A Small House in Westfall

By then, the boat had already moved far from the dock. Under the faint moonlight, the Skeleton Warrior held a Bone Blade in one hand and a Bone Shield in the other. Its white bones reflected the moonlight, while red soul-fire flickered in its eye sockets, making it terrifying to behold. The other two Skeleton Generals, covered in Bone Armor, actually appeared far less frightening.

"Y-you're with the Scourge?" The Goblin Overseer asked in Common, his face filled with shock and terror.

Li Shaolin was about to answer when one Skeleton General's Bone Armor expired. Accompanied by a cloud of black mist, it reverted to a Skeleton Warrior.

That was close! Li Shaolin broke out in a cold sweat. He had actually forgotten to renew its armor. Luckily, they had ended up on this boat by sheer coincidence, or those people would have been scared to death.

Seeing another skeleton appear, the three men grew flustered. They seemed to have decided that he was one of the Scourge, and fear kept them from making a move.

Seizing the chance, Li Shaolin silently issued an attack command. In an instant, the three summons sprang into action, their Bone Blades slashing toward the three men's heads.

Smack! The Decoy before the Goblin Overseer was split apart by the Skeleton General's blade. With a second slash, the blade plunged into his chest. This Skeleton General was a level-three skeleton and already level 13, stronger than Li Shaolin himself. How could a Goblin Overseer with half-baked combat skills possibly handle it?

The other two Skeleton Warriors engaged the two bodyguards. The sight of skeletons made the two men shrink back in fear, leaving them able only to defend themselves without striking back.

The swordsman seemed utterly terrified. After knocking aside a Bone Blade with one swing, he stopped fighting, leaped into the river, and swam toward the shore.

Splat! Splat! Two Bone Fangs struck his back dead-on, and a thread of blood spread through the water. Li Shaolin had just enough mana for that attack. After using it, he could only watch helplessly as the Rogue struggled and floundered toward the riverbank.

Seeing that he was no match for them, the axeman appeared ready to imitate the Rogue and jump into the river. But Li Shaolin would not give him that chance. At his command, the three skeletons closed in and struck together. Three Bone Blades pierced straight through him. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he stared wide-eyed, clearly beyond saving.

After taking two deep breaths, Li Shaolin dropped onto the deck. That fierce battle had not only drained all his mana, but nearly all his strength as well. Now that it was over, every part of him felt sore and weak. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but if he did not deal with the escaped Rogue, there might be trouble later.

No one was steering the little boat, yet it continued moving forward. Some kind of mechanism beneath it seemed to be driving it. Goblin technology really was something else.

The Rogue had just barely reached the riverbank and was lying there, laughing loudly at Li Shaolin. Suddenly, a hissing sound came from behind him. A web shot out and pinned him in place, while a large green spider slowly crawled closer.

"Serves him right." Li Shaolin could not help sighing at the sight. This world truly was full of dangers, and one had to stay vigilant. Once he finished sighing, the Rogue's miserable screams rang out. A few cries later, everything fell silent.

He summoned the Clay Golem and had it absorb the Goblin's and the warrior's corpses. Immediately, an axe, a short sword, a bag, and a small Compass remained on the ground, along with several scattered red tube-shaped bombs.

He stored the items in Storage Space. Fortunately, he had a massive sixty-four-slot space, so he did not need to worry about fitting everything in. Opening the heavy little cloth bag, he found it filled with gold coins. A rough count put the number at over a hundred. It seemed the Dock Master had been making quite a profit.

The boat seemed locked onto a destination and continued onward by itself, requiring no steering from him. Fortunately, it was already deep into the night, so he did not need to worry about the Skeleton Warriors being spotted by the Mage Tower's surveillance.

Lying at the bow, he was filled with emotion. Ever since he had crossed into this world, he had been busy every day without a moment of peace. Now, he did not even know where he would drift to next.

Feeling a little cold, he took a cotton quilt from Storage Space and covered himself with it. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

When he woke, the sky was already bright.

The little boat had stopped beside what looked like an abandoned tiny dock, gently bobbing with the waves. The three skeletons still stood faithfully guard on the boat. Bathed in the morning sun, their white bones looked crystalline and handsome beyond compare.

"Oh no." Li Shaolin hurriedly climbed up, took out the Book of the Dead, and recalled the skeletons.

After looking around carefully, he realized that this no longer seemed to be within Elwynn Forest. The yellow earth exposed beneath the morning sun and the drooping willows along the river all marked it as entirely different from Elwynn Forest.

"This is...?" After steadying himself, he jumped off the boat, casually summoned the Clay Golem, and then took out the map given to him by the mage from Azshara's Tower. A careful look showed that he had gone beyond the map's boundaries, leaving him completely lost.

Feeling hungry, he took out bread and milk from Storage Space and ate and drank.

Once he was full, he considered things for a while before firing several Fangs to sink the boat. Better to destroy it than leave evidence for someone to find. Only after watching the boat gradually sink beneath the water did he head onward.

The yellow ground was covered in weeds, and as far as the eye could see, everything was full of life.

The farther Li Shaolin walked, the stranger it felt. This land was excellent, and it was flat as well. It was far better than the mountain-covered, ancient-tree-shrouded land of Elwynn Forest. So why had no one reclaimed and cultivated it? Was there some other reason?

As if to confirm his suspicion, the dead grass ahead rustled, and with a bark, a gray-and-white wild dog-like creature rushed out.

The creature howled at the sky when it saw him. In the next moment, two identical creatures appeared behind it, moving to surround him.

"This isn't a domesticated dog?" Thinking about it, that made sense. Such good land had been left barren, so there could not be any homes nearby. Without homes, naturally there would be no pet dogs.

He cast Detection and discovered that they were several Mountain Dogs.

Not daring to be careless, he quickly summoned three skeletons and cast Bone Shield as well. After a night of rest, his mana had fully recovered, and he could cast spells again.

The Clay Golem charged forward first, raising both fists and smashing down fiercely.

These Mountain Dogs were slightly smaller than the Forest Wolves Li Shaolin had seen before. Though there were three of them, Li Shaolin had three Skeleton Warriors as well. After a casual round of slashing, they were easily dealt with.

"Hehe, I wonder whether these pelts are worth anything." Li Shaolin took out the Skinning Knife he had bought in Goldshire and tried to skin them.

But he had never learned how properly. After working for ages, he only got blood everywhere without managing to remove the fur. Worse, fleas were hopping all over the Mountain Dogs. If a few got on him, he would itch himself to death.

"Forget it." After struggling for half the day, Li Shaolin had no choice but to give up.

He continued onward, and at last, a small wooden house came into view ahead.

In just half an hour along this route, he had already killed five or six groups of Mountain Dogs. It seemed this land was quite good at nourishing wild animals.

Only when he got closer did he realize it was hardly a wooden house at all. It was simply a shelter pieced together from a few wooden boards, barely enough to keep out the rain. A wooden wagon stood beside it, hitched to a white horse, two sheep, and a dairy cow.

Looking beyond the wooden house, he saw what seemed to be a large farm across from it. It was a sea of gold, and figures moved within it, though they were too far away to make out clearly.

He recalled the skeletons, leaving only the Clay Golem with him, then cautiously walked up and knocked on the door.

Creak. The door opened to reveal the face of a middle-aged farmer, filled with terror. However, after seeing Li Shaolin's clothing, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and opened the door to step outside.

"Young man, is there something you need help with?" the man asked.

"Yes, it's like this. I accidentally wandered here last night, and I don't know where I am. Sorry for the trouble, but could you tell me?" Li Shaolin did not dare mention the boat. It would be bad if the man knew anything.

"This is Jason's Farm in Westfall. Keep going that way, and not far ahead is the city wall at the border between Elwynn Forest and Westfall." The man pointed to the left. Sure enough, a massive wall could be vaguely seen in the distance.

"By the way, sir, I saw a farm over there. Is that Jason's Farm? I was planning to go over and rest for a while." Li Shaolin thought, So I ended up in Westfall. I have no intention of returning to Elwynn Forest, where that boring mage plays with surveillance every day.

The farmer waved his hands repeatedly in alarm. "Young man, this is your first time in Westfall, isn't it?"

Li Shaolin nodded, somewhat puzzled. What difference should it make whether it was his first time or his hundredth?

Seeming to understand his confusion, the man paused before saying, "Westfall's lands are full of wandering beasts and Gnolls. And Jason's Farm over there is controlled by members of the Defias Brotherhood."

"I see." Li Shaolin was still puzzled, so he asked, "This land looks pretty good, doesn't it? It's fertile and flat. Why doesn't the government drive away those beasts and Brotherhood members?"

"Don't mention the government." The man shook his head. "The residents here receive no support or aid from Stormwind City, and the garrison at Sentinel Hill is practically useless."

"Why?"

"Sigh, we're relatively better off because we're close to Westfall Fortress, which guards Elwynn Forest, so we're somewhat safe. But we still have to move every few days. Look, I'm repairing this wagon right now. Once it's fixed, we're leaving. As for the civilians living elsewhere, they live in constant fear every moment of every day. The soldiers here cannot even get paid." The man spoke with a bitter expression.

"If the soldiers aren't paid, why would they stay? Wouldn't they run away?" Li Shaolin found it unbelievable.

"Sigh, the people who remain were gathered by the knight captain. They have nowhere else to settle down and nowhere to go, so they can only organize themselves into a militia to fight the thieves and bandits here. Most of them are gathered at Sentinel Hill."

After learning so much from him, Li Shaolin thanked him repeatedly. Since the man was about to move away and would surely need money to settle down, Li Shaolin took out a gold coin as thanks.

"You are truly generous." The farmer was straightforward. He accepted the gold coin, then called into the house, "Forna, bring out my map."

Before long, a middle-aged farm woman came out holding a map.

The farmer handed the map to Li Shaolin. "This map shows all of Westfall. I hope it will help with your adventures. Oh, and if you happen to reach Fabron's Pumpkin Farm, there's a gold Pocket Watch in the chest in my room. Fina's father gave it to us when we got married. If you find it, it's yours. I just hope it doesn't fall into the hands of those thieves." The man looked full of regret.

After bidding farewell to the couple, Li Shaolin walked on while thinking that Westfall truly was far from peaceful.

Opening the map, he found that the Compass taken from the Goblin Overseer made it easy to determine his location. Looking at the direction he was in, he saw that a vast ocean was drawn behind Jason's Farm. Why not head to the seaside and explore? If I remember correctly, the coast should be full of Murlocs. Killing them might earn me some experience. Once I level up and learn a few more skills, I can go join up with other people.

No sooner thought than done. Seeing that he was far from the main road, he summoned the three skeletons and, together with the Clay Golem, headed toward the farm.

In no time, he reached the farm he had seen earlier.

A vast field of golden oats spread before him, and things wearing farmer hats and brown leather vests wandered among the crops.

As he got closer, he saw that sharp sickles were tied to their wrists, while woven bamboo frames were strapped to their backs, seemingly for harvesting oats. Yet they only wandered through the farm without doing anything else.

Li Shaolin found it strange, so he cast Detection.

A name lit up: Harvest Golem, level 10.

"This is high-tech." He was rather surprised. He had not expected this seemingly primitive world to possess automatic harvesting tools like this. It was truly hard to understand.

At that moment, the Harvest Golem seemed to notice their group. A burst of clanking chain noises sounded, and it charged over.

It raised the bright sickle in its hand high and swung it at the Clay Golem walking in front.

Slice! Mud chips flew everywhere.

The Clay Golem's heavy fist also struck the Harvest Golem, knocking it back several steps before it charged forward again.

The Skeleton General beside it seemed unable to hold back. With a swing of its white Bone Blade, it slashed down. Hiss! Hiss! A stream of black, motor-oil-like liquid sprayed out, instantly covering the Skeleton General. Its white bones became mottled in the blink of an eye.

As the oil spurted out, the Harvest Golem twitched twice before stopping in place.

He had the Clay Golem punch it once more to make sure it was truly dead, then went over to examine it.

Tearing open the leather vest covering it, he saw that it was full of mechanical gears. At its chest was a small leather pouch, with the black oil flowing out from it.

After staring at it for a long time, he still could not understand it and could only give up.

After moving through the area for a while, he encountered several more Harvest Golems. But now that Li Shaolin knew their weakness, dealing with them was easy. He simply had a Skeleton Warrior step forward and lightly stab the pouch containing black oil. Once the pouch burst, the golem was finished.

Ahead, a small wooden house appeared.

Should he go in? After all the trouble of the past half day, Li Shaolin was somewhat tired. Seeing a room, he naturally wanted to rest for a while. Besides, he had heard that all the nearby residents had fled, so there should be no one inside, right?

"Hehe, kid, you're new here, aren't you? Come on, pay the toll." A Defias member in a red mask jumped out from behind a haystack. But once he saw clearly, his expression changed drastically. Three skeletons were following behind Li Shaolin.

"Brotherhood members are all bad news." Li Shaolin could not help recalling what had happened before, and immediately ordered the Skeleton Warriors to surround him.

"Mom!" The man was cowardly as a rat and immediately ran away. But before he could take more than a few steps, two Bone Fangs shot into his back, followed closely by descending Bone Blades.

After everything he had experienced, Li Shaolin had become rather accepting of killing. In the end, it was simply kill or be killed. There was no other choice.

He had the Clay Golem absorb the corpse before stepping into the wooden house.

He gently pushed open the door, and the smell of medicinal herbs rushed toward him.

The shelves inside the house were filled with all kinds of bottles and jars, while a table to one side was piled with herbs and materials. Judging by the arrangement, this had previously been an alchemy room.

The fireplace was covered in dust, suggesting no one had come here for a long time. However, a pile of charcoal sat nearby, enough to burn for quite a while.

After taking a brief look around the wooden house, he found that it had all kinds of furniture and equipment, though naturally no food.

"Fine, I'll rest for a while first. At least I finally have somewhere to stay." Li Shaolin closed the door, ordered the Skeleton Warriors to stand guard, then cleared off a wooden stool and sat down to rest.