Banquet

The expedition, of course, referred to the Quest of the Lonely Mountain.

Gandalf quickly told Li Wei about his encounter with Thorin in Bree, as well as his strategic concerns regarding the Lonely Mountain in the north, without caring whether Li Wei understood any of it.

Clearly, he regarded Li Wei entirely as one of his own, which was why he poured out everything all at once.

"Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin and heir to the title of Durin the Deathless, has gathered a company of Dwarves in the Blue Mountains and is heading this way. We agreed to meet at the burglar's home and travel together to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the Arkenstone."

"With the Arkenstone, Thorin can summon the Dwarven army, launch a final assault against the dragon, and retake Erebor."

"That plan sounds fairly good." Li Wei said only that much.

Yes, that had been the original plan for the Quest of the Lonely Mountain. But judging by how it had turned out in the end... it still had some flaws.

Gandalf nodded and continued, "I don't know whether you've heard, but in the halls of Erebor, the treasure hoarded by the dragon is piled as high as mountains—too much to count."

"If you are willing to join the expedition and help the Dwarves reclaim their homeland, one fifteenth of that treasure will be your reward."

From Gandalf's observations, Li Wei sometimes acted much like himself, able to fight for the Free Peoples and resist evil without condition or ulterior motive.

But that did not mean he had no needs. He had his own territory, and perhaps in the future, he would have many subjects as well.

So there still had to be a reward.

As for Gandalf himself—he had never counted himself in. Hindering the great enemy was the best reward he could ask for.

"I agree to join."

Only upon hearing those words did Gandalf finally breathe a sigh of relief, as though a great weight had fallen from his heart.

With a powerful force like Li Wei joining them, this expedition would be far more secure.

"Then it's settled."

Gandalf immediately finalized their plans, afraid that Li Wei might change his mind.

"On the evening of April twenty-fifth, we'll gather at Bag End in Hobbiton, Shire. Don't worry about getting lost—I'll leave a mark on the door."

"There'll be a party then."

"All right. I'll remember."

Seeing Gandalf with that look of "I've already discussed it with the people there," Li Wei could not help feeling a little sorry for Bilbo.

Yet even as he sympathized, he also found it a little funny. In a couple of days, his honest and well-behaved Hobbit friend was going to be in for some trouble.

Although Li Wei's slightly peculiar expression left Gandalf somewhat baffled, he promptly cast the minor oddity aside and set off directly for the Shire.

There were many Hobbits in the Shire... but Gandalf remembered one particularly adventurous Hobbit from the Took family. Though, counting the years, he could no longer call him a little fellow.

He would do.

While Gandalf was away, Li Wei sorted through his backpack, storing scattered building materials in the warehouse to free up space, then packed a pile of supplies and medicine.

Golden Apples, all kinds of emergency potions, Lembas, several stacks of food that would last a long time, hay blocks, armor, weapons, tools, arrows... along with various standard supplies and emergency items.

Before long, there were not many slots left in his backpack.

After preparing his travel supplies, making one final round through his territory, and waiting another two days, Li Wei finally set out on horseback.

Mainly because he was afraid his horse would run too fast. It would be rather awkward if he arrived ahead of Gandalf.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

One bright morning.

Hobbiton, Shire.

"Good morning."

Holding a pipe, Bilbo greeted the strange old man standing before him.

"What do you mean?" The strange old man looked Bilbo over and said, "Do you mean that you hope I have a good morning, or that no matter how I am, it is a good morning—or perhaps that you are feeling especially good this morning?"

"Or do you simply mean that it is good to have a morning like this at all?"

"All of those, I suppose."

Bilbo felt that the old man was becoming stranger and stranger.

He had suddenly appeared at Bilbo's doorstep to disturb his peaceful morning, then started picking at his words with these language games.

I hope he doesn't want anything, Bilbo thought.

"I am looking for someone to join an adventure..."

An adventure?

Bilbo blinked twice.

The sort of thing Li Wei mentioned? Oh, that does sound interesting. This old man likes adventures too.

But it certainly had nothing to do with him.

"As far as I can see, there's no one west of Bree who likes adventures. You've come to the wrong place."

"Still, I do have a friend who is an excellent cook and really likes adventures, though it definitely isn't me. I can ask him for you next time I see him. Yes, that's that."

"Good morning." Bilbo said farewell once more, intending to hurry back inside and avoid the strange old man.

That was, until Gandalf started claiming to be family.

"You know me. It's just that the name in your head doesn't match up with me."

"I'm Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins. You've changed—changed a lot. You weren't like this when you were little..."

"Mm... then it's settled."

Gandalf nodded, not caring whether Bilbo agreed or not. In any case, he had agreed on Bilbo's behalf.

Clang.

After a brief struggle, Gandalf was successfully shut outside. Bilbo locked the door from within, determined to keep that strange old man from pestering him any further.

Szzzt—

Bilbo heard some unusual sounds.

At that moment, Gandalf's staff turned into a laser pen and carved a symbol resembling the letter F onto the door.

Bilbo's peace lasted only through the day.

That evening, Bilbo had just finished frying a fish and was about to enjoy it when a knock suddenly came at the door.

"Dwalin, at your service."

"Ah... yes, Bilbo Baggins, at your service."

Bilbo hurriedly straightened himself up and returned the bow.

Before long, Dwalin began helping himself to the dinner Bilbo had prepared for himself.

"Um, it's just that I didn't expect anyone to come today..."

Ding-dong—

"I suppose that's the doorbell."

"Balin, at your service."

A moment later.

"Fili, Kili, at your service."

"You must be Mr. Baggins."

"No, you've got the wrong place!" Bilbo gradually began to realize something was wrong.

"That's my mother's dowry chest. Could you please not do that!"

The chest still failed to escape the fate of having shoe soles scraped against it.

"Mr. Baggins, I must say, you have excellent taste. This sword was made by our people. The craftsmanship is exquisite, and it's worth a fortune."

Shing—

The sword was drawn and swung twice, frightening Bilbo into backing away again and again.

"Hey—don't touch that! Li Wei gave it to me. Put it back!"

"Li Wei? That name sounds familiar."

Ding-dong—

The doorbell interrupted the conversation. Slightly irritated, Bilbo opened the door.

Then a whole mass of dwarves flooded in, leaving him too stunned to stay angry.

When he looked up again, he saw an old man bent over and peering into the house.

"Gandalf."

And so a lively feast began at Bag End. Watching the food in his pantry get eaten away bit by bit, Bilbo was so angry he felt dizzy.

To make matters worse, the dwarves even improvised a song on the spot to tease him, leaving him even more suffocated.

"One person still hasn't arrived—our leader..." one of the dwarves suddenly remembered.

"No, two. He hasn't arrived either," Gandalf added, unable to stop glancing out the window.

He'll come, won't he?

The cheerful dinner continued until the doorbell rang once more.

Thorin.

"Gandalf... you said this place was easy to find."

Dwarves, a Hobbit, and a wizard soon gathered around the table to discuss the expedition. Though Gandalf still wanted to wait for Li Wei, the atmosphere had reached this point, and he had no choice but to join the discussion.

Fortunately, before long, the doorbell rang again.

Ding-dong—

Everyone looked toward the door, then at Bilbo, signaling for him to open it.

Gandalf quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, all right. Let's hope it isn't another strange fellow this time."

Creak.

A figure clad in black armor, wearing a tattered Linen Cloak soaked in some creature's blood and carrying a faint scent of gore, slowly stepped through the door.

The moment he entered, the light in the room seemed to dim, as though it had all been swallowed by his armor.

This man was dangerous!!

Clatter—

Some of the Dwarves grabbed stools, some reached for their weapons, some who had nothing else to take pulled dinner forks from nearby drawers, while others stepped forward and reached out, intending to drag Bilbo back.

In an instant, everyone entered a state of combat readiness.

Unlike the Dwarves, however, Bilbo looked delighted.

"Li Wei!"

He spread his arms, a smile blooming across his face for the first time that night.

"Oh—this is truly the happiest thing to happen today. Welcome, welcome! Haha, I really didn't expect you to visit today. As you can see..."

Bilbo turned around, intending to introduce the Dwarves and Gandalf, only to be startled by what he saw behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Thanks to Fellow Daoists on the Mountain of Books for the 1,000-coin donation, and thanks to everyone who voted. Thank you for your support!

P.S. Sorry, I just thought it might be better to release the two chapters together. If that doesn't work for you, I'll post them earlier next time.

As for why I'm not developing the residents early on, which some readers have asked about:

There was still too little time before the Expedition to Lonely Mountain. If I started developing the residents now while also trying to catch up with the expedition, the territory's development would enter a period of stagnation and lack of leadership during the expedition, creating a rather severe sense of disconnection.

Also, after the Expedition to Lonely Mountain, Li Wei would have greater prestige and influence, and he would also befriend many forces from the free factions. That would greatly help with the territory's development.

Everything that should be there will be there. The territory's development definitely won't suffer, so there's no need to worry.