The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 98 Haunted House (Please subscribe!)
A tavern without a story is like a dwarf without shoe lifts.

What? What's the point of dwarfs wearing height-increasing insoles?

Otherwise, how could he appear taller than halflings and dwarfs?
Similarly, how can a new pub differentiate itself from its competitors?

'Story' is an essential height-increasing insole.

While Star Plum Wine is expensive and rare, Lord Mel's winery also supplies fine wines to various taverns.

Not to mention that other taverns also sell locally produced wines or other wines imported through ports and canals—

Inexpensive yet high-quality ale [Offal Stout], the tequila that the dwarves are proud of [Iron Furnace Blaze], and the champagne favored by the Tyrannossians [Is Riverbank]...

The more premium and diverse the types of wine, the better.

So much so that every tavern racks its brains to come up with a distinctive brand name.

"For example, the song 'The Mermaid' is widely known for the story of 'a mermaid swept in by the waves, suffering from the loneliness of leaving her homeland, getting drunk in a tavern, and then singing on the sea'—"

Although he looks like a handsome young man, Chuck is already a fifty-year-old father of three daughters.

As a 'guide' who moved to Longwei Pass as a child, he knows most of the interesting stories about Longjin City.

While Chenxi was calling for Kulu upstairs, Tang Qi, who was very interested in these stories, couldn't help but ask:
Why is it considered a 'joke'?

Chuck took a sip of beer and couldn't help waving his hand, saying:
"Because the owner of [Mermaid Song] was a dockworker who had never seen much of the world."

However, his muscular physique was very attractive, and he hooked up with a businessman's daughter, raising funds to open a tavern.

Unfortunately, he had never left Longjin City, so he had no idea that the 'Inner Sea' was connected to a canal that had been dug long ago.

That river doesn't pass through Black Reef Harbor or the Endless Sea on the west coast, so there's no way there could be a 'mermaid swept by the waves'.

However, after being exposed, he felt extremely ashamed and refused to admit that the story was fabricated.

So, in the middle of the night, he rowed a small boat to the center of the inner sea and sang at the top of his lungs all night long.

So the news that the owner of Mermaid's Song sang in drag every night quietly spread, which made the tavern more and more lively and turned it into the top spot in the dock area.

So you get it—the Mermaid Song isn't actually about 'mermaids,' but about this boss.

Chuck shrugged and patted Tang Qi's butt.
"If you want your tavern to be famous for 'ghosts,' you'd better pray that there really are 'ghosts' there."

Otherwise, you'll have to put on a white robe, cover your head, and pretend to be a ghost in the dead of night.

Tang Qi nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully:
"You're right, maybe I really should dress up a bit."

No, I was just joking.

In fact, I think there must be ghosts there, and they're the kind who died tragically. For example, a woman whose husband cheated on her, whose children died, and who herself was defiled—

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been crying and wailing until now, driving away several nearby residents.

"you misunderstood."

Tang Qi shook his head.
"I was wondering, if I dressed up as a ghost, would she be willing to let me feel the warmth of a ghost?"

"..."

Chuck felt that for a moment, his face seemed to twist into a pretzel, and he stood there stunned for more than ten seconds.

After a long pause, he hesitated before saying:
"Are you human?"

"I am a poet."

Tang Qi was very certain.

Chuck never imagined that he, a passionate halfling who never wanted to lose a word, would one day be so speechless—

The poet is truly extraordinary; I am not a disgrace to half-humans!
Fortunately, the dawn, who was pulling the dazed kobold down the stairs, saved him from his internal turmoil.

Upon seeing Kulu for the first time, Tang Qi frowned:
"Iwu hates it that much? Did you poison it? Why did it turn so purple?"

Ever since it stole the eggshell, the dog-headed man has been in a coma.

Tang Qi just treated it as a lesson and didn't pay much attention to it.

Who would have thought that when they met again, he would look completely different?

Back then, it was very popular.

The scales are now tinged with a dark purple, even more so, giving them a matte finish.

It also seems to be harder and sharper.

"Kuru, that's strange."

The kobold couldn't explain the changes in itself either, and could only demonstrate to Tang Qi what he had learned from the eggshell through practice—

So it remained still.

Tang Qi saw that it stood there stunned for a while and thought to himself, "We're doomed."

Could it be that eating eggshells has damaged his brain?
But Chuck's exclamation quickly dispelled his concerns:
"Who's pulling my wine glass?!"

Tang Qi then saw Chuck's hand, which was holding the wine glass, suddenly stiffen and extend outwards.

He seemed to be wrestling with someone, his other hand gripping his wrist so tightly that the veins in his neck were bulging.

But Chuck was clearly stronger. After quickly pulling the glass to his chest, he looked at Tang Qi with some surprise:

"Could it be that instead of you going to find the ghost, she came to you on her own!?"

Tang Qi quickly looked at Kulu:

"You did it?"

The kobold nodded:
"hand!"

"A hand... a mage's hand? Why can't I see it?"

Tang Qi immediately realized what was happening.

"Can it become invisible?"

"Rua!"

"Is there anything else?"

"Throw, ball! A, color, change, ball!"

That was clearly a spell, otherwise Kuru would have shown it.

Tang Qi searched through the list of spells in his mind as much as possible and roughly figured out its meaning.

Perhaps it's the [Colorful Ball]?
A powerful single-target spell of the first level.

"What's this? After swallowing the dragon egg, your bloodline was awakened or optimized?"

This allows Kuru to possess not only a highly developed brain but also the abilities of a sorcerer.
Did that kobold really hatch a gold egg? The invisible [Mage's Hand] has a unique advantage in terms of functionality—

Those wandering sorcerers who have learned a little bit of magic can often pick locks and steal without anyone noticing.

The mastery of the [Colorful Ball] seems to have resolved the awkward situation where Kuru could only stand at a distance and fire a few freezing rays before lying on the ground pretending to be dead.

It can exhaust a full ring of spells and then feign death.

This doesn't even affect Kuru's intelligence, allowing it to continue climbing towards higher levels of magehood.

Including its tougher skin, these three abilities are practically free.

As for the impact on Iwu...

Aside from the [Dragon Breath] sounding like a burp, Tang Qi hasn't noticed any other effects yet.

However, the Dragon Breath technique itself shouldn't be something that can be learned from birth.

At most, Xiaolong dislikes Kulu.

Regardless, Kulu's growth is good news for the current team.

After all, a team can't tolerate two slackers:
"I feel more confident about this expedition."

The stone fragments were not sure what they were going to retrieve, and they would not be able to leave the city again until martial law was lifted.

Dawn is another glass cannon with obvious advantages and disadvantages.

As for Iwu—

This little dragon is more like a mascot for now, with more ornamental value than practical use. It hasn't forgiven Kuru yet, so it's best to leave it in Anbi's care for a while.

With more strength comes more security.

Feeling more confident, Tang Qi didn't want to linger any longer. He wanted to see the truth about the 'haunted house' as soon as possible so he could record it in his increasingly rambling diary. So he hurriedly headed southwest towards Longwei Pass.

Compared to the always dark and quiet nights in Xingmei Town, with only scattered lights on the fields and the flickering firelight of the taverns indicating human habitation, Longwei Pass seemed less deserted.

As night falls, the flames on the streetlights rise up and stand at the corners of the streets and alleys.

Looking up at the sky, one sees stars and the moon, a rare sight in Xingmei Town.

Unfortunately, the dragon bones appeared particularly eerie after nightfall, disrupting the harmonious tone of the night:
"Chuck said that the dragon bone tree was originally covered with a layer of green leaves. But as autumn approached, the leaves were cleaned off in advance, and then ginkgo leaves were used to dye it golden yellow on the first morning of autumn..."

As they approached the center of town, they could even see drunkards taking off their shirts and pouring ice-cold stout over their heads.

The halflings and the spotted cat-people gathered together, speaking a language that wasn't common to them. Tang Qi didn't even think they could understand each other, but their smiles were definitely genuine.

Turning into a small alley, a dwarf woman in a linen V-neck dress waved in their direction. But considering her forehead wrinkles, she might be a 400-year-old woman, so Tang Qi pretended not to see her.

As you head towards the inland sea to the southwest, you'll feel a cool, damp sensation enter your nostrils, along with the saltiness of the seawater.

He did not hear the rumored 'ghostly' singing.

Perhaps it was because the couple swimming at the beach were making too much noise—

"Squat down a bit, I don't want to stand on my tiptoes."

"Then why not just lie down?"

Are you discriminating against me!?

Sorry, I misheard.

They are brothers.

"I can't even imagine what a grand scene it must be in Dragon Gold City."

Tang Qi looked beyond the city wall, where the city, which never sleeps, was shimmering with dazzling lights. The light shone on the Baroque-style arched stained-glass windows, as if a dance troupe was parading.

The clamor seemed to rush into his ears on the sea breeze, but this time he focused his mind—

"Did you hear that? There's crying."

Tang Qi slowed his pace and closed his eyes to focus his attention on hearing.

But beyond the crying, the hairs on his body were gradually standing on end.

It's not "alertness".

Instead, it's a more sinister, stickier sensation.

It's like your skin has suddenly been soaked in slime that can't digest flesh.

The discomfort intensified.

"It was very faint, like singing."

Chenxi nodded, and without realizing it, she had already gripped the hilt of the broken sword.

She seemed to prefer the Dawn Sword, which commemorated her past achievements, and was unwilling to use the giant blade forged from Nord Steel that the Wolf had been using.

"Rua!"

"That's the room."

Frankly, given that a proper priest has explored this place, I don't believe there are any 'ghosts' inside.

But just in case—Dawn, you should be able to sense evil creatures, shouldn't you?

"[Divine Perception]. Before each rest, my soul can hold the energy of six times."

Will it harm my health?

"Once or twice is fine."

"Then let's give it a try."

"..."

"Have it?"

"Have."

"where?"

"I."

Tang Qi looked the headless zombie paladin up and down.

She wondered if her usual bickering with the pebbles had subtly influenced the team's unreliable attitude.
"...Don't tell corny jokes so seriously next time."

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be very interesting..."

(End of this chapter)