Nightfall slowly descended, but business at the Oak Barrel Tavern was only getting more lively.
Cheers erupted from the dice game area, while the owner, Tide, set up a Fifteen Chess challenge at five Taks per match, sending off one challenger after another.
Li Qiuchen had just finished breathlessly seeing off a table of customers and was now helping Naili check the accounts on the Carved Tally Stick—a common bookkeeping method on the Taya Continent, where a stick representing debt was split in two, with the Debt Holder keeping one half and the Debtor the smaller half.
When the debt was repaid, the stick would be destroyed.
At that moment, Uncle Wright from the bakery pushed open the door and walked in.
He was a tall, kind-faced middle-aged man, with a few traces of flour still on his apron and a handful of Copper Taks in his hand, here to pay off some wine he’d previously bought on credit.
Everyone raised their glasses to greet him—clearly, he was well-liked.
Li Qiuchen, however, sharply noticed that Kairui, who’d been drinking alone in the corner, froze the moment he saw Uncle Wright’s figure.
Kairui quickly lowered his head, hiding himself deeper in the shadows, a flicker of guilt and fear flashing across his face as if desperately trying to avoid the other’s gaze.
Li Qiuchen took all of this in silently, accepting Uncle Wright’s payment and the stick.
Right in front of him, he broke the Carved Tally Stick representing that small debt in half and tossed it into the fireplace.
The stick gave a faint crackle as it turned into a wisp of blue smoke.
However, Uncle Wright didn’t leave immediately.
He stood there, his gaze steady as a measuring rod, lingering on Li Qiuchen’s face, brows knit in concentration as if searching through fragments of memory, comparing them to some image in his mind.
Li Qiuchen was also observing him, drawn to Wright’s hands—rough, strong, callused hands that wiped again and again at the apron.
“Is something wrong?”
Wright openly displayed his hands.
“It’s surprising. Your hands don’t look like those of someone who’s kneaded dough for years. No one would guess you could create such delicious food with these hands. Forgive my bluntness, but your bread tastes a hundred times better than the Delicious Magic researched by the Magic Association.”
While voicing his doubts, Li Qiuchen didn’t forget a touch of flattery, a reliable smile on his face that no one would doubt from such a handsome young man.
At the compliment, Wright laughed heartily, drawing laughter from the crowd as well.
The drunk Wright raised his cup and shouted, “Qiuchen, are you saying you’ve tasted food enhanced by Delicious Magic? What’s it like?”
He had.
When appetite failed, the only choice was to deceive oneself, using magic to turn hard bread soft and fragrant.
Amusingly, whether Magician or Warlock, they all prided themselves on wisdom and composure, yet when it came to food, they’d rather fool themselves.
For a skilled Magician, eating food enhanced by Delicious Magic was a torturous experience, always finding some flaw to ruin their appetite.
His thoughts wandered.
The others assumed he was stumped by the question.
When he came back to himself, Wright spread his hands openly.
“These aren’t hands made for a baker by birth. I once gripped a hoe as a farmer. When the Demon King Army rampaged, I joined the Civil Defense Militia and held a spear. Later, I worked as a Coachman for a while, and only settled here to become a baker after that.”
Li Qiuchen’s reliable smile remained, but his eyes flickered slightly.
“Uncle! You’re here!”
The kitchen curtain was flung aside, and Jocelyn burst out like a whirlwind.
The moment she saw Uncle Wright, her eyes reddened and she cried out, her voice choked with emotion, “Uncle! Your bread… it’s just too delicious!”
The sudden ‘confession’ stunned Uncle Wright.
A simple, slightly proud smile soon appeared on his face.
“Miss Co’er, as long as you like it, that’s good. You’ve bought so much—thank you for supporting my business.”
“But… but I feel so miserable…”
Jocelyn covered her face, shoulders trembling as if suffering some great injustice.
Her over-the-top acting nearly made Li Qiuchen, who was polishing cups, drop a wooden mug.
“Ah? What’s this…?”
Uncle Wright looked completely flustered.
“What’s wrong? Miss Co’er, does the bread not suit your taste?”
“No!”
Jocelyn lifted her head.
There were no tears on the girl’s face—only sorrow.
“It’s too delicious! But… but I might not be able to afford it anymore! Uncle, does your shop… allow borrowing? I’ll pay back when I get my wages next month!”
Li Qiuchen couldn’t help but cover his face with his hand.
He couldn’t bear to watch.
Uncle Wright, however, was amused by her straightforward cuteness.
He waved generously and leaned in close to Li Qiuchen and Jocelyn, lowering his voice.
“Hey, I thought it was something serious. From now on, before closing every day, I’ll set aside a few slices of leftover Milk Bread for you. If you don’t mind, just come and take them. No need to talk about borrowing or not!”
“Really? Uncle, you’re the best!”
Jocelyn’s mood instantly flipped to bright and sunny, her smile dazzling.
With her ‘heavy heart’ resolved, Jocelyn happily retreated back to the kitchen.
Uncle Wright finally turned his gaze back to Li Qiuchen, as if he’d made up his mind.
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a fist-sized, dull blue crystal.
“Li… Qiuchen, right?”
He pronounced the name uncertainly.
“I heard people say you’re looking for this? Blue Crystal?”
Li Qiuchen’s heart leapt, excitement flaring in his eyes.
On a sleepless night, he desperately needed it.
His old frustration toward that Goblin Magician had long turned to deep respect.
What a case of searching high and low!
He hurriedly accepted it, but the moment his fingers touched the crystal, his heart sank.
The crystal was icy cold in his hand, with not a hint of magic within—as dry as a parched riverbed, nothing but an empty shell that once held power.
“Uncle, this…”
Li Qiuchen hesitated, handing the crystal back.
“Thank you so much, but the magic within this crystal has been depleted. It’s no use to me now. Besides, something so valuable—I can’t accept it.”
Uncle Wright, facing away from the young man, smiled faintly at the words and quickly suppressed it.
He scratched his head.
“So, the magic’s run out?”
“I thought as much. How could those miners give me anything good out of kindness?”
Wright shrugged helplessly, preparing to leave.
As Li Qiuchen returned the Blue Crystal, he couldn’t help but ask,
“Do you know where the miners found it?”
“Seems it was picked up near the East Abandoned Mine. Looked nice, so I kept it. Not worth much. You keep it—at least it’s something to remember by. Maybe one day the magic will return?”
He insisted on pressing the crystal back into Li Qiuchen’s hand, then bid farewell and left.
Li Qiuchen held the powerless Blue Crystal, his feelings tangled.
Hope so close, yet out of reach.
Nightfall slowly descended.
Before leaving the tavern, Kairui paused at the door, then spoke to Li Qiuchen and Naili, who was cleaning up.
“Hey, the town’s been dangerous lately. The East Abandoned Mine is sealed off. You’d better not go poking around out of curiosity. Be careful.”
His tone was its usual arrogance, but in his eyes, a hard-to-notice hint of warning—or perhaps worry—hid within.
***
Deep into the night, after the tavern closed.
Li Qiuchen and Jocelyn lay on a ‘bed’ cobbled together from several long tables.
Li Qiuchen stared at the ceiling, wide awake.
“Squad Four, tonight… I can’t sleep.”
His voice was tense in the darkness.
“What, someone waiting to beat you up in your dreams?”
“Li Zi, don’t be scared. Let’s team up later and smack them dead.”
Jocelyn was on the next ‘bed’, rarely seeing Li Qiuchen so nervous.
“I’m not joking. If I fall asleep, I’ll drop into the ‘Pan Silk Cave’. Stay alert. If I start drifting off, wake me immediately—no matter what.”
In the dark, Jocelyn mumbled a reply.
“Okay.”