Prancing Pony Inn

After catching his breath, Li Wei casually picked up a grilled sausage from beside the campfire.

It was cooked just right.

After a few bites, his Health Bar was full again.

His broken bones fused back together in a way that defied science, his wounds rapidly healed, and the pallor gradually faded from his face.

20/20

Li Wei immediately felt his whole body relax.

Only then did he notice the newly unlocked title system.

At the moment, the title interface contained only one lonely entry: "Corpse Demon Slayer."

When Li Wei focused on it, he found an "Equip" option.

"After equipping a title, certain special beings and people with keen intuition can learn of your deeds simply by observing you. At the same time, your related deeds will spread more quickly."

"--This is irrefutable proof."

It seemed... it really was just a title, with no actual bonus.

Well, it was not bad either.

Without dwelling on it, Li Wei casually clicked Equip and looked at the Barrow-wight's remains beside him.

With the evil Wraiths clinging to it dispersed, it was nothing more than a twisted-looking mummy.

This had to count as an elite monster, right? Could it really not drop anything?

Next came the enjoyable part: looting the corpse.

Rustle.

The mummy was turned over.

By moonlight, he could see quite a few glittering items.

It was clear that this corpse had belonged to someone from a wealthy family in life. Its entire body was covered in burial jewelry and ornaments.

"Evil has been driven away. Rest in peace."

Muttering softly, Li Wei gathered the jewelry from the mummy without the slightest psychological burden and placed it in his inventory.

His first pot of gold in Middle-earth.

These jewels and ornaments looked to be of decent quality. They should be worth quite a bit.

He would leave them in his inventory for now, then set them out in the sunlight during the day to remove any possible curses.

This was a method mentioned in the original work, so it ought to be effective.

After putting away the jewelry, Li Wei looked at the ancient sword lying on the ground nearby.

The moment he picked it up, a line of text appeared:

[Ancient Tomb Old Sword · Attack +4]

There was no other description.

"You've got to be kidding. That's it?"

It was equipment dropped by an elite monster, so why did it have the same attack power as a wooden sword?

When the Barrow-wight had wielded it just now, its attack power had been far greater than 4. A slash from it had even inflicted Wither.

So cleansing it really weakened it by thirty percent, huh.

Li Wei could only chalk it up to the Barrow-wight itself possessing some kind of cursed power.

Though somewhat disappointed, it was still a genuine sword made of solid metal, so Li Wei put it into his inventory.

He had plenty of empty slots anyway. He could keep it as a souvenir.

All in all, the haul was not too bad.

After spending a little time packing everything up, Li Wei quickly extinguished the campfire and set off under the moonlight.

He could encounter a Barrow-wight right beside the road.

Clearly, this was not a place to linger.

But on second thought, perhaps the sound of him chopping down trees had been too loud, or perhaps his campfire had been too conspicuous and had happened to attract a Barrow-wight that was not too far away.

Whoosh—

A nimble figure raced down the road at incredible speed.

The sun rose and the moon set.

Only when the dawn glow filled the sky did Li Wei suddenly stop, climb a small hill in a few steps, and look into the distance.

At the end of the horizon stood a town.

Though he had never been there even once, its name immediately surfaced in Li Wei's mind:

Bree.

"Finally..."

Li Wei felt slightly excited.

He could finally see other humans.

But before that...

Li Wei jumped down from the hill, took out a pile of jewelry from his inventory, and placed it beneath the sun.

Before long, wisps of black vapor rose and evaporated from them.

The dull jewels regained their luster.

The curses upon them had been lifted.

Only after confirming that there was nothing else unusual did Li Wei put everything away and leave.

As the saying went, mountains looked close but took forever to reach.

It was not until what would normally be breakfast time that Li Wei arrived before a gate and was questioned by the guard.

This was Li Wei's first time seeing humans from this world.

"Who are you?"

"Just an ordinary adventurer."

"An adventurer?"

Through the small window in the town gate, a face looked Li Wei up and down suspiciously, lingering for several extra glances on his clothes.

"What strange clothes. Still, we do not turn away so-called adventurers here."

The window closed, and the guard left.

Li Wei was about to say something when, in the next moment, the gate suddenly opened.

"Come in, Mister Adventurer."

Li Wei nodded in acknowledgment.

He also glanced at the guard's head.

Twenty points of health, the same as him.

A pure human.

"Oh, right. Could you tell me where the Prancing Pony Inn is? I heard it is pretty good."

"Over there. Go straight." The guard pointed in a direction.

"Thank you."

He did not walk for very long, at least not compared to the distance Li Wei had traveled these past few days.

Soon, a building with a prominent sign appeared before him.

Carved into the wooden sign was a leaping horse—the "Prancing Pony."

The Prancing Pony Inn had been run by the Butterbur family for generations.

Business here seemed to have always been good. Even in the middle of the morning, quite a few people were gathered here.

Ignoring the assessing looks around him, Li Wei headed straight for the bar as soon as he entered.

"Hello, guest. What can I get for you?"

"I need a place to rest, and some food."

After saying that, he lowered his head and looked at his clothes again.

This outfit really stood out here.

"If possible, could you also prepare a set of clothes for me?"

The bartender hesitated and did not agree right away.

After all, running errands was not part of the inn's services.

Yet as he looked at this guest, whose clothing and mannerisms were somewhat unusual, he somehow felt that Li Wei had done something extraordinary.

After only a brief pause, the bartender answered carefully.

"It can be done, sir, but that depends on how much you are willing to pay. After all, this is outside our usual services..."

Clang.

An ancient-looking coin landed on the bar. Its crisp sound drew several gazes.

"Is this enough?"

The bartender gently picked up the old coin and examined it closely with wide eyes.

"...My apologies, sir, but I cannot determine its value. Please wait a moment while I call the proprietor."

Very soon, a middle-aged man hurried over.

He first glanced at Li Wei, then at the coin on the bar.

After that one look, he could not look away.

"Beautiful. Truly beautiful."

The proprietor murmured, "Though it is only a silver coin, it looks quite old, and this craftsmanship has likely been lost... Guest, are you sure you wish to give this to me?"

The material of the coin itself was not rare, but the meaning it carried, its age, and the history it represented made it valuable. Some people would pay a handsome price for it.

"Yes."

"Then very well."

The proprietor said, "The finest room, the most sumptuous food and wine, and clothes made from the best cloth in all of Bree—I guarantee that everything will be the very best."

"Please rest for a moment now. I will prepare these things."

After briefly measuring Li Wei's build and asking about his preferred style, the proprietor left.

Not long afterward, following instructions, the bartender brought over a large platter of roasted meat, stew, and other house specialties, along with some fresh fruit and a mug of Prancing Pony specialty beer with foam nearly spilling over the top.

After taking a small sip, Li Wei could clearly taste the fragrance of malt.

After stuffing himself, Li Wei's hunger bar directly recovered to its maximum of two full bars.

After chugging down the entire mug of beer in one go, he also gained a drunkenness buff that lasted several dozen seconds, which manifested as slight dizziness.

Taking advantage of the short-lived buff, Li Wei returned directly to his room, closed the door, and lay down on the unfamiliar yet soft bed.

Though as long as he had food, his body would not feel tired, and his mind had not suffered much strain either.

Still, out of a human habit of some sort, and because he had nothing else to do, Li Wei lay down and rested for a while.

Lying down was more comfortable than standing, after all.

He did not wait long before a light knock sounded at the door.

Li Wei immediately sprang upright.

"Who is it?"

"Excuse me, sir. I am the bartender. I have brought your clothes."

Click.

The door opened, and Li Wei took the clothes.

"Sir, try them on and see whether they fit. If you are dissatisfied, we can replace them with new ones."

With that, the bartender left.

Li Wei closed the door.

A moment later, he changed into the new outfit and looked down at himself.

Not bad. Aside from his somewhat delicate features and jet-black hair, he looked just like a local.

Authentic through and through.