Early the next morning, the craftsmen arrived as promised.
There were five of them in total, all veteran masters from the Royal Capital's Craftsmen's Guild. Their skills were exquisite, and they worked with efficient precision.
The leader was a man surnamed Chen, a short and sturdy fellow in his fifties. His skin was tanned dark by the sun, and his large, rough hands were covered in thick calluses, yet he worked with incredible delicacy.
He walked around the mansion, climbed up to the third floor to inspect the large holes, and then came back down, patting the dust from his hands.
"The main structure is fine. The roof's beams and rafters are still usable, but the tiles all need to be replaced. The windows need to be remade as well; the original frames have rotted. We'll need to scrape off the wall plaster and reapply it, and the floors need to be sanded and waxed. All the interior wallpaper needs to be replaced, and as for the fireplace, we just need to clean the flue."
He counted on his fingers as he calculated.
"If we move quickly, we can get the main body done in a week. The interior decoration will take more precision, so that'll be another week."
"Then let's get to work." Jiang Lin took a bag of gold coins from his spatial ring and handed it to him. "I've already ordered the materials; they'll be delivered this afternoon. During this time, you'll eat and stay here. I'll pay extra for that."
Master Chen took the money bag, weighed it in his hand, and grinned.
"The boss is straightforward! Boys, let's get to work!"
The five craftsmen immediately busied themselves.
Some climbed onto the roof to remove the broken tiles, some carried tools to tear out the rotted window frames, and others began clearing the weeds and dead trees from the yard.
The clanging and banging echoed through the hills, startling a few sparrows hiding in the bushes.
The three elves weren't idle either.
Fenrir rolled up his sleeves and helped the craftsmen move timber and carry stones. His sheer strength left the veteran masters dumbfounded.
Alicia squatted in the yard, using her rapier to prune the dead shrubs. Wherever her blade passed, the branches snapped off cleanly, the cuts as smooth as if they had been sawn.
Elune took charge of cleaning the interior.
She used her magic to condense several small water orbs, washing away the dust on the floors and walls, and then used wind magic to blow the wastewater outside.
The craftsmen stared with wide eyes, nearly forgetting their work.
"Those people... they're Elves, aren't they?"
Master Chen leaned in toward Jiang Lin and asked in a low voice.
"Yes."
"Elven nobles coming to help with manual labor?" Master Chen scratched his head. "Strange, truly strange."
"They are my friends," Jiang Lin said. "When friends help, status doesn't matter."
Master Chen nodded and didn't ask further, turning back to continue his work.
Big Guy and Aria arrived as well.
Big Guy carried his broad-bladed greatsword and made a circuit around the mansion, chopping down several dead trees that were in the way and stacking them in a corner as firewood.
Aria took out her box of detection instruments and performed a comprehensive test of the soil and groundwater around the mansion. Only after confirming there was no pollution or harmful substances did she nod in satisfaction.
When noon arrived, Jiang Lin set up a long table in the yard and took out the food he had prepared in advance from his spatial ring.
There was roast chicken, smoked meat, bread, cheese, and a large pot of steaming vegetable soup.
Master Chen and the craftsmen sat at the table, eating heartily from their bowls and praising the soup as they ate.
"Boss, where did you buy this soup?" a young craftsman asked. "I'll go buy some myself later."
"My friend made it."
Jiang Lin glanced at Elune, who was currently serving the soup.
The tips of Elune's ears turned slightly red. She lowered her head and continued ladling the soup, pretending she hadn't heard.
The young craftsman followed Jiang Lin's gaze, froze for a moment, and then silently lowered his head to eat, asking no more questions.
In the afternoon, the materials arrived.
Several carriages stopped at the yard gate, unloading piles of timber, tiles, and stone, along with several large buckets of paint and rolls of brand-new wallpaper.
The craftsmen continued their busy work, the clanging sounds lasting until evening.
As the sun set, Jiang Lin had the craftsmen stop and set another table of food in the yard.
This meal was even more lavish than lunch, featuring stewed beef, roasted lamb legs, braised fish, and a large pot of steaming rice.
Master Chen drank two bowls of wine, his face flushing red as he slapped the table.
"Boss, let me tell you, I've worked in the Royal Capital for twenty years, and this is the first time I've met an employer as good as you. You provide food and lodging, and the pay is high. I'll definitely make this house look beautiful for you!"
"Then I'll leave it to you, Master Chen."
Jiang Lin poured him another bowl of wine.
After dinner, the craftsmen went to the side rooms to rest, and the three elves each chose their own rooms.
Fenrir stayed in the room on the first floor near the kitchen, saying it would be convenient to get up for a midnight snack.
Alicia chose a room on the second floor facing east, saying she could soak up the morning sun.
Elune picked the south-facing room on the second floor, right next to Jiang Lin's master bedroom.
Big Guy and Aria didn't stay; they returned to the Royal Capital after dinner.
Big Guy said he'd come back another day, and Aria said her verification project wasn't finished yet and she had to go back to keep an eye on it.
Jiang Lin saw the two of them off and returned to the mansion.
He stood in the hall on the first floor. The fireplace had been cleaned, and the firewood Big Guy had chopped was stacked inside.
He snapped his fingers, and a wisp of golden holy light drifted from his fingertip into the woodpile.
Flames roared to life, bathing the entire hall in a warm, bright glow.
The firelight danced on the walls. The mottled surfaces revealed after the old wallpaper had been scraped away actually looked somewhat quaint in the flickering light.
Elune walked downstairs, having changed into a light gray casual dress, her silver-purple long hair draped over her shoulders.
She walked to the fireplace and sat in the chair next to Jiang Lin, her hands cupped around a freshly brewed cup of flower tea. Her lavender eyes reflected the dancing flames.
"It's much warmer now,"
She said softly.
"Yeah."
The two of them sat quietly, without speaking.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, occasionally popping with sparks that traced short trajectories in the air before extinguishing.
Fenrir's snoring drifted from the room on the first floor, muffled and rhythmic, like echoes in a distant valley.
The light was still on in Alicia's room, and the faint sound of pages turning could be heard through the door.
Jiang Lin leaned against the back of his chair, his golden eyes watching the flames in the fireplace.
Since the day the system awakened, he had never truly stopped.
Pulling all-nighters to cultivate in the classrooms of Boulder City, in the dormitories of Saint Brilliance Magic Academy, swinging his sword ten thousand times on Frostbloom Peak in the Northern Ice Field, slaying Aberrants in the ruins of Planet Teluofuto, hunting demon geniuses in the Abyss Corridor, drifting on the Endless Sea, learning spatial magic in the Elven Kingdom...
Along this entire journey, he had never had a "home" in the true sense of the word.
But now he did.
Even though the roof wasn't fixed yet, the windows were new, the wallpaper hadn't been pasted, and the furniture hadn't been bought.
But there was fire in the fireplace, tea in the cup, friends by his side, and companions next door.
That was enough.
"Jiang Lin."
Elune's voice came from beside him.
"Hmm?"
"Do you plan to live here for a long time?"
"Most likely." Jiang Lin thought for a moment. "At least for now, I have no plans to move."
Elune was silent for a moment, then she nodded.
"Then I will live here too."
"Will your family agree? After all, you're an Elven noble, living on the territory of a Human Viscount..."
"I've already told my father," Elune interrupted him, her lavender eyes fixed on the fire. "He said that as long as I can protect myself, I can go wherever I want."
She paused, her voice growing softer.
"Besides... it's quite nice here."
Jiang Lin glanced at her. The firelight outlined a soft silhouette on her profile, and her silver-purple hair shimmered with a warm luster in the glow.
The tips of her ears were a bit red—perhaps from the firelight, or perhaps for some other reason.
"Then stay, then." Jiang Lin withdrew his gaze. "There are plenty of rooms anyway."
Elune lowered her head and gave a soft "mm," the corners of her mouth curving into a very faint smile.
The night deepened.
The wood in the fireplace had mostly burned down, the flames shifting from vigorous to soft before finally becoming a pile of dark red embers.
Jiang Lin stood up, added a few more logs to the fireplace, and then turned to head upstairs.
The corridor was very quiet, save for the slight sound of his footsteps on the wooden floor.
He pushed open the door to the master bedroom. Moonlight from outside spilled through the newly installed glass windows, laying a layer of silver-white frost on the floor.
The bed was newly purchased; the frame had been made on the spot by the craftsmen using leftover timber, while the mattress and bedding had been bought in the Royal Capital that afternoon.
Though not incredibly high-end, it was clean, comfortable, and his own.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes, activating his three breathing techniques simultaneously.
Holy light magic essence, ice soul power, and blood energy circulated through his body, gradually dissolving the day's fatigue.
Tomorrow, he would continue his cultivation.
There were still quests waiting for him.
But today, he was satisfied.
...
In the days that followed, Jiang Lin's life became regular and fulfilling.
Every morning, he practiced his swordsmanship among the hills of his territory, repeatedly refining that set of King-tier sword techniques. He also used the knowledge gained from the ancient elven heritage to attempt to integrate the principles of spatial magic into his sword moves.
The combination of Spatial Cutting and sword intent allowed every one of his strikes to carry a spatial-tearing sharpness, ignoring most physical defenses.
The combination of Space Folding and footwork made his movement trajectories even harder to predict—flickering left and right, front and back, leaving his opponents unable to track him.
He swung his sword in an open field from sunrise until noon, his long golden hair fluttering in the morning breeze as the Eight Extremities Holy Sword reflected a cold, sharp light under the sun.
Fenrir would sometimes come to observe and occasionally step in for a spar.
But the fellow had grown smarter now. He no longer tried to go head-to-head, instead attempting to use the reach of his greatsword to maintain distance and find openings for counterattacks.
The result, of course, was being slapped onto the ground by Jiang Lin's sword.
"Teacher Jiang Lin, can't you go a little easy on me?"
Fenrir lay flat on the grass, his greatsword lying to the side, his face covered in dirt.
"If I go easy on you, how will you improve?"
Fenrir thought about it and found it made sense, so he climbed back up, picked up his greatsword, and continued taking a beating.
Alicia's way of cultivation was entirely different from Fenrir's.
She didn't care for sparring; instead, she preferred meditation.
Every morning, she sat cross-legged under the old oak tree behind the mansion, her rapier resting across her knees as she closed her eyes to feel the sword intent she had gained from the ancient elven heritage.
Jiang Lin would occasionally go over to give her a few pointers, but most of the time, he just watched from a distance, not wanting to disturb her.
Elune's cultivation was even more diverse.
What she had obtained from the ancient elven heritage was the astral power tempering method, which required using astral power to temper the soul and integrate it into magic and swordsmanship.
For her, this was a brand-new way of cultivation, completely different from what was taught at Silver Moon Academy.
Every night, she would climb to the attic on the third floor of the mansion. Through the newly installed glass window, she would gaze at the starry sky, gradually drawing astral power into her body.
Sometimes, Jiang Lin would see her back as she sat cross-legged in the moonlight in the third-floor corridor. Her silver-purple hair shimmered with a faint halo in the starlight, making her look as if she were one with the sky.
He didn't disturb her, simply walking past quietly.
Big Guy and Aria came by every few days.
Every time Big Guy came, he brought some food from the Royal Capital—sometimes roast goose, sometimes smoked fish, and sometimes a few bottles of good wine.
He said living alone was boring and that it was much livelier over here.
Aria, meanwhile, brought strange and quirky alchemical tools every time, some she had newly developed and others she had borrowed from the association.
She enjoyed performing various tests around the mansion, claiming the geological structure of the territory was very interesting and that there might have once been a mineral vein.
Master Chen and the craftsmen worked very quickly.
A week later, the roof was finished. Four layers of new tiles were laid out neatly, ensuring rain would never leak in again.
The windows were all replaced with thick oak frames and clear crystal glass; once closed, not even the sound of the wind could be heard.
The wallpaper was half-finished. Elune had chosen a light blue base with silver patterns. Once pasted onto the walls, it looked fresh and elegant, far from the gloominess of before.
With the fireplace flue cleaned, the fire burned even more vigorously than before. The entire hall was warm and cozy, with not a trace of winter's chill to be felt.
"In another week, the interior decoration will be completely finished." Master Chen stood in the hall, looking around with a hint of pride. "When the time comes, Boss, come take a look. I guarantee it'll be like a brand-new house."
"Thank you for your hard work, Master Chen." Jiang Lin took out another bag of gold coins and handed it to him. "This is the final payment. The extra is for the boys to have a drink."
Master Chen took it, his smile reaching from ear to ear.
On the tenth day, the mansion's repairs were essentially complete.
Jiang Lin stood before the main entrance, looking at the rejuvenated building and nodding slightly.
The exterior walls had been repainted, the pale yellow surfaces shimmering with a warm luster in the winter sun.
The roof was covered in deep gray tiles, as neat as fish scales.
The doors and windows were brand new, the dark oak paired with transparent crystal glass, simple yet not lacking in style.
A stone-paved path had been laid in the yard, and the weeds on both sides had been cleared, replaced by several cold-resistant hollies and several clumps of moonlight roses.
The seeds had been brought over from the West Continent by Elune.
In the hall, the fire in the fireplace burned brightly, bathing the entire room in a warm glow.
The wallpaper was fully applied, the light blue base and silver patterns looking fresh and elegant.
The floor was laid with new wood, polished as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the firelight from the hearth.
A good deal of furniture had also been added—dining tables, chairs, sofas, bookshelves, and wardrobes, all made of solid wood, simple and durable.
...
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