The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 99 The Bard (Please Subscribe!)
Tang Qi quietly walked towards the house by the sea.

This property should be a private residence, just a stone's throw from the inland sea. Fortunately, it is minimally affected by the ebb and flow of the tides, preventing it from moving further and splashing seawater onto the foundation of the house.

It comes with a spacious courtyard, but no crops have ever been planted there; as far as the eye can see, it is overgrown with wild weeds.

There are also some mushrooms that have grown due to the damp soil.

"This at least shows that there aren't too many problems outdoors."

Next, we went inside.

It's unclear whether it's because adventurers once tried to investigate this house, or for some other reason.

The locks on the courtyards and even the houses had been pried open. With just a gentle push, the doors creaked open, and dust swirled around the house, reaching right up to your nose.

Accompanying it is a cool minty aroma.

As for the mournful song, it lingered in his ears, neither getting closer nor farther away as Tang Qi stepped into the room.

Actually, it doesn't sound like a song; it's more like a simple, rhythmic, undulating cry, without any clear pattern, just shouting whatever comes to mind.

Sometimes the pitch goes off-key, causing the tone to veer inexplicably in a different direction.

"There is no furniture, and no one has lived here for a long time."

Tang Qi lit up the ring in his hand that carried the soul of the dawn.

A milky white halo spread outwards within a 10-meter radius, allowing a clear view of the spacious living room in front of me.

The floor hadn't been repaired in a long time, and stepping on it almost crushed the wood beneath your feet.

The salty sea breeze often blew in through the doors and windows, making the interior of the mansion feel sticky. Fungi seemed to have been brought along as guests, and were able to take irregular rests at the base of the damp walls and in the corners.

"try again."

Chenxi opened the door to each of the cubicles, then stood in the center, a bright light shining from her chest.

[Divine Sense: You can expand your consciousness to sense anything within a 20-meter radius. Any celestial being, demon, or undead that is not fully shielding you will be located by you.]

If there really are any 'ghosts', they would naturally be included in the category of 'undead creatures'.

But her answer remained the same:

"Nothing at all."

Expected.

"As expected. If it were really that obvious, the matter would have been resolved long ago when the pastor came."

Tang Qi nodded and looked around the empty house.
"If it's not the work of 'ghosts,' could it be some kind of magical influence? Kuru, try using [Detection Magic]."

Kuru raised his wand high, causing a ripple to spread across the entire house.

"no!"

I received the same answer.

"In other words, there is no [magical effect] - the singing is real and not an illusion created by illusion magic."

Tang Qi turned the lute behind him, relieved.
"Then things will be easy."

"How to do it?"

Chenxi was puzzled, and Kuru could only scratch his head.

They hadn't even figured out the situation yet, and didn't understand how it had become 'easy to handle' in Tang Qi's eyes.

"From the moment we approached the house, the singing lingered in our ears at the same volume, and was not disturbed by our movement forward or backward."

I was thinking at the time that either we were under some kind of illusion, or someone was singing in our ears.

But we've confirmed it's not magic, and there are no 'ghosts' in the mansion. All we need to do now is find the source of the singing."

Tang Qi then abruptly played a string melody.
"Singing is music, and it is also [sound]."

Sound itself is nothing more than mechanical waves produced by the vibration of objects, along with echoes from the very beginning of the world's creation.

God said, “Let there be light.”

And so the world came into being 'light'.

Thus, the 'light' itself carried the vibration of nascent life.

This is the essence of 'musical magic'; condensing it into specific melodies becomes 'spellcasting'.

With a "bang," Chenxi's helmet was ripped to the ground by the gushing black mist.

But she was unable to pick up the helmet immediately.

Instead, the black mist around his neck gradually thinned, and he stood there stunned.

She's down.

Fortunately, Kuru quickly picked up her helmet, handed it back to her, and understood what was going on:

"Utilize, vibrate, find, the source!"

"Yes."

This is also thanks to Tang Qi being a poet who understands the magic of music.

Only by observing the vibrations of the music itself can one deduce the source of the song.

"Om-"

Another string melody caused the sound waves swept out by the piano to merge and resonate with the 'vibration' permeating the air—the singing that had been lingering in my ears.

Tang Qi closed his eyes tightly, focusing his attention back on his hearing, trusting the vibration, and began to walk towards the source of the resonance:
"found it!"

He suddenly opened his eyes and stared intently at the 'culprit' before him—

A cluster of plants stands proudly in the corner!
"mushroom?"

He looked at Chenxi and Kulu in bewilderment.

Those were several white mushrooms growing in a dark corner, aided by the damp sea breeze.

If you bend down and smell it closely, you can even detect the cool minty scent in the air, which also comes from this.

Tang Qi pulled them from the corner.

The 'singing' in my ears was weakened somewhat as a result.

"Although I don't know how 'mushrooms' sing, it seems like they are the source."

Tang Qi said with certainty.

Considering that he cannot fully apply the knowledge he has seen before to the world before him.

Therefore, Tang Qi was unable to determine the principle behind the 'mushroom making sound' for the time being.

After all, they really do seem to be just mushrooms, and whether they are edible is still undetermined.

But in any case, they are not what are known as "mushroom people"—

A type of fungal organism that lives underground, possesses intelligence, and is capable of walking.

"Let's clear away the mushrooms around here first, and then see how it goes."

Thus, an adventure about a 'haunted house' inexplicably turned into a 'mushroom cleanup campaign'.

Fortunately, by capturing sound vibrations, the location of those 'singing' sounds can be accurately pinpointed, making the cleanup relatively quick.

After all the mushrooms inside and outside the house were wiped out, the sounds that had been lingering in my ears also disappeared.

"What should we do with these mushrooms?" Chenxi asked.

Looking at the 'culprits' piled up outside the courtyard, Tang Qi also felt a bit troubled.

His intuition told him that these mushrooms were not so simple.

However, his intellectual limitations prevented him from knowing how to delve deeper into the research.

"Perhaps after the martial law is lifted, handing them over to the scholars of Dragon Gold City might yield some conclusions?" With this question in mind, Tang Qi could only wrap them in a package and then throw them into his dimensional bag.

Perhaps it was because night had fallen and the nearby households had already moved to a more distant place because of the disturbance caused by the 'singing'.

This prevented people from realizing the disappearance of the 'singing' for the time being.

Only when they were leaving did the two brothers who were bathing on the beach seem somewhat surprised:
"Shh—keep it down, the singing has stopped!"

"So what? You're not used to the noise being gone?"

"I'm afraid we'll make too much noise and wake my wife!"

"..."

Tang Qi seemed to see Melard's future.

After walking back to the Friendship House, Chenxi and Kuru returned to their room.

Chenxi was particularly unenthusiastic, seemingly not expecting that what she thought would be an 'exorcism' would end in this way.

Tang Qi, however, felt it was only natural.

The bustling Dragon Gold City has always been known as the jewel of the Lords' Alliance.

In the magic academy in the upper district, there seems to be a great magician with a high reputation and impressive qualifications.

The dominant theme in this region is always 'peace,' and it's rare to encounter any thorny troubles.

Chuck, who was tidying up the tables and chairs on the first floor, was surprised that Tang Qi and his group had returned so early.

"give up?"

"solved."

"what?"

The halfling stood frozen in place, his hands stiffening as he wiped the table.

"You really gave me the ghost?"

"Yes, it's cool and cold, but very moisturizing."

"..."

The halfling was trying to process the information Tang Qi had brought.

Tang Qi only saw the other person's cheeks gradually contort into a pretzel shape:
"Kidding."

"I really believe it!!!"

Chuck didn't know why he trusted this bard so much.

He had no doubt that if there really was a ghost in that house, the man in front of him could very well have done that.

"so……"

Chuck asked hesitantly,

"What exactly is inside? Why have several groups of adventurers, and even priests, been unable to do anything about it?"

"Some mushrooms."

Tang Qi spread the 'spoils' out on the table.

"You're so well-informed, do you know something?"

"mushroom?"

Chuck picked one up and examined it closely.
"These look like ordinary white mushrooms... They should be useful when making cream of mushroom soup."

"Do you want some? I can give you some, and we can have an extra meal tonight."

"Who would eat something of dubious origin?!"

"Alright." Tang Qi put the mushroom back into his dimensional bag with some regret.

"Hey, what's with that expression? You weren't just trying to get me to test the poison for you, were you?!"

"Is it that obvious?"

"You didn't try to hide anything at all!"

"Okay, so is there any relevant news?"

"Yes, there is—wait, don't think you can just change the subject and let this go!"

Tang Qi flicked a gold coin to the halfling.

“Oh, my friend, if it’s just about the ‘mushroom’ itself, I have indeed heard some rumors.”

Chuck first looked towards the kitchen and saw his wife still tidying up. He breathed a sigh of relief, then quietly slipped the gold coins into his pocket.
"Underground in Dragon Gold City, there is a mine tunnel called the 'Deep Well,' you should know about it, right?"

"do not know."

"Okay, anyway, it's an underground city."

Rumors, just rumors—

The 'Deep Well' holds the treasure of a giant dragon, which has led countless adventurers to risk their lives, forming large groups to venture deep into the dungeon.

Although it is a 'living dungeon', many adventurers who have entered it have not yet been able to fully explore its depths.

But recently, some mushrooms that could be used as alchemical ingredients seem to have appeared in the shallows they frequent.

Some mages and scholars highly valued these materials, giving these adventurers many more opportunities for employment and quests.

"You mean the mushrooms in the houses are related to the mushrooms that suddenly appeared in the dungeon?"

Although they are alchemical materials, alchemical materials often require 'adaptability' rather than magical properties or aura, and they do not belong to magic. It is only natural that Kuru's [Detection Magic] could not detect them.

"I do not know then."

Chuck spread his hands and shook his head.

"I'm just a 'guide,' someone who's well-informed. The specific effects of the mushrooms are known only to those spellcasters."

"Is that so? It seems we'll have to wait until martial law is lifted before making any further plans..."

Tang Qi looked at Chuck,

"So you really don't want to try what it tastes like?"

"If you want to eat it, I can make it for you. It's free, as long as you don't blame me if you get food poisoning."

"Forget it then."

Tang Qi dared not try it.
"But this news is not worth a single gold coin."

"Hey, you've already given me the money, are you still thinking about taking it back? You don't expect me, an ordinary person living in Longwei Pass, to tell you some earth-shattering secret of Longjin City."

How about five silver coins?

"Not negotiable!"

"Alright, so now you don't even have a single gold coin left."

Tang Qi shouted towards the kitchen,

"Madam, I saw your husband secretly hiding money from his family!"

"what!?"

Chuck paused, then looked at his wife storming out of the kitchen, and then at Tang Qi, who was smiling and waving at him all the way upstairs.
"you--

"You lowly bard, aren't you?!"

　I overslept from my afternoon nap today and had to revise a piece of writing, so I'm a little slow!

　　I've created a new group. Gentlemen who want to chat are welcome to join!
　　Love you guys! ! !
　　
　
(End of this chapter)