Liu listened, and drank, with a thoughtful expression on his furry face. He did not take Xiomara’s questions thoughtlessly, but gave them the consideration he believed they deserved, as was his way. However, his reverie was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a dark haired woman oozing with confidence, feigned or otherwise. She grabbed a bottle of spirit off the table and downed it in one, suffering for her display of strength all the same as the drink burned down her throat. 

“Hold your breath in future, hmm.” The Pandaren advised with a smile, laughing as she dropped the drink and made some choice remarks. “That was Firedrake Whisky.” He told her, and then returned to concentrating on Xiomara’s philosophical musings. They were not exactly the questions he had asked himself, by any means, but Liu had considered questions like them before. What was his role in this new world, one born of violence and populated by the bloodthirsty and the maniacal, a place of war? He drank his ale and he let the wisdom bestowed upon him by others flow through his mind, carefully deciding what he would say and how to articulate himself. After a long pause, he placed his emptied tankard before him.

“Xiomara, you have forgotten that without places such as this” he waved his arms to mean the tavern, but in general he referred to peace and civilisation “there would be nothing to fight for. It is only when a man dreams of peace that he understands the necessity of war, like in all things this place knows balance. Ying and Yang, fire and water, when we are deprived of one the other loses sensation. Would you have all struggle become meaningless?” He posed the question to provoke Xiomara to consider things for himself, even as he refilled the tankard of ale from the keg. 

“As for coin, do not trouble yourself, Xiomara. Though if you could bring me one of those large boar you once spoke of you can consider your debt paid to me.” Liu licked his lips (or proxy) as he thought of the succulent meat, and downed another pint of ale.