That Friend

"You've had a long journey, young master. You need to rest!"

As Lord Mel's most loyal and trusted steward, and the overall leader of this caravan, Hus felt obligated to take care of the young master and let him enjoy this journey with peace of mind.

However, the Explosive Wolf was unwilling to play house with the Nobles:

"Of course, once you're dead, you can rest for a lifetime."

Offended, Hus frowned:

"Mercenary, we are your employers!"

"So it's my team that lost face, not you!"

The Explosive Wolf grabbed Hus by the collar, spitting almost directly onto the man's respectable face.

"Listen, we do our job for money, so whoever gets lost or killed is just bad luck on their own.

But to rush along knowingly when there's danger is to actively throw your life away.

I won't be buried with you for your stupidity!"

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the caravan was forced to speed up, which led to the plan being exposed...

Tang Qi couldn't expect Lady Luck to favor him forever.

All he could consider was how to adapt to the situation now that things had come to this:

"Anger is a deadly knife, Always digging into conflicts with all its might; Rejecting pointless nagging and quarrels, We need a rational antidote."

Tang Qi's singing wove between the two men's argument, like water suddenly poured onto a brazier.

They fell silent simultaneously and looked towards the source of the song.

Tang Qi shook his handcuffed hands at them:

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just have a small request—

While you two were arguing, could you allow me to bring my package over?"

He hadn't used the Art of Making Friends yet, wanting to avoid revealing his ability to cast spells and getting beaten up afterward.

But once he confirmed they had no intention of complying, he would use it on the real decision-maker, Melard—

The package contained that journal, and he absolutely couldn't leave it behind.

But before the interrupted men could react, Melard looked at him in surprise:

"Damn scoundrel, you're a bard?"

"It's a shame my hands are bound, otherwise I would compose a poem specifically for your benevolence."

"Why would a poet help a mercenary conceal the theft of the star plums?"

"This is a long story..."

Tang Qi glanced at the Black Snake beside him.

The Black Snake inexplicably had a bad feeling.

Tang Qi's singing, however, was tinged with a slight choke:

"The negligent scoundrel apprehended an innocent maiden, To push her towards the gallows of slander; A kind poet wished to save her, The scoundrel said: 'Fine, if the truth isn't found, I'll slaughter you'— The poet, now on a sinking ship, could only curse inwardly, And was forced to devise a way to deceive the lord!"

The Black Snake's mouth twitched.

Although I feel something is strange here... In truth, for things to have reached this point, this poet is definitely not innocent.

But then again, this seems to be the damn truth?

"Merciful sir, I don't expect you to forgive my transgressions, as deceiving you is an undeniable fact.

But please allow me to retrieve my belongings; my precious diary is in there."

In fact, Tang Qi didn't even want these people to send him away.

He had intended to travel with the caravan all along, and only the process had gone awry; the outcome hadn't veered off course yet.

Since the forest was becoming increasingly bizarre, sticking close to the mercenaries and the caravan was undoubtedly the safest approach.

Seeing that the poet was so sensible, Melard didn't mind showing his magnanimity--

Musicians were often hired at his home, but he rarely encountered anyone as interesting as Tang Qi:

"Where is your package?"

"This gentleman is staying at my tavern, I'll go get it for him," Catherine volunteered.

Melard waved his hand, signaling her to go and come back quickly:

"Mr. New Star, please cast a blessing on star plum. We'll depart in thirty minutes."

The employer's decision settled the matter, also appeasing the anxious Explosive Wolf.

Pushed by several caravan guards, Tang Qi and Black Snake were shoved onto a cargo truck.

Besides being piled with various miscellaneous items, the truck also held a kobold who had been knocked unconscious for incessantly yelping out of excessive sadness, and was finally deemed too noisy.

Their hands and feet were securely locked, leaving them with no desire to escape.

Can't just sit around idly, Tang Qi surveyed his surroundings and asked in a low voice:

"Where's Gravel?"

"I told him to hide--one person is enough to bear the blame for poor supervision."

"I'm curious, has Jackal ever seen such a righteous side of you?"

"I never let my subordinates take the fall, and Jackal is no exception. It's just a pity he died by your hand."

Tang Qi blinked:

"Is slander a crime in Dragon Gold City?"

"Do we still need to act at this point, poet? I confirmed last night that Jackal's chainmail had no traces of acid corrosion.

This means he took off his chainmail before fighting the Ochre Jelly monster--how stupid would he have to be?"

Tang Qi sighed, as being exposed due to such a loophole was basically an act of God:

"There's no other way, if I didn't remove his chainmail, I couldn't even move his body."

"He was a capable person, his only failing was a lack of experience."

"Not even recognizing a kobold, does that count as experience? That was enough to cost him his life."

Black Snake leaned against the pile of junk, glancing at Tang Qi as if scrutinizing him:

"Do you have some misunderstanding about mercenaries? A mercenary's job is to guard and enlist, not to explore the world--that's for adventurers."

"So you and Gravel are adventurers?"

He didn't answer the question.

But that itself was an answer.

"You can't just stay in Star Plum Town to retire, can you? I think Gravel is quite motivated."

Seeing Black Snake's lack of response, Tang Qi couldn't help but look back, only to find that he had already fallen asleep with Kuru.

So relaxed, with no awareness of being a prisoner at all.

But what was most curious was that despite their considerable skills, even if they couldn't defeat the mercenaries present, escaping into the forest wouldn't be difficult.

They were just mercenaries, having lost their reputation in Dragon Gold City, what difference would it make to live in another city?

Perhaps he was well-versed in Dragon Gold City's laws, knowing his crimes wouldn't result in a death sentence?

Or perhaps, they had a reason they absolutely had to stay here?

"Adventurers, ruins..."

"Brother Tang Qi!"

While lost in thought, Tang Qi saw the figure of a young girl running on the dirt road between the wheat fields.

Thanks to the beast transformation curse, she was naturally stronger and quicker than others, allowing her to undertake such errands.

Now, carrying Tang Qi's worn-out package on her back, she wanted to cross the wheat field and weave through the crowd.

"Who is it!?"

Steward Hus quickly called over several mercenaries, blocking her path.

Anbi, having heard her sister's instructions, quickly took off the package:

"I'm here to deliver something."

Hus snatched the package and opened it, finding that besides a thick and plain diary.

There was also a large cloth bag and three water skins inside, making the backpack quite heavy.

The diary was blank, the cloth bag contained many hard black rye breads, and the water skins held plum wine unique to the Golden Oak.

This conveniently solved the "prisoners'" food problem.

Hus snorted coldly, unwilling to let the scent of poverty emanating from the package defile his fingers, and disdainfully tossed it into a carriage--

Anbi immediately shouted:

"Big sister also asked me to give you a message.

She said--

We can't just look at appearances, can we?

Young Master Melard, that's the friend she was talking about!"

Tang Qi blinked.

He immediately recalled their conversation early that morning.

His gaze towards Melard also became meaningful.