Chapter 2: Returning Home (Part 2)
In the courtyard of the Baruch family estate, Hogg was lying back in a chair, intently reading an extremely thick book.
“Lord Hogg, dinner is ready.” A maidservant approached and said respectfully.
Ever since the steward Hill had taken little Wharton to the O’Brien Empire, there wasn’t a single servant left in the entire Baruch household. Hogg, at the very least, was the clan leader of the Dragonblood Warrior clan; he couldn’t very well do the servants’ work himself, could he? So Hogg had gritted his teeth and hired a maidservant.
“Oh.” Hogg closed the book in his hands, glanced at the maidservant beside him, and sighed inwardly. “Thank goodness those nobles know my son is now a genius mage at the Ernst Institute and are willing to lend me gold coins. Otherwise, life would be even harder.”
“At the current tax rate in Wushan Township, it barely covers the kingdom’s taxes and the salaries for the guard squad.” Just thinking about it made Hogg feel stifled. By the time the clan had passed down to his generation, most of what could be sold had already been sold off.
Fortunately…
He, Hogg, had two sons—two remarkable sons.
“Linley is already a fifth-grade mage now. Graduation is coming soon. When that happens, I can hand the clan over to him and finally do what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Hogg stood up and headed toward the living room. Suddenly—
“Lord Hogg! Lord Hogg!” Hillman’s voice rang out from a distance.
Hogg looked toward the estate gate in confusion. In just a moment, Hillman stepped inside, and beside him was a sturdy, well-built youth.
Seeing the youth, Hogg’s face immediately lit up with a smile. He laughed heartily and strode forward to greet him. “Linley, you’re back! Haha, this is wonderful—what a huge surprise!”
“Agatha, please prepare a more lavish dinner.” Hogg warmly patted Linley on the shoulder. “Good lad, you’re almost as tall as me now. By the way, don’t you usually wait until the end of the year to come home? What’s the occasion this time?”
Linley gave a mysterious smile. “Father, I’ll tell you after dinner.”
“So mysterious?” Hogg deliberately furrowed his brow.
Hillman chuckled beside them. “Lord Hogg, Linley told me he’s prepared a mysterious gift for you. When I asked him what it was, he wouldn’t say.”
“Uncle Hillman.” Linley frowned at him.
“Alright, I won’t say, I won’t say.” Hillman burst out laughing.
Night fell, and the land was shrouded in darkness. Several candles burned in the Baruch family’s living room, illuminating the entire space. After dinner, the maidservant Agatha cleared the table. Once only Linley and Hogg remained in the hall, Linley placed his bundle in front of his father.
“What’s this?” Hogg looked at Linley in confusion.
“Wait a moment before opening it.” Linley got up and closed the living room door. Hogg couldn’t help but laugh. “So mysterious? You even have to close the door.”
Linley sat down confidently. “Father, open this bundle.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got in here.” Hogg curiously unwrapped the bundle. To his surprise, inside was a large sack with its opening tightly cinched, bulging with what turned out to be a massive number of magical beast cores.
Hogg felt the sack and said doubtfully, “This big sack… doesn’t feel like gold coins. Could it be pebbles?” Still puzzled, Hogg opened the sack as he spoke.
The moment the sack opened—
A dazzling array of colorful magical beast cores sparkled with brilliant, multicolored light. Hogg’s eyes were practically dazzled. In all his life, he had never seen such a huge sackful of various magical beast cores.
“These are magical beast cores?” Hogg’s eyes went wide as saucers. He stared at Linley in shock, then swallowed hard. He had seen magical beast cores before, but never this many. Such a massive pile of cores was visually overwhelming.
Linley nodded and said, “Yes. This sack is almost entirely filled with magical beast cores, with only a dozen or so being magical crystals. According to the value listed in books, these magical beast cores should be worth over seventy thousand gold coins.”
“Over seventy thousand gold coins?” Hogg felt his heart clench violently.
For years, Hogg had been plagued by financial troubles. Right now, if Hogg needed to come up with five hundred gold coins, he would probably have to go out and borrow money. His dire straits were obvious.
Seventy thousand gold coins!
What did that mean? Seventy thousand gold coins could easily support the entire Baruch clan for over a century.
“Of course, seventy thousand gold coins is just the number calculated based on the prices in books. Those prices are from the past; current prices should be a bit higher. I estimate it could sell for about eighty thousand gold coins.” Linley answered honestly.
Hogg stared at the colorful pile of magical beast cores before him, feeling as if he were dreaming. His whole being seemed to float.
“Huff, huff!”
Hogg took several deep breaths before barely calming himself down.
“Linley, where did you get these magical beast cores?” Hogg suddenly snapped back to reality, staring intently at Linley. “Did you go to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?”
Linley nodded. “Yes, Father. I obtained all these magical beast cores from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.”
“You, you…” Hogg was somewhat furious. “The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts is the most dangerous place on the entire continent. Entering it is no small matter! How could you go in without discussing it with me first? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in there?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hogg gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Linley had already been inside, so of course he knew how dangerous it was.
Hogg looked at Linley, who stood with his head bowed in silence, looking like he was “earnestly listening to a scolding.” Hogg shook his head and sighed. “Linley, it’s not that your father wants to scold you, but you need to understand—you are now a genius mage at the Ernst Institute. Your future potential is limitless. The heavy burden of our Baruch clan will fall on your shoulders. After all, your brother is still young, and who knows how long it will be before he becomes a true Dragonblood Warrior. You carry my hopes, the hopes of our entire Baruch clan. So you cannot treat your life as a game.”
Linley dared not make a sound.
“Take off your shirt. Let me see if you’re injured.” Hogg suddenly said.
Take off his shirt?
Linley hesitated. With his clothes on, no one could see it, but Linley himself knew just how terrifying the dense network of scars on his body was.
“Take it off.” Hogg frowned.
Linley hesitated for a moment, then finally pulled off his tunic, revealing his muscular upper body. That powerful torso was covered in crisscrossing scars, and several of them were clearly life-threatening wounds!
Seeing the terrifying scars all over Linley’s body, Hogg felt his heart tremble.
With a trembling hand, Hogg slowly reached out to touch Linley’s chest, as well as the nearly fatal scars on his abdomen. Seeing these wounds, Hogg’s heart ached. How much suffering had his son endured? How had he crawled back from the brink of death? Hogg didn’t even dare to imagine.
“Linley, you…” Hogg’s voice choked.
“Father, I’m fine now, aren’t I?” Linley quickly tried to comfort him.
Hogg looked at the pile of magical beast cores beside him, representing immense wealth, then back at the terrifying scars crisscrossing Linley’s body like tree roots. Hogg’s entire body began to tremble slightly.
He hated himself!
He hated his own incompetence, his own uselessness!
Taking a deep breath, Hogg looked up at the ceiling in silence. Then, in a low voice, he said, “Linley, you’ve been traveling all day and must be tired. Go rest early.”
“Yes, Father.”
Linley quietly slipped away, leaving only Hogg sitting silently in the candlelit living room…