The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 1 Fantasy Again
[June 7, 1000 of the Lost Calendar, Xingmei Town, torrential rain.]

A year into my travels, I was kicked out of a pub...

I'm daydreaming again.

After being killed by a dump truck, Fantasy transmigrates to a fantasy world and becomes the body of a bard named Tang Qi.

He was kicked out of the bar because of a terrible performance.

At this moment, he was bent over, crawling on the muddy street, with half of his face buried in the damp soil.

A pungent stench, a mixture of mud and excrement, wafted faintly into the air.

That was the unique smell of a medieval country lane.

The torrential rain soaked him to the bone, drenching his ripped leather jacket and undershirt. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, making him feel as if he were immersed in a swamp, letting the damp cold seep into every pore.

Tang Qi became increasingly clear-headed: "Not a fantasy? This is all real?"

He struggled to his feet, pulled himself out of the mud, picked up the lute and the tattered bundle from the ground, and involuntarily pounded his aching lower back.

My head is still spinning, but the double images in my vision are slowly converging—

The dark clouds made the gloomy night even darker.

Only the outlines of a few scattered wooden houses could be vaguely seen, along with flickering lights of unknown origin beside the eaves.

A glimmer of fire came from behind.

The bright yellow candlelight, mixed with chaotic noises, laughter, and curses, highlighted the only sign of life in the cold, dark night.

The tavern was only bustling with people at night.

Tang Qi had already missed the opportunity to participate.

The Bard's Academy, which outwardly promotes peace and the culture of poetry and music but is actually sponsored by the Tarlon nobles and sings praises to the lords, never actively expels a student.

Unless this person truly has absolutely no talent.

His predecessor, Don Quixote Weinberg, was an insignificant premature baby among his aristocratic father's dozens of illegitimate children.

After his mother's early death, he was considered a nuisance and sent to a poets' academy to distance himself from her.

Various factors made him withdrawn and taciturn.

Even if one can memorize songs and music theory, and master some archery and martial arts.

It also lacks the essential qualities of a bard—

Flexibility.

When he realized that he was just reciting from the textbook, singing some ancient legends fabricated in the textbook.

When facing a noble lord, yet unable to utter even a single auspicious word.

His mentor realized that he could not arrange any work for him.

She simply patted his shoulder gently and sighed, saying:
"The academy can teach you no more. Now, go and create your own story."

So Tang Qi, carrying his bag, was sent off to what he perceived as poetry and distant places.

He wandered aimlessly eastward, crossing the sea.

Finally, after passing through a strange forest, we arrived at Xingmei Town, a place famous for its plums.

Lady Luck smiled upon him, allowing him to survive, but the hardships of a year inevitably took a toll on his health.

Ultimately, Tang Qi, having lost the goddess's favor, was kicked into a mud pit for spoiling the drunkard's fun with his terrible performance...

Thinking of this, the memory of [Tang Qi], who shared the same name and even looked exactly the same, had been completely integrated.

Unlike his predecessor, he was just a third-rate online singer.

Not very knowledgeable in music theory, he usually just copies popular songs, mixes them into a kind of pre-made pop music, and posts them on short videos to make a living. Occasionally, he also does some vocational school rap.

As a passionate tabletop role-playing game enthusiast—a game similar to adult pretend play—he had been active on forums for over a decade, but struggled to find a leader for his group.

He was thrilled to finally have a tour group to join and participated in his first one.

But he couldn't outrun the oncoming dump truck...

But it all matters now.

No game can compare to the thrill of experiencing something firsthand.

It's just another life.

For Tang Qi, who had no ties to the family, accepting these things was not difficult.

Moreover, there's no time to worry about the past—

He walked to the eaves of the tavern, where the sloping roof offered some shelter from the wind and rain.
"Ah!"

The feeling of being both hungry and cold is not pleasant.

The last time we ate together was two days ago.

After getting lost in the forest, he roasted some wild mushrooms on the spot, then fainted in the woods. He didn't know who rescued him, but he collapsed at the entrance of the village.

He was almost frozen stiff and his legs were trembling from hunger. If his willpower were any weaker, he would lose his senses and fall back into the mud.

There might not be another chance then.

"No matter what, I need to find a warm place to survive first."

Tang Qi reached out, cupped the rainwater from outside the eaves, and splashed it on his dirty face, washing away half of the mud and making him more alert.

After a moment's thought, he pushed the tavern door open again.

"Squeak-"

The tavern in the town was unremarkable, with a few long tables and chairs full of people, who were already being pushed around and swayed by drunkards.

The door suddenly swung open, and a cold wind and torrential rain rushed in, causing the flames in the fireplace to flicker.

"Cut off his goatee! Which blind bastard opened the door?!"

A one-eyed dwarf wearing an eyepatch shivered from the cold; his beard was tied together like a goat's beard, but so thick that it covered his chest.

He slammed his powerful arm on the table, shaking the glasses and shouting almost like a roar, waking up his drunken companions.

The other half-asleep drunkards also turned their heads to look.

I saw the man at the door, soaking wet, with a thick beard and messy curly hair, dressed like a homeless person.

Tang Qi closed the door, and the pervasive smell of alcohol replaced the stench of feces, while the warmth gave his face a rosier glow.

"you again?"

Everyone recognized the homeless man.

He walked into the tavern listlessly, begging the tavern owner, the stingy "Morning and Evening Flower" Catherine, to give him a chance to make a living.

It was not uncommon for bards to make a living by singing in taverns.

only--

"You brat, we've already given you one chance, but you've ruined it all!" "Get out of here before I even think about getting up, take your lousy, broken violin with you!"

"Golden Oak doesn't need old, worn-out stories; my grandma's heard your songs so many times she's sick of them!"

The burly drunkards laughed and cursed.

The descent into alcohol caused these people to lose what little manners they already possessed.

No one wanted to listen to the shrill noise of a lute on this night, mixed with tales of nobles and legends of dragons and heroes.

Please, the daytime doesn't belong to them at all!
They need to finish harvesting the crops by tomorrow.

Fortunately, after the harvest festival, the landlords residing in [Dragon Gold City] dispatched a caravan to purchase the goods at extremely low prices.

Ordinary people wouldn't dare to cross over to that eerie, twilight forest west of the town.

"Fuck the stories, fuck the legends!"

Dragons no longer exist in this world, and heroes no longer do.

On this boundless plain, there lived only a horde of savage monsters.

And the nobles, more savage than monsters, who exploited their labor!
To escape tomorrow, they hoped this night of heavy drinking would last even longer.

I don't want to be disturbed while living a life of debauchery.

twice!

Tang Qi was well aware of this.

But his health wouldn't allow him to live a life of hardship.

Face has become the least important thing.

So he walked alone to the bar.

There stood a woman dressed in a simple linen suit.

She looked very young, but years of hard work had left their mark on her beautiful face, making her skin appear dull.

Her long, reddish-brown hair was braided and hung down over her full chest.

Putting aside her weariness and exhaustion, she was a striking sight among a group of drunkards.

"Give me another chance," Tang Qi pleaded in standard Common Tongue.

Catherine shook her head.

She inherited the only tavern in Star Plum Town from her deceased mother.

It is not easy for a young woman to maintain such a large family business.

Therefore, she valued money more than anything else from a young age.

As a result, no one could extract even a fraction of the benefits from her.

Therefore, the refusal was handled with composure.

She slowly extended her slender fingertips, pointing at the group of drunkards in a daze.

The voice was pleasant yet cold.
"You can't compensate for the losses incurred in driving them away."

"I promise I won't."

“I gave you a chance, but judging from your previous performance, your credibility is like a paladin’s lie.”

"A paladin does not lie."

Tang Qi's mind hadn't fully switched over, and he subconsciously replied.

“You have no credibility either.” Catherine didn’t really want to be so harsh.

Tang Qi was speechless for a moment.

The predecessor's skills were not particularly refined, but merely usable.

However, strings that have been neglected for a long time will always produce a harsh noise.

Despite his weak and feeble voice, he insisted on singing a grand epic praising nobles and heroes.

The various inappropriate pairings made the previous performances a disaster.

Tang Qi wouldn't make that choice now, but he finds it difficult to defend himself.

I decided to go all in, placing my fingers on the strings and clearing my dry throat—

Before he could utter a sound, Catherine covered his mouth.

The calluses on his palms made Tang Qi's lips itch slightly, but they also silenced the rising tone he had just uttered.

The girl's clear gaze unconsciously swept over his shoulder.

In the corner, a long-haired man leaning against the wall at a table was drowsy, but his sharp eyes and serpentine features suggested that he had already noticed what was happening.

Her tone became urgent, and she said softly:

"If you just want to fill your stomach, I will prepare some bread and water for you."

It's raining heavily, so you can go warm yourself by the fireplace and leave when it stops.

But please stop causing trouble.

You don't want to be kicked out again, right?

Clearly, letting Tang Qi continue singing would be a far greater loss than providing him with some food.

But Tang Qi was not satisfied with this.

He couldn't live by begging forever, and Catherine wouldn't pity him every time.

He still has to endure the wind and rain to get through this rainy night.

So he wanted to prove himself.

To earn a temporary living and find shelter from the wind.

Only after things have stabilized can we make plans for the future.

But since the other party has already made their point, insisting on continuing would only be annoying.

He could only nod and bow in gratitude:

May gold and silver be scattered along the path of every kind-hearted person.

Catherine paused for a moment, then realized that the homeless man in front of her didn't seem as dull as before:

"If you had always been this eloquent, they wouldn't have..."

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed movement behind Tang Qi, so she quickly nudged his shoulder and whispered,

"Go away, don't stand in front of me."

(End of this chapter)