Duan Ming didn’t quite understand what was going on but since he had already started answering, he would naturally continue to do so. “Yes. Didn’t the people of the Court of Justice explain anything to you?” In fact, it was a little strange that Jing Yi hadn’t been brought over by any of them. Usually, that was the way things would go.

Jing Yi could only smile wryly and then motioned toward Qiu Ling. “Well, before anybody could explain anything to me, the situation changed a bit. Then, Qiu Ling was nice enough to bring me over. I guess accepting that made me miss out on some other things.” Maybe not the explanation of the people of the Court of Justice since they likely wouldn’t have given him one anyway but for sure on a good relationship with some people in the idle gods’ courtyard. Just the fact that he didn’t know about the living quarters of the courtyard had made Lan Ling stare at him in contempt again. He was afraid that in the future, the two of them would never be able to become friends.

Ah, he really missed his childhood days when making friends and getting along had seemed so much easier. Now, there were so many things that you needed to keep in mind. It was actually a little exhausting.

“Oh, so it was like this.” Duan Ming nodded, feeling that this explanation wasn’t too far-fetched. In any case, sometimes things just were like this. If there was the dragon king around, the heavenly officials might’ve felt that there was no need to explain anything to Jing Yi but since the dragon king wasn’t an ascended deity himself and not even a trueborn god, he hadn’t been able to tell Jing Yi anything about the life of an ascended deity in the courtyard of the idle gods. “Well, I could show you around if you want me to.”

Jing Yi ignored his lover that was sending him pitiful looks and nodded. “That would be great. I hope I’m not making things troublesome for you though.”

Duan Ming shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. In any case, we are all living here. So it’s not a problem to take some time out.”

Jing Yi was naturally happy to hear that. “Then I won’t refuse.”

At the side, Lan Ling was still grumbling. He clearly wasn’t happy with the prospect of Jing Yi staying around at all. If he moved in here, he’d have to see him every day. Clearly, that was not a thought that he liked. After everything that had happened so far, he didn’t speak about that thought out loud though and just trudged after them when Duan Ming invited Jing Yi inside to show him around, just shooting a few glares at the back of Jing Yi’s head and especially in the direction of Qiu Ling while he was at it.

Jing Yi noticed but didn’t say anything about it. In any case, he only wanted to know more about this place and find a spot for himself. Even if Lan Ling was currently not really happy about him, he couldn’t change that in the short term. He could only continue finding out more and then maybe there would be an opportunity in the future to make up and change things. He just had to wait for that.

Looking around the inside of the building, he was quite surprised. When he came in, he had thought that there was only the small courtyard with its few tables and that corner where the ascended deities and trueborn gods would train their sword arts. Maybe he could have imagined a little building at the back. But as it turned out, he had been completely wrong. That small courtyard was merely the entrance to the actual estate palace for the idle gods. Behind it, there were not only several buildings but also more courtyards. It seemed as if there was a whole district just reserved for the idle gods. That definitely wasn’t what he had expected.

Duan Ming glanced at him and noticed his expression. “Surprised?”

Since it was pretty obvious anyway, Jing Yi just nodded his head. “I originally thought it really was just that small courtyard outside but it seems that I got it completely wrong.”

Duan Ming laughed at that. “Well, I can see why you would think so if you haven’t been here for long. Actually, there are quite a few idle gods around. You see, whether it is the ascended deities or the trueborn gods, we can all live forever. Needless to say, for most palaces, there won’t be that many openings for official positions. So those who have some ambitions, they might need to stay here for several years.

“Personally, I always wanted to join either the Palace of War or the Court of Justice and despite the fact that I’m a trueborn god and my family’s position is rather high, I still haven’t made it out of here even after a whole decade. You can imagine how it will be for the ascended deities that first need to learn about everything concerning the immortal realms and races. It’s not an easy feat to get out of here.

“I think this place, on the one hand, is rather hopeless but, on the other hand, it is also a place where a lot of hope is gathered. We are looking for something more. It is just that grasping that dream in our hands and actually making something out of it is difficult.” Duan Ming fell silent after saying so and his gaze became a little pensive. “I think that this is what I admired about Leng Jin Yu.

“He joined the courtyard much later than me. But he had that one goal and he worked toward it step-by-step. I’m not even sure how he did it in the end. But after a short amount of time, he actually managed to get himself an opportunity. That is something that many people can’t do. It is really something that I admire.”

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