Coming Home

Early the next morning, Dilia found Lin Feng. Her brother Dixie was following behind her.

"Lin Feng, Father wants my brother and me to go home. I..." Dilia trailed off.

"Go home. I'm sure your parents have missed you after more than five years apart," Lin Feng said with a smile.

"But I don't want to be apart from you." Dilia looked forlorn, her eyes full of reluctance and longing.

"There can be no joy in reuniting without first parting. Besides, it's not as if you won't come back," Lin Feng comforted her.

"Mm. Goodbye." Dilia was clearly disappointed that she couldn't spend more time talking with Lin Feng. Dixie, who had been some distance away, walked over. Dilia only had to glance at him before she headed his way. Dixie, however, looked at Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, thank you for protecting Dilia and helping her advance to the sixth rank as a mage. But if you want to marry my sister, you'll have to keep working hard at your cultivation. I heard you've already reached the eighth rank as a mage, but that level of strength still isn't enough."

Dixie's tone was still cold, but Lin Feng knew he treated everyone that way, so he didn't take offense.

"I know. I'll work hard at my cultivation," Lin Feng said confidently.

Lin Feng knew his own limits. With his current strength and standing, he wasn't important enough for Dilia's parents to take him seriously. In the original story, Dilia's parents had planned to marry her off to the emperor of the Yulan Empire as his empress.

Dixie gave a slight nod, then led his sister Dilia toward the academy gates.

The late-August sun was like a blazing fireball, unbearably hot. After having lunch with his three brothers, Lin Feng set off for his hometown, Wushan Town.

Earlier, Lin Feng had exchanged some of the Magic Cores in his Space Ring for gold coins, getting a total of one hundred thousand. He had deposited them at the Four Kingdoms Bank and received a Magic Crystal Card.

"Chirp, chirp!" Beibei chattered excitedly from Lin Feng's shoulder.

Lin Feng glanced at Beibei and smiled too. He spoke to him through their soul bond. "Beibei, it's been so long since we came back. Time really flies!"

"Yeah, Boss. I can still remember clearly the first time we left Wushan Town," Beibei said, sounding a little wistful.

Lin Feng walked at a steady pace, covering about twenty li an hour. By the time he reached the outskirts of Wushan Town, dusk had fallen. As he approached town, he heard a familiar voice: "Keep your backs straight, every one of you! Don't bend down. If anyone touches the branches below and gets paint on them, it counts as a violation. Double your training!" It was Uncle Hillman's voice, audible from far away.

Lin Feng looked toward the sound.

In the familiar clearing east of Wushan Town, beside a row of poplar trees, children ranging in age from six or seven to fifteen or sixteen were divided into three groups. Under the stern supervision of Hillman and the other two instructors, they trained hard, sweat soaking every boy's clothes.

"Back then, I trained just like this." Lin Feng sighed as he watched.

"Lin Feng?" Hillman spotted him from a distance. He quickly gave Rory and Roger a few instructions, then ran over and pulled Lin Feng into a bear hug.

"Uncle Hillman, it's been so long!" Lin Feng was just as happy.

"Haha, come on. Let's head home first. Lord Hogg will be thrilled to see you." Hillman chuckled, then walked with Lin Feng into Wushan Town.

"Young Master Lin Feng!" Rory and Roger called out warmly from a distance.

"Uncle Rory, Uncle Roger!" Lin Feng waved to them, then continued toward the family estate with Hillman.

"Lin Feng, why didn't you tell your father before you went to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range? And you were gone for more than five years. You have no idea how worried Lord Hogg was. I haven't seen him smile once in all that time." On the way to the Baruch Clan estate, Hillman couldn't help scolding Lin Feng.

"Uncle Hillman, if I'd told Father back then, do you think he would've let me go?" Lin Feng asked in response.

"Ah, forget it. You went, and you made it back safely. I won't say anything more." Hillman shook his head helplessly.

In the courtyard of the Baruch Clan estate, Hogg was reclining in a chair, carefully reading an extremely thick book.

"Lord Hogg, dinner is ready," a maid said respectfully as she approached.

Ever since Hiri, the steward, had taken little Wharton to the O'Brien Empire, there hadn't been a single servant left in the Baruch household. Hogg was, after all, the patriarch of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan. He couldn't very well do the servants' work himself, so he'd gritted his teeth and hired a maid.

"Oh." Hogg closed the book in his hands and glanced at the maid beside him. He sighed inwardly. Luckily, those nobles know that my son is now a genius mage at Ernst Academy and are willing to lend me gold coins. Otherwise, life would be even harder.

"Given Wushan Town's current tax rate, we can barely cover the kingdom's taxes and the guards' wages." Just thinking about it made Hogg feel aggrieved. By the time the family had passed down to his generation, they had sold off almost everything of value.

Fortunately—

He, Hogg, had two sons. Two remarkable sons.

But whenever he thought of Lin Feng, his heart clenched.

"Today marks five years, six months, and nine days since Lin Feng went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range." Hogg tilted his head back to gaze at the ceiling and muttered to himself.

"Lord Hogg! Lord Hogg!" Hillman's voice rang out from a distance.

Hogg looked in puzzlement toward the estate's main gate. A moment later, Hillman entered, accompanied by a broad-shouldered young man.

Hogg's gaze settled on the young man. Although it had been more than five years, he recognized Lin Feng at once—his own son.

Hogg walked toward Lin Feng, overcome with emotion. His lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Father!" Lin Feng ran over and dropped to his knees before Hogg.

"I've been an unfilial son. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Get up. You're home, and that's what matters. You're home!" Hogg hurriedly helped Lin Feng to his feet, then looked him over excitedly.

"You've grown up, and you're strong now. Good, good, good!" Hogg repeated the word three times, unable to contain his excitement. Then he turned to the only maid in the household and instructed her, "Agatha, prepare a more lavish dinner."

Lin Feng stood up, took the Magic Crystal Card from his arms, and handed it to Hogg with a smile. "Father, this is the money I earned from hunting Magical Beasts and selling their Magic Cores. It's one hundred thousand gold coins in all. I think it should be enough for my younger brother's tuition."

"What?" Hogg took the Magic Crystal Card from Lin Feng with trembling hands. His heart jolted, and he stared in disbelief. "How many gold coins did you say are in here? One hundred thousand?"

What did one hundred thousand gold coins mean? Even an ordinary earl wouldn't have that much. The Baruch Clan was only a minor noble family—and a fallen one at that. Even if they sold the entire clan's estate, it wouldn't be worth one hundred thousand gold coins.

Seeing Hogg look at him so excitedly, Lin Feng felt a little proud. "That's right, Father. There are one hundred thousand gold coins on it."

Hogg took a deep breath and quelled his agitation. Then he said in a low voice, "Lin Feng, you've been traveling all day. You must be tired. Go get some rest."

"Yes, Father."

Lin Feng quietly left, leaving Hogg sitting alone in the candlelit hall.

The next morning, at the breakfast table in the Baruch Clan's main hall, Lin Feng was surprised to see his father looking radiant. His whole demeanor had changed.

Hogg set down his knife and fork and smiled at Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, stay home for a while this time. It's been a long time since I've seen you. Let's spend some time together, father and son."

Father wanted him to stay home a little longer?

Lin Feng suddenly remembered a similar scene in the original story and felt a jolt of alarm. Could Father be planning to investigate the people who abducted Mother Lina?

Ah, that makes sense. Mother Lina has always been Father's greatest sorrow. If he hadn't needed to raise Wharton and me, he probably would've gone looking for her long ago.

Lin Feng sighed, his thoughts tangled. The people who really abducted Mother were the Radiant Church. With Father's current strength as a sixth-rank warrior, investigating them would be tantamount to suicide. In the original story, Hogg was killed while searching for Mother. But should I stop him?

Lin Feng looked up at his father, whose demeanor was so different from before, and sighed deeply. Forget it. I'll let things take their course. Father has suffered too much these past years. Rather than live in anguish, he might as well fulfill his wish. Besides, once I go to the Netherworld, I can ask the Sovereign of Death to bring him back to life. Then I can rescue Mother from the Sovereign of Light, and Father and Mother can be reunited.

With that thought, Lin Feng pushed aside his urge to stop Hogg and replied, "All right, Father."