As soon as Langlibaitiao arrived at Caroline's Home, the most famous tavern in the City of Baator, all the players drinking there looked at him and laughed. Some shouted:
"Langlibaitiao, you got killed again!"
Langlibaitiao didn't answer. Turning toward the counter, he said, "Warm two mugs of beer, and give me a grilled sausage."
With that, he laid out nine copper coins in a row.
The food and drink sold at Caroline's Home were an excellent way for players to recover their stamina, a fact certified by many professional guide-writers.
The players deliberately clamored again in loud voices, "You must have stolen someone's stuff again!"
Langlibaitiao opened his eyes wide and said, "How can you go around defiling a man's innocence out of nowhere..."
"Innocence? The day before yesterday, I saw you with my own two eyes down in the mine pit using Mage Hand to swipe a magic ring from the Wangquan guild! They camped your respawn point and beat you to death seven or eight times!"
Langlibaitiao's face flushed crimson, veins bulging across his forehead as he argued, "Stealing gear can't be counted as stealing... Stealing gear!...
"Can something a rogue does be called stealing?"
Followed by a string of obscure jargon, things like "Mage Hand Legerdemain," "standard Arcane Trickster duty," "Thieves' Tools proficiency," and the like, which set everyone roaring with laughter.
Both inside and outside the tavern were filled with a merry air.
Suddenly, Mantou swaggered into the tavern wearing a peacekeeper uniform set. The longsword in his hand, etched with an intricate crest, made many players green with envy.
Langlibaitiao grew instantly excited, but did not know quite what to say, merely blurting out:
"Ah! Mantou."
"—You're here?"
During the eighteen days Mantou had worked as a laborer, Langlibaitiao had been sneaking about the mine shafts doing petty thievery, crossing paths with Mantou quite often. As a result, he had countless things he wanted to pour forth like a string of pearls: the mines, hobgoblins, ogres, door-camping, hauling bricks...
Yet he always felt as though something were blocking him; the words merely swirled in his mind, refusing to pass his lips.
*Now that Mantou has made it big, surely I can tag along and scrape up some gold coins or something,* Langlibaitiao thought.
"Yo, if it isn't Brother Lang!"
"How've you been doing lately?"
Mantou was also delighted to see him. Taking off his helmet, he offered a warm greeting.
Langlibaitiao shook his head with immense sorrow and indignation, sighing, "Sigh, terrible. The Wangquan guild is simply pushing people too far. Everything I worked so hard with my own two hands to earn was snatched away by them."
Mantou thumped his chest with heroic zeal. "What did they take from you? I'll get it back for you!"
"Robbery is a felony!"
"Our duty as peace officers is to punish all criminals, whether it's robbery or theft!"
When he said "theft," Mantou deliberately put a little extra emphasis on the word.
Langlibaitiao shuddered all of a sudden. He knew that a lamentably thick barrier had already risen between them.
"No—nothing really. Already got it back," Langlibaitiao muttered evasively.
Mantou grabbed Langlibaitiao and pulled him over, saying heartily, "Don't sweat it, Brother Lang! If you've been wronged in any way, just tell me!"
"I, Mantou, will definitely stand up for you!"
With his frail Arcane Trickster build, Langlibaitiao stood no chance of wrestling free from a fighter like Mantou.
Langlibaitiao was on the verge of tears. "No need for you to step in, Mantou."
"It really wasn't much of anything..."
Nearby onlookers, always eager for more drama, chimed in: "Lang-beast stole someone's stuff again and got chased down and beaten, hahahaha!"
"Exactly, exactly."
"Stealing from Wangquan of all people, tsk tsk."
"Lang-beast clearly hasn't died enough times."
Langlibaitiao barely managed to tear himself away. Once more widening his eyes at those players, he argued loudly, "How can you always go around defiling a man's innocence out of nowhere..."
"Heh, there's even video on the forums! Go look for yourself!" one player who had previously been robbed by Langlibaitiao said through gritted teeth.
"Is what they're saying true?"
"And also... that healing potion back in the mine shaft, did you steal that too?"
A sinister smile crept onto Mantou's face.
Langlibaitiao instantly recalled how, back when they were laborers in the mine, he had secretly swiped a potion from Mantou. Who would have thought this guy would hold a grudge all the way until now!
Sensing disaster, Langlibaitiao looked for a chance to bolt.
"No, wait..."
"Mantou, what are you doing?"
"Sorry, Brother Lang. I have a position to uphold; my hands are tied."
Mantou's tone was solemn and heavy, but his hands didn't pause for a second.
He pulled Langlibaitiao over once again, snapping a meticulously prepared pair of silver bracelets around his wrists.
"Citizen, you are suspected of theft. I am placing you under arrest!"
A reward notification refreshed on Mantou's interface:
[You have apprehended a lawbreaker. Gained bonus Faction Contribution: 150 points.]
"Heheh, didn't take any effort at all."
Mantou's face instantly broke into a beaming smile.
Langlibaitiao was stunned. A mixture of joy and desolation appeared on his face; his lips fluttered, yet made no sound.
At last, his expression turned into sheer sorrow and wrath, and he yelled clearly:
"Mantou, you f—"
A towel was instantly shoved into his mouth.
"Citizen, please do not attempt to provoke a peace officer," Mantou said with practiced ease.
"Hahahaha!"
The tavern was once more filled with a merry air.
...
That night, Langlibaitiao leaned against the cold stone wall of the City of Baator's prison, scrolling through the player forums out of utter boredom. He still had three days of imprisonment before his release.
Right then, he spotted a trending thread on the forum:
"Video of Mantou's Righteous Arrest of Lang-beast."
The comments below were overflowing with glee:
"First time I've ever liked Mantou this much."
"Support Mantou!"
"There are still plenty of good Mantous in this world!"
"Who's laughing with you? Slap on the cuffs directly!"
As Langlibaitiao scrolled through the comments, his face gradually flushed red, and he gritted his teeth:
"Hmph, damn Mantou..."
Langlibaitiao suddenly came across a guide post by Singo detailing the homeland of the tieflings, a city steeped in tears, blood, and sin—Northwind Keep.
"I, Langlibaitiao, am a villainous hero fit for chaotic times! How could I remain trapped in this tiny City of Baator?"
Gazing at the cold, hard bars of the prison cell, he made up his mind.
...
The following day, the prison guards found the cell door picked open. Inside, it was completely empty, leaving behind only a line of scrawled text:
"A golden scale is no creature of a mere pond; it turns into a dragon upon meeting wind and clouds."
The handwriting was crooked and clumsy, yet it exuded undeniable bravado.
However, the guards couldn't understand it, wiping it away as mere dirt.
Meanwhile, a new trending post appeared on the player forum:
"How Could a Tiny City of Baator Confine Me, Langlibaitiao?! Brother Lang's Northwind Keep Adventure!"
"Holy crap, Lang-beast left the main city?"
"Awesome, Brother Lang!"
"No worries. Knowing Lang-beast's personality, he'll do something suicidal and respawn right back here in no time."
"Good news: after Lang-beast left, the crime rate in the City of Baator dropped significantly."
"Disperse, everyone. We'll camp him at the respawn point later."
Just as the players were buzzing with discussion, Langlibaitiao was fleeing for his life along the fringes of the Storm Heights, pursued by several hideous hill giants.
"What the hell are these things?!"
Langlibaitiao wailed, his legs moving in a blur as he engaged his rogue's Dash.
Chapter 80