Scourge Messenger

Chapter 175 Winter Hunting Master
"Shang Le, you've gotten old again," He Lan Shou said calmly.

"Mortals will eventually grow old, how can they stay young like Grandpa?" Helan Shangle said with a wry smile, "I still remember when I first met Grandpa when I was young, I asked my father how Grandpa was younger than my father."

Helan Shou smiled faintly: "Is that so? Jin Dao... how long has Jin Dao been dead?"

“Sixteen years,” Helan Shangle said. “My father has been gone for sixteen years.”

"Yeah……"

Seeing that he had successfully stirred up Helan Shou's memories, Helan Shangle naturally wouldn't disturb him. Although he was his grandson, Helan Shangle wasn't very familiar with Helan Shou, or rather, after Helan Shou achieved Foundation Establishment, it was difficult for anyone to get close to him. Only his wife and children from before Foundation Establishment could attract his attention, which was why Helan Shangle took the initiative to bring up his father.

After a long while, Helan Shou asked, "What brings you here?"

Helan Shangle handed over a letter, which Helan Shou took and unfolded, a ripple appearing on his usually calm face.

"Has anyone been able to decipher Si Wuxie's legacy?" He laughed. "Back then, I couldn't solve that skull tower no matter what I tried."

Helan Shangle immediately said, "They are all third-level messengers, so their situation is naturally much simpler than what Grandpa encountered. Moreover, they also have two storm messengers."

"If we can still get past the front hall by trickery, even I think the central courtyard is a bit troublesome. Si Wuxie actually left a formation inside. His token has this effect. I remember it's the Hunyuan Yiqi Dharma Sword? They actually fought through it in one day. However... both of these battles require Buddhist tokens to break?"

Helan Shou frowned, his white eyebrows furrowing: "We must use Buddhist tokens... Could it be..."

He pondered for a moment, then read the letter again: "Bunny Girl Warrior? Wolf Master Demon?"

"Wolf Master Yao is Yao Shi Yuan, the daughter of Duke Jin. Duke Jin was convicted of treason—" He Lan Shang Le was halfway through his sentence when he noticed the impatience on He Lan Shou's face, so he quickly cut to the chase: "Yao Shi Yuan had fled to Shu Dao Mountain before. Judging from her weapons, strength, and retinue, it can be confirmed that it was her."

"As for the Bunny Girl Warrior, the Helan family still can't find out anything about her. They only know that she suddenly appeared and saved Yaoshi Yuan, and the two of them killed Helan Que and took away Helan Que's token."

“Helan Que… I remember him, he was quite good with a gun.” Helan Shou said calmly, “It mentions that the Bunny Girl has a Return Token, but I remember the Return Token belongs to Jiang Shi of Liang Kingdom, doesn’t it?”

Hearing that Dong Shou Zhenren only had one comment on Helan Que's death letter, Helan Shangle sighed inwardly and replied, "Indeed, so he couldn't be sure if the return order was real. But according to common sense, the Rabbit Girl was only a second-level messenger, yet she dared to storm Mount Shu and was still arrogant in front of the Three Protectors. Only the return order can explain her rampage."

"The ability to block the return of the Foundation Establishment messenger... and the legacy of Si Wuxie... it certainly warrants my deepest contemplation." Helan Shou stood up from the futon: "Do the other families know about this?"

Helan Shangle quickly stood up and replied, "It's unlikely. Exploring the Corpse Forest is a top secret of Shudao Mountain. Only the five of them know the situation. The Pharmacist and the Rabbit Girl simply don't have the manpower to send messages out. The other two Great Protectors are also demonic madmen who are determined to inherit the Foundation Establishment lineage. Only he is a member of our Helan family."

"Moreover, he has a grudge against Yaoshiyuan, so he will definitely try to keep Yaoshiyuan and Rabbit Girl here. As long as you, Grandpa, come to Shudao Mountain, Si Wuxie's inheritance and return token will surely be yours!"

Helan Shou nodded in satisfaction: "Let's not delay, let's set off." "Huh?"

Helan Shangle watched as Helan Shou walked out, without even wearing shoes, leaving the temple in just white socks.

The maids, noticing that Master Dongshou had gone out but having received no instructions, were at a loss, staring blankly at his departing figure. The same was true in the village outside. The adults watched the white-haired youth emerge, and it took several seconds before they reacted and knelt to kowtow. Only the children were busy eating snacks; seeing their patriarch follow the white-haired youth out, they too felt a stirring in their hearts, a longing to escape this awful place.

Outside the secret chamber, servants and stewards had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Helan Shou came out, the steward immediately knelt down and shouted loudly, "Welcome to the passing of True Immortal Dong Shou!"

Although their minds hadn't quite registered it, the servants and crossbow-wielding guards immediately followed the steward's steps, saying, "Welcome to the passing of Master Winter Hunt!"

"Respectfully welcoming the Venerable Winter Hunt to his new life!"

Cheers echoed from the entrance to the secret realm all the way to the entire fortress. When Helan Shou arrived at the fortress gate, the carriage and servants were already prepared. Many people had come specifically to admire the immortal's face, their expressions extremely excited. They all knelt on the ground, like believers who had seen a god descend to earth.

Helan Shangle had been watching Helan Shou's expression closely. If the latter showed even the slightest impatience, he would loudly reprimand and drive everyone away. However, Helan Shou remained completely calm throughout, getting into the carriage directly, with Helan Shangle following closely behind.

The lack of impatience was good news, indicating that the ancestor was still willing to accept the respect and support of the people. Helan Shangle looked at Helan Shou, who was resting with his eyes closed, and mustered her courage to say, "Grandpa, recently the emperor executed the entire line of the Duke of Jin, and the Duke of Wei, Chu Luoyan—"

“This is your business.” Helan Shou opened his eyes: “The affairs of future generations will be handled by them.”

"Yes." Helan Shangle felt that his back was wet.

Almost all Foundation Establishment cultivators are like this; they only care about the results. The turmoil of the court is just a bunch of children playing house to them. The petty interests between the emperor, the pillar of the state, and the nobles are nothing more than children fighting over toys to them, and there is no need to pay attention to them at all. Only a crazy woman like Ying Le from Qi State would be willing to become the emperor.

Helan Shou lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the gardenias covering the mountains and fields outside. He suddenly said, "You just said that the Pharmacist was willing to kill the Iron Head family's son?"

Helan Shangyue was stunned for a moment before remembering that Helan Que's father's nickname was Tietou (Iron Head).

"Yes."

"If she's still in the Shu Road Mountains, let's just take care of her then," Helan Shou said casually. "The gardenias are well grown; I'll give them a treat."

Helan Shangle immediately shouted to the flower farmers kneeling on the ground outside: "Real Person Dongshou has recognized your merits in cultivating flowers, and all flower farmers will be rewarded with thirty spirit jades!"

The flower growers were taken aback, then immediately began kowtowing frantically, patting their chests and promising to cultivate the flowers even more beautifully. Even though the Helan family's annual salary was high, thirty spirit jades was equivalent to several years' income for them!
Thirty per person, adding up to nearly thirty thousand. The shimmering green spirit jade was distributed to the poor, but Helan Shangle didn't think it was expensive. This amount of spirit jade was just a drop in the ocean for the century-old Helan family, but as long as the ancestor could help out, that was the confidence that no amount of spirit jade could buy!
The flowers must continue to be planted, the children must continue to be raised, and the maids must continue to be replaced. Who knows, the ancestor might just meet someone he likes?

(End of this chapter)