The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 29 That Friend
"You must be tired from your journey, young master needs to rest!"

As Lord Mel's most loyal and trusted steward, he is also the leader of this caravan.

Huss felt obligated to take care of the young master and let him enjoy the journey in peace.

But the wolf was unwilling to play house with the nobles:
"Of course, when you're all dead, you can rest for the rest of your lives."

Huss frowned, feeling offended:
"Mercenaries, we are your employers!"

"So it's my team that lost men, not yours!"

Explosive Wolf grabbed Huss by the collar, spitting almost onto the man's respectable face.

“Listen, we’re paid to do things, so if someone loses or dies, it’s just bad luck.”

But if you know there is danger and still travel at a leisurely pace, then you are voluntarily throwing your life away.

I won't be dragged down with your stupidity!

As expected, some unexpected events caused the caravan to speed up its journey, leading to the plan being exposed...

Tang Qi couldn't expect Lady Luck to always be on his side.

All he could think about was how to adapt to the situation now that it had come to this.

"Anger is a deadly knife."

They always try their best to dig up the contradictions;
Reject pointless nagging and arguments.
We need a rational solution.

Tang Qi's singing was interspersed between the two's argument, like water suddenly being poured over a brazier.

They fell silent at the same time, all looking toward the source of the singing.

Tang Qi shook his handcuffed hands at them:

"I apologize, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just have a favor to ask—"

"While you're arguing, may I bring my package?"

He hasn't used his friendship spell yet to avoid letting people realize he also has the ability to cast spells, and then getting beaten up afterward.

But once it's confirmed that the other party doesn't have this intention, he will use it on the real person in charge, Melard—

The diary was still in the package; I couldn't leave it behind no matter what.

But before the two who had been interrupted could react, Melard looked at him in surprise:
"Damn villain, you're a bard?"

"It's a pity my hands are bound, otherwise I would have played a poem specifically for your mercy."

Why would a poet help a mercenary cover up the theft of Xingmei?

"This is a long story..."

Tang Qi glanced at the black snake beside him.

Black Snake had a strange, bad feeling.

Tang Qi's singing voice sounded slightly choked up:

"A derelict villain arrested an innocent girl."

They wanted to push her to the slanderous gallows;
The kind-hearted poet wanted to save her.

The villain said, 'Fine, if you can't find the truth, I'll kill you myself.'

The poet, now on a pirate ship, could only curse in his heart.

Left with no other choice, they devised a plan to deceive the lord!

Black Snake's mouth twitched.

Although something always felt a little off.

In truth, the poet is by no means innocent in the way he has come to this point.

But then I thought, this seems to be the truth, doesn't it?

“Merciful sir, I do not expect you to forgive my sins, for it is an undeniable fact that I deceived you.”

But please allow me to retrieve my belongings; my precious diary is among them.

In fact, Tang Qi didn't even want these people to send him away.

He originally intended to leave with the caravan, but things went wrong along the way, and he hasn't gone astray yet.

Since the forest is becoming increasingly eerie, following closely behind mercenaries and caravans is definitely the safest course of action.

Seeing that the poet was so pragmatic, Méridien didn't mind showing his tolerance.

His household often hired musicians, but rarely did they encounter anyone as interesting as Tang Qi:
Where is your package?

“This gentleman lives in my tavern; I’ll go and fetch it for him,” Catherine volunteered.

Merard waved his hand, signaling her to hurry back:
"Mr. Xinxing, please cast a spell to protect Xingmei. We will depart immediately in thirty minutes."

The employer's decisive action somewhat appeased the anxious wolf.

Pushed and shoved by several caravan guards, Tang Qi and Black Snake were shoved onto a wagon. Besides being piled with various odds and ends, there was also a dog-headed man lying on the wagon, who had been barking and howling incessantly due to excessive grief, but was eventually knocked unconscious because he found it too noisy.

Their hands and feet were firmly locked, making it impossible for anyone to feel any desire to escape.

"I can't just sit around doing nothing and get heat rash," Tang Qi looked around and asked in a low voice.

"Where are the gravel?"

“I let him hide—one person is enough to take the blame for negligence.”

"I'm curious, have jackals ever seen this side of you so loyal?"

“I never let my men take the blame, not even Jackal. It’s just a pity he died at your hands.”

Tang Qi blinked:

Can defamation be prosecuted in Longjincheng?

"At this point, is there any need to act, poet? I confirmed it last night; there were no signs of acid corrosion on the jackal's chainmail."

This means he removed his chainmail before fighting the Ochre Frost Monster—how incredibly stupid must he be?

Tang Qi sighed. Being exposed due to such a loophole was basically due to unforeseen circumstances.
"There's no way I can move his body without removing his chainmail."

"He's a capable person, his only shortcoming is that he lacks experience."

"He doesn't even recognize kobolds, so how can he be considered a 'some'? That's enough to kill him."

Black Snake leaned against the pile of junk and glanced at Tang Qi with a scrutinizing look:
"Do you have some misunderstanding about mercenaries? Mercenaries are tasked with guarding and serving in the military, not exploring the world—that's for adventurers."

"So you and Shattered Stone are adventurers?"

He did not answer the question.

But that in itself is an answer.

"Staying in Xingmei Town can't just be for retirement, can it? I think Sui Shi is quite motivated."

Seeing that the black snake did not respond, Tang Qi couldn't help but turn around and saw that he had already slept with Kulu.

So relaxed that they had no sense of self-awareness as prisoners.

But what's most intriguing is that he clearly possesses considerable skill, even against the mercenaries present; escaping into the forest wouldn't be difficult for him.

They were just mercenaries. They had lost their reputation in Dragon Gold City. What difference would it make if they moved to another city?
Perhaps he was well-versed in Longjincheng's laws and knew that his crimes would not endanger his life?

Or perhaps, they have some compelling reason to stay here?

"Adventurers, ruins..."

"Brother Tang Qi!"

As he pondered, Tang Qi spotted a girl running along the dirt road in the wheat field.

Thanks to the curse of her bestiality, she was born stronger and faster than others, which enabled her to take on this errand-running task.

Now, carrying Tang Qi's tattered bundle, she tries to cross the wheat field and pass through the crowd.

"who!?"

Steward Huss quickly summoned several mercenaries to block her path.

After hearing her sister's instructions, Anbi quickly unloaded the bundle:

"I'm here to deliver something."

Huss snatched the package, opened it, and found that besides a thick, simple diary...

The package also contained a large cloth bag and three water bags, making the backpack quite heavy.

The diary was empty, the cloth bag contained many hard rye breads, and the water bag was filled with plum wine unique to Golden Oak.

This saved the 'prisoners' from the problem of eating.

Huss snorted coldly, unwilling to let the shabby smell of the package taint his fingers, and carelessly tossed it into a carriage—

Ambi then shouted:

"My sister also asked me to pass on a message to you."

she says--

We can't just look at appearances, can we?

"Young Master Melard, that's the friend she was talking about!"

Tang Qi blinked.

He immediately recalled their conversation that morning.

The way he looked at Melard also became meaningful.

(End of this chapter)