As promised, Blood lord Goodman was returned the same day and the rest of the Hubert family members as well. The Army of Freedom did suffer a huge loss with the death of both Raynolds and Swan, but to Leo’s great surprise his heroic deeds remained a secret.
He was debriefed in the Golden city, then for some reason put under house arrest in the current estate of the Hubert family for several days. Afterwards there was this strange meeting in a large hall he hadn’t ever been to before with, from what he understood, a couple dozen strongest immortals of the Immortal Alliance present.
They sat in semi circle higher up as if they were some kind of judges and Leo despite being at the Nascent soul stage couldn’t recognize their faces, making the whole endeavor oppressive and ominous. After questioning Leo one more time it did kind of seem they intended to punish him for some crimes he did or didn’t commit, but then elder Li stormed in from who knows where with a widely grinning master Shaw in tow.
“If you dare to lay a finger on my student I’ll personally f*cking go after each and one of you!” The old man plainly stated, but master Shaw interrupted him.
He said, “What my master wants to say is that he’ll take the responsibility for Leo and our young genius will continue to study at the War Academy, where from now on will be his permanent residence.”
Then one of the judges stood up and Leo recognized voice of the Hubert family patriarch, who said, “Before we go into a further discussion I’d also like to remind you that Leo is my beloved daughter’s fiance thus practically a member of our family and a citizen of the Golden city.”
Leo woke up in his room at the Hubert residence and wasn’t really certain if what he saw was real and if it was – what exactly transpired. Fortunately few days later they, he and Alice, returned to the Academy and he could go back to cultivation under the Divine tribulation trees.
During the next six months he did spend an excessive amount of time with her, but Leo guessed it was fine since her father in order to save him lied in front of the judges about their upcoming marriage. Alice went even further – she didn’t shy off to walk around the Academy holding his hand and sometimes even kissing him in public. Leo was amazed by the girl’s willpower to go through with the act, but was thankful for the sacrifice she made. On the other hand, he did kind of save her so it was only logical she would repay the same way, thus it was fine.
The illusionary world Leo lived in was shattered when another month later Musa and Jack visited him. The latter turned out to be slightly more talented compared to the youngest friend and managed to recover his body ‘only’ in half a year, albeit also in the recovery room provided by master Shaw. Apparently Jack’s part in capturing Blood lord Goodman was important enough.
Contrary to Leo though, Jack didn’t only ‘improve’ his most important parts, he made himself a bit taller and better looking as well. Leo did find it awkward when the guy caught him in a bear-hug, but the voice was still the same and he quickly got used to Jack’s new appearance.
While his friend’s looks only slightly shocked Leo, what he said after they were done with the greetings almost made him faint.
“You dog! I can’t believe you actually will go through with this! Everyone knows you love her since otherwise you wouldn’t have risked your life and went to the Blood immortal realm, but marry? Man! After your heroic deeds in the holy city Avila I though you’ll never settle down even if you became an immortal!”
“Right, what exactly happened there?” Musa asked, “You wanted to tell me, but we kind of didn’t have time back then.”
Musa actually also had changed his appearance quite a bit. He didn’t wear the black clothing that covered his whole body anymore and walked around half naked and barefooted in shorts that almost resembled the skirts Leo saw in the Voodoo sect. And while the shorts were different, the multitude of tattoos on his body seemed very familiar.
“Hahaha! You won’t believe it!” Jack said and hysterically laughed, and it took him some time to calm down, “This guy … hahaha … you probably know the story how he earned us the spirit stones so we could get to the Golden city right? He worked … well … he f*cked the ladies for money. And while either of us would’ve done the same in a heartbeat, he managed to impregnate most of them! And that includes the daughters of our two sect masters! What a dog! By now his kids are already running around and the two back in the sect are probably already cultivating!”
“Why would you do that?” Musa asked in confusion, but Leo only could feel the ground swaying beneath and the world spinning around him. He felt like he had fallen into a nightmare that was thousand times worse compared to the one he experienced first on the Auguste when his father died. To him all of this was new, but Jack told the story as if it was the common knowledge!
“My guess is that he simply wanted to use the opportunity to spread his seed in the mortal world since he never intended to go back there.” Jack ‘expertly’ said and patted Leo’s shoulder in understanding.
“What a weirdo!” Musa could only shake his head, “Does Alice know? You guys are getting married so she will find out sooner or later, right?”
Leo didn’t remember much from that day and neither from the next twenty odd days that were spent in the preparation for the wedding. At some point he recognized he was back in the Golden city, people were rushing everywhere, dressing him up and making a lot of ruckus. He did kind of register Alice kissing him in the morning before the ceremony began and telling she had a surprise, but, truth to be said, Leo couldn’t take another one, no matter how small it was.
Still, he followed her to a smaller building within the new Hubert estate, but after he stepped in Alice closed the door behind him and ran away. He could clearly hear her laughter disappearing in the distance, but it only confused him more.
He was currently in a large room, with a couple of comfy chairs and sofas, clearly in one of the lodgings that were used by guests of the family. There were two middle aged women, one sitting on the sofa and another standing at the window, and, sitting in one of the chairs, an old lady, probably well over eighty years old, who for some reason kept sobbing uncontrollably while staring him in the eye, without saying a word.
Leo didn’t know how long he stood like this, but the longer he looked at her, the more familiar she felt. But when he finally recognized her, the shock he got was heavier than any lightning blast he had ever received.
“Mom!” He whispered and dropped on his knees besides her.
This was the moment when all the barriers and dams he had built in his life broke at once and a flood of tears ran down his cheeks. He couldn’t say anything, nor could he breathe. All the pain he stored up during his life at the back of his mind suddenly rushed out, but while the grief and suffering suffocated him, the happiness at the impossible reunion kept him conscious. It was kind of an agony, but a really pleasant one.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Renaud family men don’t cry.” Camille whispered, caressing Leo’s hair, but the best he could answer was a barely audible ‘mhm’. Her touch was as soft and warm as he remembered and only now he realized how much he missed her all these years.
It was one of his sisters who a bit later explained that few months ago an incredible immortal found them even though they hid from William Allain, the person who was behind Lyam’s assassination and the destruction of their family.
Back then only a couple of family members escaped and only by a lucky chance Camille and two of her daughters visited a city nearby. She was upset about her little boy going on a voyage without her and wanted to go on a shopping spree in order to alleviate the pain from separation when the news of their home being destroyed reached her ears. She was one of the oldest Lyam’s wives and one of the most experienced, thus she quickly guessed what went on, escaped and went in the exile along side the two daughters that accompanied her at that moment.
Similar to Leo, they lived with belief that their family was completely destroyed and the three of them were the only survivors. Obviously the thoughts of her beloved son dying were hard to bear, but somehow she always found the strength to persist. And when the day came when master Hubert appeared at their doorstep, everything changed.
Leo thanked Heavens for Alice’s father being much more experienced and smarter than him. He had long given up on the idea of any of his relatives being alive, without even trying to find them. And he was at the Nascent soul stage – basically a god in terms of a mortal realm! Fortunately nothing mattered anymore, Camille was here, in the Golden city.
They talked for a long while until Jack came over and informed that the ceremony was about to begin and it was time. But just as they stepped out, the Hubert family patriarch appeared at their side, politely greeted Camille and said to Leo, “May we have a word?”
Suddenly Leo had a really ominous premonition. Obviously nothing bad should happen since he was still alive and Camille was here, but when his mother walked further away and master Henri pulled him high up in the air, it was clear that nothing that will follow can be good, although what the immortal said at first didn’t make it seem so.
“Bringing your mother to the Golden city is not my real wedding gift to you. It’s just a normal thing to do since I’ll be your father in law before the sun sets.” Master Henri said, looking at Leo who felt that the man could easily see through his every secret, “Truth to be said, I only managed to find her by a lucky chance, but we can talk about that some other day.”
And then came the part Leo dreaded the most, “What I want to talk to you about is your life before you came here. Since you want to marry my most beloved child, I obviously had to personally check your background and I found many things that might seem disturbing to say the least. You working as a boy-toy, the many children that you have, including the one in the Greenland mortal realm ...”
Seeing Leo’s eyes widen in shock, Henri grinned and said, “Don’t worry, the girl is healthy and doing well. Later I went back and gave her mother few things that will help her in future. Ok, back to the subject at hand. This all led me to think that you are one perverted bastard ...”
Leo felt his feet growing cold, but fortunately the immortal continued, “But there was something that kept bugging me. Something didn’t add up! Risking your life to save your sect master on multiple occasions and even fighting for survival of the sect against a whole army even though you already decided to leave it … and, of course, risking your life to rescue my beloved wife and daughter … and you are elder Li’s student so if you were the lowlife you seemed to be he would’ve killed you himself. This was when I began to talk with the people in the life that you probably considered the ‘previous’ one … your sect master Evelyn, her daughter Etessa and her friend Elsa, your grandpa Noel, friend Jack and even the former boss Francesca Ricci and her friend Ottavia Baresi, along with many others. And then finally everything fell in place.”
Henri Hubert sighed and put his heavy hand on Leo’s shoulder. All this time he continued to watch the young man and fortunately Leo was incapable of saying anything, thus didn’t worsen the situation.
After a brief pause, Henri continued, “That is when I realized that you despite growing up and becoming a respectable Nascent soul stage cultivator, were actually still the same naive boy with the caring and gentle heart! That is why I gladly welcome you to be a part of our family, so please never loose this trait.”
At this point Leo wasn’t clear if he still had to worry or be happy and what followed made his mind spin once again.
The immortal said, “Since Alice will be your wife for life, I obviously told her everything. You guys shouldn’t have any secrets, right? At least I and Henrietta don’t … Or you wanted to tell her everything yourself? It doesn’t matter anymore …”
Henri paused for a moment and continued, “No matter what, because you lost your parents so early, you became a strong, but remained clueless … well … what’s the right word for it … uhm, let’s go with the term ‘naive’. While you’ll have Alice for any other area of life to school you, I’ll do what your late father would’ve done if he was around and teach you how to make love to a woman … this will be my wedding gift to you! … first of all … there is no such thing as a ‘one thrust technique’ …”
Leo wished he would be dead. Completely dead. The next part of the conversation, or rather – master Hubert’s teachings, seemed to be never ending and brutally crushed his most basic understanding of relationship between a man and a woman. The more the immortal went on, the more dead Leo wished to be and in the end, he complained to Heavens he was ever born.
Master Hubert obviously noted Leo’s perplexed expression, but he had had the ‘talk’ with all of his sons so was confident in his ability to teach. Obviously the subject was sensitive for any young guy, this Leo’s reaction was within the norm.
Leo wasn’t certain he remembered anything of what master Hubert told him, except for the last part – ‘No worries, now you’re a part of our family so you can come and ask me anything at any time. And more importantly – be open with Alice. After all from now on you’ll be together forever ...”
‘Together forever’? Wasn’t he supposed to have plethora of wives like his father did? But technically he already had and even close to two dozen children … what a disaster! And Alice knows and even approves ?… and they are supposed to be together forever?
Leo was in complete daze when he arrived at the large hall, with four long rows of tables fully stacked with delicacies. At these tables sat what seemed a swarm of people he didn’t know and the first impulse was to turn around and escape since he didn’t belong here, but then the crowd cheered and called out his name by raising glasses and Leo recognized the Hubert family patriarch and madam Henrietta sitting at one table together with Camille and his two sisters … and at the table next to them sat Claude, Fan Yun, Kevin and the rest of the Golden city gang … and there was even George Cilin and Fan Lia with a confused boy next to her sitting at a table together with Jamie and, well, other people he didn’t know. But why at one of the front tables was grandpa Noel and master Torben? Was he seeing things? The two experts from the corrupt path were also allowed to join?
“What are you gawking at, dumbo?” Suddenly someone gently whispered in Leo’s ear and planted a kiss on his cheek, “Let’s go! These people came to celebrate with us!”
Right! Alice! But … together forever? Was it ok? Leo obediently followed her … and he had to admit, she looked amazing in that white dress, too bad she never wore anything like this …
They both sat at the table on a slightly elevated platform as if they were monarchs from a puny mortal realm kingdom and the guests at their feet seemed as if they were their subjects. Then the Hubert family patriarch raised his glass and began a lengthy toast, but Leo looked deeply in Alice’s playful eyes, still in daze. Forever?
How did it come to this? Where did the things go wrong? Or did they? He obviously liked her and surely – through the years he often dreamed of washing her … and with every passing month more and more … but forever? What did his feelings have to do with the marriage?! On the other hand – why not? Especially because they had the common goal – upon return Alice confessed she decided to make her life long goal to kill the damn old man and it was what Leo also had to do!
Right! This was even better! They will create a family to officially work together in order to kill the hunched overlord, the immortal who dared to break the rule number four! Breaking Renaud family rules is not allowed, especially Lyam’s legacy, the current rule number four – ‘There are no auspicious days! Everyone who claims otherwise brings bad luck and has to die!’.
Suddenly a smile bloomed on Leo’s face and he looked at Alice in joy. Indeed, the suffering he went though today was because of the damn jinx in the Blood immortal realm! He brought the bad luck and he WILL die! Both of them will make sure of it!
The end.