In a sense, 'Love and Family' was a Paladin's rite of passage from selfishness to fairness, from cynicism to compassion . Paladins would learn what it meant to be truly faithful and know about the light's glory .
The players of other professions could only experience this touching quest through words, and would never truly understand this old Paladin's experience .
Lu Li was a Thief .
Thieves walked in the shadows, and to most Paladins, this made them the most repugnant profession .
As such, Lu Li didn't expect to receive a quest from old Fordring at all .
He had just come heal to have his wounds healed and to pay tribute to a celebrity . If he managed to strike up a good conversation, he planned to ask for a few of Fordring's bandages .
He didn't expect for old Fordring to actually ask him to kill some Carrion Grubs .
Carrion Grubs were not unusual; they were everywhere in the Plaguelands . They were large, bumpy bugs, with a thick layer of skin that was laced with poison .
However, no matter how severe the poison was, it was only a level 40 monster and Lu Li could easily kill it .
The reason why he was surprised was because the start of the "Love and Family" series of quests always required the player to kill Carrion Grubs, which represented a punishment for Paladins .
Of course, Lu Li didn't stupidly refuse, nor did he have any reason to .
He felt that his injury had gotten much better and planned to start the quest .
"Rest assured, I will bring back the Coagulated Mucus that you want . "
Although "Love and Family" wasn't as tedious as the Staven series, it wasn't any easier .
Lu Li also hoped that he would be able to change the outcome of the story . Although he knew that there was a very small possibility of this happening, there was an important branch to the narrative that was otherwise doomed .
Carrion Grubs, by definition, lived by eating rotting bodies .
They buried themselves in shallow soil and sprayed a large mouthful of mucus on their prey as they passed by . This mucus was poisonous and would not only cause the attacker to corrode and bleed, but also had a strong decelerating effect .
At this time, the attacking Carrion Grub would make a buzzing noise to call its companions . Usually, seven or eight Grubs would appear…
Lu Li didn't dare to test that out, so he took the initiative to attack first .
He found a Plaguelands Dog nearby and after killing it, cut open its abdomen . Hot blood began to pool around its carcass as Lu Li hid by a slope from a distance .
After waiting for 15 minutes or so, Lu Li saw two Carrion Grubs wriggling around .
He moved forwards and attacked the one closest to him, decisively Stunning it . Its companion completely ignored him and continued moving towards the corpse of the Plaguelands dog .
In fact, if one knew about the Carrion Grubs' habits, killing them was quite simple .
During this time, two more Grubs emerged . They didn't care about their companion that was being attacked .
Just like that, Lu Li took down more than a dozen Carrion Grubs with ease by using a Plaguelands dog as bait . He then gathered the Coagulated Mucus that old Fordring was looking for from their corpses and returned to old Fordring .
"I knew I was right; you are a powerful warrior," old Fordring commented as his eyes scanned over Lu Li's leather armor for scratches, but saw none .
"Thank you for your praise," Lu Li said humbly, but then asked with some confusion, "Uncle Paladin, don't you hate Thieves?"
"I hate thieves?" Old Fordring was puzzled .
Lu Li hesitated before explaining himself, "Don't you know that most Paladins hate Thieves? I have never received a quest from a Paladin before . "
"Haha, true glory isn't defined by race and profession, but is to be judged by a person's behaviors," old Fordring laughed with eyes full of wisdom, then continued, "You have a lot of Glory in defeating evil (First Clears) and have won the respect of many races (Blessings) . This shows that you are a noble person . "
However, this made no sense, as Lu Li knew more than anyone else that old Fordring usually rejected other professions from taking his quests .
It wasn't that old Fordring would treat other professions badly – in fact, he would continue to heal any player that came by here . Even so, the 'Love and Family' quest could only be given to Paladins .
Lu Li had never heard of any exceptions to this rule .
Next, there were two similar quests which posed no problem for him . He returned unscathed and brought old Fordring the quest items as quickly as possible .
"Your strength is a little surprising . Will you let me tell you a story?" old Fordring sighed .
"Of course . I will listen as best I can," Lu Li said as he sat down . Although he already knew the story that was going to be told, the secondhand version was obviously going to be different from Fordring's .
The beginning, of course, was the story of him being exiled for saving the Orcs .
"Do you regret it?" Lu Li couldn't help but ask .
He admired old Fordring very much, but if Lu Li was in his position, he wouldn't have made the same decisions .
To him, his younger sister was the most important thing . For Lu Xin, he would break the law, renounce morality and naturally ignore the imaginary Paladin beliefs .
Old Fordring was eventually not only deprived of all his territories, properties and powers, but was also expelled from the Paladin group . He was also exiled and deprived of his right to live with his family . His son was told at an early age that his father was dead .
Perhaps old Fordring was a great Paladin, but from his family's point of view, he was cold-blooded .
Old Fordring heard Lu Li's question and smiled as he shook his head .
"Regret? I understand what you mean, but young man, I don't regret it . "
"But your son…" Lu Li knew that little Fordring would have joined the Scarlet Crusade by this time, a group of radical Paladins .
"Even if he isn't proud of me, he isn't ashamed of me . I recently returned to me hometown to see him . He has become a Paladin," old Fordring said with a smile, but it quickly faded .
Lu Li followed up and asked, "What happened afterwards?"
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