Zheng Yin nodded. This matter, he knew a little about it. As a refiner, he was naturally acquainted with the work of Longjun Jinde in that area. As a spirit beast, he also couldn’t help but be curious about his reign after reading so much about his achievements as a refiner, even though Longjun Jinde had long been said to have passed away when he was born.

What he had found were both records of the time when Longjun Jinde had been reigning as king of the dragon race and how he had stabilized the relationship with the spirit beasts and the gods to a degree that was rarely matched in history, but also records of how difficult times had been when he finally passed.

To be honest, Longjun Jinde had been getting weaker in the last years and he couldn’t keep up with the energy he had once displayed earlier during his reign. But he had made sure that everything that needed to be taken care of was taken care of and that there were guidelines in place for when he passed. It was a pity that the demons had made use of the opportunity and once again waged war against the dragons with renewed vigor and the gods who were supposed to be their allies had been having issues of their own, unable to help. At that time, even the spirit beasts who were usually excluded from the conflict had seen some of it.

Truth be told, things did die down after Longjun Qiu Ling took over the throne of the dragon realm. It was just that along with the conflict with the demons that was quelled, the communication with the spirit beasts that had broken down during the time … simply wasn’t restored. When it was picked up again, it wasn’t on the dragon king’s cue but because their king had been having a headache about whether he should or shouldn’t show his allegiance again. When he finally decided to do so, Longjun Qiu Ling had accepted but hadn’t shown much enthusiasm. This had led the spirit beasts to feel dejected. Clearly, the good times were over for them.

Thinking of all this, Zheng Yin could only sigh to himself. In a way, their people had both been lucky and unlucky at the time. They were spared the battles but they had suffered in another way. Knowing that Longjun Qiu Ling had been struggling with getting everything back in order helped a little but only as long as you looked at the immediate aftermath. Later on, after a millennium or two, why had they still been ignored? This was a question that was echoing loudly in his heart but he couldn’t bring himself to ask out loud.

Xiang Yong still thought about his knowledge of that time. Just like for Zheng Yin, that had been before his time so he could only go by the few written records and what others had been able to tell him. “If you were to ask the oldest dragons here in the capital, those who lived through the battles against Mojun Huo Yan, they would tell you that most of the time, you wouldn’t actually get to see the king where you’d expect him.”

He put the painting of the battle back inside and instead took out a handful of items that looked rather random in this combination. There was a brush, a dark robe, a short dagger, a worn-out book, an empty flask that might have held wine at some point … They seemed to have nothing in common apart from the fact that they might be a little old.

Zheng Yin examined one after another while Xiang Yong kept quiet. “These things … were enshrined by the common people who witnessed that time period?” It was the only explanation he could find.

Xiang Yong inclined his head. “Yes, they were. Each of them comes with their own story and all of them were noted down in this.” He held the worn-out book, gently opening one of the pages at random. “An Bai was the one who started this.

“While we are usually busy here at the palace, he is a scholar at heart and still likes to go out to research some matters he comes across. I have always encouraged that and tried to make time for him to do so because I know it benefits everyone at the end of the day and that is what we as advisers should do.

“An Bai was the one who rediscovered the practice of enshrining objects related to the sovereign. He is a very traditional person so seeing that apart from my painting and the one I encouraged Fu Min to do, there was nothing else in the current king’s chest made him feel that we were failing as advisers. Finally, he took that as motivation to go out and change that fact himself.

“He traveled through the whole realm bit by bit, each time bringing back new stories and objects. There are surprisingly many.” Xiang Yong smiled and finally stretched out the hand holding the book. “You should have a look. I believe that reading this will allow you a much deeper look into who His Majesty is as a person than my words ever could.”

Zheng Yin inclined his head and accepted the book, holding it carefully. Its worn-out state was likely due to the way it had been created by being passed from hand to hand and being taken to many different places all across the realm. Still, it seemed fragile because of that, and considering how important this book was to the dragons, he didn’t want to add even a single crease.

Xiang Yong smiled when he saw him be this careful. “Don’t worry, there is a copy in a jade slip to ensure the content won’t be lost to time. The book is also rarely taken out so there isn’t much wear and tear these days. You can hold it without worry.”

Zheng Yin nodded but he didn’t intend to relax at all. With some things, the attitude you showed was just as important as the result, and in this case, that definitely applied.