Xiang Yong was still in the Nine Heavens at that point. He had led the half-bloods to the Tower of Wisdom and helped them settle into their new task as easy as possible. Then he worked alongside An Bai for a while, wanting to stay around at least until he was sure that the new arrivals would be able to take it.

If there were some that turned out to be completely unqualified for the task, he would take them directly back to the dragon realm and then have them start on their new task tomorrow. If not, then he would return alone. In any case, he wanted to stay until then.

For one, he wanted to share with An Bai what had happened in the dragon realm. He probably could have spoken to the others but Yi Zan and Qiang Wei were still here in the Nine Heavens as well and An Bai was the only one who knew about everything so he felt most comfortable talking to him. Also, they had always had the closest relationship among Qiu Ling’s advisers.

Right now, while they were still in the Tower of Wisdom, there naturally wasn’t an opportunity but after they returned to the palace, that wouldn’t be a problem. He could tell him about everything in detail.

He was curious about An Bai’s thoughts on the matter. Maybe he would also be able to give him some pointers that he and the king hadn’t thought of yet. Where it concerned this kind of task, An Bai was most suited. Actually, it was a pity that he couldn’t be in the dragon realm to help out directly.

Finally, it was time to wrap up their work for the day. An Bai stretched his back, and then silently got up, grabbing the book he had been working on, fully intending to take it back to the palace.

Turning to everyone, he motioned to get the dragons’ attention. “That’ll be enough for today. Thank you for your help. Now, we have been assigned a palace not too far from the Court of Justice. Let’s return there together with the heavenly officials.”

The half-bloods all inclined their heads and then rushed to tidy up. Some saw that An Bai had picked up the book that he had been reading last and did the same, not wanting to fall behind.

They had gotten a chance. Something that seemed like a one-off for people like them. Even though they had thought that the last time as well, they still didn’t want to take any chances. If they were able to show the king’s advisers their worth, it would be brought up to the king for sure. Then he would recognize them for what they were able to do. They wanted that recognition so naturally, they would work even harder than usual.

An Bai looked at them and wondered if he should say something, but finally, he kept quiet. Anyway, what they would be able to achieve depended on them themselves. If they wanted to work more, he wouldn’t say no to that. If they didn’t want to, he also couldn’t say anything. They would have to find out where their own limits were.

Xiang Yong also noticed what was going on but kept quiet as well. For this task, An Bai was the one in charge anyway. He wouldn’t take over just because it seemed convenient. His own task had only been to bring these people over and after that, he only had a support role. Especially in front of outsiders, it was important to keep things orderly. That would also heighten the gods’ trust in their ability to deal with this matter.

A few moments later, everyone had gathered what they needed and the heavenly officials and the dragons left the Tower of Wisdom together. They made their way through the city and soon arrived at the Court of Justice where they split up.

An Bai and Xiang Yong led the half-bloods over to the palace that Qiu Ling had originally been given.

This place had been a little big for just Qiu Ling, his lover, and Qiu Ling’s two advisers but now that they had a group of people helping An Bai, it was the perfect size. Everybody could have a room of their own or they could room together if they wanted, helping each other.

An Bai led them inside and then turned back to them, giving a faint smile. “Everyone worked hard today. I’m sure that if we keep this up, we will be able to solve this issue much faster than if only I was working with heavenly officials.

“Now, you can go and choose a room for yourself. My room is at the end of the main corridor so if you need anything, you can always come by.”

The half-bloods inclined their heads and then went away, going to pick a room for themselves. Most of them actually decided to stay together, indeed hoping that it could help with figuring something out.

Just like Qiu Ling had thought, not all of them were too good at researching. But they wanted to make the king proud and really help out Scholar An Bai so they wanted to do better.

Even if, right now, they weren’t able to do much, they wanted to change that as fast as possible. Talking about it with the others and getting a few clues what they should take note of in the future seemed to be the best way to them. Thus, even though it was already late in the evening, the half-bloods all got busy again.

At the same time, Xiang Yong motioned toward An Bai’s room. “I’d like to have a chat with you. If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Let’s go to my room then.” He led the way and opened the door, only to freeze in the doorway when he found a person lazily reclining at the table, an open book in his hand that he seemed to be sifting through.

Ye Yang was really the last person he would have expected to find in his private quarters. But now, here he was. He sure had some questions to ask about that.

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