There might be no chance to meet the dragon king in the dragon king's palace but there was still the chance to meet quite a few other people. Originally, Xin Lan hadn't thought about that much and would only scoff at the idea of seeing one of these idiots that would treat him like an idol but he soon realized that there might be a big issue ahead.
Xiang Yong brought them over to the rooms and Hua Lin Rong and Hua Lin Yu went inside to explore already while he continued to stand there with the other dragon for a moment, exchanging some pleasantries before he sent him on his way.
Having taken care of that, he turned around to go in and try to brush up Hua Lin Yu's good feelings for him just when a door on the other side of the corridor opened. He didn't care much but he still glanced in the direction.
As soon as he did, he froze though. That person … He recognized him. That was Bai Mu, that son from the God of War's trial that they had asked for help back when Qiu Ling's lover and Chun Yin's reincarnation had been trapped in the secret realm in the Leyuan region. Back then, he hadn't actually cared too much about him but now that he saw his face, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Bai Mu slightly tilted his head, not quite sure what was going on. He did recognize Xin Lan but he wasn't quite sure about why he was looking at him like this. "Hello. I didn't know you were here."
Xin Lan gave a faint smile and then stepped into the doorway, making sure that he covered Hua Lin Yu's sight of this person. "Yes, I am. I'm only going to stay for a bit though. I'm traveling with somebody right now. I'm sorry. I hope you'll excuse me. There are some things I still need to talk with him about."
Bai Mu nodded, not quite sure why he felt a hint of hostility from Xin Lan. But anyway, it didn't matter as long as this didn't put him and Nie Huang in any danger and he didn't believe that that was the case. "Very well. Then I won't keep you any longer. Maybe we'll see each other around."
Xin Lan nodded and then stepped into the room, closing the door behind him while he furrowed his brows. He really hoped that they wouldn't. If they did, it wouldn't be good. Not at all. Otherwise, he didn't know what would happen.
Hua Lin Yu had just taken a look at the courtyard, poked his head back into the room, and raised his brows. "Who was that?"
"A nobody."
Hua Lin Yu's brows climbed higher up. "A nobody that you were casually talking to? That sounded like you knew each other."
Xin Lan slightly regretted taking even a minute to talk with Bai Mu and went over to Hua Lin Yu to pull him into his arms. Brushing his fingers through his hair, and then leaning down to give him a kiss, he shook his head again. "Just a casual acquaintance from long ago. Not worth any more words."
Unfortunately, Hua Lin Yu couldn't help but be intrigued. "Why do I feel that you don't like that person very much? Why that? Did something happen between the two of you? He wouldn't have … stolen your lover or something, would he?"
Xin Lan unwittingly tensed up. While Bai Mu hadn't stolen his lover, he was a little afraid that he would have some kind of influence on his lover just based on that face of his. "It's really nothing. You shouldn't think about him."
Hua Lin Yu really would've liked to know more but he knew that there was no way to get this out of Xin Lan when he was already in this mood. It seemed that he could only wait some time and then ask again when Xin Lan had calmed down. Maybe then he would be willing to tell him at least a little bit more.
"Alright, if you say so." He tiptoed and kissed Xin Lan's cheek before turning around in his arms and motioning outside. "This is really nice. Do you think we got special treatment because you were the one asking for the room? Or are the rooms in the palace all like this?"
Xin Lan glanced at the lake in the middle of the courtyard and couldn't help but think of the past. Back then, Jinde's room had also had this kind of set up with a small courtyard next to it that could be accessed at any time. To Jinde, it had been a matter of comfort. Being able to go out there, to just submerge himself in the water, and hide away from everything … He had done that quite a lot when things got too rough.
"Yes, it's actually not unusual. For an adult dragon, always being cooped up in a small room can feel crowded. So if it's possible, there will be spacier courtyards. Not every room has one of their own though. Sometimes there are several rooms sharing one between them."
"I see." Hua Lin Yu continued to look around, quite fascinated by this. If he could, he really would've liked to explore the whole dragon king's palace but even though they had gotten in easily, he didn't want to make any trouble.
Also, with how Xin Lan had just been, he wasn't so sure if it would be good to go outside right now. He should probably give him some more time to calm down. Then, they would also have more fun when they did that. And while seeing new things was interesting, this was also about being with the person he loved. So naturally, he would make sure to take his feelings into consideration.
That was what you did for your most important person.