Harvesting the Spoils

Tang Qi glanced at the two mercenaries walking at the front, listening quietly to their conversation.

He then looked at the obscure symbols on the spellbook, which made his head feel like it would explode with just a single glance.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the "brains" of the group, the one with the lizard head...

Honestly, he felt a bit discouraged.

Compared to his self-doubt, Black Snake's focus was entirely different:

"A party with a spellcaster, how could they have died in the Twilight Forest without a trace?"

"Maybe they got lost in the forest and were picked off by kobolds when they were starving?"

Gravel smacked his lips, then shook his head.

"Well, that's unlikely. They must have run into something troublesome in the forest."

The expressions of the two weren't good, as if they smelled three-day-old rotten eggs.

But unable to figure out more crucial details, Black Snake could only sigh:

"Forget it, we don't usually venture deep into the forest. As long as it doesn't affect this town, it's fine."

This statement, however, made Tang Qi quite worried.

The people living in the small town might not need to be nervous.

But to record more stories, he wouldn't be staying in this town forever.

A forest that was too dangerous was hardly a good thing for someone who wanted to leave.

This topic seemed to make the atmosphere even more somber. The group left the damp Twilight Forest in silence.

Tang Qi vaguely remembered that it was high noon under a scorching sun when they decided to set out to find the star plums.

After entering the forest, the sky had turned to night.

When they emerged from the cave, the sunlight was obscured by mist and foliage, turning the sky a gloomy gray.

Now, as the mist receded, he noticed the sunset retreating into the woods, casting a few streaks of orange-red light that illuminated the outline of Star Plum Town.

It was already evening.

"It's only been a few hours, I didn't expect it to be so exhausting."

Finally arriving at the manor, Black Snake removed his armor and brought Anbi, who had been guarded by the village guards, out of the stable. In front of Tang Qi, he untied her ropes.

He also instructed:

"Don't mess things up."

Tang Qi waved his hand: "We're already at rock bottom, it can't get any worse."

"Also."

Black Snake said, moving the cart filled with the spoils from the dead adventurers in front of Tang Qi.

"Jackal is dead, so his share will be split among the three of us. You can pick one item from it, and take... 20 gold coins."

Tang Qi pointed at himself, completely surprised that he could participate in the spoils.

"Take it, bard!"

Gravel let out a loud laugh, patted Tang Qi's behind, and gestured for him to lean closer.

"Don't mind his grumpy face, he's just tough on the outside, soft on the inside. Without you, we wouldn't have found this batch of star plums, and we might have been fired. He might not say it, but he knows it!"

"Get lost, Gravel."

Black Snake pretended to kick the dwarf's shoulder, and with a cold expression, urged Tang Qi, "Hurry up and pick, then get out of my sight!"

Tang Qi didn't stand on ceremony and quickly rummaged through the spoils.

Short swords and crossbows could serve as offensive weapons, but for a bard, their priority wasn't high enough. To reduce the risk of adventuring, the first consideration should be how to survive. And with his vagabond appearance, he was currently lacking durable defensive gear. Plate armor would obviously hinder his movement, which led Tang Qi to his final choice—

A short, dark brown leather coat. Putting aside the bloodstains, the style was clean and sharp. He took it in his hand, weighing it, and soon discovered that besides the extremely tough snake leather on the surface, the inner layer seemed to be inlaid with rivets for deeper defense.

This was actually studded leather armor.

"My luck isn't too bad."

Black Snake tossed him a bulging coin purse, snorted coldly, "The money for the star plums is included. Get lost before I change my mind."

Tang Qi didn't immediately move: "There's one more thing."

"Spit it out."

"I need you to declare this child innocent."

Tang Qi pulled Anbi, who had remained silent.

The girl had initially just wanted this whole affair to be over quickly, so she could go home and prove to her worried sister that she was fine.

She hadn't even considered clearing her baseless charges.

Now, her drooping snow-white ears trembled slightly because of this.

Black Snake frowned. After a brief hesitation, he sighed, pressing his forehead, "What a hassle... Hey, you there, the entire incident was caused by the kobolds in the forest. Remember to tell the village official later to clear her name."

He casually pointed to a guard and issued the order, then ignored everyone else, stretching as he walked towards the mansion.

Tang Qi lifted the tattered cloth covering Kuru on the cart. After Kuru dismissed his tribesmen, he followed the guards towards the town center.

The village official, strictly following Black Snake's orders, dispatched guards to spread the news throughout Star Plum Town –

It was the kobolds from the forest who had stolen the leather boots in the dead of night, destroyed the star plums at David's house, and ultimately stolen Lord Mel's "Shining Star."

Anbi was not involved in any of it.

However, the truth of the case couldn't sway the residents' opinions of Anbi—

They ostracized her not because of her terrible character or the wicked deeds she had committed.

It was because of the curse she was born with.

Anbi had lived in this small town long enough to know this well.

"It's okay, Brother Tang Qi, you're not doing anything useless. Anbi is happy..."

More than the scorn and prejudice, Anbi feared that Tang Qi would be saddened by his inability to change anything.

She didn't want her new friend to be unhappy because of her, just like her sister:

"It doesn't matter if they don't believe Anbi, Anbi is already used to it. As long as Brother and Sister know that Anbi isn't a bad child..."

Those who aren't strong enough can't survive in this environment until now.

Tang Qi just smiled and gently rubbed her furry ears.

In reality, he was in a good mood and wasn't affected at all.

For him, he was simply doing what he wanted to do.

He would work hard for it but wouldn't deliberately pursue a so-called outcome.

He would enjoy the process with a clear conscience. As for whether the outcome was good or bad, it didn't entirely depend on him.

But he didn't say anything more and was about to return to the tavern with Anbi.

Unexpectedly, a nervous shout from a young boy stopped the footsteps of the two and the dog... or rather, the kobold—

"An, Anbi!"

They both turned their heads and saw the child from David's house, who had cursed Anbi for theft and destroying his star plums at noon.

The boy stood in the setting sun, his face flushed red, fidgeting nervously.

It seemed calling out to Anbi had already exhausted all his courage.

"George, what else do you want to say? I don't mind scolding you here all day!"

Anbi thought the boy was still looking for trouble and menacingly extended her claws, threatening him.

"I, I..."

The boy, George David, closed his eyes as if resigned, his voice as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito, "I'm sorry."

"What did you say?" Anbi couldn't hear clearly from so far away.

"I said—I'm sorry, I wrongly accused you! I'll never call you a monster again!"

After shouting, the boy felt utterly humiliated.

If his parents hadn't insisted, he wouldn't have come forward!

He covered his face and ran back without looking back, disappearing around the corner of the dirt road.

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow and smiled at Anbi, "It seems clearing her name wasn't entirely useless?"

But Anbi didn't show the smile one would expect after a misunderstanding was clarified.

On the contrary, she froze on the spot, clutching Tang Qi's sleeve, trembling:

"I, I..."

"What's wrong?"

"He shouldn't have apologized to me!" Anbi shouted.

A feeling called guilt, like a sharp blade scraping against her heart, tormented her conscience:

"Because, because—"

"Because you really destroyed their star plums?"

Anbi was shocked:

"How does Brother Tang Qi know!?"