Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 19 The Fatty's Plot

The old shaman stormed out of the tent, followed closely by the chubby boy.

As soon as the two came out, they found that the yellow-skinned goblin, who was unhappy, was already waiting outside the tent, along with seven or eight mischievous goblin boys, fully armed and looking menacing.

The old shaman paused for a moment upon seeing this, then narrowed his eyes.

"Old shaman! I wasn't watching closely enough, and that brat Gebu got away with it." He puffed out his chest, clearly displeased. "I'll go get it for him right now..."

"Wait a minute," the old shaman interrupted, extending a hand. "Which of you saw Gebu steal the herbs?"

"You little devil saw it!" The boy raised his chin at the chubby boy, clearly displeased.

The old shaman turned his head, looked at the chubby goblin, and asked.

"What did he steal? When did he steal it?"

"Old Shaman, here's what happened. I just saw Gebu loitering suspiciously at the entrance of the herbalist workshop. While everyone was eating, he suddenly disappeared. When I saw him again, he was carrying a bag of green stuff back to where he was sleeping."

The old shaman stroked his chin, turned to ask, "You're unhappy?"

"Where were you when this happened? Weren't you supposed to be watching over the herbal medicine workshop?"

"This..." He was momentarily speechless with displeasure.

The chubby boy gave the old shaman a wink and pointed to Boss Xiong's tent high up.

He quickly said, clearly unhappy:

"Ah, right, wasn't Boss Xiong going out to rob someone? She just called me over to tell me some things, like how to set up the camp's defenses while she's away..."

The old shaman thought for a moment, without showing any expression.

"Is Gebu back?"

"He's in his bed, I just saw him!" the chubby boy said immediately.

"Let's go, I want to see where he gets such audacity." After a moment's thought, the old shaman finally spoke.

Unhappy, they quickly led the way for the old shaman. The group marched proudly through the middle of the camp toward the residential area.

-----------------

Gebu was surrounded by a large group of goblins. He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, scratching his head, looking bewildered and a little flustered.

Among the group, the one who was unhappy stood at the front, pointing at Gebu's nose and saying imperiously:

"You've got some nerve, daring to steal the old shaman's herbs!"

"Huh?" Gebu's mouth dropped open. "What did I steal? You can't just say that! Old shaman, you have to stand up for me! I've only ever been there to gather herbs for you, how could I dare steal anything!"

"You still say you didn't steal anything? Look at you, you shifty-eyed goblin!" he cursed unhappily.

"Don't we all look like this?!"

Upon hearing this, the goblins instinctively touched their faces, and an awkward silence spread through the cave.

Uh... that seems to be true.

"...Anyway, someone saw you stealing herbs. Come on, you sneaky rascal, you tell the story."

"I..." The chubby boy, hiding behind a group of goblins, had intended to watch the show, but was unexpectedly caught off guard when Unhappy threw the baton at him. All eyes were on him, so the sly-bastard waddled out. "...Yes, that bag of green starlight you have...what kind of herbs are they? Hand them over right now!"

"What bag? I already handed over all the herbs I picked yesterday, so I don't have any herbs on me right now."

"If I see you have it, then you have it!"

The old shaman watched the goblins bickering without saying a word, his cloudy eyes darting between their faces.

After a long while, seeing that their chattering was yielding no results, the old shaman finally spoke.

"Gebu, Magnubiye above, did you steal the herbs or not?"

"Magnubiiye above! Gebu didn't steal!" Gebu said confidently.

"You rascal, did you see him steal it?"

The chubby boy didn't object to the support, and nodded a little nervously.

"Go search," the old shaman said, pointing to the chubby boy and then to Gebu's stone bed.

The chubby goblin looked at the old shaman, then at the grumpy one. The grumpy one nodded at him. The chubby goblin then mustered his courage and walked towards Gebu's bed.

Gebu stepped aside to let the chubby boy pass.

The two goblins brushed past each other, their eyes meeting.

Gebu's eyes were full of doubt, while the chubby boy avoided his gaze, not daring to meet his eyes.

Nian'er was rummaging through a pile of trash next to the stone bed.

After a while, he came out holding a tattered cloth bag, a look of joy on his face.

"This is it!"

"You've got some nerve, Gebu! Did you steal the herbs last time too? I'll kill you right here and now!" he roared unhappily.

"Keep your voice down." The old shaman glared at him, his displeasure immediately subsiding. The old goblin looked at Geb: "How do you explain this, Geb?"

"Yeah, how do you explain that?" someone chimed in, clearly unhappy.

"This...this..." Gebu panicked, and large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The old shaman's expression immediately changed: "What's in that bag?!"

"Yes...yes..."

"Pour it out! Pour it out for him!" the boy shouted unhappily at the chubby boy.

The chubby boy tilted the bag onto the ground with a splash.

Geb screamed!

A whole bunch of thorny green grass flew out of that bag!

A group of goblins crowded around, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes stared at them.

This is……

This is……

Nian'er Huai's eyes widened, and he blurted out the words, his throat hoarse.

"Dog liver vegetable?!"

-----------------

"What's going on?!" He was so unhappy that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

The old shaman wrinkled his nose, looked at the panicked Gebu, and asked:

"Where did you get these things?"

"Reporting to the old shaman, Magnubiye above... I'm late, I missed lunch, and I'm starving... so I went... went to the kitchen and stole something to eat when no one's around..."

"The kitchen?! You're clearly..." the wicked girl said incredulously, "I clearly..."

"This is what you see, green herbs?" The old shaman picked up a piece of dog liver greens and said to the chubby boy, his face grim.

"...No, what I saw was star-shaped, with pointed leaves, like...starflower?" the chubby boy stammered, clearly flustered, staring at the floor with shifty eyes.

"You...you've got it wrong?" she said to Nian'er Huai with a grim face.

"No...no?!" the chubby boy answered in horror.

Could it be... that I really got it wrong?!

A terrible possibility flashed through the chubby boy's mind.

At the same time, the yellow-skinned goblin suddenly changed his expression and clutched his stomach in pain.

-----------------

The Gift of the Forest: An Illustrated Guide to Herbs

Star Grass

The leaf tips are like stars, with fine bristles, and it grows mostly in sunny, well-ventilated open areas of woodlands.

Effects: Clears heat and detoxifies; however, excessive consumption may occur...

It can cause diarrhea.

The juice can be used to make a "powerful laxative," and a single drop can incapacitate a rhinoceros.

-----------------

Years later, some of the older goblins still remembered that foul-smelling, brown midday that the Broken Tooth tribe experienced on that autumn day…