Chapter : 68

Ignoring Joker's wanted poster, Yan Yunqing drove all the way to Sigret Academy. On the way, he rescued a small merchant caravan from the mouth of a demonic beast.

The leader of the small merchant caravan was a handsome young man. Compared to most of the people around him with deep-set eyes and features, his features were very delicate, more like the appearance of people from Yan Yunqing's former hometown. He also had black hair and black eyes, which made Yan Yunqing feel a sense of familiarity for no reason.

"Esteemed Mage, thank you very much for your help." The young man was polite and his attitude was very humble, "I am Lin Nuo, from the Lambert family of Romunik."

The Lambert family?

Never heard of it, but Yan Yunqing's gaze swept over Lin Nuo's seemingly ordinary, but in fact intricately designed robe, and confirmed that this Lin Nuo was also a minor noble.

"My name is Xavier Aldrich." Yan Yunqing also reported his name.

This name was not randomly made up by Yan Yunqing. It was the identity of a corpse he had found in a deserted wilderness.

There were also a few incomplete corpses of guards around, looking as if they had also been attacked by demonic beasts. Unfortunately, they were not as lucky as this Lin Nuo to have met a kind-hearted person on the road for help.

Meeting was a kind of fate. Yan Yunqing buried the bodies for them and conveniently borrowed their identities.

Later, he went to a nearby city to inquire. This Xavier was also a person with a tragic life. His father was a minor baron in Romunik and had a small fief. Two years ago, the fief was attacked by demonic beasts, and both his parents died, leaving him all alone.

Even because his parents died too suddenly and there was no one above to look after him, it had been two years since his father's death, and Xavier had not yet inherited the title of baron. Even the fief was about to be taken back.

However, Xavier had been tested for magic talent as a child, so he took the few remaining guards and wanted to try his luck at Sigret Academy.

If he could successfully enter the academy and then propose to the Romunik royal family to inherit his father's title, the probability of success would be much greater.

After all, this was the Qinghua, Peking, and Ivy League of this other world.

It was just a pity that he was attacked by demonic beasts on the road before he reached Sigret Academy. Even his corpse could not be completely preserved, and he needed a passerby to help bury the body.

"Aldrich...?" A trace of surprise flashed in Lin Nuo's eyes, and he sized up Yan Yunqing without a trace, "So you are the son of that Baron Aldrich?"

Yan Yunqing was even more surprised, and at the same time, he became slightly vigilant. He wouldn't have just borrowed Xavier's identity and been seen through, right?

Then maybe he should just silence him. It was a pity to have such a useful identity be seen through just as he started using it.

"You know me?" Yan Yunqing asked, "But my father is already dead, and the title has been revoked. I am no longer the son of a baron."

As he said this, a bit of resentment appeared on his face, a perfect performance.

Yan Yunqing prepared to take a gamble. What if this was just someone who had heard of the name Aldrich but had never seen Xavier?

Lin Nuo put on an apologetic expression, "Sorry... I didn't mean to. But I have indeed heard rumors related to you..."

Lin Nuo's face had a strange expression. The Lambert family was considered a family of some size in Romunik, and they were in business, so they were very well-informed about the news circulating in the noble circle. He had indeed heard of this former son of Baron Aldrich.

It was rumored that he had been tested for magic talent since childhood, and it was said to be very outstanding.

Therefore, Baron Aldrich was followed by many nobles for a period of time, and a few noble families that did not attach much importance to family background included Aldrich in their marriage considerations.

After all, the probability of a mage's descendants being mages was higher, let alone a mage with exceptional talent?

The result was that it was heard that his son was uneducated and unskilled, fooling around with cats and dogs all day, and was also particularly lecherous, with countless songstresses in his home. There was no sign of any magic talent at all.

Completely the appearance of a profligate son.

The few families that had originally included Aldrich in their marriage considerations immediately gave up this idea. They were originally going for the reputation of a talented mage. The result was that no magic talent could be seen, and he was also lecherous. What good could come from this marriage?

This chapter has been previously translated. Here is the translation again:

Even if Aldrich were an Earl or a Marquis, it would be one thing, and some people might still consider it. However, Aldrich was just a Baron, and his fief was in a remote corner, so there was no need for a marriage alliance at all.

Xavier's reputation as a good-for-nothing also spread in the small circle of nobles. Unfortunately, Baron Aldrich was poorly informed.

He and his wife doted on this only son. No matter how unruly Xavier was, he was spoiled to the heavens, and his reputation became worse and worse.

This led to the fact that as soon as Baron Aldrich died, Xavier didn't even have a chance to inherit the title of Baron. The title was directly taken back by the royal family.

To Lin Nuo, the name Aldrich was like thunder in his ears. He had grown up listening to this negative example, so how could he not be familiar with it?

Of course, hearing about him didn't mean he had seen him, and Lin Nuo didn't know Xavier's face.

After Yan Yunqing gave this name, Lin Nuo immediately believed that he was the son of the former Baron.

It's just...

Lin Nuo sized up Yan Yunqing without a trace, and a few doubts arose in his heart: Is this the legendary profligate son? He doesn't look like one.

And just now, his series of magic spells repelled the demonic beasts that were besieging them, which makes him even less like an uneducated and unskilled person.

If this was considered a good-for-nothing, then what were those of them who were not as good as Xavier? Dregs? Could it be that the person who spread this rumor was jealous of Baron Aldrich?

"Oh? Rumors about me?" Yan Yunqing raised his eyebrows without a trace, wanting to get more information about Xavier from Lin Nuo.

"It's just, um, that you were tested to have extraordinary magic talent since you were a child." Lin Nuo picked his words carefully, "My talent is average, so I heard a lot about you when I was a child, and I remembered it."

Yan Yunqing's heart settled. So they've never met. It seems there's no need to silence him.

But this Xavier was actually tested for magic talent as a child? Then this identity is even more suitable for him. Is there any title more suitable for him now than a magic genius?

It just so happened that Xavier's original destination was also Sigret Academy, so he would help him out.

He would enter Sigret Academy in Aldrich's name and inherit the title of Baron along the way, just to let the deceased's soul rest in peace.

"So that's how it is." Yan Yunqing said shamelessly, "I was indeed tested to have very powerful magic talent. It seems you know me well."

Lin Nuo: ...

Lin Nuo's ears turned a little red. Even though his family ran many businesses and he could be considered half a merchant, Lin Nuo was also someone who knew how to talk to people and ghosts. He didn't expect to be speechless one day.

This person... um, is he a bit too confident?

Lin Nuo hesitated for a moment, then decisively threw the speechlessness in his heart to the back of his mind, and then said kindly to Yan Yunqing, "Thank you very much for your help just now. I wonder where your next destination is? Perhaps we can travel together for a while."

Lin Nuo pointed to the guards behind him, "Although my guards are not as high-level as you, we are best at dealing with others. I see that you are still... uh, still driving the carriage yourself?"

When Lin Nuo said this, he himself was stunned for a moment.

How could a noble drive a carriage for a long journey by himself? Even if Aldrich no longer had a title, he shouldn't be without a coachman, right?

They say a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The Aldrich family has been passed down for several generations. Do they not have any spare money at all? They don't even have a guard when they go out?

Yan Yunqing looked at him with clear eyes, as if asking if there was any problem with that.

"Cough cough..." Lin Nuo coughed a few times to cover up his embarrassment, "It's like this. If we're on the same road, Mr. Aldrich can sit in our carriage.

We have a few empty carriages here, and there are coachmen to drive them. It will be easier than you traveling alone."

Yan Yunqing blinked, and was about to say that it wasn't on the way. He still had Lilian with him, and it was inconvenient to travel with others. However, before he could speak, Lilian's private message had already arrived.

[Lilian (Private)]: Agree to him.

Yan Yunqing: ?

Yan Yunqing felt a little strange in his heart. With a thought, he also replied with a private message.

[Ri'an (Private)]: Why? If we're with them, it won't be convenient for you to come out.

[Ri'an (Private)]: By the way, are you awake? You seem to be sleeping longer these days.

A few seconds later, Lilian's reply came again.

[Lilian (Private)]: I'll tell you the reason later.

Alright, since Lilian had said so, Yan Yunqing didn't object. He glanced at Lin Nuo, "I plan to go to Sigret Academy. What about you?"

Lin Nuo's face showed a surprised expression again, "This... I initially saw the direction you were heading and guessed that we might be on the same road. I didn't expect our destinations to be the same."

This time, Yan Yunqing was also a little surprised, "You're going to Sigret Academy too?"

Is it such a coincidence? But isn't this group a merchant caravan? What are they going to Sigret Academy for?

Seemingly seeing Yan Yunqing's confusion, Lin Nuo smiled and replied, "I forgot to introduce myself. I am now a second-year student at Sigret Academy.

This time, there was a sudden matter at home, so I applied to go home for a trip. The merchant caravan is also from our family. It just so happens that half of the journey is on the way, so they are taking me back to the academy."

"But... Mr. Aldrich, are you also a student of Sigret Academy?" Lin Nuo was curious. He hadn't heard of a student named Xavier Aldrich in the school before.

"No, I'm going there to take the entrance exam," Yan Yunqing said.

"Hmm?" Lin Nuo was puzzled, "But this year's entrance exam already ended in August, and the new students have already entered the academy in September...?"

Then what kind of entrance exam is this Xavier Aldrich taking?

Yan Yunqing could say this, so naturally he had a way. He had originally planned to 'coincidentally' meet a school teacher, let the other party feel that he was a genius, develop a desire to cherish talent, and make an exception to admit him.

However, when he was burying Xavier's body, Yan Yunqing found two letters in his luggage. One was from a family friend of Xavier's.

The general meaning was that the royal family had once again rejected your request to inherit the title of Baron, but it's okay, uncle has already taken care of it for you and got you a letter of recommendation.

You can take this letter to participate in Sigret Academy's special entrance examination. If you pass, there is a great hope of applying to inherit the title of Baron. Uncle believes you can do it!

The other letter was the letter of recommendation that the family friend mentioned. It was a short recommendation, and the signature at the end was a name Yan Yunqing had never heard of, Tobias Dewitt.

Since Xavier Aldrich dared to take these two letters to Sigret Academy, it meant that this letter of recommendation was more or less useful.

Yan Yunqing made a decision in an instant to use this letter of recommendation to enroll in Xavier's identity.

It also saved him the trouble of finding a school teacher to create a chance encounter.

Yan Yunqing smiled without saying anything. Seeing that he was not speaking, Lin Nuo thought he had asked about some sad matter of the other party, so he also fell silent.

They looked at each other, at a loss for words.

It was Lin Nuo who offered an olive branch to break the silence, "In that case, Mr. Aldrich, shall we travel together?"

Yan Yunqing nodded and said, "There's no need to call me Mr. Just call me Xavier."

Lin Nuo thought that he couldn't inherit the title of Baron, so he was sad to hear the name Aldrich. So he thoughtfully changed the way he addressed him, "Okay, Xavier.

You can also call me Lin Nuo directly. Of course, if you're willing, it's not a problem to call me senior."

Lin Nuo made a joke. Consistent with his gentle appearance, this person also made people feel like a spring breeze when he spoke. Perhaps this was what they meant by 'the face is the index of the mind.'

Yan Yunqing also smiled and followed suit, "Senior."

Lin Nuo looked to be at least in his twenties, so he was naturally older than him. In addition, he was a second-year student at the academy, so Yan Yunqing's calling him senior was not a loss.

Lin Nuo invited Yan Yunqing to his carriage. Yan Yunqing refused. He still had to ask Lilian why she wanted him to agree to the other party. It was really inconvenient to share a carriage with others.

Lin Nuo didn't insist and directly let Yan Yunqing get on another carriage of their merchant caravan. The exterior didn't look very luxurious, but the interior was extremely comfortable.

Even the seats in the carriage were covered with three layers of thick soft cushions to ensure that it would not be uncomfortable to sit or lie for a long time.

With a comfortable carriage to ride in, Yan Yunqing was too lazy to go back to his own simple gnu carriage, not to mention that Lin Nuo's carriage also had a dedicated coachman.

Yan Yunqing took his luggage out of his own carriage, mainly to smuggle Lilian, who was still in the carriage, down. Most of his luggage was in his backpack, and this was just a cover.

Taking Lilian into the spacious and comfortable new carriage, Yan Yunqing was not in a hurry to communicate with Lilian immediately.

Instead, he waited for a while. Sure enough, not long after, someone knocked on the side of the carriage. When Yan Yunqing opened the door, he saw a person next to Lin Nuo holding a crystal basket filled with all kinds of fruits.

The person smiled and said, "This is what our young master brought along to relieve boredom on the road. The young master asked me to send some over. Please enjoy it, sir."

After saying that, he pushed the crystal basket into the carriage. Yan Yunqing took it and thanked him.

"No, no." The person waved his hands repeatedly, "If anyone should say thank you, it should be us. If it weren't for you, sir, we would have suffered heavy losses even if we survived.

These things are not considered a gift of thanks. The young master said that when we arrive, our Lambert family will give you a gift of thanks."

Yan Yunqing just listened and let it pass.

After the carriage started moving, Yan Yunqing sent a private message to Lilian.

[Ri'an (Private)]: So what were you trying to say just now?

Lilian didn't respond. Yan Yunqing opened his suitcase and saw that Lilian had fallen asleep again.

He was a little worried. Was Lilian's condition a bit too weak? The elves in their growth period that he had seen in the elven territory before weren't this weak, right?

He poked Lilian's small, rising and falling belly. Poked it, let go, and it bounced back, Q-QSo squishy and bouncy

Lilian seemed to have been disturbed by his actions, turned over and wriggled a few times, opened her eyes in a daze, and upon seeing it was Yan Yunqing, she closed her eyes again in peace.

Seeing this, Yan Yunqing could only let her continue to sleep.

As evening approached, Lin Nuo's caravan stopped and found a flat area to set up camp. Some people went out to gather firewood, while another group took up their weapons and patrolled nearby.

Soon, the people who were gathering dry branches and firewood returned. They also brought back some small animals they had hunted on the way, adding to today's dinner.

The person specifically responsible for cooking began to skin and clean those small animals. After cleaning them up, they were placed on the fire and roasted until they sizzled with oil.

Another fire had a large pot set up on it, and they began to boil water to make soup.

As a guest, Yan Yunqing received the same treatment as their young master, Lin Nuo. After the soup in the pot began to boil, they each got a bowl of steaming hot and fragrant thick soup.

Yan Yunqing lowered his head, scooped up a spoonful with a spoon, blew on it by his mouth, and after one mouthful, his whole body warmed up a lot.

Near the capital city of Bartovita, it was spring all year round. The further out they went, the more obvious the cold of November became.

In the place they had traveled to, the occasional people they met were already wearing thick clothes to resist the cold wind.

Yan Yunqing didn't have many thick clothes. He could only pick and choose from the fashion items he had bought before, and found a white coat with a fluffy fur collar.

It was just that the inner wear of this fashion item was a hollowed-out gold silk fishnet shirt. Yan Yunqing couldn't understand why he had spent money to buy such a set of fashion at that time.

He had no choice but to take apart other fashion items and create a mix-and-match style, but the warming effect that came with the fashion's attributes was weakened a lot.

After sitting in the carriage for so long, even though there was a windshield inside and a heating stove, Yan Yunqing still felt that he was freezing.

After drinking this bowl of thick soup, he felt that his whole body was much warmer.

A weapon against the cold!

Dinner was not ready yet, so Lin Nuo simply sat next to Yan Yunqing and chatted with him casually.

Basically, Lin Nuo was the one talking, and Yan Yunqing was listening. He couldn't help it. He didn't know anything about the noble circle of Romunik. Even if he wanted to say something, he didn't know what to say.

Perhaps Lin Nuo would even hear something amiss. It was better to listen attentively and gather some information.

Lin Nuo didn't mind this either. He wanted to chat with Yan Yunqing because he felt that it would be too awkward to remain silent. Having someone talking would prevent the atmosphere from becoming completely cold.

So Lin Nuo said whatever came to his mind, but for some secret gossip, he only touched on it lightly. What he said was all information that everyone knew.

However, this was exactly the information that Yan Yunqing didn't know, so he was also happy when he was filtering the information.

He even learned from Lin Nuo that the Romunik royal family, like the Bartovita royal family, also had princes and princesses who entered Sigret Academy to study, and there were even two of them, and they were twins.

Those who didn't know would think that Sigret Academy's entrance examination was playing a balancing act, recruiting two princes and princesses from each of the two empires, so that they were evenly matched and no one was favored.

However, there was a difference between the princes and princesses selected by the two empires. The King of Barto was promiscuous, and his living children could be ranked up to twenty-three.

Alice and William, who entered the academy, were not valued in the royal family, and were even raised among the common people since childhood. Even after entering Sigret Academy, they did not receive much attention.

Romunik, on the other hand, was different. The King of Romu had only had three queens and one concubine, and had not given birth to many children.

There were only four living ones now, and each of them had received an elite education, and could even reach the standard of entering Sigret Academy.

It was just that the eldest one was disabled in both legs due to an accident and sat in a wheelchair all year round, unwilling to go out much.

The remaining one was too young, only a little over seven years old this year, and was not suitable for studying at the academy.

So only the twins in the middle entered the academy.

Among them, the older brother, Tules Romunik, was the next heir chosen by the King of Romu.

After memorizing all this information, Yan Yunqing's attitude towards Lin Nuo became even more cordial. How rare was it to have a companion who was willing to share information?

His previous information was all gathered through hard work, going to small taverns and smelling stinky feet at the same time!

If there were more people like Lin Nuo around him, where would he need to work so hard!

While they were chatting, dinner was finally ready.

A meat pie, paired with a bowl of thick soup, and Yan Yunqing and Lin Nuo each got half a roasted rabbit.

There was even a pot of stir-fried vegetables in the middle. This dinner was a bit too rich, and it didn't look like it was made in the wild at all.

Yan Yunqing took a bite of the roasted rabbit. It was crispy and delicious. With one bite, the crispy roasted fat exploded on his tongue, enveloping all his senses.

The special sauce spread on it did a good job of relieving the greasiness and added some special flavor.

Delicious—

Indeed, humans cannot refuse the taste of fat!

Yan Yunqing was moved. To be able to eat such delicious roasted rabbit in the wild was truly too blissful!

Oops, happy tears are about to flow from the corners of my mouth, slurp.

Lilian seemed to have been awakened by this fragrance and began to frantically send private messages to Yan Yunqing.

[Lilian (Private)]: What what! I want to eat too!!!

[Lilian (Private)]: Woo woo woo, you're eating alone without me QAQ

[Lilian (Private)]: It's only been a few short days, and you don't love me anymore?

When Yan Yunqing saw the text on the chat system, he almost choked to death. He covered his mouth and began to cough desperately.

Lin Nuo quickly brought him another bowl of thick soup, "Eat slowly, there's more over there if you want more!"

He had never seen a child from a noble family eat in such a hurry. And these things were so common, just a roasted rabbit. It shouldn't be like he had never eaten it before, right?

Could it be that after Baron Aldrich's death, he couldn't even eat a mouthful of meat?

Yan Yunqing drank a few mouthfuls of thick soup before he managed to suppress the tickle in his throat.

He cleared his throat and explained, "I accidentally inhaled a mouthful of cold wind just now, that's why I choked. The wind is too strong here. I'll take some food and eat it in the carriage."

Lin Nuo: "Huh?"

He looked confusedly at the tent that had been set up and had a few heating basins placed inside, then at the pitch-black carriage where the heating basin supply had long since stopped.

Um... could a carriage be warmer than a tent?

I don't really understand. I'll take another look.

Yan Yunqing took a whole roasted rabbit, five meat pies, and a large bowl of thick soup, and got into the carriage he had been sitting in today, leaving the Lambert family servant who was in charge of cooking dumbfounded.

Looking at the remaining food, then at Yan Yunqing's back, he muttered to himself, "Don't mages usually not eat much?"

Why is this one's appetite so big? He had even considered that there was an extra mouth to feed today, so he had made more. But now, it was almost all eaten.

He even felt that he was not full...

It's really strange.

As soon as Yan Yunqing got on the carriage, he saw Lilian's eyes glowing green with hunger.

She looked at the food in Yan Yunqing's hands and was a little disappointed, "Is this all?"

Yan Yunqing: "...It's more than enough. If I take any more, the others won't have enough to eat."

He wasn't that thick-skinned!

Yan Yunqing comforted Lilian, "It's fine, I still have some food I packed from the inn in my backpack. It's enough for you."

Before he left, he had considered the possibility of staying in the wild on the road. Every time he replenished his supplies, he would order a pile of the same food and stack it in his backpack.

It's just that after eating it for so many days, he was a little tired of it.

That's why Yan Yunqing cherished this roasted rabbit so much. In the future, when he went out, he would also see if he could hunt some rabbits to eat.

He hadn't thought of it before purely because he was influenced by the education of not eating game in his previous life on Blue Star Huaguo for more than a decade. He subconsciously felt that these were all game.

Thinking about it now, in this other world, besides the artificially raised Gugu Chickens, what else wasn't considered game?

Even the Lulu Pigs were wild, and Yan Yunqing had killed quite a few of them before.

This was the difference between the two worlds.

"Hmm, okay." Lilian didn't complain since she had something to eat. She took a bite of the rabbit meat, and her eyes also lit up, "These people's cooking is quite delicious."

Yan Yunqing nodded in agreement with Lilian's words, and remembered the previous matter, "So why did you want me to go with these people?"

Lilian's rapid eating movements paused. She glanced at Yan Yunqing with her small eyes, took two more bites and swallowed before slowly opening her mouth, "Um... it's just..."

"I might have to leave for a while." A hint of guilt could be heard in Lilian's voice, "I can't accompany you to Sigret, so if you go with these people, it will be safer on the road."

Yan Yunqing was surprised, but he quickly understood, "You're going back to the Elven Forest? Because of your growth period?"

Lilian hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."

Yan Yunqing remembered that elves were particularly weak during their growth period. It had even happened once that an elf in their growth period ran outside and was caught in a war, and their soul directly returned to the Mother Tree.

Therefore, Silf had requested that all elves were not allowed to leave the elven territory during their growth period.

Elves were not afraid of death, but they didn't want to sacrifice themselves in vain either.

Later, considering that elven cubs might not obediently return to the forest during their growth period, Silf issued another order that all elves could only leave the forest and go out to train after they had entered adulthood.

Ever since I found out Lilian had entered her growth phase, I had been very worried, especially since the state she was in was a little different from the elven growth phases I had seen before, which made me even more worried.

Now, hearing that Lilian was preparing to go back, I actually breathed a sigh of relief.

At least in the elven territory, Lilian wouldn't encounter any danger.

After spending so much time together, I had developed some feelings for Lilian. We were already friends who could trust each other with our backs. I didn't want Lilian to suddenly disappear one day.

Death was not a big deal for elves, but the one left behind would always feel sad.