Scourge Messenger

Chapter 301 Longing and Reunion

This was Yan Qing's first time in Yao Shiyuan's room.

Unlike Shang Xinlei's exquisitely decorated room, Yaoshi Yuan's room was just a warehouse. The walls were covered with various armors and weapons, and the floor was piled with wine jars and bottles. The whole room was filled with a strong aroma of wine, as if staying in this room for too long would make you drunk.

This room perfectly reflects Yaoshi Yuan's personality: she drinks heartily when she raises her glass, and prepares for battle when she puts it down. She inherited the martial bloodline of the Zhou Kingdom and is a warrior who lives and dies from head to toe.

The desk was the only thing out of place in the room, because it was piled high with books, and they were arranged haphazardly. They were clearly not decorations, but books that were often taken out to read and then casually put back after use.

Yan Qing was surprised. The pharmacist Yuan actually had a love for reading?

You can't judge a book by its cover. He thought the pharmacist was the type who would say, "Studying? What a load of crap."

Messengers are bound to be skilled, but not necessarily cultured.

The pharmacist sat down at his desk, opened a package on the table, revealing a pile of props shrouded in mysterious spiritual light.

"Two Vajra Indestructible Talismans," the Pharmacist introduced as he took them out, "Ten sheets of fire paper, three portions of incense ash, a jar of top-grade Pharmacist Glue, and..."

Yan Qing's eyes widened. These were all top-quality items from the Zhou Kingdom's treasury. The Indestructible Vajra Talisman was self-evident, greatly enhancing the performance of defensive tokens, practically raising their rarity level temporarily. The few he had bought earlier had already been used up in the Qi Kingdom's six-day unlimited combat tournament. The Fire Paper could temporarily add fire damage to weapons, Incense Ash Accumulation could increase the damage weapons dealt to vengeful spirits and corpses, and the Superior Grade Pharmacist's Glue could affect all mortal-level tokens, restoring their durability to 90%.

These rare items are not something that can be bought with Flower Spirit Jade. The annual production is limited, and they have long been distributed among the powerful and wealthy, with no possibility of any leaking out. The fact that the Pharmacist was able to collect so many indicates that it was not a matter of a short time; he must have been planning for war these past few days.

"Take whatever you need," the pharmacist said. "I can't take out anything I don't have right now."

Why did you prepare so much?

Yan Qing picked out two Vajra Indestructible Talismans and a jar of Superior Grade Pharmacist Glue, and asked curiously, "Besides, you don't need some of these items, do you? The Cloud Skill Pill that increases agility won't be very effective for you, since you don't win by attack speed."

"This is what we'll be providing for the next mission," the Pharmacist said calmly. "The next mission is fraught with danger and we'll have to give it our all. Even you were willing to sacrifice the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends to nurture the Crimson Serpent, so how could I be stingy with these spiritual resources? Besides, for me right now, preparing these items doesn't cost me anything. I just traded my quota for the next few years for them from someone else. As for a few years from now, I'll either die in a mission at the Thieves' House or be at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, overlooking the Central Plains."

"Thank you," Yan Qing said sincerely. Although he was the richest member of the Thieves' Family, he was still inferior to the pharmacist Yuan, who had the backing of the Zhou Kingdom, in terms of resources. "Black Wolf, you're so kind."

“This is what I should do. After all, I am the future head of the Thieves' House, and you are all my subordinates. I cannot afford to fail you.” The Pharmacist pulled a book from his desk and opened it: “Have you chosen one?”

"Well, that's all I need. Other items aren't very useful to me, and I can't carry too much stuff anyway."

How many days are you going to be gone?

"Five days and four nights."

“I can use wilderness survival as an excuse to leave the military town for a few days.” The pharmacist looked at him. “Leaving temporarily won’t have any impact.”

“No need,” Yan Qing shook his head: “The place I’m going to is the Demon Gathering Ground in Qi. If you know anything about it, you’ll know there’s no danger there. The demons won’t attack on their own. Most of the participants are only at the first or second level. If I, a third-level messenger with both Heavenly and Earthly Fiend skills, go in, it’s like a real dragon entering a pond. It’s already my kindness that I’m not causing any chaos.”

“Alright.” The pharmacist pondered for a moment, then nodded: “Given your personality, you would never personally risk your life for even the slightest danger, but would instead choose to send your subordinates as cannon fodder. Since you have no worries at all, you must be absolutely certain that I was overthinking it.”

Although the first half of her statement wasn't pleasant, Yan Qing was very satisfied with Yao Shiyuan's attitude afterwards. This was precisely what he admired most about Yao Shiyuan; she didn't drag things out when dealing with serious matters. If she said something and you heard it, that was the end of it, like nails driven into a plank—there was no unnecessary emotional outburst, completely different from that spoiled little cook. "How is Wu Qiu Shi Dong doing?" Yan Qing suddenly remembered this.

“Wu Qiu has recovered. As for Shi Dong…” Pharmacist Yuan sighed softly, “After feeding her the secret manual, she did get much better and is basically fine physically. It’s just that she has become very quiet and is not as lively and energetic as before. She follows Wu Qiu around all day and doesn’t dare to look me in the eye.”

"Give her some time, don't rush it," Yan Qing said. "As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a person's nature. With you spoiling her, she'll eventually go back to how she was before."

The pharmacist gave him a disapproving look, but the worry in her eyes lessened considerably: "I hope so."

Yan Qing stayed in the room for a while, looking left and right, but not hearing Yao Shiyuan bring up a new topic, he didn't dare to stay any longer. Today he had been to Shang Xinlei's room and then to Yao Shiyuan's room. Although everyone was innocent and aboveboard, Yan Qing still felt inexplicably guilty.

He said, "I'll be going now if there's nothing else. See you in five days."

The pharmacist glanced at him, her eyes seeming to hold a hint of something unsaid, but ultimately remained silent, lowering her head to read. Yan Qing found it a little strange, but didn't think much of it, turning to leave the room.

But as soon as he took two steps, his clothes were pulled by a strong force, as if they were caught on something.

Yan Qing turned his head suspiciously and was immediately stunned.

The pharmacist remained engrossed in his book, turning the pages with his right hand. However, his left hand, which should have been holding the book, was now tightly gripping Yan Qing's sleeve. His thumb, index finger, and middle finger acted like three hooks, preventing Yan Qing from leaving.

He tugged at his clothes, but couldn't tear them open; the pharmacist's fingers were clenched tightly, and any more force would only tear them to shreds.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" Yan Qing asked.

The pharmacist did not respond, his eyes fixed on the book, remaining silent as if he could not hear Yan Qing's words. The Duke of Jin could not dream of the players from the Thieves' House.

Yan Qing glanced at her sleeve, then at Yao Shiyuan, thought for a moment, and tentatively asked, "Do you want me to hug you?"

"I do not want!"

The pharmacist wished she could hear his voice again, as if it had just been Yan Qing's microphone malfunctioning: "Why would I want you to hug me?"

"Then I'll go?"

"up to you."

"Then let go first." Yan Qing tugged at Yao Shiyuan's wrist. It was clean and slightly damp, as if it had just been washed with soap.

The pharmacist glanced quickly at Yan Qing, released her hand, and continued to immerse herself in the world of books.

But Yan Qing had only taken two steps when she was stopped by the familiar hook.

Looking at Yaoshi Yuan, who was engrossed in his book but stubbornly clung to him, Yan Qing thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that Shang Xinlei had also been indirectly refusing to ask for a hug. He roughly guessed why Yaoshi Yuan was acting so strangely, so he asked again, "Can I hug you?"

(End of this chapter)