The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 103 Late Nights Always Make Mushrooms Sad (Please Subscribe!)
Language is the bridge to communication.

But it is not the only bridge.

Just as communication between species was possible even before language was invented.

For example, if you shout "Rua" at Kuru, it will understand that a battle is about to begin.

For example, if you glance at his legs covered in rubble, he'll angrily kick you—

See? Even jokes can transcend the realm of language.

Emotions are universal.

Even between completely different species, expressing a specific emotion is enough for the other person to understand your thoughts.

Music can also be used to convey emotions.

When the mournful melody transforms into a gentle stream, pattering against each mushroom and soothing their swaying mycelium, they understand that you meant them no harm.

Even trying to 'empathize' with it—

Don't treat noblemen like fools; they won't be pleased by a casual remark like "You look beautiful today."

You need to observe her expression, see if she's dressed appropriately, and most importantly, you must know why she's dressed this way—

“Madam, ever since I heard a month ago that you had commissioned a ‘Morianna’ evening gown, I have been looking forward to seeing you at today’s ball.”

As expected, the design of this dress is truly ingenious, especially the asymmetrical design at the waistline, which is rebellious yet elegant. "Besides you, I can't think of anyone more deserving of it..."

The essence of empathy lies in making her believe that you understand her so well, even if you don't know her at all!

Tang Qi increasingly felt that it was well-deserved for his mentor to gain such a high status in the academy based on a book titled "A Thousand and One Praises of Ulasang".

He didn't need to understand why these mushrooms were sad.

Simply making them feel that they can share in their sorrow is enough to gain an opportunity to communicate:

"What did they ask me?"

The dawn responded with its own voice:

"Why did you intrude into their home?"

"Let me first confirm, what kind of connection do you have with the mushrooms? Can they understand me?"

It's hard to put into words.

But to me, it was as if I had broken free from the constraints of the body and my mind had entered another dimension.

It's like someone who has been integrated into a collective from being an individual.

This allows me to sense their unified emotions and thoughts, and thus understand them, which I then express in words...

Correspondingly, the information I receive will also be transmitted to them in the same way and at the same time.

"So, it's the same entity...?"

Tang Qi analyzed it to himself.

It feels similar to those octopus-like heads with four serpentine tentacles that [Mind Flayers] submit to [The Nesting Community]—

By integrating consciousness into the network woven by the [Mother Nest], every Mind Flayer within the network can communicate with each other without discrimination or obstacles through their minds.

The only difference is that "the same entity" emphasizes the concept of "the network as a whole".

Or, to put it another way, the 'collective' itself is the 'individual'.

Just like how each mind flayer, although attached to the mother nest, still retains its own unique thoughts and will as an individual.

However, the term "same entity" is not found.

They are indistinguishable from one another, sharing a network, yet outwardly appear to be 'individual'—like these individual mushrooms.

Tang Qi had an inappropriate analogy in his mind—

It's roughly equivalent to a person splitting themselves into countless parts and controlling them all simultaneously with a single thought or brain.

If a split individual fails to act as intended, it does not mean that he has escaped control.

Rather, he has a mental disorder.

Therefore, Tang Qi understood that although he appeared to be facing the dawn, he was actually communicating with the entire mushroom swarm:

"In fact, it wasn't me who invaded your homes. It was you who invaded this town, settled down, and drove away many of the nearby residents like you were in mourning—"

Some of the mushrooms grew on the ground, so I think you should understand what you've done.

“We’re sorry, but this wasn’t our intention—we wouldn’t want to be here if we had a choice.”

“Someone brought you here, didn’t they? This cave doesn’t look like a naturally formed mine.”

"Yes, someone stripped us away. They brought us to this land and gave us the nutrients to thrive."

"So, even as a 'whole', there's still a possibility of you being separated?"

We don't understand what you mean.

"..."

Tang Qi believes that it's not that the mushrooms can't understand it.

But the dawn cannot understand.

But in his view, this is probably equivalent to a schizophrenic person kicking out their entire personality.

Then, it was discovered that those personalities actually formed a person independent of oneself.

In short, it's very weird.

"Okay, let's put aside the problem of your very existence."

In short, I'm here just to shut you up.

Tang Qi sighed and explained,

"I want to rent the house you occupy to open a shop and sell alcohol."

But your mournful singing every night will definitely drive away my customers and affect my business.

So initially, I came here with the idea of ​​completely eliminating you all.

For example, I could burn you all to ashes. But considering that you may have been artificially cultivated, disposing of you without authorization would be tantamount to destroying personal property, so I tried to communicate with you to see if we could resolve this matter peacefully.

and so……

"Please stop howling from now on, okay?"

"I'm sorry, this is not something we can stop."

Whether it was due to the influence of the morning light or their own sense of apology, their attitude was undeniably sincere.
"Just as you can't control your emotions and keep yourself constantly happy or sad, we can't do that either."

"You mean—the 'voices' I can hear are, in essence, a manifestation of your emotions."

It is beyond your control and cannot be changed according to your will.

Tang Qi roughly understood what they meant.

For example, he may feel sad or upset, but he doesn't necessarily have to show it on his face.

As long as you keep it to yourself and pretend nothing happened, no one will notice.

But that doesn’t mean he has no emotions.

These mushrooms, however, cannot control their appearance like he does.

"Then why can't we hear your howling during the day?"

"Because the night always makes the mushrooms sad..."

"..."

Tang Qi wanted to refute it, but found that it seemed to make some sense.

He also once picked up his piano at two in the morning and softly sang a sad folk song to himself to commemorate that lost love:
"Sigh, it turns out that the way I love others is the way I most want to be loved."

Damn it, why did he start feeling empathy too?
"So you absolutely have to howl?"

"We are sorry for being born as mushrooms."

Tang Qi sighed and decided to give up on this residence.

But then, he suddenly hesitated:
"No—then why are you able to sing along with my piano playing?"

He then recalled how he had just forced himself to blend into their howls using a lute tune.

Until finally, it led the 'song,' causing them to join in playing a mournful tune...

"Could you express your emotions in a different way, such as through music?"

"Your music seems to speak to our hearts, which makes us want to sing with you."

"Can you still remember this tune?"

They tried to use the voice of dawn to recreate the harmonious melody they had just heard.

The first half was rather melancholic, but as time went on, it began to make noise, like a snapped string on a musical instrument.

This isn't the fault of the dawn; it's simply because they were out of tune.

"Is it because you're not familiar with it, or because you can't do it?" Tang Qi asked.

"Perhaps we need to listen more."

"So, in the future, will you be able to use this melody to express your sorrowful feelings?"

"I don't know. Because we've never heard these pieces of music before."

But Tang Qi thought it was worth a try—

While it's not strictly necessary to open a tavern in this shop, it's worth the time if you can earn more gold coins through this gimmick.

What if these mushrooms could really express different melodies based on their different moods...?

Doesn't that look a lot like a film camera that automatically plays background music?
Drinking also requires the right atmosphere.

People are more willing to pay for hangovers when they feel the urge.

This is why taverns often hire bards to sing live.

Tang Qi couldn't waste his time singing indefinitely; he wouldn't even stay in Longjincheng or at [Golden Oak] forever...

If these mushrooms could be made to sing songs, it would not only fulfill the functional requirements, but also create the gimmick of turning a 'haunted house' into a 'karaoke room'.

There are already two taverns in the center of Dragon Tail Pass competing with each other.

However, market share is limited.

To capture customers, it is essential to differentiate oneself.

Otherwise, how can we get those drunkards who are used to their 'old haunts' to move their butts and change their habits to go to a newly opened pub for a hangover?
If it can make money, then it's worth pursuing!

Tang Qi suggested:
"Why don't we give it a try? I'll teach you music, and then you can become a group of people with musical talent—um, mushrooms."

"But what reason do we have to do this?"

"Music is a good way to express emotions. If you don't like this method, you won't be moved by my music—that in itself is a reason."

"All right……"

They seemed somewhat hesitant.
"Maybe we can give it a try."

Tang Qi breathed a long sigh of relief.

Indeed, the nature of such collective groups is relatively orderly.

The previous use of the toad to launch a sneak attack was merely a decision made out of self-preservation.

Creatures of the lawful alignment have always been open to communication.

Once they enter the realm of 'communication,' that becomes the domain of their bards.

To achieve a goal without bloodshed...

Tang Qi was already looking forward to the rewards that the [log] would provide.

Thinking about this, he realized that he might need to add some more content to the log.

Then he asked:
"By the way, tell me about the homeowner who raised you here?"

(End of this chapter)