Since that was what Hua Lin Yu wanted, the five of them first flew toward Xin Lan's house, taking a look at it. Seeing that there wasn't much inside, Hua Lin Yu indeed wasn't interested anymore since he could see that what Xin Lan had said was indeed right: This wasn't an actual home but just an empty place that he hadn't even gotten the time to set up in a way that he liked.
Hua Lin Yu couldn't help but think about that for some more time though. Whether it was back at the Hua family's estate or in the Jian Yi Sect, he had always had a place that he could call home. He couldn't even imagine how it would be like to travel around so much that you wouldn't even have a place to return to.
Or, could it be that there was such a place for Xin Lan but it just wasn't this one and he hadn't returned to it in the same way that he hadn't returned to the Hua family's estate in a long time? Hua Lin Yu turned to Xin Lan, giving him a curious look. "Say, how were you living in the dragon realm? Do you have a home there?"
Xin Lan's expression was thoughtful. Home … "Originally, I guess there was something like this?"
Hua Lin Yu raised his brows at him. "That doesn't sound very sure."
"Ah …" Xin Lan wasn't too sure how Hua Lin Yu's brother would take this interruption of their outing but looking over his shoulder, it turned out that whether it was Hua Lin Rong or the two Huo brothers, they were actually looking at him with some curiosity. Well, at the very least, they did so until they noticed that he had been looking at them. Then, they pretended to be angry and not interested in what he had to say at all.
Xin Lan turned back to the front, wondering to himself. From the looks of it, they really wanted to know what he had to say. That definitely wasn't because they thought his life was super interesting or that he was a person worth getting to know but likely because they were interested in the immortal realms.
Well, it wasn't a wonder. All cultivators aspired to ascend to the Nine Heavens one day. Naturally, they were quite interested in hearing what the immortal realms were like. They wanted to know what would expect them when they reached that fabled realm. Just getting a glimpse of it through somebody's words was definitely a good thing to them.
Well, since the opportunity had already presented itself, Xin Lan didn't hold back. While he didn't necessarily like to share his personal story, he could definitely give a few bits of information if it changed their perception of him.
"Well, it's a bit difficult to say. As I mentioned before, I've been living for a rather long time. I was originally born in one of the larger cities of the dragon realm. There had been a rather big change in our realm shortly before that so times were a little difficult.
"I guess I didn't quite have the usual upbringing because of that and my relationship with my parents wasn't too close either as a result of that. I moved out pretty quickly after reaching the age of maturity and then went on to find a place of my own.
"I traveled our realm and the other immortal realms for quite some time and didn't really settle down in one place for all that time. It was several millennia before I actually bought an estate of my own. It was in one of the more remote areas of the dragon realm though, far away from anyone else. I just didn't really like being around so many people."
The other four people were all staring at him, interested to hear more of his story. While Hua Lin Yu just wanted to know what else had happened in Xin Lan's life, especially that it made him refuse to be around others, the other three wished he wouldn't just give such bare-bones explanations and instead give some more details on how it was to live in the dragon realm. Actually, what else could he tell them about the dragons? Wasn't there something he wanted to add?
The only one who actually dared to speak his thoughts was Hua Lin Yu though. "But you still wouldn't say that that place is your home?"
Xin Lan gave a hum. "I guess you could probably call it my home. At the very least, I've spent quite a bit of time there and when I return to the dragon realm these days, that is normally where I would stay.
"Through the years though, there have been times when I had to leave for extended periods of time. I was serving the past king for several millennia and thus, spent most of my time in the dragon king's palace at that time."
This time, Hua Lin Rong couldn't help himself and rushed up to Xin Lan's other side, staring at his face. "You actually served the dragon king? What was he like?"
Xin Lan was a little taken aback but he could understand it. The dragon king was probably even more interesting to him than just some general information on the dragon realm.
"What was he like? Ah, I'm afraid I won't be able to tell that story in just a few words."
Hua Lin Yu Hua Lin Rong bit his lip and then glanced at his brother. "Xiao Yu, aren't you tired from flying around so much? Maybe we should go to the city right now and sit down in a teahouse for a while?"
Hua Lin Yu looked at his brother and couldn't help but laugh. "But sure! Actually, I'm really tired. We should hurry up to get to the city." Naturally, he wasn't but if his big brother was finally interested in something that Xin Lan was sharing, then he naturally couldn't get in the way of that. It was good if the two of them could get a little closer. In fact, if they could become friends, then that would be great. He really wanted his family and friends to get along.
With Hua Lin Yu saying so, the group sped up and directly went to the city, not looking at the region around the estate any longer.
Since Hua Lin Rong had been living here his whole life, he didn't have any trouble picking out the best teahouse and get a room for the whole group. He rushed to sit down at the table, shooting off a list of dishes and drinks that he would like the servants to bring before he stared at Xin Lan again. "So, what was that story about the dragon king?"