisingly enough, just after the efforts in the Nine Heavens and the dragon realm had started, somebody from the demon realm send word, asking to join in. This person was none other than Lin Shi whom Ye Yang had originally sent to find the gods and dragons living in the demon realm who might want to leave.

In the last weeks, she had made a concerted effort and managed to find quite a few of them. Many had returned which indeed made the gods and dragons feel that the current demon king didn't seem as bad as the previous ones. At the very least, he was helping some of their people. Of course, there were still doubts about him as well.

In this case, Ye Yang didn't dare to send her to the Nine Heavens. The current crown prince was the Heavenly Emperor's only child. With him missing, the whole country was in an uproar. If he really dared to send a demon there, he wasn't sure if he'd ever see the person again and he cherished Lin Shi's attitude. Compared to others, she was relatively trustworthy and did her job just as told. As a newly established king, this was what he needed most.

Either way, because of this, Lin Shi was currently sitting in the throne room of the dragon king's palace, waiting for the advisers opposite her to make a decision. Of course, she also noticed that the dragon king couldn't be seen anywhere. She had some thoughts on that but wisely didn't say any of them out loud. She simply kept them in her heart, intending to tell Ye Yang about her visit in detail later.

Xiang Yong furrowed his brows at the letter that Lin Shi had handed him. "So the demon realm wants to spread the portrait of the Son of Heaven as well so everyone can be on the lookout?" This was what he had understood so far. He still wasn't sure why they'd want to do that though.

"Yes, His Majesty said it would be best to speak to you before we start so you won't misunderstand. We're aware of how important the Son of Heaven is to both the Nine Heavens and the dragon realm. Since we want to better the relationship between our races and finally put an end to the war, we naturally believe we should lend a helping hand at this time."

Xiang Yong really wasn't sure how much of this could be trusted. He had met Ye Yang and ... well, he was a demon. He might not be the type to attack you outright but sometimes, those were worse. "What if you don't gain anything in return?"

Lin Shi shrugged her shoulders. "That's not for me to decide. I suppose you can just take it as a sign of goodwill?" Ye Yang hadn't said that this time around but he had mentioned goodwill when they originally sent the bodies of the fallen back to where they had come from and helped the ones still alive to leave. This should be very much the same.

Qiang Wei glanced at Xiang Yong. "This ... It can't hurt, can it?"

Xiang Yong furrowed his brows and scrutinized Lin Shi. She didn't seem like she cared too much overall but she also didn't seem hostile. Still ... "How can you guarantee that somebody will turn in the information that is found in the demon realm? Even if your king has this intention, the demons aren't necessarily known for following orders to the letter."

Lin Shi smiled wryly. This couldn't be argued with. "Well, we thought of adding a line to every portrait that says there'd be a reward for information that leads to his successful ... capture."

She really didn't want to say that word but it seemed to be the thing that would most likely be written. After all, not everyone would be on board with helping the gods and dragons but everyone would certainly be willing to capture the Son of Heaven to pressure the other two races. They clearly still had a long way to go when it came to putting the old strife behind them.

Xiang Yong sighed. "Well, we'll discuss this with His Majesty and get back to you. Please already thank your king for the offer though when you go back. He didn't say anything else?"

Lin Shi nodded at the first part and then directly shook her head. "No, just that. Then ... I'll leave now?"

Xiang Yong nodded and watched her walk out with Fu Heng on her heels. He couldn't help but give a thoughtful hum. With Ye Yang being the demon king now, he really wasn't sure what to expect. He simply couldn't see through this man and that made him feel ill at ease. Just what was his end goal? He couldn't even glean a hint of that.