Tang Qi looked at the vagrant clinging tightly to the guard captain's leg like a snake, impossible to shake off, and hesitated.
He held Anbi's little hand tightly and turned to look at her.
"When we were in Star Plum Town, you saw me dressed in a similar way. Did you also think, 'Here comes trouble'?"
"N-no!" Anbi wasn't very good at lying.
But this really was trouble.
At least, that was what Tang Qi thought.
Still, considering his friendship with the guard captain and the favor he'd done by showing up at the Golden Oak last night, he couldn't very well pretend he hadn't seen them.
"When a lord helps you without asking for the repayment he's owed, you'd better hope he soon runs into a problem only you can solve—otherwise, the longer you put it off, the more likely he is to hand you a problem you can't solve. Free things are always the most expensive."
Ulasang's Praise recorded this passage faithfully.
Tang Qi had no good reason to avoid them. He led the little girl over and, steeling himself, asked, "Um... have you run into some kind of trouble?"
"Of course—"
The guard captain pointed at the vagrant wrapped around his leg, as if he were trying to toss away a hot potato.
"Quick, help me get this bastard off me!"
"Just get him off you?"
"As long as he stops clinging to my leg—that's all I ask. Oh, and no deliberately hurting him. Otherwise, even if we're friends, I'll have to do my duty as guard captain."
"I was thinking of knocking him out with a blow to the back of the head..."
His suggestion had been rejected, so Tang Qi had to think of another solution.
He looked at the vagrant crouching on the ground