The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 117 Atonement and Relics (Please Subscribe!)

"Your brother? Is he also in Xingmei Town?"

That was a remote and isolated town. Because it was so far away, Tang Qi didn't think the townspeople could have any connection with the slums of Longjin City.

Therefore, it is more likely that her brother entered the Dusk Forest with the group.

So, from what I remember, there were probably only three groups of people—

The Dragon Gold City army, the Wolf Explosion Mercenary Group, and the adventurers who died in the Dawn and Dusk Forest.

Considering that the army had already returned to Longjin City after their defeat, if her brother were in the group, she wouldn't be asking now.

Whether it's mercenary groups or adventurers, the final outcome doesn't seem to be too good...

As he hesitated, Jasmine blinked her bright eyes, eager to know the answer:

"Yes, he was a tall, thin man with short hair, brown eyes, and some freckles on his face..."

No, that sounds too vague. But he should have a bracelet I made in his hand; it was a talisman I gave to my brother.

Tang Qi thought to himself, "I'm doomed."

Because he had actually seen this man before.

Furthermore, the other party was left with a sufficiently deep impression—

The camp's most resilient warrior, who was accidentally turned into a zombie by a necromancer.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a clanging sound from behind him, the sound of plate armor clashing.

The voice of dawn will soon reach everyone's ears:

"I'm sorry, he..."

She couldn't drink, so she stood by Tang Qi all night to prevent him from getting into trouble while drunk.

But clearly, she has become the trouble itself.

Tang Qi's eye twitched, and he wanted to shut her up, but then he realized that she didn't have a head or a mouth at all.

He then covered it up with an even louder voice:
"Chenxi, come on, let's go and call Catherine down!"

He quickly shoved Chenxi into the hotel, then turned to explain to the bewildered Jasmine.

"Please wait here for a moment. A lady will be coming to discuss a business deal with you shortly."

Until they were pushed all the way up to the second floor, to a corner where Jasmine couldn't catch a sound.

Unable to contain her eagerness any longer, Chenxi finally asked:
"Why won't you let me tell that child the truth?"

In his impatience, a surge of black mist erupted, causing the flimsy iron helmet to tremble incessantly.

Tang Qi, however, said:

"How do we tell her? That her brother followed the mercenary group all the way to Starplum Town, didn't die at the hands of the orcs, but was desecrated and turned into a living corpse on the way back?"

"But she has the right to know the truth."

"the truth?"

Tang Qi blinked and pointed to Chen Xi's wrist, where the bracelet she had taken from the zombie was still there.
No one knows the 'truth' better than us—

The truth is that the necromancer attacked the camp on your orders, killing several mercenaries in the process, and you bear undeniable responsibility for her brother's death.

Are you going to tell her that?

"That's right.

I will tell you the whole truth.

Chenxi drew the broken sword, placed the hilt against her heart, and said firmly,

"Facing one's mistakes squarely and making amends for them is the only way to live up to one's honor."

"But it is your business to uphold honor. You can atone for your sins, but you can't expect her to forgive you, right?"

Of course, he was a mercenary after all, and he had helped the Wolf Pack stop townspeople who were trying to escape, and even raised his weapon to hurt some people.

Regardless of his past, once he has made his choice, he should accept all the consequences that come with it.

But you can't expect his sister to try to understand these things—

People have more than one side.

Perhaps to the refugees of Starplum Town, he was a villain who obeyed the orders of nobles and persecuted them.

But to that child, he might just be an older brother who earns money to support the family.

If Tang Qi were to put himself in Chen Xi's shoes, he would find it very difficult to forgive her if it were his own family member who had died.

But the dawn answered with its own heartfelt words:
"'Atonement' is atonement itself, and should never be aimed at 'gaining forgiveness'."

Sin is a pain that should be branded on the soul; it will constantly remind you of your mistakes and warn you not to repeat them.

Forgiveness is a right that is not mandatory for victims. They use their tolerance and kindness to alleviate your suffering from sin.

You can accept this remedy that smooths out the marks; it is the most reassuring reward for those who are tolerant.

But you must never actively seek it out.

Any attempt to alleviate the pain caused by sin is an escape from sin itself.

So regardless of whether I can gain her forgiveness, I will make amends for the mistakes I have made.

Even death cannot change anything, and even death cannot forgive.

At the very least, they are on the path to reclaiming their glory.

Tang Qi remained silent for a long time before realizing that he could not persuade Chen Xi.

She is a paladin who acts according to her beliefs, and everything she does is to seek the glory she has lost and to have it recorded in history again.

Tang Qi, however, believes that she did this not in pursuit of glory itself.

Instead, they pursue the satisfaction that comes from 'glory'.

Defeating a powerful enemy would satisfy her, and embarking on the path of atonement would also satisfy her—atonement itself is a challenge for her.

That's why she needs to boast, to receive the same recognition and satisfaction. This makes her feel that her existence has meaning.

So he finally sighed and nodded:

"Well, of course she has the right to know the truth."

But at least not now—

Since we still want to rely on these orphanage newsboys to promote the tavern, we should refrain from doing anything that might upset them for the time being.

These sad stories—once the tavern's promotional activities are over, I will give you ample time to tell her the truth and try to atone for your sins.

So, can you just bear with it for now?

The black mist inside the Dawn Helmet seemed to surge and churn, prompting Tang Qi to quickly press down on her 'head' to prevent it from flying off completely.

After a brief silence, she took a step back, knelt on one knee, and, holding the broken sword, sincerely said:

Thank you for your understanding.

You hold my soul in your hands and have the right to force me to obey your commands.

But you didn't do that; you were still willing to respect my insignificant wishes.

I am very grateful for this.

Tang Qi thought it was nothing at all, but felt uneasy because of Chen Xi's sudden action.

He quickly pulled her up and said awkwardly:
"You are my teammate, not my subordinate."

Since you have your own pursuits, you can certainly act according to your own wishes as long as it does not affect the team or the plan.

I cannot possibly hinder a paladin from pursuing his own path.

“I will wait until the tavern opens before I tell the child the truth.”

Although you could still hear the anxiety that Chenxi was suppressing.

But respect is mutual.

After learning of Tang Qi's wishes, she could obviously be more patient.

Tang Qi also breathed a sigh of relief.

He did not want this incident to incur the hostility of the entire newsboy group, thereby affecting the tavern's publicity efforts.

After settling Chenxi in, he went to knock on Catherine's door.

Perhaps because she had used up too much energy yesterday, the girl was still a little sleepy and had not been able to get out of bed yet.

But when she heard that the newsboys had already started going from street to street, she realized that she could no longer doze off. She quickly changed her clothes, hurried downstairs, and talked to Jasmine, who was waiting outside the hotel, about advertising her business.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Tang Qi stood outside Catherine's door, focusing on the contents of the newspaper in his hand—

Aside from some speculation about orcs appearing in the Dusk Forest, the more prominent headline was: [Shocking! 'Young Master Xingmei' Merad has been resurrected; could this be a shocking conspiracy by a necromancer?]

While the title is certainly sensational, the content itself is quite serious, clarifying that Merad did not die, but rather escaped alive.

Surprisingly, Tang Qi had expected the report to embellish the story and fabricate some of Merad's 'heroic deeds' along the way.

However, it is unclear whether the detailed process cannot be described due to space constraints or some other reason.

In short, the board only displayed the words "[Merard and a group of adventurers]".

"Damn it... such a great opportunity to make a name for ourselves, wasted because we don't have a team name."

In addition, there are some regulations concerning "public ownership of land," which essentially state that the council lords are purchasing the private land of the nobles of Dragongold City.

This also explains why seaside residences are rented out at 30% above market price.

As Longjincheng's population reaches saturation, usable land becomes increasingly scarce, so in principle, the existence of idle land and residences is no longer permitted.

If the actual use of a house or land cannot be registered, a hefty 'vacant house tax' will be levied.

This has led wealthy individuals who own multiple properties to choose to list them for rent at high prices in order to avoid taxes.

Generally, no one would rent these expensive homes, and they could legitimately use the excuse of "currently rented" to get away with it.

As for the 'high-priced bounty in the dungeon,' that's related to those mushrooms—

The Starlight Mage Academy in the Upper City is indefinitely and at high prices acquiring mushrooms that suddenly appear in the dungeon.

After all, they are excellent alchemical materials, and the mages are veritable tycoons, so this is not unusual.

It is obvious that the current gold rush among adventurers is inextricably linked to the mage academy.

The most eye-catching headline section was dominated by news of 'orc sightings'—

It is said that the parliament had long been interested in the cash crops of Mel Barry, the "Starmay tycoon," and thus promoted the "Land Public Ownership" movement, attempting to confiscate his land.

But Lord Mel would never let go of this cash cow. After months of fruitless negotiations, the council finally decided to secretly smuggle a group of orcs across the southern Wall to force Mel to submit.

They even tried to kidnap his child, Merard Barry.

Tang Qi found it increasingly absurd as he read on:
"Just for Xingmei?"

He didn't believe Long Jincheng was that short of money, and then recited the following related content.

Rumors circulate that an ancient ruin lies hidden within the territory of Starplum Town. According to the Private Property Law, "all treasures within the territory belong to the lord," meaning the ruin actually belongs to Mel Barry.

The fundamental purpose of promoting "public ownership" was to seize the relics and treasures within.

Lord [Lion Lionheart] issued an important clarification—

"Rumors, all rumors! The purpose of implementing 'public ownership' is to alleviate the excessive wealth gap in Longjincheng, and everything is for the purpose of allowing every citizen to enjoy a better life and welfare..."

Upon seeing the word "ruins," Tang Qi instinctively thought of the kobold's lair.

Next was the dragon egg that Kuru had offered up—

"Ugh!"

In Catherine's room, the little dragon that had been perched on Ambion's head seemed to have also woken up from its slumber, letting out a comforting cry in his ear.

Tang Qi blinked, and in his confusion, a possibility suddenly occurred to him:
"Are they planning to come after me later?"

(End of this chapter)