Scourge Messenger

I'll pay back gradually after Chapter 121 (bonus chapter)

Just then, the narrator of the Thieves' House revealed some shocking news:

"Given the inadequate completion of this mission, your criminal acts have become widely known, and the Divine Constable's Office has discovered that you have committed another crime during the wanted period. Therefore, we have decided to increase the bounty on you and extend the wanted period to fifty days. If you commit another crime during the wanted period, the Divine Constable's Office will dispatch one Silver Badge Constable and three Bronze Badge Constables to apprehend you."

"The next mission will be issued at noon in fifteen days. At that time, you will be forcibly teleported to the Thieves' House. Please be aware."

After a brief pause, a loud voice rang out in everyone's ears:

"Announcement from the Divine Marquis's Mansion: Four thieves from the Thieves' House have struck again. They have successfully stolen the legendary artifact, the Heaven-Slaying Sword, in Jiangnan. The Divine Marquis's Mansion has updated the wanted posters for the thieves and will apprehend them when they commit their next crime."

The announcement was broadcast three times, but unlike the last time, everyone now knew what it meant. Plus, it was nighttime outside… the announcement from the Divine Marquis's Mansion was practically dragging people out of bed and banging them three times with a gong.

More importantly, the announcement contained a rather ominous piece of information.

“Silver-badged constables, bronze-badged constables…” Ying Rushi murmured, “Could they be demons from the secret realm of the Divine Marquis’s Mansion?”

“I remember the Divine Marquis’s Mansion is a third-level secret realm, right…” Shang Xinlei’s voice was somewhat bitter: “That is to say, it’s at least a third-level demon, and Silver Badge Constable is probably an elite demon.”

"Trying to capture us?" Pharmacist Yuan could still laugh. "Then let's see who comes out on top."

"Won't the demons of the Divine Marquis's Mansion expose our identities?" Ying Rushi asked worriedly.

"Probably not," Yan Qing said, "but it's hard to say if we reveal our true forms to them."

Yan Qing really didn't understand the pursuit system. He had only mentioned it briefly in the design proposal: "We can add a pursuit phase to put pressure on players." He didn't expect the company to not only implement it but also link it with other dungeons. However, he was certain that the pursuit system would not directly expose the player's identity. After all, the core fun of Thieves' House was "acting like a respectable person in public while committing crimes in private." Directly exposing the player's identity would destroy the purpose of Thieves' House dungeon—unless the player actively exposed themselves to become famous.

After much speculation, they couldn't reach a conclusion, since no one had ever entered the Divine Marquis's Mansion's secret realm. They were now free to leave; having caused a ruckus in Jiangnan City for an hour, they were all exhausted, so they said goodbye, returned to their rooms, and logged off.

Yan Qing was so sleepy that he took off his clothes and lay down on the bed, too lazy to even take a shower. However, he hadn't been lying there for long when there was a knock on the door.

I swear I'll never get involved with a woman again, Yan Qing thought to herself.

Even knowing who it was, Yan Qing still dressed, put on his mask and Bingzi Jiaolin insignia, and opened the door. He looked at Shang Xinlei outside, his tone extremely cold: "Don't think—"

"for you."

Yan Qing caught the thing Shang Xinlei threw to him, and his drowsiness was almost completely dispelled. The thing in his hand was very warm, and he could even faintly feel a pulse inside it, as if it were not an inanimate object, but a living flame.

The Red Furnace Fire Essence, which Shang Xinlei had bid on using 55 Thief Points, was simply given to him.

"Your Bingzi Jiaolin is only at the first rank, right? You can use this to upgrade it to the second rank."

"Why give it to me?"

"Because I have a third-tier legendary flying ring, and the next upgrade will be the fourth tier. I can't even use the fourth-tier token if I want to. But if I wait until I reach the Foundation Establishment stage and then use the Red Furnace Fire Essence to upgrade, it will probably be too late." Shang Xinlei shrugged: "But if I give it to you, it can immediately increase your combat power."

What she said wasn't wrong. While Foundation Establishment tokens were far superior to third-tier tokens, in most cases, even if she had a Foundation Establishment token, she wouldn't be able to activate it, let alone meet the equipment requirements. Even using it as a basic weapon for basic attacks would be much less effective. The higher the rarity of the token, the better, but the higher the tier, the more suitable it is. Only tokens of the same level as one's own cultivation are the most convenient to use.

“You know that’s not what I’m asking,” Yan Qing looked at her, “This is yours, why are you giving it to me?”

“Although we went out together, you were the one who saved me.” Shang Xinlei scratched her face and turned her gaze to the side, saying, “As the saying goes, a life-saving grace is impossible to repay… This is to repay your kindness.” She blushed slightly as she said this. After discovering Yan Qing’s return token in the secret vault, she had said many thoughtless things in her excitement, because she thought they would be bound together from then on, so she didn’t have many scruples. Heaven knows, Yan Qing was able to buy the key from the outside world, and they were back to being able to meet only through the Thieves’ House… Recalling her promise to him to become a pair of thieves, Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed.

Yan Qing blinked, thinking that what she said made a lot of sense. "Okay, I accept it. You can go back now."

"That's it?" Shang Xinlei looked at him. "Nothing... to say?"

Yan Qing suddenly realized and pointed to the grass bracelet on her wrist: "You haven't returned it to me yet."

"I'm not giving it back!" Shang Xinlei protected her grass bracelet. "Besides, you already gave it to me, how can you have the nerve to ask for it back?"

"I didn't say I was giving it to you, I'm just lending it to you temporarily."

"I don't care, it's mine now!" Shang Xinlei said, somewhat exasperated. "Don't you have anything else to say to me?"

Yan Qing thought for a moment and said, "Alright, you can pay back the rest slowly, no rush."

"what?"

"Didn't you say you had nothing to repay me with? One Red Furnace Fire Essence is definitely not enough, but you can pay me back slowly. Just remember that you owe me, and don't disturb my rest so easily in the future."

As Yan Qing was about to close the door, Shang Xinlei stretched out her plump thigh to block the gap. The ample bosom peeking out between her shorts and stockings seemed to be trying to bounce the door back, revealing that there was absolutely no protection. Yan Qing was slightly taken aback when she saw this, only then remembering that her defensive token had exploded.

Although she was wearing a mask, Shang Xinlei's speechless expression was evident in her eyes: "I thought we had a pretty good relationship, and that we could be more open with each other in private, like you taking off your mask and inviting me over for a chat... Isn't it unfair that only you know my information?!"

Shang Xinlei was also impressed, thinking that this guy was more of a coward than a dog. A normal person would try to build a relationship with me after I took the initiative to flatter him, right? Even if you're not a womanizer, you would at least want to win me over to increase the Thieves' Family's influence, right? Besides, your eyes were practically glued to my thigh just now, who would believe you're not a womanizer?

And am I really that scary?
But Miss Shang Si wouldn't let him off so easily. During the auction, Black Wolf and White Fox seemed to be at each other's throats, but she could tell at a glance that their interaction showed mutual respect. In addition, they had a history of defeating Shang Xuanwen together. Shang Xinlei realized that the Thieves' House had split into two small groups: Wolf and Fox and Snake and Dog.

If we can't unite with the yellow dog, the next mission might be dominated by the wolf and fox.

More importantly, seeing Yan Qing cut ties with her as if nothing had happened after the mission was over made Shang Xinlei a little unhappy. If Yan Qing tried to exploit her for saving his life, Shang Xinlei would look down on him. But the more Yan Qing backed down, the more she wanted to understand why he was hiding.

"I'm sorry, these are not for sale. No matter how much money you offer, I won't sell them. Besides, I didn't investigate your information. You're the one who insisted on revealing it."

"Okay, okay, consider it as me still owing you. How about I bring you some snacks tomorrow? Custard buns, chive dumplings, rice noodle rolls, and beef balls?"

Yan Qing swallowed hard. Aside from the first day the Rat Monk arrived in Jiangnan City, he hadn't had a chance to buy anything to eat in the following days. However, he still firmly refused the sweet talk: "No thanks, goodbye—"

Do you prefer extra-large shrimp dumplings or bite-sized small shrimp dumplings?

Yan Qing thought for a moment: "Shrimp dumplings."

"Okay." Shang Xinlei waved and left immediately: "See you tomorrow."

Yan Qing hesitated, then closed the door, took off his clothes, and lay back down on the bed. But not long after, he got up again to see what food was available in the room.

"Her words have made me hungry, let's grab a midnight snack..."

(End of this chapter)