Changes

Fenrir took over the conversation, his tone carrying a hint of indescribable reminiscence:

“Your master... how should I put it? He stood right next to that holly bush outside, didn't say a single word, and just stood there for a while.

“Then, a few girls passing by on the street saw him and started screaming.”

Jiang Lin's mouth twitched slightly.

“And it wasn't just one or two,” Fenrir emphasized. “There were easily seven or eight of them. They stood at the yard gate, pushing and shoving each other, none of them daring to come inside, just staring. Later on, more and more people gathered until they blocked the entire road.”

“What happened next?”

“After that, your master took us out,” Elune said softly, with a hint of a smile. “He said, ‘Since my disciple isn't here, let me treat you to a meal.’ Then we went to the Royal Capital.”

“He took you to the Royal Capital?”

“Yes.” Elune nodded. “We went to the most expensive restaurant in the Royal Capital, what was it called... Jinyue Pavilion? We took up an entire floor. Your master ordered a whole table of dishes, and the four of us had a meal together.”

“Four people?” Jiang Lin was taken aback. “Who else?”

“Lord Loren, me, Alicia, and Fenrir.” Elune counted on her fingers. “Your master didn't speak much. He just sat there the entire time watching us eat. Occasionally, he would ask, ‘Is it to your liking?’ If we nodded, he would just continue sitting there.”

Fenrir grinned.

“Actually, he did take a few bites, but very little. I observed him—the way he ate... how should I put it? It was even more elegant than Elune.”

Elune glared at him gently but did not refute.

“What did you do after eating?” Jiang Lin asked.

“We walked around the streets for a bit.” Elune's tone became slightly subtle. “Your master walked in front, and the three of us followed behind. He stopped in front of a weapon shop for a moment, looked at the swords on display inside, then shook his head and left.”

“He didn't buy anything?”

“Nope. He said, ‘These swords are not worthy of me.’” Fenrir imitated Loren's tone perfectly, even mimicking his indifferent expression. “Then the clerk ran out and said, ‘Sir, if you tell us what kind you want, we can custom-make it.’ Your master didn't even turn his head.”

Jiang Lin was silent for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.

He could imagine the scene.

“And then he went back?” he asked.

“Yes.” Elune nodded. “He said, ‘When my disciple returns, tell him to make a trip to Shuangyu Feng.’ Then he left.”

Jiang Lin kept this in mind.

“There's one more thing,” Alicia suddenly spoke up. “About a month after you left, someone from the academy came by.”

“The academy?”

“Saint Brilliance Magic Academy.” Alicia put down the book in her hand. “A Vice Principal named Keith came, along with one of your classmates from the elite class. I think his name was... Neil?”

Jiang Lin was puzzled. “What did they come for?”

“To look for you.” Alicia's tone was flat. “They thought you had returned to the academy after winning the National Competition, but after waiting for half a month, there was no sign of you. When they checked, they found out you hadn't gone back at all, nor had you asked for leave.”

Fenrir added:

“The Vice Principal's face didn't look too good at the time. He said, ‘For the champion of the National Competition to skip classes without any reason, what would people think if word got out?’

“Then we told him you had gone out for training and your return date was uncertain.

“He fell silent for a long time before finally saying, ‘When he gets back, have him write me a three-thousand-word self-reflection.’”

“Three thousand words?” Jiang Lin repeated the number.

“Then he came back again,” Fenrir continued. “About two months after you left. This time, he didn't mention the self-reflection. He just asked if there was any news of you. When we said no, he sighed and said, ‘That kid, his wings have grown strong now.’”

Jiang Lin leaned back on the sofa, watching the dancing flames in the fireplace.

Vice Principal Keith.

From the time he enrolled until now, this white-haired old gentleman had always treated him quite well.

Although he was strict with his words, he had never held back any opportunities that should be given.

The internal recommendation slot, leave approval, registration for the National Competition—every single matter was handled flawlessly.

Skipping classes for a hundred and fifty days without asking for leave was indeed a bit improper.

However, writing a self-reflection and going back to class were out of the question.

After all, there was nothing left for him to learn at the academy now.

“Is there anything else?” he asked.

“Yes.” Alicia stood up from her chair, walked over to the mantelpiece, pulled a letter from beneath a vase, and handed it to him. “It's from the Royal Capital Education Bureau. It arrived about three months after you left. The envelope was marked ‘To be opened personally by Viscount Jiang Lin,’ so we didn't open it.”

Jiang Lin took the letter, tore open the seal, and pulled out the paper inside.

The content of the letter wasn't long, and the general idea was:

After joint deliberation by the Royal Inner Court and the Education Bureau, it has been decided to merge two other adjacent vacant territories at the edge of the Silver Pine Forest into Viscount Jiang Lin's fiefdom, in recognition of his outstanding performance in the National Competition and his potential contributions to the kingdom.

The newly added territory is approximately eighty square kilometers. Please proceed to the Royal Capital Education Bureau within sixty days of receiving this letter to complete the relevant procedures.

The date on the letter was over forty days ago.

Of the sixty days, only a dozen or so days remained.

Jiang Lin folded the letter and stored it in his spatial ring.

“Is there anything else?”

“That's all.” Fenrir stood up and stretched. “Just that. Oh, by the way, are you hungry? I'll go get you something to eat.”

“No need, I've already eaten.” Jiang Lin also stood up. “Go ahead with your things first, I'm going to take a look at the changes in the territory.”

He walked out of the villa and stood on the stone-paved path at the yard gate.

The late spring sunlight spilled over the rolling hills, dyeing the grayish-brown earth a warm, golden hue.

In the distant farmland, several farmers were bending over as they worked, their figures moving between the ridges, slow and focused.

He walked a lap along the dirt road surrounding the villa.

In a hundred and fifty days, the territory had undergone quite a few changes.

The originally barren open space to the south of the villa had now been cleared and cultivated into a vegetable garden.

The vegetable beds were neatly arranged, planted with seasonal vegetables, their tender green leaves glistening under the sunlight.

On the eastern hillside, there was now a simple stone hut. Several piles of chopped firewood were stacked in front of it, and a small patch of land was fenced off behind it, where a few chickens were kept.

Under the Old Oak to the north, the spot where Alicia meditated had been cleared clean. A layer of fine white pebbles covered the ground, and several clumps of moonlight roses had been planted around it, already sprouting new buds.

The dirt road leading to the Royal Capital on the west side had been widened, and the surface was paved with gravel, making it no longer bumpy to walk on.

Two rows of small saplings were planted on both sides of the road, their slender trunks swaying gently in the wind.

These changes were not grand, but every single detail exuded a sense of peaceful, down-to-earth living.

It was accumulated bit by bit through daily labor and maintenance.

When Jiang Lin walked back to the villa, Fenrir was squatting by the kitchen door, munching on a carrot. Seeing him, he raised the item in his hand:

“Homegrown. Want a taste?”

Jiang Lin took it, took a bite, and found it crisp, sweet, and very juicy.

“Not bad.”

“Of course,” Fenrir grinned. “Let me tell you, I've turned over every single inch of this land over the past few months. I know exactly which patch of soil is fertile, which is poor, which is suitable for vegetables, and which is suitable for crops.”

“Weren't you a warrior before? How do you know about farm work?”

“Warriors have to eat too,” Fenrir said as if it were obvious. “When I was in the Silver Moon Kingdom, I would go back to my hometown every year during my leave to help out. Farming, chopping wood, raising livestock—is there anything I can't do?”

Jiang Lin glanced at him and nodded.

When he returned to the hall, Elune had already brewed a fresh pot of tea.

The pale gold tea poured into the exquisite porcelain cups, emitting an elegant, faintly floral aroma.

She sat down opposite Jiang Lin and pushed a teacup in front of him.

“What are your plans next?” she asked softly.

Jiang Lin picked up the teacup and took a sip.

“First, adjust for a few days. Then go to the Royal Capital Education Bureau to complete the procedures for the new territory.

“After that, make a trip to Shuangyu Feng to see my master.

“And finally... write a letter to the academy to let them know I won't be returning for the time being.”

The corner of Elune's mouth curved slightly before her expression quickly returned to calm.

“Then make sure to rest well these next few days.” She stood up and smoothed her skirt. “I'll go prepare dinner.”

She turned and walked into the kitchen, her silver-purple braid swaying gently behind her, the silver bell at the end chiming crisply.

Jiang Lin leaned back on the sofa, watching the dancing flames in the fireplace.

Outside the window, the sunlight gradually slanted westward, painting the floor of the hall in a warm, golden light.

Fenrir went back to his room to organize the pile of “treasures” he had scavenged from the battlefield, while Alicia sat under the Old Oak once more, resting her rapier across her knees with her eyes closed in meditation.

The villa fell silent, with only the occasional crackle of the firewood in the fireplace.

Jiang Lin closed his eyes, and his three breathing techniques began to circulate simultaneously.

His 5th-Rank early stage realm still needed consolidation. Although he had digested most of the surging energy from his recent breakthrough, a small portion was still settled deep within his meridians, requiring time to be slowly absorbed.

He didn't need to sleep.

The nighttime was perfect for cultivation.

Over the next few days, the pace of Jiang Lin's life slowed down.

Every morning, he practiced his swordplay among the hills, repeatedly polishing that set of king-tier swordsmanship.

The magic essence of the 5th-Rank early stage was significantly more robust than that of the 4th-Rank peak. Moves that previously required his full strength to execute could now be performed with ease. Wherever his sword light passed, the air condensed into fine ice crystals, refracting a cold, sharp light in the morning sun.

Fenrir would occasionally come to watch, and sometimes he would even step in to spar.

The outcome was obvious.

A 5th-Rank mid-stage elven warrior could not even last three moves against Jiang Lin at the 5th-Rank early stage.

“Are you sure you're only at the 5th-Rank early stage?” Fenrir sprawled on the grass, his greatsword lying beside him, his face covered in dirt. “Why does it feel like you're beating me like a child?”

Jiang Lin sheathed his sword and stood.

“Your exertion of force still has issues. Your right hand uses too much power, and your left hand can't keep up, causing your body to tilt slightly to the right every time you swing. This flaw will be caught instantly.”

Fenrir climbed up from the ground and patted the dirt off his body.

“I know. But I've been trying to correct it for several months, and I just can't seem to fix it.”

“That's because you haven't suffered enough yet.” Jiang Lin glanced at him. “Once you get an arm chopped off because of this flaw, you'll find a way to correct it.”

Fenrir's mouth twitched.

“Your tone is exactly the same as your master's.”

Jiang Lin didn't reply and turned to walk back to the villa.

He used the morning to handle territorial affairs.

He took some time to personally walk through the newly merged eighty square kilometers of land.

Most of it consisted of hills and barren land, with only a few scattered farmlands and dilapidated farmhouses.

A few households lived there, scraping by by growing drought-resistant crops and raising a few sheep. Their lives were very tight.

He visited them house by house, registered those households, exempted them from this year's taxes, and gave each family a few bags of grain as a greeting gift.

These people were very wary at first. Seeing his overly young face and the elf following behind him, their eyes were full of suspicion.

But when Jiang Lin took the grain out of his spatial ring and piled it at their gates, that suspicion turned into sheer bewilderment.

“My Lord, you are...”

“I am the new lord of this territory,” Jiang Lin said. “These things are a greeting gift. If you have any difficulties in the future, come straight to the villa to find me.”

The heads of the households looked at each other and ultimately knelt to express their gratitude.

Jiang Lin didn't correct their kneeling. He simply nodded and turned to leave.

At dusk, Elune was busy in the kitchen.

Her Human Common Tongue was already very fluent, but her cooking skills were still at the level of being merely “edible.”

The stews were too salty, the baked bread was too hard, and there were so many spices in the soup that it tasted like medicine.

Every time, Fenrir would lick his plate clean and say, “Not bad, not bad, there's progress compared to last time.”

Alicia never commented, only eating silently.

Jiang Lin was not picky; he only ate to replenish energy, so whether it tasted good or not wasn't that important.

That evening, Elune made a newly learned dish: honey-glazed roast chicken.

The chicken was raised in the territory, the honey was bought from the Royal Capital, and the ingredients were added one by one according to the recipe.

The finished roast was golden-brown with a crispy skin, and when torn open, the meat inside was tender and juicy.

Fenrir took a bite, and his eyes lit up. “This is delicious!”

Alicia also nodded, which was rare. “It's indeed not bad.”

Sitting by the dining table, Elune watched them eat with her pale purple eyes, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.

She took a bite herself and felt it was decent, better than expected.

After dinner, they sat in the hall drinking tea.

The fire in the fireplace burned brightly, illuminating the entire room with warmth.

After staying in the territory for five days, Jiang Lin decided to make a trip to Shuangyu Feng.

In the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, he opened his eyes from his meditation. The morning mist outside had not yet fully dispersed, and the rolling hills loomed indistinctly in the fog.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked out of his room.

The corridor was very quiet.

Muffled snoring came from Fenrir's room, while a sliver of pale gold light peeked out from beneath Alicia's door—she was likely already meditating.

Elune's door was tightly shut, without a sound.

He walked down the stairs, crossed the hall, and pushed open the villa's main door. The morning wind blew against his face, carrying the scent of earth and green grass.

......