Xin Lan thought back to the day he had opened his eyes in the dragon king's palace, his expression hovering between pensive and a little entranced. The other men couldn't help but feel even more eager to know the story behind this. Just what kind of man was the dragon king to inspire such a look in someone?
Finally, Xin Lan pulled himself out of his reverie, remembering that he couldn't let them find out about his feelings for Jinde even if he told them everything else. "Back when I met him, he was pretty young, both as a person and as a king. To be honest, it had only been a few months since he acceded the throne.
"At that time, the dragon realm wasn't doing too badly. The old king had abdicated of his own free will and actually chosen a successor or maybe it should rather be said that he had had two candidates in mind with a clear favorite among them."
Hua Lin Rong's eyes were sparkling when he heard that. "The dragon king must've been really great if his predecessor was so convinced of him."
Xin Lan gave a faint smile. "Oh, he definitely was great but the clear favorite of his predecessor wasn't him but the other candidate. In the end, he was still the one who did a better job at the tests that were conducted beforehand.
"Anyway, I felt that he was a good king. He cared about his people and he was willing to listen to advice and learn. Something that the other one might not have done to the same degree. But with a fight happening before his enthronement, some people were split on whether to accept him or not. The first few months had been very hard for him."
Xin Lan fell quiet for a moment, thinking back to the way Jinde had looked back then. That lost expression in his eyes, the happiness at actually being given attention for once … After he found out everything else, it had been so clear that he had just been basking in that and never really been interested in him as a person.
Anyway, the personal story between them didn't really matter at this moment. "It would be hard to tell you about everything that happened but in the end, he did manage to convince everyone that he was the best candidate as the dragon king. From the day I met him, I stood at his side, convinced that that was the case."
Hua Lin Rong leaned over the table, his eyes inquisitive. "So, in other words, it could be said that you actually helped him be accepted by the others?"
The Huo brothers didn't look happy about that but Xin Lan still gave a slight smile and inclined his head. "I did play part in this. I think much more important was that he was just very well-suited for being the king though.
"After that problematic time, he reigned for many, many millennia. And he managed to prove over and over just why he had gotten that position. In one of the worst wars in the history of the immortal realms, he was even the one who finally managed to kill the demon king that had been raining terror upon our people."
"That must have been awesome!"
This time, Xin Lan wasn't able to just go on as he had before. Instead, he gave a sigh. "I guess you could say so. Unfortunately, he was injured pretty heavily in that fight as well and finally lost his life only a short while later." He didn't mention that Jinde was actually still alive. Anyway, these people had no business knowing and Jinde's secret still needed to be kept no matter what. After all, he wasn't completely healed yet. Even though it wouldn't take as much time anymore as it would have originally, that didn't mean that he was out of danger already. There were still way too many things that could happen. Thus, he didn't want to take the risk.
Hua Lin Rong furrowed his brows. "That must've been really difficult for the dragon race."
Xin Lan nodded. "It was. Especially since the war wasn't even over yet. The demons had less trouble getting a new king onto the throne."
Hua Lin Rong nodded slowly. "I guess if the dragon king died that suddenly, he didn't have much time to find a successor."
While Xin Lan wouldn't expose his Master, he had no problem at all throwing shad at Qiu Ling. "To be honest, he did have somebody in mind but it wasn't that easy to actually get that person onto the throne. It took some time."
Hua Lin Yu couldn't help but wonder. "That new king … is that the current dragon king?"
Xin Lan nodded once again. "Precisely. It's been a long time since then but he is actually still on the throne. I guess it just speaks to the fact that the previous king knew what he did even when choosing his successor.
"Truth be told, I wasn't too sure back then if that decision was such a good one but I guess he knew him better than I did. Anyway, I left the palace after that. I served that one king and I don't think I want to serve another. Anyway, he did have another task for me in mind so that wasn't even a question."
Hua Lin Rong was quite interested in hearing that. "So you were actually still doing tasks for him even after he died? You must be really dedicated."
Xin Lan smiled faintly. Was that actually the first compliment he had gotten from his future brother-in-law? How nice. It seemed that things were going in the right direction.
He didn't tease him for it and just nodded. "I believed in him. If I didn't, I wouldn't have stayed at his side for so long. Thus, I would of course do what he wanted me to." Turning back to Hua Lin Yu, he brushed through his hair, giving a smile. "For that, I had to go to the demon realm for quite some time. So I was actually living there until just a short while ago. I haven't really been to my home in the dragon realm in a long time either."