Ch. 83 - A Fitting Epilogue

Due to Anbi's unconscious state, the group spent extra time on their return journey.

However, they managed to return to camp before the next nightfall.

After handing the pack horses back to the grooms and stepping toward the central campfire, Tang Qi discovered Old David still holding his pitchfork, repeatedly stabbing at the walking corpse that refused to die.

"Groaaan... groaaan..."

He dared not stop for a moment, afraid that this body—gurgling in its mouth like bubbling water—would suddenly recover, break free from its restraints, and bring disaster upon the entire camp.

Tang Qi estimated that from the time they left camp, the round trip had taken at least five hours.

Were the zombies under a necromancer's control really this durable?

[Undead Fortitude] didn't mean it would keep bouncing around forever.

It was a matter of probability.

It depended on the necromancer's skill level and a certain amount of luck.

"Did this guy have the [Lucky] feat when he was alive?"

Tang Qi also moved closer a few steps to observe this unrecognizable mercenary corpse.

But if he'd really been that lucky, he wouldn't have died on the journey home.

Stonecrusher couldn't help but suggest:

"Why don't we bring this guy to Longgold City too? There's bound to be some perverted wizard willing to pay good money for this unkillable corpse for research purposes."

"Please don't do that."

Only when offering opinions to the team would Dawn transmit her voice into everyone's ears.

"I can feel his pain—his soul suffers torment, yet the obsession in his heart won't allow him to simply die."

She quietly knelt beside the walking corpse, gently placing her right hand on the mercenary's chest.

The steel helm covered her nonexistent head, making her truly seem like a benevolent knight.

Considering they only had two bottles of [Restoration Gel] left, Tang Qi wanted to remind Dawn but couldn't bring himself to speak.

Stonecrusher patted his ass and muttered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"You know why I hate these holy rollers? Because I was going to say 'if it weren't for you, they wouldn't have ended up like this'—

But every time I see them looking all compassionate like this, I feel like I shouldn't make such jokes."

"You already said it."

"I'd rather die than hold it in!"

"Resurrection costs 500 gold."

"Fuck off."

But Dawn didn't seem to use any divine magic.

No sacred halo flickered around her, no scorched wounds appeared on her arms, yet that stubborn walking corpse was indeed pacified. Its limbs no longer twitched, its mouth no longer made grinding sounds.

"What did you do?" Tang Qi asked curiously.

"I resonated with his soul. He still has someone he wants to see."

"Who?"

"I can only sense his obsession and emotions. For specific details, I'd probably need to use [Speak with Dead]—but his body has already been 'desecrated' and transformed into an undead creature."

Dawn shook her head. If one were to remove her helmet at this moment, they'd notice the sparse mist around her neck, revealing her regret.

She silently removed a red thread bracelet from the mercenary's wrist:

"If I meet that person, I will deliver your message to them.

Stubborn soul, please rest in eternal sleep."

When her eulogy ended, the mercenary's body stopped twitching and fell silent.

Old David, who had been sweating profusely nearby, wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Tang Qi:

"This person is..."

Tang Qi reassured him:

"A paladin. With her here, our journey to Longgold City will surely be safer."

In truth, if Dawn were at full strength, Tang Qi didn't think they'd need to rush to Longgold City at all.

They could just turn back, cling to the holy father's thigh, and watch her single-handedly wipe out that orc tribe.

As for now...

Going to Longgold City was still the safer option.

And the title of [Paladin] was itself a golden signboard.

Even Catherine, who had lived in Starberry Town her whole life, could say phrases like "a lying paladin."

Not just Old David, but Father Lynn beside him, and even the other panicked townspeople who didn't dare rest, seemed to let their anxious hearts settle.

Tang Qi spoke loudly at the opportune moment:

"Everyone needn't worry anymore. We're safe now, and the road ahead will surely be smoother.

Given the unexpected situation we encountered, I've decided to rest for an additional period.

After daybreak tomorrow, we'll pack up and set out.

During this time, this paladin will stand watch for us."

They had already discussed this on the way back.

The newly reborn Dawn, having shed the shackles of an ordinary physical body, no longer needed to be constrained by fatigue.

Unless her spell slots were exhausted and her divine soul fire dimmed, her soul required no rest.

His reassurance made the camp's atmosphere somewhat livelier.

When night fell again, Stonecrusher tore into the wolf meat that had been cooked earlier but was now cold and tough, without caring about appearances.

With his stomach growling, he couldn't worry about the taste—

Frequent use of combat techniques constantly depleted a warrior's stamina.

The best way to restore vitality was to continuously consume meat.

Meanwhile, Tang Qi gradually gathered the townspeople who weren't too exhausted around the campfire, roasting some potatoes for a late-night snack, and used the melodious tune of his lute as accompaniment while recounting their journey.

"I can sleep well tonight."

Before long, Stonecrusher stretched, washed down the last bite of wolf meat with sweet starberry wine, then staggered back to his tent. He fell asleep almost instantly and began snoring.

Old David snapped awake from his drunken state:

"Where's the thunder? Should we take shelter from the rain?"

Amid the laughter, Tang Qi noticed Melade, who was huddled in the shadows at the corner of the tent, looking lost.

He suddenly said:

"Right, where was I? The necromancer escaped, correct?

But you all know how treacherous this forest is—those thin mists disturbed our senses, and walking through them we couldn't tell which direction we were facing.

Thanks to Young Master Melade, he walked at the very front to lead the way for us. When our team came to a standstill, he pointed out the direction in time."

Old David spat coldly:

"Walking at the front—probably just wanted to escape on his own early, right?"

Clearly, it wasn't noble arrogance that kept him from gathering with these subjects.

Rather, these commoners who had witnessed the noble abandoning his territory to flee alone found it hard not to reject this highborn young master.

Tang Qi shook his head:

"No one denies some of the unpleasant actions he's taken in the past.

But we also shouldn't deny everything he's contributed to protecting the camp.

People grow up—especially since our young master isn't even an adult yet—

That's still better than his father, right?"

He still remembered Instructor Ulasan clearly mentioning in class content that wasn't detailed in the book *Praise* but was highly effective:

"If you want to win a noble's favor, the best method is to disparage another noble they don't get along with.

Stepping on one to lift up another is always a good recipe for bringing you closer together.

But be very careful—when you try to disparage someone, make absolutely sure there's no one else nearby, and certainly no recordings.

Most importantly—

Never say I taught you this!"

Due to Lord Merle's beastly reputation being deeply ingrained,

The townspeople's resentment toward Melade wasn't quite as deep—

After all, the young master only wanted to flee alone; he hadn't planned to cut their ankle tendons.

Combined with the fact that he'd indeed contributed much to the camp this time, after a brief silence, Father Lynn suddenly walked toward the young white pig curled up at the side of the tent and handed him a roasted potato:

"Young Master Melade, thank you for your hard work."

He understood clearly that Tang Qi was deliberately bringing up this topic to ease relations between the noble and them—

This was important.

The main conflict between both sides was actually focused more on Steward Huss.

And these townspeople fleeing to Longgold City didn't mean they'd stay there forever.

Once the Longgold City army wiped out the orc tribe, they might return to their homeland.

That was, after all, a legitimate noble. If things got too tense, it would be these farming commoners who suffered...

They weren't rebels rising up in resistance.

Just ordinary people who wanted to survive.

And the attitude of most subjects was actually confused and ambiguous.

Beyond their own survival, they found it hard to consider much else.

Now with Father Lynn taking the lead, no matter how slow-witted, some people caught on.

Old David also raised his cup toward the stunned Melade:

"Young master, I'm not good with words, but it's all in the drink!"

"If we hadn't found that 'skeleton,' tomorrow we'd probably all turn into zombies like those mercenaries..."

"I'm not ready to go see my grandma yet!"

Their education couldn't support them in saying more flattering words; they could only state the facts.

"Th-thank you."

He answered Father Lynn with a trembling voice, somewhat awkwardly, unable to say much more.

Noble pride meant he couldn't set aside his dignity to mingle with these muddy-legged folk.

But looking at the roasted potato in his hand wrapped in a handkerchief, even through the rough cloth, it still transmitted the lingering warmth from roasting:

"So this is... being a 'hero'?"

He couldn't describe what kind of feeling this was—

It was hot.

Yet it seemed to burn straight to his heart.

Seeing this, Tang Qi didn't intervene further.

He never intended to change any social system or rebel against the nobility.

For him, Starberry Town was merely the starting point of his adventures.

Though he didn't demand that every experience have a perfect ending,

He still hoped that when recording the stories of this land, he could write a fitting epilogue.

What they had now was already enough.

So he used his lute to play a gentle melody, leading them in singing a melodious song:

"Borrow tonight's bright moonlight, now we gather together;

Though hearts hold future confusion, for now forget—it doesn't matter.

Even far from our former homeland, at least we can still softly sing.

Through forests, past obstacles, welcoming the future's fragrance we bring."

Simple songs could always encourage others to join in.

Music wandered through every corner of the camp.

It carried away fear and dispelled panic.

When the crowd gradually dispersed and sleep covered the deep night, Tang Qi also gradually stopped playing.

He had intended to return to his tent, but just as he approached, he saw Kuru, unable to bear the 'thunder' noise, hurrying out of the tent:

"Kuru, hate, noise!"

While speaking, it sat by the campfire and began studying magic.

"Kuru, I've seen you pondering that spell for many days now. Do you know what it does?"

Kuru didn't like being disturbed while concentrating on study.

But who told that person to be Tang Qi?

It could only gesture animatedly:

"Cliff, fall, not die!"

Though the kobold's expressive ability was still limited to piecing together words, it was enough for Tang Qi to understand:

"[Feather Fall]?"

"Rua!"

Kuru nodded while imitating Tang Qi's Common Tongue, annotating the syllables in its notebook.

It truly loved studying too much.

"Looks like that adventurer's spellbook didn't have many damaging spells."

What Kuru was currently studying was still the deceased adventurer's spellbook.

Judging from the mere [Mold Earth], [Ray of Frost], [Silent Image], and the not-yet-mastered [Feather Fall], this mage's research direction should have been functionally oriented.

And this was what wizards should possess before having large-scale destructive spells.

Especially in the current team, where Dawn and Stonecrusher's offensive capabilities were already considerable.

As a wizard's apprentice, studying some functional spells to assist them in combat more effectively was indeed a wiser choice.

"Keep at it. We have three spellbooks on hand, enough for you to study for quite a while." Tang Qi encouraged appropriately.

"Rua!"

Not wanting to disturb the studious kobold further, he instead looked at that tent rumbling with muffled thunder and shrank back:

"Damn it, when will I learn [Silence]?"

He paced back and forth outside for quite a while, having no interest in going in to listen to the snoring.

Suddenly remembering something, he was about to turn and walk to another tent not far away.

On the way, he was stopped by Dawn, covered from head to toe.

"What's wrong?" Tang Qi asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just—ahem, I resolved a deceased person's obsession."

Tang Qi blinked:

"Yes, you did very well..."

"Never mind then."

Tang Qi couldn't see the black mist beneath her helmet, but watching her departing steps, they seemed somewhat...

Joyful?

Wait, did she come looking for praise?

The belated realization made Tang Qi recall the "praise me" from the temple, and he almost laughed out loud.

As he was about to reach the two young ladies' quarters, he couldn't very well just lift the curtain and enter, so he loudly asked from outside:

"Ahem, it's Tang Qi. Is it convenient to come in?"

Catherine's voice came from inside the tent:

"Please wait a moment."

Then came some rustling sounds, though they were drowned out by Stonecrusher's snoring, preventing Tang Qi from hearing more.

After waiting for a while, Catherine lifted the curtain first. Only then did Tang Qi notice she was wearing only a simple gray-white linen nightgown.

It was just an ordinary nightgown—a camisole style, with a rough texture that didn't conform to the body.

If not for Catherine's shapely figure, it would probably look rather bulky.

But no matter how ordinary the style, placed on Catherine it seemed to radiate a different kind of beauty, making one overlook its inherent flaws—

Especially that neckline that couldn't contain the abyss.

Though Tang Qi didn't deliberately avoid looking, he also couldn't keep staring, so he looked directly into Catherine's confused eyes and asked:

"Did I disturb your rest?"

"What did you say?"

Tang Qi raised his volume:

"I said, did I disturb your rest?"

"No, of course not."

Catherine waved her hands repeatedly, responding loudly,

"I was just wiping down Anbi's body, so it took some time."

"What body?"

"I was wiping down Anbi's body—forget it, shall we talk somewhere else?"

"Okay!"

Tang Qi wished he could stuff Stonecrusher's mouth shut.

But he feared this battle-hardened dwarf remained vigilant even in his dreams, and might, for instance, kick him flying when he approached...

He still chose the principle of retreat:

"So where should we go?"

"The river?"

Catherine asked loudly,

"I'd like to wash up too, but I'm afraid of getting lost!"

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