Ch. 2 - A True Bard

Tang Qi didn't understand what was happening and was about to turn and leave when a man had already approached from behind.

The man had slender eyes, a flat nose, and thin lips. His mustache lent him some semblance of masculinity.

A sword hung at his waist, and he wore chain mail.

This outfit was uncommon in the countryside, instantly setting him apart from the other drunken farmers—

The landowner Merle of Starberry Town wouldn't live in such a poor, remote place.

To that end, he'd recruited three professional mercenaries to watch over his orchards; they also served as the village guard, maintaining order alongside another gang of thugs.

At this moment, heavily drunk, the man's steps swayed, clanking with the sound of metal.

This sound also attracted the other drunkards. For a moment, the originally noisy tavern gradually fell silent, the clamor turning to whispers:

"These damned scoundrels sometimes do good things after all, eh?"

"Rather than hearing that grating noise again, I'd rather see this bastard kicked out again."

"My grandmother's ears are saved!"

Catherine, who'd inherited the tavern, naturally couldn't expect her business to run smoothly.

"A beautiful girl is a Dawnbloom"—this was a local saying in Starberry Town.

It grew deep in Dawnmist Forest to the west, where day and night magically alternated every four hours.

But whether in sunlight or plunged into darkness, this wonder that reflected sun and moon would shimmer ceaselessly, like an eternal lantern in the forest.

Thus, whether willingly or not, like bees drawn to flowers, it would attract countless gazes.

Where there are honeybees and butterflies, naturally there are flies and serpents—

Whenever someone harassed Catherine, the mercenary leader [Black Snake] would send out his subordinate [Jackal].

Tang Qi had been the one Jackal kicked out of the tavern.

The drunkards' whispers reached Jackal's ears. He enjoyed this subtle flattery, whistling a tuneless little melody.

It showed people feared him, even if only because of Black Snake's reputation.

Emboldened by alcohol, he wrapped an arm around Tang Qi's shoulder, locking him tightly in his embrace.

He was missing a pinky finger, but that didn't affect the strength of the other four.

His narrow eyes squeezed tight, pupils barely visible.

The stench of alcohol and bad breath merged into a pungent odor as he spoke in a half-threatening tone:

"That kick earlier wasn't painful enough, was it?"

Tang Qi's whole body felt weak, unable to move.

Thinking of Jackal's previous actions, resentment inevitably rose in his heart—

Though dying in the rain was mostly because this body had been frail to begin with, and the other hadn't intended to kill, it was still a contributing factor.

This made him unwilling to back down. He had an impulse to grab the lute and smash it over the bastard's head.

But considering the other had companions, and with his own limbs powerless, would he have any chance of escape afterward?

Of course, his companions were dead drunk too, so they might not be much better off...

During this brief hesitation, Catherine suddenly spoke:

"Jackal, don't interrupt our business discussion."

Jackal raised his eyebrows in surprise, but released Tang Qi.

Catherine was valued by the boss, the most beautiful Dawnbloom, so of course he showed her respect.

Still, he couldn't help spreading his hands mockingly:

"He's just a vagrant. What business could there be?"

"I'm trying for a second chance to perform."

Tang Qi forcefully suppressed the irritation in his heart, moving as far from Jackal as possible, seizing the convenient excuse.

Catherine's brow furrowed. Anyone could see she wasn't that willing.

Jackal laughed loudly, turned to look at the drunkards behind him, and raised his shrill voice:

"Perform? Did you all hear that? He actually calls that sawing from before a 'performance'!?"

"Fuck off, Jackal! When I'm sawing wood, the damn noise is way more rhythmic than that singing!"

"Hahaha!"

Jackal's grin widened further as he grabbed Tang Qi's leather coat.

"Carrying a broken lute, you think you're some choir boy?

Get lost, vagrant, and stay away from this girl—

Unless you want to get kicked a second time!"

Facing Jackal directly now, Tang Qi thought this angle was just right.

Perfect for grabbing the lute and hammering it into his temple—

"Let him go, Jackal."

Catherine sighed and quickly grabbed Jackal's arm guard.

"Remember what I said? If Black Snake still wants to drink in this tavern, don't go stirring up trouble randomly."

Her words seemed beyond question.

They also reached the ears of the slovenly man with shoulder-length black hair at a corner table.

He had his legs propped on the table, reclining as he called out:

"Don't do things that give the lady a headache. Jackal, come back and drink."

His tone was calm, yet carried undeniable weight.

Jackal frowned, glancing sideways at Tang Qi through narrowed eyes. Unable to help himself, he spat quietly in disgust before sullenly returning to his seat.

Looking at Black Snake's cold, sharp eyes, he couldn't help muttering:

"Boss, didn't you see that vagrant harassing Catherine? I was just..."

He didn't even understand why they, mere mercenaries, had to listen to this bitch.

If he liked her so much, why not just take her by force?

Black Snake had other plans.

Stroking the stubble on his chin, he responded quite lazily:

"Wait until he screws up again, and those drunkards will throw him out themselves."

"Rather than worrying about him, you'd be better off taking off your equipment and enjoying some good wine!"

The one-eyed dwarf beside him laughed loudly after his mockery.

"He's definitely going to screw up. I've been around for so many years, and I've never seen a single bard worth a damn!

These fancy bastards do nothing but kiss nobles' asses and sing about the same old dragon-slaying heroes—made up ones at that!"

His shout stirred laughter throughout the tavern.

The drunkards raised their cups and drank, shouting in unison:

"Fuck the dragons, fuck the heroes!"

Seeing the high spirits over there, Catherine at the bar couldn't help shaking her head and covering her face:

"Did you hear that? Your stories are clichéd and outdated.

No one wants to hear you weave ethereal legends, praising nobles and royalty.

Even if you changed songs and performed a second time, nothing would change."

Tang Qi reviewed the repertoire his predecessor had practiced at the academy, discovering that the textbook content was indeed exactly as Catherine described—

[Wandering Song Academy] was the only bardic college on the [Forgotten Continent]. The vast majority of bards came from there.

For various reasons, it had once fallen into ruin.

Now, relying on patronage from the [Terran Empire] on the continent's western coast, it had been revived but had evolved into a mouthpiece for the ruling class, with no independence whatsoever.

Its students either became court jesters or spies who couldn't show their faces.

The few who harbored dreams of traveling the world basically all died halfway.

As for the legendary bards—the romantic poets who rode dragons above and wandered alleys below, the jacks-of-all-trades and idea men of adventure parties...

Friend, it's fine to dream, but don't actually fool yourself.

Those who could commune with the Weave and patiently study spellcasting were already few, and sensing the magic in music required even more talent.

So true bards in this world were few and far between—

Those with name and reputation were all celebrated in legends.

But there were no living legends in this world.

Instructor Ulasan, a halfling who'd lived 120 years, most often said, "May the gods bless you." His most famous achievement was publishing *Ulasan's One Thousand and One Praises*.

Twenty years ago, it became the academy textbook, containing most of the flattering words noble lords liked to hear, along with scenarios for their application.

His students mostly became court musicians, earning fortunes.

But on the continent's eastern coast, major cities governed independently, held together only by the weak contract of the [Lord's Alliance] to maintain trade and diplomacy.

In Starberry Town oppressed by a landowner, no one would want to hear you kiss nobles' asses.

When Tang Qi figured this out, his mind was made up.

He wiped the strings and plucked out the first discordant noise:

"Twang—"

"Who? Who just let out a silent fart!?"

Unfortunately, the lute's gut strings wore out easily, and his instrument hadn't received any special enchantments.

After being thrown into the mud and soaked by the storm earlier, its breaking now could actually be considered durable.

Watching the vagrant before her become the drunkards' entertainment, Catherine didn't understand his stubbornness, only saying:

"Put down your lute, go eat something by the fireplace, and stop bothering these drunk bastards."

Tang Qi looked up and asked:

"You said no one likes hearing ethereal legends. So what do they like to hear?"

"How should I know?"

Seeing his obstinate refusal to listen, Catherine didn't want to bother anymore and could only answer irritably:

"They like hearing what they like hearing."

"Thank you."

"Weirdo."

She muttered under her breath, then turned to wipe the glass in her hand.

Then, the kitchen door opened.

A little girl with her face hidden in a hood came running out quickly, carrying a tray.

On it sat sliced black bread, stewed beans, and a cup of glowing starberry wine.

Starberries were local specialties, but without magical preservation, they only lasted three days, weren't easy to transport, and were best brewed promptly into wine.

Thus, they were quite rare in Longgold City, but here they could be drunk like water.

Seeing the vagrant who'd been kicked out staring at the strings in thought, the girl was about to carry the tray forward.

But Catherine stopped her with an outstretched hand.

The girl didn't understand, just tilted her head and asked:

"Sister, aren't we letting him eat?"

It was her sister who'd said to give him a meal, so she'd rushed to the kitchen to prepare it.

If she'd known she'd change her mind, she would've just slacked off instead.

Catherine only sighed softly:

"Wait until he finishes singing."

The little girl blinked:

"Should I go outside and wait for him? That way he can eat the moment he gets thrown out."

She hadn't heard much music, but she knew what grating sounded like.

The sounds that the lute made were like her claws scratching an iron plate.

Making that sharp, shrill "screech screech" noise that made your hair stand on end.

Even her tail wanted to bristle.

Meanwhile, the drunkards over there, seeing Tang Qi still not making a sound, all laughed recklessly:

"My esteemed great artist, when will you begin your grand performance?"

"Start singing! I'm still waiting for you to scare my grandmother back to life!"

"Come on, stop wasting my drinking time, will you? I still have to work tomorrow morning..."

Tang Qi put down the broken-stringed lute. The drunkards all thought he was giving up and burst into laughter again.

Fortunately, his skin was thick enough, so he didn't care at all, only pondering how to stir up the entire tavern's atmosphere—

The simplest structure of a song consisted of four parts: intro, verse, chorus, and outro.

Among these, the intro was crucial, directly determining whether he could capture these drunkards' attention and immerse them.

Otherwise, with everyone viewing him through the fixed impression of a 'joke,' relying solely on a monotonous human voice, Tang Qi couldn't possibly suppress these drunkards' laughter.

Then all sorts of cacophonous sounds would mix together, only evolving into yet another farce.

But the lute's loss of voice had cost him the intro's critical foundation.

He needed to choose a substitute to help him command the scene.

He recalled how bands always needed that essential first sound to attract the audience's attention when opening—

The drum beat.

Tang Qi's eyes lit up.

Walking toward the tavern bar, he slammed his palm forcefully against the wooden counter.

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