Celtic inford Roger Reeds that the Grand Duke had asked him to please co over to discuss how to deal with the secret tunnel. He specifically used the words please and discuss. Although this was the capital of the Principality of Flange, The Watchman Roger Reeds was a man of high status on the entire continent of Sicilit, putting him nowhere less noble than the Grand Duke himself.
As soon as Roger Reeds left, Celtic whispered to Tang Cuo: With the matters surrounding this secret tunnel, we will be kept busy again. I hope that the Rose Sect wont engage in any more evil doings any ti soon. The wind brings a good season of harvest, and my aunt Peggy from far away has invited over to try the fresh ale on her farm.
Tang Cuo nodded coldly.
Celtic also seed to be used to Theodores dignified boringness and continued: By the way, Theodore, you said your ho is in the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers? That place is much larger than Flange. Why did you co here?
Flange was a principality under the rule of the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers. Although it wasnt small, it was only a principality after all. Tang Cuo knew what Celtic ant, but he had to keep to his character settings and just carried on his cold exterior: Because of faith.
Celtic was left speechless for a while.
He didnt really understand. Theodore was clearly quite young, but he held his posture like a nobleman from ancient tis. He sotis looked too stoic and righteous, as well as cold and difficult to approach, but when the three words because of faith were said, Celtic felt slightly moved.
Even though he didnt actually know how to respond to those words from Theodore.
The long-awaited Lancelot then ca to his rescue.
The bard seed to have just wandered back from the eye of a storm. There were several tears on his pants and clothes, his shirt collar unruly open, his hair ssy and fluttering in the wind. He was holding the corner of his harp with a smile, looking all handso despite his disorderly appearance.
Seeing him for the first ti, Celtic knew that this must be the man who led the Grand Duke into the tunnel. He took the initiative to step forward: Mate, are you okay?
Jin Cheng shrugged: I accidentally stepped on a magic circle.
Celtic was imdiately alert: A magic circle?
Yes. Jin Cheng looked serious and reported Lisas address at once, then he said: I suspect there are more than one of such magic circles in the White Leaf District, and most of them have sothing to do with the inverted pentagram with a rose found inside the tunnel.
Hearing this, Celtic of course couldnt stand still and proceeded to investigate at once.
Jin Cheng finally had so ti alone with Tang Cuo. He jumped straight to the point: I triggered a side mission and got a fragnt of a movent.
Tang Cuo was startled, then he asked: Lancelots movent, or the [Twelve Movents]?
His question was exactly the sa as Jin Chengs thought. The corner of Jin Chengs mouth couldnt help but curl up: Its not clear for now. Perhaps well have to wait until weve collected a lot of fragnts to see the true appearance of the movent.
Thereafter, Jin Cheng recounted the content of the side mission to Tang Cuo.
After the mysterious ink drops splashed from the wall, Jin Cheng was sucked into the mural. The world inside the mural was full of thorny roses that furiously attacked Jin Cheng. That was why Jin Chengs clothes were cut open with many holes.
However, inside this mural, the seal on Jin Chengs bow was lifted. He quickly jumped out and rushed to finish the painting at the last minute.
The magic circle should have sothing to do with a priest nad Peter. An ordinary woman cant draw a magic circle just by being a painter. If you search her place, you can find the letter she wrote to Peter. Jin Cheng didnt talk much just now because he was afraid it would make Lancelot seem suspicious, which might ultimately boost up the difficulty of this dungeon.
Peter is the priest that the Grand Duke ntioned earlier. Tang Cuo said. It wasnt surprising that a traitor priest would be involved in a wicked incident like this. Since this was a side mission that wouldnt affect the main plot, even if Jin Cheng didnt trigger it by himself, the dungeon NPCs would sohow get him to end up in it, one way or another.
But now that a movent had erged, they ought to pay close attention to such missions in the future, otherwise they might find themselves missing the final fragnt after going through so much hard work to gather the others.
Jin Cheng leaned on the pillar with his arms folded and said with a hint of intrigue: Theres one thing that I find very interesting. Lisas letter to Peter says that she doesnt know whether theres a flower called rose, and she hasnt seen it either. She doesnt know it and hasnt seen it, isnt it interesting? Theodore cos from the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers, has he seen a rose?
Tang Cuo asked back: Then how did you know about that secret tunnel?
Jin Cheng shrugged.
This was odd. Tang Cuo didnt know whether Theodore had seen a real rose, and Jin Cheng didnt know why Lancelot knew about the secret tunnel. The two were equally clueless in this role-playing dungeon, truly two birds of the sa feather flocking together.
At this mont, Roger Reeds walked over and the two quickly stopped talking.
Roger Reeds glanced at Lancelot, who smiled and saluted him respectfully: Good afternoon, Your Excellency Roger Reeds.
Do you know ?
All the bards of the whole continent must have sung poems that are about you. It is my honor to see you here.
Very good, sucking up to people as smoothly as always.
Tang Cuo really admired Jin Chengs acting skills, but Roger Reeds was a cold man who didnt buy his flattering. He looked at Tang Cuo again and ordered: You will escort the Grand Duke back to the palace with the guards later. As for you, the Greenvines Alliance thank you for your help, but this incident is related to many important matters, so we hope you can continue to stay and cooperate with us.
Wasnt this simply trying to disguise their intention to keep him under their watch?
Jin Cheng thought for a second, then continued to smile: Its my pleasure to help.
Roger Reeds seed to have more important things, so he left imdiately after these short words. Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo glanced at each other and opened the Mission panel together to find the updated main mission.
This ti, their main missions finally rged into the sa one Escort the Grand Duke back to the palace.
The guard squad would set off in half an hour.
After Celtic investigated Lisas room, he hurried back to learn that Roger Reeds had already left. He was very upset: I shouldve co back earlier. That magic circle must be related to the Rose Sect, and I think the matter isnt over yet. The whereabouts of an important person like His Excellency Roger Reeds has never been easy for us to find out. I dont know when he will turn up next.
As he finished the sentence, Celtic hurriedly ran away again.
Tang Cuo suddenly thought of the first person he saw when he ca to this dungeon and opened his eyes Red Hair. He said that he would introduce Lancelot to Theodore, so he must know Lancelot.
Perhaps he would know about the connection between Lancelot and the tunnel.
Celtic was in a hurry and couldnt bother about Lancelot for the ti being, so Jin Cheng was arranged to join the guards together with Tang Cuo. It was the captain of the guards, who should in fact be called the Knight Commander, that ca to et the Grand Duke.
The Knight Commander had a good impression of Tang Cuo but was wary of Lancelot. His attitude wasnt distant, but he didnt talk much either. Lancelot was a clear outlier as he stood in a large group of stern-looking knights, holding a harp and smiling while wearing unique ripped pants.
The squad set of.
Tang Cuoy thought so incidents would take place on the road since the main mission was to escort the Grand Duke back to the palace, but unexpectedly, the trip was utterly smooth-sailing.
The Knight Commander couldnt help but breathe a sigh of relief as the palace was in sight.
On the way, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng didnt get to talk to the Grand Duke anymore. The Grand Duke sat in the only carriage, still the sa duke with an air of majesty around him as usual.
However, just as the two were about to leave, an official ran over and saluted them respectfully: The Grand Duke asked to tell you two: Thank you for your help today. You are both guests of the palace at any ti. The appreciation ceremony will be held in a short while, and well bring you to the Greenvines Alliance office thereafter.
Jin Cheng returned the gesture: Then we must thank the Grand Duke.
Tang Cuo nodded cautiously. When the official had left, the twos main mission beca Go to the bazaar. They had changed from birds of the sa feather to dungeon tourists now.
Jin Cheng joked: Maybe Yong Ye City finally couldnt stand Mr. Crow anymore and decided to demote him.
Tang Cuo declined to comnt. He felt that with Jin Chengs character, if Mr. Crow was demoted, it might be that Yong Ye City wanted to beat him up by itself. So itd be better for Mr. Crow to still be in his place.
Although the Grand Duke was attacked, the situation had stabilised and the celebration could continue. The panic amid the crowd never fully dispersed, but on such a jolly day, everyone was willing to put aside their troubles and have a good ti.
The noisy bazaar had plenty of small stalls. On this day, the principality wouldnt charge any fees to set up a stall. All kinds of things could be found on both sides of the road, such as pottery, bronze appliances, big and small accessories, stones from the Elf Forest, flowers from the Kingdom of Hundred Flowers, etc.
The first stop for the two of them was naturally the tunnel entrance, which was also the place where Jin Cheng entered the dungeon. This was within the bazaar.
It was a private house, where the guards had blocked all entrances to prevent anyone from approaching. The two didnt act rashly and just looked at it from a distance. Tang Cuo asked: When you entered the dungeon, was there anyone next to you?
Jin Cheng: No. Looking at its interior, it should be a rented house with two floors and several families living in it. Today is a celebration, everyone should be out and the doors should be all locked. But Im sure Lancelot doesnt live there. He cos to find soone.
Why?
He doesnt carry the key, and hes just a poor bard. This area isnt cheap.
This reasoning was so powerful that no one could refute it.
Red Hair?
Possibly.
The speculation they had on hands wasnt enough to determine the truth, but considering that the reason why Lancelot knew about the tunnel hadnt been made clear, it was unwise for him to have too much contact with the guards and the Greenvines Alliance. Although Jin Cheng could fool them with his cleverness, making up stories surely wasnt a good way out. If they were exposed, Roger Reeds could send them straight to the heavens with his magic.
But their only hope Red Hair was still nowhere to be seen.
The two went to places with as many people as possible, trying to see if anyone would recognise them and take the initiative to greet them, or if they could trigger any new mission.
Passing by a flower stall, Jin Cheng stopped and asked the gardener: Do you have any rose here?
The gardener gave him a strange look, as if he was looking at a madman who was dressed in rags and went around asking stupid questions: Boy, were you deliberate? Forget it, today is a good day, I wont care about what you say. If you dont want to buy flowers, please leave right away. I think you should change your clothes before coming again.
Jin Cheng touched his nose and turned to look at Tang Cuo, spreading his hands.
Tang Cuo also felt that Jin Chengs ripped pants were unsightly, but Jin Cheng rummaged through all the pockets on his body and only found five copper coins. He miserably stretched out his palms to show Tang Cuo five copper coins.
With no expression, Tang Cuo touched his pocket and took out two gold coins.
Dont bully a poor young man, he may get rich one day. And he has.
Jin Cheng didnt hesitate one bit to spend Tang Cuos money, and he was even especially blatant. The two headed to the tailor shop, where Jin Cheng alone spent half an hour trying on clothes.
Tang Cuo leaned on the edge of the bronze mirror with his arms folded and was forced to give his opinions, which must be from the heart, not just fooling around. Also, his aesthetics were required to be online.
The blonde clerk kept covering her mouth to laugh.
In the end, Jin Cheng chose a set of clothes that were similar to the original, but the materials were more comfortable, while Tang Cuo also changed. He was injured in the first place and had slowly recovered after drinking the potion, but his clothes wouldnt return to their previous state.
The two walked out of the shop wearing new clothes as the sound of an organ and cheerful singing ca from the front, fluttering in the wind as if flying freely in the sky.
Song of The Wind.
Tang Cuo thought of the na of this dungeon.
If [Death of The Poet] was the end of the story and [Song of The Wind] was the beginning, then this serial dungeon started with a celebration and ended with a celebration. It felt like a ritual.
The two inquired about the roses from one passer-by to another, just to learn that there really were no roses on this continent. More precisely, the rose only existed in the books and in the songs of the bards.
Ordinary people wouldnt pursue the reasons behind this. For them, the rose was probably a kind of flower that had gone extinct since long.
This didnt seem like sothing too difficult to understand.
Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng knew that things would never be that simple, and it was extrely likely that records involving such secrets wouldnt appear in libraries accessible to everyone. The highest possibility was for them to be inside the office of the Greenvines Alliance, or the royal palace.
But of course, their main goal now was still looking for Red Hair.
As they walked around, Jin Cheng suddenly had an idea: Didnt you say that Red Hair likes Lancelots music? He was going to introduce Lancelot to Theodore today, saying that Lancelot would also be here. As a bard, what will he do at such a celebration?
Tang Cuo: Play his music.
Playing on the street was sothing Jin Cheng can do.
The small harp was already with him. Jin Cheng only needed to buy a cheap hat from a grocery stall on the side of the road, found a good place with flowers and a gentle breeze, put the hat on the ground and let the music flow.
Tang Cuo sat on the flowerbed next to him and looked around. There was still a transparent white ribbon hanging from the top of the tall building.
Jin Cheng could also sing. From his mory, he sang so songs that sounded exotic yet soothing, but he couldnt rember all the lyrics and just let the words co out randomly. He sang whatever syllable that rhyd, played very freely and acted all casually.
More and more people gathered in front of him. There were children clutching onto their candies, young n and won, or middle-aged won and old folks holding onto wooden basins. So of them ca and went, while so dropped a coin or two into his hat.
In the distant future, these people might rember that on this sunny afternoon, they stopped and listened to the performance of the most popular bard in the Sicilit continent.
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