An Hei led Ling Ling inside and helped her to sit down. He reached out but his fingertips only barely brushed the edge of the veil. "May I?" He waited for her response with a faint curve to his lips before he finally moved to lift it.
His gaze did not stray from her face and their gazes met, both their lips faintly curving into a smile. An Hei folded the veil and carefully placed it aside, making sure that not even a single wrinkle would be made. This was something that held their memories of this day. It should remain in as good a condition as it had today for all those years to follow.
Ling Ling finally lowered her head, a little embarrassed by his constant gaze. She would have fiddled with the hem of her sleeve but one of her hands was still tied to An Hei’s so she could only sit still.
An Hei’s smile brightened when he saw her act like this. He hadn’t expected anything else to happen. She would surely need more time to get comfortable with him. But his actions would determine just how much time that was.
He sat down opposite her and pulled his gaze away from her eyes, instead glancing at her hairdo. So far, he had only ever seen her with her hair open or a very simple hairstyle that would tie a small part up. But today, her hair was made impeccably. He knew that the human women would be dressed like this for their wedding. In fact, Ling Ling’s appearance really was quite simple in comparison. She didn’t wear much jewelry at the very least. In fact, in her hair, there was only a single hairpin.
An Hei reached out and gently brushed the rim of the bloodred stone inside. "I remember this one. Seeing you wear it on our wedding day makes me quite happy."
To him, this hairpin had originally not held much value. As the king of the snake tribe, whatever he used was of high quality. Naturally, this hairpin wasn’t an exception. But because of that, it also didn’t seem too special. It was just an object good enough to be gifted. But now that it had been given to Ling Ling and now that she had held onto it for a decade and even wore it to their wedding day, he felt different about it. This was her hairpin, the one that connected them. Naturally, it could only be counted as special.
Ling Ling looked up again, her cheeks a little red. She knew that this wasn’t how women were usually dressed for their wedding. When she decided on it, it had felt like a good idea. When An Hei brought it up, she had worried though. But hearing that he liked the idea just as much made her relax again. "I am happy if Mister An is happy."
An Hei laughed. "Ling Ling, we are married now. Shouldn’t you call me by my name? Or at least call me husband." He wasn’t quite sure what was more common in the mortal realm. To him, using each other’s names seemed to be the right choice but it might be different here. In any case, whatever she decided, he would go along with it.
The blush on Ling Ling’s cheeks deepened and she hurriedly nodded. "Husband." Even though she had been young back then, she still remembered that her mother had called her father this way. Thus, she felt that this should also be how she called her husband. Surely, her mother could not be wrong.
An Hei nodded with satisfaction. "Very well. Now, I think I promised you that we would eat some more. Let’s start with some tea." He glanced to the side but there weren’t any servants around. Well, he should have known. Hadn’t he sent them away so they could be alone? He shook his head at himself and then reached for the teapot, pouring each of them a cup.
Ling Ling stared with wide eyes, feeling that she was already doing a bad job as his wife. Wasn’t this her task? But the next moment, a cup was already pushed into her hand and An Hei turned back to her with a smile.
"We did not get to have a taste before. I hope it’s a good one. I had Xu Fu choose it."
Ling Ling nodded. "I am sure that Miss Xu has good taste."
An Hei smiled and took a sip. "She has. She is married though." He had already noticed that Madam Yang had called her miss before but he had kept quiet because he was afraid he might give himself away if it was uncommon for a married woman to stay on as a man’s servant among the mortals. Now, with Ling Ling though, he did not worry any longer. She already knew that he wasn’t quite what he seemed. Surely, this wouldn’t faze her.
Unexpectedly, Ling Ling almost dropped her cup in response. An Hei caught it at the last moment and put it onto the table, checking over her hands to make sure she was alright. Ling Ling didn’t even seem to notice. She just stared at her husband.
An Hei didn’t quite understand what was going on but he could see that something was completely wrong. "What’s the matter with you?" It shouldn’t come as such a shock, should it?
Ling Ling lowered her head, her brows wrinkling a little. She had almost forgotten but … "Back then, when we met for the first time, you said that you had already made a promise to another woman. That … wouldn’t have been Miss … Madam Xu, would it?" She cautiously glanced at his face but only found him gazing back at her blankly.
The two of them stared at each other like this until An Hei finally cleared his throat.
"You are worrying too much. Xu Fu is married to somebody else. And I do not have another wife, nor do I intend to take one. There will only be you." He fell silent for a heartbeat but spoke up again when Ling Ling wanted to retort. He could imagine what was going through her head. "Back then, I did not make things clear enough. There never was any such promise but I have told you already: I am not human. It is just that I did not have the words back then to explain that to you. Since you know now and are able to accept it, then what need do I have for another wife? One is enough."
Ling Ling exhaled and her shoulders visibly relaxed. This was a worry she hadn’t been able to shake for the longest time. To hear An Hei say that he only wanted her and that she had merely misunderstood back then because she saw everything from the eyes of a human and could not even begin to imagine that An Hei could be anything else.
Having realized her mistake and being sure that An Hei was serious, Ling Ling’s curiosity got the better of her. "Then — if you don’t mind me asking — what exactly are you?" Before, she hadn’t dared to pry too much. But since they had already taken their wedding vows, this question should not be too much, should it?
An Hei gazed at her, his thoughts swirling. She had been able to accept that he was not human but the word 'demon' might be associated with quite the sinister things in the mortal realm. He was afraid that he might scare her off if he answered too straightforwardly. If his wife ran away the night of their wedding, that would really be too embarrassing.
An Hei cleared his throat and grabbed her hands, leaning closer. "To answer that, let me tell you about my people’s past first."
Ling Ling nodded, not minding in the least. Even if he had told her that he was a demon directly, it would not have played a role.
"In the beginning, this world was created by who our people call the high gods. They had the power to create life, something that has since been lost. What followed them were other races that shared their immortality and some of their skills but not all of them. Two of them are what we call the lesser gods and the demons.
"To humans, the gods are good while the demons are evil. In fact, we do not differ much. The first of us were created from the remains of one of the high gods and there are good ones and bad ones in both of our races. Still, despite being like siblings, there is tension between us and for a long time now, there have been signs of war. When you found me back then I had been injured precisely because of those tensions. It was one of the many precursors to a war we will have to fight in the future."
Ling Ling looked at him with round eyes. War was not unknown to her. But the longer she listened, the more she realized that she had gotten herself into a situation far above what she could even begin to imagine. Still, it did not change her feelings. "You want to tell me that you are one of the demons."
An Hei hesitated but still nodded in the end. "That is the case, yes. Does it scare you?"
Ling Ling pondered for a moment. "Hearing about gods and demons and immortal races and a war between them, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t scary and something to be afraid of. But I am not afraid of you. Back then, you treated me well even though I was only a mortal girl. Now, you honored the promise you gave back then. No matter what you are, I believe you are a good person."
An Hei gave a hum and nodded. "I try to be." He fell silent again before he cleared his throat again. "There is something else you should know."
Ling Ling felt that she could not be surprised any longer no matter what An Hei was about to say.
"Among the demons, there are many tribes. I am part of what is known as the snake tribe."
"Oh." Ling Ling nodded, feeling like this was not too strange. There were different tribes and clans in Kishin as well. Why shouldn’t the demons have something like that as well?
An Hei saw her stay calm and wondered if maybe this revelation wasn’t that big. Pondering for a bit, he realized that no matter what he said, it clearly couldn’t compare to telling her he was a demon. Well, that made things easier in a way. "Among the people of the snake tribe, I am their king. So from this day forth, you will be their queen. In the future, when we leave for my tribe’s lands, there will be a crowning ceremony to make it official. And when you are a little older, I will go to get something that will allow you to become immortal as well. You will not turn into a demon — that is impossible — but you will be able to live at my side forever if you so wish."
This time, Ling Ling did not know what to say any longer. She had been prepared for her husband being a demon but … a king? It might seem negligible in comparison but after arguing with her mother and older sister about how An Hei was merely a common soldier, she suddenly felt ashamed. It turned out she was not that perceptive. Her husband was an influential man after all.
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