Chapter 24: A Family
Six million five hundred and thirty thousand gold coins!
Upon hearing this figure, everyone present gasped in astonishment!
Especially Carno, who nearly felt lightheaded at the revelation!
As Li Xie's personal bodyguard, Carno was intimately familiar with Li Xie's affairs!
How was this possible in just a few days?
From Li Xie becoming a count until now, not even two months had passed, yet he had already amassed over six million gold coins!
To put it into perspective, in the entire Tudor capital, there were barely ten families with assets exceeding five million gold coins! And they were all established families, while Li Xie, as an individual, possessed assets exceeding six million gold coins!
In terms of personal wealth, the Marquis of Evil was undoubtedly one of the ten wealthiest individuals in the capital!
"Praise be to the Master of Sleep! I have witnessed a miracle!" Carno couldn't help but exclaim.
The rest of the servants and guards erupted into cheers! With their master being wealthy, their lives would be prosperous as well!
As for Li Xie, he couldn't stop grinning!
Out of the over six million gold coins, three million came from the sale of the one hundred fifth-tier royal beasts, while the remaining three million or so were gifts received!
No wonder officials on Earth often fell ill for no apparent reason; it seemed they did things like this!
Reflecting on this, Li Xie sighed. He wasn't incompetent; he just had an unfortunate upbringing. If given the opportunity, he could achieve great things as well! The so-called business acumen of those born into privilege was likely demonstrated in such endeavors—utilizing existing platforms to effortlessly accumulate wealth!
"We'll distribute ten thousand gold coins to each member of our Marquisate household! Carno, you'll receive a reward of one hundred thousand gold coins!" With a single statement, Li Xie threw out over one million gold coins!
Although he valued money due to his past hardships, Li Xie was not stingy. In fact, his generosity knew no bounds, stemming from his own experiences of poverty and hardship!
After Li Xie uttered these words, the jubilant atmosphere among the servants and guards suddenly quieted down! Only the crackling of the campfire remained!
Everyone was stunned into silence!
Ten thousand gold coins!
At this level, a commander like Carno only earned ten thousand gold coins in a year. As for the other guards, they might only receive one thousand gold coins in a year, or even less. Yet, with just one sentence from Li Xie, they were given ten years' worth of wages!
Especially for the eight maids led by Lily and the four male servants, each of them was dumbfounded!
Ten thousand gold coins!
What did that mean?
They were slaves; not even in their wildest dreams could they imagine possessing ten thousand gold coins in their lifetimes, let alone for generations to come!
Even Carno, a viscount and former high-ranking official, was stunned on the spot! His reward was one hundred thousand gold coins! A hundred thousand! He had never thought that he might possess such a fortune! Even during the New Year, he still belonged to the category of being financially tight!
"What's the matter? Why are you all staring blankly? Are you all so happy that you've become dumb? Hahaha." Li Xie nudged Carno and laughed, "Since you're following me, we're all one family. In times of fortune or adversity, we share joys and sorrows together!"
One family!
For Li Xie, these three words were simply a feeling. After years of wandering, he yearned for a stable home. Now that he had the Marquisate mansion, everyone here was a member of the mansion's family. Naturally, they were one family!
However, Li Xie didn't realize the significance of these three words in the hearts of the servants and guards!
No noble would consider servants and guards as family!
Yet, they didn't doubt the meaning behind Li Xie's words because his actions truly treated them as "one family"!
The servants and guards snapped out of their daze and simultaneously knelt before Li Xie, "We pledge our lives to follow you, Master!"
Even Carno knelt heavily on the ground; in his heart, he had decided to follow Li Xie for the rest of his life!
"Get up, get up! I'm rich and prosperous today, so everyone should be happy. Hey hey, go get... no, those are fine wines. You bunch of damned alcoholics can't ruin them! Someone, take a few people to buy dozens of 'tequila'! We'll have a good drink tonight!"
"Master, my name is Calis. I'll go right away! Harry Potter, take ten people with you!"
"There's one more thing." Li Xie was particularly happy today, so he decided to extend his happiness to the fullest, "Your slave contracts should be with that official. Lily, tomorrow, pass on my message and destroy the slave contracts. You're all free people now. If you want to leave, I won't stop you; if you want to stay, feel free."
"Master!"
The group of servants led by Lily knelt down again, tears streaming down their faces!
Destroying the slave contracts was just a sentence for Li Xie, but for Lily and the others, its significance was beyond Li Xie's imagination!
In the continent of the gods, slavery was common. Slaves had no surnames, only names. Under the slave contracts, they could only be slaves for their entire lives, and even their descendants would be slaves!
With just one sentence, Li Xie gave Lily and her companions priceless freedom! Freedom for generations to come!
"Get up, get up! We agreed; no crying tonight, only happiness. Hehe..."
Tonight, out of the hundred or so people in the Marquisate mansion, apart from the servants, everyone was drunk!
The guards sprawled around the courtyard, some leaning against walls, others lying by the campfire, snoring loudly, while Carno was passed out by the fire!
Li Xie, the vampire, had long since passed out from intoxication. However, when everyone else was intoxicated, he found himself sober. He lay directly on the ground in the courtyard, resting his head on Lily's lap. Lily gently massaged his bald head, soothing the discomfort of drunkenness.
Li Xie gazed at the sky. Unlike Earth, the sky of the continent of the gods held four moons, suspended in a square formation high above, radiating an incomparable brilliance. The stars in the sky were numerous, without the haze of Earth's atmosphere. They appeared even brighter, twinkling with a faint blue light. Between the scattered stars, various patterns seemed to form, as if the sky were a canvas and the stars were magical ink, outlining legendary scenes!
"When I was young, I saw a sky like this too. I used to ask my grandmother, 'Will it rain tonight? Are we sleeping on the streets tonight? Should we walk a few more steps to reach the overpass?'" Li Xie murmured to himself, as if confiding in Lily, "Back then, I never appreciated the beauty of the night sky. I was just worried about the rain. If it rained and we didn't have shelter, I'd freeze! No matter how beautiful the night sky was, it had nothing to do with me."
Lily, also a person with a difficult life, understood what Li Xie was saying. She had heard that her master, just over a month ago, was nothing more than a rural person. She softly replied, "Master, everything is in the past. Tonight's night belongs to you."
After saying this, Lily seemed to want to continue but hesitated, her lips moving a few times without making a sound. Li Xie didn't notice her, just gazing at the sky, he smiled and said, "Tonight belongs to me! It's just a pity..."
"A pity? A pity for what?" Lily asked hurriedly.
"The radiant moonlight, so pure and beautiful like her. The night belongs to me, but she doesn't belong to me!" Li Xie looked at the moonlight, as if he saw the Duchess Avril he had encountered that day!
Lily's heart trembled slightly, and the hand resting on Li Xie's head also trembled!
This time Li Xie noticed it. Looking at Lily, he smiled and said, "What's wrong with you? You're also quite beautiful, hehe..."
Indeed, Lily was exceptionally beautiful, with golden hair, azure eyes, delicate features, snow-white skin, and a graceful figure. However, Li Xie's praise was merely a compliment, without that touching feeling. Perhaps, if he hadn't met Duchess Avril, Li Xie would have developed such feelings for Lily and the other maids naturally. After all, Li Xie had never been in love before, and having beautiful women around would naturally evoke such feelings. Unfortunately, after only two days of contact with Lily and the other maids, he had already met Duchess Avril. Now, Li Xie's heart was set on possessing that woman.
In response to Li Xie's praise, a faint smile appeared on Lily's face, tinged with a hint of sourness. She knew she shouldn't feel "sour." She was the Marquis of Evil's slave. Although her slave contract could be destroyed tomorrow, she currently, and even in the future, placed herself in the position of a slave.
Tonight's night belonged to her Marquis, and she belonged to her Marquis. She just didn't say it out loud, and someone didn't notice.
After this night, the entire Marquisate would move to Li Xie's new mansion.
This is an elegant estate! Enclosed by iron fences, it spans over a dozen acres of lawns. Passing through the iron gate covered in dragon grass vines, one is greeted by fiery red maple trees and tranquil ponds. Along the pathways, one can see gardens, sculptures, fountains, a theater, and various artistic ornaments. In the center stands the main residence—a set of three connected European-style buildings, with a garden behind them and two villas in the distance.
The estate is situated on "Haowang Slope" in the southwestern suburbs of the imperial capital, overlooking the surroundings. The land within a radius of ten miles belongs to Li Xie, mostly covered in grasslands suitable for grazing.
Compared to the estates of other nobles, the Marquisate of Evil is not particularly large, but it is well-equipped. El selected this location because it is not intended to be the permanent residence of the Marquis. The environment here is beautiful and rarely disturbed, allowing the Marquis to indulge freely in his activities.
Although Li Xie couldn't quite understand El's idea of "indulgence," he muttered about how inconvenient it would be to travel to such a remote place. But he didn't harbor too much resentment. Instead, he was deeply impressed by the magnificence of the mansion!
Gold-plated utensils, crystal oil lamps, golden bathtubs—everything was either gold, silver, or crystal, and even the wood had a faint fragrance, all made of the finest sandalwood!
"Ah, nobles are indeed nobles. Even a piece of junk can make a poor person rich for half their life! This world is just so unfair. Fortunately, I'm leaning towards the unfair side!"
Li Xie instructed Lily to arrange accommodations for the guards nearby and then sat on a wicker chair, gazing at the azure-colored unknown egg on the table!
During his recovery period, in order to appear genuinely injured, Li Xie had Kano punch his nose every day to draw some blood, while also feeding this unknown egg! Today marked the forty-ninth day of the recovery period, and it was time for the unknown egg to hatch!
Kano had mentioned that after being fed enough blood, the unknown egg would hatch on a certain day within a month. The exact day couldn't be determined, so Li Xie had to keep an eye on it. Once the unknown egg emitted light, it meant it was about to hatch. Therefore, whenever he had spare time, Li Xie would take the unknown egg out of the space.
Li Xie decided to hatch this unknown egg not just to maintain his appearance of being injured but also out of necessity!
During his "recovery" period, he had openly requested blood supplementation under the guise of rural folk remedies. Emperor Mercedes VII, due to Li Xie's injury and Kano's testimony confirming the authenticity of the remedy, allowed the ten thousand Forbidden Army to provide blood for Li Xie. With blood from ten thousand people, Li Xie not only replenished the energy he lost due to injury but also gained the energy necessary for advancement.
However, Li Xie was still a black-eyed vampire!
He was finally certain that he couldn't increase his vampire level by feeding on the blood of beings from other worlds! He couldn't figure out where the problem lay. Now, all he could do was place his hopes on the unknown egg, hoping to have a familiar beast at least capable of protecting his life.