Bumpy Journey

The Murlocs had already fled in defeat, and it was deep into the night. After a whole day of exertion and draining all his mana, waves of fatigue washed over him, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep immediately. He looked around, but in this forest full of Elwynn Ancient Trees, where could he possibly find a place to rest? And in the pitch-black darkness, he did not dare wander around recklessly. Running into a pack of wolves, natural nighttime killers, would be even more dangerous. It would be better to sleep here for the night. Though the ground was littered with Murloc corpses and the fishy stench occasionally drifted over on the wind, after that battle, those Murlocs probably would not dare return anytime soon.

Having made up his mind, he began looking for a suitable tree to rest in. He had originally planned to find a hollow in one of the massive Elwynn Ancient Tree trunks, but then he considered that neither the Skeleton Warriors nor the Clay Golem could climb trees. If danger lurked inside the tree, would he not be utterly doomed? So he dismissed the idea. After searching for quite a while, he finally found a tree hollow with half an opening and dry soil beneath it. He called over the two downgraded Skeleton Warriors and had them widen the hollow, then had the Clay Golem enter and absorb the dust inside. After gathering some soft leaves to make bedding, he tried it out. It felt pretty good, just enough room for one person to lie down. He ordered two Skeleton Warriors to stand guard outside, while the other one and the golem patrolled nearby. Only then did he lie down in peace.

His stomach felt hungry and thirsty. Fortunately, the Space Belt held some bread given to him by the servant at Azshara's Tower, so he took it out and made do with a little. But there was nothing he could do about his thirst. Without water, the bread grew drier with every bite, and his throat felt as though it were on fire. How could he swallow it?

"Who would have thought that after becoming a mine owner, I, Li, would end up without even a sip of water to drink!" Li Shaolin could not help sighing. Then his gaze fell on a fallen tree branch, and an idea struck him. Why not make a container and have a Skeleton Warrior fetch some water?

No sooner thought than done. He immediately selected a thick-looking branch, took out the Infantry Sword, and cut it into a long rectangular cylinder in a few strokes. He tried digging out the core, and fortunately, although these Elwynn Ancient Trees looked enormous, their middle sections seemed hollow. A few digs cleared it out. Before long, he had made a small, elongated bucket. Looking at the first piece of furniture he had ever made in his second life, he could not help grinning foolishly.

He called over the Skeleton Warrior that had been patrolling, thought for a moment, then bored two small holes into the bucket, just large enough for the Skeleton Warrior to grip. He ordered him to fetch water from upstream. Come on, after the slaughter here earlier, the fleeing Murlocs had probably muddied the water terribly. What if he got poisoned from drinking it?

The Skeleton Warrior's bones rattled as he swayed toward the lakeshore. Fortunately, the Murlocs seemed to have gone to rest as well. After making a round, he did not spot a single one.

At the sight of that small bucket of clear lake water, it smelled even more fragrant than the beer at the Lion's Pride Inn. He lifted it in one hand and took a small sip. A cool sensation flowed into his heart, mingled with the faint freshness of wood. It was wonderfully refreshing. He ate a few bites of bread with the water. Ah, that felt incredible.

Full and satisfied, he lay in the half-open tree hollow. Waves of drowsiness came over him, and his eyelids began fighting each other. Though wolf howls occasionally echoed through the forest, he had several bodyguards around, so there was no need to worry. He gave a small yawn and fell asleep.

Perhaps because he was exhausted beyond measure, he slept exceptionally well. He did not have a single dream. When he opened his eyes, dim light was already filtering in. Dawn was near. The eastern sky glowed with golden light, and it looked as though the sun would rise at any moment. The two Skeleton Warriors stood faithfully at the entrance, not having moved even half a step, while in the distance, the Clay Golem and the other Skeleton Warrior paced slowly back and forth.

He hunched over and crawled out of the tree hollow. The moment he emerged, he jumped in fright. A brown snake more than two meters long and as thick as a small bowl lay beside him, its body cut into two pieces. It had clearly been slain by a Skeleton Warrior. "Damn!" Li Shaolin's heart began pounding. That thing looked poisonous at a glance. If it bit him, he probably would never make it out of this forest. Thank goodness, thank goodness.

He summoned the Skeleton Warriors over, took out the Book of the Dead, and stored all three away. After all, it was daytime now, and the Watchers from Azshara's Tower would soon begin working. If they saw his Skeleton Warriors, it would cause no end of trouble.

When he arrived at the site of yesterday's bloody battle, the Murlocs were nowhere to be seen. Across the distant lake lay an isolated sandy shore like a small island, where huge rocks could vaguely be seen. Since it had already been dark last night, he had failed to notice it. He hurriedly took out his map and examined it carefully. Sure enough, in the northeastern section of the map was a huge circular lake called Stone Monument Lake. At its center stood a large monument commemorating the warriors who had fallen in the First Orc War.

"So if I head south, I can get back to Eastvale Logging Camp? But which way is south?" Li Shaolin could not help feeling puzzled. He had done poorly in elementary school and had always had a terrible sense of direction. Though he knew the sun rose in the east, in this forest full of trees, a little wandering would be enough to get him lost. Maybe he should follow the riverbank downstream? The riverbank led right to that wooden bridge, which should be the road to Goldshire.

There was no other choice. He took out the Infantry Sword, summoned Bone Shield to protect himself, and had the Clay Golem lead the way as he began heading downstream through the forest along the riverbank. The Murlocs seemed to have slept their fill. One or two occasionally wandered by the river, picking up algae leaves or catching a long-snouted loach or two to eat. The sight made Li Shaolin nauseous.

By the time he had walked from sunrise to sunset, Li Shaolin's legs had gone weak. Along the way, he had to worry about being spotted by Murlocs as well as the hungry wolves in the forest. It had been truly exhausting. He had already slain six Forest Wolves. Fortunately, the golem did not need rest, and after leveling up, its combat strength had increased. It could basically kill a Forest Wolf with ease, and with Li Shaolin assisting from the side, it became even simpler.

At last, the wooden bridge by the river came into view.

He hurriedly put away the golem and strode toward it. Just then, a carriage was stopped there, paying its toll.

"Wait! Wait! I'm going to Goldshire!" Li Shaolin shouted, dragging his exhausted legs into a jog. The guards seemed to notice him as well, and the carriage did not leave, waiting for him to catch up.

When he finally arrived, he found an old acquaintance—the burly man who had driven the carriage on his way here. Seeing Li Shaolin, the man chuckled and waved him aboard. Thus, after all that inexplicable running about, Li Shaolin once again set off for Goldshire to the sound of hoofbeats.

Just like the first time he had come, he reached the Lion's Pride Inn late at night. Fortunately, he had paid for ten days in advance, so he did not need to rent another room. Only after eating the beer and roast meat that had just been delivered to his room did he feel that this was what true comfort in the world felt like. Lying in bed and looking at the mounted Tauren head, he could not help recalling the night he had spent at Skinner's home. The thought alone made him shudder. Forget it. Better sleep early. He had been tired all day again. Tomorrow, he would get some armor and see whether the Skeleton Warriors could equip it, then take another look at the mine.

He rose early the next morning. All night long, there had seemed to be music and the sound of wooden stakes being hammered outside, making it impossible for him to sleep peacefully. When he stepped out, he happened to run into the assistant named Milika Eisenstaedt. The young woman looked surprised to see Li Shaolin. After thinking for a moment, she smiled. "So it's you. I haven't seen you for days, and I never expected you to mysteriously return again. You really come and go without a trace, hehe. If you hadn't paid for the room in advance, it would have been cleared out long ago. There have been so many guests these past few days."

Li Shaolin scratched his head awkwardly. He had not expected this girl to remember him. But was he really that mysterious? "Well, I've been a little busy lately, hehe. Oh, right, Milika, why was it so noisy outside last night? I couldn't sleep at all. It sounded like someone was putting up tents or building houses."

"Wow, you're so out of touch!" Milika made a face and teased him.

"The Darkmoon Faire recently came to Goldshire. They bring rare treasures from all over the world and regularly display these strange and mysterious items from Azeroth at the fairgrounds. They even tell fortunes, and there are races like Orcs and Tauren that we don't get to see around here. It's really fascinating. If I didn't have work, I would have gone to have fun already. Oh, I can't keep talking to you. I have to get busy." Carrying a plate of steaks in a fluster, she hurried away.

"The Darkmoon Faire?" Li Shaolin fell into thought. In the game, what had left the deepest impression on him were probably those messy card decks that could be exchanged for trinkets. He wondered what it would be like in this reality. Forget it, he would go have a look later. First, he would go to the Blacksmith and buy a set of armor to try out.

The Blacksmith was directly across from the Lion's Pride Inn. He had come before, so he remembered the place. As he walked in, the huge furnace was still spitting sparks, and waves of heat rushed at him. At the anvil nearby, a burly man was hammering a red-hot block of iron.

"Um, I'd like to look at a set of Mail Armor," Li Shaolin said.

The owner looked him over. "Young man, you look like a caster. The tailor shop is over there."

"I came to buy Mail Armor. A full set," Li Shaolin said, feeling utterly depressed.

With a snort, the burly man pulled a set of silver Mail Armor from a box below and placed it on the counter. "Fifteen silver coins for the whole set. Young man, I have to remind you, casters can't wear Mail Armor. Not only will it affect your spellcasting, you won't even be able to move properly. This set weighs thirty kilograms!" The man stressed the point again.

"..." Li Shaolin was completely speechless. This owner was a little too enthusiastic. He hurriedly took out the money and paid, then carried the Mail Armor back to the inn.