With the king of Nong being in favor of the marriage, the wedding was naturally soon held and the problems that had plagued Madam Yang and her two daughters for two years were nothing more than a bad memory of the time before. Time passed by and finally, it came to be the day where it became difficult for An Hei to stay in Sandin without being discovered for who he was.
Thanks to Xu Fu’s regular reports, he knew that the gods hadn’t taken any further steps yet. The demon realm was still peaceful and if he brought Ling Ling over there, they could still have a similar life to how things had been for the past years, just that he would be a bit more occupied with his duties as a king thanks to the difference of time not being applicable any longer. But after knowing Ling Ling for so long, he was sure that they would be able to weather that change without too many troubles.
Right now, Ling Ling was in the garden, feeding the fish in the lake. He watched her for a moment before he walked outside and joined her, watching her throw in a bit of fish food at a time.
"I am afraid the time has come to leave here." He did not say more than that. He knew that she understood. They had talked about that at the beginning after all.
Ling Ling put down the container with the fish food and turned to him, her expression turning solemn. "Then I should go and tell my mother and sister."
An Hei nodded but before she could leave, he pulled her back. "You will not begrudge me for this, will you?" This was something he could not help but worry about. Back then, she had said yes to what he asked without hesitation but she had also been young. Now, several years had gone by. Ling Ling was at an age where she would understand more and would especially understand how much this would impact her life.
Ling Ling just smiled though. "Naturally, it hurts a bit to know that I will not see them again. But why would I begrudge you? You can not stay here and as such, as your wife, I can’t either. Also, my sister has managed to marry a good husband and my mother is living with them now in the house we grew up in. I know that they are both taken care of. Leaving now … there are no regrets." Yes, she might have had more of a problem had the times been troubled but as things stood, her family here was doing well. Instead, staying longer might cause problems for them so it was better to leave.
An Hei sighed in relief when she said so. "Very well. Then you tell them. I will have everyone pack up whatever we need." Not that there was much to take along. Save for their personal belongings, everything else could be left behind. In any case, they would not lack for anything in the snake tribe’s territory. Life would be even more comfortable in his palace.
Ling Ling nodded and then left to visit her mother and sister. To think that after this day, she might never see them again … it was actually difficult to imagine. She would miss them, of course, she just understood that it was the right decision.
When she arrived at the house with the servants waiting outside and only Xu Fu — who had come back here to help taking care of these matters regarding their move to the snake people’s land — going into the house with her, there was the laughter of children coming from the courtyard. Ling Ling stopped and watched her niece and nephew with a smile. She really would miss her family.
She sighed and then went further inside just when her sister and mother already came out to greet her.
"Ling Ling!" Madam Yang smiled brightly when she saw her younger daughter. Over these years, both her daughters had done so well. How could she not be happy?
Ling Ling smiled as well, throwing out those thoughts of how this was their last meeting. She would rather enjoy having a few more hours with them in peace than wallow in self-pity and ruin the day.
Xu Fu noticed that even after half an hour had passed, her king’s wife still hadn’t mentioned anything about leaving. She did not get involved though and just stayed at the side, playing around with the kids for a while so Ling Ling and her mother and sister would have more time with each other.
Only when it turned evening and Ling Ling really could not keep it to herself any longer, did she finally sigh. "Mother, sister, tomorrow, my husband and I will leave Sandin."
Both Jin Jin and their mother looked at her in surprise. "Why so?"
"And why so suddenly?"
Ling Ling smiled faintly. "In fact, I knew before that this day would arrive. He cannot stay here forever. He has his own home to return to. As his wife, I will naturally follow. It is just that now is the time for that to happen. He told me today and I … maybe I am selfish but I did not want to say so immediately."
Jin Jin looked down but having her own husband as well, she realized how her sister felt. When it came to Shi Yu, she also would have liked to go with him when he left. It was just that because he stayed at the border there was no way for her to do so. It was her sister’s good luck that her situation was different. "Well, that’s only natural. In any case, he has treated you very well before. I believe that even if you return with him to his family’s place, that will not change."
Madam Yang hurriedly nodded as well. To be honest, when thinking of this, she was a little anxious. Shi Yu had not been home much but he and Jin Jin still had two children at least. An Hei had stayed in Sandin all year round but her younger daughter hadn’t even gotten pregnant once. Most men and most families attached great importance to children. If Ling Ling didn’t have one despite being married for so long, would she not be in trouble? But hearing Jin Jin’s words and thinking of An Hei, she let go of those worries. She believed that no matter what, that man would always take care of her daughter.
Ling Ling wasn’t worried either. She couldn’t say the truth so she couldn’t reassure her mother but she knew for herself that she did not have to worry. She had asked An Hei about having children but he had just shaken his head and told her that it would be better to wait until they were among his people. After all, this child would be half snake-demon, half-human. Who knew how that would turn out? Having it among humans was not advisable. Having it pointed out that way, Ling Ling had agreed immediately so these years, they had not even tried to have a child and instead taken steps to ensure that it would not happen accidentally. Naturally, the people in the snake tribe would understand this concern as well.
"In any case, we are still young. Who knows? A year from now, we might have a child already." It was just that from what An Hei had told her, a year from now, if spent in the demons’ realm, her own family back here in the mortal realm would no longer be alive and generations would have passed. Thinking of that brought tears to her eyes. "No matter what, I will not forget you. We likely won’t be able to come to see you again but you will always be in my heart."
Finally, she could not hold back her tears and her mother and sister tried hard to console her.
When An Hei came over even later in the evening, he immediately saw his wife’s red eyes and could not help but feel guilty. Maybe they should stay around. Maybe have a house somewhere in the mortal realm not too far away but still close enough for her mother and sister to visit her. That would not be impossible.
Xu Fu glanced at him, able to guess what was going through his mind. While An Hei went inside to try and console Ling Ling as well, she slipped out of the estate and went further into the land, finally taking out the small silver flute that she had used back then when they had been searching for clues about the matchmakers the Yangs’ had gone to. She lured over the snakes that lived in the vicinity and then made them slither out to look for a place for her king. Even if they did not use it in the end, it was better to be prepared. After all, just imagining being in his shoes … she would not be able to leave without a guilty conscience after seeing her wife weep so bitterly. Since it would only be a small matter to him, why not stay around?
Xu Fu knew An Hei quite well after all these years of following him and doing tasks for him. When he saw his wife cry so bitterly, he really felt a pang of pain in his heart and couldn’t quite bring himself to take her away. It was just that he really couldn’t think of a solution. He himself was a natural-born demon. He had ways to alter his appearance. But Ling Ling had now reached the age where it was time to help her gain immortality. And after that, she would not age but since she had not been born this way either, she would not suddenly gain powers. He could only let her live forever at his side but not make her something she wasn’t. So there was no way for her to stay here.
He rubbed his forehead, feeling that matters were really complicated. He rubbed her back but even though she tried, she was still sniffling at least. Clearly, bidding farewell to her family was something she loathed to do even though she knew it was necessary. She was willing to do it for him but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t pain her.
An Hei looked up at the sky and then sighed. "Fine. You stay here for now. I will have to leave for a bit though."
Ling Ling looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, not understanding what was going on.
An Hei gave Madam Yang and her older daughter an apologetic smile and then took Ling Ling to the side. Grasping her hands, he looked into her eyes. "Ling Ling, I told you before that there is a way for you to stay at my side forever, didn’t I?"
She nodded but she still could not understand what this had to do with anything.
"The reason I wanted to leave was, first and foremost, because I believe now is the time to make that happen. I will need something for that which can only be found in the immortal realm though. Originally, I wanted to bring you to my people’s place and have you wait there while I take care of it. Since you don’t want to part with your family yet though, you can stay here while I do this. It is just that time runs differently so me going there for a day will mean a year passes here. I don’t know how long I will need. It might just be an hour so that I will return after a month but it might also be a day. Can you wait that long?"
Ling Ling felt torn when she was asked to make this decision. If she didn’t have to, she didn’t want to leave her family. But she also did not want to leave her husband. In the end, she shook her head. "My husband, no matter what, one day, I will have to bid them farewell. Whether that day is today or one in the future, I will still cry over the thought of never seeing them again. Nothing will change about that. So do not mind me. Since you planned to take me back to your people, let us just do so. I would not want to part with you for a whole year either."
An Hei hesitated but then nodded. He hugged her and rubbed the back of her head, finally telling her to wait while he went over to Madam Yang. Looking at the woman who was looking at him with some worry, he inclined his head. "Mother-in-law, I am afraid that no matter what, we will have to leave for a while. I will try to bring Ling Ling back next year. Since we don’t know when we will be back, I will sell the estate though. When we do return, I will send somebody to tell you where you can find us. Don’t worry about Ling Ling. I will take good care of her."
Madam Yang nodded, not as worried when she saw that An Hei was thinking on her daughter’s behalf as well. Finally, they bid each other farewell, and just like he had planned, An Hei took Ling Ling back to the snake tribe’s kingdom.
