Volume 7: Doing Business with the World Chapter 218 Descendants of the Lich King
The master and his disciple were still squatting on the southeast side of the square, where the farmers and farm women did odd jobs.
But it was different from the calm and relaxed days of the past... The master and disciple now had red eyes and dark circles under their eyes as if they were competing with each other. They stared in a daze at Xiaohua who was surrounded by a large number of people and could not get away.
"Teacher, the snow wolf is leaving." The young man murmured.
The middle-aged man said nothing.
"Teacher, they are really leaving! The war ball players are taking to the streets to say goodbye to the people and are making reservations for next year!" the young man raised his voice.
The middle-aged man looked at his disciple with disdain and took small steps to distance himself from her.
Young man: “…”
Wiping his face, the young man endured the pain in his balls and said, "Now that they have returned to the grassland, it will be difficult for us to find them again, right? Or do you really like to stay in the Knight Territory and do odd jobs for a few years before considering other things?"
The middle-aged man still ignored his disciple, patted his butt, stood up and walked out of the crowd.
"Hey, wait for me! Teacher, what are you thinking about? Can't you just tell me?" The young man hurriedly caught up.
"Stay away from me, your stupidity is disturbing me." The middle-aged man scolded.
"……teacher!"
Xiao Yun led the snake and cat tribes who had worked hard for half a year back to the Knight's Mansion to settle down. He also seized the last moment to go to the hotel to educate his two disciples, mainly Laura - the little girl's personality was gradually taking shape, and she showed certain signs of extremism, so Xiao Yun had to pull her back.
It’s not that Xiao Yun doesn’t like stubborn people, but there are really not many people in this world who are qualified to be stubborn... Appropriate and smooth compromise is absolutely necessary, no matter which world or identity.
After catching Laura muttering until the little girl was dizzy and listless, Xiao Yun returned to the Knight's Mansion to spend the night.
The Knights' Territory was much quieter at midnight than during the day. The only sounds one could hear were the wind and the chirping of insects.
Xiao Yun, accompanied by Isaac and the knight brothers, walked through the deserted streets. Suddenly he remembered something and turned to look towards the sea.
The sea cannot be seen from the Knights' Territory, and the fishy smell that can be smelled comes from the seafood stored in a certain shop's warehouse.
"Teacher?" Isaac took a step forward curiously and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Yun.
"...Nothing." Xiao Yun shook his head and continued walking forward.
He suddenly thought of his relatives and friends on Earth, especially his sister with a special personality.
Before Xiao Yun traveled through time, his elder sister's dream was to go to Sanya for vacation when she had money, to enjoy the sun, the beach, and the wonderful life of being able to do whatever she wanted...but Xiao Yun knew that his elder sister was just talking.
The Xiao siblings are all homebodies. Xiao Yun at least goes to visit scenic spots in the province, attend comic conventions, listen to concerts, and go on business trips. The elder sister basically does not leave the administrative city. Every spring, asking her to go to appreciate the ten-mile azaleas that go back and forth on the same day is like asking her to die.
"I am also a man who is forced to run around because of life!" Xiao Yun sighed inwardly...
For the sake of the tribe, I ran all over the grassland, ran to Valentine, ran to St. Bridge, and ran to the underground world. How could it be easy for me?!
If he could avoid leaving the house, Xiao Yun would definitely not be willing to go out.
But when the time comes that he really has to go out, Xiao Yun won't be so pretentious as to make a fuss... Don't be willful when you don't have the power to do so. A mature person in society should have some sense.
Isaac looked at the teacher strangely, who suddenly became depressed and then quickly recovered. He was very puzzled... Anyway, he couldn't guess the teacher had pinched his nose and forced himself to bear it before taking the boat to Valentine.
Among the four disciples, only Carlisle vaguely knew that Xiao Yun had this problem...
The group walked to the vicinity of the Knight's House. The knight brothers said goodbye first, and Isaac went forward with a torch to open the door. Just as he opened the door, he saw a ball of white light rushing out from the door and hitting Isaac hard.
"Poof!" Isaac was caught off guard and was knocked back by the statue.
"Oh my!" Xiao Yun's face changed slightly, and he quickly moved aside, watching with a look of relief as Isaac was knocked several meters away, knocking down the wooden barrels piled on the open space, and falling into a pile with a bang.
"Ayun~~" Ruhua rushed out with her tongue wagging, without any guilt for bumping into anyone. She threw Xiao Yun to the ground with great enthusiasm, and licked Xiao Yun's face desperately with her big tongue.
"Fuck Ruhua, stop, stop, stop!" Xiao Yun didn't fall, but his face was covered with saliva, and his face turned green instantly.
“Woo woo…”
Ruhua took a step back, sat back, lowered her head, and kept glancing at Xiao Yun with a wronged look in her eyes.
"It's no use acting cute! It's no use waiting for me! Look at how wild you have become. If I leave you wandering around outside for a few more years, can you still save you?" Xiao Yun got up unhappily. "Isaac has taken so much care of you, and look at what you have done to him?"
Ruhua quickly ran towards Isaac and licked his face with her tongue...
Isaac had no temper at all, but he would not speak for Ruhua. He rubbed his buttocks in pain and said, "It's no use begging me, Ruhua. If Qingcao Ayun doesn't agree, who would dare to keep you here...hiss, it hurts so much~"
Ruhua, who was trying her best to show her courtesy, froze for a moment, and turned to look at Xiao Yun, her eyes full of resentment and grievance...
Xiao Yun ignored her and glared at Isaac: "You deserve it. You've only been with her for half a year and you've already given her so many bad habits."
"..." Isaac also felt resentful.
Xiao Yun brushed the dust off his butt, angrily withdrew his gaze and was about to go into the house.
Just as he was about to turn his head, Xiao Yun suddenly turned his face back and looked behind Isaac with horror.
“?!”
Isaac's mind suddenly flooded with many Fire Tribe-style bedtime ghost stories. He immediately flew forward, picked up the torch that had fallen to the ground, rolled up gracefully, and stretched the torch behind him.
There is nothing.
Isaac was a little confused, but he also knew that the teacher was not the kind of person who would make jokes or scare people, so he slowly retreated in front of Ruhua to block her.
Xiao Yun frowned and walked down the stairs, looking around. The night had no effect on the vision of the snow wolf, only the unstable firelight had an effect. He seemed to see a fleeting figure, but the time was too short and not clear. Sniffing, Xiao Yun asked uncertainly: "Ruhua, do you smell any strangers?"
Ruhua raised her head, sniffed around, and looked at Xiao Yun innocently.
"You didn't smell it either?" Xiao Yun looked around again in confusion, "Forget it, maybe I'm dazzled."
Isaac nodded, grabbed Ruhua's neck hair and pushed Ruhua into the door first, then waited for Xiao Yun to follow in, then walked up the steps and backed into the door.
With a creaky sound, the heavy door of the knight's mansion closed, the fire disappeared, and the open space outside the house was submerged in darkness again.
About a few minutes later, one of the empty barrels that Isaac had knocked over suddenly rolled slightly.
“Ouch——!!”
The window next to the door was suddenly opened, and Ruhua jumped out nimbly and threw herself on top of the rolling wooden barrel.
Strange spatial ripples appeared around the wooden barrel that was originally empty, and a young man was thrown to the ground by Ruhua in a panic, letting out a scream...
There was another "creaking" sound, the door opened, Xiao Yun walked out expressionlessly, followed closely by Isaac.
The boy who was knocked down: "..."
The middle-aged man, half of his body still pressed under the collapsed barrel: "..."
Xiao Yun stared at the two for a few seconds, then turned to Isaac and asked, "Who is this?"
Isaac scratched his head and said, "I haven't seen it."
The master and disciple appeared in a panic: "..."
Xiao Yun continued to stare at the two strangers, frowning slightly.
He has also come into contact with many strong men from various races. Basically, the fictional characters in comics who have slender hands and feet and great strength do not exist - the combat effectiveness of the green dragon father and son would be greatly reduced when they turn into humans. The forest elves, who are slightly more slender than the snow elves and dark elves, have individual combat effectiveness slightly weaker than those elves.
The hands and feet of the forest elf warrior only look slender, but they are still solid and fleshy even when they take off their clothes.
Primo, the legendary traveler who is already old, is as strong as a young man.
Even Isaac's good friend Alex only looks thin...his neck and wrists and other visible parts are much thicker than those of ordinary men.
As for these two strange men who seemed to have secret walker-type abilities, to be honest, Xiao Yun didn't look like they had practiced them before - the middle-aged man's dizzy look from being crushed by the collapsed barrel couldn't deceive anyone.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yun asked tentatively: "You two... spellcasters?"
Apart from the Walkers, only spellcasters have the ability to hide their whereabouts so that even the Snow Wolves cannot detect them.
The young man was about to speak, but Xiao Yun asked uncertainly: "A spellcaster is here to assassinate you? Seriously?"
The attack skills of spellcasters determine that they can't sneak up on people like walkers. Throwing a small fireball makes a lot of noise.
Young man: “…”
This guy looked at the teacher with great anger and sorrow, how can I explain you? !
The middle-aged man looked indifferent.
After staring at Xiao Yun coldly for a few seconds, the man twitched his lips and said in a hoarse voice, "No."
"Hmm?" Xiao Yun raised his eyebrows and waited patiently for explanation.
The middle-aged man said expressionlessly: "Help, my legs seem to have been broken by Knight Robins."
Xiao Yun: “…”
Isaac: “???”
...Wait a moment.
In the living room of the Knight's Mansion.
Edward, who was called up, checked the middle-aged man's right leg with his hand and wiped his hand with a towel: "It's not a big problem, it's just a fracture. Apply some healing potion and it will be healed in a few days." He stood up and looked at Isaac in surprise, "Who is this?"
"How should I know?" Isaac was puzzled.
"Get him some medicine." Xiao Yun twisted his lips towards Isaac, moved a chair and sat in front of the master and disciple who were being stared at by Yu Hu, and smiled, "Since you two are not here to assassinate Isaac or me, then may I ask what is the matter that makes you follow us in the middle of the night?"
The young man moved his mouth, but held back and turned to look at the teacher.
The middle-aged man still had no expression on his face, but judging by the frequency of his eyelids blinking, he was not at peace inside...
Xiao Yun thought about it, took the healing potion from Isaac and handed it to the young man, and signaled with his eyes to Isaac and Edward to take Ruhua out.
The reason for their patience towards suspected dangerous elements is nothing more than their identities as spellcasters - judging from their "migrant workers'" attire and relatively large hands and feet, they are not so unsophisticated spellcasters.
In short... you want to leave after you've caught Xiao Yun's eye?!
Only the master and his apprentice, Xiao Yun and Yu were left in the room, and Xiao Yun gave the middle-aged man a knowing smile. They were all thousand-year-old foxes, so there was no need to talk about Liao Zhai. If there was anything to say, there would be no need to say it later.
The middle-aged man's face twitched. To be honest, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that such a young orc, who looked no more than twenty years old, could develop the temperament of an old fox that could not be cultivated without decades of experience.
"It's very intrusive of you to visit me so late at night." The middle-aged man calmed himself down, raised his hand to his chest, bowed slightly, and performed a mage's salute in a slightly awkward sitting position. "My name is Alman J., and this is my disciple Adam J. My master and I have admired the sage Ayun for a long time, so we specially came to visit him."
"J?" Xiao Yun was stunned.
In this world, surnames cannot be used casually. There is no reason to borrow the name of a famous person just because he or she is great. It’s okay if you haven’t made any progress, but if you are well-known, you will be held accountable.
The person Xiao Yun knew the most about the spellcaster system... needless to say, it must be the one who chose the grassland as the burial place. When he heard the last name "J", Xiao Yun almost instantly thought of that person.
"Which 'J', the 'J' of Melville J. Bancroft?"
The middle-aged man who called himself Alman J. said calmly, "That's right."
Xiao Yun's expression immediately became subtle...
After the Lich King fell, or rather, he closed himself off in sleep, his disciples did not follow him to seek death.
This group of disciples inherited the middle name "J" and the ideals of the Lich King. They were called "The Condemned" and were wanted by the royal families of the human kingdoms. They had to split up and hide their identities - this was what Mr. Sean introduced.
Over the past five hundred years, many forces on the continent of Bloomfield have directly or indirectly assisted and protected the Condemned... such as the Dwarf Kingdom, the Bards Guild (Elves), and the Spellcasters Guild.
It's harmless to just disgust the human royal family.
The Condemners would occasionally appear to make their presence felt and cause some trouble for the royal families of the human race - but that was just enough to cause some trouble.
"I see." Xiao Yun nodded and smiled. "Although we, the Snow Wolf Tribe, have not been involved in worldly affairs for two hundred years, we also know the rules of this continent. Since the direct descendants of the Lich King have come to us, we should show our appreciation. If you need anything, please speak up. We will not shirk our responsibility within our capacity."
Master and disciple: "..."
We are not here to ask for help!
Alman J had to explain: "We, the master and the disciple, did not come here to seek help."
"Oh..." Xiao Yun thought for a moment and pretended to be surprised. "So you are here for my disciple Knight Robbins?" His tone turned serious. "Although I am an orc, I can understand the philosophy that J's descendants have been adhering to for five hundred years. It's just that I don't want my disciples to be involved in the internal fighting of the human race. I hope you two can understand... We, the Snow Wolf Clan, are a peace-loving race. We don't want the people around us to bleed because of war."
The corners of Alman's mouth twitched wildly - wait a minute!
Anyone can say they love peace, but you don’t!
"I think we should be more honest with each other, Sage Ayun." Alman suppressed his strong pain in his balls and smiled confidently, "First of all, we are here because of you. Secondly, I think we both know who is the person who has been quietly adding fuel to the fight between the Dwarf King and the Dark Elves in the past few years."
Xiao Yun's eyes lit up... This product is genuine! Not a fake!
He knows best how many tricks and how despicable he is. Those who are ignorant want to see through his tricks, but it is impossible!
Xiao Yun was very pleased when he saw this old man who came to his door. He didn't even plan to let the fake one go (after all, he was a spellcaster), so it was even more impossible for him to let the real one go.
Of course, Xiao Yun would never admit what Alman said, and he slapped his thigh openly: "Needless to say, he is the Beast King!"
100 points for being righteous and confident!
Alman choked.
"Excuse me, but your disciple Carlisle's actions in the south are not very peaceful." Alman said with a smile.
Having a quick reaction is nothing. Being able to adjust your mood quickly and be able to laugh is a real skill.
Xiao Yun smiled more cordially than him: "This is a huge misunderstanding. Carlisle fights for peace. The purpose of the struggle is to seek peace. This is completely different from 'J's' style."
Not to mention Alman, even the young man Adam could tell that Xiao Yun's words were not polite, and looked at him in surprise.
Alman's expression remained unchanged: "Sage Ayun seems to have a different opinion? I would like to hear the details."
"I can't say we have an opinion. We, the Snow Wolf Tribe, can understand J's philosophy, but we just don't agree with it." Xiao Yun said calmly, "The death of the Lich King is a pity. His descendants insist on pursuing his philosophy, which should be comforting... But, five hundred years have passed, and the world has changed. The ideals that originated from the Lich King have not made any progress. This is really regrettable."
The young man Adam stood up suddenly and was held back by Alman.
Xiao Yun spread his hands and said, "There is no need to say anything else. After five hundred years of persistence, have you ever achieved anything that is even remotely worthy of being mentioned? You have interfered with the royal family's reforms, spread your ideas in vain to people who cannot possibly accept your ideas, and then retreated into silence after being disappointed. The Lich King at least destroyed the human empire, but what have you done?"
"Don't tell me it's normal for a disciple to be not as good as his teacher. If all intelligent races used this to deceive themselves and stick to their old ways, we would still be eating raw meat and drinking blood."
The young man Adam's expression suddenly changed, and Alman's originally calm expression began to stiffen.
Xiao Yun calmly drank his tea, giving them time to slowly experience it...
The so-called "J", the Condemned, to put it bluntly, is a human revolutionary who continues the spirit of resistance against the Lich King.
The Lich King, who fought against the old human empire to save the conscripted civilians and led to the destruction of the old empire, no, the black magician Melville J. Bancroft, was a great magician who truly sympathized with the poor human civilians at the bottom. Even though he was jointly smeared by the royal families of the human countries, any human spellcaster who was strong enough and qualified to understand the real historical documents would be proud of him.
The Lich King's failure was partly due to the fact that the feudal ruling power and reactionary forces in this magical world were too powerful; and partly due to the fact that alien races joined forces to strangle him, a human demigod.
His descendants continued his spirit, learned from his failure, and tried to take the path of upper-level reform to change human society... This policy cannot be said to be wrong. After all, among the ancient Chinese reformers, Shang Yang, Wang Anshi, Zhang Juzheng, Tan Sitong and other reformers, whether successful or unsuccessful, at least their approaches were the best choices under the historical context of the time, and these figures are worthy of mourning and respect from future generations.
This is also where Xiao Yun criticized. These descendants of J, let alone reaching the level of Shang Yang, Wang Anshi and others, have not even made a splash...
Why don't you just find a poor earl like Laura to cultivate influence? !
If you have high aspirations and a long-term vision, but you stumble after taking one step, what a mess! !
Master and disciple Alman were silent for a long time. Judging from their expressions, they were not unaware of where their problems lay...but due to the limitations of the times and the difficulties in their thinking, they could not break that invisible "shell".
Xiao Yun waited for about five minutes. Seeing that beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads, but they were unable to speak, he knew that this was almost the limit for these two local human revolutionaries. So he smiled and spoke up to save the master and disciple's dignity:
"I apologize for my presumptuous remarks. As an orc, I don't know much about humans. Please take my previous words as my personal opinion. Mr. Alman specially came to visit at night. I believe you have something important to say. Please let me know."
Alman J's lips moved, and he shook his head with a wry smile, "I should be the one to apologize, Mr. Ayun. To be honest, my apprentice and I have been staying at Knight Robbins' place for a long time. The reason why we are bothering you now is all because of my blind arrogance..." He sat up straight with his hands on the sofa, and bowed slightly to Xiao Yun again, "In front of a wise man like you, my arrogance is really too laughable."
Yu, who was standing next to him, looked at Alman in surprise, then at Xiao Yun. What happened? Why did this human who looked difficult to deal with suddenly bow his head? !
"That's too modest, Mr. Alman." Xiao Yun said kindly, "As the saying goes, even the wisest man can make mistakes. Who can guarantee that they will never make mistakes? Mr. Alman must have something to teach me. If you don't mind my previous rashness, please tell me."
Xiao Yun will definitely keep these people and use them, but he needs to find out more about them before using them...
Alman laughed at himself. "I wanted to use the dangerous situation of Knight Robins as a stepping stone to attract your attention, but after Lord Pope persuaded Prince Maurice to raise money to buy a large number of farm machinery, I realized that it was purely wishful thinking. You asked your disciple to come to Valentine, so you will naturally not sit idly by and watch him fall into danger."
Xiao Yun touched his chin and nodded. It was okay. This guy's IQ was at the same level as Mr. Sean.
After a pause, Alman continued, "As for the forest elves that are adjacent to your tribe... Since even the elf general can stand up for your disciple, I think you have a way to deal with them."
Xiao Yun paused while touching his chin, his eyes sparkled like lightning and the smile on his face grew even wider.
As the saying goes, there is no false reputation below a great name. This brother the Condemner is really quite capable!
"Mr. Alman is indeed a man of great insight and insight." Xiao Yun said with a smile, "Then please allow me to ask a question... To what extent can you, the descendants of 'J', carry on the ideals of the Lich King?"
Alman immediately straightened his chest and said in a resounding voice: "I have no regrets whether I live or die."
"That's not what I meant." Xiao Yun waved his hand. "It's too easy to sacrifice one's life. Death is easier than life. What I want to ask is - are you willing to give up morality, prejudice, honor, personal dignity and everything else that can be given up just to achieve your goal for the ideals you have inherited?"
Alman was speechless, and the young man Adam next to him was stunned.
No, it's just... Is there something wrong with this statement? !
"We the Snow Wolf tribe don't have great ideals like yours that must be passed down. Everything we do is just to make all our tribesmen live as well as possible, so that they don't have to be threatened or trampled by other tribes. I have to admit that we have done our best just for such a simple purpose."
After a pause, Xiao Yun restrained his smile and said seriously, word by word:
"What the Lich King wants to save is countless human civilians, so that human civilians don't have to be oppressed both internally and externally. Half of the enemies we face overlap. I think this is the main reason why you came to me after learning of my existence. Do you, who carry his ideals, have such awareness?"
