Lin Yu was dead

Lin Yu's injury caused little stir. Years of war against the Trolls had not only taught the high elves to face death calmly, but had also hardened their nerves considerably. Besides, this camp served as a rear base for the front lines, and plenty of wounded soldiers came here to recover.

Lin Yu was no important figure, merely a lowly company commander. Naturally, his injury would not cause much of a stir. What was strange, however, was that Sylvanas had ordered the camp placed under heavy guard, as though a formidable enemy were approaching. Lor'themar noticed this when he returned to camp two days later with the memory crystal.

Upon receiving the memory crystal, Sylvanas went straight into her room without a word and spent quite some time inside before coming out. She handed the crystal back to Lor'themar and told him to store it in the safest place in Silvermoon City. If she suddenly died one day, he was to take the crystal to the council and play its contents.

Seeing how deadly serious she was, Lor'themar took the memory crystal without hesitation, borrowed four Dragonhawk Riders from Tranquillien as escorts, and flew back to Silvermoon City again. This time, it took him four days to return. He did not ask Sylvanas what was going on, and she did not ask him why he had taken so long.

Six days had passed, and Lin Yu still had not awakened or spoken a single word. Yet the apothecaries and healers unanimously agreed that his physical injuries had healed and the poison had been completely cleared. If he still did not wake up today, it meant he did not wish to return to this world, and he might never awaken again.

Who was Lin Yu? Why did he know so many things no mortal should know? Why had he attempted suicide? Who had driven him to it? Sylvanas had conducted an investigation over the past few days, even using the Windrunner family's resources to carry out a thorough inquiry. Yet the information she obtained only left her baffled.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk was merely a minor baron of the Kingdom of Salas, and even that title had been earned by his father on the battlefield. His father had fallen in battle several years earlier, but his distinguished service had prompted the king to make an exception and grant him a barony.

Baron was a noble rank only one step above knight, so it was a very minor title. Calling him a newly risen minor noble was hardly unfair. No wonder the soldiers assigned to him were all recruits, without even a single mage among them.

Unlike his father, however, Yu Lin Bloodhawk possessed considerable magical talent, as did Lin Xueying. His father had originally hoped he would study magic at the Magic Academy and become an arcane mage, but he had wanted to become a Ranger like his father instead. For a time, their relationship had been strained over this, and he had even run away from home, wandering the Human Kingdom for more than ten years. Only after hearing of his father's death in battle had he hurried back, eventually crying himself unconscious before his father's grave.

His mother had died giving birth to him. Thus, he was both an orphan and an only child. According to the military records, Yu Lin Bloodhawk could only be considered a capable Ranger, not an exceptionally outstanding one. Sylvanas believed that, if not for their chance encounter, she might never have paid attention to such an ordinary minor noble in her entire life, let alone carried him back herself for treatment or sat beside his sickbed as she was doing now, hoping he would wake up.

Lin Yu finally awakened toward evening. The first thing he saw was Sylvanas sitting beside him, her face heavy with worry. He immediately recalled the startled cry he had faintly heard behind him when he jumped off the cliff. With a bitter smile, he asked, "Why did you save me?"

"Why did you try to kill yourself?" Sylvanas asked. "The mages said your soul didn't want to return to this world. Why didn't you want to come back?" She had even more questions for him than he had for her.

"How many days was I asleep?" Lin Yu was in no mood to answer her questions. What mattered most to him now was how many days had passed.

"Six days!" Sylvanas said.

"Six days... then it's been eight days altogether. Heh, heh!" Lin Yu suddenly laughed miserably. "Yu Lin Bloodhawk lived, and Lin Yu died! Nothing can be done. He's dead! I can't go back! Heh, heh!" His laughter was utterly desolate.

"Who is Lin Yu? Why did he die? Did you try to kill yourself for him?" Sylvanas asked.

"Who is Lin Yu? Why did he have to die? Why wasn't it Yu Lin Bloodhawk who died? Why was it Lin Yu? Why?" Lin Yu's heart ached with grief. The one who should have died had survived, while the one who should not have died was dead.

"What on earth are you babbling about?" Sylvanas frowned.

Lin Yu did not answer. He closed his eyes. He needed to think carefully about what to do next. This world was too dangerous, and far too many people wanted to destroy it. How was he supposed to survive? The Lin Yu outside had gone eight days and nights without food or water and was probably already dead. He could no longer return. He had become an NPC too, so now he could not die, nor did he dare to.

"If you died, would that Lin Yu be able to live?" Seeing that he remained silent, Sylvanas suddenly asked.

"Yes! If Lin Yu dies, Yu Lin Bloodhawk lives. If Yu Lin Bloodhawk dies, Lin Yu lives!" Lin Yu cried.

"I don't care whether that Lin Yu lives or dies! I only want you alive," Sylvanas said coldly. "The high elves need you alive, and you must live for the high elves."

"What does it matter to you whether I live or die? I wanted to die. That was my choice! You don't know anything, so why did you have to meddle? You were hurting me, not saving me!" Lin Yu roared angrily. How could he not be angry? Who could possibly understand his anguish now?

"Is that Lin Yu really so important? More important than the high elves? More important than Quel'Thalas?" Sylvanas roared in anger too. "Quel'Thalas faces destruction, and you can remain unmoved? You can simply ignore it? Are you even a noble of the kingdom? A baron of the kingdom?"

Sylvanas could not understand it. She had saved him and spent six days worrying over his injuries. Six whole days of caring for him so attentively, only to be repaid with this angry abuse. She felt wronged, but she would not grieve, much less shed tears. She would only grow angry.

"My queen, you need to get one thing straight! I'm only here to play an insignificant passerby, a bystander, a nobody you can completely ignore. Changing the world and saving it aren't jobs for small fry like me. They're for Your Majesty, Granny Tyrande, Miss Jaina, and all those kings, great and small-those important, formidable people! Instead of wasting time, why don't you build connections and prepare for war and famine for your people? What good does it do to keep clinging to a passerby like me?" Lin Yu shouted, feeling even more wronged.

"You're a nobody?" Sylvanas sneered repeatedly. "If you're a nobody, then this world has far too few nobodies. If everything you said is true, tell me-which of those things you mentioned is something a nobody should know?"

"I told you everything, both what you should know and what you shouldn't. What more do you want? I really fucking regret telling you so much!" Lin

Yu truly regretted it.

Only when you personally found yourself in Azeroth would you realize how wonderful your original world had been. This really was no world for anyone to live in. Whenever you had some free time, you discovered there was nothing to do for fun. At night in particular, you could be bored to death.

Besides, there were far too many maniacs in this world. Once the Dark Portal opened, endless disasters would begin. Worse still, he was now a high elf, a member of the most ill-fated race of all. He figured there was a hundred percent chance he would become one of the Wretched as soon as his arcane addiction struck. He could not even quit smoking, so he hardly had much confidence in his own willpower.

And this damned world was one where even the dead could not rest properly. That ought to tell you just how rotten your luck had to be to end up here.

"I know you regret it now, but let me tell you, regret won't do you any good." Sylvanas suddenly stood up. "What you need now is to calm down, not argue with me." She turned and walked out, then suddenly looked back and said coldly, "You are not to leave this room without permission."

"Why?" Lin Yu shouted. He had had enough of Sylvanas's coldness.

"Because that's an order!" With that, Sylvanas left without hesitation.

Lor'themar followed behind Sylvanas in bewilderment, vaguely sensing that she and Lin Yu must share some secret-and that it was no small matter.

Sylvanas and Lor'themar returned to her office.

Sylvanas sat in her seat without speaking. Clearly, she was in a poor mood.

Lor'themar also sat quietly in a chair, not daring to speak.

Suddenly, Sylvanas asked, "Lor'themar, do you know any way to sever the high elves' connection to the Sunwell?"

"Sever their connection to the Sunwell?" Lor'themar shook his head to indicate that he did not know, but then added, "Perhaps the Arcanists at Falthrien Academy would know."

"I see." Sylvanas nodded, then asked, "What do you think of the alliance between Quel'Thalas and the human nations?"

Lor'themar thought Sylvanas was speaking very strangely today. She jumped between topics so quickly that it was almost dizzying. Still, he decided to answer his superior's question seriously. "The agreement between Quel'Thalas and the humans was established during the Troll Wars many years ago, founded on mutual trust and assistance. Its main purpose is to guard against another Troll resurgence, and that mutual support benefits both sides."