Scourge Messenger

Chapter 219 Black Wolf, please don't engage in a firefight!

"Respectfully seeing off the County Magistrate."

As Yingru emerged from the military town, guards held umbrellas for her from behind, and a light drizzle was falling from the sky.

All the officers of the Baibao Army bowed their heads solemnly when they saw her, standing silently in the rain. Wherever she went, there was complete silence. The noisy military camp became extremely quiet, and the sound of the rain became even clearer.

The way the State of Qi respected people differed from that of the States of Zhou and Liang, especially in the Everlasting Military Town right under the emperor's nose. The greatest form of support was silent reverence, ideally without a single word spreading. This was because the Everlasting Military Town had only one ruler, the emperor, and only one person who could command the winds and rains—Ying Le.

All those rebellious individuals who dare to share in this glory will, at best, be confronted by Bai Bao at night, and at worst... encounter Ying Le on patrol during the day.

Living on this land, from mortals to third-level commanders, the first thing everyone must learn is to be cautious in their words and actions. In the eyes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the mortal realm, everyone is equal; there is no distinction between superior and inferior, because none of them can truly be considered human.

The city of Never Sleeps was shrouded in a gray haze in the rain. When the city gate guards saw Ying Rushi's carriage from afar, they immediately herded the passersby to the sides of the road. As the carriage passed by, the commoners knelt down on both sides, their foreheads touching the ground. However, unlike their usual fear and humility, their faces were filled with respect as they looked at the carriage. There were even old women who clasped their hands together in prayer for blessings.

At the same time, a huge two-horse-drawn wagon rumbled out of the thick fog, its steel wheels churning on the stone road with a dull thud, like an approaching thunderclap. The people lining the road knelt even lower, trying to blend themselves into the weeds and stones.

The only ones who dare to gallop wildly in the City That Never Sleeps are the evil spirits of the palace, who represent the emperor's will and the inviolable will of heaven! Even Ying Rushi's carriage had to give way, otherwise the evil spirits would recklessly smash their carriages to pieces.

Without even drawing back the curtains, Ying Rushi could smell the familiar, pungent odor—the strange smell of a person's flesh and blood charred into ash by burning in kerosene, then left to sit for a long time, the stench of burning flesh mingling with the stench of death. She lifted the curtains to observe the steel wagon and noticed that as it moved, a dark, filthy liquid seeped from its underside, stretching from the depths of the rain and mist out of the city. The wagon was covered only by a cloth, and a thin, pale hand peeked out from the edge of the black cloth—it seemed to be a child's hand.

Only after the steel carriage disappeared from sight did the civilians and even the gatekeepers on the roadside gasp for breath; they had almost all subconsciously held their breath just now.

Suddenly, a little girl ran to the carriage, carrying a flower wreath. Her mother was horrified and immediately rushed over, trying to force the little girl to kneel in repentance. Ying Rushi lifted the curtain and stopped her mother, taking the flower wreath from her: "Did you make this?"

The little girl nodded vigorously, her face dirty, and bit her nails as she said, "Sister, you made Grandpa better... Grandpa will stew eggs for Xiaoqiu to eat..."

Ying Rushi smiled slightly, took a piece of candy from the carriage, and handed it to the little girl: "Your flower wreath is very beautiful. This is a reward for you."

The little girl took it and immediately put it in her mouth. Her mother thanked her profusely, and when she took the little girl home, she even spanked her bottom, making her spit it out and share some with her sister. Ying Ru smiled and lowered the curtains, her heavy and oppressive mood seemingly easing considerably.

The Heaven-Slaying Sword at her waist was unassuming and simple; no one could tell that it was a legendary artifact.

Ying Ru has been very busy for the past two weeks, focusing on only two things: training the Baibao (military officers) and treating patients. Training the Baibao is of paramount importance. Every day, Ying Ru spends five hours instructing five Baibao in martial arts, which allows the Yitian Sword to fully exert its power to govern the world. In the past fifteen days, more than seventy first-stage Baibao officers have benefited from this, with their qi, blood, spirit, and agility nearly doubling. Not only have their strength almost all reached the second-stage level, but they have also found it easier to comprehend advanced techniques.

Even if they didn't know it was a legendary power, they knew it was a blessing from the Duke of Lecheng County.

Logically, she should use her governing power to build relationships with high-ranking commanders and aristocratic families, which was also Ying Le's suggestion. However, if she wanted to maximize the value of her governing power, cultivating lower-level guards was the best choice. Not only would they be able to play a greater role in the secret realm, but even if half of these seventy-odd guards could be promoted to the second rank, it would be enough to significantly enhance the national strength of Qi.

On the contrary, using it for second and third-level promotions will neither bring about a qualitative change nor increase their chances of promotion; at most, it can only serve as icing on the cake.

More importantly, what Ying Le can do does not mean that Ying Ru can do it.

In addition to training Bai Bao, Ying Ru Shi also spends half an hour every morning going out for free medical consultations.

Half an hour can only trigger the minimum level of the power to govern the world. According to the Thieves' Clan, this means increasing one's Qi and Blood, Spirit, and Dexterity by a little. But for ordinary people, increasing their Qi and Blood and Spirit by a little is enough to cure most of their diseases. Many frail and sickly elderly people or children don't even have any Qi and Blood at all.

Although she had to spend nearly six hours a day doing things that brought her no benefit, Ying Rushi felt more fulfilled than ever before. It was only through the opportunity of gaining the power to govern the world that Ying Rushi truly opened the door to the lower classes. In the past, although she pitied them, her mindset was one of superiority. She believed that she was of divine blood and had a responsibility to protect the people of Qi.

Only by getting to know Yingrushi can one discover that not all Baibao people are murderers. They also worry about their children and parents, and their greatest hope is to go home on their days off, warm a pot of wine, and talk to their wives. It turns out that people at the bottom of society do not live aimlessly. Even if they are poor or sick, they will live with great effort and find small happiness to hold onto in life.

Like a wreath in your hand, it may break with the slightest tug, but... why break it?

From a young age, Ying Rushi pondered the greater good of her country, the foundation of her nation, and the destiny of her family. She constantly thought about what she could do, and now she has finally found it—that is, to help others to the best of her ability.

Back at the mansion, Ying rubbed her eyes and checked the official documents and letters that had been delivered that day. She raised her eyebrows slightly when she saw one of them.

"Has Night Four already reached the second job advancement? And he's applied again to go to the second or third job advancement dungeon..."

The reason why Pingcheng Military Town opened its internal shopping channels to Ye Sijiang was because of Ying Rushi's suggestion. Otherwise, no matter how talented or accomplished the two of them were, they would not be qualified to access Qi's resources before the required number of years had passed.

It's not that Qi is unfair, but that they are too outrageous. They reached the second level in less than half a year. No country can possibly create a special upgrade system for such geniuses. They can only rely on benefactors to promote them... for example, Ying Rushi.

Yes, Ying Ru had already confirmed that the "Jiang Niang" in the Pingcheng military camp was the rising star "Jiang Shi" from Liang Kingdom. Second-tier advancement, swordsman, beautiful, and the timing of Jiang Shi's disappearance coinciding with Jiang Niang's appearance—others might not make this connection, but Ying Ru was most sensitive to numbers and names, and finding evidence with that answer in mind was naturally straightforward. For various reasons, Ying Ru hadn't met with them, nor had she promoted them. However, Ye Si had already reached second-tier advancement, and judging from the records, their recent raids on secret realms had clearly decreased, from a peak of five or six times to one or two. Either they were tired of it, or the Zhen San Shan secret realm had lost its value for them in terms of training.

If we continue to leave them, they might find other ways to leave on their own.

Yingru is not the only person who appreciates them.

Try to test Huang Quan during this mission. If you can confirm that he sent his men to Qi only for training and had no other purpose, Ying Rushi wouldn't mind giving them a helping hand.

Thinking of the yellow dog and the black wolf, Ying Rushi couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. This mission was already difficult enough, not only because the target was located in the heart of the military compound, but also because of interference from the constables of the Divine Marquis's Mansion. At this point, instead of being united, her teammates were even somewhat hostile... Ying Rushi felt that her journey as a thief was coming to an end.

But Ying Rushi felt a little strange.

Black Wolf could understand, because she believed the people in the prison were extremely important, but she didn't have the ability to break into the prison, so she could only rely on this mission. Ying Rushi would have done the same.

What should be incomprehensible is the yellow dog.

Based on the attitudes of Black Wolf and Yellow Dog, there is a conflict between them, an unresolved past, and the little girl in prison is very important to Yellow Dog—at least, Black Wolf thinks she is. So, normally Yellow Dog would either help Black Wolf or stand by indifferently; there's no reason for him to stop Black Wolf.

Black Wolf thought so too, which is why she was so confused when Yellow Dog threatened her with sabotaging the mission.

The first possibility is that the yellow dog was certain that the black wolf would tolerate it, which is why he was so forceful. He took this opportunity to suppress the black wolf's arrogance, thereby establishing their master-servant relationship and turning her into his obedient subordinate.

Given Huang Quan's control over his subordinates, he should be very skilled at this method.

Red Serpent seems to have already fallen for it, and firmly stands on Yellow Dog's side in the Thieves' House.

Ying Rushi wasn't afraid of Huang Quan vying for control, because it meant he still cared about the Thieves' House and wanted to complete the mission. The worst-case scenario was that Huang Quan would dominate the Thieves' House, and besides, Black Wolf should have suppressed him long ago.

What she was really worried about was another possibility—that for Yellow Dog, Black Wolf's life was indeed more important than the thieves' house.

As midnight approached, Ying Ru Shi donned her thief's outfit and white fox mask, and arrived at the thief's house with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

Whether the Thieves' House will disband or not depends on tonight's meeting.

She wasn't late, but everyone else had arrived before her. Yellow Dog sat in his seat, Red Snake stood beside him holding frisbees in both hands, and Black Wolf stood in front of him, looking down at him.

Ka!

Suddenly, Black Wolf pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the stone table. Just as Ying Rushi was about to shout, "Black Wolf, please don't fight!", Black Wolf pointed at the dagger and explained, "A rare and precious item, the Blood Sacrifice Dagger."

"After I cut a wound with the Blood Sacrifice Dagger, my blood will continuously increase the strength of the defensive token, which can reduce damage by up to 20%, and reduce non-direct damage such as fire, ice, corrosion and burn by up to 50%."

She lifted her robes, revealing exquisite plate armor underneath: "This is the best armor I could find. It won't melt even in lava, and it can buy me a few seconds before the armor turns into a branding iron."

"It's over," Ying thought to herself.

Black Wolf's attitude clearly indicated her determination to stick to her plan, and this setup did indeed have the potential to cross the lava river; such auxiliary tokens that could amplify defense were extremely rare. Having prepared so thoroughly in just a day and a half, if Yellow Dog still tried to stop her, she would definitely fight him to the death.

Unless Yellow Dog agrees, the Thieves' House will be disbanded tonight.

"You either agree to let me rescue Bunny Girl," Black Wolf issued his ultimatum, "or..."

Should we have a showdown? Should we start a fight? If we can see Bingzi Jiaolin display his power before the Thieves' House disbands, then this trip won't be in vain.

"Now take the Blood Sacrifice Dagger away and completely extinguish my hopes."

Black Wolf looked down at Yellow Dog: "This time, I'll listen to you."

(End of this chapter)