The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 20 Harvesting the spoils of war

Tang Qi glanced at the two mercenaries who were walking at the front, quietly listening to their conversation.

He then looked at the obscure symbols on the spellbook, symbols that made his head want to explode at just one glance.

Finally, attention fell on the 'intelligence' of the lizard's head...

To be honest, I was really a bit of a blow.

Compared to his inferiority complex, Black Snake's focus was completely different:

"How could a team with spellcasters die in the Dawn Forest without any explanation?"

"Perhaps they got lost in the forest and were on the verge of starvation when the kobolds picked them up?"

He smacked his lips as he picked at the gravel, then shook his head.

"Well, that's unlikely. It can only mean they ran into something troublesome in the forest."

Neither of them looked good, as if they had smelled eggs that had gone bad for three days.

Unable to grasp the key points further, Black Snake could only sigh:

"Never mind, I don't usually venture deep into the forest anyway, as long as it doesn't affect this town."

This statement, however, made Tang Qi very worried.

People living in small towns probably don't need to be nervous.

But in order to record more stories, he won't stay in this small town forever.

A forest that is too dangerous is not a good thing for someone who wants to leave.

This topic seemed to make the atmosphere more somber, and the group left the damp, twilight forest in silence.

Tang Qi vaguely remembered that when they decided to set off to find Xingmei, it was noon with the sun blazing down.

After entering the forest, night fell.

When we emerged from the cave, the sunlight was obscured by the mist and foliage, turning the sky into a somber gray.

Now, as the fog dissipated, he saw the setting sun retreat into the woods, casting streaks of orange-red light that illuminated the outline of Star Plum Town.

It was already evening.

"It's only been a few hours, but I didn't expect it to make me so tired."

Finally arriving at the manor, Black Serpent removed his weapons and brought Anbi, who had been guarded by the village guards, out of the stable. In front of Tang Qi, he removed her ropes.

He also instructed:
"Don't mess things up."

Tang Qi waved his hand: "We're already at rock bottom, it can't get any worse."

"besides."

As Black Snake spoke, he moved the basket of loot from the dead adventurers on the truck in front of Tang Qi.
"The jackal is dead, and his share will be divided equally among the three of us."

You can pick any item from there and take... 20 gold coins.

Tang Qi pointed to himself, never expecting to be able to participate in the division of spoils.

"Take it, poet!"

Shattered Stone laughed loudly, patted Tang Qi's butt, and gestured for him to lean closer to his ear.

"Don't let his grumpy face fool you, he's all bark and no bite."

Without you, we wouldn't have been able to find these Xingmei products at all, and we might have been fired.

He might not say it, but he knows it perfectly well!

"Go to hell, you piece of gravel."

Black Snake pretended to kick the dwarf's shoulder, coldly urging Tang Qi on.
"Hurry up and pick it, then get out of my sight right now!"

Tang Qi didn't stand on ceremony and quickly began collecting his spoils.

While short swords and crossbows can be used as means of attack, they are not of high priority for a bard.

To reduce the risks of adventure, the first thing to consider is how to save your life.

He was dressed like a homeless man and was now lacking a piece of durable protective gear.

The plate armor clearly hampered his movement, which allowed Tang Qi to finally pinpoint his target—

A short, dark brown leather jacket; disregarding the bloodstains, the style is clean and neat.

He took it in his hand, weighed it, and quickly discovered that in addition to the extremely tough snakeskin on the surface, the inner layer seemed to be inlaid with rivets for a deeper layer of defense.

This is actually a studded leather armor.

"You're quite lucky."

Black Snake tossed him a bulging money pouch and snorted coldly.
"The cost of buying Xingmei is included in this. Get out of here before I back out."

Tang Qi didn't immediately move away: "There's one more thing."

"Say it."

“I need you to declare this child innocent.” Tang Qi pulled over Amby, who had remained silent.

The girl only hoped that this matter would be over soon so that she could go home and prove to her worried older sister that she was alright.

They never even considered clarifying the baseless accusations.

Now, the drooping, snow-white ears are trembling slightly.

Black Snake frowned, and after a brief hesitation, sighed and rubbed his forehead:
"This is really troublesome... Hey you, the whole thing was done by the kobolds in the forest. Remember to tell the village chief later and clear things up for her."

He casually pointed to a guard, gave the order, and then ignored everyone else, stretching as he walked toward the mansion.

Tang Qi lifted the rag on the truck to cover Kulu's figure. After the latter dismissed his people, he followed the guards to the center of the town.

The village official, following Black Snake's orders, dispatched guards to go through the streets and alleys, announcing the results to the residents of Xingmei Town.

They were kobolds from the forest who stole the boots in the dead of night, destroyed the Star Plum of the David family, and ultimately stole Lord Mel's 'Radiant Star'.

Everything has nothing to do with Ambi.

But the truth of the case actually had no bearing on the residents' opinions of Ambi.

People rejected her not because of her bad character or the evil things she had done.

Rather, it was the curse she was born with.

Ambi lived in this small town and was well aware of this.

"It's alright, Brother Tang Qi, you're not doing something in vain. Anbi is very happy..."

More than the disdain and prejudice, what Ambi feared was that Tang Qi would feel sad because he realized he was powerless to change anything.

She didn't want her new friend to be unhappy because of her, just like her sister.
“It’s okay if they don’t believe Anbi, Anbi is used to it. As long as her older brother and sister know that Anbi isn’t a bad child, that’s all that matters…”

People who aren't strong enough wouldn't have been able to survive in this environment until now.

Tang Qi just smiled and gently rubbed her furry ears.

Actually, he was in a good mood and wasn't affected at all.

For him, he was simply doing what he wanted to do.

He will work hard for it, but he won't deliberately pursue a so-called result.

Enjoy the process with a clear conscience; as for the outcome, whether it's good or bad, that doesn't entirely depend on him.

But he didn't say much and followed Amby back to the tavern.

Unexpectedly, a boy's anxious call stopped the two people and the dog... in the chieftain's tracks—

"A-Ambi!"

The two turned around at the same time and found that it was noon, and David's child was the one who had been yelling at Ambly for stealing and destroying his own Starmay.

The boy stood in the setting sun, his face flushed, fidgeting shyly.

It seems that calling for an end to Ambi had already exhausted all his courage.

"George, what else do you want to say? I wouldn't mind cursing you here all day!"

Ambi assumed the boy was looking for trouble and viciously extended her claws, threatening him.

"me……"

Young George David closed his eyes resignedly, his voice barely audible, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
"sorry."

"What did you say?" Amby couldn't hear clearly from a distance.

"I said—I'm sorry, I misunderstood you! I'll never call you a monster again!"

After shouting, the boy felt utterly humiliated.

If my parents hadn't insisted, I wouldn't have put my face so close!
He covered his face and ran away without looking back until he disappeared around the corner of the dirt road.

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, looked at Anbi, and smiled:

"It seems that clarification wasn't entirely useless?"

However, Anbi did not show the smile that should have appeared after the misunderstanding was cleared up.

On the contrary, she froze on the spot, clutching Tang Qi's sleeve tightly, trembling:

"me……"

"what happened?"

“He shouldn’t have apologized to me!” Ambi shouted.

A feeling of guilt, like the sharp hilt of a clapper scraping against her heart, tormented her conscience.
Because, because—

"Because you really destroyed their Xingmei?"

Ambi was horrified:

"How did Brother Tang Qi know!?"

(End of this chapter)