Chapter 7: Illusion, Dwarf

Although this song was sung in Netherese Common, Xia Duo could still feel the scene of his hometown depicted in Mu Yan's song—the scenery of Kara-Tur, modeled after Huaxia.

Xia Duo listened, entranced, and the people around were also drawn over one after another, packing the area in front of the tent used as a stall.

When the song ended, the surroundings remained quiet, as if everyone was still immersed in the exotic scenery.

After a long while, Xiao Nier nudged Xia Duo's arm and whispered, "Daxia is so beautiful! Is there really such a place?"

What? Xia Duo was startled; he narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding people imperceptibly. Those people still wore expressions of infatuation, and a few had even begun discussing the mountains and rivers of Daxia.

Was it an Illusion? Or could this song truly be that captivating?

Xia Duo himself had not seen any specific images, only conjuring up the scenery of Huaxia from before he crossed over, but the others seemed to have seen specific images?

Xia Duo did not dare to ask, but he kept this situation in mind; perhaps he would encounter it again in the future.

"Alright Xia Duo, go back and think about it some more, whether you really want to embark on the path of a Bard; I won't be entertaining you here for now."

Mu Yan's voice drifted over faintly, but Xia Duo noticed that it seemed only he had heard this voice; the others around did not hear it, as they remained lost in the Illusion woven by Mu Yan.

Xia Duo pulled Xiao Nier and squeezed out of the crowd. Only after they were a dozen steps away did he hear a burst of exclamations erupt from the crowd, along with calls for another performance, and Mu Yan's voice also drifted over:

"If you want to hear more, pay up! Give me 50 Gold Coins, and I'll perform for you again."

Xia Duo paid no more attention to what followed. If Mu Yan were truly as powerful as he claimed, comparable to the Mage Lord of Savile Town, then a group of people pooling 50 Gold Coins to hear a little tune would be an absolute bargain.

He hadn't felt much while standing in front of Mu Yan's stall, but after walking a few steps, Xia Duo discovered that his body had changed—it had become more powerful, stronger, and more agile.

Upon asking Xiao Nier, he was the same, though not as improved as Xia Duo.

This must be the Magic of a Bard, capable of enhancing a person's physical fitness; he just didn't know if it was temporary or permanent.

Thinking this, Xia Duo quickened his pace, feeling no strain at all, as if there were a fire in his heart urgently needing to be vented. Xiao Nier was also overly excited, running and jumping all the way, just like those underage children.

There were no twists and turns on the way back. When they arrived at the familiar South District main street, Xia Duo's heart tightened slightly, though there was no change on the surface; he was already wearing that harmless smile.

"Uncle Bulutuo, your beard style is really dashing today!"

Clang, clang, clang—

The Dwarf Buloutuo, who was working hard hammering a strip of metal on a black rock anvil, heard Xia Duo's praise, immediately dropped his hammer, turned around, stroked his brown beard braided into several small plaits, and revealed a smug smile.

"You've got a good eye, Xia Duo. No one in the Old Neil Inn has an eye as good as yours. Next time you come over, I'll hammer that piece of iron for you a few times."

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Bulutuo." Xia Duo was overjoyed.

If one were to calculate the age of this Dwarf who had lived in the Savile Town South District for years, he was nearly 10 times Xia Duo's age, but among the Dwarf race, he was only considered middle-aged; if maintained properly, he hadn't even reached half his lifespan yet.

And this Dwarf Buloutuo from the Danzo mountains in the great northwest was one of the few Master Blacksmiths in Savile Town. Ordinary people wouldn't even dare to think about having him perform a task without at least a hundred Gold Coins.

Yet he had promised to forge for Xia Duo for free once. The "piece of iron" the Dwarf mentioned was actually the crude Dagger hidden under Xia Duo's clothes at his left waist, which had been mocked by him for a long time when it was being polished at Bluto's Smithy.

This Dagger was inferior to even an Apprentice's handiwork in the smithy, let alone catching the eye of a Master.

But this time, Buloutuo had agreed to help Xia Duo re-process it, which showed that he was in a good mood today; at least in the past, Xia Duo's compliments had never earned him such preferential treatment.

Xia Duo thought about it carefully: could it be that praising his beard as handsome in the past hadn't hit his sweet spot? So this time, praising it as "dashing" had hit the mark?

This little interlude made Xia Duo take note, but his pace did not stop as he walked toward the Old Neil Inn. Along the way, he greeted everyone he recognized with enthusiasm.

As the old Huaxia saying goes, one can never be too polite.

This saying was quite useful even in this other world. At least the polite, harmless image Xia Duo had worked hard to build was a success. Although acting like a pig often enough meant he would inevitably be treated as a real pig, Xia Duo had no other choice.

On this street filled with Adventurers, almost anyone could take him down. He was indeed a weakling, and what could a weakling do besides appear harmless? Show off his capabilities?

But revealing capabilities would inevitably lead to conflict with others, whether psychological or regarding real interests. As long as someone was unhappy and took a swing at Xia Duo, what could he do?

He could only struggle to maintain his relationships with those around him and try his best to avoid any conflict.

But just thinking about the change in Old Neil's attitude recently, Xia Duo sighed in his heart. If even an innkeeper could bring him such great pressure, he was still too weak!

Hiding all his distracting thoughts in the depths of his heart, Xia Duo walked into the inn with Xiao Nier, who was cowering like a quail. A wave of noise rushed toward them: shouting, yelling, teasing, the clatter of cups and plates—everything imaginable.

However, Xia Duo didn't care about the situation in the shop. His gaze was focused on Old Neil, who was pouring wine for a customer behind the counter. At this moment, there was a sheen of sweat on Old Neil's forehead; he carelessly drew a cup of inferior ale from the barrel behind him and then slammed the wooden mug onto the counter.

A drunkard threw down 5 Copper coins and, without caring if the cup was full, picked it up and moved toward a corner. It was then that Old Neil, turning back, noticed Xia Duo and the other who had just entered and called out:

"You're back! Come and help quickly, there are quite a few customers today!"

Something was fishy! An alarm bell rang in Xia Duo's heart. Usually, if Xiao Nier was playful, he would be scolded at best or given a "mixed doubles" beating at worst. Sometimes, even if Xia Duo worked slowly, he would be met with a round of scolding. But why had Old Neil changed his nature today?

Xia Duo didn't say much, just gave a response, and then he and Xiao Nier went to the kitchen. Malin was making roasted meat with Aunt Susan. Seeing Xia Duo and Xiao Nier arrive, Malin immediately said, "Take the charcoal-grilled Giant Lizard meat and wild boar meat to tables 2 and 5; then take two pounds of white bread to table 3. The ale on Old Neil's side is also running low, Xia Duo, you go to the cellar and bring up a barrel."

These were routine tasks. Xia Duo still didn't say much, picked up the tray, and headed to the front. Malin also picked up two trays and followed behind, while Xiao Nier stayed in the kitchen to help.