Chapter 21: Kinship

  Thank you for everyone's support! Although I didn't make it to the new book chart, I finally made it to the fantasy genre newcomer chart! Thank you! Continue collecting and recommending, **it's coming soon!**

  "Excuse me...... Ah......" The girl thought Li Junshan was a guest and asked politely, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she let out a sharp cry and was immediately stunned.

  "Tina." The old butler coughed and said with some severity: "What's all the shouting about? Don't you recognize Young Master?"

  "Master?" The girl named Tina muttered absent-mindedly, suddenly letting out a sharper shriek than before, and turned to run into the courtyard, the vegetable basket flying into mid-air.

  "Master is alive, Master has come back."

  At the girl's loud cry, Li Junshan helplessly removed a piece of vegetable leaves that had fallen on his head and walked into the courtyard.

  Tina's voice was rich and piercing, instantly echoing throughout the courtyard. Three or four people rushed out, led by a middle-aged man in a green robe, whose appearance wasn't particularly handsome but exuded an elegant demeanor from within. At this moment, his pale face was filled with excited expressions.

  "Nicholas!" The middle-aged man shouted loudly before he even ran over.

  "Father." Li Junshan shouted awkwardly and took a few steps forward.

  The middle-aged man was Nicholas's father, who held Li Junshan in his arms. Unexpectedly, the seemingly weak Crawley had great strength and held himself tightly in his arms, making Li Junshan feel a little breathless.

  "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Klaul hugged his son tightly, saying repeatedly, with tears streaming down his eyes.

  "Old master." Raymond wiped away his tears and choked out: "Whatever it is, let's talk about it inside."

  Krauss finally came back to himself and pulled Li Junshan's hand towards the house.

  The several maids who were watching from the sidelines finally dispersed, each with a joyful expression on their faces. Although Crawle no longer had the title of viscount, they all deeply respected this thin and middle-aged man. In the city of Froh, there was only one place where it was said that nobles did not bully maids, and that was the Crawle estate.

  The old steward summoned several servants to help Fatt drive the carriage in, and invited him to come in and rest. But Fatt was unwilling to leave Longdan's side, so he shook his head and declined.

  Li Junshan awkwardly followed behind Kaul, and as soon as they entered the house, a loud thud was heard from the suite inside the hall, like someone had fallen to the ground. Kaul's face changed, and he let go of Li Junshan and rushed towards the room.

  "Nicholas." A woman's voice came out: "Kraul, is that Nicholas? Has he really come back?"

  Li Junshan recognized this as the voice of Nicolas' mother Linda and hastily ran in.

  Crawford was helping a woman to her feet in the room, who wore simple white clothes, without makeup on her face, but with an elegant and noble temperament, at this time she was tense and stretched out both hands in front of her to grope.

  "Nicholas, where are you?" Linda's eyes stared blankly ahead, unblinking.

  "Has your eyes gone blind?" Li Junshan's heart ached and he hastily rushed forward a few steps, letting her stroke his face.

  "Nicholas, is that really you, Nicholas! My son......" Linda burst into tears, and Li Junshan's back was instantly chilled.

  How much suffering and humiliation must one endure to cry so miserably!

  Since coming to this world, Li Junshan has never dared to think about his parents. Although there are still several brothers at home, the parents love him the most, and he cannot imagine how painful it would be for his parents to lose him.

  Linda's cry of pain was more than Li Junshan could bear.

  "Mother, girl, mom......" Li Junshan shouted out incoherently, unable to hold back his loud sobs.

  Krauss stretched out his hand and held the two of them in between, also with tears streaming down his face.

  They cried for a long time before the three of them calmed down, but Linda still held onto Li Junshan's arm tightly.

  "What's going on, Nicholas?" Crawley asked: "What happened that day?"

  Li Junshan helped Linda sit down, letting her stroke his hand, and briefly told them what had happened, not mentioning the crossing or hiding the alien and black dragon.

  "That's how it was." Li Junshan said: "Later, in Fenghuo Town, I met a magician, who is the person who came with me. We then traveled together back to Florence City."

  "Nicholas, you've suffered." Linda stroked Li Junshan's somewhat rough palm, and tears flowed down again.

  "It's nothing." Li Junshan smiled slightly and said, "Let's just consider it a workout."

  "Father." Li Junshan looked at Klauss and asked: "How did you move here?"

  Crawford's face was gloomy, and it wasn't until after a while that he told the story of what happened after Nicholas went missing.

  After that incident, Krow and others thought Nicholas was the corpse left by someone else at the scene, even the wound on his back was exactly the same. Krow's cousin, York, who is the owner of the largest trading company in Floro City, asked Ross Hariman, Earl of Hariman, the most prestigious family in Floro City, to let Krow give up his viscount title to him for the reason that Krow had no children.

  York's son Brandon is eighteen years old and already an intermediate magician. Perhaps due to his esteem for Brandon, Earl Ross agreed to this request and pressured Crawle as the family elder of Frollo City.

  Crawford and Linda devoted their lives to art, with no achievements in other fields. After losing Nicholas, the two were even more disheartened. Knowing that arguing was useless, they signed the documents and handed over the viscount title to York after being reviewed by the Imperial Court.

  York, who had obtained the title, was not satisfied. Originally, with the strength of his business, he would not have looked down on Crawley's house, but he used the reason that Crawley was no longer a viscount and naturally could not live in the viscount's house to drive Crawley and his family out on the third day after obtaining the title.

  The Crawley estate and lands had always been managed by a trusted family member, who received only one hundred gold coins from Ros each month to maintain the large viscount's mansion, plus many servant expenses, leaving almost nothing. Fortunately, Linda had always been good at managing the household, saving some money, and used this money to buy a house in Haddon district, moving here with more than a dozen loyal servants who were reluctant to leave.

  Half a month ago, Linda was already blind due to her constant thoughts of Nicholas, crying all day and dreaming of him at night. Her eyes suddenly went blind. This isn't even considered a serious illness, if only there were high-ranking priests who could cast healing spells and administer some medicine, she would be fully recovered. The problem is that the Crowell family is now poor and powerless, they can't afford to hire anyone.

  Geng Zhike had never begged anyone in his life, but for Linda's illness, he swallowed his pride and went to beg York, only to be humiliated.

  ……

  Li Junshan listened silently, only feeling a wave of anger in his heart, mostly due to the lingering influence of Nicholas' spirit. He gritted his teeth and said, "Father, first cure Mother's illness, those people owe us, I will get everything back."

  Krauss was taken aback, feeling that his son looked completely different from before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

  "Perhaps it was this period of life, whether physically or mentally, that made Nicholas grow up." Klaul thought to himself and said: "Nicholas, don't be reckless now. Since you're back, our family is reunited, which is more important than anything else."

  Linda was also afraid that her son would get into trouble, and gently smiled: "Nicholas, as long as you can come back, your mother will be very happy. Even if I go blind, it doesn't matter, as long as I can touch your face every day and smell the scent on you, it's more important to me than anything else."

  When Mr. Li heard Mrs. Linda's gentle words, his eyes turned red and he felt a sour nose.

  "Mother." Li Junshan held Linda's hand and said, "You rest for a while first. It just so happens that I'm going to take a bath now. I haven't taken one in many days and my body smells."

  Linda hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time, but now that her son was back, she could finally put her mind at ease. Upon hearing Li Junshan's words, Linda smiled slightly and let him help her lie down, still holding onto his hand.

  Li Junshan didn't move either, sitting quietly by the bed. Before long, Linda fell asleep with a gentle smile on her peaceful face.

  Gently withdrawing his hand, Li Junshan and Klaul walked to the outer hall, where a maid was already waiting outside. It was Tina, whom they had bumped into at the door earlier.

  "Master, hot water is ready, you go take a bath first." Tina said softly, with an excited and thrilled face.

  After bidding farewell to Klaul, Li Junshan still felt a bit uneasy. He went to the courtyard and saw Fate and several soldiers from the mansion guarding in front of the carriage. He didn't know what Fate was saying with a proud face, but he saw that the soldiers were occasionally whispering and exclaiming in surprise, listening with relish.

  "It seems that after staying in Fenghuo Town for a few months, the arrogant and noble mage's airs have really been ground down and disappeared." Li Junshan smiled slightly and followed Tina to the side room.

  In a side house, there was a huge wooden bucket. In the four corners of the room, several braziers were placed, with charcoal fires burning brightly, making the room warm and cozy like spring.

  "Uh... Tina..." Li Junshan looked a bit embarrassed and stuttered: "You go out for a moment."

  Tina giggled and said, "The young master is still so shy." As she spoke, she winked at Li Junshan and turned to leave.

  He stripped off his clothes, and Li Junshan, wearing only shorts, jumped onto the wooden bench by the side of the tub and splashed into the water. As soon as he entered the water, he almost cried out in surprise. The temperature of the water was extremely high, yet it was still bearable. His skin instantly turned red from the heat, and Li Junshan leaned back comfortably.

  "Master, are you done?" Tina's voice came from outside. Li Junshan subconsciously shouted: "Done."

  With a creak, Tina pushed open the door, holding a towel and smiling as she walked in. Li Junshan didn't pretend to be polite either. Just now, taking off his clothes in front of her was quite embarrassing, but letting her help him wash his back and whatnot wasn't a big deal, and refusing again would be unreasonable.