Scourge Messenger

Chapter 220 Power
He can't just watch me go to my death, can he?

After returning, the pharmacist kept thinking about that sentence. When he passed by the training dolls in the yard, he suddenly punched through the refined iron until he completely shattered the defensive barrier. He didn't even care much about the founding announcement of the natural disaster organization.

How dare she say that... How dare he think that!

The pharmacist felt he had been fooled by the two despicable people, Red Serpent and Yellow Dog. It was clearly Yellow Dog who refused to use the Return Order to save people, it was clearly him who wanted to abandon Bunny Girl, it was clearly him who was weak and heartless, yet he hypocritically claimed it was to prevent me from dying? Did he think he could appease me with such a reason now?
Although she desperately wanted to drag the yellow dog out and give it a good beating, there were only three days left before the mission began, and only a day and a half before the next meeting. Pharmacist Yuan certainly wouldn't listen to the yellow dog's threats, but time was of the essence; she had to hurry and prepare for the rescue.

So she went directly to the Chang'an Military Government.

"The Duke of Jin has arrived! All irrelevant persons, please make way!"

With gongs and drums leading the way and officers accompanying her, the current Pharmacist Yuan is no longer the nobody in Chang'an she used to be. She is a genuine Duke of Jin, one of the Six Pillars of State, and a Foundation Establishment seed personally selected by Master Suolong. Even the emperor has to come out of the city to welcome her. Her visit to the Chang'an Military Government cannot be considered a visit, but rather a leadership inspection!

The Chang'an Military Government directly assigned a senior general, a third-rank general, to be Yao Shiyuan's guide. It was said that he had been teaching in the military government for twenty years. Accompanying him was a group of young officers, each of whom was young, handsome, tall, and imposing. Their eyes were full of longing as they looked at Yao Shiyuan.

"To be able to change jobs three times at such a young age, truly worthy of the bloodline of the pharmacist family!"

"Could it be that some secret realms are particularly suitable for honing skills?"

"I've heard that the Duke of Jin is also a third-level master of spear techniques. I would be very grateful if he could give me some pointers!"

Yaoshi Yuan was originally a third-stage cultivator specializing in Qi and Blood, and after absorbing the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends in the Shu Dao Mountain, her Qi and Blood had reached the peak of the mortal world. Ordinary people would feel physiological fear just by seeing her, like a small animal encountering an invincible natural enemy. But in the messenger's eyes, Yaoshi Yuan was simply like the sun walking on the earth. Even though she didn't have a muscular physique, just being within five steps of her could make one feel her surging Qi and Blood, and even their heartbeats would synchronize.

It was like a fighting game player meeting a fighting game champion, or a gym pro meeting a fitness guru. Plus, the pharmacist was there for an inspection, so these second-tier officers naturally couldn't contain their excitement and went up to ask for guidance.

This was exactly what Yaoshi Yuan wanted to know. She wasn't the type to be a teacher, but these officers were all promising talents. They could produce immediate results with just a few pointers, giving Yaoshi Yuan a great sense of satisfaction in showing off her skills in front of others.

When she arrived at the Hundred Refinement Hall in the center of the military headquarters, she already had some understanding of this group of second-level officers, and the old general who was leading the way nodded to her.

When they learned that the Duke of Jin would be coming to the military headquarters for an inspection that afternoon, no one knew how to receive him, fearing that they might offend this Foundation Establishment seed. It was only after someone from the palace came and advised them to select a group of young talents with aspirations for martial arts.

When Yaoshi Yuan became a wanted criminal, the imperial court had already thoroughly investigated her background, including that she specially selected and trained people from the families of the imperial guards to form her own underground organization, the Embroidered Uniform Guard; that she, as the daughter of a duke, secretly cultivated to the third level of cultivation; that Yaoshi Moke had recruited many young talents for her to choose a husband but she didn't like any of them; that she never participated in gatherings of aristocratic families; and so on. The imperial court then roughly understood Yaoshi Yuan's interests and hobbies: she liked martial arts, admired talented people, disliked romance and extravagance, and was proud and self-important.

This information, originally intended to scheme against her, still held immense significance after the pharmacist returned home in glory—it was used to curry favor with her.

Master Suolong has never personally selected a Foundation Establishment seed; Yaoshiyuan is the only one in the past hundred years.

Although it's not certain that Master Suolong's approval will lead to success, what if it does?
As everyone knows, apart from the oddball Ying Le of Qi, most Foundation Establishment cultivators live in seclusion in the fourth-stage secret realm. Even for an emperor, meeting a Foundation Establishment cultivator is extremely difficult. In other words, the only opportunity to curry favor with Yao Shiyuan is during her third-stage cultivation period.

There is no more worthwhile investment than this; this friendship could even become the foundation for many people's livelihood after Yaoshi Yuan reaches the Foundation Establishment stage. Yaoshi Yuan also vaguely realized this, because when she came to the Hundred Refinements Institute, she expressed her need for a well-fitting full-body Vajra Armor and gave the following instructions: the defensive performance must be thick enough, but also light; it must be fully enclosed, but also allow for easy movement; it must be exquisitely crafted, but must be completed as soon as possible.

Despite the demanding nature of the task, the head craftsman of the Hundred Refinements Workshop still patted his chest and guaranteed to complete it, saying it would only take two hours to build. Immediately afterward, all the craftsmen in the Hundred Refinements Workshop stopped their other work and prioritized serving the Medicine Master's Vajra Armor.

You should know that when she bought a set of standard Vajra Armor for the upper body, she waited a full two months! And that was only because she was the daughter of a Duke. Ordinary second-level messengers would have to wait at least a year to buy Vajra Armor!
During his inspection of the military headquarters, Yaoshi asked if Commander Li Long was present. The old general shook his head regretfully, explaining that General Li only returned at night and was usually out during the day. However, Deputy Commander 'Hundred-Crack Blade' Yu Xun was on duty, and was also a capable third-level messenger. Yaoshi could inform him if he wanted to meet with him.

It was only then that the pharmacist learned that the military government actually had a commander and a deputy commander, and that at least one of them would be on duty.

As for the secret realm next to Li Long's room, Yaoshi didn't ask, nor was there any need to.

The fact that the two third-level messengers preferred to guard the entrance to the secret realm in shifts around the clock rather than entrust the security of the entrance to others shows the importance and privacy of the dungeon secret realm. It may even be that the Foundation Establishment Realm Master personally ordered it, and asking about it would only alert the enemy.

And what's the point of asking questions? Once you go in, it's either to seize treasure or rescue people; there's no room for maneuver. You can only grip your weapon and fight your way through.

When the pharmacist returned to the mansion with the newly forged full-body Vajra Armor, a group of palace servants were already waiting in the front hall.

They brought three rare and precious tokens of the third rank and a list of tokens, indicating that the apothecary could choose any one of them. However, only these three could be taken immediately, and the other rare and precious tokens would have to wait a little while.

The pharmacist took the list of tokens and saw that it was full of rare and precious tokens, with only a very few rare tokens of the third rank listed at the end.

She noticed a problem halfway through reading: "If I remember correctly, the Killing Intent Gauntlets are Commander Li Long's token, right? Does the court have another pair of Killing Intent Gauntlets?"

The palace attendant shook his head: "No, the Killing Intent Gauntlets on the list belong to Commander Li Long. But if the Duke of Jin wants them, the court can help exchange them for him."

"But how could Commander Li Long possibly agree to exchange it?" the Pharmacist asked curiously. "Even I know the story of how he upgraded a first-rank ordinary gauntlet to a third-rank rare treasure. The Killing Intent Gauntlet has been with him for over thirty years. To him, this token is more intimate than family... What conditions would the court have to offer to exchange his Killing Intent Gauntlet?"

The reason why the pharmacist was so clear was because Li Long was the hero she admired when she was a child.

Born into a prestigious family, she was devoted to martial arts. After undergoing trials and tribulations, she refined her token, narrowly defeated Ying Le, and then made a comeback. Yao Shiyuan grew up listening to stories of Li Long. To her, Li Long was a legendary messenger of the Zhou Kingdom. It was even because of Li Long's influence that Yao Shiyuan spent so much time and energy refining her Mingwang Armor.

She had already made up her mind that even if she obtained a more suitable counter-attack token in the future, Ming Wang Jia would treasure it. She might not even be willing to sell it or pass it on to her children.

The second-tier rare Mingwang Armor is already so highly valued by the pharmacist, so the third-tier rare Killing Intent Gauntlets must be so precious that even a slight damage to them would make Li Long feel heartbroken for a long time.
"Your Excellency is too kind," the palace attendant said with a fawning smile, bowing slightly. "This was a promise personally made by the Bodhisattva. Since you value the Killing Intent Gauntlets, it is an honor for Commander Li Long. How could he possibly refuse?"

(End of this chapter)