Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 575: Forbidden Area
After a few people arrived at the restaurant, Zhao Hai discovered that although there were still some people present, it was nowhere near as crowded as yesterday. Moreover, while there had been several young dwarves in the restaurant yesterday, today it was filled entirely with elderly dwarves.
After Billy introduced them, Zhao Hai learned that these elderly dwarves were the elders of the dwarf clan. Zhao Hai didn't dare be negligent and immediately greeted the elders respectfully.
The elders were also very polite towards Zhao Hai. Today, Zhao Hai, Billy, Juno, and the elders sat at one table, while Laura sat at another table with a few younger dwarf women.
Seeing that the dwarf clan had such customs of inviting guests to meals, and that if guests had family, they must also accompany them, Zhao Hai found this tradition quite pleasing.
As they sat down to eat, several dwarf elders kept urging Zhao Hai to drink. Zhao Hai had initially not wanted to drink, as having alcohol early in the morning would leave him feeling unwell for the rest of the day. However, the dwarves were too enthusiastic, and in the end, he was still forced to drink a few cups.
Juno watched Zhao Hai interact with the elder dwarves. Although Zhao Hai had helped the dwarf clan with a significant task, there was no change in his demeanor. He still showed great respect to the elderly dwarves, as if the previous events had never occurred.
This made Juno even more appreciative of Zhao Hai. Nowadays, there were few individuals on the continent like him. After all, the dwarf clan was considered an alien race in the eyes of the human race. Thus, people who helped the dwarves usually did so desperately seeking benefits from them. Moreover, humans often looked down on dwarves, so if a human truly bore any favor towards the dwarf clan, they would not act as calmly as Zhao Hai did.
After finishing the meal, Zhao Hai did not immediately follow Billy to the dwarf clan's forbidden area but returned to his room to drink a cup of Spatial Water to help him sober up before coming out.
Billy and Juno were currently sitting in Billy's office in the mountain cave when Zhao Hai entered. A dwarf led him to the cave, and upon seeing Zhao Hai, both stood up.
Zhao Hai quickly invited them to sit down and then smiled wryly, saying, "To be honest, my alcohol tolerance is quite limited. I just overindulged, so I had to go back to my room for a bit of sobriety medicine."
Sobriety medicine had long existed on the continent and was specially prepared for nobles. Nobles often had many social engagements, which naturally involved drinking. If they drank too much, they would feel unwell, so potion makers developed this sobriety remedy, which was not considered anything extraordinary on the continent.
Billy didn't mind and merely smiled, saying, "It's nothing. We dwarves are used to it. Haha, sir, let's head to the forbidden area."
Zhao Hai nodded, asking, "Shall we go now?"
Billy nodded, stood up, and Juno followed suit, seemingly intending to accompany them. Zhao Hai did not oppose, seeing Juno's expression, it seemed Billy had informed him about the situation. Zhao Hai didn't mind Billy's actions; Juno was a trustworthy person, and he was already quite aware of the matter. Even if he didn't tell Juno, he could deduce it from the clues, so it was better to inform him to avoid making Juno feel he was being distrusted.
Billy led the three of them out of their mountain cave and into another mountain cave with an underground river, where they boarded a small boat and headed into Iron Mountain.
The Dwarf Iron Mountain was truly massive. Fortunately, the dwarf clan was intelligent. After discovering a large underground river, they utilized it, diverting it into a nearly all-encompassing underground river network throughout the Dwarf Iron Mountain, becoming an essential transportation route for the entire dwarf clan. Therefore, their travel was quite convenient.
The boat moved quickly, and after more than two hours, it stopped at a small dock. This dock was quite small and not bustling like other docks; there were no ships docked at all. After Billy disembarked, he had a few dwarves wait there as they exited the mountain cave where the dock was located.