Scourge Messenger

Chapter 286 Invitation

Seven days ago, seeing that the turmoil in Chang'an City had gradually subsided, the Pharmacist decided not to linger any longer and went to Taibai Mountain Military Town with his maid. Taibai Mountain Military Town held the same position in the Zhou Kingdom as Xuanwu Lake Military Town held in the Liang Kingdom, encompassing two third-level secret realms and two second-level secret realms. There was no more suitable place for cultivation than this.

Since Master Suolong hadn't appeared, Yaoshiyuan assumed she had returned and focused on conquering the secret realm to obtain cultivation resources. However, when she left the secret realm last night and returned to her courtyard, she saw the antler-faced girl sitting on a stone chair drinking.

"Your sister was rescued by the yellow dog from the Thieves' Den. If you want her back in the future, go find the yellow dog." These were her first words.

"If you have a man, have children as soon as possible before you reach the Foundation Establishment stage." That was her second sentence.

After saying this, Master Suolong left, but left two introductory books on secret techniques on the stone table. Yaoshi immediately realized something was wrong. When he went inside, he found Shi Dong huddled in a corner of the room. This usually carefree maid was now curled up in a ball, her expression full of terror. She was even startled when she heard the door open, and she hid her head and sobbed.

Wu Qiu sat blankly to the side, managing only a forced smile and a greeting when Yao Shiyuan returned. Under Yao Shiyuan's persistent questioning, she finally revealed what had just happened.

Master Suolong suddenly appeared in the courtyard, bound them with golden chains, and questioned them about the whereabouts of the Pharmacist Yuan on the night the rare iron was stolen. At first, Master Suolong did nothing, because the blood and soul of the Foundation Establishment Messenger alone were enough to exert an almost natural enemy-like pressure on mortals. However, after Wu Qiu and Shi Dong stammered that they didn't know, Master Suolong resorted to his methods.

The excruciating pain, as if their entire bodies were being pricked by needles, shattered their willpower. Shi Dong broke down completely, tears streaming down her face, revealing everything she knew. Wu Qiu also gave up. After receiving the information, Master Suolong let them go, leaving them two introductory books on secret techniques as a reward... or perhaps compensation.

……

"Wait a minute," Yan Qing's eyes widened, "Your maidservant told everyone everything? Why would Master Suolong let you go?"

Nearly ten days have passed since the theft of the rare iron. During these ten days, Master Suolong has probably been frantically searching for any trace of Rabbit Girl. Compared to the thieves' house, which has no information about her appearance, Rabbit Girl is undoubtedly the easiest to find. He probably suspected Pharmacist Yuan long ago, and may even have been hiding in the shadows, waiting for Rabbit Girl to reunite with Pharmacist Yuan.

But after so many days, Master Suolong's patience had worn thin, so he directly seized Wu Qiu and Shi Dong to interrogate her, choosing a time when Yaoshi Yuan was not present, his murderous intent was self-evident.

She was no longer after the rare iron, but rather venting her anger. If there was even the slightest suspicion that the Pharmacist had colluded with the thieves, she would grind him to dust!

With the Dragon-Locking Immortal's supernatural powers, and with his intentions on the side of the unexpected, the Pharmacist will absolutely not be able to escape back to the thieves' house!
“Shi Dong saved me.” When he said this, Yaoshi Yuan’s tone was a little guilty and a little amused: “She misled the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva.”

Shi Dong did indeed tell everything she knew, but in her opinion, Yao Shi Yuan's beautifully dressed appearance that night meant she had gone out to meet her lover. Yao Shi Yuan's subsequent behavior upon her return further convinced her of her suspicions. Master Suolong, a shrewd man over a hundred years old, naturally saw that Shi Dong was not hiding anything. As for why the maids had concealed it before, it was quite reasonable. For the young lady to meet her lover late at night was a scandalous affair in a large family, one that would require the punishment of all those in the know; of course, they dared not speak carelessly.

Yan Qing knew Shi Dong's character and vaguely guessed what was going on, so she skipped the question: "How are the two of them?"

“Wuqiu is alright, she can adjust on her own. Shidong’s condition is more serious. I finally managed to get her to sleep last night, but she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and ran to a corner to hide. No matter what I said, she wouldn’t listen.” Yaoshi Yuan said softly, “If I touch her, she will cry in fear.”

"Wait a minute." Yan Qing ran back to her room and came out a moment later with two manuals: "Here are two advanced sword technique mastery manuals for you. Feed them to them; it should help improve their qi, blood, and spirit." The level of medical development in this world is very low. Firstly, there are more efficient healing artifacts, and secondly, there is a near-perfect means of healing: leveling up.

Although it wasn't mentioned before, just like in all online games, leveling up the messenger can fully restore health. Leveling up not only restores health but also improves vitality and spirit, making it a true cure-all. Yan Qing guessed that Shi Dong's spirit was damaged, and leveling up should be effective.

The pharmacist glanced at Yan Qing, then at the manual in his hand. Yan Qing said impatiently, "Hurry up and take it. Just consider it a gift from the bunny girl. I have plenty of these. You could earn a couple more if you spend some time on it. Don't be so polite."

"Actually, the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva has already left them two introductory books on secret techniques," the Pharmacist said quietly. "It's just that Shi Dong is unwilling to use them yet."

Yan Qing blinked and withdrew her hand: "Alright—"

"However, advanced cultivation techniques should bring them closer to the completion of the second stage." The pharmacist grabbed the two manuals. "Anyway, you have plenty more."

Although that's what he said, repeating it would seem petty to Yaoshi Yuan. Yaoshi Yuan isn't a stingy person; he was generous and open-minded when accepting the Bunny Girl's kindness. But when he's with Yan Qing, he seems calculating and unwilling to be inferior to Yan Qing in any way.

"What are you planning to do next?" Yan Qing asked.

"Hone your skills and build your foundation as soon as possible, what else can I do?" The Pharmacist smiled bitterly: "I can't even hate the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva... She has already done more than enough."

Yan Qing remained silent. It was clear that Master Suolong suspected Yaoshiyuan. She could have directly interrogated Yaoshiyuan, or even killed him without any consequences, since Yaoshiyuan's current power was given to him by her... However, she still gave Yaoshiyuan some respect, only interrogating the maid. After discovering that Yaoshiyuan was indeed innocent, she even left two secret manuals as compensation.

In the eyes of most people, this is not even a bad thing. After all, no one died or was injured. They only had two servants tortured by a Foundation Establishment cultivator and got two secret technique books. This is even more profitable than staging an accident.

As Yaoshi Yuan just mentioned, she pressed Wu Qiu for details before she revealed the truth. In other words, Wu Qiu originally intended to keep this a secret and didn't want to complain to Yaoshi Yuan.

Even in Wu Qiu's view, they hadn't really lost out. After all, they were just servants. If the apothecary was willing to create a rift between himself and Suolong Zhenren because of them, then it would be their fault. As for Shi Dong... it wasn't beyond repair, and Suolong Zhenren had already compensated them. Would Wu Qiu dare to resent a Foundation Establishment Zhenren over such a trivial matter?
Moreover, and most importantly: Yaoshiyuan is not innocent; she is indeed the criminal who stole the rare iron. Saving the Rabbit Girl is saving the Rabbit Girl, and stealing the rare iron is stealing the rare iron. The former being right does not mean the latter is right. Suolong Zhenren is the victim in this matter, and Yaoshiyuan has no reason to feel wronged.

"Since the Zhou Kingdom is no longer safe, aren't you going to leave?" Yan Qing asked.

The Pharmacist said helplessly, "How can I leave? Although the Dragon-Locking Bodhisattva no longer suspects me, I am a Foundation Establishment seed and the Duke of Jin in the current dynasty. Countless people are watching my every move. Where can I go?"

“You can go find Bunny Girl,” Yan Qing said earnestly, looking at her. “Come join us.”

(End of this chapter)