Scourge Messenger

Chapter 237 Crisis
Yan Qing crashed heavily onto the roof tiles, vaguely hearing someone inside being woken up and cursing in a fit of morning grumpiness. But he had no time to pay attention to such trivial matters, because the Pharmacist was bound in golden locks right before his eyes.

As he shouted "Watch out!", Yaoshi rushed over and kicked Yan Qing away. Shang Xinlei, who was further ahead, also dodged, but at the cost of Yaoshi running into the golden lock and losing his last chance to escape.

Her hands and waist were tightly bound by golden locks, the other end of which was a rare iron suspended in mid-air. No matter how hard the pharmacist tried, she could not break free or even take a single step away. The rare iron was like an iron pillar fixed in the air, and she was like a wolf caught in a trap!

clang!clang!clang!
Without any hesitation, everyone drew their weapons and stepped forward. Bingzi Jiaolin, Wukonglun, and Yitianjian, the three legendary tokens, attacked the golden chain between Qizhen Iron and Yaoshiyuan together. But even though their hands went numb from the blows, the chain showed no signs of wear. The dazzling golden light illuminated these dark-skinned thieves, like the blazing sun mocking the provocation of rats in a sewer.

“Master Suolong’s backup plan.” Yan Qing’s face was extremely ugly: “She’s definitely not in Chang’an City, otherwise she would have come directly here… How could she have a way to trigger the trap in the rare iron from such a distance?”

Does the game really have trap skills with such a long range? From a gameplay perspective, such skills are completely meaningless.

“There’s another way.” Ying Rushi reached out and grabbed the rare iron. The next second, the rare iron disappeared, but the golden lock on Yaoshi Yuan’s body was still there, only now it was connected to the ring on Ying Rushi’s hand.

Even rare iron can be stored in a storage ring!
Just as hope was beginning to rise in everyone's hearts, the storage ring shattered in the next second, and the rare iron reappeared in mid-air, along with the chains that popped out again!
Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei were far away and were fine, but Qizhen Iron was right in front of Ying Rushi. Even though she dodged very quickly, her left hand was still bound and she couldn't break free!
Thinking about it carefully, it's pretty stupid. The Pharmacist Yuan just fell into the same trap, and Ying Ru Shi actually dared to replicate it. It's like two wild beasts stepping into the same trap one after another... But she was unwilling to give up without trying. What if the trap on the rare iron could only be triggered once? However, as the price of the gamble, Ying Ru Shi paid the price of her freedom.

"Yellow dog, red snake."

The pharmacist suddenly spoke, and even though her upper body was bound by golden locks and she had no room to struggle, her voice was very calm.

"You all hide and see how things go."

“That’s right.” Ying Rushi nodded in agreement. “We’re basically helpless against these chains and rare iron. Our only chance to break this deadlock is to wait until the enemy runs out of spiritual energy. It’s probably not midnight yet, we still have half an hour!”

“The commotion here is too obvious; messengers from Chang’an will soon gather here.” Ying Rushi looked at the lights gradually illuminating the market in the distance: “If you still want to complete the mission, help us buy some time, or… just abandon the mission altogether.”

Yan Qing remained silent, his mind racing through the game knowledge he possessed. Although he didn't know what ability it was, judging from the golden lock, it was definitely the divine power of the Dragon-Locking Immortal.

Activating supernatural powers from such a distance must consume unimaginable amounts of energy. However, 'activation consumption' and 'maintenance consumption' are not the same thing. Does the Dragon Locking Master consume spiritual energy to maintain the golden lock?

It's possible, but it's also possible that it's not. After all, everyone saw that in the dungeon, Master Suolong used the Golden Lock to imprison the Rabbit Girl. Therefore, her Golden Lock is either permanently activated or can only be permanently activated under certain conditions. Temporary activation requires consuming spiritual energy to maintain.

But even for the latter, will the maintenance costs skyrocket as the distance increases?

Yan Qing had long sensed that some of the game's convenient features would have terrifying effects in reality. He wouldn't be surprised if Master Suolong's long-range activation didn't incur any extra costs. At that moment, Shang Xinlei tugged at his sleeve. Yan Qing turned and saw the distant streets illuminated by lights, with a flurry of approaching footsteps. And it wasn't just one place; there were signs of garrison troops moving from the east, west, and south.

The massive war machine of the Chang'an Military Government was in full swing, and the city of Chang'an was ignited by their anger and fear. The soldiers were forming a huge encirclement. They would never let the assassin who killed Li Long go, otherwise, as soon as dawn broke, everyone in the Chang'an Military Government would become a disgrace to the Zhou Kingdom... Although it was already a disgrace, the assassination of the commander in the main city's military government was unprecedented, not only in the Zhou Kingdom, but even in the entire Central Plains.

They called it a delaying tactic, but how could they delay when surrounded by tens of thousands of ambushers? Black Wolf and White Fox couldn't move; a single volley from the enemy would be enough to dislodge ninety pounds of iron arrowheads from their hundred-pound bodies. They had anticipated this, and their eyes beneath their masks revealed a resigned will to die.

Is this the end? The thought crossed Yaoshi Yuan's mind.

She never stopped moving forward in her entire life. As a child, she was forced by her father to practice martial arts. As she grew older, she refused to admit that she was weaker than her relatives. As an adult, she couldn't stand her father's perverse ways. After so many things happened, she couldn't stop even more. If she stopped, it would mean the decline of the Ba Shui Pharmacist family. If she stopped, it would mean betraying the trust of the Rabbit Heroine.

Sometimes, the apothecary would hear Wuqiu and Shidong discussing that although her strength was still nothing in the world, she was already at the pinnacle of the mortal realm. The maids all felt that the apothecary could live a peaceful and joyful life without any problem. They didn't understand why the young lady just wouldn't stop and enjoy the romance of life.

The pharmacist, Yuan, also appreciates beautiful things, longs to lazily bask in the sun, and desires to dress up nicely. But even more, she yearns to control her own destiny. She never wants to experience helplessness again, so she grits her teeth and perseveres. This relentless struggle is exhausting; now she can finally breathe a sigh of relief, because this is her predicament.

She will not be caught, and even for the sake of the people in the Duke of Jin's mansion, she will die as Black Wolf.

After figuring out my own ending, I felt unexpectedly relaxed, as if I were about to embark on a long vacation.

Opening his eyes, Yaoshi Yuan saw Yan Qing and the other person still standing there motionless, and he couldn't help but get angry. He shouted, "Yellow Dog, aren't you the most rational person? You can even abandon your sister, what are you hesitating for? Are you going to say a few words of comfort to us before leaving? If you're this hypocritical, I'll throw up. If you're any later, you might—"

"Don't make any noise!"

This was the first time that Yaoshi Yuan had been yelled at like that. Surprisingly, she wasn't angry; instead, she felt a surge of grievance.

I wouldn't bother with anyone else, but I only reminded you a couple of times because you're Bunny Girl's brother, and you actually yelled at me? Since it won't change the outcome anyway, what are you doing here? You'll have to give up in the end, won't you? Don't you understand what kind of kind words are?
But when she met Yan Qing's gaze, Yao Shiyuan was slightly taken aback. Because the eyes behind the dog-head mask did not reveal a trace of fear, unease, or cowardice, only a confident air of having everything under control.

"Keep quiet while I'm thinking." Yan Qing took a deep breath, looked at the rare iron floating in mid-air, and reached out his hand.

(End of this chapter)