The Bard is Fantasizing Again

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Sunlight struggled to penetrate the dense canopy, leaving Dawnmist Forest perpetually shrouded in twilight.

Even the few scattered rays that managed to break through were dispersed by the thin mist.

This meant that although the forest experienced the cycle of day and night, it rarely caused irreversible damage to travelers' bodies.

Which was why Anbi could still lean out from the ox cart bouncing over the wetlands with full energy.

She looked at Tang Qi lying on her sister's lap, and the little dragon lying on Tang Qi's chest:

"What's its name?"

"Yiwu."

"Why that name?"

"Try petting it and you'll see."

The little girl reached out her fluffy paw, about to stroke the little dragon's forehead where golden patterns flowed.

"Yi-wu!"

Yiwu snarled fiercely, startling the little girl's snow-white ears into trembling. She quickly retreated behind the cart's siding.

"So fierce!"

She trembled as she peeked out with her brown-black vertical pupils, unable to resist sighing:

"So this is the legendary 'dragon'?

So beautiful, even its eyes are so beautiful..."

"Just like your eyes."

"No way, they say Anbi's eyes look scary. But looking at Yiwu, Anbi only thinks they're beautiful."

The little girl had never really liked her own eyes.

Those bestial pupils always made her look like a vicious wolf.

Whenever she made eye contact with people, the feedback was always fear or disgust.

But when looking directly at Yiwu, she didn't think that way at all.

Strange...

They both had ears, both had eyes.

Why did it look so elegant, like those high-and-mighty nobles?

While she looked like a dirty little kid?

"Perhaps it's not that your eyes aren't beautiful enough, but that the eyes they use to look at you are inherently flawed."

Tang Qi reluctantly sat up from Catherine's lap, cupping the little dragon in his palms so it could get closer to Anbi.

"Don't pet it from above, or its gaze will stay fixed on your fingers. That makes it think 'something is approaching,' and it feels unsafe."

Anbi didn't fully understand Tang Qi's reassurance.

But the reassurance itself was enough to make the little girl happy.

Her eyes became even brighter.

Tang Qi then extended his finger, stroking upward along Yiwu's slender neck from below—

"Yi-wu!"

Though its throat made the same sound, it was clearly different from the earlier rebuke.

The ring set with a ruby informed Tang Qi.

This guy was secretly pleased:

"See that patch of white skin under its neck? Pet there, use less force, sweep toward its lower jaw—

While it's just hatched and its scales haven't covered its whole body, you still have this chance to get close to it."

The effect of the Ring of Mutual Hearts was quite obvious.

Perhaps it was the nature of the Amethyst Dragon that made Yiwu lack the destructiveness of a red dragon.

So after waking up last night and immediately swallowing the eggshell and dried meat Tang Qi offered, once it confirmed this upright species' 'earnest goodwill,' they had already established preliminary trust—

Except for that 'descendant' who stole its egg.

Though it could feel some subtle connection with that kobold.

This spiritual resonance seemed to come from Kuru's past devout worship.

So now Yiwu was just somewhat annoyed with the thief.

And after taking the eggshell, Kuru had been unconscious for a whole night and still hadn't woken up.

This made Yiwu understand it was in a safe environment, so it wouldn't spray molten lava left and right like a red dragon...

Oh, it hadn't learned how yet.

Anbi tried to imitate Tang Qi's method, slowly extending her paw.

But she immediately realized her claws were too sharp, so she quickly clenched her fist and swept the fur on the back of her hand toward Yiwu's neck.

"Yi-wu!"

Perhaps because the furry touch was silky and smooth, the little dragon visibly enjoyed it even more.

Tang Qi thought its voice sounded like it was being electrocuted.

He simply handed the little dragon to Anbi, letting her play with Yiwu herself—

Melade, who occupied a considerable portion of the cart, also raised his hand:

"Let me try too!"

"Ao-wu!"

Anbi glared fiercely at the little white pig, frightening the young master into quickly retreating to his original position:

"Why are you being mean to me?"

"Because you're a bad person."

"I—I'm not, I didn't. I'm just—timid!"

"Then talk to me again when you're brave enough!"

Anbi didn't want to waste words with the annoying noble, simply holding Yiwu and examining it left and right.

Only Melade looked left at Kuru passed out on the wine barrel, then right at Stonecrusher snoring thunderously beside him, suddenly feeling so lonely he hugged his knees and slowly cried:

"Steward Huss, I miss you..."

Without Huss, who else would treat him like a young master?

"Then do you want to go keep him company?" Tang Qi turned back to ask.

Melade shuddered:

"Actually, I don't miss him that much..."

"Stop moping. We might get out of the forest today. Once you return to Longgold City, won't you still be that plump young master?"

"No, I'm going to lose weight!"

"Afraid you'll reach slaughter weight? Well, good luck with that."

"But should I really deceive Father?"

Melade automatically ignored Tang Qi's joke, curling up tighter, his lack of confidence obvious.

"That lie you told me—'Steward Huss led mercenaries deep into the forest, held back the orcs' advance for us, and bought us time to escape.' Will Father really believe it?"

"You mean Lord Merle is so self-aware that only telling him the truth—'As a noble I got beaten up crying for my parents by commoners and was tied to a wine barrel and brought back to Longgold City'—would seem normal to him?"

"I wasn't crying..."

Tang Qi mimicked Melade's earlier voice:

"'Steward Huss, I miss you'..."

"Fine, but I only shed one tear. And I've never deceived Father before, so I'm afraid of being exposed!"

"You managed to hide your sexual orientation for over a decade, and now you're telling me you've never lied?"

"That's different!"

"Anyway, I'm asking you to say this just so this matter ends here and we all have less trouble—

You gain reputation, these refugee townspeople gain stability, and I gain a pathway to communicate with the noble class.

It's a win-win.

But even if you tell Lord Merle the truth, it doesn't really matter.

After all, I'll still spread the 'lie.' Then even if your father knows these refugees escaped the town by killing Huss, under pressure from reputation, he'll still accept this 'lie.'"

Tang Qi genuinely didn't care if Melade let something slip.

Along the way, he'd learned plenty about Longgold City, and had long realized that 'nobles' here were more like a status symbol.

Signifying that when this city-state was founded, these people's ancestors had once been glorious.

Many nobles had actually long lost their fiefdoms.

Very different from the Terran Empire's sorcerer families who truly held actual power.

The actual governance of this city was more in the hands of the Council—

With one Public Lord as the nominal ruler, exercising leadership and veto power, while many Masked Lords whose faces were concealed to prevent bribery also participated.

This wasn't necessarily effective, but masked lords who voluntarily revealed their identities would face legal punishment and replacement.

"Guess who the lord is" had therefore become a common greeting among Longgold City citizens.

This city was ultimately maintained by law.

After all, without restraints, it was hard to form 'civilization.'

Since they cared about citizens' wishes, they were also constrained by public opinion.

No matter what thoughts one harbored, one had to think carefully before acting.

Moreover, after several twists and turns, Tang Qi had grasped the team's overall strength, so he wasn't afraid of challenges:

"As long as I earn more money and maintain that guy with brittle bones, that'll be enough..."

Thinking of Dawn's limitations and the one bottle of Restoration Gel he had left, Tang Qi suddenly realized he probably needed to prepare a way to make money.

The dividends from Golden Oak definitely couldn't satisfy the huge expenses of adventuring.

Just as he was considering this, he suddenly heard the neighing of a spirited horse.

Dawn's black-mist-wreathed steed galloped from the road ahead. When it rushed before him, he heard the headless knight's somewhat excited announcement:

"We'll be out of the forest soon. Once we reach the plains, if we hurry, we might reach Longgold City before sunset."

Her mental voice was loud, as if there was a loudspeaker in front of her helmet, making it spread far until it reached every townsperson's ears in the procession.

Joy and cheers erupted instantly, even startling several birds from the treetops:

"So we survived!? We finally don't have to worry about being caught by orcs and zombies?"

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in almost a month!"

"Grandma, I don't have to come see you yet..."

Among them were also those worried about the future, thinking about how to survive.

But the act itself of 'leaving the dim forest and facing the sunlight' was enough to dispel those worries.

"Tomorrow's problems can wait until tomorrow."

Catherine also seemed to have lifted a burden from her heart, unconsciously gripping the reins tighter.

"Tang Qi, thank you."

"It's still early, thank me tonight?"

"Let me say this properly."

"Sorry, got used to being glib."

Tang Qi quickly put on a serious expression.

The young woman took a deep breath:

"Actually, from the very start of our journey, I've been confused about 'leaving Starberry Town.'

Because I didn't know where else I could go after leaving that tavern, leaving home.

I was afraid, uneasy, even scared that I couldn't be like Mother and build a tavern everyone would be satisfied with from scratch.

But as the journey went on day by day, after experiencing so many difficulties, these concerns seem to be gradually slipping away from my heart...

Thank you, Stonecrusher-xiansheng, Miss Dawn, and Kuru.

Thank you for bringing this peace of mind, for giving me this courage."

Tang Qi took her wine-red braid and draped it over his shoulder, covering her reddened ears:

"So, do you have the confidence to face all the challenges after reaching Longgold City?"

"I'll do my best."

"Then go try to uproot that Golden Oak.

So that after we've experienced adventures, even when we're physically and mentally exhausted, we'll still find peace of mind in your tavern."

The ox cart bounced over the gradually drying ground, greeting the first ray of sunlight breaking through the mist.

The dense branches on both sides no longer blocked the skylight.

Their view became increasingly bright, and their moods lifted accordingly.

Until they saw the city-state standing on the plains.

Making Tang Qi unable to resist standing up to look:

"So Longgold City... is actually shaped like a dragon?"