Scourge Messenger

Chapter 104 The Wolf and Fox Subdue the Prime Minister

A noise came from the side, and Shang Xinlei turned her head to see Yan Qing sitting down next to her. Before she could speak, Yan Qing asked first, "And then?"

"What then?" Shang Xinlei was both amused and exasperated. Did you think I was a storyteller?

Will the royal family confiscate your property and exterminate your entire clan because of what happened tonight?

"How could that be? The Shang family is one of the seven great families. At most, it will only hasten my father's resignation."

"In that case, how do you plan to make amends for your mistake?"

Shang Xinlei was slightly taken aback, and after a moment of silence, she said, "From now on, I will follow my father's arrangements and will no longer act on my own."

Yan Qing rested her chin on her hand: "Anything else? Isn't this what you should do? This isn't compensation, it's just a child's whining after causing trouble."

"Don't make it sound so easy!" Shang Xinlei couldn't help but retort loudly, "Do you think I can fix the current situation on my own? If there was anything I could do, I would have done it already!"

"You really went all out? Used every ounce of your intelligence? Tried every method you could think of?" Yan Qing's tone was calm, but it carried a hint of sarcasm: "Assassinating the emperor was your only answer? Easier than confronting your father head-on?"

"Things aren't that simple—"

“You’ve all overcomplicated things,” Yan Qing interrupted her. “You know less about your father than even the Rat Monk told me, but you can clearly see from his arrangements that he values ​​you. Why don’t you dare to talk to him about your true thoughts? Have you really talked to him about not wanting Qian Gongyu to suffer injustice? Have you really resisted his arrangements?”

Shang Xinlei's fists hardened. If she hadn't been still recovering from her injuries, she probably would have already fought with Yan Qing: "Do you really know that something is impossible to succeed at? Do you really know that there are Foundation Establishment messengers next to the emperor and still try to assassinate him? I've been Shang Xuanwen's daughter for so many years, do you think I haven't tried to resist? I've tried, and my brothers have tried, but the result is always failure, failure, failure!"

"My father only does what he believes is right and never accepts anyone else's opinion!"

"To be honest, I don't know anything about your past." Yan Qing admitted his shallowness: "My understanding of Shang Xuanwen comes entirely from what the Rat Monk saw and heard. In my opinion, Shang Xuanwen is sick. He has experienced hell and feels that he has been living in hell ever since. He can only interact with everyone according to the logic of the relationship between the emperor and his subjects in the court. He is the emperor and everyone else is a subject. He has forced himself into becoming a lonely person."

“You said that Shang Xuanwen seems to have the ability to hear thoughts, and I can tell you for sure that he does. Your little thoughts, fears, anxieties and disgusts when you talk to him can't escape his ears. He knows that you and Qian Gongyu are friends, which is why he tailored a 'taming' plan for Qian Gongyu.”

"Then why are you still questioning me?!" Shang Xinlei couldn't help but exclaim. "I didn't even need to say it; Father already knew how much I valued Qian Gongyu, but he still did it anyway!"

“Because your father had no friends at all,” Yan Qing said. “His understanding of friendship was that of loyal subordinates. Didn’t I say that he wasn’t the emperor, but he was still a lonely figure?”

Shang Xinlei was stunned.

"The only people Shang Xuanwen can truly confide in are those with sincere hearts, like Rat Monk. But even with sincere people, he doesn't dare linger, fearing they might suddenly turn into 'ordinary people' one day," Yan Qing said. "He has no friends, and he doesn't trust anyone. He only follows the principle of 'using people to gain merit rather than to exploit them.' If you say Qian Gongyu is your friend, Shang Xuanwen will grant your wish and turn Qian Gongyu into your loyal subordinate—that's probably the closest thing to a friend in his mind."

"Are you trying to say that everything Father did was for my own good?" After a long silence, Shang Xinlei asked dejectedly, "Am I the only one who is truly self-righteous?"

“Of course not.” Yan Qing stood up and said, “Good intentions can sometimes lead to bad outcomes. Sometimes, the person who hurts you the most is the one who loves you the most. What I mean is, you’ve chosen the wrong enemy. The one you should really be fighting isn’t the emperor, but your father.”

"Huh?" Shang Xinlei felt like she was hallucinating. Was Yan Qing trying to persuade her to kill her father?
“If children don’t rebel, parents will probably never think their children will mature. It’s not just parents who need to educate their children, but children also need to educate their parents. Power is constant. If you want to gain the power to control your own life, you have to raise the flag of rebellion and take it back from your father.” Yan Qing’s tone was relaxed, as if she were talking about children’s education: “You should really educate your father.”

I?
Go to Shang Xuanwen, the prime minister of Liang Dynasty and head of a merchant family, who has experienced thirty years of ups and downs in officialdom.

Yan Qing squatted down in front of the bewildered Shang Xinlei and teased, "You dared to assassinate the emperor, so you don't dare to rebel against your father? You don't even have the courage to scold him, 'Old man, you're meddling too much'?"

"It's not that there aren't any, but..."

"What if he decides to marry you off for your own good? Will you still shyly and tacitly agree to it?"

"of course not!"

“The sooner you resist, the better. If you wait until you encounter a matter of principle to resist, there will be no room for retreat. You should discipline your children early, and the same goes for disciplining your father.” Yan Qing stood up and said, “Besides, you are already in an invincible position because you know your father loves you.”

He reached out and wrapped Shang Xinlei's red snake scarf around her neck again. "Be careful here."

After saying that, Yan Qing planned to continue cracking the human-machine verification. He was neither good at nor skilled at comforting people, so he could only explain what he knew and analyzed. He had said everything he needed to say, and he couldn't say anything nice. If Shang Xinlei continued to be stubborn, there was nothing he could do.

"You make it sound so grand and righteous, so what's the solution?" Shang Xinlei asked from behind him. "How can I make up for my mistake?"

Yan Qing casually said, "All the problems you mentioned can be solved with personal strength. Why don't you just become a Foundation Establishment Messenger?"

Shang Xinlei finally couldn't help but complain, "Do you think Foundation Establishment is a simple matter? Do you know how many Foundation Establishment messengers there are in Liang Kingdom? Sure enough, I shouldn't have expected you to come up with any reliable solutions..."

“I don’t know how many Foundation Establishment cultivators there are in Liang Kingdom.” Yan Qing glanced at her sideways. “But if you can’t even reach the Foundation Establishment stage… then you won’t even be qualified to see my back in the future.”

Shang Xinlei wanted to laugh at him loudly, but for some reason, Yan Qing's expression and tone at this moment gradually overlapped with Jiang Shi in her memory. Although Jiang Shi was much more beautiful, much better looking, and much more elegant, they were both so resolute and so matter-of-fact. Their inherent confidence didn't seem to be faked; it was just how they felt.

Yan Qing returned to the glass platform, played a few rounds of verification to warm up, and then began the tense and exciting human-machine verification time.

After several failures, a voice suddenly sounded from behind: "Didn't you notice that if there are demons in the picture, then the turquoise slab will always ask you to click on the picture containing 'demons'?"

Yan Qing did not turn back, nor did he continue to try. After six rounds of questions, it was finally time for the verification question containing demons again. He did not look at the question, but clicked on the picture with demons in his eyes. Finally, he clicked on all the pictures within two seconds. The glass pedestal made a sound like exhaust, and the glass plate in the middle fell down with a crash, allowing Yan Qing to reach in and take the grass bracelet token inside.

The grass bracelet gleamed with a faint golden light, clearly a rare and precious keepsake, though its age and number were unknown. Yan Qing examined it for a moment, then handed the grass bracelet to Shang Xinlei behind him: "See if you can heal any wounds?"

Shang Xinlei took the grass bracelet and asked, "Jiang Shi can identify tokens with the naked eye, so why can't you do it?"

“Each has its strengths.” Yan Qing glanced at her. “Can it treat?”

"Yes, the pain has eased a lot."

"Then I won't lend you the Bingzi Pepper Forest. You should treat your injuries quickly."

Shang Xinlei was somewhat surprised: "You dare to lend me the Bingzi Pepper Forest?"

"Otherwise, do you expect me to carry you up there?" Yan Qing retorted. "If you don't want to take the things from the secret vault, you can help me find the pattern in the turquoise slabs." "No, I also have my own long-cherished goal." Shang Xinlei examined the items in the glass pedestal: "I can't guarantee becoming a Foundation Establishment Messenger, but becoming a Third-Rank Messenger is just around the corner. A Third-Rank Messenger with all the necessary tokens is enough to become a pillar of the merchant family and be qualified to make my demands to my father."

Yan Qing's lips curled up, and she gave a soft hum.

However, Shang Xinlei's tone suddenly became worried: "But if I express my thoughts, Father might get angry and lock me up in confinement... Yellow Dog, you'll help me, right?"

"How can I help you?" Yan Qing looked at her like she was an idiot: "You're a messenger who's about to reach the third level, and you live in a major city like Jiangnan. How can Shang Xuanwen confine you? Throw you in the dungeon? But even if you're in the dungeon, you can just teleport to the Thieves' House."

“I would never live in a thief’s house, it’s like a doghouse,” Shang Xinlei shook her head vigorously. “Besides, no one will serve me if I live in a thief’s house. I am the fourth young lady of the Shang family. My food, clothing, and shelter are all taken care of by servants. If Father doesn’t allow the servants to come with me, of course I can’t leave home!”

You're clearly incapable of taking care of yourself and picky, so why do you talk about it with such pride?

"Actually, being locked up is fine, I can still visit you at the thieves' house, but I'm already of marriageable age, what if my father marries me off?" Shang Xinlei was very worried.

"What do you mean, 'coming to a thief's den' to find me? I don't have time to entertain you.'" Yan Qing also said with disdain, "As for getting married... you can just elope. If it weren't for the Foundation Establishment Messenger personally chasing you, surely you could have escaped?"

“I’ve already said, I can’t give up the luxurious life of the Shang family,” Shang Xinlei said earnestly to Yan Qing without any shame about having to choose between the two. “It was Huang Quan who suggested that I rebel against my father. You have to help me.”

“I’m not going to steal a bride,” Yan Qing immediately refused.

“I won’t go with you either. You look so poor.” Shang Xinlei glanced at him sideways. “I need you to come and smash the axle of my wedding car on my wedding day. Remember to reveal that you have a legendary artifact. That way, everyone will know that I’m so beautiful that a powerful magic messenger is infatuated with me. I’ll not only be the victim, but no one will dare to marry me. It’s a flawless plan!”

Yan Qing concluded, "You mean, I have to cause a ruckus in Jiangnan City as a demonic messenger, expose the legendary artifact, and bear everyone's hatred and wanted status, just so you can continue to live a life of luxury in the Shang family?"

Shang Xinlei thought for a moment and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Yan Qing exclaimed in amazement: "Jiang Shi never said you were such a shameless woman."

“Jiang Shi is a good girl, so of course I should treat her like one. I don’t need to be so polite with you.” Shang Xinlei crossed her arms and tilted her head as she said, “If it were Jiang Shi, she would definitely help me.”

Yan Qing was speechless. Given Jiang Shi's character, he would indeed help. If he didn't know Shang Xinlei, he might have joined in too, but since he did, he wasn't so keen. It was like in elementary school, when boys helped girls, there was always a subtle sense of shame.

“If you don’t help, I can only ask Xiaoyu and Miss Jie, but they are both influential people. If they are exposed, it will cause a big disaster…” She said, glancing at Yan Qing and sighing. Although she did not mention him, every word she said was implying that he was the one in question.

Yan Qing managed to say, "We'll see when the time comes."

“Then I’ll take that as a yes.” Shang Xinlei raised an eyebrow and said in a light voice, “That way when I talk to my father, he will know that his good daughter was just deceived and instigated by a demonic messenger, and even planned to ruin my marriage. Even if he is angry, he won’t be angry at me.”

Yan Qing was dumbfounded; she hadn't even considered this. She knew perfectly well that Shang Xuanwen could hear her thoughts, so she decided to use this to her advantage and deflect responsibility. Whether Shang Xuanwen was convinced or not, his attention would definitely be drawn to some demonic messenger trying to abduct his beloved daughter… Whether Yan Qing would actually do this was unimportant; what mattered was that she had to get Yan Qing's promise so that she could believe it herself, and in turn, make Shang Xuanwen believe it.

In her mind, I was probably already a wicked messenger of the demonic path who would come and cause trouble and kidnap her when she was about to get married. If Shang Xuanwen dared to disobey, she would slap him twice... Yan Qing herself couldn't help but look forward to how Shang Xuanwen would react when he heard these thoughts.

Shang Xinlei, you really know how to deal with your own father!

People in the main world love to play tactics, so I'll just go back to the Thieves' Den and play the game.

"Don't worry, you'll get your share of the benefits," Shang Xinlei said generously. "When I visit you at the Thieves' House in the future, I'll bring you some tea and snacks to share."

You think you can bribe me with such a small favor? Wait, why are you acting like we're such good friends?

Yan Qing said irritably, "We can only stay for half an hour at most. Once the time is up, we must immediately meet up with Black Wolf and White Fox. If you want to plunder the secret vault, you'd better hurry up."

When it came to serious matters, Shang Xinlei became earnest: "If they haven't found my father yet... I can use my identity as Shang Xinlei to try and lure him here. In any case, we must ensure that our mission is completed first."

Yan Qing blinked.

It seemed she wasn't joking; she was truly prepared to raise the banner of rebellion, and even seemed unconcerned about luring her father into a trap. Yan Qing began to reflect on whether she had gone too far, transforming a perfectly good daughter who was merely plotting to assassinate the emperor into a heartless wretch who would turn her father into a cruel and ruthless woman.

"I think they should have already found Shang Xuanwen."

"You already know about my father's ability to hide through the Rat Monk, and you still trust them so much? Even if they find my father, he is a third-level messenger."

“They’ve been holding a grudge ever since I took Bingzi Jiaolin from them last time,” Yan Qing said. “You ran too fast when we were dividing into teams, but I could see their eyes very clearly…they came prepared.”

……

...

Furong Lane.

Shang Xuanwen dragged his injured body through the streets; the right half of his clothes was charred black, and his right cheek was severely burned. He ran alone into an alley, without any guards by his side.

"I saw it. He just stepped through the puddle in the middle of the road, about twenty steps away. You were right, White Fox. He actually took this path home."

"Truly worthy of being the Prime Minister of Liang, I almost missed him even though I was watching him closely... Luckily, Black Wolf, your reconnaissance token was able to detect his presence."

Shang Xuanwen looked up and saw two uninvited guests on the rooftops of the houses on both sides of the alley.

The man on the left wore a black wolf mask, with gleaming armor beneath his night clothes. He crouched on the roof, a long spear strapped to his neck, looking fierce and menacing. The man on the right wore a white fox mask, his left hand gripping the hilt of his sword. He stood on the roof, as serene and aloof as the moon.

The moon hung high behind them, casting their long shadows.

When Shang Xuanwen saw them blocking his way, instead of running away, he sped up and charged forward!
"The choice is correct."

The pharmacist should be like a black wolf, fiercely kicking the roof tiles, wielding a long spear and smashing down; or like a white fox, gracefully strolling, its clear sword light stunning the mortal world.

boom!
(End of this chapter)