Chapter 42: The Song of the Wind (5)
Lancelot was hugely popular.
In just forty minutes or so, he had earned eighty-six copper coins.
“Hey, isn’t this Lancelot?” Someone who recognized him finally appeared among the crowd that had stopped to listen. It was a plump, well-to-do man with a full beard. He looked Jin Cheng up and down, speaking in an exaggerated tone of surprise: “To think you really are a bard, and your music is so wonderful! Praise Flange, little Batz won’t have to lose money now.”
Jin Cheng maintained his smile, countering the unexpected with constancy.
The bearded man continued to sigh with emotion, “Oh, Lancelot, a cold did not break you. It seems the illness you caught right after arriving in Flange was a test from the heavens. You succeeded; you successfully completed the test and won the people’s favor. But you must understand, Lancelot, those who doubted you meant no malice. Who could have imagined that someone as young as you could actually play such beautiful music?”
The man spoke enthusiastically for quite a while, yet Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo unanimously felt he wasn’t a good person—because he hadn’t parted with a single copper coin.
Too stingy.
Jin Cheng asked, “Then have you seen Batz? I’m looking for him.”
The bearded man replied, “I just saw him helping someone move things in front of the Vagabond Tavern. You know, Lancelot, he took on two jobs earlier to help raise money for your medical fees; he’s very busy.”
At this moment, Tang Cuo opened his mission panel.
[The Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight]
Second Phase: The Song of the Whispering Wind
Main Mission: Find Batz
Parting ways with the bearded man, the two hurried toward the Vagabond Tavern.
It now seemed Batz was likely the red-haired man. Lancelot had fallen ill shortly after arriving in the Principality of Flange and had received help from this Batz. As for the others, represented by the bearded man, they hadn’t seemed to think highly of Lancelot. Whether they had stood by coldly during his illness or mocked him remained unknown.
This also meant that Lancelot’s recent performance was likely his debut.
The Vagabond Tavern wasn’t too far from where they were.
About ten minutes later, a tavern with wind chimes hanging at the door came into view. Jin Cheng stepped forward to inquire, but before he could speak, the bartender saw his face and immediately laughed. “Hey, isn’t this our great bard, Lancelot?”
The remark was seventy percent teasing and thirty percent mocking; it seemed Lancelot’s days after arriving in the Principality of Flange hadn’t been very smooth.
Just then, a pleasantly surprised voice rang out from behind them: “Lancelot, Theodore!”
It was Batz.
Batz, whose hair looked like red cotton, ran over waving at them joyfully. His gaze swept back and forth between the two. “How come you guys came together? I was just planning to introduce you two. I didn’t expect you to have already met! What a wondrous twist of fate!”
Tang Cuo: “…”
Jin Cheng smiled. “Isn’t it just?”
Seeing Batz arrive, the bartender curled his lip and turned away to leave.
Only then did Batz reveal a trace of lingering fear. He said to Tang Cuo, “The Grand Duke’s attack earlier really scared me! Thankfully you were there, Theodore. I saw it all; you truly are a brave and resolute knight. But later, I was separated along with the crowd. When I asked the guards, they only told me everything was fine. Theodore, you aren’t hurt, are you?”
Tang Cuo shook his head. “Minor injuries, it’s nothing.”
“Even minor injuries need proper care.” Batz had a lot of authority on the topic of injuries and illness. As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and said worriedly, “When I went to ask around earlier, I saw Dr. Albert’s residence surrounded by guards. I don’t know what happened, but it’s quite worrying. Oh right, Lancelot, where did you run off to earlier? I looked for you for a long time but couldn’t find you.”
It seemed Batz hadn’t seen the final scene where Jin Cheng backed up Tang Cuo and the Grand Duke, so he naturally assumed Lancelot wasn’t involved. However, the underlying meaning in his words suddenly cleared up Tang Cuo’s thoughts—Dr. Albert.
Lancelot going to that rental house was likely to find this Dr. Albert.
Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng exchanged a glance, both seeing the exact same conjecture in each other’s eyes.
Jin Cheng asked, “Batz, have you seen Dr. Albert today?”
Batz shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Dr. Albert is very busy; many noble lords prefer to seek him out for treatment. Yet he is so kindhearted, willing to receive commoners like us, even reducing medicine fees and doing house calls. Lancelot, we really should find a good day to properly thank him.”
Afterward, Batz asked how Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng ended up together. Seeing that he knew nothing of the inside story, Jin Cheng hid the matter of the secret tunnel and simply said they had both come looking for him and happened to bump into each other.
Batz didn’t suspect a thing. He then handed Lancelot a key. “Lancelot, I might be back late again today. You know, on days like this, the tavern stays open very late, and it’s quite far from East Street in the White Leaf District. Perhaps you and Theodore can stroll around and grab some of Beibei Bakery’s new jam pies together. The taste is absolutely wonderful.”
“We’ll definitely give them a try. Thank you, Batz.”
“Haha, Lancelot, you’re so strange, there’s never a need for thanks between friends. Also, there’s something I must tell you, Lancelot: don’t be anxious. Your talent will be seen by others one day; if not today, then definitely tomorrow.”
“I actually performed at the market earlier. Everyone really liked my music.”
“Really? That’s fantastic!”
Batz looked happy, genuinely from the bottom of his heart. Just then, the bartender came out of the tavern again, loudly calling for Batz to get back to work. Batz had no choice but to scratch his head, smile apologetically at Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo, and tell them to make sure they enjoyed the afternoon of the celebration.
Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo watched Batz leave. Under the sunlight, that fluffy, soft red hair glowed—the color was truly endearing.
Main Mission updated: Head to the Greenvines Alliance office.
Now that the key figure, Dr. Albert, had surfaced, Jin Cheng finally had a cover story regarding the secret tunnel and could openly swing by the Greenvines Alliance.
However, the key Batz gave him sparked new associations.
“Batz and Lancelot also live in the White Leaf District,” he noted.
“Because rent is cheap,” Tang Cuo replied.
Excellent, logical and well-founded.
Jin Cheng pocketed the key. Since they currently had no way of investigating the White Leaf District anyway, he simply tossed the matter to the back of his mind.
The Greenvines Alliance office stationed in the Principality of Flange was located in the St. Paul District at the center of the city. It was three stories high, with a large Greenvines Alliance emblem hanging above the entrance. Its architectural style was also quite different from the surrounding milky-white sanctuary buildings.
Perhaps it was the style of Boboluo Island, exuding a natural, primal aura.
Looking at it this way, the office back in the Kingdom Hidden in Moonlight was probably only the size of a restroom here.
Upon entering, there was a reception hall no different from a standard adventurer’s guild. It had a quest posting area as well as a lounge area, and a massive alliance emblem was painted on the floor.
People came and went in the hall. Most were swordsmen wearing leather armor, with an occasional mage or two mixed in. All of these people shared a common trait: they were ordinary.
The Greenvines Alliance was a relatively loose organization of bounty hunters. If it were compared to a towering ancient tree, these would be the ordinary members relying on this massive organization to earn a living—they were the leaves.
People like Kelt were the true core, the branches. Leaves could fall, shedding this year and regrowing the next, but branches were different.
Tang Cuo’s gaze swept toward the second floor. “Let’s go up.”
The noble youngest son of a duke from the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers could in no way be an ordinary leaf. Sure enough, the moment the two headed upstairs, they heard someone calling him from afar, “Theodore, you’re finally back!”
It was a lively, adorable girl with braided hair.
Jin Cheng looked at Tang Cuo teasingly, only to be met with a totally expressionless face.
The layout of the second floor was similar to the first, but the alliance emblem painted on the floor had changed into a giant magic circle, and there were far fewer people coming and going. The girl stood behind the service desk and waved at Tang Cuo. “The royal palace’s envoy sent a gift of gratitude for you, Theodore. Come take a look.”
Tang Cuo walked over.
Jin Cheng leaned against the side to wait for him. While waiting, he opened his mission panel again and happened to catch the exact moment the Main Mission updated.
Current Main Mission: Survive.
Not good.
Jin Cheng immediately scanned his surroundings. The system giving such a blunt mission meant the level of danger this time had to be extremely high. But where could the danger be hiding? Subconsciously, he focused his gaze on the people coming and going, but his intuition told him this was wrong.
At that moment, Tang Cuo had already received his gift. It was a delicate, palm-sized square wooden box. It looked perfectly ordinary, lacking any magical fluctuations.
“Don’t open it!” Jin Cheng suddenly shouted.
The people in the second-floor hall jumped at his sudden outburst, and the young girl at the desk even patted her chest in fright. Only Tang Cuo properly received Jin Cheng’s warning.
But it was already too late; he had just cracked the box open a sliver. And through that tiny gap, Tang Cuo clearly saw what was inside—an incredibly ugly cloth doll holding an umbrella.
The moment their eyes met, the cloth doll suddenly grinned.
Without hesitation, Tang Cuo swiftly slammed the box shut.
Bang, bang, bang! The closed box began to violently tremble. It was as if the cloth doll had come to life, desperately ramming against the walls of the box, trying to break out.
“What’s going on?!” The girl at the service desk wore a look of terror and disbelief. The Greenvines Alliance possessed one of the premier silencing magic circles on the continent, capable of neutralizing the vast majority of magic in the world. Let alone the fact that this was the heavily guarded second floor; ordinary curses shouldn’t work here at all.
Tang Cuo pressed down with all his might, but the force was so great it was impossible for a human to contest. His mind raced, and he decisively let go. The instant he released his grip, he drew the Sword of Judgment and brought it down in a vicious slash!
The instant the longsword shattered the box, the Holy Radiance of Judgment suddenly flared. The blinding light caused everyone around to temporarily lose their vision.
Jin Cheng rushed over, shoving the receptionist girl down behind the counter and kicking away two others who were too close. In the heat of the moment, he couldn’t care whether he kicked too hard. Just as he finished clearing the area, the blinding light finally dissipated.
A black umbrella extended from the shattered box, its tip pressing directly against the tip of Tang Cuo’s sword.
Tang Cuo’s expression was grave. His gaze moved from the umbrella tip to the handle, then up to the distinct-knuckled hand gripping it. Cold sweat had already seeped through his back.
Too strong. This force was so overwhelming he had absolutely no way to resist. Although the Sword of Judgment was currently in a damaged state, it was still a legendary-tier weapon. What kind of umbrella could match it?
And within those one or two seconds of racing thoughts, the person holding the umbrella gradually revealed his true form. First came that excessively pale hand, then his shoulder, and finally his entire body. He stepped slowly out of the broken box like an ancient gentleman; with every step forward, he forced Tang Cuo a step back.
He wore a silver mask and a pure white tailcoat. His long black hair was tied back with a black lace ribbon, and a tassel earring dangled from his right ear.
“I was wondering who ruined my grand plans.” The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he tilted his head toward Jin Cheng, his tassel earring swaying gently with the movement. “So it’s you, Lancelot.”
With that, he lightly pushed the umbrella tip forward. Tang Cuo was sent flying by a force too powerful to resist, crashing straight into a pillar in the hall.
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood; it felt as if one of his ribs had snapped.
Only then did Tang Cuo notice the change in his Main Mission. The simple command “Survive” was simple and brutal. Under the current circumstances, the task was monumentally difficult.
He couldn’t help but look at Jin Cheng. Jin Cheng raised an eyebrow, looking as if he really wanted to curse someone out—
Lancelot, oh Lancelot, why is your name everywhere?
The magic circle on the floor finally reacted.
The dark gold patterns rippled like water, and a surging wave of magical power emerged in that instant, lunging toward the man with the tassel earring. Yet he simply pointed the umbrella tip downward, tapping the ground lightly like a walking cane, and the surging magic was instantly suppressed.
He rested his crossed hands on the curved handle of his umbrella, standing there like an immovable pillar. No matter how the magic circle roared, it couldn’t budge him an inch.
Jin Cheng had no choice but to maintain his smile. “Sir, do I know you?”
“It truly breaks my heart to hear you say that.” The man with the tassel earring smiled. Twirling the handle of his umbrella, a dazzling burst of magic broke through the restraints of the magic circle and shot toward Tang Cuo.
In the nick of time, Tang Cuo dodged around the pillar. At the same time, he fully activated the Holy Radiance of Judgment, shattering the aftershock of the magic with a single strike. He panted heavily, a sharp pain radiating from his ribs. When he looked up again, a trace of blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth.
Of course, his expression was terrible, incredibly terrible.
Jin Cheng provoked you, so why the hell are you attacking me?
