Scourge Messenger

Chapter 283 The Red Serpent's Time

As Yan Qing watched 'Yan Shiyi' disappear from the character list, he put down the game console and realized that he was covered in a light sweat.

I'm sweating from playing games.

He was prepared to suffer the consequences of his karmic debts from natural disasters. From the beginning, he knew this was destined to be a Don Quixote-like charge. Even in a game, let alone in reality, it's rare for a mortal to defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if a player could possess combat power comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the third job advancement stage, the problem is, Foundation Establishment cultivators aren't stupid; they'll run away.

Unless you can trap Foundation Establishment Messengers in a room like 'you can't leave without doing this,' forcing them to fight to the death until a winner is determined, as long as Foundation Establishment Messengers are focused on escaping, mortal messengers have no way to stop them.

A mortal messenger might be comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator in terms of attack and defense, but there's absolutely no way they could stop a Foundation Establishment cultivator's progress. Let alone between mortals and Foundation Establishment cultivators, even between Foundation Establishment cultivators, trapping an enemy is by no means easy.

Just look at Master Suolong and Master Dongshou; both of them possess supernatural powers that excel at control. However, the former's control is fixed-point and easy to evade; while the latter can create a barrier that seals off both the inside and outside, he cannot interfere with the inside of the barrier himself.

From the very beginning, Yan Qing knew he had no chance of success; just as everyone expected, death was his inevitable end. In fact, before leaving the Tombstone Mountain Secret Realm, Yan Qing had indeed considered whether to end it there. Although he spoke grandly, about fighting against tyranny and punishing a tyrant, Yan Qing knew very well that he destroyed the Tombstone Mountain Secret Realm for the sake of karmic retribution.

Now that the karmic debt from the natural disaster has been obtained and has caused trouble for Ying Le, why invite trouble upon oneself? At first, Yan Qing was indeed angry when he saw the atrocities committed by the Bai Bao Guards, but Ying Le killed Gai Louxian and Bu Liuguzhen's entire family, not his alternate account. No matter how angry he was, Yan Qing would forget about it after a few meals.

The campaign against Ying Le was bound to be a cost far outweighing the gains; it not only consumed resources but also consumed his life. For the past six days, Yan Qing had been fighting almost non-stop, even getting up to continue playing when he heard the alarm at night. If it weren't for this incident, what else could Yan Qing have done with those six days? He could have gone to Jiangnan City to invite Miss Shang Si and her best friend Qian Gongyu out for a meal.

But after much deliberation, Yan Qing still went ahead with it. Firstly, as Ying Rushi had said, even though Tombstone Mountain was the Ying family's secret realm, and even though it strengthened the power of the Hundred Guards, these evil spirits, destroying the Tombstone Mountain secret realm did indeed affect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. Yan Qing didn't feel he had done anything wrong, but feeling guilty was only natural. Therefore, he wanted to do something to compensate the people of this land, such as mobilizing the Qi army to do his best to stop Ying Le's atrocities.

Secondly, just as he said to Ying Rushi, he only sought to achieve a state of mind where he was happy. It was indeed a pity that he couldn't kill Ying Le after defeating a country's army in six days and six nights, but when he slapped Ying Le hard, Yan Qing felt as refreshed as drinking an ice-cold Coke in the sweltering heat of July, from his toes to the top of his head.

Hey!

The most surprising thing was that Ying Le didn't slap 'Yan Shiyi' to death. Instead, she used her supernatural powers to put 'Yan Shiyi' into a special state of [Charm]. Yan Qing was unable to perform any actions, so he quickly returned to the character selection screen and logged out of the character.

No matter how many supernatural powers you possess, they cannot overcome the number of days it takes for your account to be deleted!
Yan Qing had thought that he would lose at least 3 points of karmic debt due to death, but he successfully deleted the character and made up for the loss. In fact, Yan Qing even felt that he had made a profit.

However, there were many other losses. Repair tools needed to be restocked, and more importantly, after leaving the Pingcheng Secret Realm, the stock of white iron straight swords dropped sharply. Yan Qing had to consider buying some junk first-tier weapons to serve as offerings for Bingzi Jiaolin.

The only haul I've gotten so far is the tokens I've collected during my three trips to Qi. There are six items in total, ranging from rare to precious, and three of them are quite remarkable:

"Midas touch"

"Rank: Third-tier Rare"

Equipment requirement: 25 points of Divine Soul

"Effect: Gold Medal: Any weapon token you equip will have its base attack power and effects upgraded to the level of a third-tier rare item, and its durability consumption rate will be reduced by 50%."

"Review: All trash longs to kiss your hands."

/
"Leg Protector"

"Rank: Third-tier Rare"

Equipment requirements: 30 HP, 30 Dexterity

"Equipment effect: +5 Dexterity"

"Effect - Soaring Through the Wind: Your jumps allow you to briefly hover in the air, and you can even jump again using the wind. This effect consumes 5 points of spirit power and consumes 1 point of spirit power per second."

"Effect - Soaring: The effects of harsh terrain on you are reduced by 30%, and you can jump on any terrain."

"Evaluation: Untouched by cause and effect, detached from worldly affairs, each step a lotus blossom, this is what is meant by being detached from the world."

/
"Junyan's Wind Chimes"

Grade: Rare

"Effect: When you hit an enemy, there is a 5% chance to recover 5 points of spirit power."

"Use effect: Can be used on any weapon to gain an additional attack effect, which will be drawn from the three keywords 'explosion', 'fire', and 'wind damage'."

"Evaluation: The wind chime dropped by Junyan has a key inside the latch, which seems to be able to open a little-known secret realm."

The Midas Touch is undoubtedly a godsend for low-level lumberjacks. After all, the Bingzi Jiaolin sword can't be used casually on low-level characters. Low-level characters either need to use the Seven Steps of Buddhist Recitation or the Flame Pattern Seven Star Sword. With the Midas Touch, not only can the grade be increased, but the durability consumption can also be reduced. With this addition and subtraction, Yan Qing doesn't know how many repair items he can save.

The "Leg Protection" ability allows for airborne suspension and double jumps, and in certain situations, it can have unimaginable effects. Even disregarding its functionality, its entertainment value alone makes it worth keeping. Yan Qing plans to teleport to Jiangnan County on a nice day to experience the joy of soaring through the air.

Junyan's Wind Chime is an extremely rare mana-absorbing amulet. You can never have too many amulets, since they don't take up equipment slots. Besides these three items, the other items either have better alternatives or are simply unusable, so there's no need to keep them. I'll slowly sell them off through the Treasure Pavilion in a few days.

Looking at it this way, Yan Qing's six days weren't a complete loss after all; he gained at least three spoils that he was very satisfied with. But that's quite normal, after all, tokens collected by the Qi Kingdom through three generations must be among the most precious of treasures. To a messenger, a token is as valuable as a wife; how could their carefully chosen wife be anything less than exceptional? It's perfectly normal for Yan Qing to like them.

"It really is true that murder and arson bring wealth," Yan Qing thought to himself.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already gained the ability to hunt down third-tier messengers and seize their tokens. The entire Central Plains was his hunting ground, and unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator personally intervened, no one could restrain him. However, this campaign against Ying Le had exhausted his PvP energy. The high-intensity PvP left him no time to rest; Yan Qing had slept less than ten hours in the past six days. Although it was fun, it was also incredibly tiring. He'd consider PvP again when someone angered him again, or when he was completely exhausted from dungeon runs.

Yan Qing stretched and looked at the time; it was almost evening. Suddenly remembering something, she casually put on her mask, pushed open the door, and went out.

The thieves' hall was quiet. On the stone table sat three plaques: [Black Wolf], [Red Serpent], and [Yellow Dog]. All the plaques were face down. Yan Qing turned his plaque over and glanced at the other two. They were still in the same positions as six days ago, meaning that Red Serpent and Black Wolf hadn't eaten or trained together for the past six days.

Because communication is difficult, even if a dinner is arranged for tomorrow, something might come up at the last minute, so this simple means of communication was set up. If the sign is flipped over, it means you can have dinner tomorrow; if it's covered up, it means you won't be coming tomorrow. Since embarking on the expedition to defeat Ying Le, Yan Qing has been squeezing in time to eat and relieve himself for the past six days, so naturally he hasn't had time to eat or train with Black Wolf and Red Serpent.

He hadn't expected that if he didn't come, the other two wouldn't come either. What, do these pretty girls not need to eat or poop?
I should spend more time at the Thieves' House now...

So you were still alive!

Yan Qing turned around and saw Shang Xinlei coming out of the room, her face darkening: "Your way of greeting people is really quite elegant. Do you usually talk to your father like this?"

"You're not my father."

"I could be the one."

"Get lost!"

Shang Xinlei walked over with a smile, flipped over the "Red Serpent" sign, and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Yan Qing thought for a moment: "Hot pot lamb?"

"...That won't do."

"Why not? Do you not have lamb or sauce?"

"Anyway, you can't. You can eat this the day after tomorrow, but not tomorrow."

"How about I order a table of dishes from Chef God Restaurant tomorrow?" Yan Qing rubbed his chin. "It's been a long time since I've had a Dragon and Phoenix Feast."

Shang Xinlei pursed her lips, staring intently at Yan Qing, and stopped giggling.

"The Dragon and Phoenix Feast can be eaten the day after tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Why do you have so many questions? Aside from the Dragon and Phoenix Feast and hot pot, don't you want to eat anything else?"

"But these are the only two things I could think of for the moment. Besides, wouldn't hot pot and a dragon and phoenix feast be good? They're delicious and you won't have to go through the trouble. It's been six days since we last ate together—"

"I don't find it troublesome at all!"

Upon hearing this, both Shang Xinlei and Yan Qing were taken aback. She looked down at the plaque on the stone table, pretending not to say anything, but the tips of her jade-like ears were clearly flushed red, like cinnabar on rice paper.

"Forget it, let's just have hot pot then. All we do all day is eat."

“You were the one who asked me what I wanted to eat…” Yan Qing tilted her head: “Well, I want to eat pan-fried stuffed green peppers, pan-fried stuffed tofu, and salt-baked chicken tomorrow.”

"Didn't you want to eat hot pot?" Shang Xinlei glanced at him, her eyes filled with resentment.

"I haven't been eating or sleeping well these past few days. Hot pot is a bit too stimulating. Let's eat some home-cooked dishes to calm our stomachs first," Yan Qing said. "What, you don't want to cook? Don't forget I'm your creditor now. If I tell you to cook a few dishes, you have to cook them."

Shang Xinlei snorted twice and said in a disdainful tone, "Fine, fine." She lowered her head, her fingertips tracing the [Yellow Dog] token on the stone table, moving them back and forth as if she didn't recognize the two characters.

"See you tomorrow at noon."

"You're going back already?"

"Otherwise what?" Yan Qing was taken aback. "Is there anything else?"

Shang Xinlei thought for a moment, then said, "Wait a minute." She quickly returned to her room and soon came back with pastries and tea.

Yan Qing looked at the milky white snowflakes on the plate. "Did you make these?"

"Of course not, I haven't learned how to make pastries yet. This is a snow skin mooncake sent from home, it's very delicious, you should try it." Shang Xinlei moved a chair next to Yan Qing, sat down and poured two cups of hot tea. The cups were ceramic cups with bamboo patterns on the outside, quite elegant. "Snow skin mooncakes can't be stored for too long, and they can get cloying if you eat too much. Since you can eat so much, you should eat more."

Although there were no bandages, eating a pastry was not difficult; one could simply stuff the pastry into the mask, so Yan Qing did not refuse.

Yan Qing curiously picked up a piece and tasted it. It was very sweet and glutinous, and a sip of hot tea was just right to cleanse the palate, making it perfect for afternoon tea. There were also shops selling pastries in Jiangnan County, but Yan Qing never bought any. Desserts were not his cup of tea. He was the kind of person who would only eat savory zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), but the young lady's treat was a different story.

"Why aren't you eating?" Yan Qing noticed that Shang Xinlei was only staring at him and immediately became alert: "Did you put an aphrodisiac on me?"

(End of this chapter)