The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 68 Is this some kind of hellish joke? (3k views)

"Oh? You know that town too."

The hunter's tone seemed much more relaxed.

"I thought you were a group of... adventurers. After all, it's not normal to encounter two dwarfs at once."

He looked at the rubble, then at Kulu.

The camp was slightly shrouded in mist, making him think there were only three 'people' in front of him.

“Cut off his goatee. Why do you humans always call all short people dwarfs?”

This dog-headed man is so skinny, I wouldn't mind calling him a dwarf or a half-man!

The gravel stomped its feet in anger.
"We are the strongest and most powerful. Halflings have the most pointed ears. Dwarfs have the biggest heads—is it hard to tell them apart?"

"Forgive him. You should know that the people of Xingmei Town almost never leave this forest."

The only short people I've ever seen in my life, besides you, are those who haven't grown up yet.

Tang Qi suppressed a smile and reassured them. Seeing that Kuru had already buried the body with his clay magic, he felt somewhat relieved and said to the hunter in the distance.

"Actually... we just left Xingmei Town, taking the entire town with us."

These words clearly startled the hunter for a moment, and he hesitated before confirming:
"Sorry, I might not have heard you right—you mean, with the whole town?"

"Yes. The town was raided by orcs, didn't you know?"

"Orcs!?"

He seemed startled.
"How could orcs be roaming this forest—I've never seen them before!"

"Those orcs came from the south. If you live further north, it's normal that you won't run into them. Anyway, I'm trying to lead them to Dragongold City. Do you want to catch up with some old friends?"

"No, forget it."

The hunter raised his hands, which had become completely wolf-like.

"If someone like me could really maintain any old feelings, I wouldn't have ended up living in this forest where day and night are indistinguishable."

Especially now that it's so dark, if I were to suddenly walk over and say hello, I might scare them.

"If I may ask one more question, after what happened in town... is Father Lynn alright?"

Remembering that Father Lynn had once helped the hunter, Tang Qi comforted him:

"Of course, he is healthy. He is currently taking care of the wounded in the camp."

"That's really great."

The hunter breathed a sigh of relief and steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"So, gentlemen, you haven't seen my Wolf?"

"No."

Tang Qi and Sui Shi shook their heads in unison.

"We only saw a few dire wolves, if you think your Wolf is among them..."

Tang Qi moved aside to give him a better view of the pile of robust dire wolf carcasses.

The hunter approached and examined the area for a moment. A strong stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, causing him to frown and shake his head.
"No, it's just an ordinary gray wolf."

So the sounds we heard earlier were because you were attacked by dire wolves?

Well, Wolf might have run into some trouble on his way here—

In short, it's a pleasure to meet you all. Willing to lead the entire town in escape, you truly are like 'heroes' from a story.

"Same for us."

It must be said that being able to maintain a relatively peaceful conversation with a hunter is indeed comfortable—it helps to relieve the tension on the run.

The other party was clearly someone who had successfully resisted the [Beast Curse] and still maintained complete rationality. His experience of being banished had made him know when to advance and when to retreat.

If this were a hunter full of animalistic instincts and lacking any sense of propriety, Tang Qi might have cautiously chased him away to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"I need to go find my Wolf now."

It's clear that he really cares about his little wolf.

When all that could be found after looking around was gone, all one could do was put the gloves back on and sigh.
"May the forest protect you and guide your way."

"I also sincerely wish that you can be reunited with your loyal companions." Tang Qi bowed slightly, showing his demeanor.

"Is this some kind of hellish joke?"

The rubble couldn't help but mutter, but Tang Qi immediately nudged its head with his elbow, signaling it to be quiet.

After the hunters left the mist, Tang Qi quickly directed Kuru to remove the thick layer of soil covering them:

"Quickly, quickly, take them to the stream to wash them clean, then chop them up and roast them—absolutely no evidence can be left behind!"

He ran back to the camp first, called over a few able-bodied young men who had nothing to do, and together they carried the carcasses of the nine wild beasts to the stream.

It took some time to learn how to process and clean the wolf pelts using the same method as the stone crusher. After skewering them, all the wolf pelts were left, along with about a third of the meat—the stone crusher inevitably ate more to restore the energy needed for [Combat Skills].

Finally, the remainder was distributed among the people so they could cook it themselves.

When they returned to their tent, Catherine and Ambly had already set up a makeshift grill.

Tang Qi and Sui Shi didn't know much about outdoor cooking, so tasks like grilling meat and controlling the heat had to be temporarily left to the two girls.

"Zizi-"

Looking at the wolf meat roasting over the raging fire on the grill, Broken Stone sighed:
"Wolf meat doesn't taste very good."

"tasty!"

But clearly, this was a hundred times better than the daily diet Kuru had in the cave, enough to make the kobold's eyes sparkle with starlight.

"This is in the wild. You should be grateful that you have meat to eat and can replenish your energy."

Tang Qi took the roasted meat from Catherine and carefully examined the quality of the dire wolf meat—

Carnivores already have firm muscles, and these predators in the wild will only have even more developed muscles.

As a result, it completely lacks the milky white and alluring snowflake texture of pigs and cows; its rough fibers have a dark brown color, which becomes even blacker after being roasted.

A pungent, fishy smell lingered in Tang Qi's nostrils, and he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

"Brother Tang Qi, you can try this."

Seeing this, Amby, who was sitting next to him, quickly handed him a wooden bottle about the size of his palm.

Tang Qi opened it and found it contained some greenish-blue paste, with a faint, pleasant fragrance emanating from the bottle opening.
"This is?"

"It's [Green Mushroom Sauce]! It's made by crushing together fern leaves from the forest, boiled mushrooms, and morning glory petals, then mixing them with tree sap." Tang Qi exclaimed in surprise, "Ambly can make this?"

"Dad used to teach Ambly!"
Dad said that in the forest, day and night alternate every four hours, which allows plants to fully absorb sunlight in a short period of time, making their leaves sweeter than usual.

Ambi collected a lot during her rest time, but has only managed to make this small amount so far…

She proudly put her hands on her hips.

Tang Qi tried spreading some green mushroom sauce on the meat skewers; the light fragrance slightly masked the gamey smell of the wolf meat.

While the meat is dry and tough like jerky when chewing, the taste is still quite good.

It has a refreshing sweet taste that is not greasy, with a slightly sour and astringent flavor that whets the appetite.

He wanted to find out about Ambly's father, but considering that she and Catherine were now the only ones relying on each other, he felt it was inappropriate to touch on their sore spot.

He touched her ear through the hood that covered her face and praised her:

"Ambi is amazing!"

This is the little girl's favorite song, and she giggles.

Just as I was getting carried away with my smugness, I noticed the meat skewers on the grill were smelling burnt.
"Oh no! It's burnt!"

She hurriedly started tidying up.

Tang Qi wanted to help, but then he heard a voice calling out:
"Ahem, Mr. Dwarf, Mr. Hero?"

That sound came from outside the camp.

Tang Qi recognized him clearly; it was the hunter he had just parted ways with not long ago.

They exchanged a glance with the gravel, and the two followed the sound, only to find that the hunter was coming from the opposite direction from where they had parted.

Seemingly not wanting to be recognized by the townspeople, he wore a hood this time, covering most of his face.

Upon seeing the rubble and Tang Qi, he said somewhat awkwardly:
"Hello, it's nice to see you again."

Tang Qi blinked, feigning ignorance, and asked:
"Haven't they found Wolf yet?"

No. Actually, that—uh—

Because I used to rely on Wolf to help me find my way, so now…”

Tang Qi understood: "You're lost."

"I'm sorry, I didn't actually intend to trouble you. But—"

The hunter was somewhat embarrassed.

"But wandering around in the fog, I really couldn't find the right direction."

If you don't mind, could you please give me a place to rest?

"Just let me take a short nap, rest for a while, and then I'll continue looking for the way..."

Considering the hunter's current predicament, I feel I also bear some responsibility.

Because he knew Xingmei Town fairly well, Tang Qi hesitated for a moment and looked at the rubble:
"Do you want him to come in?"

"You're the leader, so it's up to you. I don't really care; he seems like a decent guy..."

Tang Qi nodded and waved to the hunter:

"Come on, we'll probably stay for a few more hours."

"Thank you so much for your help."

He pulled his hood down to avoid the curious stares of the townspeople along the way, and followed Tang Qi to the tent.

Tang Qi picked up a skewer of grilled meat and offered it to the hunter:
"Let's eat something first."

"Can I?"

"of course."

Tang Qi's eyes even held a hint of hope.

The gravel knew what he was thinking—

Wolf has already gone into her stomach, so don't blame us!

He couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"So it really is a hellish joke."

The hunter sat somewhat awkwardly in the open space, savoring the roasted meat in his hand, occasionally praising the chef's skills.

"Who is this?"

Catherine hadn't expected to encounter other people in the forest and curiously eyed the hunter whose face was covered.

Since they were one of their own, Tang Qi explained the hunter's origins to avoid causing the two girls too much panic.

Let's start with the story Father Lynn told:

"...In short, he was a hunter from the town before. Father Lynn should recognize him."

The hunter nodded, as if confirming his identity, and answered quietly:
"Yes, it was Father Lynn who bandaged my wound back then. We've always had a good relationship."

However, Tang Qi soon discovered that his explanation did not ease the two girls' expressions.

Instead, Catherine held Amby's hand tightly, becoming increasingly nervous.

Ambly hesitated to speak, but Catherine's subtle gesture silenced her.

He then realized that something was wrong.

He patted the pebbles he had wolfed down, frowned, and got up, feigning nonchalance.

However, this action clearly did not escape the hunter's eyes—

He paused for a moment, then took off his hood.

His smile was both helpless and enigmatic.

He sighed, somewhat puzzled:

"That's strange, why are you reacting like this?"

Was my story... not realistic enough?

(End of this chapter)