Seeing the captain's deeply annoyed reaction, Ercale let out a quiet, weary sigh. *Why does this old man have so many enemies?* he thought, his muscles tensing as he subtly shifted his stance, fully preparing himself for a violent confrontation.
Meanwhile, Zee glanced back and forth between the two men, voicing the exact question that was currently running through the minds of the surrounding soldiers. "Do you two know each other?" she asked aloud.
"Who are these people, Captain?" one of the guards echoed, gripping his weapon tighter.
Just as the air grew heavy with the promise of a deadly standoff, Larkin's face suddenly split into a wide, beaming grin. "Weiwu! It has been such a long time!" he cheered with a boisterous laugh.
The cheerful greeting instantly shattered the tension, thoroughly confusing everyone present and causing even Ercale to pause his combat preparations in sheer bewilderment.
Weiwu's exhaustion seemed to evaporate, replaced by a profound, throbbing annoyance as he aggressively rubbed his forehead. "Do not act as if our last meeting was anything good, Larkin," he growled, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Come on! Our last meetin' wasn't that bad!" Larkin deflected with a sheepish grin, a gesture that caused a visible vein to pulse angrily at the captain's temple.
Zee stepped closer, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, Larkin, who is this? Why do you know him?" she asked, before shifting her gaze to the armored commander. "Is this the man that's your contact here?"
Weiwu's eyes darted toward the girl in sharp questioning before snapping furiously back to Larkin. "Contact? You came all the way here to meet up with someone? What exactly are you planning this time, you damn thief?" he demanded.
The accusation sent a shockwave through the tired soldiers. "He's a thief?!" one of the guards gasped in shock. In an instant, the soldiers raised their bloodstained weapons, pointing their blades and spears directly at Larkin and his passengers.
*And there I was, thinking I actually wouldn't have to fight,* Ercale thought with a bitter mental groan, his muscles instantly coiling once more.
"Wait, wait, wait, Weiwu!" Larkin shouted in a panic, quickly throwing both of his hands up in surrender.
"What?" Weiwu barked, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as he raised a single hand, signaling his guards to hold their strike but keep their weapons aimed.
"I know we don't exactly have the best history, but listen! What I'm here for is somethin' much bigger than myself, alright? I'm not here to steal nothin', and I ain't even here for my own safety anymore," Larkin pleaded, all the humor draining from his voice. "Please, you gotta at least hear me out."
Weiwu stared at him in heavy, calculating silence for a long moment. Finally, the captain let out a deep, rattling sigh. "Weapons down," he ordered flatly.
The guards exchanged highly questionable looks, but their discipline held firm as they slowly lowered their arms.
Ercale's eye twitched in supreme annoyance. *For Michael's sake! Pick a damn action! Stop going back and forth!* he screamed in his mind, though it was nothing short of a miracle that he managed to control his temper enough to keep his mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Weiwu crossed his arms over his battered chest, his glare never leaving the slightly older man. "Okay. I am hearing you out, just this once. What the hell are you here for, Larkin?"
"Thanks for listenin', first of all," Larkin said, letting out a breath of relief as he slowly lowered his hands. "But what I'm here for... what we're here for," he corrected himself, motioning over his shoulder toward Zee and Ercale, "is to find someone. A friend, for me, and somethin' much closer for someone else."
Beside him, Zee lowered her head, a heavy, melancholy shadow passing over her features as she stared at the ground.
"Have you seen a girl with blue hair and blue eyes?" Larkin asked, his tone turning completely serious.
The question had an immediate, paralyzing effect. Weiwu and his surviving guards froze as if struck by lightning, their lingering hostility instantly replaced by absolute bewilderment.
"What? You... you are looking for her as well?!" the captain blurted out.
Larkin and Zee both snapped their attention fully to him, completely caught off guard by the reaction, while Ercale simply raised an eyebrow, his mild combativeness giving way to genuine curiosity.
"What do ya mean 'as well'?" Larkin asked, his brow furrowing deeply. "Did someone else ask about her?"
Instead of answering immediately, Weiwu took a step forward, his sharp gaze sweeping over the trio once more. This time, pushing past his initial blinding annoyance at Larkin, the captain noticed a startling detail. His eyes locked onto Zee. Aside from having noticeably longer hair, the young woman's facial features were virtually identical to the terrifying elf who had just departed.
"You," Weiwu breathed, pointing a gauntleted finger directly at Zee. "You look almost completely identical to the elf that passed through here just a few hours ago."
Zee's eyes went wide with sudden, desperate hope. "Mae... she passed through here already?" she asked, eagerly taking a quick step toward the captain.
Weiwu gave a slow, bewildered nod. "Yes, she did. She even took one of my men with her to serve as a guide. Well, I ordered him to go with her, but that is beside the point."
"What did she ask? The same thing as us?" Larkin pressed urgently.
Weiwu dropped his hand with a heavy sigh. "Yes, pretty much the exact same thing. And the soldier she took with them, Li Han, knew exactly where the girl went. They are heading to the City of Rivers."