Scourge Messenger

Chapter 115 Convergence
Inside the royal treasury, Shang Xinlei watched as items appeared out of thin air, her expression quite complex.

Yan Qing could understand. After all, in her mind, the mastermind behind the trading board should be a powerful being, like a god or a demon, or at least an unparalleled schemer, not a mortal who hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and who might even be trapped with her in a secret vault more than 30 feet above the ground.

He carefully observed Shang Xinlei's eyes, trying to catch any emotion she might reveal. Actually, he wasn't afraid that Shang Xinlei would reveal the secret; after all, he didn't own any of his belongings in this world, and in the thieves' house, he would just hide under the covers and not care about anyone. What he feared was that Shang Xinlei would become greedy.

He didn't like testing human nature, just like no gamer would test whether a computer case could continue to run after being flooded. He only hoped that the computer could keep running the game forever. He also only hoped that his short-lived friendship with Shang Xinlei could be extended as much as possible, until he no longer cared about this woman.

"Is it absolutely necessary to use a breastplate to change it?"

Unexpectedly, Shang Xinlei was the first to express her doubts about Yan Qing's extravagance: "There are also quite a few stacks of second-tier tokens here. Wouldn't it be better to exchange them for these things? The third-tier Heart Protection Mirror can obviously be sold for a high price. It's too wasteful to use it to exchange for these opening items."

"It can only be the Heart-Protecting Mirror." Since the matter had been exposed, Yan Qing didn't mind saying a few more words about the Treasure Hunting Token, trying to dispel Shang Xinlei's greed as much as possible: "Not all items can be listed on the Treasure Pavilion."

“But this is too wasteful. I could buy this for less than five spirit jades in Jiangnan City, but you spent five rare third-rank tokens.”

"Escape is more important than anything else, especially since it's just five rare third-tier tokens."

"What do you mean 'just'? You're being way too extravagant."

Seeing Shang Xinlei's pained expression, Yan Qing thought to himself, "This wicked woman is too greedy. These are clearly his things, why is she so concerned? Is she already planning to harm him, so she's trying to take all his property for herself? Truly, fate is unpredictable and people's hearts are treacherous. Fortunately, she accidentally gave herself away. I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Shang Xinlei then asked curiously, "By the way, are there any restrictions on listing on Jubaoge?"

"Don't tell you."

"What's so great about it?" Shang Xinlei pouted. "I also found this token in a treasure chest in the Mansu Forest. If I had known back then that the Treasure Hunting Token was so useful, you wouldn't be the only one selling stolen goods at the Treasure Pavilion now."

"If you had known that back then, you would have missed out big time; you wouldn't have been able to use the treasure hunt token at all."

"Why? Are you the only one in the whole world who can be used?"

"Because using the Treasure Hunting Token requires knowing a trick, and this condition has nothing to do with strength, identity, or background. Not to mention you, even if you are a Foundation Establishment Messenger or a legendary immortal god, you still cannot activate the Treasure Hunting Token if you do not know the trick."

Yan Qing didn't believe that the Treasure Hunting Token in his hand was the first of its kind ever, since there were many other ways to obtain Treasure Hunting Tokens besides event rewards within "The Messenger." However, those who obtained Treasure Hunting Tokens in the past, even if they could access the Treasure Pavilion interface, couldn't access the system information of the items, and therefore couldn't list items; at most, they could only buy his things.

There may be countless potential buyers in the Treasure Pavilion, but there will always only be one seller.

"What's the secret?" Shang Xinlei immediately pressed, but then she answered herself, "You're not going to tell me, are you? Hiding so many secrets will give you pimples. You're an ugly monster who's afraid to take off your mask."

"It's better than that snotty-nosed brat who always asks a lot of questions. Grab the things to open the door and come with me."

Yan Qing turned and walked towards the center of the secret vault. Shang Xinlei, watching from behind, gritted her teeth in anger and complained, "Why don't you take it yourself?"

"I don't like touching other people's shoes."

Shang Xinlei made a face behind her. She looked down and exclaimed in surprise, "These dancing shoes are quite beautiful. They don't look like the kind of fabric from Jiangnan. They're also inlaid with gold and diamonds. It seems their owner is of high status."

"A dancer of high status?" Yan Qing questioned.

"It's hard to say. Quite a few messengers also enjoy dancing. Maybe these are the dancing shoes of a Foundation Establishment messenger. Why don't you smell them?"

"Move it away! Move it away!" Yan Qing once again stood before the glass counter containing the Hand of Melting a Hundred Phases. Shang Xinlei asked in surprise, "You haven't given up yet? But we only have a quarter of an hour to get back to the Thieves' House. Do you have the ability to crack this counter in such a short time?"

"Perhaps it doesn't need to be cracked."

Yan Qing took the scholar's pen from her bosom. He had put all five heart-protecting mirrors on the market. In addition to exchanging them for four items to open doors, he also specially exchanged them for an extra scholar's pen, just to verify a conjecture.

He found a scratch on the underside of the turquoise slab and pressed the brush into it. The turquoise slab, though not dented, somehow sucked the scholar's brush away.

With a clang, the glass cabinet quietly opened, and the foundation-building token once used by Emperor Taizu of Liang, the sixth messenger a hundred years ago, returned to this world of strife.

It works!

Previously, Yan Qing noticed that the scratches under the turquoise slab were quite similar to the items required for the secret realm's gate, leading him to suspect that they might be part of the same unlocking system. However, there were no clues about the items under the turquoise slab, so he could only guess. Fortunately, the item for unlocking the counter containing the Hundred-Image Hand was also the Scholar's Pen, so Yan Qing didn't waste his efforts.

Seeing how carefully Yan Qing put away the gloves, Shang Xinlei seemed thoughtful. After all, the gloves were already damaged. If it wasn't for collection purposes, it meant that Yan Qing had a way to restore them to their original condition.

Treasure hunting orders and token repairs... This bastard has way too many secrets!
"One day I'll make you obediently reveal all your secrets..."

"Hmm?" Yan Qing heard Shang Xinlei mutter something and turned to look at her.

"I said we should go, right?" Shang Xinlei casually put on her mask. Since she was leaving, she had to revert to her Red Serpent disguise. "You don't still want to keep opening the cabinet, do you?"

Yan Qing shook his head: "Of course not. Every second we delay leaving increases the risk of being exposed."

Using a treasure hunt token to exchange for items to open the door is actually quite risky. After all, others might not know the significance of these items, but the Liang royal family certainly does. Once they see the combination of 'pen, shoe, needle, and dice', they will immediately realize that someone has broken into the secret vault, and when they come out, they might encounter a Foundation Establishment messenger squatting on it.

But tonight is too lively, with explosions and assassinations. Yan Qing's palace is currently under lockdown, and there are probably not many members of the Liang royal family who know the secret of opening the vault. As long as they can seize this opportunity, they can escape unscathed and return to the Thieves' House!

They placed the corresponding items into the four spirit jade orbs leading to the secret vault's door, and under their tense gazes, the door swung open again with a bang. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the first breath of air they took seemed exceptionally fresh.

Going up wasn't difficult; they could see from the model that there were stone steps on both sides of the vertical passage. However, when it came time to leave, they discovered a small problem: their hands were full.

Having already plundered the secret vault, both of them were carrying quite a lot of things. Even with everything strapped to their bodies, Yan Qing could only free one hand, while Shang Xinlei couldn't free either hand. Although they both had storage rings, these rings were calculated by the number of compartments. Yan Qing's storage ring, which already contained the Spirit Jade Treasure Hunting Token, the Return Token, and a spare Flame Pattern Longsword, was already full—he hadn't originally planned to come to the secret vault for free shopping.

Now that things have come to this, the pair of notorious thieves seem to have no choice but to reluctantly give up some of their loot.

Just then, a shout echoed continuously from above:

"Hey--"

The two looked up in astonishment, only to see a crescent-shaped opening in the ceiling high above them, with two familiar wolf and fox masks looking down at them from dozens of floors away.

"It seems someone needs a little help?" The pharmacist held the snake-patterned rope in his hand, his tone as arrogant as a divine emperor saving the ignorant masses.

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei exchanged a glance and, in perfect unison, shouted to the pharmacist, "Black Wolf, save us!"

"Luckily we have such a great teammate like you, otherwise we would be in trouble!"

At this moment, the pharmacist's sense of superiority was satisfied like never before!
　Double monthly votes from May 5.1st to May 5.7th! Please vote! Wishing everyone a happy holiday!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)