Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 11, Part 1)

54 Keeping the Borders Safe

Ye Yang's gaze slipped over the people still gathered. He didn't know them well so he could only go off the faint impression he had gotten so far. In the end, his gaze stopped on Lin Shi.

Compared to the others, while she was also interested in fighting, she was clearly more shrewd. In short, you could probably call her the typical demon. She didn't seem inclined to backstab him for the time being though and she even seemed to find a sense of pride in being able to fulfill a task well.

Ye Yang continued to look at her, making the other demons turn to look at her as well. Some couldn't help but wonder if it was her looks or if there was something else they weren't getting.

Lin Shi simply continued to smile. After a while, she couldn't help but speak up though. "Your Majesty, what's the matter?"

Ye Yang gave a hum and then motioned at Xia Wei. "Xia Wei and Lin Shi, the two of you stay, the rest can leave for now. We will discuss our further steps after we received the responses from the dragon realm and the Nine Heavens. It might take a few days so just lean back and relax."

The demons exchanged glances but indeed left on his command so that only Xia Wei and Lin Shi remained. The two of them both stepped into the middle of the throne room, looking at Ye Yang quietly, waiting for instructions.

Ye Yang continued to look at them for a while and then sighed. "Going forward, things will be tough. I don't expect the gods and the dragons to trust us easily and neither should you."

Xia Wei inclined his head. He had been the first to be told of Ye Yang's aspirations so he had had more time to think about it. By now, he was sure that Ye Yang was right: They would benefit more from having a good relationship with the other two races. Anyway, he had only been interested in fighting in that war to find strong opponents. He didn't really care about whether their race ruled over the dragons or not. So, if he could achieve the same goal without needlessly antagonizing the other side, why wouldn't he agree?

He thought for a moment and then gave a hum. "As long as we make continuous efforts, this should be possible. I'm just afraid the others won't be able to keep quiet for that long. If there are any skirmishes at the border, whatever trust we manage to establish in the meantime will be for naught. The dragons and gods would simply think we are trying to prepare for a large strike."

Ye Yang nodded. "So what do you propose?" He might be sitting on this throne now but he didn't intend to rule over this realm alone. Yes, maybe other demons weren't that trustworthy but you couldn't do everything yourself. Since Xia Wei seemed content to follow him for now, he should try and let him take over some responsibility. If at the end that led to a falling out where he was replaced by Xia Wei ... well, he would have to live with it.

Xia Wei kept quiet. How to solve this issue? Of course, it was to prevent any troublemakers to strike. As for how to do that ... "We could have some people guard the border and deal with whatever demons dare to make trouble. I'm just not sure if that wouldn't be seen as a threat. After all, from the other side, this might look like we are spying on them or trying to keep them from spying on us and figuring out our plans."

Next to Xia Wei, Lin Shi pursed her lips. It seemed like Ye Yang was about to give out the important tasks. She was happy that she had also been told to stay behind like this but she couldn't let Xia Wei show her up!

Compared to him and the other people Xia Wei had brought over at first, Lin Shi might be interested in the fights as well but her reasons were different. She wasn't specifically interested in swinging a weapon or using her magic. No, she was simply a competitive person in general. So seeing Ye Yang clearly value Xia Wei's opinion, she naturally didn't want to fall behind.

Before Xia Wei could come up with anything further, she simply took over. "I think we should send a few people to keep on the lookout. They can stay in the settlements closest to the border to make sure it won't be obvious. There's no need to patrol the border directly since a larger group passing by would be obvious and a single demon or two can't be taken as your intentions.

"In a few days, we should receive a response from the Nine Heavens and the dragon realm. At that time, depending on their reaction, we can bring this issue of controlling the borders up with them. Since we want to establish trust, open communication should be the way to go.

"That means we need to make clear that not everyone will be of the same opinion as Your Majesty yet and that this will be one way to deal with it. We can even request their help in coming up with a plan to keep the borders and the settlements on either side safe."

Ye Yang gave a hum. "That does sound like a good plan." He turned back to Xia Wei after saying that, raising his brows. "You choose who to send and take care of it. As Lin Shi said, we can't have too many people. Three to five per side of the border should be enough as long as they are strong warriors. They can also send word to the towns close by to alarm them if they hear anything."

Xia Wei inclined his head and left.

Lin Shi pursed her lips. How come he was still sent out to do this after she came up with it?

Ye Yang's lips curved up faintly when he saw her like that. Of course, he knew what she was thinking. The way she responded before Xia Wei could had been more than obvious. "Now, Lin Shi, since that has been taken care of, let's get to what I want you to do."