Two Ways to Escape

"Found a clearing, time to set up camp!"

Tang Qi patted his head, which had been rattled senseless by the bumpy ride on the muddy forest road.

The wagon carrying the "prisoner" had no roof, letting the chilly mist soak through his clothes until he was damp and sticky all over.

He wanted to wipe away the moisture, but the long shackles bound him, making him unable to move.

However, by the light of day, he could vaguely make out that four days and nights had passed since they left Star Plum Town.

Sixteen hours.

It should be night both inside and outside the forest right now.

The shouts woke Kuru, and when it realized it was being escorted to Dragon Gold City, it sobbed for a good while.

"Buddy, go home..."

This was the first time it had been away from the caves for so long, and it had lost the staff it slept with, making it feel completely uncomfortable.

As the culprit behind the theft of the star plums, Tang Qi believed Kuru's crime wouldn't be light.

And the Dragon Gold City court might not grant a kobold human rights.

He felt worried about Kuru's future.

Watching the mercenaries set up their tents one after another, Tang Qi, who had been hungry all day, felt his stomach rumble.

He looked at Steward Hus, sitting by the campfire, quietly taking out steak and red wine, elegantly frying dinner for young master Melard.

He even put a piece of butter and rosemary in the frying pan.

Those were likely fresh ingredients protected by a preservation spell.

Damn nobles.

"Merciful young master Melard, you wouldn't want to see us sinners starve on the road before we're even judged, would you?"

Melard heard Tang Qi's cry and, before the meal was ready, walked over unhurriedly:

"Catherine sent a message, saying I am 'that friend'—what friend is she referring to?"

Tang Qi blinked.

This shrewd innkeeper had specifically cautioned him before they left, likely trying to find a way for him to escape punishment...

And they had had a discussion about "orientations" before leaving the tavern.

The information gleaned from it was that the friend Catherine mentioned—

Melard, at least, didn't like the opposite sex.

Considering these two points, the answer was obvious.

He instinctively tightened his hook and put on a fawning smile:

"She once said that merchants are always calculating, which makes her unable to help but think about what she has to give in return when accepting favors.

But one of her friends is tolerant and kind, often allowing her to not consider gains or losses."

Tang Qi was talking nonsense.

But Melard was very satisfied with this answer.

Catherine had never admitted to the word "friend" in front of him.

But her attitude had always been friendly—

It seemed she was already considering marrying him.

This made his mood, which had been soured by sleeping rough, a little better:

"That does sound like something she would say.

So, bard, how are your musical skills?"

"You can test them yourself right now."

Tang Qi finally had a chance to state his request, shaking his somewhat stiff hands.

"Just grant me a moment of freedom."

"Steward Hus, bring his zither and unlock his long shackles."

Hus pushed up his glasses, looking a little worried: "Young master, this might..."

Melard frowned: "He's just an unarmed bard. With so many people here, what are you afraid of?"

Hus could only comply.

Freed from his restraints, Tang Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had left a good first impression on this key figure, making his flattery go smoothly.

This was important.

These arrogant nobles wouldn't give him a chance to change their perception like the drunks in the Golden Oak.

"I hope you can sing some nice tunes." Melard actually held some expectations.

"As you wish."

Tang Qi was silent for a long time first, trying to guess Melard's preferences.

Next, he tried to find some less offensive phrases and put them together into lyrics.

Finally, he casually added a courtly tune.

The ready-made dish was thus prepared:

"I once indulged in power and lust, and was lost in fame and fortune, Never cherishing the beauty of those women; But why is my heart like dead silence, unable to find the meaning of life? Because there's a secret I never mention-- A figure wanders in my dreams. That person is so intelligent and quick-witted, lovely and clever, I just want to be each other's only one. But Deity, can you hear my cries? Screw it. Why is he my brother?"

Tang Qi's singing was soft, like a whisper during prayer to the Deity.

But Melard's eyes widened, and his heart felt like a monstrous wave, leaving him speechless for a long time.

His expression, a mixture of shock and joy, was like that of a believer in truth, who, after being denounced as a heretic, is hung on a pyre.

When he thought he held the sole truth and was about to die alone with his faith, he suddenly found another heretic hanging beside him.

Only then, more than the pain of impending death, he was grateful that he was never fighting alone.

"So you too--"

"Ah no, this song, Confession, was inspired by the unrequited love of a noble lord I heard about while traveling in the Tyron Empire."

Tang Qi shook his head, quickly distancing himself from the ballad.

He only needed to show his stance to gain Melard's favor.

He absolutely could not go any further, lest the hook be lost.

Melard's disappointment was visible.

Being gay was not an overly niche orientation in Dragon Gold City.

But as the sole heir of the family, his father, Lord Mel, still needed him to produce offspring.

This prevented Melard from expressing his true desires to his father.

Catherine was the only one who knew this secret; the girl had once heard him pour out his troubles while drunk.

Upon learning that the tavern owner was occasionally troubled by his father's covetous gaze, Melard proposed a deal--

He asked his father for Catherine's hand in marriage, in exchange for Catherine's stable life.

At the same time, Catherine would marry him after coming of age, serving as a cover for him to find his true love.

With less than a year left until she came of age, he then asked his father to use the excuse of going to the manor for a vacation to remind Catherine of this deal.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped into this increasingly bizarre Twilight Forest.

And whether the poet before him had done it intentionally or by chance, He inevitably felt a sense of kinship:

"You are much more talented than the artists my father hired.

Perhaps after arriving in Dragon Gold City, I can give you a chance for atonement."

"Thank you for your mercy."

"Hus, give him back his package. I don't want him to starve to death on the way."

The tall steward put on silk gloves with a hint of disgust, took Tang Qi's worn-out package, and threw it at his feet, finally tossing the gloves onto the ground as well:

"Smells like poor and sour."

Tang Qi didn't care.

In fact, he understood very well that the difference between humans and goblins was not much different from the difference between nobles and commoners.

The former were divided by race.

The latter were differentiated by status.

The nobles in Dragon Gold City did not yet have real power, serving more as a symbol of status; this attitude was not yet obvious enough.

But upon reaching the Tyron Empire...

In the eyes of the Nobles, slaves and livestock were merely resources of equal value.

The villagers were only slightly nobler than them.

Although the shackles were still on, a certain degree of freedom had been regained.

At the same time, it also served as a fallback for himself in Dragon Gold City.

"Thanks to Catherine's reminder."

Thinking of this, Tang Qi quickly emptied his backpack.

He then discovered that the backpack was also carrying a weight that didn't belong to it—

In a hidden compartment, sewn not long ago, a bulge resembling a short club was visible.

Tearing open the temporary stitches, he found a forearm-length iron chisel lying quietly inside the compartment.

It was a tool used to chisel open wine barrels.

Before Anbi delivered the package, she had specifically left two sentences—

"We can't just look at the surface."

"Melard is the friend she mentioned."

If an uninformed person were to see them, they would likely skim over them as a single, continuous phrase.

But Tang Qi understood that these were two sentences he and Catherine had spoken at different times.

Now, they also represented the two fallback options Catherine had prepared to the best of her ability—

The former implied that this chisel in the hidden compartment might have a surprising effect if he was forced into a corner.

The latter implied Melard's preferences. If used properly, it might not be a bad way to clear his name.

Tang Qi hid the chisel back into the bag and muttered to himself, "At least it can be used for self-defense.

If there's a chance to meet again, I'll thank her properly then."