Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

“It’s not fair…” he uttered hoarsely.

“So, we have to do something to make it fair.” Lacey’s voice carried a strange magic, as if it could ignite a flame in people’s hearts.

The Art of Language

"Us?" Hans gave a wry smile. "What can we do? Bach has dozens of men under his command, all well-equipped guards, and they have nobles backing them up..."

Lacey pushed the gold coin in front of him, saying, "A single spark can start a prairie fire."

"Bach's end began with a painting."

He lowered his voice and laid out his plan in detail.

As Hans listened, his eyes widened, his initial fear turning into hesitation, and finally into a frantic resolve.

After Lacey finished speaking, Hans remained silent for a long time. Finally, he grabbed the gold coin and held it tightly in his palm.

"Done!"

With the help of your father's friend Hans, you made contact with several other townspeople who were also persecuted by Bach.

There was a blacksmith whose shop had been robbed, an old tailor whose daughter had been humiliated by Bach's men, and a retired veteran who had been publicly shamed by Bach.

Hatred is the best glue.

After hearing your plan, these people chose to join without hesitation.

When you unite them together, you feel an invisible force flowing into your body; your mind becomes clearer, and your strength increases.

"United We Stand"

Three days later, a graffiti appeared on the wall of the town hall. The drawing depicted a fat, large-eared man resembling Bach, kneeling naked on a huge money bag, his mouth stuffed with gold coins, and a greedy, foolish smile on his face.

Above his head were written a line of large, bright red characters: "Bach, the usurper of the kingdom, the parasite of Letania!"

Bach was enraged and began searching house to house.

Bach's guards were more brutal than ever before, arbitrarily breaking into homes, ransacking them, and beating anyone who resisted.

This high-pressure approach brought the townspeople's resentment towards the purification committee to its peak.

People began privately calling the mysterious graffiti artist "The Painter," regarding him as a hero who rebelled against Bach.

You clearly feel that the power of unity and concerted effort has been amplified like never before.

Your five senses have become more acute, your mind is clearer, and your physical fitness has been enhanced in all aspects.

You realize it's time.

The following night, as planned, a group of men went to the area around the eastern granary and pretended to set it on fire, successfully drawing Bach and most of his guards away.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, you secretly sneaked into Bach's office and took away his ledgers and other evidence of his crimes.

The following day, Bach convened a public trial in the central square to publicly try some of his accomplices, the "painters."

Just as he was about to announce the "convicts," you led a group of people to the square, revealing the ledgers and evidence to the public.

[This includes a series of actions by Bach, such as using the new policies to seize shops, fabricating evidence to frame others, and soliciting bribes using his position.]

The crowd erupted in fervor, shouting slogans like "Kill this parasite!" as they chanted.

[Bach, realizing the situation was dire, tried to escape, but it was too late; he was surrounded by an angry mob.]

Seeing this, Bach shouted at you, saying that your parents' deaths were not his fault; he was only acting on behalf of a count and had no intention of getting involved with you.

You fell silent upon hearing these words.

[It turns out that long before you left the academy in despair, your parents had already run out of options.]

You remained silent, choosing not to stop the angry crowd.

The guards didn't even try to stop them, because they were also from the town, and their families and friends were also part of the people below.

In the end, Bach was torn to pieces by the crowd, and you avenged your parents.

But your heart is at peace. You know very well that perhaps the town's illness has been cured, but the whole of Letania is still terminally ill.

……

Holy Letanian Empire: Chapter 5: Serafina

Bach's body gradually grew cold in the pool of blood in the center of the square. After the initial fervor and anger, the crowd gradually calmed down, and the crowd began to thin out, until only a few people remained, pointing and whispering about the mess.

The town mayor arrived late with his guards.

He stared at his nephew's mangled corpse, his face turning ashen.

But when his gaze swept across the square and fell upon the townspeople whose eyes still held a hint of ruthlessness, he wisely chose to remain silent.

D.

This trial, ignited by Lacey and carried out by all the townspeople, means that no one can be singled out and convicted.

Bach's ledgers and evidence of his crimes are irrefutable; he deserved to die.

In the end, the mayor could only leave with his guards, feeling rather dejected.

……

Two weeks later, in Salem, another border city in Letania.

The city was famous for its spice and textile trade, and its central area was prosperous and wealthy. However, just a wall away from this glamorous area was the slum in the west of the city.

This is the city's sewer system, a place where all the filth and depravity converge.

The narrow streets were muddy, filled with sewage, and reeked of a nauseating sour stench.

The dilapidated wooden houses were crammed together, and ragged children rummaged through the garbage for any edible food, their eyes numb.

The adults mostly looked pale and sickly, either working in illegal factories for a meager wage or gathering on street corners to numb themselves with cheap beer.

Lacey has been here for three days.

He rented a tiny attic room for very little money, barely enough to keep out the wind and rain.

He changed into even more tattered clothes, smeared his face with ash and paint to make it sallow, and grew stubble to make himself look like a poor man.

Lacey's status as a "war hero" and his story of leading the townspeople to kill Bach had long been known here.

However, he did not use this identity, as it would cause unnecessary trouble; he needed to keep a low profile.

Lacey would wander around the slums every day, listening to people brag and complain in pubs, watching people fight over half a moldy loaf of bread outside bakeries, and seeing patients who couldn't afford medical bills being brutally kicked out of shady clinics.

He witnessed far too much human suffering.

A man who lost his hand in a factory could only watch helplessly as his child starved to death because he couldn't get compensation.

A young woman was forced to sell herself to a portly merchant in order to buy medicine for her seriously ill mother.

A veteran who had fought alongside him on the battlefield had his leg broken by patrolling guards after complaining about the extravagance of the nobility while drunk, and now he can only make a living by begging.

The people here have no hope, only despair; they are numb to everything.

Having avenged your parents, you have found your direction and set your sights on the whole of Letania.

[You've decided to change this country. You're determined to change it.]

[You begin to analyze the current situation: the Gemini Empress, the Electors, the Tower Nobles... these behemoths are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot with your current strength.]

You recalled your father's words, your own experience of having your place stolen, and Bach's crimes.

You realize that the greatest contradiction in this country lies between the high-ranking aristocracy and the oppressed common people.

A single spark can start a prairie fire; your task is to find those sparks.

[So you arrive in Salem, a small border town, where the conflict between nobles and commoners is even more pronounced, and you witness commoners being treated unfairly almost every day.]

"Then let's start making changes here."

[When you were thinking this, you met a girl who was unlike any other.]

She was a girl who looked very young, with beautiful short gray-silver hair, and wearing a simple but clean long dress.

Every day at the same time, she would come to the slum, carrying a basket containing clean bandages, some basic medicines, and some black bread.

She would gently bandage the wounds of the injured, share bread with hungry children, and always have a gentle and friendly smile on her face.

In this dirty and chaotic slum, she was like a quietly blooming lily, standing out from the crowd.

The residents of the slum seemed to know her. Children would gather around her affectionately, and the adults looked at her with heartfelt gratitude and respect.

Lacey noticed that she did all this quietly, without ever publicizing it or asking for anything in return.

That day, Lacey saw the girl cleaning the wound on a child's leg that had been cut by gravel.

Her movements were very gentle, and she hummed an unknown tune to soothe the child's crying.

Just then, two shady-looking hooligans strolled over. They were notorious scoundrels in the area who made a living by extortion.

"Hey, isn't this our kind Miss Serafina? Here to save the world again?" One of the blond thugs chuckled, his malicious gaze sweeping over the girl.

Another thug reached into the girl's basket and grabbed the bread, saying, "We haven't eaten yet, can we borrow some bread?"

The girl, Serafina, frowned, shielded the basket behind her back, and said softly, "These are for the children, please don't do this."

"Give it to the kids?" The blond thug sneered. "What use is it to them? A bunch of money-losing brats who can't be fed. It's better to give it to our brothers; at least we'll remember your kindness."

As he spoke, he was about to step forward and start touching him inappropriately.

The surrounding residents witnessed this scene and their faces showed anger, but no one dared to step forward to stop it.

They were all afraid of the power behind these two thugs.

Serafina's face paled, but she stubbornly stood in front of the child.

Lacey sighed, stepped out of the shadows, and stood between Serafina and the two thugs.

He never expected to encounter such a melodramatic hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scenario, but he couldn't just sit idly by in the face of the situation.

The blond thug sized up Lacey, who had suddenly appeared, and seeing that he was dressed in shabby clothes and not particularly burly, a disdainful smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Where did this beggar come from, trying to play the hero and save the damsel in distress? He should take a good look at himself in the mirror! Get out of my way, or I'll beat you up too!"

As he spoke, he swung his fist and punched Lacey in the face.

However, the next second, his fist was easily intercepted by a hand in mid-air.

"Ah!" The blond thug cried out in pain, feeling as if his wrist bones were about to be crushed.

Seeing this, Lacey flicked her wrist slightly, releasing a clever force that sent the blond thug spinning twice like a top before he fell hard into the mud, splashing up a cloud of filth.

Seeing this, another thug took two steps back in fright. He tried to draw his dagger from his waist, but was frozen in place by a cold look from Lacey.

"roll."

Lacey uttered only one word, and the two thugs, as if granted a pardon, scrambled to their feet.

The uninjured thug could tell that Lacey moved very nimbly and was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

He quickly helped the still wailing blond-haired boy up and ran away without looking back, not daring to utter a single harsh word.

The small storm was thus calmed down.

The way the surrounding residents looked at Lacey changed from initial indifference to surprise and awe.

In this dog-eat-dog world, strength is always the most direct passport.

Ignoring the stares around him, Lacey turned to look at the girl named Serafina.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Serafina gave him a grateful smile, a smile that was clean and pure, like the sunshine after the rain, warming one's heart.

She knelt down and continued bandaging the child's wound, then took a piece of bread from the basket and handed it to him.

After doing all this, she stood up and thanked Lacey again: "Thank you so much. My name is Serafina. What's yours?"

"Lassie".

“Mr. Lacey, do you live here too? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Serafina looked him up and down curiously.

"I just arrived recently," Lacey said succinctly.

Serafina seemed to sense his aloofness, but didn't care. She still smiled and said, "Those two guys are local bullies. You offended them today, and they'll definitely cause you trouble. You have to be careful."

“I know,” Lacey nodded.

“If you don’t mind…” Serafina took another piece of bread from the basket and handed it to him, saying somewhat shyly, “This… consider it my thank you gift. I know it’s not much, but…”