139 Plans for the Future

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Author's Note: Another additional chapter from the Christmas period for you!

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Qiu Ling wasn't completely sure yet if maybe he wasn't thinking in the wrong direction but for now, he at least wanted to keep the idea in mind. Later, he could discuss this with his advisers and with Jinde, of course.

Anyway, that stepfather of his had raised the current demon king. There had to be a possibility to make use of that. He absolutely wouldn't leave any opportunity unused if it meant securing peace for his people.

This whole matter of being king, he might not have taken it too seriously in recent years, but now that he had been getting back into it, it was as if he had never left matters unattended. He had no trouble getting back into his role now that he was serious. Jinde probably hadn't made the worst decision when he chose him back then.

This was something he had actually doubted for a long time. A half-demon, half-dragon, could such a person be king? He had always thought that it could not work out and that all of this had been a mistake and he shouldn't be in this position. But now, he was slowly realizing that maybe his thoughts had been too narrow while Jinde had been able to see farther.

So what if he had some demon blood? Actually, many of their people did. And originally, the dragons had been part of the demon race or whatever race they had been in the beginning. Now, they were dragons but there were always some ... toss-ups.

Some people were born with features of the original race. It happened even if they stemmed from generations of pure-blooded dragons, just because somewhere, all those thousands of years ago, that had been what their blood made them. Even if they might not like the idea, this was what they were. They were related to the demons. They stemmed from the same ancestors That could never be explained away.

And not even considering those people, there were others just like him. Half-bloods that were only part dragon and had another side be it that of a demon, a god, a spiritual beast, or even a human.

That side of them shouldn't matter. They were still all dragons in front of the eyes of the laws and they should also be dragons in front of the eyes of their people. They deserved that. They did not deserve to be outcasts like he had been. They did not deserve to live in the same fear he had suffered from. No, he had to make this realm a better place for them and those that would follow after them.

This was something he should have done long ago but he had been afraid. He had been afraid for his own sake because he figured it might expose him and he had wanted to prevent that. But because of that, he had made quite a few of his people miserable. As king, he never should have let it come to that.

This was his oversight and a big one at that. In fact, he probably couldn't even call it that. The term seemed to make light of the situation. He could've ended their suffering long ago but he had failed to do so before of personal feelings. As their king, he needed to admit to himself and also to them that this was the case. He really had fucked up.

Yes, one day, maybe he would have the strength to admit to his own heritage. Maybe one day, he would be able to stand proudly and admit to this while also telling his people that because of this, he had suffered and made others suffer with him through no fault of their own. Not because his blood made him do so, but because the kind of society they lived in had not been ready to accept this. By then, maybe they would've been able to change that. He didn't know, he just hoped for such a future.

Qiu Ling shook his head at himself, not wanting to think about it any longer. These were grand goals he had there. And to be honest, when he thought that he might die, while he had been afraid to leave behind the people closest to him and had been terrified of having to go without ever seeing Jing He again, he had also mourned the opportunity to do this for his people.

Now there was a chance that he could make it through, he had gained that opportunity back. Yes, he still had time to realize this grand goal of his. Actually, he felt like getting into things immediately. But he also knew that if he rushed into this headfirst, he would make matters worse. No, he needed to think this through thoroughly or he would mess up. For now, he needed to take things step-by-step.

The first step was already achieved: He had averted the immediate crisis of maybe losing his life to his own subconscious. The next step was to let Jinde deal with whatever it was that Xin Lan needed him to deal with so he'd have his head free for other things. The first one on the long list of things being that he should add to his family with Leng Jin Yu.

While that might not seem that important in the grand scheme of things, this was his family. Even though there had been doubts in the past, it was the truth. And he would not let these people who were so important to him take a backseat to all the other drama that was going on. No, they deserved a happy end. And he would support them in that.

Also, as soon as his private life was ordered, he would be in a much better state to focus on the big things in regard to the politics of their race, including their relationship to the other two races. So this was something that was actually important.

By the time the child was growing, they should probably start with the demon realm. Jinde should be able to help there. Then, they could get to the issues that had surfaced between the gods and the dragons.

He knew that this was something that was a bit more subtle than the matters they usually had to handle and that it wouldn't be easy but this matter with Jing He and Jing Yi had shown that he absolutely needed to be more involved in this. Yes, they needed solutions for future relationships between dragons and gods. Thankfully, the research from the past few weeks had laid the groundwork for that. So hopefully, it wouldn't take too long and they would soon come to an agreement.

After that, he could put his sole focus on the matter with the half-bloods. Well, that, and also the relationship with the spiritual beasts. Even though he had picked up some of the slack there after the disaster with the demon-hunting sects, he wasn't too happy with the results yet. No, in that matter —and actually all others as well —, there was still a lot of work to put in.

Thankfully, he was finally up to it again.

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