Scourge Messenger

Chapter 109 Abandoning Companions
Even the most composed person would find it hard to maintain their composure at this moment.

His face turned red, and he finally managed to stammer out, "Xinlei is fine, she... has plans tonight."

"But she might be in danger with all this chaos outside!" Qian Gongyu said anxiously. "When I heard the explosion at the store, I went to look for her immediately, but there was no one in her room. Then I saw them going out to look for you, and I thought Xinlei had come to see you too, Uncle... Uncle, didn't you see Xinlei?"

Shang Xuanwen did not answer, but instead asked, "Patriarch of the Qian family, you are still in custody, aren't you? Do you know that escaping from your place of confinement without permission is an aggravated offense?"

"Huh?" Qian Gongyu blinked and scratched her round beast ears. "Now that you mention it... it seems so... but I'm looking for Xinlei. Xinlei is your daughter, Uncle, you'll definitely help me, right? Besides, I just saved you, Uncle. You wouldn't refuse to give me that much face, would you?"

As she spoke, she patted Shang Xuanwen on the shoulder, revealing a "give me face" smile, but perhaps because of the tiger mask, her smile was full of pure innocence.

"Oh no," Shang Qia thought to himself.

Father's philosophy is to distinguish between kindness and transgression, and to punish before showing mercy. Qian Gongyu has essentially handed her father leverage, which he will undoubtedly exploit to teach her the importance of respecting the law, followed by compensation. Shang Qia has witnessed countless officials being disciplined by Father in this way, and afterwards, they all both respect and fear him, acting like mice before a cat whenever they go to the capital to report to him.

It was something my father hated most: using connections and cultivating relationships. He was impartial and incorruptible, not to mention outsiders. Even if it was his own family members asking for his help, he would punish them more severely.

Qian Gongyu has committed two taboos at once, and Shang Qia has prepared words of pleas for her to be lenient. After all, Qian Gongyu is Xin Lei's friend and saved her father tonight, and Shang Qia cannot stand by and watch her be punished.

"It won't happen again."

"Father, Qian Gongyu is just...father?"

Shang Qia was dumbfounded. He felt like he was hallucinating because he heard his father say, "Head of the Qian family, since you want to find Xin Lei, then go find her. But you must return to Shang Shuiyuexuan before dawn, or I will charge you with escaping from prison."

"Great! Thank you, Uncle!" Qian Gongyu cheered and jumped onto the roof, running wildly. This was actually illegal, as moving on rooftops and walls was forbidden in Jiangnan City. However, with Shang Xuanwen's approval, the dozens of soldiers nearby pretended not to see it.

"Qia'er, send someone to the small road near Jiangtai Street. The bodies of the soldiers from the Ministry of War and Rat Monk are there." Shang Xuanwen said softly, "I implicated them. This time, the Taihu rebels sent the Burning Self-Improvers to kill me, but they saved me... Take good care of the soldiers, and you handle the compensation."

"Yes."

"Remember to send the Rat Monk's body back to the Shang residence." Shang Xuanwen suddenly coughed violently, his whole body hunching over. Shang Qia quickly supported his father, only then realizing how light his father, who carried the weight of seven prefectures of Jiangnan on his shoulders, actually was.

"I must at least... see him off on his final journey."

As Shang Xuanwen spoke, he suddenly touched his left waist, a thoughtful expression on his face. Shang Qia quickly asked, "Is the wound still hurting?"

"No, it's just that I've realized... I can no longer keep the promises I made to others." Shang Xuanwen revealed a weakness that Shang Qia had never seen before, as if all his energy had been drained away. "Let's go home."

Shang Qia quickly assigned tasks to different servants, then helped his father home. On the way back, after holding it in for a long time, Shang Qia couldn't help but ask, "Father, have you been to Baiyun before?"

"I've heard the mountain scenery is beautiful, but I've never been there."

"Did you know the Qian family before?"

“Qia’er,” Shang Xuanwen turned his head slightly. Although he was already extremely weak, his eyes were more frightening than a lion’s: “I don’t like beating around the bush.”

Shang Qia took a deep breath and mustered his courage to ask:
"Is Senmiya Amane our younger sister?"

……

…“It’s almost the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).” Yaoshi Yuan listened to the night watchman’s voice below and said, “There’s less than half the time left, and they still haven’t returned.”

Instead of waiting directly at the Shangxiajiu Archway, Yaoshi and Yingrushi hid on the third floor of the "Jiangnan Chef's Restaurant" near the archway. These were three safe spots designated by the thieves, as the archway was too conspicuous, and all three safe spots allowed them to see the archway and each other. If they got separated or split up, they could return to the safe spots to wait for their teammates.

"We've got the Heaven-Slaying Sword. If they don't return in a quarter of an hour, let's go look for them," Ying Ru said casually, sitting on the railing.

Although the assassination attempt on Shang Xuanwen failed, at least the combined offensive of Yaoshiyuan and Yishiyuan should have completely shattered his protective shield, thereby disarming and seizing his Yitian Sword. This was also the fundamental reason why Yishiyuan suggested retreating—since the Yitian Sword was already in her hands, she was the biggest winner of this operation, and preserving her strength was paramount; there was no need to continue risking her life.

The pharmacist's opinion is reasonable and well-founded. In terms of damage, she contributed the most in this battle; in terms of strength, she is a third-tier messenger, and apart from the yellow dog who has not fully demonstrated his strength, she is stronger than the other two; in terms of the mission, the mission objective, the Heaven-Slaying Sword, is now in her hands.

If she's not the one who makes the most contributions, then who is?

Seeing that Yaoshiyuan was holding the Yitian Sword tightly in her arms, not even caring about her disguise, letting the soft armor outline the full curves that even her breast wrap could not completely conceal, Yingru knew that if she said "Let me see the Yitian Sword," she would immediately get Yaoshiyuan to throw her broken spear, so she simply gave up the idea.

However, she remained silent, but the pharmacist leaned closer and asked, "Do we really need to find them?"

"Ok?"

“The Thieves’ House never said that the thieves would go back together, did it? We just happened to go back together last time,” said Pharmacist Yuan. “Besides, if they really encountered danger, by the time we got there, they would probably have been caught long ago. I guess they probably didn’t go to Wenyuan Pavilion, but went to the Imperial Palace’s secret vault to plunder, and then encountered an accident.”

Ying Rushi blinked: "So, Black Wolf, you mean... we should go find them now? I didn't expect you to be so kind, Black Wolf."

"White Fox, haven't you noticed that they've formed an alliance?" Pharmacist Yuan asked calmly.

Ying raised an eyebrow: "How did you find out?"

“Just now,” the Pharmacist said. “In terms of strength, the two of us are stronger than the Crimson Serpent, and in terms of the likelihood of completing the mission, we also have a better chance. Why would the Yellow Dog choose the Crimson Serpent instead of us? Besides their secret collusion, what other reason could there be?”

"But that's inevitable. After committing many crimes together, partners naturally develop some camaraderie. There's no need to make a fuss." Ying shrugged. "Even if they really have formed an alliance, so what?"

“Snakes and dogs can live in the same den, and wolves and foxes can travel together.” The pharmacist looked directly at Ying Ruzhi and said, “White Fox, I used to look down on all thieves, but tonight your performance has earned my approval.”

"That's quite an honor," Ying Rushi said with a mocking laugh. "So, you want to take me under your wing?"

“They are allies,” the Pharmacist said. “As strong individuals, why should we associate with snake dogs? Of course, I’m not saying we should harm them, but if they are eliminated from the mission, why should we intervene? The Thieves’ House isn’t some kind of mutually supportive guild; on the contrary, every rule implies that we should be wary of each other.”

“Going back to the Thieves’ Den early might get us a bigger contribution reward. Staying to find them will only create more competition.” Her voice was like a jackal’s whisper: “If they can’t get back, then the Thieves’ Den’s rewards… will be split among us.”

"Even if new thieves are brought in later, we will still have the advantage and can completely control the Thieves' House. Four people may be suspicious of each other, but two equal allies can share the world equally."

The apothecary opened his arms as if to embrace the whole world: "Think about it, we can take turns obtaining legendary tokens, and the Thieves' House, a secret realm that no one has ever mastered, will be our shared domain... Sooner or later, we will possess countless legendary tokens, be able to travel to any place in the world through the Thieves' House, and even have the power to judge life and death in the main city... And all this glory begins with just a little bit of your insignificant cruelty."

"Even if we find them, what good will it do us? Will we get a share of what they find in the palace's secret vault? White Fox, you shouldn't have such childish fantasies, right?" The Pharmacist leaned against the railing, gazing at the distant palace. "Don't you think this is better? Compared to the possibility that one day we'll turn against each other with ugly swords because of interests, letting them stop here now might be true compassion."

Ying Rushi remained silent, as the fierce wind whipped her sleeves, making a rustling sound.

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(End of this chapter)