Scourge Messenger

Chapter 227 Chu Luoyan

After breaking through the wall into the secret room behind the bookshelf, the thieves immediately realized they had been exposed: a mechanism in the ceiling had caused it to fall down.

This mechanism consisted of only one wooden pole, fixed at the top to a roof beam and with a pivot for rotation. Something was probably tied to the bottom. When Li Long rang the alarm bell, the entire house shook, which also snapped the suspension wire of the wooden pole mechanism. Then, like a swing falling from a high point, it stopped at the lowest point, and the thing tied to the bottom flew into the secret realm.

It was a very simple mechanism, yet it caused them to fail at the last minute. Because the wooden pole was perfectly fitted to the roof beam, Yan Qing and his team couldn't see anything wrong even after studying the model for three days, and they all assumed it was part of the roof beam.

They traversed the complex and vast military compound, passing through hundreds of eyes, but their greatest enemies were the alarm bells and wooden poles; the simpler the mechanism, the fewer loopholes there were to exploit.

But there is still a chance. Since Li Long is stalling for time, it means that even if the dungeon secret realm is prepared, it will take time to activate!
The pharmacist was the first to step into the secret realm. As soon as he entered, he saw a jailer who seemed to want to leave the secret realm to check the situation outside. He never expected that a mysterious person wearing a black wolf mask would run out of the entrance of the secret realm... so he died.

The Seven Star Sword appears, slaying heads!
Yan Qing's first impression upon entering the secret realm was heat, and her second impression was dryness. It was like having a stove on in the winter night, with moisture evaporating and escaping quickly. If she stayed there for too long, her lips would seem to chapped.

"Hey, what are you doing—" When the thieves entered the secret realm and even killed one of them, the top-level jailers seemed confused. They even wanted to come over and question them. Staying in this isolated place, surrounded only by their colleagues and prisoners who could be beaten and scolded by them, even though the environment was poor, there was almost no pressure. It was as comfortable as an ivory tower. It was an unavoidable side effect that these jailers' adaptability had decreased.

Since the guards' rest area was on the top floor, and with Li Long's advance warning, most of the guards gathered to see what was going on. However, most of them were still asleep, and some were even drinking. There were very few sober people.

But by the time the thieves rushed over and killed the two men, even a pig would realize something was wrong.

"It's an intruder!"

"Quickly, sound the alarm!"

"Don't run! There are only three of them. If we just gather together—oh my!"

The dozen or so jailers immediately scattered in all directions. They had no choice but to run. They had absolutely no spiritual power left. Who would think they would be in danger in a place like this? There were powerful experts at the third level guarding the outside, and the entire Chang'an Military Prefecture protecting them. Wouldn't it be better for them to save some spiritual jade and go out for a vacation?
So the result was that eight people were killed by the thieves, and the jailer, who hadn't even set up a defensive barrier, was completely powerless to fight back!
Having scattered the jailers, the thieves wasted no time chasing them. As they approached the center of the dungeon, Yan Qing understood why the jailers' quarters were on the top floor: it was too hot. When the flames roared below, the temperature in the center clearly rose several degrees. If even the top floor was this hot, one could only imagine how unbearable it was down below. It reminded Yan Qing of Guangzhou in June or July; this dungeon was almost as scorching as that hellhole.

"What..." The first second that the pharmacist looked down from the edge, she didn't even have time to fully express her astonishment before she jumped off, as if she would miss her chance to be reincarnated if she was a second late.

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei were taken aback, but when Yan Qing peeked out, he understood why the pharmacist was in such a hurry—the dungeon was closing!

In the center of the dungeon hung two massive ebony slabs, their rough, solemn patterns reminiscent of the decorations they had noticed while examining the sand table. They had assumed these were original features of the dungeon. Now, it became clear that the ebony slabs were indeed part of the dungeon, but not as decoration; they were actually large doors separating the upper and lower levels!
They didn't know how the two doors worked; they only saw them rumbling as they were lifted, with scorching flames escaping only through the cracks. But soon those cracks would close completely!

In a flash, Yan Qing made a decision: "Red Serpent, go and block the entrance, and find a way to open this door!" With that, he leaped into the air. Shang Xinlei peeked out and almost couldn't suppress his voice—just as Yan Qing jumped down, the Ebony Rock door was about to close completely, and he was almost crushed to death by the two doors!

madman!

Aren't you a cowardly and selfish guy? How come you're so brave now, jumping down with Black Wolf!

Shang Xinlei cursed inwardly. For a moment, she didn't know whether she hated Yan Qing for chasing after Black Wolf or for abandoning her... or both.

Suddenly, a lively commotion arose nearby. She turned her head and saw that the prison guards who had just scattered had picked up their weapons and raised a defensive barrier after absorbing the spirit jade. They seemed to be looking for an opportunity to ambush Shang Xinlei or leave the secret realm, but how could the prisoners on the lower level, who had been awakened by the noise, miss such a good show? The prisoners shouted and yelled, like animals locked in a cage, waiting for those outside to present them with a bloody performance.

"Both of your companions jumped down." The warden led his men to surround them, twirling an iron chain in his left hand and wielding a rare longsword in his right. "If you know what's good for you, get out of the way... or choose to die here!"

The clanking of chains was incessant; the jailers here almost all used chains, a peculiar weapon, because they needed to punish disobedient prisoners through the cell doors. These flexible, long weapons had a significant advantage: they allowed for coordinated attacks in group fights, eliminating the risk of friendly fire. After replenishing their spiritual energy and gripping their weapons tightly, the jailers reverted to the ferocious guards they had seen in the sand table. In just three days of observation, Shang Xinlei and her companions had witnessed these jailers whipping at least two prisoners to death. It's important to understand that prisoners in this dungeon were subjected to extremely intense daily labor; even those who weren't first-tier messengers were certainly proficient in basic martial arts techniques. The fact that even such vigorous individuals could be whipped to death demonstrates the jailers' extreme cruelty.

Shang Xinlei wasn't trying to plead for the prisoners; she had no interest in or desire to understand why these people had been imprisoned to be used as cogs in a hammer. But if it came to killing these prison guards, she naturally felt no psychological pressure.

“Perfect.” Shang Xinlei flicked her hands, and the legendary flying rings spun around her like living sprites. “I also want to test the power of the Dancing Sky Wheel… and my own capacity!”

……

...

Yan Qing landed steadily on the ground like a superhero making his entrance. That's the advantage of the Mountain-Protective Mirror; it's almost immune to the kinetic energy impact of the environment. Upon reaching the bottom, the environment was still far harsher than Yan Qing had imagined. His defensive barrier was already showing slight ripples—the heat here had reached levels that would cause environmental damage!

He looked up and saw that the Pharmacist was confronting four strangers, with the Earth Flame Pool behind them.

These four strangers were all wearing six-combination boots, Di Ting robes, and hairpin-tasseled crowns. The difference was that the three behind wore bronze badges and waist tokens, while the one in front wore a silver badge and waist token.

Despite being so close to the Earth Flame Pool, they showed no sign of anything amiss, staring indifferently at Yan Qing and Yao Shiyuan. The Silver Badge Constable produced a wanted poster from somewhere, unfolding it to read: "Wanted: Yellow Dog, bounty 120,000 spirit jades; Wanted: Black Wolf, bounty 140,000 spirit jades."

After the second case, their bounties changed, with the White Fox now in first place and the Red Serpent remaining in fourth.

"The Divine Constable's Office has ordered that the suspect be escorted back to the manor." Constable Silver Badge put away the wanted poster and drew his long sword: "Everyone, draw your swords."

"Draw your swords!" the constables shouted in unison.

Yan Qing sighed. Even with their hurried pace, they hadn't managed to obtain the rare iron before the Divine Marquis's constables arrived. It seemed this battle was inevitable. Although two against four was a bit of a stretch, their tokens and combat prowess should be sufficient.

Bang!

Suddenly, the sound of steel being broken rang out from behind. Yan Qing and Yao Shiyuan turned their heads at the same time and saw an old man with white hair breaking out of the cell on his own.

Although the dungeon has many cells, prisoners are almost exclusively held at the top, as the environment worsens the deeper you go—the constantly bleeding defensive barrier on Yan Qing's body is the best proof of this. However, a prisoner lives in the lowest cell. No one knows why he's imprisoned there, but since he's a prisoner, there's no need to worry. After all, if he can leave the cell, why would he obediently stay in the closest place to hell and suffer day and night?
That's true.

The white-haired old man conjured a long spear gleaming with golden light, and a defensive barrier rose around him, instantly completing his full armor. His eyes, filled with excitement and madness, glared at Yan Qing and Yao Shiyuan, like a desperate soul in hell suddenly seeing a spider's thread leading to a pure land.

"Thieves' family... Bingzi Jiaolin... You two petty thieves, how dare you steal the treasures of the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva!" He suddenly burst into laughter: "Heaven has been kind to me, Heaven has been kind to me! I actually have a chance to rise again! Capture you, and the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva will definitely be satisfied with this merit of atonement!"

"Old man, you actually offended a Foundation Establishment cultivator? And you're still alive?" Yan Qing raised an eyebrow. "How did you do that?"

"Offend? I only killed one less person, which led to the complete defeat." The white-haired old man let out a long howl, then said coldly:

"Remember this well, you thieves! The one who captured you is none other than this old man, Chu Luoyan!"

(End of this chapter)