Chapter 114: Firelight and Zither Sounds

The bonfire's flames swayed, reflecting the various smiling faces of the people around.

Luge also walked among these not-so-familiar neighbors at the warm invitation of the little guy and his father Cui Fanke.

He leaned against the low wall by the street with a wine cup in hand; that burly broken-armed man Cui Fanke likewise held a wine cup, leaning beside him. Luge noticed Cui Fanke was staring at a few children playing by the street — a very peculiar look, the interesting little guy naturally among them, but the changes in that gaze were definitely not because he saw his own child's cuteness.

"Quite wondrous, isn't it?" Luge spoke.

He took a sip of wine, glancing at those running children.

"Yes, they actually find darkness an interesting thing; perhaps this also proves my efforts to come here were correct. At least my Little Lucien doesn't have to wait for mold in a dilapidated house in the Abyss Cave Area like I did as a child, doesn't have to worry about having his toes bitten off while sleeping..." Cui Fanke laughed and drank a mouthful of wine.

Daisy had also finished her busyness by this time; seeing Luge here, she brought the finished pastries and distributed them to the gathered neighbors.

Interestingly, the Starlight Pastry production failed — the mushroom fragments did not glow, but the taste was still delicious.

As far as the eye could see along the whole street, every place had become a gathering spot where several neighbors surrounded a bonfire; some even took out instruments that could make crisp sounds and played them.

The children were in a state of scrounging food and drink everywhere, running from one place to the next with bonfire light, getting all sorts of miscellaneous things stuffed into their hands by adults at each stop.

That little guy Little Lucien had even run back to deliver twice, and even picked out a sausage from who-knows-whose-house for Luge.

He accepted it with a smile; it must be said the taste was quite good, texture above eight points.

On this street, if one had to name the only silent, somewhat out-of-place spot, it would be Luge's shut-in neighbor; the surrounding lights and laughter made that place appear even grayer and darker — even children detoured around that corner when running, as if it had become a forbidden zone on the street.

Luge suddenly caught sight of Little Lucien bravely advancing toward that dark forbidden zone.

The little guy held a corner of his collar with his hand, his front pouch bulging with some things from who-knows-where.

As for the little guy's father Cui Fanke, at this moment he was already drinking strong liquor with that Knight from the street-side conflict by the bonfire; both with unhealed shoulder injuries, they now seemed like bosom friends who could talk about anything.

Luge silently said a prayer for the little guy, went to sit on the stone strip laid horizontally by the wall, and continued savoring the fine wine in his cup.

He had just set down his wine cup when Daisy smilingly brought him a plate of steaming grilled meat skewers; she had been busy by the bonfire since just now, her black-cloth-white-flower thick cloth skirt making her look as if she wore the starry sky of the dome on her body — compared to her meticulousness at the manor, her demeanor now held an extra liveliness, looking more like a reckless young girl than a steady steward candidate.

Luge lowered his head and deliciously bit into a meat skewer; when he looked up again he discovered the little guy had returned at some unknown time, now standing by the bonfire holding his father's horizontally raised broken arm with both hands and swinging it back and forth, letting out giggles from time to time, while his father's other hand still held a cup full of strong liquor and dueled the Knight in drinking.

A slender figure stepped over the stone strip and sat down beside Luge.

Luge held the grilled meat in his mouth, looking at the suddenly appeared female Wizard Apprentice, inwardly sighing at the little guy's courage and resilience — of course this was because he succeeded; if he failed it would be called recklessness and stubbornness.

The female Wizard Apprentice glanced at him, let out a yawn.

The busy Daisy seemed to have been paying attention to Luge's side all along; she quickly came over and delivered a plate of grilled meat to the female Wizard Apprentice as well.

"Thank you."

She accepted the grilled meat while yawning, and began to eat.

Luge ate meat skewers while sizing up this strange neighbor.

She ate the grilled meat on the plate bit by bit, occasionally glancing toward the little guy by the bonfire — it seemed the little guy's giggling laughter greatly attracted her attention.

"In my memory, there has never been such a scene; perhaps family affection and family are the price that must be paid to walk the Wizard Path." She looked at Luge and said in a deep voice.

Luge was baffled; he looked at the distant little guy, then at her.

"Wizards need to abandon family affection?" He completely could not understand.

The female Wizard Apprentice looked at him with a face of surprise and said: "Aren't you the same? Once talent is detected, at a very young age you are sent to the Wizard Domain, far from parents, gradually growing up, until you can't even remember what your family looks like..."

She stared blankly at Luge; Luge also stared blankly at her.

Luge suddenly realized he thought of the old drunkard. Why would he choose to return to his hometown to wait for death, while those Wizard Apprentices outside rarely make such a move even if promotion fails — perhaps this is the reason; many Wizard Apprentices have absolutely no attachment to their hometown, let alone any sentiment. But the old drunkard was different; he was very old when he left his hometown behind to go to the Wizard Domain — perhaps when he left back then, his lover and close friends who had adventured and risked lives together still remained here.

The female Wizard Apprentice looked Luge up and down, revealing a strange expression.

"My situation is special." He replied vaguely.

The female Wizard Apprentice did not continue probing, turned her head and picked up a cup of Worm Wine beside her.

"Then you... why did you leave the Wizard Domain and come here?" He asked curiously.

"To become a Wizard, to walk this path — of course everything is for the sake of becoming a Wizard," she said decisively, "The Wizard Domain's help with Meditation Methods no longer holds any meaning for me; staying there has no use either. Rather, walking out allows one to covet some things impossible to obtain there."

Luge looked at her; those who could successfully promote in the Wizard Domain would naturally not return to the Lower Realm to seek an illusory opportunity — this one should also be a failure who attempted promotion in the Upper Realm, just unknown how many more attempts she can make; everyone's situation is different.

A burst of booing rose from the bonfire side.

The two of them looked toward the sound; the neighbors seemed to be cheering for an old man who arrived late, bringing famous wine that only high nobles in the Inner City District could drink.

To thank the old man for his generosity, they decided to use spoon turning to pick two people to perform talents for the old man; the old man watched these juniors with a hearty laugh. Spoon turning is a small game mercenaries often use for drawing lots — place a spoon on the upturned bottom of a plate, flick it to spin, and see who it finally points to.

The first person the spoon pointed to was actually Daisy; her face slightly red, her eyes holding some excitement, she sang a strangely tuned song by the bonfire — nervous at first then gradually relaxing; the strange tune was actually quite interesting.

Luge listened with relish.

The female Wizard Apprentice also seemed to fall into some memory amid Daisy's a cappella singing.

Suddenly, under Luge's astonished gaze, the originally cheerful old man used his foot to kick away the little guy who had approached him, directly making the little guy eat dirt face-first — yet everyone roared with laughter, even Cui Fanke laughed along.

"That old man has fungal infection on his hands; look at his fingers — already deformed and unable to straighten," the female Wizard Apprentice said from the side, "He must be afraid of infecting the children. My mother once did this kind of work, raising a kind of large worm for nobles — first using a kind of mycelium to contaminate that worm; after success, only on each worm's antennae blood sacs could a bit of worm slurry be extracted to make a kind of green wine. In my memory I only remember my mother's deformed hands; I no longer remember her appearance."

After a few cups of wine, the old man by the bonfire began boasting about how popular he was among nobles, a senior Worm Breeder who could extract more worm essence than others.

The little guy slowly walked toward Luge.

"Mister Sharp Tooth, this wine is for you," Little Lucien held two small cups, "This cup is for you, Lady Who Doesn't Like Opening Doors."

Luge accepted with a smile; the wine was indeed green.

Right at this moment, the spoon spun again under the flick of a big hand; when it slowly stopped, it pointed at the female Wizard Apprentice holding her wine cup in a daze.

The bonfire side fell silent for a moment; it seemed this new neighbor's reclusive personality and Spellcaster identity had already secretly spread through this half-street in a short time.

Just when everyone thought it would be a letdown, she drank the green liquid in her cup, her right hand moved, and she produced a harp much taller than the little guy.

One corner of the huge harp rested on the ground; she pressed her shoulder against one side, tilted her head and closed her eyes, fingers lightly plucking the strings — ding-dong sounds slowly rang out in the courtyard; the bonfire side grew even quieter.

(Chapter End)