Scourge Messenger

Chapter 103 Secret Vault Conversation
"Red Serpent, look at this—"

Yan Qing turned her head and found that Shang Xinlei hadn't investigated the glass pedestal, but was instead squatting in a corner taking a blood-replenishing pill. She had already taken one on the way, but it wasn't very effective. After all, real people don't have health bars like game characters. Blood-replenishing pills are useful, but they don't work immediately. She had to wait for the pills to gradually repair the internal injuries she had suffered from the Foundation Establishment Messenger.

She removed the red snake scarf that the Thieves' House had provided for her. She didn't pull off the mask, but the mask fit her facial contours perfectly, outlining her delicate jawline.

Although Yan Qing had seen her true appearance in the game, perhaps the 1080P screen resolution wasn't high enough, or perhaps seeing her in person was simply not as good as seeing her through a screen, Yan Qing was still stunned by the crazy and troublesome little red snake even through the mask. She seemed like a female thief who had stepped out of a game cutscene, with skin as white as snow and delicate features. Even though she looked sickly now, with weariness in her eyes, she still exuded a fragile beauty, making one wonder if the Creator had been too fond of her.

But it still doesn't look as good as the Jiang Shi I sculpted. Yan Qing compared them in her mind and felt that her aesthetic sense was slightly better than that of the Creator.

"Are you badly injured?" Yan Qing asked. "Can't you even stand up?"

Although it would be a waste to use it for treatment, if Shang Xinlei were truly seriously injured and unable to take care of herself, he would still lend her the Bingzi Pepper Forest so she could unleash a powerful attack.

"I just need to... rest a bit. Master Yu Li's blows are quite painful." Shang Xinlei looked up at him and said in a seemingly relaxed manner, "Don't worry about me. By the time you've finished looting, I'll be almost fully recovered."

Yan Qing remained silent, simply staring down at her. After a few seconds, Shang Xinlei felt uncomfortable under his gaze, raised her hand to cover her face, and turned her head away, saying, "Even though you know who I am, you don't have to stare at me like that, do you?"

"Whatever," Yan Qing said calmly. "If you like to keep it to yourself, then keep it to yourself."

Shang Xinlei was taken aback, instinctively wanting to retort, but Yan Qing had already turned and walked back to the glazed platform. He said he wouldn't care about her, and he really meant it, without even looking back once. This was the first time she had ever met someone like Yan Qing. They had only met once at the thieves' house and hadn't exchanged many words in private, yet he always seemed to be able to keenly sense her thoughts, as if they had known each other for a long time, so long that he could see through even her self-deception.

The secret vault returned to silence, save for the beeping sounds from Yan Qing clicking the turquoise slabs and his increasingly impatient muttering curses. He chose a slab that seemed to have the longest verification time, which was only about two seconds. Reading the question and completing the human-computer verification within two seconds was difficult, but not impossible, and Yan Qing quickly became proficient. However, no matter how fast he went, he still couldn't keep up with the speed at which the turquoise slabs switched questions.

After trying more than ten times, Yan Qing finally couldn't hold back after a near-successful failure. He clenched his fists like a madman, and countless anger and curses turned into a beast-like roar of impotence.

Hearing a soft chuckle behind her, Yan Qing turned around fiercely, only to see Shang Xinlei staring at the ground with her head down. But her slightly trembling shoulders completely betrayed her – she was still laughing.

How could he be the only one tormented by this kind of socially retaliatory human-machine verification? Yan Qing went over and urged, like a foreman who couldn't stand seeing his workers resting, "Have you rested enough? Hurry up and get up and open the cabinet!"

I'm tired—

"I've never seen a mouse fall into a rice jar and still get tired."

Shang Xinlei fell silent, seemingly unable to come up with a plausible excuse.

Yan Qing wasn't oblivious to her worries. She said "Leave me alone," but it sounded exactly like "Come and take care of me." However, Yan Qing wasn't her father or brother, so he had no reason to comfort her. This behavior also contradicted his usual persona. More importantly... he wasn't good at comforting others, and he wasn't even good at arguing with them. He could only win a verbal battle against nine people by using a keyboard.

After a moment of silence, Yan Qing prepared to go back to continue conquering the human-machine verification, at which point Shang Xinlei finally spoke: "I can't take anything from here."

"Why? You dared to assassinate the emperor, but you can't take his things? Your moral standards are truly unfathomable." "It's precisely because my assassination attempt on the emperor failed that I'm not qualified to take them," Shang Xinlei said slowly. "The emperor's assassination attempt caused chaos in Jiangjing at night. Even if these things weren't my father's fault, he would ultimately bear the responsibility. After all, the emperor hadn't yet assumed full power, and he was the prime minister in charge of Jiangnan."

"Is it really not your father's fault...?" Yan Qing glanced at her, suppressing his urge to complain.

“If I succeed in assassinating the emperor, my father can continue to rule Daliang, and these problems will no longer be problems. His prestige will be enough to suppress all evil spirits. The royal family will continue to rely on him, the noble families will continue to unite under his banner, and the merchants will continue to prosper. Before the next emperor takes over the reins of government, my eldest brother and third brother will definitely hold important military and garrison positions, and the merchants can settle down smoothly and hand over power back to the Shao royal family.”

"Qian Gongyu will also regain her freedom through the amnesty granted upon the new emperor's ascension to the throne. She will not know the wickedness of the merchants, and her father, who has ample time to make arrangements, has no need to force her onto the war chariot. She will probably become my best friend for life, because she is silly and cute, and I can easily control her, like raising a pet in the palm of my hand."

“But I failed.”

Her tone remained unchanged, but the emotions it conveyed had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Shang Xinlei hugged her legs tightly, burying her head in her chest, as if trying to hide herself where no one could see her.

“With such a huge mess, my father, as the prime minister, will be held accountable, the merchants will be implicated, and Xiaoyu will still be unable to leave Shuiyuexuan. I used to despise my father’s self-will and autocratic rule, but I am not even as good as my father.” She said in a muffled voice, “Not only have I failed to help them get on a better path, but I have also caused trouble for the family.”

“I used to look down on those aristocratic sons who squandered their wealth and enjoyed life, but in the end I was just a spoiled brat who was all talk and no action… I was even worse than them. No matter how many women they played with or how much money they spent, it wasn’t as much trouble I caused my family in one night.”

Yan Qing couldn't help but nod in agreement. Shang Xinlei's self-reflection was indeed very reasonable. As the saying goes, it's not that we're afraid of rich kids indulging in food, drink, and entertainment, but rather that we're afraid of them starting their own businesses. The most dangerous illusion for aristocratic children is that they think they are more talented than their parents.

Of course, if Shang Xinlei succeeds, the situation will be different. According to Yan Qing's understanding of Shang Xinlei, she should be certain that the emperor's guard force does not include the Foundation Establishment Messenger. After all, she frequently enters and leaves the palace, is a friend of the princess, and often goes on night trips to Jiangnan. The appearance of Yu Li Jushi is indeed an unpredictable black swan event for her.

Without Yu Li Jushi, even if the emperor was fed to the second stage and had a defensive token, Shang Xinlei would have at least a 70% chance of breaking through his defenses in an instant with a calculated attack. It was even more likely that the emperor didn't have any defensive tokens at all—the palace was the core of Jiangnan City, and he had lived his whole life in a garden where no one could hurt him. Why would he need to protect himself?

But that's how things are; they only judge success or failure. This is also the difference between aristocratic children and children from humble backgrounds. No matter how hard the latter try, they will lose themselves, while the former, if they try too hard, may put their entire family on the gambling table.

“So I can’t take anything from the secret vault. The more things are lost from the secret vault, the more pressure Father and Shang will be under.” Shang Xinlei’s voice was calm yet bitter, like rain on a gloomy day: “I know this is just a trivial compensation, a self-deceiving atonement, even though I was the one who brought you in.”

She gave a bitter laugh and said self-deprecatingly, "But I just can't bring myself to cause any more trouble for the family. Of course, I have no right to restrict your actions. Do as you please and don't worry about me."

In fact, Shang Xinlei regretted it as soon as she opened her mouth. There are many things that cannot be told to others. Exposing one's weakness will not only not bring sympathy, but will also bring disgust.

Most people only want to admire the flowers and don't want to see the ugly roots beneath them.

Moreover, Yan Qing wasn't an ordinary person; he was a teammate of the Thieves' Clan, and they would continue to cooperate in the future. For him to understand and even control her personality was as dangerous as handing over her chains to him. Sharing her secrets with him was as foolish as entrusting her life to him… and she had done both of those foolish things.

She wasn't as calm and collected as she thought she would be. Just because he had saved her and said, "I came for you," she unconditionally believed him.

(End of this chapter)