Scourge Messenger

Chapter 128 I curse you

What is my purpose in coming to the Thieves' House?
Yan Qing's first reaction was bewilderment, because he was different from the others. He was not a thief at all. His family had a clean record for three generations. He had just accidentally transmigrated into this instance and was forced to kill and set fires with this group of thieves. If they were ever caught by the Divine Marquis's Mansion, Yan Qing felt that he could defend himself and say that he should be considered an accomplice who was coerced.

Black Wolf, White Fox, and Red Serpent—some of them deliberately became thieves to enter the Thieves' Den, while others became thieves hoping to be recruited. Regardless, they all harbored ulterior motives, possessing both subjective criminal intent and objective criminal acts. But Yan Qing was different. He simply had nowhere else to go and dared not step into the dog-eat-dog world of thieves, which was why he remained in the Thieves' Den… He was simply trying to survive.

But the moment Yan Qing came to this answer, she realized the absurdity of it.

Because he is now safe.

Ye Si is about to reach the second job advancement, Jiang Shi is about to reach the third, and after the Rat Monk arrives at Xuanwu Lake Military Town, he will also reach the second job advancement in a few days and then rush towards the third. Not to mention these alt accounts, once Yan Qing gets an advanced sword technique book from the trading board and uses the two secret technique books, the rest is just a matter of careful practice, and the third job advancement will be a smooth road ahead.

A third-tier messenger is considered a master in any field, not to mention he has a Return Token, which gives him the ability to protect himself even against a Foundation Establishment messenger.

On the contrary, staying in the Thieves' Den was riskier. Not to mention the Divine Marquis's pursuit, the Thieves' Den's missions kept getting tougher. For example, in this case of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber theft, he encountered the Foundation Establishment Messenger Yu Li Jushi, while Black Wolf and White Fox fought with Shang Xuanwen. If it weren't for various coincidences and their superior strength, the four of them might not have been able to return to the Thieves' Den unscathed.

The second mission had already pushed them close to their maximum potential.

If Yan Qing continues to stay in the Thieves' House, although there is a possibility of him stealing the mission target flawlessly, it is more likely that he will eventually encounter an enemy he cannot defeat and fall into a dense encirclement from which he cannot escape... The end of a thief is always this kind of dead end.

That's why Shang Xinlei asked him why he came to the Thieves' Den. Although he could abandon the mission, there was still a possibility of death. If it weren't for a grand ambition, who would participate in such dangerous operations time and time again?
Yan Qing also asked herself: Yes, why should I stay in the thieves' house?

It's like someone who's preparing for their wedding being suddenly asked what they like about their partner, and then they suddenly realize that they don't actually like the person next to them, and they've only gotten to this point because of habit.

At the beginning, Yan Qing was very weak and had to rely on the Thieves' Guild for protection, even if it meant taking risks, it was within his acceptable range. Now he has many alt accounts to protect him and has a certain level of strength himself, so the Thieves' Guild is no longer a necessity for him, but the risks to him are increasing day by day.

He can leave now.

We're not sure where we'll go next. Maybe we can ask Shang Xinlei to buy a mansion in Jiangnan City and live a carefree life in the main city, eating and drinking every day. Wouldn't that be great? We wouldn't even have to go on missions.

Even if Yan Qing wanted to obtain the Thieves' Guild's rewards, he didn't need to participate personally. He could simply create a thief alt account and see if he could sneak in. Moreover, while the Thieves' Guild's rewards were tempting, they weren't indispensable. As long as Yan Qing created enough alt accounts to run dungeons all over the world, with dozens of alt accounts supporting his main account, his growth rate would definitely not be slower than that of Black Wolf, White Fox, and Red Serpent.

Even without a family of thieves, he could still achieve the Foundation Establishment and Ascend to Immortality.

Yan Qing became more and more excited as he thought about it. He felt like some authors who work a regular job while writing novels on the side. One day, he would find that his novel income was several times that of his regular job, and he would wonder why he didn't quit his job... After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that there was no reason not to quit his job.

But he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. As for what it was, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It seems we can only listen to other people's opinions.

"And what about you? What brought you to the Thieves' Den?"

Seeing that he had been silent for so long, Shang Xinlei thought he wasn't going to answer, but she didn't expect Yan Qing to ask her the question instead. She picked up the custard bun, tore it open, and the hot custard filling flowed out. She licked it as she replied, "At first, it was out of curiosity. I wanted to see if I could master the Thieves' House. Who wouldn't be envious of the secret realm's ability to teleport to any place in the world? Later, when I saw that you had obtained the Bingzi Pepper Forest, I naturally wanted to bid for a legendary token as well. I just didn't expect that I had already obtained a legendary flying ring from the Mansu Forest before that."

"But besides legendary tokens, the Thieves' Den also rewards many rare items, like the Crimson Furnace Fire Essence, which I've never even heard of before. It's probably only produced in fourth-level or higher secret realms. If the Thieves' Den's rewards become more and more generous, then it wouldn't be surprising to see Foundation Establishment Pills appear in the future." Shang Xinlei said seriously, "Compared to the Divine Marquis's Mansion, obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills from the Thieves' Den is undoubtedly simpler and more likely."

"After you obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, will you continue to stay in the Thieves' House?" Yan Qing asked.

Shang Xinlei nodded naturally: "Yes, this is a rare opportunity. As long as I don't encounter a desperate situation that forces me to abandon the mission, I will stay."

"What if you had other opportunities? For example, if you had a way to conquer a fourth or fifth level secret realm at a very low cost, with no risks along the way, and you could have a continuous supply of resources from the secret realm to cultivate all the way to the sixth level, would you still stay in the Thieves' House?"

"meeting."

"Why? Once you reach the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, the tasks assigned to you by the Thieves' Guild will definitely be of the same level. At that time, you may encounter enemies stronger than you, or even find yourself in a predicament more difficult to resolve than the Royal Treasury. If you have other safer opportunities, why are you still clinging to the Thieves' Guild?" Yan Qing was very puzzled.

Shang Xinlei finished her custard bun, thought for a moment, and said, "According to your logic, I didn't need to work hard to become a messenger in the first place." "I was born the fourth young lady of the Shang family. I've never had to worry about food or clothing since I was a child. I could have lived a life of eating, drinking, and having fun. The only price I would have to pay was marrying someone I didn't like—but compared to the hardship of honing my skills every day and the risks of going to the secret realm for training, getting married is much easier. My second sister is like that. When I visited her recently, I could tell she was very happy. Her life was full of peace and tranquility, much better than mine when I was almost trapped in the royal vault."

Yan Qing nodded repeatedly. If he hadn't transmigrated into a family of thieves, but instead into the spoiled young master of some powerful family, he wouldn't have bothered changing jobs. Wouldn't it have been better to be a lazy bum?
“Actually, I can rest now. The third job advancement is not difficult for me, and a third-job messenger already has a certain say in the family. At least I can control my own marriage.” Shang Xinlei glanced at Yan Qing: “I can marry the person I like and live a happy and healthy life under the protection of the family. Even if the Shang family is squeezed out of the center of power, the third-job messenger will never be short of support.”

"This is the life I've always dreamed of!" Yan Qing thought to herself, but she was also even more curious: "Then why don't you do it this way? Are you staying in the Thieves' Clan for power? For Foundation Establishment and Ascension? For immortality? To see more of the world?"

“You’re right, I’ve definitely considered those things.” Shang Xinlei nodded. “But if we’re talking about the most fundamental reason, my answer is probably… I can.”

"Can I?"

“I can do what others can’t, and I can do it better than others. There aren’t that many goals. Many messengers initially just find their meaning in their skills. They suddenly realize that they are different from others. They can go higher and farther. If I had to say it, it’s just that… the way of heaven is constant, and everyone has their own job.” Shang Xinlei smiled faintly: “Fate will push people to the place that suits them.”

"Since the ship 'House of Thieves' can take me to higher and farther places, why should I leave?"

Yan Qing shook his head: "But it's still a risk... Your answer doesn't convince me."

"It sounds like you're from the Noble Faction?"

"Is there anything of value?"

“There used to be two schools of thought. The ‘Noble’ school, like you, only does the safest thing: conquering the second-level secret realm with the third level, and conquering the first-level secret realm with the second level, to obtain resources with the least casualties. The opposite, the ‘Exalted’ school, seizes every opportunity, challenges the limits as much as possible, and advances bravely and never stops.”

"Are you a proponent of existence?"

"To be precise, all three kingdoms in the Central Plains were dominated by those who valued resources. Those who valued nothingness had very low resource acquisition efficiency and were easily at a disadvantage in the competition. For example, in the Liang Kingdom, as long as a powerful family experienced a slight decline in talent, it was highly likely that it would be suppressed and squeezed out of the center of power by other powerful families." Shang Xinlei took a sip of hot tea and said, "However, I didn't bring up this example to refute you with reality. After all, valuing resources is beneficial as a whole, but valuing nothingness is indeed the safest survival strategy for an individual. I used to be a person who valued nothingness."

"Before?" Yan Qing keenly grasped this point.

"Yes, before. The reason I went from valuing nothingness to valuing existence was because you cursed me."

Yan Qing refused to take the blame: "Woman, you can eat shit but you can't say anything carelessly."

“I’m not making this up.” Shang Xinlei glanced at him sideways. “I originally planned to stay in the family after the third transformation, since my father was only at the third transformation… It was you who said I could reach the fourth transformation of Foundation Establishment and protect the family that gave me this unprecedented ambition. I want to use the Thieves’ Family to go further, until I reach my limit before I stop.”

“I might encounter a life-or-death crisis along the way, and I’ll definitely regret it then. But compared to giving up the thieves’ family and regretting it for the rest of my life, the former is more suitable for me.”

"It's all your fault for cursing me. Now I may not live to see the end of my life, so I'll curse you too."

Shang Xinlei said in a serious tone, then pointed at Yan Qing and drew circles, muttering to herself:

"One day, you will take off your mask, you will meet trustworthy people, and your subordinates will be proud of you."

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat. He thought he had hidden it well, but Shang Xinlei had already seen through his tough mask and found an uneasy soul beneath. Compared to Shang Xinlei, the sophisticated daughter of the Prime Minister, he was still too naive. His previous caution was correct; the more he contacted the thieves, the more he exposed himself... He was always careful at every thief meeting, afraid that his hidden wealth would be discovered.

But looking at the girl in front of him, whose lips still had a trace of cream, Yan Qing couldn't feel afraid. Instead, he felt a sense of relief. It was like a murderer disposing of a body and suddenly noticing someone nearby, only to realize upon closer inspection that it was his friend who was a serial killer... It was better that she had discovered him; at least he didn't have to put on such a serious act in front of her.

Shang Xinlei continued muttering, "And also, you're a pig, you're a pig, you're a pig..."

　It's the last day for double monthly tickets, everyone remember to cast your tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)