Scourge Messenger

Chapter 215 Obstacle
"Let's not even talk about whether you can get in alive," Yan Qing stood up from his seat and pointed to the chains binding the Bunny Girl in the Lava Prison: "Although the sand table is the same color, you don't think these are just ordinary chains, do you?"

"How are you going to break the chains that Master Suolong has attached with his supernatural powers? If you don't break these chains, Bunny Girl won't even wake up."

Ying Rushi's heart skipped a beat. Bunny Girl Heroine... This doesn't sound like a normal person's name.

"There's always a way." The pharmacist paused for a moment, then said, "Since Master Suolong isn't here, we can just destroy the walls connected by the chains."

"Do you really think you can break the Foundation Establishment Messenger's supernatural abilities by just scraping a little bit of plaster off the wall?" Yan Qing was almost laughing in anger. "You have no chance of unlocking the chains unless you damage the wall to a certain extent! But outside is molten lava. Are you going in to break the wall to save people or to kill them? And your methods are much more cruel than mine."

"Even if we assume you can actually get through the lava and rescue Bunny Girl, then what? How will you get her out? How will she get to safety? Outside the secret realm is the Chang'an Military Prefecture. And do you think she'll rush over to check on things after Master Suolong discovers the chains have been broken? By then, we'll be back in the Thieves' House, but what about her?"

"A Return Token!" The Pharmacist exclaimed excitedly, slamming his hands on the stone table. "Don't you have a Return Token? As long as Bunny Girl uses it, she can leave Chang'an and go to other places!"

Ying Rushi's pupils suddenly contracted, and she turned her head to look at Yan Qing's dog-head mask.

Yan Qing did not respond for a long time, but just quietly looked at Yao Shiyuan through the sand table illusion.

Looking into the calm eyes behind the dog-head mask, the pharmacist realized something, and his body grew colder inch by inch. His boiling blood began to congeal, and a sense of powerlessness followed him once again.

A token appeared in Yan Qing's hand, engraved with the words "Return". The token was full of cracks, as if it would break with the slightest force.

“This return token can be used once more,” he said calmly. “But unless I can obtain more return tokens, I will keep this one for myself and will not give it to anyone else.”

The pharmacist felt all his strength drain away and pleaded, "But Bunny Girl needs it more. Without it, she can't escape at all. Why not—"

"Because I'm afraid of dying." Yan Qing looked at Yao Shiyuan and said, word by word, "My life is more important than hers."

From the very beginning, Yan Qing had planned how to use the return tokens. In fact, according to his idea, all three return tokens should be reserved for his own use, and used to save the main account's life.

However, Yan Qing would sometimes get carried away while playing games, and since the return tokens were limited, he simply let his alternate account use them. Besides, he didn't think that these were the only return tokens he could obtain, so there was no need to be stingy with them.

But now he only has one return order left, and Yan Qing has to keep it for himself as a backup plan no matter what. His main account is more important than any secondary account, and even if this mission is as easy and smooth as the spring outing, he won't give it to the bunny girl.

This is an interest that is absolutely non-negotiable, with no room for negotiation. If Yan Qinglang were to recklessly issue the final order to return, he would be like someone riding a bicycle without a helmet, thinking that even his mind doesn't need protection.

The thieves' hall suddenly fell silent. Yan Qing and the pharmacist stood facing each other, neither speaking, the air thick with the smell of kerosene. The girl beneath the black wolf mask bit her lip, her eyes seemingly brimming with molten lava.

"You should give her up."

Why must you be in such a hurry?

"You could have saved her, but you abandoned her."

"There's no way to save him. Where are you going to find a suit of armor that can withstand molten lava in three days? You don't even know how to break the chains!"

"She's imprisoned in a dark, sunless place, while you're living a carefree life here. You're going to abandon her!"

"That's right, I'm going to give her up."

A loud bang echoed through the hall. Yaoshiyuan slammed his steel spear down on the stone table, and the others reacted immediately. Ying Rushi left her seat and retreated to a distance closer to the door, her right hand resting on the hilt of the Yitian Sword. Shang Xinlei stood beside Yan Qing, holding the legendary flying ring that glowed with orange light in both hands. Only Yan Qing did nothing. He pressed his hands against the stone table, coldly staring at Yaoshiyuan, with the Bingzi Pepper Forest at his waist.

"Black Wolf," Shang Xinlei warned in a deep voice, "You want to fight us here?"

"Why not?!" the Pharmacist said sternly, "I've long disliked you two, you despicable couple!"

Initially, Yaoshi Yuan didn't have a particularly bad impression of Yan Qing, especially after the battle at Shudao Mountain. She even thought Yan Qing was much better than she had imagined... until she arrived at the thieves' house and saw Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei having a tryst, with a stone table laden with delicious food. It wasn't that Yan Qing couldn't have affairs or eat, but the problem was that the Rabbit Girl had been captured by Master Suolong and her fate unknown, and the next second he was all over her, being all lovey-dovey with Chi She? Yaoshi Yuan couldn't accept it. She felt it was too unfair for the Rabbit Girl to be loyal to such a brother, which was why she was so eager to cause trouble for Yan Qing.

If it weren't for the Red Serpent, if it weren't for his ruthlessness, perhaps Yaoshi would have become friends with him. Even if he was unwilling to give the return token, Yaoshi wouldn't be unable to understand... But there are no "ifs." Clearly, he and Yaoshi were the best people in the world to Bunny Girl, yet they regarded each other as enemies.

Ying Rushi glanced at Shang Xinlei and Yan Qing, without the slightest surprise.

She had noticed their close relationship long ago; to be precise, she had vaguely sensed something was amiss after returning from the last mission.

Although the two didn't interact much in front of her, body language doesn't lie. When Shang Xinlei crossed her legs, she would put her right leg over her left, and when she sat, she would support her cheek with her right hand. These actions would cause her body to face to the left of Yan Qing.

Yan Qing didn't have so many little tricks up her sleeve, but she looked at Shang Xinlei much more frequently than before, and occasionally she would openly admire her.

Even if they weren't the 'adulterous couple' that Black Wolf described, they must have been very good friends.

In other words, in the current four-person team of the Thieves' House, Yellow Dog and Red Serpent are close partners, while Black Wolf is their enemy... Ying Rushi was both glad that she hadn't gotten involved in these troubles and somewhat regretful, feeling that she had missed out on a lot of experiences compared to them.

In this tense atmosphere, Yan Qing slowly asked, "If I don't provide help, Black Wolf, will you abandon or even obstruct this mission?"

The pharmacist stared straight at him, her chest heaving so loudly that even from a distance, everyone could see her anger making it hard for her to catch her breath.

After a long silence, she finally said resentfully, "No way!"

But she immediately added, "So, if I fully support this mission, will you agree to let me go and rescue people? Even without your help, I'll still give it a try!"

“Of course,” Yan Qing paused, “I disagree.”

"What!?" Pharmacist Yuan's eyes widened. If she had only drawn her spear to express her indignation earlier, she now genuinely wanted to fight Yan Qing right there and now: "I'm already willing to assist with this mission, so why don't you agree?"

“Not only do I disagree, but if you insist on going your own way, I will also sabotage this mission and prevent you from having the chance to enter the dungeon secret realm,” Yan Qing said calmly.

The pharmacist was so angry he almost laughed: "I'm considering the bigger picture and just want a chance to save someone, and not only do you disagree, you're threatening me with sabotaging the mission? You're only concerned with your own interests, while forbidding the common people from even lighting a lamp?"

“Hey, hey,” Ying Rushi had no choice but to join the conversation: “I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that, Yellow Dog. I have no intention of getting involved in your argument, but if the theft mission fails, we can no longer enter the Thieves’ House.”

Yan Qing turned to look at Shang Xinlei, who nodded slightly.

“No matter how much you argue, my attitude will not change.” Before Ying Rushi and the pharmacist could speak, he changed the subject again: “Unless Black Wolf can provide a feasible plan, not the self-destructive idea of ​​Ironclad, but one that can prove that she can indeed move freely in and out of the lava, I will agree to let her go to the lava prison, whether to rescue people or visit prisoners, it is up to her.”

“There’s only half a day left today. I’ll give you a full day tomorrow, Black Wolf. We’ll meet here at midnight tomorrow to formulate an action plan. At that time, Black Wolf, you either need to provide a feasible solution or simply give up. Otherwise, I will choose to terminate this mission.” He turned to Ying Rushi and nodded slightly: “White Fox, I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

"It's good that you know." Ying Ru sighed.

Seeing that Yan Qing was about to return to his room, the pharmacist rushed over to stop him, but Shang Xinlei blocked his way with a flying ring in her hand. She didn't really want to fight, so she could only shout unwillingly, "Why are you stopping me? They have nothing to do with Bunny Girl and they all agreed. You are clearly her brother, so why don't you agree!"

Yan Qing didn't answer, went into the room and closed the door. Ying Rushi, seeing this, also said goodbye and returned to her own room. She was quite interested in talking to the other two female thieves, but now was not the right time.

The pharmacist gripped her spear tightly, staring intently at Yan Qing's door. She really wanted to break down the door, drag that guy out, and question him, but she knew that would be a waste of time. It would be better to go back and find a reliable way to infiltrate the lava.

Just as she turned to go back to her room, Red Serpent's voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "Because he can't watch you go to your death."

The pharmacist turned around in surprise, but could only see a door that had just been closed.

(End of this chapter)