The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 91 Long Jincheng and An Xin (3.3k)

Sunlight struggles to penetrate the dense foliage, keeping the forest perpetually gloomy during the day.

Even if a few rays of light managed to pierce through, they would be dispersed by the thin mist.

This means that although the forest always alternates between day and night, it rarely causes irreversible damage to the traveler's body.

So much so that Ambi was still able to perk up and stick her head out of the oxcart bobbing on the wetlands.

Looking at Tang Qi lying on his sister's lap, and Xiao Long lying on Tang Qi's chest:

What's its name?

"Iwu".

Why is it called this name?

"Try touching it."

The little girl stretched out her furry paws, about to stroke the little dragon's forehead, which was covered in golden patterns.

"Ugh!"

Iwu shouted fiercely, startling the little girl so much that her snow-white ears twitched, and she quickly shrank back behind the truck's side panel.

"So fierce!"

His dark brown vertical pupils trembled as he revealed himself, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"So this is the legendary 'dragon'?"
So beautiful, even her eyes are so pretty…

"Same as your eyes."

"No, they say Anbi's eyes are fierce. But when she sees Iu, Anbi just thinks she's so beautiful."

The little girl has never liked her eyes.

Her bestial pupils always made her look like a ferocious wolf.

Whenever I make eye contact with someone, the response I always receive is either fear or disgust.

But when she looks directly at Iu, she doesn't think that way at all.

strangeness……

They clearly have ears and eyes.

Why does it look so elegant, like those high-ranking nobles?

But I feel like a dirty little kid.

"Perhaps it's not that your eyes aren't pretty enough, but rather that the eyes they use to look directly at you are flawed."

Tang Qi reluctantly straightened up from Catherine's lap, cradling the little dragon in his hands so it could get closer to Anbi.
"Don't touch it from above, otherwise its gaze will stay on your fingers. This will make it think 'something is approaching it,' and make it feel unsafe."

In fact, Anbi did not fully understand Tang Qi's words of comfort.

But the act of comforting her was enough to make the little girl happy.

Her eyes even seemed to brighten.

Tang Qi then stretched out his fingers and stroked Iwu's slender neck from bottom to top—

"Ugh!"

Although the same syllables were uttered from the throat, it was clearly different from the previous shouts.

The ring inlaid with a fiery ruby ​​told Tang Qi.

This guy is secretly pleased:

"See this patch of white skin under its neck? Touch it here, gently, and sweep it towards its jaw—"

While it's still newborn and its scales haven't yet covered its entire body, you still have this opportunity to get close to it.

The effect of the "Love Ring" is quite obvious.

It seems to be due to the nature of the [Amethyst Dragon] that Iu does not possess the destructive power of the Red Dragon.

So much so that the moment they woke up last night, they swallowed the eggshell and dried meat that Tang Qi offered them, confirming the 'earnest goodwill' of this upright species, and thus they had already established a preliminary trust—

Except for that 'descendant' who stole its eggs.

However, it could sense a faint connection with that dog-headed man.

This spiritual resonance seems to stem from Kuru's past devout worship.

So much so that now Iu is just a little annoyed by this thief.

Kuru had been unconscious all night after ingesting the eggshell and had not yet regained consciousness.

This made Iu realize that he was now in a safe environment, and therefore wouldn't be spewing molten lava from one side and flames from the other like the red dragon...

Oh, I haven't learned it yet.

Anbi, on the other hand, tried to learn from Tang Qi's approach and slowly extended her claws.

But then she realized that her nails were very sharp, so she quickly clenched her fist and used the soft hair on the back of her hand to brush against Iwu's neck.

"Ugh!"

Perhaps it was the silky and smooth feel of the plush fur that made Xiaolong visibly feel even better.

Tang Qi felt as if it was being electrocuted by its sound.

I simply handed the little dragon to Anbi and let her go play with Iu herself.

Merard, who occupied a significant portion of the space on the truck, also raised his hand:

"I'll try it too!"

"Ouch!"

Anbi glared fiercely at the little white pig, which frightened the young master so much that he quickly shrank back to his original position.

Why are you yelling at me?

"Because you're a bad person."

"I...I didn't! I didn't. I'm just—a coward!"

"Then talk to me again when you've grown bold enough!"

Anbi didn't want to waste her breath arguing with the nobleman she disliked, so she just held Iu and looked him over.

Only when Merard looked left at Kulu, who was unconscious on the wine barrel, and right at the snoring gravel beside her, did she feel incredibly lonely. She hugged her knees and slowly shed tears.

"Mr. Huss, I miss you..."

After leaving Huss, who else will treat me like a young master?

"Do you want to go and keep him company?" Tang Qi turned around and asked.

Merard shuddered in fright:

"Actually, I didn't think that way..."

"Stop crying. We might just make it out of the forest today. When you get back to Dragon Gold City, won't you still be that chubby young master?"

"No, I'll lose weight!" "Are you afraid of gaining weight to market weight? Well, good luck!"

"But should I really lie to my father?"

Melard ignored Tang Qi's joke and curled up even tighter, her lack of confidence obvious.
"Does Father really believe the lie you told me—'Chief Huss led mercenaries deep into the forest, halting the orcs' advance and buying us time to escape'?"

"You mean Lord Mel is very self-aware, and only when the fact is stated that 'as a nobleman, he was beaten to a pulp by commoners and brought back to Dragongold City tied to a wine barrel' is he satisfied with what he has done?"

"I didn't cry..."

Tang Qi, using Melard's previous voice, said:
"'General Husse, I miss you...'"

"Okay, but I only shed one tear. And I haven't lied to my father, so I'm a little afraid of being exposed!"

"You were able to hide your sexual orientation for over a decade, and now you're telling me you've never lied to anyone?"

"That's different!"

"In short, I asked you to say this simply so that this matter could end here and there, and we could avoid some trouble for each other—"

You gained fame, these fleeing townspeople gained stability, and I gained a path to connect with the aristocratic class.

This is a win-win situation.

But even if you tell Lord Mel the truth, it doesn't really matter.

"After all, I will still spread the 'lie.' Even if your father finds out that these refugees escaped the town by killing Huss, he will still have to accept the 'lie' due to the pressure of his reputation."

Tang Qi genuinely didn't care that Melard had let something slip.

Along the way, he inquired about Longjin City quite a bit, and realized early on that the 'nobility' here was more of a status symbol.

This signifies that the ancestors of these people were once glorious when this city-state was first established.

Many nobles had already lost their fiefdoms.

It differs in many ways from the sorcerer families of the [Terren Empire], who wield real power.

The city is actually governed more by the parliament.

It consists of a "public lord" who acts as the nominal ruler, exercising leadership and veto power, and many "masked lords" who conceal their identities to prevent them from accepting bribes.

This may not be effective, but a masked lord who actively reveals his identity will be punished and replaced by the law.

"Guess who the lord is" has thus become a common greeting among every citizen of Dragon Gold City.

Ultimately, this city is held together by the law.

After all, without constraints, it is difficult to form a 'civilization'.

Since the will of citizens is taken into account, it also means that it will be subject to the constraints of public opinion.

Whatever your thoughts may be, you should think them over carefully before taking action.

Moreover, after several twists and turns, Tang Qi had a clear understanding of the team's overall strength, and therefore was unafraid of the challenge:
"As long as we earn more money, it will be enough to take care of the guy with osteoporosis..."

Recalling the limitations of Chenxi and the only bottle of [Restoration Glue] he had left, Tang Qi suddenly realized that he should probably prepare a way to make money.

The dividends from the Golden Oak would never be enough to cover the enormous expenses of the adventure.

Just as he was considering this, he suddenly heard the neighing of a spirited horse.

The steed shrouded in black mist galloped towards him from the road ahead, and as it reached him, he heard the headless rider on its back recount with a hint of excitement:

"We'll be out of the forest soon. If we travel faster when we reach the plains, we might be able to reach Dragon Gold City before sunset."

Her voice was loud and clear, like a megaphone placed in front of her helmet, spreading far and wide until it reached the ears of every townsman in the queue.

Joy and cheers resounded for a moment, even startling a few birds in the treetops:

"So we survived!? Finally, we don't have to worry about being caught by orcs and zombies anymore?"

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in almost a month!"

"Grandma, I don't need to see you anymore..."

This also includes anxieties about the future and the struggle of figuring out how to survive.

But the very act of 'leaving the dark forest and facing the sunlight' is enough to dispel those worries.

"Let's think about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

Catherine, as if relieved of a heavy burden, unconsciously tightened her grip on the reins.
"Tang Qi, thank you."

"It's still early, let's thank you later tonight."

"Listen to me carefully."

"Sorry, I'm just used to being glib."

Tang Qi quickly adopted a serious expression.

The girl took a deep breath:

"Actually, I was confused about 'leaving Xingmei Town' from the very beginning of the journey."

Because I don't know where I can go after leaving that tavern and leaving home.

This made me fearful, uneasy, and even afraid that I wouldn't be able to run a tavern that could satisfy everyone, starting from scratch, like my mother did.

However, as the journey progressed day by day and I overcame so many difficulties, these concerns seemed to gradually slip away from my mind...

Thank you, Mr. Stone, Ms. Dawn, and Kuru.

Thank you for the peace of mind you brought me, which gave me the courage.

Tang Qi gathered her wine-red braid and draped it over his shoulder to cover her bright red ears.

"So, you're confident you can face all the challenges once you arrive in Dragon Gold City?"

"I will work hard."

"Then let's try to uproot that Golden Oak."

So that even when we're exhausted from our adventures, we can find peace in your tavern.

The oxcart bumped along on the gradually drying land, greeted by the first rays of sunlight breaking through the thin mist.

The dense foliage on both sides no longer blocks out the sunlight.

The brighter the scene before them became, and their mood brightened accordingly.

Until they saw the city-state standing on the plains.

Tang Qi couldn't help but get up and look around:

"So, [Long Jincheng]... really is a dragon?"

　Longjin City will sew together Deepwater City, but it won't be exactly the same.

　　And I'll be adding a lot of my own ideas to the whole book, so please don't scold me, guys.

　　The current plan is to update one chapter at 11:00 AM and one chapter at 18:00 PM every day.

　　A chapter can never be less than 3000 words; it will only be more, not less.

　　Thank you for subscribing, everyone! Love you all!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)