Family Affection

"May I ask... ah..." The young woman thought Li Junshan was a guest and asked very politely, but the words had barely left her mouth before she screamed and froze on the spot.

"Tina." The old butler coughed, then said with some authority, "What are you shrieking for? Don't you recognize the young master?"

"Young master?" The young woman named Tina murmured blankly. Then she let out an even sharper scream than before, turned, and ran into the courtyard, her vegetable basket flying into the air.

"The young master's alive! The young master's back!"

Hearing the girl's shout, Li Junshan helplessly plucked a vegetable leaf from his head and walked into the courtyard.

Tina's voice carried astonishingly well, ringing through the whole courtyard in an instant. Three or four people rushed out right after, led by a middle-aged man in blue robes. His features were not especially handsome, but an elegant, refined air seemed to seep from his bones. At that moment, his pale face was filled with excitement.

"Nicholas!" Before the middle-aged man had even reached him, he shouted excitedly.

"Father." Li Junshan called out awkwardly and went up to meet him in a few steps.

The middle-aged man was Nicholas's father. He pulled Li Junshan into his arms. Claur looked thin and weak, but Li Junshan had not expected him to be so strong; held tightly in his embrace, he could hardly breathe.

"It's good you're back. It's good you're back." Claur held his son in his arms and kept repeating it, tears slipping from his eyes despite himself.

"Master." Raymond wiped his tears and choked out, "Whatever you have to say, let's go inside first."

Only then did Claur come back to his senses. He took Li Junshan's hand and walked into the house.

Only then did the servants and maids gathered around disperse, every face brimming with joy from the heart. Although Claur no longer held the title of viscount, in their hearts they all deeply respected this thin middle-aged man. In Floro City, apart from Claur's residence, there was no other noble household that had never been rumored to mistreat its maids.

The old butler called a few servants over to help Fate drive the carriage inside, then wanted to invite him in to rest. Fate, however, would not leave the dragon egg by even half a step, and shook his head in refusal.

Li Junshan awkwardly followed beside Claur. Just as they entered the house, there came a thud from the inner room off the hall, as if someone had fallen to the floor. Claur's expression changed, and he let go of Li Junshan and ran inside.

"Nicholas." A woman's voice came from within. "Claur, is it Nicholas? Has he really come back?"

Li Junshan recognized it as the voice of Nicholas's mother, Linda. His heart tightened, and he hurried inside.

Inside the room, Claur was helping a woman up from the floor. She wore plain white clothes, with no makeup on her face, yet she possessed a unique air of grace and nobility. Right now, her expression was tense as she stretched both hands out in front of her and groped around.

"Nicholas, where are you?" Linda's eyes stared blankly ahead without even blinking.

Her eyes are blind? Pain stabbed through Li Junshan's heart. He rushed forward in a few steps and let her stroke his face.

"Nicholas, it really is you, Nicholas! My son..." Linda burst into sobs with a wail, and Li Junshan felt a chill crawl up his back at the sound.

How much pain and grievance did someone have to endure to cry so miserably?

Ever since arriving in this world, Li Junshan had never dared think about his own parents. Although there were still several siblings at home, his parents doted on him the most as the youngest. He could not imagine how much pain they must be in after losing him.

At Linda's anguished cry, Li Junshan could not hold back anymore.

"Mother, Mom, Mama..." Li Junshan called out in a jumble and could not stop himself from bursting into tears.

Claur reached out and held mother and son together in his arms, his own face streaming with tears.

They cried for a long while before the family of three finally calmed down, but Linda still held tightly to Li Junshan's arm and would not let go.

"Nicholas, what exactly happened?" Claur asked. "What happened that day?"

Li Junshan helped Linda sit down and let her stroke his hand, then briefly recounted what had happened to them. Naturally, he could not mention his transmigration, and he also concealed the matters of the Xenomorph and the black dragon.

"That's how it was," Li Junshan said. "Later, in Windfire Town, I ran into a mage—he's the one who came with me—and we traveled together back to Floro City."

"Nicholas, you've suffered so much." Linda felt Li Junshan's somewhat rough palm, and tears began falling again.

"It's fine." Li Junshan smiled slightly and said, "Just think of it as training."

"Father." Li Junshan looked at Claur and asked, "Why did you move here?"

Claur's face darkened. After a long silence, he told him what had happened after Nicholas went missing.

After that incident, Claur and the others all believed that Nicholas was the corpse deliberately left at the scene by someone, even the scar on the back being exactly the same. Claur's cousin, York, the owner of Floro City's largest chamber of commerce, used Claur's lack of heirs as a reason to petition Earl Ross Harriman, the most prestigious member of the Harriman Family in Floro City, demanding that Claur give up his viscount title to him.

York's son, Brandon, was eighteen this year but was already an intermediate mage. Perhaps because he valued Brandon highly, Earl Ross agreed to the request and, in his capacity as a family elder in Floro City, pressured Claur.

Claur and Linda had devoted their lives to art and had accomplished nothing in other fields. After losing Nicholas, the two of them were even more disheartened. Knowing that arguing would be useless, they signed the documents, and after the imperial court approved them, they handed the viscount title over to York.

After obtaining the title, York still refused to let matters rest. With the strength of his chamber of commerce, he would not have cared about Claur's residence at all, but he used the excuse that Claur was no longer a viscount and naturally could not live in the viscount's estate. On the third day after obtaining the title, he drove Claur's entire household out.

Claur's manor and fields had always been managed by dedicated members within the family, and each month he could only receive one hundred gold coins from Ross. Maintaining such a large viscount's estate, along with the expenses for so many servants, left almost nothing behind. Fortunately, Linda had always managed the household well and had saved some money. Using that money, they bought a house in Hatton District and moved there with a dozen or so loyal servants who refused to leave.

As early as half a month ago, Linda had gone blind because she spent every day missing Nicholas, washing her face with tears. She cried by day, and at night, when she dreamed of Nicholas and woke, she cried as well, until her eyes suddenly failed. In truth, this was not considered a serious illness. If a high-ranking priest cast Holy Light to treat her, paired with some medicine, she could recover completely. The problem was that Claur was now utterly destitute, with neither money nor influence, and he simply could not invite anyone capable.

The upright Claur had never begged anyone in his life. For Linda's illness, he swallowed his pride and ran to York to plead bitterly, only to be humiliated for nothing.

Li Junshan listened silently, feeling rage surge in his heart. Most of it was still the influence of the remnants of Nicholas's spirit. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Father, let's cure Mother's illness first. As for what those people owe us, I'll take it all back."

Claur was stunned. He only felt that his son seemed completely different from before, but he could not say exactly how.

"Perhaps this period of life, whether physically or mentally, has made Nicholas grow up," Claur thought. Then he said, "Nicholas, don't do anything reckless. Now that you've come back, our family is reunited. That's more important than anything."

Linda was also afraid that her son would act rashly and cause some disaster. She smiled gently and said, "Nicholas, Mother is already very happy that you can come back. What does it matter if my eyes are blind? As long as I can touch your face every day and smell your scent, to Mother, that matters more than anything."

Hearing Lady Linda's gentle words, Li Junshan's eyes reddened, and his nose stung.

"Mother." Li Junshan held Linda's hand and said, "Rest for a while first. I'll go take a bath now. I haven't bathed in days, and I smell awful."

Linda had never once slept soundly at night all this time. Now that her son had returned, she could finally set her heart at ease. Hearing Li Junshan's words, Linda smiled faintly and let him help her lie down, but she still held on to his hand and would not let go.

Li Junshan did not move either. He sat quietly by the bed, and before long, Linda's breathing grew long and even as she drifted off to sleep, a gentle smile resting on her peaceful face.

Gently withdrawing his hand, Li Junshan walked with Claur to the outer hall. A maid had been waiting outside for some time—it was Tina, the one he had just run into at the doorway.

"Young master, the hot water is ready. Please go take a bath first," Tina said softly, her face full of excitement and delight.

After parting from Claur, Li Junshan still felt a little uneasy, so he went to the courtyard. There he saw Fate and several soldiers of the estate guarding the carriage. Who knew what Fate was saying with that smug look on his face, but the soldiers kept letting out quiet cries of surprise from time to time, listening with rapt attention.

"Looks like after staying in Windfire Town for a few months, Fate's noble magician airs really have been worn away completely." Li Junshan smiled faintly and followed Tina toward a side room.

Inside the side room was a huge wooden tub. Several braziers had been placed in the four corners of the room, their charcoal fires burning strong, making the room as warm as spring.

"Um... Tina..." Li Junshan felt a little embarrassed and stammered, "Could you step out for a moment?"

Tina gave a little laugh and said, "Young master is still so shy." As she spoke, she winked mischievously at Li Junshan, then turned and went out.

Stripping off his clothes, Li Junshan, wearing only his shorts, stepped onto the wooden stool beside the tub and jumped in with a splash. The instant he entered the water, he nearly cried out from sheer relief. The water was extremely hot, yet still bearable, scalding his skin so that a red flush spread over it at once. Li Junshan leaned back comfortably.

"Young master, are you ready?" Tina's voice came from outside. Li Junshan instinctively called back, "Ready."

With a creak, Tina pushed open the door and walked in with a smile, holding a towel. Li Junshan did not put on airs either. Undressing in front of her just now would naturally have been rather awkward, but having her help him bathe and scrub his back was nothing unusual. Refusing now would have been a little unreasonable.