Bree's Chance Encounter

Snow.

Normally, this was only seen high up in the Misty Mountains or on the great snowfields of the far north. Elsewhere, one could only wait for winter.

But snow had never shown much particular use, so Li Wei had never paid it much attention.

Still, while snow was useless, the ice that often came with it was far more useful.

Ice—or rather, the non-melting Blue Ice crafted from ice—was essential for building high-speed routes.

During his first winter in this world, Li Wei decided to stockpile some materials.

That day, after returning from his travels, Li Wei cleared the snow from outside the city gate and invited Gandalf in for a meal.

Then the old man hurried off at once without even staying the night.

"Thank you for the invitation, but if I don't leave now, I won't make it in time. I don't want the children calling me a liar."

"All right. I hope you have a pleasant New Year."

After seeing Gandalf off, the first thing Li Wei did was clear out the areas of his territory that saw frequent activity. Layer upon layer of thick snow looked beautiful, but it truly got in the way.

That one cleanup filled an entire chest with snow.

After being gone for several months, the animals were still the same. Though exposed to the heavy snow, none of them seemed abnormal. They were quite resistant to the cold.

As for the original animals—the cows, sheep, horses, and so on—they were now all lying in covered sheds with heaters. They lacked neither food nor water and lived very comfortably.

Compared with them, the farm looked rather miserable.

As the weather turned cold, all the water sources on the farm froze. When the water turned to ice, the nearby farmland dried up as well, and the crops growing there turned directly into seeds and fell to the ground.

After placing several blocks of Glowstone underwater to provide heat and prevent freezing, Li Wei planted the fields again.

"It's only a little snow. It won't flatten my lodging-resistant crops."

After simply dealing with the things in his territory affected by the heavy snow, night had arrived.

Looking at the dark, overcast sky, Li Wei suddenly remembered what Gandalf had said.

So that day, Li Wei unusually returned to his room and slept.

"Ha—comfortable."

When he woke up, Li Wei felt completely refreshed. Unlike the constant vigor he usually maintained, this felt as though his entire condition had been reset.

It was fundamentally different from the energy that came from merely being full.

"Back to work!"

He entered the warehouse, dug out a large pile of materials, marked out a vast area, and built an ice-harvesting field.

Nine ordinary ice blocks were needed to craft one non-melting packed ice block, while Blue Ice, needed to build high-speed ice roads, required another nine packed ice blocks.

The amount of ice needed to build a road was enormous.

This was a long-term gathering project.

Li Wei took out a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch and Mending, then began chiseling ice day and night.

Of course, after each harvest, the water needed time to freeze into ice again. Li Wei did not stand around waiting at the ice field during that time.

Instead, he used the gaps to work on building up his territory.

After shoveling snow once, Li Wei truly did not want to do it a second time. But the weather was beyond his control, and once it snowed again, the territory would surely be covered in white once more.

Fortunately, there were always ways to deal with such situations, such as placing torches or Glowstone.

These heat-emitting blocks could automatically melt falling snow, saving him the trouble of clearing it away.

Thus, on frequently traveled paths and along the territory's main roads, Li Wei used either Glowstone or torches to build one beautiful, warm streetlamp after another beside the road.

With streetlamps, there naturally had to be roads, so Li Wei picked up more materials and built roads along the paths of the lamps.

But roads and streetlamps alone were too plain, so more decorations appeared on either side of the roads: artificial landscape trees, little flowerbeds, stepped benches, fences and small ponds, as well as gentle streams and little wooden bridges.

As he built, Li Wei could not help recalling Rivendell's scenery and architectural style, unconsciously incorporating some of it into his work.

While Roadside Fortress's visual style continued to change, on the other side, Gandalf had just finished a grand fireworks show in the Shire. Surrounded by cheering children, his peaceful face creased into such a smile that his eyes nearly disappeared.

"Oh—okay, okay, good children. One last one, only one last one~"

Boom!

The fireworks burst in midair, lighting up the earth for an instant. Hobbits throughout the entire settlement cried out in amazement.

It was an incredibly pleasant night. Gandalf cheerfully set off fireworks to his heart's content, while the children spent the entire night excitedly recalling that sky full of fireworks, unable to sleep in their beds.

Perhaps even in their dreams, those fireworks would still bloom.

"Gandalf, will you come again next year?"

Early the next morning, the children crowded around the departing Gandalf and questioned him eagerly.

"Well, that, that's not certain. But I promise this won't be my last visit. Oh, I think it's time for me to go. Goodbye, children!"

Gandalf waved a hand and left.

"I have a feeling it would be better to go this way."

Gandalf set off on his journey once more, not knowing where it would lead.

People returned to their own paths and carried on with their lives as usual.

Nothing stirred the waters.

The days slipped by, one after another, before anyone noticed.

Lightning flashed.

Thunder rumbled.

A heavy rain heralded the arrival of spring.

March 15th, 2941 of the Third Age.

Bree.

Inside the Prancing Pony Inn, Gandalf abruptly turned his head and spotted a dwarf who looked somewhat downcast, yet possessed an extraordinary bearing.

That face looked familiar...

Thráin's son, Thorin?

The instant he saw the dwarf, Gandalf suddenly recalled the dwarf prisoner he had encountered in Dol Guldur nearly a century ago—a prisoner who had been tortured beyond recognition, his memories fragmented and incomplete.

That dwarf had entrusted him with a key and a map, asking him to deliver them to his son.

Yet Gandalf had never known who that dwarf prisoner was, much less who his son might be.

But the moment he saw Thorin, everything suddenly became clear.

The dwarf who had given him the key and map had been none other than Thráin II, Durin the Deathless!

And the dwarf before him was Thorin Oakenshield, who had inherited that title.

In that instant, Gandalf thought of many things.

At that moment, the down-and-out dwarven prince was focused on the food on his plate. Yet amid the noisy inn, several ill-intentioned gazes had fixed upon him.

Two thugs who had been waiting for some time slowly rose to their feet, closing in from either side.

They were informants bought by enemies from outside.

Thorin slowly set down his food, one hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Mind if I join you?"

A strangely reassuring voice suddenly rang out, breaking the tense standoff.

Thorin raised his head and saw an old man in a gray robe plop down across from him.

Seeing things develop in an unpredictable direction, the two thugs exchanged a glance and chose to retreat and watch for now.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey."

"I know you."

Clearly, Thorin had heard of this peculiar old man.

"Oh, that's good. What a coincidence today—tell me, what brings Thorin Oakenshield to Bree?"

"I heard someone saw my father wandering in the wilderness near the Brown Lands. I went looking, but found nothing."

"Thráin..."

Gandalf sighed.

The melody of fate began to play once more.

Thank you, My, Dearest, for the 1,000-point donation. Thanks as well to everyone for the recommendation votes and monthly votes. Thank you for your support!