Scourge Messenger

Chapter 285 Interlude
The next morning, Yan Qing only sent Niu Xianke to buy breakfast and didn't turn on the game console again.

There's a little story behind it.

The headmaster of the Badao Martial Arts School, where Niu Xianke works, is seriously ill and his disciples have almost all left, leaving only the headmaster's daughter and Niu Xianke. To make matters worse, the Jiangnan Martial Arts Tournament, held every five years, is about to begin. This is not only a stage to make a name for oneself, but also a brutal elimination tournament. Opening a martial arts school in Jiangnan County requires a "Martial Arts Token," which can only be obtained by occupying a place in the top 64 of the tournament. The tournament is a five-person elimination tournament. Although the headmaster's daughter is a second-level martial artist and is considered strong among the younger generation, it is clear that she cannot achieve anything in the tournament on her own.

Last night, the young master of Lingdong Martial Arts School, one of the top five martial arts schools in Jiangnan County, came to our door with his men, saying they were willing to send someone to join Badao Martial Arts School as a substitute fighter, but on the condition that the school owner's daughter marry him and hand over the martial arts school's land deed. The school owner's daughter refused, and the two sides argued, eventually escalating into a conflict. When Yan Qingqie arrived, he didn't know what had happened, only that a massacre was about to begin.

If the owner's daughter hadn't held onto Niu Xianke so tightly at the last moment, those guys wouldn't have just had their arms and legs broken. Yan Qing, who had just returned from studying in Qi, was still processing what had happened.

Having offended Lingdong Martial Arts School, and with the school owner's daughter pleading with him, Niu Xianke signed up for this year's Jiangnan Martial Arts School Heroes Tournament. However, because Niu Xianke hadn't ventured into the secret realm and had been training only in the county town, he had only reached the first level so far. Therefore, the school owner's daughter planned to give him special training.

Speaking of which, the owner's daughter is quite pretty... what's her name again?

It's just a minor side quest; you can always clear the Heroes' Gathering later. Yan Qing didn't pay much attention to it, preferring to read more of the novel.

Yes, Yan Qing has been reading novels since last night. As mentioned before, thanks to the boundless resources of the secret realm, ordinary people in this world also have the energy to pursue higher levels of spiritual enjoyment, with all sorts of entertainment emerging endlessly, including brothels and entertainment venues. However, Yan Qing disliked messy places even before transmigrating, and naturally disliked them even more after transmigrating, so she bought a few novels to read.

This is one of the rare advantages of time travel: an entire world of entertainment products are available for him, enough to keep him entertained for years.

The novel Yan Qing is currently reading is called "Yuanshi Daozun". Although even Foundation Establishment cultivators are rare in the Central Plains, they are not unfamiliar with the higher-level messenger ranks: four stages to Foundation Establishment, seven stages to Ascension, and nine stages to Venerable. "Yuanshi Daozun" tells the story of the first nine-stage Venerable in ancient times.

I don’t know if it really is the Nine Revolutions, but before Yan Qing transmigrated, the highest level of the Messenger was only the Great True Monarch level 89.

However, according to Yan Qing's estimation, apart from the name, the rest of the book should be pure fan fiction with no historical basis whatsoever. It's well-written; the young protagonist fights against heaven and earth to protect humanity after discovering a secret realm, encountering many beautiful women and experiencing numerous romances along the way. The writing is incredibly vivid, and it would make a very interesting read as material for spellcasting.

This wasn't the first book Yan Qing had read, but he noticed a peculiar phenomenon: most popular books featured multiple female leads. That wasn't so bad, though; the problem was that the protagonists were either constantly cultivating and adventuring, or taking time for romantic moments with the female leads. It was quite enjoyable to read, but thinking about it carefully, their lives seemed incredibly tiring, with almost no time for rest.

As for Yan Qing, let alone cultivation, even after playing games for six days straight until he was sick of it, he still needed to read novels for two days to recover. Effort was out of the question; his entire life depended on his alt account carrying Garlic Bird.

But thinking about it carefully, Black Wolf and White Fox are probably the type of protagonists in novels, spending all their time cultivating or running dungeons, always wanting to become even stronger, and not wasting time on personal hobbies. Only Shang Xinlei is similar to him, occasionally slacking off, but often...

I need to find some time to give Shang Xinlei a good beating. I'm the real slacker in the Thieves' House, and none of you are!
Seeing that it was almost time, Yan Qing finished bandaging herself and went out, just in time to see Yao Shiyuan coming out from across the street. As always, she was dressed in a tight-fitting Taoist uniform, which fully highlighted her breathtaking figure, but Yan Qing knew that there was a simple half-body armor in her storage ring. This set of clothing allowed her to put on the armor and complete her armor in just three breaths.

The pharmacist looked over, his eyes filled with surprise.

So you're still alive!

Yan Qing felt like the veins on his forehead were about to pop out. He turned to look at Shang Xinlei, who was bringing out the dishes. Did you two plan this? Or is this some kind of trendy way of greeting? Or am I getting lividity?

Shang Xinlei stuck out her tongue and secretly ate a shrimp ball.

"I heard that the descendants of a natural disaster in Qi are causing trouble. Is it related to you?" Although it was a question, Yaoshi Yuan's tone was very certain.

"A human descendant of a natural disaster?" Shang Xinlei asked in surprise, "Like a little rabbit?" Yan Qing wasn't surprised that Yaoshi Yuan knew. Six days had passed; the news should have reached other countries by now. Unlike Shang Xinlei, who was a freeloader, Yaoshi Yuan held a high position and wielded power in Zhou Kingdom, comparable to the emperor. She had people who would compile and report various information to her. It wasn't that Shang Xinlei couldn't know; her father certainly knew. But who would willingly tell a lovely, peaceful young lady of the Shang family about the emergence of terrorists in Qi Kingdom?

"Don't worry, it's not Bunny Girl."

"is it you?"

Yan Qing thought for a moment: "I guess so." There's no need to treat small accounts like Yan Shiyi, who are destined to be given away, as subordinates. To outsiders, just say that they are his clones.

"what?"

A gentle breeze swept by, and in the blink of an eye, the Pharmacist Yuan strode over a dozen steps to stand before Yan Qing, staring intently at him: "You're alright? I heard that Qi mobilized nearly two hundred thousand troops. You haven't shown up for six days, and I was worried..."

"Don't worry, I only acted when I was absolutely certain, and it's already over." Yan Qing paused, unable to suppress his urge to show off, and awkwardly boasted, "And it wasn't just 200,000 troops; even Ying Le was involved, but she couldn't do anything to me, and I even slapped her—"

Whew. The pharmacist reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, her high ponytail brushing against his face, the wine-red ends swaying gently, carrying a faint scent of roses. When she donned her armor, she was an unparalleled warrior on the battlefield, capable of taking on a hundred men single-handedly, but when she leaned against him, she appeared somewhat fragile.

Shang Xinlei's eyes widened, her face full of surprise. It was hard to tell whether she was surprised by Yan Qing's slapping of Ying Le or by the sudden embrace from the pharmacist. It was probably the latter; she probably hadn't even realized who Ying Le was yet.

"I'm so glad you're alright." The girl in his arms sounded relieved. She hugged Yan Qing for a moment and then immediately let go. But the next second, she said jokingly, "I thought you had been captured by the Qi people and tortured in a small dungeon."

However, Yan Qing became serious and reached out to grab Yao Shiyuan's arm: "What happened?"

"What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about—"

"Do you want me to send someone to Chang'an to ask?" Yan Qing asked calmly, his tone very certain: "When you're in a bad mood, you can't even hide it from the Bunny Girl, let alone me."

Yaoshiyuan was a monster so strong that she could endure being poisoned without uttering a sound and kill everyone before receiving treatment. Yan Qing had only ever seen her lose control of her emotions once, when the Rabbit Girl was captured on Mount Shu. Now he saw it for the second time; when Yaoshiyuan hugged him, she was incredibly weak, her breathing heavy as if she were about to sob.

But given Yaoshiyuan's status as a Foundation Establishment Seed, there are very few people in Zhou Kingdom who can cause him trouble. Yan Qing quickly guessed: "It's Master Suolong?"

The pharmacist lowered her eyes and did not respond. Yan Qing observed her carefully and found that apart from the lingering worry in her expression, she had not changed and was not injured. Since it was not she herself who was threatened, there was only one possibility.

"Something happened to your maid?"

After a brief silence, the pharmacist took a deep breath, his voice slightly choked.

"They were interrogated by Master Suolong yesterday."

　The "Sorcerer's Handbook" comic is out! It's on Tencent Comics; you can check it out if you're interested.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)