The day after the Tu Jiao Mountain battle ended, Lin Qin left the imperial capital Red Flame City.
He did not say goodbye to Linley. What should be said has already been said. The rest of the road needs to be walked by Linley himself. He took a step forward and his body blended into the veins of the earth. His speed was far faster than that of a galloping horse, but he was silent. The goal of this trip was clear - Southeast Province, Azure Wave City, Hawk Family.
Aileen.
This name emerged in his mind, with a trace of long-lost waves. During Ernst Institute of Magic that short time of study and adventure, that Water Element girl who always had a gentle smile and tried hard to keep up with his pace was one of the few people he could call a companion. Back then She felt that she was not strong enough and was afraid of being a drag, so she chose to return to the family temporarily. He respected her choice. Now, as time has passed, he has established a firm foothold and Dragon Rock Territory is beginning to take shape. It is time to take her back. The people around him Lin Qin should not be wandering outside.
Southeast Province has a mild climate and dense water network, which is completely different from the dry and rough Northlands. Azure Wave City, as the provincial capital, is located on the bank of a huge freshwater lake. The city walls are built along the water, with bridges crisscrossing the city. Most of the buildings are made of light-colored stone and wood, which looks fresh and beautiful.
Lin Qin did not alarm anyone, just like an ordinary traveler, he paid the city entry tax and walked into the city. The air was filled with light water vapor and the fragrance of flowers and plants, and the pace of pedestrians on the street was slow, which was in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the imperial capital and the bloody murder of Chaos Territory.
Following the sporadic information that Aileen mentioned occasionally many years ago and the direction he followed after entering the city, he came to a rather elegant manor area in the west of the city. It is adjacent to the inner city river and has a quiet environment. The mansions with independent gardens are scattered in an orderly manner. Hawk Family's mansion is among them.
Compared with some of the newly renovated and crowded mansions around it, Hawk Family's house seems a bit quiet. The white walls have paint peeling off in some places, and the cast iron gate also has some rust from the years. The samurai spirit of the guard at the door is acceptable, but the equipment does not seem to be well-equipped.
A slightly declining local nobleman, Lin Qin made an instant judgment. This may be one of the reasons why Aileen had to return to the family.
He did not come forward to report, but his mental power was like invisible water waves, quietly covering the entire Hawke mansion. There were not many people in the mansion, and the servants walked with a hint of caution. His perception quickly locked on the backyard of the mansion, an independent small building near the pond.
There, there was a familiar Water Element magic wave, peaceful and continuous, as if he was undergoing daily meditation practice. The aura was much stronger than before, and it was already stable at the level of an eighth-level magician, and even vaguely touched the threshold of the ninth level.
It's her.
Lin Qin gathered his breath, swayed, walked around the main entrance like a ghost, easily crossed the high wall, and landed silently in the courtyard outside the small building.
The courtyard was neatly maintained, with some flowers that loved moisture planted there, and a small fountain gurgled, echoing the sound of the distant inner city river. The environment was in line with her temperament.
He stood in the courtyard without deliberately hiding or making any noise to disturb the meditation in the building.
About a quarter of an hour later, the magic fluctuations in the building slowly calmed down.
The door of the small building was pushed open with a creak, and a woman wearing a light blue magic robe came out. She looked like she was in her twenties, with a delicate face, and the unique gentleness of Jiangnan women in her eyebrows, but there was more calmness and tenacity in her eyes than many years ago. It was Aileen.
She was holding a kettle in her hand, as if she was planning to water the flowers in the courtyard. When she raised her head and saw the figure in gray clothes who had appeared in the courtyard at some point, her whole body froze. The kettle in her hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the clear water gurgled out, soaking the stone slabs on the ground.
She widened her eyes and looked in disbelief at the face that she hadn't seen for several years but had appeared countless times in her dreams. He had hardly changed, he was still so calm and so--it was hard to see through.
"Lin--Lin Qin?" Her voice was trembling, wondering if she was hallucinating because of missing her.
"It's me." Lin Qin said, his voice as calm as before, "Southeast Province was passing by and came to see you."
Aileen took a few deep breaths, tried hard to calm her racing heart, and bent down to pick up the kettle, but her fingers were a little weak. She put the kettle aside, walked to Lin Qin, raised her head, and looked at him carefully, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.
"It's really you----" she murmured, her eyes turning slightly red, but she quickly suppressed it and showed the same gentle smile as before, "You----why did you come here? I heard that you now----" She paused and seemed to be thinking about her words, "----did great things in Chaos Territory."
The name "Earth Walker" Lin Qin is no longer a secret among the top brass of the Yulan Continent. Although Hawk Family has declined, basic information channels still exist.
"Well, a force called Dragon Rock Territory was established." Lin Qin said it lightly, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
But Aileen knew the meaning behind it. Unifying most of Chaos Territory, defeating the former Pope of Light Desri, and having an equal dialogue with War God Mountain - each of these was a feat that was enough to shock the continent. She looked at the still simple young man in front of her, and it was really difficult to connect him with those legends.
"Are you ---- okay?" she asked softly. Thousands of words ended up being reduced to this sentence.
"It's okay." Lin Qin looked at her, "What about you? Hawk Family?"
When it came to the family, Aileen's eyes dimmed for a moment, but he quickly cheered up. "It's okay. After I came back, I relied on my identity as a magician to help the family maintain some situations. It's just that there have been some changes within the province in recent years, and the life of our Hawk family is not easy." She did not elaborate, but the trace of sadness in her eyebrows could not be hidden from Lin Qin.
Lin Qin nodded and did not ask for details. These worldly disputes were meaningless in his eyes.
"I came here this time to ask you," he looked directly into Aileen's eyes, his tone without any waves, but with an unquestionable meaning, "Will you come back to Dragon Rock Territory with me?"
Aileen was shaken all over and looked up at him suddenly, his eyes full of shock, astonishment, and a hint of--unbelievable surprise.
"Follow you?" Her voice trembled again.
"Hmm." Lin Qin said, "Dragon Rock Territory was just established and is in dire straits. In particular, it lacks trustworthy managers and magic talents. You Water Element have good magic skills and a calm mind, so you can be put to good use. There, you can concentrate on your cultivation and don't have to worry about trivial family matters."
His words were very direct, even a bit utilitarian. But Aileen knew that this was already Lin Qin's way of expressing concern. He remembered her wish back then, and remembered that she didn't want to be a drag. Now that he has enough strength and territory, he will fulfill his promise back then and provide her with a better platform.
No need to worry about the trivial matters of the family anymore - these words almost instantly defeated the strength that Aileen had built up over the years. After returning to the family, she used her power as a magician to deal with various forces as a woman, and worked hard to maintain the dignity of the family. The hardships and grievances involved were indescribable to outsiders.
The tears finally couldn't help but fall down, but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and nodded vigorously. "I do.
There was no hesitation or asking the family for permission. She knew that this was the opportunity she had been waiting for for a long time, and it was also the opportunity to change her and her family's fate.
At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps and noise outside the courtyard.
"Aileen! Aileen!" A slightly shrill female voice sounded, "Viscount Kallen family members are here again! This time they brought documents from the city lord's palace, saying that they want to re-demarcate the ownership of the fishing ground by the lake. Father wants you to go to the front hall quickly!"
Before he finished speaking, a young woman wearing a gorgeous dress, exquisite makeup, but with a mean look on her eyebrows came in, followed by several guards with mean expressions. She was Aileen's cousin, Lillian.
As soon as Lillian came in, he saw Lin Qin standing in the courtyard. He was stunned for a moment, and then showed undisguised contempt on his face. "Aileen, who is this person? Although our Hawke family is not what it used to be, not all cats and dogs can come in casually! What does the guard at the door do for food?"
She obviously regards the ordinary Lin Qin as an insignificant person.
Aileen's face darkened. "Lillian, watch your words! This is my distinguished guest!"
"A distinguished guest?" Lillian sneered and looked Lin Qin up and down, "Just him? He looks so poor, how can he be an honored guest? Aileen, I'm not telling you, making friends with these useless people will not help our current situation of the Hawke family! Now that the Viscount Kallen family is coming to our door, do you still have the time to entertain guests here?"
The guard behind her also took a step forward, with a vaguely intimidating posture.
Lin Qin didn't even look at Lillian from beginning to end, as if she was just a noisy mosquito. His eyes still fell on Aileen: "It seems that you are indeed in some trouble."
Aileen apologized. "It's a small matter, I can handle it quickly----"
Before she finished speaking, Lin Qin turned her head slightly, and for the first time her eyes fell on the guard leader who was shouting the loudest.
No energy was used, no momentum was released.
Just a look.
The leader of the guard, a sixth-level warrior, felt an indescribable terror seize his heart instantly, as if he was being targeted by a prehistoric beast, and his soul was trembling! His legs softened, and he fell to his knees with a "pop", his face was as pale as paper, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. He opened his mouth but could not make any sound.
The other guards and Lillian were stunned by this sudden scene.
There was a moment of dead silence in the courtyard.
Lillian looked at Lin Qin in horror, then looked at the guard leader who was kneeling on the ground shaking like chaff, and finally realized that the "poor" gray-clothed young man in front of her was probably not what she could have imagined.
Lin Qin looked away, as if he had just done a trivial thing, and said to Aileen, "Go and deal with it. I'll wait for you."
His tone was calm, but with a kind of absolute confidence that he was in control of everything.
Aileen looked at the kneeling guard and the frightened Lillian, feeling an indescribable complex emotion well up in his heart.
She nodded, took a deep breath, and her eyes became firm. "Okay, I'll be back soon."