Ch. 30 - Two Methods of Escape
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"Found a clearing, setting up camp!"
Tang Qi slapped his head, which had been jostled around in the muddy forest road until his brains felt thoroughly scrambled.
The wagon transporting the 'criminals' had no canopy, allowing the cold mist to soak through his clothes, leaving his entire body increasingly damp and clammy.
He wanted to wipe away the moisture from his body, but the cangue's restraints made it impossible to move.
However, by the dim light, he could still vaguely discern that four days and nights had passed since leaving Starberry Town.
Sixteen hours.
Right now, it should be nighttime both inside and outside the forest.
The shout woke Kuru. When it realized it was being escorted to Longgold City, it sobbed for quite a while.
"Companions... go home..."
This was the first time it had been away from the tunnels for so long. Losing the staff that helped it fall asleep had left it feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
As the culprit behind Starberry's theft, Tang Qi figured Kuru's punishment wouldn't be light.
And the courts of Longgold City might not grant a kobold human rights.
He felt worried about Kuru's future.
Watching the mercenaries finish setting up their tents one by one, Tang Qi, who had been hungry all day, felt his stomach growling incessantly.
He looked toward Steward Huss sitting by the campfire, quietly taking out steak and red wine, elegantly preparing dinner for Young Master Melade.
He had even placed butter and rosemary in the frying pan.
Those were probably fresh ingredients preserved by magical enchantments.
Damn nobles.
"Merciful Young Master Melade, surely you wouldn't want to see us sinners starve to death on the road before we even receive our trial?"
Hearing Tang Qi's call, Melade, while his meal was still being prepared, walked over unhurriedly:
"Catherine sent word through someone, saying I am 'that friend'—what kind of friend does she mean?"
Tang Qi blinked.
That shrewd proprietress had deliberately reminded him before departure, likely seeking a way for him to clear his name...
And before they left the tavern, they had engaged in some discussion regarding 'preferences.'
The information obtained from that was that the friend Catherine mentioned—
Melade, at least, didn't fancy the opposite sex.
Combining these two points, the answer was already crystal clear.
He subconsciously clenched his hook and displayed an ingratiating smile.
"She once said that merchants are always calculating, which made her inevitably consider what she must give in return when accepting favors.
But she has a friend who is tolerant and merciful, often allowing her not to worry about gains and losses."
Tang Qi was spouting complete nonsense.
But Melade was extremely satisfied with this answer.
Catherine had never acknowledged the word 'friend' in front of him before.
But her attitude had always been friendly—
It seemed she was already considering marrying him.
This improved his mood somewhat after roughing it on the road:
"That does sound like something she would say.
So, bard, how are your musical skills?"
"You can personally evaluate them right now."
Tang Qi finally had the opportunity to voice his request, shaking his somewhat stiff hands.
"Just grant me brief freedom."
"Steward Huss, bring his instrument and remove his cangue."
Huss pushed up his glasses, somewhat worried: "Young Master, I'm afraid this..."
Melade frowned: "He's just an unarmed wandering bard. With so many people here, what could he possibly do?"
Huss could only comply.
Released from his restraints, Tang Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had left a good first impression on this decision-maker, allowing his flattery to flow smoothly.
This was important.
These arrogant nobles wouldn't give him a chance to turn around his reputation like the drunkards at the Golden Oak would.
"I hope you can sing some decent pieces." Melade actually held some expectations.
"As you wish."
Tang Qi first fell silent for a moment, gauging Melade's preferences.
Next, he tried to find some not-too-offensive phrases and compile them into lyrics.
Finally, he randomly matched them with a courtly tune.
The pre-made dish was ready:
"I once indulged in power and pleasure, sank into fame and profit,
Never pitying those women's beauty;
But why is my heart as dead as silence, unable to find life's meaning?
Because there's a secret I never mention to anyone—
A person's silhouette drifts through my dreams.
That person so clever and quick-witted, adorable and bright,
I only want us to be each other's one and only.
But oh gods, can you hear my weeping?
Fuck it all.
Why the hell does he have to be my brother?"
Tang Qi's singing was soft, like a whisper when praying to the gods.
But Melade's eyes widened, as if towering waves surged in his heart, unable to speak for a long time.
That expression of shock and joy was like a believer in truth who had been denounced as a heretic and hung on a burning rack.
When he thought he held the only truth and was about to die lonely with his faith, he suddenly discovered another heretic hanging beside him.
At that moment, compared to the pain of impending death, he was more grateful that he had never been fighting alone.
"So you also—"
"Ah no, this song 'Confession' was inspired when I was traveling in the Terran Empire and heard about a noble lord's unattainable love."
Tang Qi shook his head, quickly distancing himself from the song.
He only needed to make his position clear to win Melade's favor.
He absolutely couldn't go any further, lest his hook be at risk.
Melade's disappointment was visible to the naked eye.
Being gay (T.N.: literally "brokeback") wasn't actually that niche an orientation in Longgold City.
It was just that as the family's sole heir, his father, Lord Merle, still needed him to bear descendants.
This meant Melade couldn't voice his true desires to his father.
Catherine was the only person who knew this secret. That girl had listened to his troubles after he got drunk.
Upon learning that the tavern proprietress was occasionally troubled by his father's covetous attention, Melade proposed a transaction—
He would ask his father for permission to marry Catherine, granting her stability in life.
In return, Catherine would marry him after coming of age, providing cover for his search for true love.
Now with less than a year until her coming of age, he had requested permission from his father to vacation at the estate as a pretext to remind Catherine of this deal.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have ventured into the increasingly treacherous Dawnmist Forest.
And regardless of whether this bard before him was doing this intentionally or stumbled upon it by chance,
He couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship:
"You're far more excellent than the entertainers my father hires.
Perhaps after we reach Longgold City, I can give you a chance to redeem yourself."
"Thank you for your mercy."
"Huss, return his pack. I don't want him starving to death halfway there."
The upright steward somewhat disdainfully put on silk gloves, took down Tang Qi's shabby pack, and threw it at his feet, finally tossing the gloves to the ground as well:
"It reeks of poverty and staleness."
Tang Qi didn't care.
In fact, he was well aware that the difference between humans and goblins wasn't much different from the difference between nobles and commoners.
The former were divided by race.
The latter alienated by status.
The nobles of Longgold City still had no real power; it was more of a status symbol, so this attitude wasn't yet pronounced.
But in the Terran Empire...
In the eyes of nobles, slaves and livestock were equally their resources.
Citizens were only slightly more noble.
Now, although the leg irons were still on, he had at least regained a degree of freedom.
At the same time, he had secured a way out for himself in Longgold City.
"Thanks to Catherine's reminder."
Thinking of this, Tang Qi quickly emptied his backpack.
Then he discovered that the pack carried weight that didn't belong to it—
In a recently sewn compartment, there was a bulge like a short stick.
Tearing open the temporary stitching, he found an iron chisel about the length of a forearm quietly tucked inside.
It was a tool used to open wine barrels.
Before Anbi delivered the pack, she had deliberately left two phrases—
'We can't just look at appearances.'
'Melade is the friend she mentioned.'
Someone unfamiliar with the context would probably take them as one continuous statement.
But Tang Qi understood that these were two separate things he and Catherine had said at different times.
Now, they also represented two escape routes Catherine had prepared to the best of her ability—
The former implied that this hidden chisel might prove surprisingly effective when he had no other choice.
The latter implied Melade's preferences. Used properly, it might not be a bad way to clear his name.
Tang Qi hid the chisel back in his pack and muttered unconsciously:
"At least it can be used for self-defense.
If there's a chance to meet again, I'll thank her properly then."