Chapter 149: Facing Family

"Sir, we've arrived home," the coachman reminded.

Lei En and Bu Li Sai Te got out in front of the villa, and hearing the coachman's words, Bu Li Sai Te couldn't help but look at the ancient, simple big house, exclaiming in surprise, "Lei En, is this your home?"

"It's our home," Lei En said with a smile, correcting his brother's words.

Bu Li Sai Te was stunned for a few seconds; he had entered the Transcendent Academy almost half a year ago, no longer the boy who had never left his hometown, and now had some understanding of the outside world.

Any property in the Silver Star District is frighteningly expensive; a common family would have to work desperately for generations and still couldn't afford one.

Even with his limited knowledge, he knew that a villa this large was terrifyingly valuable; not to mention buying it, even renting it would cost hundreds of Gold Shields per year.

"Does the Security Bureau pay that well? To think one could afford such a fine house," Bu Li Sai Te said in amazement.

"I no longer work for the Security Bureau," Lei En explained, then added, "Besides, this house isn't rented; I've already bought it."

Bu Li Sai Te was instantly stunned.

Lei En looked at his expression and knew he would react that way.

He had put a lot of thought into this villa.

The villa is in the eastern Silver Star District, situated in the midpoint block between Wu Shi Ta and the Feiregelun River, called Perfume Street; it is not the most elite residence in the Silver Star District, but rather an upper‑middle standard one.

The whole street has over a hundred households, most of which are rich merchants, a few nobles, or holders of the Knight's Medal.

To common folk, Perfume Street already seems upper‑class, but in reality it is still far from Longshande's ruling class.

Lei En spent nearly three thousand Gold Shields to purchase this villa.

The villa's previous owner was a merchant whose business was failing and on the brink of bankruptcy, so he had to sell the house to settle debts. After careful selection, Lei En spent the past few days viewing dozens of properties and finally bought the villa along with all its furnishings, making almost no alterations.

In addition to the villa, the servants were taken on as well.

However, the former owner had employed over a dozen servants, which was excessive, so Lei En dismissed most of them.

Using his Soul Eye, he screened them and kept only four.

One capable cook, two diligent maids, and an honest, straightforward coachman.

At that moment, a man in his early forties stepped forward, dressed in butler attire, and respectfully said, "Sir, welcome home."

Lei En nodded and introduced, "Ma Li Er, this is my brother Bu Li Sai Te."

Ma Li Er immediately offered a courteous greeting, "Mr. Bu Li Sai Te."

Bu Li Sai Te had never received such courtesy, felt a bit at a loss, and stammered a few replies.

"Let's go, let's take a look inside," Lei En patted Bu Li Sai Te's shoulder, urging him to relax.

Ma Li Er led the way ahead.

Lei En watched the butler's silhouette and gave a satisfied nod.

This butler was not left by the villa's former owner; he was recommended by Kai Nie Ji at Lei En's request. When the family lives in the Silver Star District and joins the noble class, many matters and etiquette will require an experienced butler's assistance.

Kai Nie Ji recommended three butlers, and after Lei En saw them in person, he chose Ma Li Er.

Ma Li Er has been a butler for over twenty years, well‑versed in high‑society etiquette, handling affairs cleanly and efficiently, almost flawless.

He is already married, lives in the Honeyton District, has a pair of children, and enjoys a happy, harmonious family; his temperament is moderate and peaceful. Most importantly, Lei En observed him covertly with his Soul Eye and found Ma Li Er to have little ambition and be trustworthy, so he chose him.

Ma Li Er's monthly salary is three Gold Shields, slightly higher than a typical butler's, and he receives five days of leave each month, with the vacation schedule negotiated between him and his employer.

But it was all worth it.

Within two or three days of starting, Ma Li Er organized the servants, offered Lei En several useful suggestions, and made no mistakes at all.

As for whether he is a Kai Nie Ji associate, Lei En doesn't mind.

Kai Nie Ji is now completely tied to the Silver Star Record Company, their interests aligned, making it almost impossible for him to act against himself.

Moreover, there are no real secrets in his own family, so even if Kai Nie Ji learns about them, it doesn't matter.

Entering the villa, Lei En took Bu Li Sai Te on a tour up and down.

The house is actually a bit aged, covering over a thousand square meters, with three floors and more than twenty rooms, yet it is very well maintained.

When the previous owner bought it a few years ago, he spent a large sum to renovate it, and the taste was quite good—no ostentatious grandeur, but rather understated and rustic, making it comfortable to live in, full of a lived‑in atmosphere, perfect for a family to share.

At the back of the villa there is a small garden and a modest training ground.

This training ground is the only area Lei En had altered; as a Transcendent, a home must have a place for training.

The training ground is equipped with training apparatus and weapons, very complete.

"Lei En, will we be living here from now on?" Bu Li Sai Te asked, still a bit incredulous.

"Of course."

In the training ground, Lei En raised his hand and pointed to several windows on the third floor, saying, "You may choose any one as your bedroom."

"Great!"

Bu Li Sai Te could hardly hide his excitement; he had never lived in such a fine house.

It's not far from the Transcendent Academy; walking takes less than half an hour, and cycling would be even quicker.

After the excitement, Bu Li Sai Te grew more curious: how did Lei En earn so much money?

Even though he had no concrete sense of the villa's price, he could guess it was at least over two thousand Gold Shields, not to mention the butler, several servants, and a carriage—luxuries only a noble could sustain.

Just the servants' salaries alone constitute a huge expense.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Lei En, where does your money come from? Even as a Transcendent, you couldn't earn that much in half a year, could you?"

"You don't need to worry about that; my money comes from legitimate sources, and you'll find out later," Lei En shifted his tone, adding, "Now, I have a task for you."

"What task?" Bu Li Sai Te asked.

"Go back home and bring your father, mother, and the whole family here."

"Fine," Bu Li Sai Te agreed immediately, but still seemed puzzled: "Why don't you go fetch them yourself? Moreover, my father works in the mill every day and can't leave even for a moment; making him leave town would surely get us scolded for wasting his time. Ka Luo Di and Cathy also have classes—what would they be doing there?"

Lei En fell silent.

He had indeed considered fetching his family to Longshande himself, but he didn't want to return to Eagle Marsh Town.

The last time he returned to that town, countless memories resurfaced in his mind, clouding his thoughts. Eagle Marsh Town, once his most familiar hometown, now felt the most alien.

If possible, he doesn't want to go back again in this lifetime.

Lei En knows very well that, on a subconscious level, he doesn't want to face his family in Eagle Marsh Town; if they go to Longshande, the situation will be much better.

He can also cover up many things.

"Brisset, you know my relationship with my father is terrible now; when he sees me, he'll certainly have nothing nice to say," Lei En said the pre‑planned excuse, "I don't want to argue with him; why don't you go in my place?"

Brisset's face lit up, and she asked, "How should I tell my father? Are you planning to move the whole family to Longshande? Father certainly won't agree."

"Just tell him I'm about to be ennobled as a baron; he'll definitely come," Lei En said calmly.

"Baron!"

Brisset cried out hoarsely, "Lei En, are you serious? You're becoming nobility?"

"Hmm," Lei En nodded with a smile, "the investiture ceremony is next week on the Divine Birth Festival."

"Goddess above! Oh my…"

Brisset jumped up excitedly; with Lei En becoming a noble, he will receive a family name, and as his younger brother, I will also have a surname and enter the noble class.

"From now on I'm also of noble birth!" he murmured, thinking of the few noble classmates at the academy; just because of a status, they receive many privileges, and wherever they go, people respect them as soon as they hear the name.

Even the academy teachers treat noble students differently.

Brisset had always been envious; he never imagined he would become one of them.

After a long while his emotions finally settled, and he became extremely curious about what had happened to Lei En in the past six months.

Not only has he become a superhuman, but he is also about to be ennobled as a baron!

It's almost a legendary tale, hard to believe.

Lei En read his younger brother's thoughts and smiled, "You don't need to ask any more; when father and mother arrive at Longshande, I'll tell you. Go back to town this afternoon, and take the ship tomorrow; I'll have a carriage at the dock to pick you up."

Saying that, he handed Brisset a stack of banknotes as travel money.

"Alright, I'll go back right away," Brisset left, excited.

Lei En watched him leave, then boarded a carriage himself and headed to Silver Star Academy. Lately, aside from buying a villa, he hasn't been idle moving books in the Grand Library.

Through relentless effort, he has already copied most of the library's books onto his phone.

The remaining portion consists of some unimportant miscellaneous books or content unrelated to magical superhuman powers; he still comes by out of habit each day.

Besides, he has another purpose.

That is to covertly investigate Feilis's whereabouts, but to his surprise, Feilis left a few days ago.

The exact departure was on the third day after Ga Luo Wei Na was killed.

Feilis didn't leave alone; she went with her mentor and the entire visiting party from ParrasFloatingCity, having concluded the magical exchange, and all left Longshande.

Lei En was a bit puzzled; could Feilis have sensed something?

What puzzled him most was whether the Hong Shi Duke, disguised as Mentor Wen Si Luo, had achieved his goal of infiltrating Longshande.

Or had he abandoned the plan and withdrawn early?

Nevertheless, this gave Lei En a sigh of relief; Viola should be safe, and he no longer needs to guard against Feilis's hidden hand.

At noon the next day, Lei En waited at the doorway of his villa on Perfume Street.

Soon after, the driver returned with the carriage.

Brisset was the first to alight, opened the door, and a middle‑aged couple stepped out, followed by two youths.

Bade stood over 1.8 m tall, with a sturdy build; his black mid‑length hair was neatly swept back, he wore a fitted shirt, a brown coat, black trousers, and polished leather shoes that clearly had been carefully tended before coming.

His features resembled Lei En's to some extent, but were rougher; high cheekbones, deeper eye sockets, which disrupted the harmony of his facial features.

This made him look far less handsome than his three sons; his temples were greying and his forehead bore wrinkles, giving him an aged air, yet also a hint of authority.

Especially the sharp glint in his eyes, which instantly suggested a very shrewd person.

Marinda, nearing forty, had a rosy complexion; her hair was neatly arranged and tied at the back with a blue silk ribbon, and she wore a simple, tidy black dress that exuded a scholarly aura.

Though no longer young, with a few crow's‑feet at the corners of her eyes, her appearance remained graceful, her facial features exquisitely refined, and her temperament gentle; clearly she had been a striking beauty in her youth.

Lei En had previously seen them from afar outside the town.

Today was the first time he could see his parents up close in this world, thinking how fortunate that all three brothers resembled Marinda, especially himself, combining the strengths of both parents.

Among the three brothers, his own looks were the most outstanding.

Cathy, not being a biological daughter, also had a sweet appearance but was somewhat different from the rest of the family.

Lei En stepped forward and called, "Father, Mother," then smiled at the two half‑grown children, "Carodi, Cathy."

The family looked at him, all too shy to acknowledge him.

Carodi and Cathy were even more timid, hiding behind their parents.

Bade and Marinda examined the tall man before them, their eyes filled with surprise. Before arriving, they had already heard from Brisset that Lei En was different from before.

But the change is too great!

Bade could hardly believe this was his son, that ordinary eldest son.

He looked at Lei En's face with an appraising gaze; in the past, Lei En would never have dared meet his eyes, but this person was different—his gaze was steady, his expression calm, and his whole being exuded a distinctive aura.

Even as an ordinary person, Bade could sense a unique presence.

He is an extremely powerful superhuman!

Marinda also hesitated a bit, and after a few seconds whispered, "Goddess above!"

"Lei En?" Bade, who had a thousand questions to ask, at this moment could only utter Lei En's name, still uncertain.

Lei En nodded and smiled, "Don't stay outside, come in."

The waiting butler Mariel bowed and said, "Mr. Bade, Ms. Marinda, and the three young masters and mistresses, I have prepared rooms for you; please follow me."

(End of chapter)