A True Bard

Tang Qi had no idea what was going on. Just as he turned to leave, a man approached from behind.

He had narrow eyes, a flat nose, thin lips, and a small mustache that lent him a bit of masculine charm.

A sword hung at his waist, and he wore chainmail.

That sort of attire was rare in the countryside, making him stand out at a glance from the other drunken farmers—

Mel, the landlord of Star Plum Town, did not live in some remote backwater.

To that end, he had hired three professional mercenaries to watch over his orchard and serve as the village guard, maintaining order in the town alongside another group of thugs.

The man was thoroughly drunk, swaying with every step as his armor clanked.

The sound drew the attention of the other drunkards. For a moment, the noisy tavern gradually fell quiet, and the shouting turned into whispers:

"Those damned bastards do good things sometimes, huh?"

"Rather than listen to that awful noise again, I'd rather they kicked that asshole out."

"My grandmother's ears are saved!"

Catherine, who had inherited the tavern, naturally had not enjoyed a smooth career.

"Pretty girls are Dawn-Dusk Flowers." That was a local saying in Star Plum Town.

They grew deep within the Twilight Forest in the west, where day and night magically alternated every four hours.

Yet whether beneath the sun or plunged into darkness, these strange flowers that mirrored day and night gleamed without pause, like lamps that never went out in the forest.

Thus, whether they wanted to or not, they drew countless gazes like flowers attracting bees and butterflies.

And where there were bees and butterflies, there were naturally flies, snakes, and rats—

Whenever someone harassed Catherine, Black Snake, the mercenary leader, would send his subordinate, Jackal, to deal with it.

Tang Qi had been kicked out of the tavern by the latter.

The drunkards' whispers reached Jackal's ears. He enjoyed the faint praise and softly hummed an off-key tune.

It showed that people feared him, even if only because of Black Snake's name.

The alcohol made him smug. He hooked an arm around Tang Qi's shoulders and locked him tightly against his chest.

He was missing his little finger, but that did not lessen the strength of his other four fingers.

His narrow eyes squinted nearly shut, making his pupils impossible to see.

The stench of alcohol and bad breath mingled into something nauseating as he spoke in a low, half-threatening voice:

"Was that kick earlier not painful enough?"

Tang Qi was weak all over and could not move.

Thinking of what Jackal had done before, anger inevitably rose in his heart—

Although dying in the rain had mostly been because this body was already frail, and the other man had not meant to kill him.

Still, he had been the trigger.

Tang Qi did not want to submit. He had the urge to grab his lute and smash it into the man's head.

But considering that the man had companions, could he, with his weak limbs, possibly escape afterward?

Of course, his companions were dead drunk, so perhaps they would not be much better off...

During that brief hesitation, Catherine suddenly said:

"Jackal, don't interrupt our business."

Jackal raised a brow in surprise, but he released Tang Qi.

Catherine was the most beautiful Dawn-Dusk Flower, someone his boss valued. Naturally, he showed her proper respect.

Still, he spread his hands and teased, "He's just a vagrant. What business could you possibly have with him?"

"I'm trying to get another chance to perform."

Tang Qi suppressed his irritation and moved as far away from Jackal as possible, taking the excuse Catherine had offered him.

Catherine frowned. Anyone could see that she was not particularly willing.

Jackal burst out laughing, then turned toward the drunkards behind him and raised his shrill voice.

"Perform? Did you hear that? He actually called that sawing earlier a 'performance'?"

"Fuck you, Jackal! When I saw wood, it's got a lot more rhythm than that singing!"

"Hahaha!"

Jackal's grin widened as he grabbed Tang Qi by the collar.

"Just because you're holding a broken lute, you think you're some kind of bard?

Get lost, vagrant. Stay away from this girl—

Unless you want to get kicked a second time!"

Facing Jackal head-on, Tang Qi thought the angle was perfect.

He could grab the lute and drive it straight into the man's temple—

"Let him go, Jackal."

Catherine sighed and hurriedly grabbed Jackal's arm guard.

"Do you remember what I said? If Black Snake still wants to drink in this tavern, don't go stirring up trouble."

Her words seemed beyond question.

They also reached the ears of a scruffy man with shoulder-length black hair at a table in the corner.

He had his legs propped up on the table and called out while reclining.

"Don't do things that give a lady a headache. Jackal, come back and drink."

His tone was calm, yet every word carried weight.

Jackal frowned, squinted at Tang Qi from the corner of his eye, and spat in annoyance before returning reluctantly to his seat.

Looking at Black Snake's cold, sharp eyes, he could not help muttering, "Boss, didn't you see that vagrant harassing Catherine? I was only..."

He did not even understand why mercenaries like them had to listen to that little bitch.

If he liked her so much, why not just take her by force?

Black Snake had other plans.

Rubbing the prickly stubble on his chin, he replied lazily, "Once he screws up again, those drunkards will throw him out themselves."

"Instead of wasting time on him, take off your gear and drink properly!"

After the One-Eyed Dwarf sitting beside him mocked him, he let out a loud laugh.

"He'll definitely screw up. I've been wandering for so many years, and I've never seen a bard with any real substance!

Those slick-tongued bastards either kiss nobles' asses or sing those stale dragon-slaying hero tales—and even those are made up!"

His shout stirred laughter throughout the tavern.

The drunkards raised their cups and drank deeply, shouting in unison:

"Fuck dragons! Fuck heroes!"

Seeing the lively mood over there, Catherine behind the bar could not help shaking her head and rubbing her forehead.

"Did you hear that? Your stories are clichéd and outdated.

No one wants to hear you weave vague legends or praise kings and nobles.

Even if you changed songs and performed again, nothing would change."

Tang Qi reviewed the songs his predecessor had practiced at the academy and found that the textbooks were indeed exactly as Catherine had said—

Bard's Song was the only Poet Academy on the Forgotten Continent, and the vast majority of bards came from there.

For various reasons, it had once fallen into decline.

Now, revived with the sponsorship of the Tyron Empire on the continent's western coast, it had become a mouthpiece for those in power, with no independence to speak of.

Its students either became jesters in royal courts or spies who worked in the shadows.

The few who carried dreams of traveling the world usually died halfway through their journeys.

As for those legendary romantic bards who rode dragons above and wandered red-light districts below, or those versatile idea-men in adventuring parties...

Friend, it was fine to comfort yourself, but do not actually fool yourself.

Spellcasters capable of communicating with the Magic Web and studying it patiently were already few in number. Sensing the magic within music required even more talent.

As a result, true bards were few enough to count on one's fingers—

Those with names and reputations were all praised in legends.

But there were no living legends in the world.

His mentor Ulasang, a halfling who had lived for 120 years, most often said, "May the gods bless you." His most famous accomplishment was publishing Ulasang's One Thousand and One Praises.

Twenty years ago, it had been adopted as an academy textbook. It included most of the pleasant Auspicious Words that noble lords liked to hear, along with the situations in which to use them.

Most of his students had also become court musicians and made fortunes.

And on the East Coast of the Continent, where major cities governed themselves independently and relied only on the flimsy contract of the Lord Alliance to maintain trade and diplomacy.

In a Star Plum Town where the people were exploited by the landlord.

No one wanted to hear anyone kiss nobles' asses.

Once Tang Qi understood that, he made his decision.

He wiped the strings and plucked out the first noisy note.

"Twannng—"

"Who was it? Who secretly let out a muffled fart?"

Unfortunately, lute gut strings wore down easily, and his instrument had not received any special magical protection.

It had previously been thrown into the mud and then soaked through by a heavy rain.

The fact that it had only snapped now meant it was quite durable.

Watching the vagrant become the drunkards' entertainment, Catherine could not understand his stubbornness. She merely said:

"Put down your lute and go eat something by the fireplace. Stop bothering these drunkards."

Tang Qi looked up and asked, "You said no one likes to hear vague legends. Then what do they like hearing?"

"How would I know?"

Seeing that he remained stubborn, Catherine no longer wanted to deal with him and could only answer irritably.

"They like hearing what they like."

"Thank you."

"Idiot."

She muttered under her breath and turned back to polishing the wineglass in her hand.

At that moment, the wooden door to the kitchen opened.

A little girl with her face hidden beneath a hood hurried out carrying a tray.

On it were sliced rye bread, stewed beans, and a cup of Star Plum Wine that glimmered with faint light.

Star Plum was a local specialty, but without magical preservation, it lasted only three days and was difficult to transport. It was best brewed into plum wine quickly.

It was scarce enough to be prized in Dragon Gold City, but here, people could drink it like water.

Seeing the vagrant who had been kicked outside staring thoughtfully at his strings, the girl carried the tray toward him.

But Catherine reached out and stopped her.

The girl did not understand. She merely tilted her head and asked, "Sister, isn't he allowed to eat?"

Her sister had said earlier that she would give him a meal, so she had hurried to prepare it in the kitchen.

Had she known her sister would change her mind, she would have slacked off and not made it.

Catherine only sighed softly.

"Wait until he finishes singing."

The little girl blinked.

"Then should I wait outside for him? That way, he can eat immediately once he gets thrown out."

She had not heard much music, but she knew what sounded awful.

The noise from that lute was like her claws scraping against an iron plate.

It made a shrill "screech, screech" sound that made her hair stand on end.

Even her tail was about to bristle.

Meanwhile, seeing Tang Qi remain silent for so long, the drunkards started laughing recklessly again.

"My respected master artist, why haven't you started your grand performance?"

"Start singing already! I'm waiting for you to scare my grandmother back to life!"

"Oh, come on. Stop delaying my drinking, will you? I've got work tomorrow morning..."

Tang Qi set down the lute with its broken string. The drunkards assumed he intended to give up and burst into another round of laughter.

Fortunately, his skin was thick enough that he did not care. He only considered how to stir up the atmosphere in the entire tavern—

The simplest structure of a song consisted of four parts: an intro, a verse, a chorus, and an outro.

Of those, the intro was crucial. It directly determined whether he could catch these drunkards' ears and draw them in.

Otherwise, with everyone already viewing him as a joke, Tang Qi could never suppress their laughter with nothing but a monotonous voice.

At that point, all the chaotic sounds would mix together and turn into another farce.

But the lute's silence had deprived him of the intro's most important support.

He had to choose a replacement to seize control of the room.

He remembered the indispensable first sound every band used at the start of a performance to draw the audience's attention—

A drumbeat.

Tang Qi's eyes lit up.

He walked up to the tavern bar and slammed his palm down hard on the wooden counter.