General Jetharys never expected that the collective "unauthorized absence" of the trainers from the guild was due to such a reason. She was already dissatisfied with a commoner like Wayne being dubbed a Knight; in her eyes, defeating Hogger was a trivial matter. If the Regent hadn't forbidden troops from other garrisons from moving without orders, she would have long ago led her units to wipe out those Gnolls herself.
Now, some "net cafe" had appeared, supposedly teaching martial arts...
The more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a scam.
It was simply too preposterous!
Despite the Warrior's Guild being a relatively loose organization, the few people present didn't dare to respond to Jetharys.
This female general had a naval background. She had originally been handpicked by the old King, Varian, to command the newly formed Stormwind Fleet, preparing for naval supremacy against the Horde and a potential future expedition to Northrend.
However, the King's disappearance had halted all military expansion, including her appointment and the construction of the fleet.
Since she couldn't just stay on standby forever, the Regent had commissioned her to temporarily oversee the affairs of the Warrior's Guild.
At this moment, her female subordinate and confidante, Cantrebree—a naval officer currently off-duty—spoke up: "I'll make a trip to Goldshire and bring them back before dark."
"Good! And tell them if they aren't back by 7:00 PM, they can forget about receiving a single copper from the Warrior's Guild ever again!" Jetharys frowned and urged her to depart immediately.
...
At the same time, in Goldshire.
"Don't push! I was in line first!"
"Hey! No cutting in the front!"
"Ouch! You're stepping on my foot!"
"Brother, can I borrow your pen when you're done..."
A large group of warriors formed a long queue outside the net cafe. Beside them, Dughan felt as if he were being punished for some past sin; he was forced to be this busy every single day. Once again, he directed his guards to maintain order in the town center.
Last night's "Great Battle" between the Grand Marshal and the Pandaren had already become the hottest topic in the kingdom.
The news of their duel and heavy drinking had been spread by adventurers using Hearthstones to return to cities or mages teleporting to Stormwind. The more the story was repeated, the more distorted it became, eventually turning into the vivid claim of "hundreds of punches in a single second."
But one thing was true: Chen had indeed drawn inspiration from the cartoons in the net cafe and applied it to the Monk ability "Fists of Fury."
Consequently, this fight—described as the "Showdown at the Peak of Goldshire"—had attracted warriors from all over who wanted to witness the Pandaren Master's style.
Seeing this scene, Chen didn't dare to step outside. One Grand Marshal was crazy enough; if he were swarmed by these fanatical fans, Goldshire would likely lose all control today.
Just as Wayne was worrying that he wouldn't be able to do business today, it turned out Chen was already prepared.
He took two vials of potion from his bag. He kept one for himself and had Wayne climb out the back window to enter his own room and give the other to Li Li.
He specifically instructed that Li Li must drink it slowly, sip by sip, until the "planned effect" was achieved.
Wayne did as he was told. After delivering the potion to Li Li, he snuck back into the net cafe through the window as Chen had instructed.
He saw Chen sipping the liquid as if it were precious holy water. After each small sip, he would pause, roll it around in his mouth, and feel the sensation in his stomach.
But after several sips, Wayne didn't see any difference.
It wasn't until the seventh sip—when the large bottle was nearly empty—that Chen's body suddenly shrank!
And he wasn't just a little smaller; he had shrunk to about one-tenth of his original size!
"Whoa!"
Wayne couldn't help but cry out. He really wished Tess were here to see this: a Pandaren nearly two meters tall had turned into a plush toy-sized creature. It was incredibly cute.
Chen hurriedly said to Wayne, "The effect of this potion doesn't last long. Pick me up quickly, cover me with your clothes, and get me out of here!"
"Okay!" Wayne picked him up immediately. This potion was truly magical; not only did his size decrease, but his weight had also become much lighter.
Wayne couldn't resist patting Chen's head like a stuffed animal.
Chen swatted Wayne's hand away. "Kid! I told you to use your hands to move me, not to get handsy with me!"
Wayne laughed, covered him with his cloak, and carried him out the window.
Once outside, he saw Tess sneaking out from the other side holding a mini-version of Li Li.
The four of them stopped in a grove a short distance from the town center, where there were few passersby.
Wayne: "Master, what is this potion? It's amazing."
Chen chuckled and patted his mini-sized round belly. "Do you remember that Goblin? The one we helped escape from the Dark Iron Dwarves in the Badlands? To thank us, he gave us several vials of potion named after him. After drinking it, you might become light as a feather, or you might become very small..."
Li Li chimed in, "And one time, I sneaked a sip and turned into a skeleton! Hahaha!"
Wayne: "Noggenfogger Elixir..."
Li Li: "I didn't realize you were so well-traveled."
Wayne: "Master, where are you going? Weren't you headed to the circus?"
The effects of the medicine were now gradually wearing off, and the two bodies were slowly growing back to their original size.
Chen: "The circus will be open for another five days. The crowd in Goldshire has exceeded our expectations. As you can see, we can't move around freely like this."
"I've decided to change the plan. I'll take Li Li to Ironforge first to visit an old friend."
Wayne didn't even need to do the math to know that five days wasn't enough time for a round trip—it barely covered a one-way journey. Furthermore, their kodo-drawn wagon was still parked in the stables next to the inn.
But then, the now full-sized Chen pulled a single-barreled musket from his bottomless bag and fired a shot into the sky.
A red flare soared high, hovering in the air for a moment, trailing a long tail of black smoke and emitting a brilliant red light.
Chen: "A 'Forever Friend of Ironforge' is not just a title."
Before long, a Dwarven Gryphon Rider appeared in the distance, leading an unmounted gryphon. They slowly flew over and landed nearby.
Wayne and Tess looked at each other, thinking to themselves: "This fat Pandaren who looks like a disheveled wanderer is the real winner in life... no, a winner in bear-life..."
Chen hopped onto one gryphon, while Li Li sat behind the Dwarf rider on the other.
With a series of "Goodbye!" shouts, they slowly vanished into the skyline.