For the next few days, Bai Shi remained in Castle Morne, learning various storm-based skills.
He also learned footwork like Quickstep, allowing him to dodge attacks with less stamina during combat.
During this time, a supply delivery from Stormveil arrived, bringing with it a large group of residents.
According to Irena, they were residents of Godrick's territory who lived in villages out in the wilds.
Now that Castle Morne had a shortage of manpower, Godrick had simply arranged for them to be sent over.
This was good news for both Castle Morne and the residents.
Lately, Irena had been visiting Bai Shi quite often.
Edgar had found a prayer teacher from Stormveil, a woman who worshipped the Erdtree.
She had come to Castle Morne with the supply delivery, and Irena was now studying prayer with her every day.
While Bai Shi trained outside the castle, she would be inside studying her prayers.Whenever Bai Shi had free time, she would have a servant bring her to him to chat.
She would talk about the difficulties she faced in her studies, occasionally complaining to him.
Bai Shi had observed the prayer teacher from a distance. She was an old woman who looked very devout.
Irena said she was currently learning Golden Vow and that she could help Bai Shi once she mastered it.
Bai Shi agreed verbally, but in his heart, he didn't want Irena to get involved in combat.
Fighting was inherently dangerous, and with her poor eyesight, he wouldn't be able to protect her at all times.
But seeing how happy she was, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
—
A few more days passed. By now, Bai Shi could skillfully use various storm-based skills, each one boasting astonishing power.
Although there was still room for refinement, he no longer needed Edgar by his side to guide him, so Edgar returned to his duties.
Bai Shi didn't plan to continue practicing behind closed doors. He decided to head out for a day or two to explore the Weeping Peninsula and fully polish his skills through combat.
Bai Shi remembered that there were two Sacred Tears on the Weeping Peninsula, as well as Radagon's Soreseal.
He decided to gather these important items first.
After saying goodbye to Edgar and Irena, Bai Shi set off.
Bai Shi sat down at the Site of Grace by Castle Morne's main gate, and Melina appeared beside him.
"Are you getting ready to leave?"
"Yes. First, I'm going to explore the Weeping Peninsula. I saw some churches marked on the map; there might be Sacred Tears there."
Bai Shi took out a map. It was one he had borrowed from Edgar, which had previously been hanging on the wall in Edgar's room.
The map covered a large area, encompassing the entirety of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula.
It also marked many paths within Stormveil Castle, which would be useful when it was time to fight Godrick.
Bai Shi handed the map and the parchment to Melina.
"Could you please draw this map onto the parchment as well?"
"Yes, of course."
Melina took the map, studied it carefully, then took out her tools and began to draw.
Bai Shi took the opportunity to plan his route.
He'd teleport in a moment and start from the Site of Grace outside the castle walls.
First, he would go to the first church and get the Sacred Tear. Then, he'd open the evergaol and grab Radagon's Soreseal.
Finally, after getting the Sacred Tear from the second church, he would head down to the ruins at the foot of the hill it was on.
Bai Shi remembered that the ruins held the sealed body of the sorceress Sellen, so he would go check it out first.
As for the caves and catacombs, Bai Shi couldn't recall anything particularly important he needed from them on the Weeping Peninsula, so he put them aside for now. This planned route wouldn't involve many fodder enemies. Those types of foes couldn't help him hone his skills; they would just be a waste of time.
The sealed Ancient Hero of Zamor was Bai Shi's designated opponent. Its strength was not to be underestimated, and being humanoid, it was perfect for practicing his moves.
Once he had collected everything he needed, it would be time to bid farewell to Castle Morne and head to Stormveil to fight Godrick.
When Melina finished drawing the map, she teleported Bai Shi to the Site of Grace outside the castle walls—the same place where he had encountered the Frenzied Flame enemies.
Rising from the Site of Grace, Bai Shi saw no sign of the nomadic merchant Arnogo, which didn't surprise him.
Arnogo had a partnership with Castle Morne. Since the rebellion had been quelled, he had been traveling back and forth frequently. Bai Shi had already seen him at the castle several times.
He blew the whistle, and Torrent appeared by his side.
Torrent snorted, excited about the unknown destination ahead.
During the days Bai Shi had been training, Melina had been riding him around the vicinity of Castle Morne, and he had grown bored of the nearby scenery.
Bai Shi patted Torrent's head, then swung himself into the saddle and galloped toward his destination.
—
Following the path on the map, Bai Shi rode through the dense forest.
Suddenly, a puff of smoke rose from the ground nearby. Within the smoke, several small saplings transformed into a few short, ugly creatures resembling goblins from fantasy stories.
They were Demi-Humans using mimicry.
As they dropped their disguise, they began to shriek, banging their weapons and shields.
They were trying to intimidate the man on horseback—their usual, time-tested trick for robberies.
Unfortunately for them, they had picked the wrong person today.
Bai Shi was surprised for a moment, but he wasn't flustered in the slightest once he realized they were Demi-Humans.
Demi-Humans didn't just look like goblins; their combat strength was about the same.
The Demi-Humans shouted and roared, but the man and his horse showed no reaction, simply watching their performance in silence.
The horned steed even gave an impatient snort.
The Demi-Humans glanced at each other, finally deciding to swarm them, kill them, and then loot their belongings.
Then, they were all swept away and killed by one of Bai Shi's storms.
Bai Shi continued forward on Torrent, suddenly remembering that he had told Boc to wait for him somewhere.
He wondered if Boc was still there. He would check on the way to Stormveil later.
Ahead of him was a simple rope and plank suspension bridge, and in front of it, a Demi-human Chieftain, much stronger than the others, was resting on the ground.
Bai Shi pulled on Torrent's reins, coming to a halt, and quietly dismounted.
The Demi-human Chieftain was no powerful foe, perhaps only slightly stronger than a Leonine Misbegotten. It wasn't enough to make Bai Shi take it seriously.
However, it was too close to the suspension bridge, and Bai Shi didn't want a storm blast to destroy it.
The Demi-human Chieftain heard the noise, rose to its feet, drew two short daggers, and charged at Bai Shi on all fours.
"I'll use you as a warm-up."
Bai Shi drew his greatsword, and, eyes fixed on the charging chieftain, unleashed Lion's Claw.
A storm swirled around him, accelerating his somersaulting motion. Before the Demi-human Chieftain could react, the blade slammed down, cleaving through most of its body from the shoulder down.
The storm clinging to the blade raged within its body before erupting violently, tearing the chieftain's corpse to pieces from the inside out. Gory remains scattered across the ground.
He used a gust of wind to blow the blood from his blade, sheathed his greatsword, and rode forward once more on Torrent.