The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 126 The Painter of Xingmei Town (Please Subscribe!)
Tang Qi hesitated for a moment when he saw the vagrant clinging to the guard's long legs like a snake, unable to be driven away.

He held Ambition's little hand tightly and turned to look at her:
"Back in Xingmei Town, you saw me dressed similarly."

Could it be that they were also thinking, "Trouble is brewing"?

"No, no!" Ambly wasn't good at lying.

But this is indeed a problem.

At least that's what Tang Qi thought.

However, considering his relationship with the captain of the guard and the favor he had done for supporting the Golden Oak the night before, he couldn't pretend he hadn't seen it.

When gentlemen help you without expecting anything in return, you'd better hope they immediately run into some trouble that only you can solve.

Otherwise, as time drags on, they will hand you a problem that you cannot solve.

"Free things are always the most expensive."

Ulasang's "Praise" accurately records this passage.

Tang Qi had no reason to avoid it, so after leading the little girl closer, he braced himself and asked:

"Hmm...did you run into some trouble?"

"certainly--"

The captain of the guard pointed to the homeless man on his lap, as if he were about to throw away a hot potato.

"Quick, quick, get this bastard away from me!"

"Just taking him away?"

"Just don't let that bastard keep clinging to my leg—oh, and don't hurt him intentionally. Otherwise, even as a friend, I have to fulfill my duties as a captain of the guard."

"I was even thinking of hitting him on the back of the head with a club..."

With his initial suggestion rejected, Tang Qi had to find another solution.

He looked at the homeless man squatting on the ground and asked:

"Then what would it take for you to let him go?"

"As long as he's willing to come home with me!"

"go home?"

Owning a property in Longjincheng at least indicates that the person is not a true 'homeless person,' and this matter may not be something that money can solve.

Tang Qi gave the captain of the guard a strange look.

"Are you willing to sell your hook to get rid of him?"

"A hook? No, of course not!"

Just one sentence was enough to send shivers down the other person's spine.

Tang Qi had no choice but to turn around:

"Then I'll spend money to find you a human male of similar build at a brothel, and have him dress up as a guard. Do you think that will satisfy you?"

Two sentences sent chills down the spines of both of them.

The homeless man exclaimed in surprise:

"Damn it, I don't even like men!"

I had him accompany me home so that those Red Turban gang members blocking my door would know I'm protected by the city guards!

Tang Qi hesitated and looked at the captain of the guard: "Aren't you going to do anything about the gang blocking the door?"

"They're legally collecting debts, what's it to me? Damn it, why is everyone using me as a shield?"

"This shows that the city guard still has a good reputation in Longjin City."

Tang Qi, who was under the protection of this 'umbrella', turned his head with certainty.
So how much money do you owe?

"Ten thousand taels of gold..."

"How many!?"

Tang Qi retracted his earlier judgment.

This is something that money can solve, but it requires a lot of money.

The homeless man hugged his legs and explained:

"Of course, it wasn't that much at first; I only owed three thousand gold coins—but since it was money owed to a nobleman, I couldn't delay paying it off for too long in order to maintain my good reputation among the nobles."

So I turned around and took out a loan..."

He didn't want to talk about this.

Because once he speaks out, the captain of the guard will not stand up for him no matter what.

But for some reason, when he encountered this strange yet kind man, he couldn't keep his mouth shut for a moment...

Could it be that I really have a thing for men?

Ignoring his surprise and doubt, Tang Qi asked in a strange tone:

"Did you choose to default on loans from gangs because you didn't want to owe money to nobles?"

How is this any different from you disliking your short legs and then choosing to have the legs of a dwarf?

"But I have no savings, and the bank is unwilling to lend me money at a low interest rate. What can I do?"

The homeless man said regretfully,

"I thought two months would be enough to support me until I returned from Xingmei Town and pay off the debt before the interest started to accrue."

Who knew those damned mercenaries wouldn't even wait an hour, leaving me stranded in Dragon Gold City—

Okay, while I've avoided becoming a human meal for the orcs, what about my loan?
I relied on the government's annual funding to get by, and now it's all gone!

Hearing his tearful complaints, Tang Qi and Anbi exchanged a glance, then asked:

What are you going to Xingmei Town for?

"I'm a painter, of course I'll go and paint!"

Tang Qi seemed to have some recollection of it.

Anbi, assuming Tang Qi was unaware of this, tugged at his sleeve and said:
Before the harvest festival, every household in the town would pick the harvest of the year, squeeze out the juice, dye it on cloth, and hang it in front of their door along with the fruit pulp.

Anyone can freely take Xingmei (a type of spice), and if they like the taste, they can draw a mark on the cloth until it becomes a unique pattern.

The brand with the most elaborate designs and the most diverse styles will become the "Shining Star" of the year...

“I remember, but Lord Mel would hire an artist to travel with the caravan to the town every year to paint fancy designs so that the title would not change hands.”

I wrote it in "The Guide to the Forest at Dawn and Dusk"—wait a minute?

"You brat, you didn't even finish watching it!"

Tang Qi couldn't help but squeeze the little girl's hand.

Ambi exclaimed in surprise, then realized she had said the wrong thing, and said aggrievedly:

"Can't Ambition understand all those words?"

"And you still have the nerve to say 'Anbi thinks it's brilliantly written'?"

"Tang Qi's writing is sure to be wonderful!"

Tang Qi stretched out his finger and smacked her on the head hard:
"Don't lie!"

The girl clutched her head in pain.

"Woo~"

Tang Qi's impression was actually quite deep.

Because that was the day after he was kicked out of the tavern, the moment he woke up at noon and set off to find Anbi.

On his way to the town center, he sampled many local plums, inquired about the harvest festival activities, and wrote them down to enrich his book.

However, on the third day, when the harvest festival was approaching, his plan to "pass off inferior goods as superior ones" had failed, and he was arrested and put in a prison cart. This made everything that followed extremely urgent, and he had no time to pay attention to whether the caravan was missing a painter.

Even if they did, they would probably assume they died halfway through the orc attack.

In retrospect, it turns out that the painter simply missed the meeting time, which is why he didn't get on the bus in the first place.

"Wait, why do you know so much about this? Are you from Xingmei Town?"

Tang Qi nodded: "I guess so."

"Wasn't it said that Starplum Town was occupied by orcs?"

"We escaped."

"Where are those damn mercenaries? I need to find that wolf and confront Master Mel—he abandoned me first, not the other way around!"

“You can do that, but I’m not sure if you’ll ever see him again if you die now.”

"Where is Hussein?"

"Also dead."

"So that fat young master who looked like a pig is dead too? Does that mean no one can vouch for me?"

"Cough cough!"

The captain of the guard deliberately cleared his throat.
"Insulting nobles is punishable by a fine!"

But he didn't accept it this time.

Because he also liked to criticize nobles.

Tang Qi, however, said:

“Merard is still alive. But he seems to be in solitary confinement and hasn’t left the house for a month.”

This was also information that Chuck had found out.

After all, everyone was very interested in this young master who had 'come back to life'.

However, according to the servants at the mansion, the only sounds coming from Master Merard's room lately have been the screams of pain from being whipped with a belt on thick skin.

"It's all over, it's all over. If I don't get my payment from Xingmei Tycoon, I won't be able to pay off my debts, and I won't be able to go home..."

"But you didn't draw anything, so how could you possibly get paid?"

Ambi muttered as she delivered the final blow.

The painter was stunned for a moment, then grabbed her leg and cried, "You might as well lock me up in jail!"

Escaping is shameful, but it works.

"Damn it, I told you to help me get rid of him, not to let him stick to me like a clump of dandruff!" the guard captain shouted, his scalp tingling.

"Alright, then we'll have to..."

Before turning around, Tang Qi tuned the lute and strummed a chord.
"You should forget the troubles of debt and let sleep take away your worries."

He chose a suitable spot to cast the Sleep spell, so that the resulting profusion of flowers would only cover the painter.

He peacefully closed his eyes to the gentle lullaby.

Once he was fast asleep, Tang Qi took out a bundle of hemp rope from his pack and tied the man up completely. Then he looked at the captain of the guard:
"Is that okay now?"

"Are you really a bard? I thought taking on five gang members single-handedly was your limit, how come you're also a spellcaster?"

The captain of the guard was astonished by Tang Qi's methods, but did not delve into the matter further.
“But that’s not enough. I need to make sure that once this scoundrel sobers up, he won’t cause trouble and end up in jail.”

Tang Qi had figured it out early on:

"Did the Red Turban Gang's creditors demand this? Otherwise, I can't imagine why you would go to such lengths to get him out of prison."

"That's right. The reward is that no one will set foot in the slums to collect 'protection money' this month—"

Of course, they wouldn't officially call it 'protection money'.

Friend, please consider this as repaying a favor and resolve this matter properly, okay?

In exchange, your tavern will be frequently patrolled by guards.

"So why would Longjin City allow a gang that disrupts the peace to exist?"

"That's because they have someone protecting them."

Since we can't cure them completely, we must adapt to their existence and find a way to balance things out, right?

The captain of the guard patted Tang Qi on the shoulder:

"In short, take him home first, so that the Red Turban Gang knows that I have released him."

Then make sure he doesn't go to jail and cause me trouble—

Whether you hand him over to the Red Turban Gang, hide him somewhere, or take him out of the city, just don't kill him.

Their biggest fear in collecting debts is that the debtor dies and the debt is wiped out.

As the captain of the guard spoke, he pulled his legs out of the embrace and waved goodbye to Tang Qi.

Tang Qi was left looking at the painter, who was bound hand and foot, with a dilemma:

"So... what's the best way for me to deal with you?"

(End of this chapter)