Lin Gui met all their gazes and spoke clearly once more:
“Copperhammer Stoneheart!”
He paused briefly, recalling the image of that dwarf who had been swearing up a storm in the underground casino.
“His description... even among dwarves, he is on the shorter side. He has a red beard, and his left eyebrow is split in half.”
“He has a loud voice, especially when he's losing money.”
The leading dwarf interrupted him, practically roaring:
“Where is he?!”
“The Carter Royal Capital, Black Street!” Lin Gui replied.
“Impossible!” the leading dwarf snapped in denial. “There is no way he is still in the Carter Royal Capital! That place is the transit hub of the Alliance. With his status...”
Lin Gui cut him off directly, shouting the reason:
“He lost every single copper at an underground casino on Black Street! Including the travel expenses the Fortress Lord gave him!”
“He has no choice but to hide there, too ashamed to show his face!”
The leading dwarf's mouth fell open, his next words catching in his throat.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
“Sigh... That hopeless fool.”
Below him, the other dwarf guards behind the iron windows also showed expressions of exasperation.
“Sounds exactly like something that bastard Copperhammer would do...”
“That guy is really...”
The atmosphere of suspicion visibly softened.
Striking while the iron was hot, Lin Gui pulled a few more letters from his satchel.
He held them high and read the names on them one by one.
“Caran City! Ironhammer Stoneheart!”
“New Covenant City! Bronzebeard Stoneheart!”
With every name he read, a slight commotion rippled through the crowd of dwarves behind the iron gate.
Some dwarves instinctively leaned forward, trying to get a better look.
Others exchanged glances with their companions.
Seeing that they were still hesitant, Lin Gui frowned slightly.
He picked up a letter from New Covenant City and raised his voice.
“This is a letter from the New Covenant City dwarf, Bronzebeard Stoneheart!”
“The recipient is Anvil Heavyhammer!”
His gaze swept across the iron windows above as he continued to shout:
“Male! One hundred and fifty-eight years old!”
“Beard braided into three thick plaits!”
“Big, red nose!”
Finally, he added the key identifying feature with absolute certainty:
“When drunk, he insists on arm-wrestling the dwarf chief—”
“And his right thumb is still crooked to this day!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a rough exclamation erupted from behind the iron gate.
A dwarf guard leaned out abruptly, shouting eagerly:
“I'm Anvil Heavyhammer! What... what did he say in the letter?!”
Lin Gui glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, and tore open the envelope.
He quickly scanned the contents of the letter, his expression turning somewhat strange.
He cleared his throat and read in as steady a tone as possible:
“‘To my best brother, who makes my eyes water like strong liquor, Anvil Heavyhammer. I am currently in New Covenant City, a human city-state far, far away from Shield City. We will probably... never see each other again.’”
The guard's body shuddered violently, the muscles on his rugged face twitching.
Lin Gui continued reading, his tone remaining flat:
“‘Remember the first time we met by the forge? You fought me black and blue just to grab the last piece of roasted lizard meat. After the fight, our mentor punished both of us by making us scrub toilets for a month. At that moment, I knew you were my destined... brother.’”
“‘Later, we snuck a drink of the elder's hidden Thunder Ale—an entire barrel of it! We stumbled over, completely drunk, to pick a fight with the Stone Clan and beat them all to the ground. Those days were the happiest of my life.’”
The guard was completely engrossed in the letter, his eyes a mix of nostalgia and sorrow.
Lin Gui's voice continued, completely flat:
“‘In all these years apart, I always think of your crooked thumb and the tall tales you spun when you drank too much. I don't know if this letter will ever reach your hands. After all, the kind human delivering it is far too weak, only at the High Rank. But he did once travel to the Magic City all on his own, a place even further and more dangerous than Shield City. I can only pray for his safe journey so that he can deliver my letter to you.’”
“‘And the reason I am sending this letter to you, my best brother, is because I want you to help me resolve a knot in my heart that has troubled me for years. That is... Anvil, I...’”
At this point, Lin Gui's voice came to an abrupt halt.
He stared at the letter, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
The guard, hanging on every word, growled in anxiety.
“He what?! What did my brother say?!”
Lin Gui looked up at the guard and, in an extremely bizarre tone, read the final lines:
“‘...I owe the tavern thirty-seven gold coins from before I left. Could you please pay it back for me? I'll pay you back whenever I return. Your brother forever, Bronzebeard Stoneheart.’”
The air instantly froze.
The touch of emotion and nostalgia on the dwarf guard's face shattered in an instant.
He froze in place, his eyes wide and round, his beard bristling with rage.
In the next second, he let out an earth-shattering roar:
“Bronzebeard!! You absolute bastard!!!”
“You sent me a letter just to say this?!!”
Shaking with rage, he slammed his fist against the edge of the iron window.
“I knew it! Nothing good ever comes from a letter from you, you scoundrel!”
“Thirty-seven gold coins! You fucking set your brother up even as you were leaving!!”
The surrounding dwarf guards also snapped out of the sentimental mood.
After a brief, dead silence, they burst into roaring laughter.
“Hahaha! That's Bronzebeard for you!”
“Even when leaving, he didn't forget to have his brother clean up his mess!”
“Anvil, your brother really is something else!”
The dwarf guard named Anvil flushed bright red.
He pointed at the letter in Lin Gui's hand, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.
His expression—a mix of fury and embarrassment, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to snatch the letter and tear it to shreds—was truly a sight to behold.
After this bout of banter, the previously tense and hostile atmosphere evaporated completely. Although the dwarves behind the iron windows remained vigilant, the hostility in their eyes had mostly faded. It was replaced by a complex mix of curiosity, exasperation, and even amusement.
Lin Gui waved the thick stack of letters in his hand.
“Now, do you believe I'm here to deliver letters?”
The dwarf guards exchanged looks and ultimately turned their eyes toward the leader at the highest window.
The stern dwarven leader knitted his brows, his thick fingers unconsciously tapping the windowsill.
He was clearly still weighing his options.
Lin Gui spoke up at the right moment, offering a final assurance:
“Rest assured, I won't take a single step into Shield City.”
“I will only bring the letters to the gate, leave them there, and go. How about it?”
His tone was calm and sincere, carrying an unquestionable seriousness.
After a brief silence and repeated scrutiny, the dwarven leader finally let out a heavy snort.
“Leave the package at the gate! Back away!”
He barked the order, which served as his tacit consent.
“I'm coming too!” Theia immediately nudged closer to Lin Gui.
Lin Gui glanced at her and did not refuse.
Although Levitation was fast, it could not compare to the explosive speed of a Transcendent Ranger.
If an unexpected danger arose, she would be able to pull him out of harm's way much faster.
He turned and quietly instructed Eve, who remained on the raft:
“Wait here, and be careful.”
Eve nodded gently, a faint shimmer of light already appearing at her fingertips, ready to support them at a moment's notice.
Lin Gui hesitated no longer. He swung his leg over and sat sideways on his warm oak staff.
Theia leaped lightly onto the back end, standing steadily behind him.
Carrying the two of them, the staff flew smoothly toward the massive iron gate on the cliffside, enveloped in the faint glow of Levitation.
Rate on N.U.
