How Could You Be Called an Adventurer Without Taking Risks?

Tang Qi was still singing a simple melody.

His lute had yet to be repaired, so there was only his dry voice.

Fortunately, his voice was decent enough to listen to, and it could still be called music.

Though the watching commoners did not know why he had suddenly begun singing, at least their ears had not been assaulted.

Jackal heard his lyrics clearly and recognized his voice as well.

He immediately realized that the one who had interrupted his execution twice was none other than that bard from last night.

He could not help feeling irritated:

"You've interfered with me again and again. You really are her accomplice, aren't you?"

Then he took a great stride and leaped down from the five-foot-high execution platform.

Jackal's face darkened as he strode forward, his chainmail clattering like billiard balls.

Knowing this vicious dog's temperament well, the commoners hurriedly made way for him, afraid of accidentally getting on his bad side.

Yet as Jackal drew closer and closer, Tang Qi did not feel much fear.

Instead, he looked toward Black Snake in the distance, who was yawning with a bored expression.

"My lord, relying only on footprints and one person's testimony to conclude that a little girl could move a ton of Star Plum and hide it somewhere unknown is rather far-fetched, isn't it?

"Then why not investigate it thoroughly?

"If she isn't the thief, she's still Catherine's younger sister... If her hands are cut off without ever learning the truth, Catherine will be heartbroken after all.

"But if she is, then as long as the evidence is laid out before Catherine in full, no one can criticize this punishment, right?"

Black Snake stretched lazily, but he had heard every word.

It was not as though he did not understand the reasoning.

The reason he had not done so was simply because he did not think it was worth the trouble.

Tomorrow was the Harvest Festival.

Rather than spend an entire day investigating this so-called truth, only to possibly fail to uncover anything in the end,

it was better to find some passable excuse and muddle through it.

That would save him the trouble and eliminate the danger of beastification. Killing two birds with one stone.

So he had only intended to let the bard's chatter go in one ear and out the other.

Yet for some reason, Tang Qi's advice seemed to possess some kind of magic.

Those words kept circling through his mind, sounding more pleasant the more he heard them.

It felt somewhat like desperately holding it in for half a year in a dungeon, finally coming out and agreeing on a price with someone, then impatiently unfastening his belt.

Only for the other party to suddenly ask for a little extra at the very last moment—

Come on, at a critical moment like this, how could he possibly refuse?

For a moment, Black Snake actually considered it.

From so far away, no one noticed the faint pink haze in Tang Qi's eyes.

[Art of Making Friends], a cantrip he had obtained just last night.

The instant he acquired that cantrip, Tang Qi had almost instinctively grasped how to use music to stir the omnipresent Magic Web.

Using rhythm and syllables, he wove it into a specific shape and released it through song.

That was why he had abruptly started singing.

At the moment, the only thing he could use was his voice, an indispensable component of spellcasting.

He could tell that Jackal revered Black Snake—

more precisely, he feared him.

Before taking action, he would always subconsciously seek Black Snake's opinion, afraid of upsetting Catherine and, by extension, Black Snake, who was fond of Dawn-Dusk Flower.

Though Jackal was the nominal judge, as long as Black Snake was persuaded, he would not dare defy him.

So Tang Qi only needed to convince Black Snake.

Even though Black Snake would realize in a minute that he had used magic—

these mercenaries, no matter how much they resembled thugs, still did things according to the rules.

Otherwise, they would not have brought Anbi onto the execution platform and listed her fabricated crimes one by one.

Therefore, as long as he presented his argument well enough, he need not fear them doing anything in front of everyone.

"How laughable."

Tang Qi's little scheme was obvious. Naturally, Jackal could see through it as well.

But every time he had sought Black Snake's opinion, he had received tacit approval. Naturally, he would not hesitate now—

he would bet that Black Snake would not make him stop.

Then he would give this foolhardy Poet a proper lesson.

Not because Tang Qi had embarrassed him.

But because Tang Qi was not afraid of him.

Jackal had noticed that from the moment he had clamped down on this Poet last night.

"You like singing, don't you?"

He grinned viciously, the sword in his right hand hanging naturally at his side, nearly dragging across the ground.

He did not intend to use his sword.

This was merely a helpless Poet. His glib tongue was his only support; beyond that, he was good for nothing.

So Jackal would tear off that tongue, crush his vocal cords, and ensure that he would never sing another note for the rest of his life—

for a bard, being deprived of the right to speak was more painful and more terrifying than being deprived of life itself.

And that moment was not far away.

Only two steps remained. One step...

He was within reach!

Jackal suddenly raised his hand, his fingers curled tight like an eagle's talons. His savage force drove his arm forward, tearing a dull whistle through the air—

"Brother Tang Qi!"

Anbi, locked in the pillory, could not help crying out.

Even the commoners accustomed to Jackal's tyranny sighed along with her...

After all, he was a mercenary hired by the lord. No one knew how much blood had splashed across that seemingly gleaming sword.

How could a street-singing Poet dare challenge Jackal?

Tang Qi remained fairly calm.

The scant martial skill his predecessor had cultivated had nearly become muscle memory by now, and he had filled his stomach today as well.

As Jackal came closer and closer, he had long been prepared for an attack.

At the very instant the man closed in, he twisted aside—

The eagle claw was vicious, but it grasped only empty air!

"What—"

Jackal was shocked and enraged, and he wanted to attack again.

Tang Qi noticed the hand holding his sword.

He realized that Jackal truly had the urge to bring it down.

But he also understood that Black Snake would not give him that chance—

A furious shout interrupted the brief clash:

"Then you investigate it."

Jackal had no choice but to withdraw his strength. He looked at Black Snake in hesitation, his pupils shrinking in surprise.

He seemed never to have expected that Black Snake, who had been tacitly permitting this until now, would suddenly change his mind and listen to this bard's slander.

Black Snake ignored what the two had been doing earlier, as though nothing had happened.

He merely walked over slowly, grabbed Jackal by the shoulder with one hand, and said calmly:

"Since you believe this has nothing to do with her, then you will find the stolen Star Plum.

"As long as you recover the Star Plum, no matter who the thief is, I can let bygones be bygones."

Jackal was both panicked and afraid, feeling as though he had two pounds of horse dung in his mouth:

"Boss..."

"On the other hand, if you fail to recover the Star Plum before the merchant caravan arrives tomorrow—

"I will cut out your tongue and put you in a pillory. You will follow the caravan and personally apologize before my employer."

Black Snake finally shed his lazy expression. His sharp eyes narrowed slightly, like a giant python staring intently at its prey.

"That will be your punishment for offending my subordinate."

Jackal felt as though he had not spat out all the horse dung, but he felt much better nonetheless.

Only then did Tang Qi finally realize that the Black Snake before him was unlikely to be an ordinary soldier.

"Fine, but please provide me with the assistance I need for the investigation."

"As long as you can find the stolen goods, everything is negotiable."

Tang Qi did not regret this outcome either.

He had wanted to help his little fan in the first place, then try to uncover the truth behind the entire theft and use it as material for his journal.

All of that required Black Snake's support to carry out—

[Record stories, obtain rewards].

That clearly meant it had no intention of letting Tang Qi record trivial accounts of what he ate each day or how many songs he sang.

It needed stories—real stories, with beginnings, developments, twists, and endings.

If he wanted stories and power, he would inevitably have to put himself in danger.

All he could do was reduce the risks as much as possible.

If he was unwilling to take risks, how could he be called an adventurer?

"Then please take me to the scene. I want to understand what happened again," he said.