It didn't take long for the Grandelder to return and lead the three of them to one of the free houses that were standing in the general area of the inner sect. He had originally thought of having them stay on his own peak but after thinking it over again, he realized that they actually didn't care about either his disciple or Ma Zhi Wu. Obviously, they were here because of other things. Thus, it was just as well to have them stay here where they would be able to go to all parts of the sect without trouble.
"I hope this house is acceptable to you. Thank you again for helping us out. If you need anything, you can ask any of the disciples. I'm sure that they will be able to help you out. If they can't, then please just come up my peak and speak to either my direct disciple, Nian Hong Fang, or me personally. I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."
Wu Ya nodded and thanked him before he turned back to Xin Lan. "Then let's go in and talk."
Xin Lan didn't bother saying anything and just motioned at the door for him to lead the way. Anyway, he just wanted him to leave. As for anything else … He didn't care about that.
Wu Ya didn't bother about that too much. To him, this wasn't surprising at all. The dragons were often rather standoffish.
Zheng Yin closed the door behind the three of them and then everybody sat down at the table. Zheng Yin didn't really know who the person was that Wu Ya wanted to know about but he felt that he might be able to figure it out if he heard the story behind this. Even if not, he would still like to know so he could be there for Wu Ya if he took this information badly.
Wu Ya directly got to the point. "So, what happened? How did he suddenly die? And why wasn't he talking with Jinde anymore? Did something happen between the two of them?"
Xin Lan narrowed his eyes, wondering how to give enough information for this guy to leave while still not exposing anything that shouldn't be exposed. "Back then, the two of them were both competing for who would become the next king. In the end, Jinde was the one who won despite most people thinking that it would happen the other way around. That did cause a crack in their relationship."
Wu Ya stared at him wide-eyed, quite reluctant to believe this. "Something like that happened?"
Xin Lan scoffed at that. "If you're not willing to believe what I say, then maybe I shouldn't say anything at all and leave."
Wu Ya hurriedly waved his hands in his defense. "That's not it. I'm just … I'm surprised. Chun Yin seemed to be the one who always dictated what they would do while Jinde would just agree with whatever he said and follow him. If somebody told me that those two competed for anything, I would be surprised. Even more so if it's about who is supposed to reign over the dragon realm. I could've imagined Chun Yin as king but Jinde?" He raised his brows, clearly having a difficult time understanding this.
Xin Lan furrowed his brows. Maybe he was biased because of his own personal history with the two of them but he had always felt that Jinde was the better person to rule the dragon race.
While Chun Yin might have been physically stronger, Jinde was able to make up for that through his magical abilities and he was also the best refiner of that generation. Even until now, nobody had been able to surpass him. And other than that, a king needed to have many more features. Jinde was bright, but also emphatic, able to listen to people, and find the best compromise.
Xin Lan wasn't sure if he would be able to believe that Chun Yin could have done the same had somebody told him. He just felt that that man was too impulsive to make the right decisions. No, in his eyes, Jinde had been perfect as the dragon king.
Wu Ya still had a hard time wrapping his head around this but he still wanted to know more. "So, they didn't get along as well anymore because of that. But it certainly wouldn't have been to the point that they suddenly stopped talking with each other, would it?"
Xin Lan kept quiet for a moment but finally gave a hum. "Chun Yin soon met somebody and fell in love, getting married rather quickly. Jinde and that woman … They never saw eye to eye."
Wu Ya leaned back and gave a knowing nod. "I see. Jinde … He was in love with Chun Yin, wasn't he? It must have hurt to see him with somebody else."
Xin Lan glanced at him, feeling a bit strange now that somebody else pointed it out clearly. He had come to the dragon realm shortly after Jinde had been enthroned. He had lived there for quite a while and had been able to see how everybody treated him. While some people might have seen that there was more to the relationship between him and Chun Yin, there had never been anyone who made it this clear. In fact, it had seemed as if most of them had been unable to tell that Jinde had such feelings. Even though it had been pretty obvious. To suddenly have somebody that had known the two of them before Jinde became the king and stated it as if it was something obvious … that sure was strange.
He sighed and shook his head. "Whatever his feelings were, the conflict between the two of them only escalated further. A short while after Qiu Ling was born, Chun Yin and that woman left the dragon realm's capital."
"And then they lost their lives out there?"
Xin Lan nodded. "They did. I can't tell you what exactly went down but I can say that their son saw what happened. It would be wise if you didn't bring it up in front of him again."