"You're from the Stonemason Family?" The old man's expression darkened as he asked.
"Well, not exactly. I just signed an agreement with them and obtained ownership of Fargodeep Mine." Seeing the old man's hostile expression, Li Shaolin immediately explained.
"Ownership of Fargodeep Mine?" The old man became excited and reached out to grab him, only to trigger a burst of pain from his broken leg. He cried out in pain, while the girl beside him hurriedly supported him, causing another round of fuss.
After resting for a while, the old man finally recovered and asked, "Young man, is that true? Can you show me the agreement?" His face was full of disbelief.
Seeing how insistent he was, Li Shaolin felt too embarrassed to refuse the old man. He could only take out the agreement from his Storage Space and hand it over. He was not worried that the old man would refuse to return it or tear it up. After all, it was protected by the power of a contract and had been registered in Stormwind City.
Holding the agreement, the old man read it over several times before seemingly accepting the truth. In an instant, he looked as though he had aged ten years. Shaking his head, he said, "Forget it. Forget it!"
Li Shaolin was somewhat surprised by the old man's reaction. It seemed that the conflict between the Makrolen Family and the Stonemason Family was likely related to Fargodeep Mine. However, as an outsider, it was not appropriate for him to pry into such gossip. Just then, the people who had gone back returned, carrying a stretcher padded with bear hide.
The old man said to Li Shaolin, "Young man—no, I should call you Clan Leader Li or Lord Li. How about this? Come to Makrolen Farm and rest for a while. Have some wine, and I'll tell you about the twists and turns surrounding Fargodeep Mine."
Li Shaolin had no choice but to nod. After all, this was exactly why he had come. If the matter could be resolved perfectly without damaging their relationship, that would naturally be best.
Thus, the group arrived at a massive wooden estate. From afar, the fragrance of wine drifted over from the nearby winery and entered their nostrils. It was sweet and refreshing.
The two sides sat before the fireplace. It seemed to be their custom—every living room had a fireplace. The weather was not cold, but habits were hard to change.
After asking the girl to bring Li Shaolin some wine, the old man said with a sigh, "The reason our Makrolen Family has maintained such a bitter feud with the Stonemason Family is also because of Fargodeep Mine. I don't know how many years ago it was, but Fargodeep Mine originally belonged to the Makrolen Family. Later, I heard that one of our clan leaders was a gambler. After getting drunk one time, he actually mortgaged Fargodeep Mine to the Stonemason Family. Although it was lost in a gamble, our family was not so petty as to demand it back. But afterward, we heard that there had been foul play in that game, that the Stonemason Family had arranged it beforehand. Of course, though no concrete evidence was found later, they could not be completely separated from the matter. That is why our family has remained at odds with the Stonemason Family all these years. Later, Fargodeep Mine was occupied by Kobolds, and the two families stopped for a while. Who would have thought that a few days ago, the Kobolds and the adventurers inside would mysteriously disappear? Alas, unlike our farm, which can make wine from grapes, the Stonemason Family mainly grows watermelons and other crops. Their harvests are not very good. We thought they lacked the means to mine the cave and planned to compete for it, but who knew its ownership would end up in your hands, kid?" After saying all that, the old man sighed deeply.
At this point, the girl brought over the wine and invited Li Shaolin to drink.
"So that's how it was. I didn't expect things to be so complicated." Still, the mine belonged to him now. He would not give up meat that had already reached his mouth.
"Young man, how about making a deal?" The old man suddenly changed his tone.
"Go ahead. I'll see whether I can accept it," Li Shaolin replied.
"Here's the situation. By the river east of here, near Duskwood, there is a place called Jerod's Dock. It originally belonged to the Makrolen Family. We have always relied on that dock to transport wine to Lakeshire and Westfall, but in recent years it has been occupied by people from the Defias Brotherhood. It is far from Goldshire, the forest is dense, and the sheriff is busy, so it is difficult for him to send people to help us reclaim it. As things stand, our wine shipments have to take a huge detour, which wastes far too much manpower."
"You mean you want me to help you retake Jerod's Dock?" That was roughly what the old man meant. After all, the Defias Brotherhood already occupied quite a few places throughout Elwynn Forest. It was clearly unrealistic to rely solely on the town guards, while adventurers could handle small skirmishes but could not be expected to wage large-scale battles.
"Hehe, Lord Li, you are young and promising. Your class level should be quite high, right? If you can help, I can transfer a few guards from the family as well. It should not be too difficult. There are only six or seven people at the dock, though their supervisor seems to be around level 10, which is a bit troublesome. Of course, he should be no match for you, Lord Li." The old man immediately began flattering Li Shaolin.
"Hehe, how about this? I'll borrow some people from the Stonemason Family, and the three sides can work together?" Although Li Shaolin did not think it would be too difficult, it was better to be cautious. Besides, he wanted to use this opportunity to resolve the conflict between the two families.
"That would work. If you can truly help us solve the trouble at Jerod's Dock, our family will never interfere in matters concerning Fargodeep Mine again. Of course, the conflict with the Stonemason Family cannot be resolved overnight."
Li Shaolin thought for a moment. "All right. I'll go to the Stonemason Family now. I'll come back tonight so we can discuss how to deal with the Defias."
"Very well. Maybell, see our guest out. Mm, have the steward bring a horse for Lord Li." The old man pointed at his injured leg, his face full of apology.
The girl followed Li Shaolin out. When they reached the entrance, she looked at him as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Um... Lord Li... could you do me a favor?" The girl looked shy, pinching the corner of her clothes. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, barely audible.
Damn, could it be that I'm so handsome and imposing that this girl likes me? Sigh, being handsome really is a crime these days. Wherever I go, I draw everyone's attention. Sigh. Fortunately, I have a tender heart that cherishes women. Fine, fine, I'll make this sacrifice and be with her. Her father is a clan leader, after all.
Li Shaolin was wearing a smug, lovestruck expression as he indulged in his fantasies. Then the girl moved her wrist slightly and took out a letter. Damn, was she being that direct? Sending him a love letter already?
"Um... Lord Li, sorry for the trouble, but could you deliver this letter to Tommy Joe at Stonefield Farm? Lord Li? Lord Li?" Maybell called out twice before finally snapping the smug fool out of his fantasy.
"Uh, well... hehe, isn't this a little too soon? What? Deliver a letter?" He instantly came to his senses. So the girl had not fallen for him after all.
He mounted the black horse brought by the steward, put the letter into his Storage Space, and slowly set off down the road. Sigh, could it be that he was too ugly? Impossible. There was no reason for that girl not to like him. Filled with confusion and frustration, he rode away gloomily.
Fortunately, Makrolen Farm's wine shipments had to pass through Stonefield Farm, so a small road had naturally been built between them. Following the road, he arrived quickly enough.
Bored on horseback, he took out the Book of the Dead. He had just leveled up and still had a skill point left unused, so this was the perfect time to study it. Opening to the Summoning page, he examined it carefully. After the battles of the past few days, he felt that Skeleton Warriors were extremely powerful. When their weapons were enhanced with Venomous Dagger, they were downright formidable. Should he add another point? Then he suddenly remembered that in Diablo II, Skeleton Mastery, the first skill, generally had to be maxed out for summoners. It was essentially for upgrading skeletons. But his skeletons did not need upgrades; they scaled with his level. He did not know what effect adding a point would have. Raise Skeleton also seemed to have changed. Originally, after level three, he needed to invest two points before he could summon an additional skeleton. But now, the skill clearly read: Next level, number of summonable skeletons: 4. In other words, he only needed to add one more point to Raise Skeleton to have four Skeleton Warriors.
After hesitating for a while, he felt that Skeleton Mastery should not be completely useless. It was only one skill point, so should he try it? Right now, three Skeleton Warriors and one Clay Golem already seemed sufficient. One more would not make much difference anyway, and Skeleton Warriors were not convenient to summon during the day.
Gritting his teeth, he put a point into Skeleton Mastery. Black mist rose up, and in an instant, the skill turned red again. The extra skill point vanished as well, but nothing seemed to change. Li Shaolin was somewhat disappointed.
He opened the character attributes page, about to see whether he could view things like Strength and Dexterity, when a change suddenly caught his eye.
Name: Li Shaolin Race: Human (Eastern Warlock) Gender: Male Class: Necromancer (Owner of Fargodeep Mine) Health: 134/134 Mana: 134/134 Level: 10 Remaining Skill Points: 0 Equipment: Book of the Dead, Eight-Slot Space Belt Skills: Detection Level 2, Raise Skeleton Level 2, Fangs Level 1, Clay Golem Level 1, Skeleton Mastery Level 2 (Passive), Venomous Dagger Level 1, Bone Shield Level 1, Bone Armor Conversion Summons: First-Tier Skeleton Warrior (1), Second-Tier Skeleton Warrior (2, can be upgraded into Third-Tier Skeleton General), First-Tier Clay Golem (1), Fourth-Tier Clay Golem (1).
Skeleton General? What was that? And what was Bone Armor Conversion? Looking closely, he discovered an extra line of small text beneath the Bone Shield skill: Bone Armor Conversion—equip your Skeleton Warriors with Bone Armor. Duration: 1 hour. Mana Cost: 50 points. Requires bone material as a medium. Could it be armor?
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