Just thinking that he was about to die, Kieren this ti also outdid himself, delivering the most brilliant performance ever.
He threw himself fully into the performance, showing off his vocal prowess.
When the song ended, Kieren opened his eyes only to see the group of bandits in front of him showing no reaction.
It seed not quite right to say there was no reaction, for the bandit closest to him had already picked up his nail head hamr again, impatiently saying, "Have you finished singing?"
"No, traditionally, after the performance, you should give so money," Kieren began, but seeing the bandits’ unfriendly expressions, he quickly changed his tune, "Or you could give so feedback and thoughts."
"diocre," said the bandit with the nail head hamr.
"Not as good as ’Head! Head! Head!’" another bandit holding a scythe chid in.
"Wow... that’s kinda harsh," Kieren said awkwardly.
"Don’t take it to heart. You’re going to die anyway. See this hamr in my hand? I just need to tap it gently on the back of your skull, and your head will be smashed to bits."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"
Seeing the bandit approaching him again, Kieren broke out in a cold sweat, "You can’t kill ."
"Why not?"
"Because I... am a follower of the Double Rest Sect, commanded by Prophet rlin to write poems for Saturdays to extol its greatness. If you kill , Saturday will bring its wrath upon you."
Kieren blurted out in desperation. Hearing this, the bandit holding the nail head hamr finally stopped in his tracks, but he quickly snorted disdainfully.
"So what? We’re out in the middle of nowhere. We kill you and no one will know."
"Prophet rlin can resurrect the dead," Kieren reminded him.
"Then after we kill you, we’ll just destroy your body too."
Before Kieren could say anything, another bandit quickly interjected, "That’s useless, haven’t you heard the minstrels sing? Even with just a head left, that rlin can bring people back to life."
"How can anyone be stupid enough to believe what the minstrels say? They are all liars."
"But the farrs say the sa thing. They all claim to have seen the dead co back to life," another bandit, carrying a bow and arrow, also joined the discussion.
"This rlin and his Double Rest Sect obviously have so real power. Didn’t we also encounter their followers before? There were at least two thousand people following him, are they all idiots too?"
"So what you’re saying is, I’m the idiot?" the bandit with the nail head hamr got upset and started to rant.
"I didn’t say that," the bandit with the bow and arrow shrugged.
"That’s what you an, Hawkeye. I know you always think you’re the smartest of us all."
"I won’t deny that," he admitted.
"Go to hell. You’re just a pretentious little bastard. I could smash your head in with one swing of my hamr."
"Before you get close to , my arrow would have already pierced your throat, Giant Stone."
Seeing the bandits falling into discord, the minstrel’s eyes flashed with joy, and he quietly made his way towards the old horse grazing under the tree.
However, he had only taken a few steps when he was spotted.
"That Double Rest Sect minstrel, are you trying to run away?"
Kieren froze in place, quickly explaining, "No, no, I saw you were busy, so I thought I’d say a prayer."
His interruption broke up the quarrel between Hawkeye and Giant Stone, and they both turned to look at him.
"I’ll kill this kid first, then settle the score with you," Giant Stone said fiercely.
"No, you can’t kill him," Hawkeye objected, "not only can we not kill him, but we must also protect him."
"What, you fancy him?"
"Even if you kill him, you can’t make money appear from his corpse."
"But at least it would make feel better."
"Or we could also escort him to the Double Rest Sect."
"Why should we do that?"
"Rember the rchant caravan that old One-Eye had us rob before?"
"The one called Golden Fleece?" Giant Stone recalled.
"Exactly. The most valuable cargo they carried was sothing called giant dragon blood, which cos from the Double Rest Sect. The nobles in the Royal Capital are crazy about it."
"Just a piece the size of half a fingernail can be sold for hundreds of gold lions."
Giant Stone’s breathing quickened, "Such a tiny bit can exchange for hundreds of gold lions?! Why didn’t you tell earlier? With just one heist, we wouldn’t have to worry about food and drink ever again."
"Forget it, the Golden Fleece deployed over forty guards to escort that giant dragon blood. All of them masters. Old One-Eye called up a hundred n and still they got beaten black and blue."
Hawkeye paused, "But now, we might get our hands on this legendary Divine dicine without lifting a finger."
"Rob the Double Rest Sect?" Giant Stone’s eyes lit up.
"There are at least three nobles and over a hundred guards there, and they are going to the Royal Capital for the martial arts tournant," a robber ard with a Dagger finally spoke up,
"Giant Stone, you fool, what Hawkeye ans is we should send this Minstrel back to the Double Rest Sect. rlin will thank us with the giant dragon blood."
"I know what Hawkeye ans. I was just considering if there is another possibility. We could use the Minstrel to sneak into the group, directly kidnap rlin, and pull off a big one!"
"Don’t ever do that!" Hawkeye warned, "We know little about Prophet rlin. We don’t know what other tricks he has up his sleeve. Previously, the Double Rest Sect, in alliance with that Lady, took down a dragon!"
"I was just talking," Giant Stone muttered, "It’s a backup plan. If rlin doesn’t pay ransom for the Minstrel, we’ll proceed like that."
"We’ll see when the ti cos."
......
Kieren couldn’t believe that casually claiming an identity from the Double Rest Sect had actually saved his life.
At that mont, he truly wanted to praise Saturday, yet he had to face new troubles.
Once he t rlin, his false identity as a Saturday-exclusive poet would likely be instantly exposed. Then the robbers, angered and embarrassed, might still want to kill him.
Even if Giant Stone and the others didn’t act, rlin might want to hold him accountable for impersonating a follower of the Double Rest Sect.
What to do, how exactly could he get this lie to hold up?
The temporarily life-spared Kieren fell into deep thought.
For three consecutive days, he lost his appetite, and his body beca noticeably thinner.
The robbers didn’t think much of it, assuming he was just depressed from being captured until the evening of the third day when they passed through a small village.
Hawkeye scouted around and saw no guards nearby, so the robbers decided to go in and steal so food and drink, maybe find a few won to relax with as well.
Just as they were dragging people out of their houses to the village center, the Minstrel, who had seed listless on horseback, suddenly perked up.
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