Departure

After resting for a while, Li Shaolin finally felt his nerves settle somewhat.

He had no idea where that child had come from, or how the kid could be so formidable. He also had no clue what the child wanted in the mine. If the kid had come for him, things would be troublesome.

Sigh, he had planned to scout out Jerod's Dock alone tonight. It looked like he would not be going anywhere.

He directed the golems to absorb the two Defias Brotherhood corpses. Aside from two daggers and two masks, they had left behind nothing valuable. It seemed they had traveled light.

After gathering the items on the ground and putting them into his Storage Space, he still ordered the Golden Golem to guard the mine. With two Skeleton Generals and the remaining Skeleton Warrior protecting him in the middle, he finally left the mine.

The night was pitch-black, and the rain was still pouring.

Fortunately, the child still feared the Skeleton Generals' attacks, so the situation was not impossible to handle. He casually stored the Clay Golem trailing behind him in the Book of the Dead, opened his umbrella, and strode forward.

After returning to his room and closing the door, he shook out the bedding and burrowed inside. He left one Skeleton General guarding the door and the other beside his bed, so they could immediately detect even the slightest disturbance.

The rain pattered softly, and it was unexpectedly chilly.

As Li Shaolin lay there, he thought, Elwynn Forest doesn't seem peaceful at all. Is it like this elsewhere too? I should deal with things here quickly and head to another town.

He drifted off in a daze.

Another night of nightmares.

Early the next morning, someone suddenly pounded on the door outside.

Still exhausted from the fright he had suffered the night before, Li Shaolin had been sleeping soundly when the knocking startled him awake. Before he could open the door, it creaked and swung open on its own.

A burly man stood in the doorway. It was Tommy. He was soaked from head to toe, with wet mud splattered all over his boots and trousers. His two-handed sword was slung across his back, and he looked utterly bedraggled.

Seeing that it was him, Li Shaolin finally relaxed. He hurriedly asked, "Weren't you injured? Why aren't you recovering properly? What are you doing here?"

Tommy was just about to answer when a blade flashed down at his face! The Skeleton General by the door had attacked. Perhaps it saw Tommy barging through the door as an act of hostility. Tommy had indeed been somewhat reckless, but the door had no bolt to begin with. Li Shaolin had only lightly closed it the night before, yet this guy had somehow crashed right through it himself.

Fortunately, Tommy had plenty of combat experience. He twisted aside, and the greatsword on his back sprang free. He held it horizontally before his chest, barely blocking the descending Bone Blade.

Bang! The Skeleton General's slash carried tremendous force. Li Shaolin was currently level 10, while the Skeleton General was two levels above him at level 12. Empowered by Skeleton Mastery, it possessed immense strength. That single blow sent Tommy flying straight back out the door.

The attack had come too suddenly for Li Shaolin to stop it. Fortunately, Tommy was not hurt, and Li Shaolin breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly ordered the Skeleton General to stop, then got out of bed, took out the Book of the Dead, and stored both skeletons away.

Tommy then walked in, covered in muck from head to toe.

"What was that thing just now? Your guard? Where did it go?" Tommy looked around curiously, only to discover that it had vanished in such a short time.

"No, it was my summon. Heh, what made you come here? And how did you end up looking like this?"

"Sigh, isn't this all your fault?" Tommy rolled his eyes at him, full of grievances. "Tell me, I only had a minor injury, yet you went and called Maybell over to heal me. The wound was healed right away, but then I had to escort her back to the farm. I originally planned to head back as soon as I got her home, but who knew it would start raining?"

"Couldn't you have asked Maybell to arrange a place for you to stay? Did you rush back through the rain last night? No, that doesn't make sense. Even if you did, why come looking for me at dawn?" Li Shaolin was still puzzled.

Tommy entered the room and set his mud-covered greatsword aside before saying, "No. Her old man was there. I had no choice but to find somewhere to make do for the night. Then I rushed out first thing this morning. I heard Homor was staying behind at the mine, so I came over to rest a little. Who knew it would be you?"

Just then, Homor happened to walk in as well.

The moment he saw Tommy, he was startled. Naturally, another round of explanations followed.

The two ate breakfast at the mine. Tommy then got a change of clothes from Homor before riding back to the farm.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped by then, so he did not have to get soaked again.

When Li Shaolin returned to his little wooden cabin, he casually tied the black horse nearby and pushed open the door. A servant was tending the fireplace for him. Warmth immediately washed over him.

Seeing Li Shaolin enter, the servant hurriedly bowed. "Lord Li, you're back. The family head asked me to pass along a message. He said you should handle your affairs as soon as possible, because in two days, you will be assisting the Makrolen Family with the matter at the dock."

"Mm, all right. By the way, do you have a carriage going to Goldshire?"

"Yes, one leaves at noon. If you need food, I can bring some for you," the servant asked at once, assuming he had not eaten.

"At noon? I'm afraid that's too late. I'll go first, then. Go on with your work. I'll rest a little, then head to Goldshire." Li Shaolin said.

The servant nodded and withdrew, apparently going off to attend to other matters.

After resting briefly, Li Shaolin closed the door, led out the black horse again, and set off.

With the map gifted by the mage of Azshara's Tower in hand, he easily found the road to Goldshire.

Riding was much faster than taking a carriage. In just an hour, accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats, he arrived in Goldshire once more.

Because of last night's rain, many shops had only just opened for business.

He first went to the Lion's Pride Inn to collect the Mail Armor he had left there. Then he bought several sets of clothes from the tailor at the Blacksmith, along with plenty of other miscellaneous supplies, stuffing them all into his Storage Space. Fortunately, he still had around ten gold coins, enough to cover his expenses.

After what had happened with the frog-selling child, he no longer dared go near the Darkmoon Faire and kept far away from it.

...In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Over those three days, whenever Li Shaolin had nothing to do, he went fishing by the river with Tommy, studied his class skills, or tested the changes in his body. Yet he could reach no conclusions and could only let things be. One thing was certain, though: his physical condition was far better than before. Even the strength contained in his limbs surprised him. He was considering learning some combat techniques for self-defense when he had the chance.

Early one morning, Tommy came knocking on his door in a suit of Mail Armor with a greatsword on his back. Four family guards followed behind him.

They dragged the bleary-eyed Li Shaolin out of bed, and amid the sound of hoofbeats, the six of them set off for Makrolen Farm.

"Hey, Tommy, how's things progressing between you and Maybell?" With the journey growing dull, Li Shaolin began teasing Tommy. After spending several days together, the two had become much more familiar. Thinking about it, Tommy was quite the tragic figure. Though he was a direct descendant of the family, he had no inheritance rights. Worse, his constitution prevented him from becoming a class holder. Fortunately, he had been born strong and could use a few simple combat techniques. He was probably already as strong as a level 9 warrior, which was quite impressive.

"Sigh, don't mention it." Tommy looked thoroughly unhappy. "I heard the king is sending troops to support Ironforge again. This time, every family has to send one direct descendant. In about a month, I'll have to go to the battlefield with them."

"Support Ironforge?" This was the first Li Shaolin had heard of it, and he could not help asking curiously.

Tommy nodded, looking extremely dejected. No wonder. Just as relations between the Makrolen Family and the Stonemason Family had begun improving, his relationship with Maybell might have improved as well. Yet he had been drafted into battle. How could he not be depressed?

"I just hope I can earn some merit on the battlefield and get a territory or something. Then I'll have something to rely on when I marry Maybell," Tommy said gloomily.

Before long, Makrolen Farm appeared ahead of them.

Old Man Makrolen's foot injury had not yet healed, so Maybell naturally came out to greet them. When the young woman saw Tommy arrive, her face reddened as she looked toward him.

Tommy had long since thrown his morning gloom to the winds. His eyes were full of springtime affection, and the two of them began exchanging meaningful glances right there in public.

Ahem! Li Shaolin coughed pointedly. You two, stop that. There are other people here.

Maybell hurriedly began directing the servants to settle their horses and ushering them inside to rest, throwing everything into a flustered mess.

Once they finally sat down, Old Man Makrolen limped out as well. His expression was somewhat unpleasant. After all, the two families had been enemies for generations, and now he had to rely on the other side for help. It was rather embarrassing.

As he drank wine, the old man asked, "Lord Li, my family can still send a few more men. When do you think we should act? How should we arrange things? I'll put them all under your command."

"Mm, well, sir, I only changed classes recently, so I don't understand these matters. This is Tommy Joe of the Stonemason Family. He has some knowledge in this area, so how about letting him command us?" Li Shaolin pointed at Tommy beside him. After all, he was practically the old man's future son-in-law. Even if the old man did not know that, it was still best to establish a good impression first.

Tommy smiled somewhat reservedly, looking a little nervous.

"That works." The old man was easygoing and agreed immediately. "This old man doesn't understand combat techniques or fighting anyway. Just tell us what to do."

After chatting a while longer, the old man had a servant bring in four family guards and hand them over to Li Shaolin. He then went back to warm himself by the fireplace.

This brought their party to ten people in total. Li Shaolin could not help sighing inwardly. Fighters really are valuable in troubled times. Neither the Stonemason Family nor the Makrolen Family is small, yet they can only field single-digit numbers of guards, while they have servants in abundance. That's far different from what I imagined. In truth, it was only natural. The cost of maintaining guards' weapons, armor, horses, and other equipment alone was no small sum each year. They also required combat training, so naturally they could not compare with ordinary servants.