Scourge Messenger

Chapter 177 Lunch
Shang Xinlei deliberately placed shredded pork with garlic sauce, eggplant with minced meat, and fried tofu in front of Yan Qing. They didn't look particularly special, but they smelled delicious and appetizing. Yan Qing, who had just finished training, couldn't help but feel a strong urge to eat.

These days, Yan Qing has been practicing secret techniques. Even though he can max out the level of secret techniques by studying the secret technique book, without long-term training that can make them a conscious habit, all the skills are just empty talk.

In fact, given Yan Qing's background as a Brahmin, he should have been too lazy to be a maggot. However, he achieved the milestone of becoming a martial arts genius on a whim, and thus Yan Qing's life was completely ruined. He became a pathetic creature who felt like ants were crawling on his body if he didn't train three times a day. The endorphins and dopamine produced during exercise could even rival the pleasure of playing games.

While Shang Xinlei was setting out the dishes, Yan Qing also ate two bowls of rice. Then the two sat down to eat, and the thief's hall was so quiet that only the sound of wooden chopsticks touching white porcelain bowls and plates could be heard.

After Shang Xinlei caused trouble last time, they had been eating together for several days, but for some reason, the atmosphere had become completely different from before. Shang Xinlei was no longer chattering, and Yan Qing naturally didn't bring up any topics.

The two became very careful about their distance from each other, and physical contact almost never occurred. Occasionally, when their eyes met, they would immediately look away, as if looking at each other for too long would cause an explosion.

Is it because you're disliked?
Yan Qing was actually quite self-aware. Putting aside the fact that he still looked like Zhizhixiong with bandages wrapped around his neck, he was the kind of person who would invite friends out and then spend time playing on his phone in a beverage shop. For him, friends were like an energy source that could "restore his mood as long as he was near them." On the contrary, endless chatting and sharing of life would drain his energy.

His previous reluctance to respond to Shang Xinlei wasn't due to a bad personality; it was simply because he didn't know what to say. After all, reality isn't a visual novel where there are no dialogue options to refer to.

Many people tried to associate with him in life and work, but soon only one or two equally reclusive individuals remained. The thieves' house further reinforced this tendency, since he had no one to talk to all day long, so he naturally became even less talkative.

All interactions begin with curiosity, and all estrangement eventually stems from boredom. Shang Xinlei is clearly a sunny and cheerful person who enjoys exchanging energy with friends through communication. She is quite different from Yan Qing, who prefers to immerse herself in her inner world. The fact that they have been able to get along for so many days is already a testament to her tolerance.

Think about it: if you always take the initiative to bring up topics and share your life, but the other person always gives perfunctory "uh-huh" or "okay," wouldn't anyone be disheartened? We're all born of parents; who wants to be treated coldly?

Yan Qing took a big bite of rice with shredded pork with garlic sauce, and the words went through his mind several times before he slowly said, "I put an advanced sword technique mastery manual on the trading board today."

Shang Xinlei glanced at him, then turned back to continue picking up food: "I saw it, it seems the bid has already reached 210,000. Is this the only copy being sold, or will it be sold every day from now on?"

"We sell them every day."

"Sigh~ It seems your organization is quite diligent in clearing out secret realms, clearing out second-tier secret realms every day. I was actually wondering if the Rat Monk used battle merits to exchange for and then supplied you, but thinking about it carefully, the Rat Monk has only been gone for a few days, how could he have accumulated enough battle merits to exchange for advanced sword technique manuals so quickly? Or could it be Jiang Shi—"

Shang Xinlei stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, and Yan Qing picked up the thread: "It wasn't Jiang Shi. Jiang Shi was in charge of the first-level secret realm. The basic sword techniques and the Flame Pattern Longsword were obtained from her side."

"Selling several basic sword techniques books a day, does that mean Jiang Shiyi has been to the secret realms multiple times?"

"Yes."

“But she really is that kind of person,” Shang Xinlei nodded repeatedly, then looked at Yan Qing suspiciously: “Since Jiang Shi helped you earn so much money, did you reward her?”

Yan Qing blinked, feeling as if she had shot herself in the foot.

"I'm going to reward her with a secret technique book to help her advance directly to the third rank." "Really?" Shang Xinlei narrowed her eyes. "You don't seem to... have you reached the third rank yet? Aren't you afraid your subordinates will be stronger than you?"

"I'm not afraid," Yan Qing said righteously. "I wish they were all better than me."

Shang Xinlei looked at him, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only gave a flat response: "Oh."

Really? Don't you have anything else to say?
This conversation seemed ordinary, but it was actually the result of Yan Qing's deliberation for a day. He clearly said something full of flaws, so why did Shang Xinlei not react at all?

He finally understood Shang Xinlei's feelings a few days ago—he had brought up a very interesting topic, but the other party's reaction was so cold that even the most enthusiastic person would feel like they were drinking ice.

But Yan Qing had no other topics to discuss, since nothing interesting had happened in the past few days. He glanced at Shang Xinlei and noticed that she was also wearing pantyhose and shorts today, revealing a section of her plump thighs, which were accentuated by the white pantyhose, highlighting their full curves.

This is a ready-made topic, but I feel a little embarrassed, Yan Qing thought to herself.

But he couldn't remain silent forever; he was determined to break the awkward silence, so he mustered his courage and said, "You..."

"Today, Father gave me the Secret Technique Book, Wheel Control," Shang Xinlei suddenly said. "Direct descendants of the Shang family can apply for one Secret Technique Book or two advanced manuals. I applied a month ago, and I didn't expect to get it so quickly."

"A month ago...when you first entered the Thieves' Den?"

Shang Xinlei nodded: "Originally, I wanted to quickly learn a secret technique to cram for the last minute, but I only found out after applying that the secret technique book would take a long time to arrive. After all, families rarely keep secret technique books. They are either exchanged for resources or used by others, and usually it takes half a year. Now I can get it in a month, probably because I have mastered the secret technique Blood Wheel, and the family thinks I am on the verge of the third revolution, so they have accelerated the process of exchanging for the secret technique book and the Blood Wheel."

“It’s also possible that your father is more anthropomorphic,” Yan Qingrui commented.

Shang Xinlei glanced at him helplessly: "It's really impolite of you to say such things in front of someone else's daughter... However, I also think that is indeed one of the key reasons."

"Now that I have two secret techniques and I have rested for several days, I really can't afford to slack off anymore. So I plan to leave Jiangnan City this afternoon and go to the family's secret realm, the Quiet Abode, to hone my skills."

Yan Qing was taken aback. He immediately realized what the other person wanted to say, so he took the initiative to say, "Then lunch..."

“I can no longer buy the delicacies from the major restaurants in the city.” Shang Xinlei confirmed his guess: “At least not during the few days I’m at Jingxin Xiaozhu.”

Yan Qing blinked and replied dryly, "Oh."

(End of this chapter)