Scourge Messenger

Chapter 304 Embarrassing (Fourth update, please vote)
“Pharmacist Yuan,” Yan Qing blinked and asked softly, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re cute?”

The pharmacist paused slightly before continuing nonchalantly, "The Helan family's bamboo wine also has a unique flavor, with a slightly strong taste and a long aftertaste. Ordinary people can often be drunk for a whole day after just three cups..."

Can you really pretend you didn't hear that? It's like she's just pretending she didn't see or hear anything, as if nothing happened, to avoid any unforeseen situations. She's practically a self-deceiving big girl. Yan Qing wanted to tease her a bit more, but seeing the increasingly intense pink on Yao Shiyuan's neck, he abandoned that tempting thought and quietly admired this side of Yao Shiyuan that he couldn't see from the outside.

"Didn't you put away the Bingzi pepper forest?" Yaoshi Yuan suddenly asked.

"What?" Yan Qing didn't react for a moment.

"The knife handle is poking me."

The two exchanged a glance, and after several breaths, the pharmacist finally reacted. She, who had been pretending to be nonchalant, couldn't help but show a flustered expression. Even though Yan Qing's face was wrapped in bandages and he couldn't see his face, he was too embarrassed to react. Just as he was about to say something, the pharmacist shifted her body slightly.

But she didn't move away from Yan Qing; instead, she moved to a more comfortable position so that the knife handle could rest in a more cushioned groove.

The pharmacist acted as if she had done something insignificant and continued talking about the special wines produced in various secret realms. However, from her suddenly faster pace of speech, one could tell that she was not at peace.

However, Yan Qing had no time to pay attention to Yao Shiyuan. He looked up at the ceiling, his entire focus on suppressing his raging blood and qi. The usually strong and arrogant Yao Shiyuan was so obedient and patient in their intimate moments. Just thinking about this made Yan Qing feel like his head was about to explode.

The pharmacist stopped talking, and the only sounds in the room seemed to be shallow, rapid breathing and heavy heartbeats. The smell of alcohol seemed to grow stronger and stronger, so strong that it was intoxicating.

“I should go back,” Yaoshi Yuan suddenly said. “I have a scheduled secret realm walkthrough this afternoon.”

Yan Qing breathed a sigh of relief. If he had stayed any longer, he felt like he was about to accidentally cross the line. While crossing the line wasn't entirely out of the question, it was like not being able to bring Shang Xinlei along—now wasn't the time... Nevertheless, he couldn't help feeling a great sense of loss.

Looking at Yaoshi Yuan's profile, a thought struck him: "Zhou Guo's comic books seem quite interesting. Shall we read them together when we have some free time?"

“Sure.” The pharmacist glanced at him, then turned away, her ponytail flicking across Yan Qing’s face. “Anyway, I read books occasionally, so it wouldn’t hurt to have you join me.”

After putting on their boots and getting out of bed, Yan Qing stared at Yao Shiyuan's hands and asked, "Shall I go back now?"

"Let's go," the pharmacist said, waving his hand.

One step, two steps, three steps—finally free from the feeling of being pulled, Yan Qing stopped in front of the door. Feeling something was missing, she turned around and saw Yao Shiyuan approaching as well, as if they were telepathically connected. They exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and embraced.

"Don't die," the pharmacist whispered.

……

...

Back in her room, Yan Qing was still somewhat confused.

Who am I? What is my relationship with those two? What kind of relationship do I want to establish with them?
Until today, Yan Qing's relationship with them was only vague, at the level of 'possible illusion'. Firstly, Yan Qing did not intend to burst the bubble before the team stabilized, and secondly, their relationship was indeed more than just friends.

Yan Qing never expected that her initiative to report to the authorities today would simultaneously push their relationship to the point of almost reaching a conclusion. Although Yan Qing was quite pleased with herself, an indescribable panic followed: What should I do? I'm not a visual novel expert!
Moreover, the fact that there was already a couple in the group of four was already ridiculous enough; if a love triangle appeared, it would be as chaotic as forming a band. However, after calming down, Yan Qing wasn't too panicked. After all, regardless of their personalities, Yaoshi Yuan and Shang Xinlei were intelligent people who could distinguish between what was important and what was not. They must know that the importance of the Thieves' House far outweighed any temporary feelings.

Leaving aside the pharmacist's wishes, Shang Xinlei and Yan Qing have always acted without speaking, rubbing each other's hands until they were covered in mud but never revealing the last layer of their relationship, which shows that she also knows that their current relationship is the most suitable.

Even if something goes wrong, it will happen a long time later, and my future self will definitely be able to come up with a perfect solution! Yan Qing has a good attitude towards any trouble that can be postponed, just like how he always leaves his summer homework to himself on the last day of the holiday to worry about.

Whether it was because he had just taken a short nap or because he had replenished his energy from the pharmacist Shang Xinlei, Yan Qing felt more energetic than ever before. He checked his storage ring one last time to make sure that Rat Monk, Jiang Shi, and Rabbit Heroine were all set to automatically evolve, then went to the teleportation array in the room. In a flash, he opened his eyes again and found himself in the jungle outside the Demon Gathering Land.

Participating in a closed-off secret realm event for the first time, Yan Qing couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He even had the thought of 'maybe I should just go back and relax, go shopping with Shang Xinlei during the day, and read books with Yaoshiyuan at night.' But thinking of the Foundation Establishment Pills that would be the reward for the event, Yan Qing knew that some risks had to be taken. If there were dangers involved, then it was blood that Yan Qing had to shed.

Stepping into the mist and wading through the lotus-lined stream, after walking for about a minute, Yan Qing finally emerged from the mist and arrived at the magnificent and splendid Demon Gathering Land.

"Gurgle."

The dragon hunting in the sky seemed to swallow hard, letting out a rumbling sound that echoed throughout the space. Even from this distance, Yan Qing could clearly hear the roar emanating from the dragon's throat. Even knowing that the dragon was likely just a roller coaster, Yan Qing was still undeniably terrified, his whole body trembling with fear!
Passing through the monster's mouth spewing bursts of yin energy, Yan Qing arrived at the 'Tongue-Entwined Tree'. He reached out and touched one of the tongues, which immediately curled up and wrapped around Yan Qing's wrist. The sensation was extremely disgusting, like a dry tongue devoid of any moisture.

With a thought, Yan Qing's tongue bracelet suddenly displayed a phantom projection. The projection contained a blank space with an icon next to it. From the icon, a skeletal hand burst forth from the ground, which was the [Resurrection] mutation he had chosen!
It actually worked!

As mentioned in the reminder, all characters on the same account can only choose one mutation to activate the Flesh and Blood Cage Bracelet. Conversely, as long as Ye Si activates the mutation, Yan Qing's newly acquired bracelet will skip the 'activation' step and directly activate all its functions!
He became the only normal courier in the history of the Guiding Lands (excluding Night Elf Four) to truly utilize the Guiding Lands' mechanics! Even without an alt, he could summon flesh golems!
However, Yan Qing did not immediately kill the monster to collect the puppet tokens. After identifying the direction, Yan Qing followed the path that Ye Si had taken.

He wanted to find the roulette wheel in the tower and try his luck. If he could draw the same reward as Ye Si, which teleported him to the fourth-tier puppet warehouse, then this training in the Demon Gathering Land would be equivalent to clearing the game directly!
...

In the military town of Taibai Mountain, Yaoshi Yuan suddenly appeared in a secluded dressing room. She now mostly chose such hidden places when entering and leaving the thieves' quarters, not only to avoid being seen by others, but also to prevent Wu Qiu and Shi Dong from seeing her. This was a responsible approach for everyone.

She stepped out of the dressing room, grabbed a wine jug from the table, and gulped it down. In just a few breaths, she'd finished the entire jug. She exhaled a breath of alcohol, took several deep breaths, and paced back and forth in the room, clenching her fists. She seemed to be dispersing the wine, but the blush on her face deepened, and she bit her lower lip tightly, looking like a kettle about to explode.

Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, the pharmacist stomped his foot forcefully, unleashing the full power of the three-stage messenger's qi and blood, instantly cracking the floor tiles.

Suddenly, a loud crash rang out, the sound of porcelain shattering. The pharmacist turned around and saw Shi Dong leaning against a pillar, her face filled with terror, the wine jug she was holding having fallen to the ground. She stammered, "Wu Qiu... Wu Qiu asked me to deliver the latest batch of Drunken Immortal Wine from Chang'an..."

The pharmacist realized he had frightened her and quickly went over to say, "It's nothing, I'm just feeling...it's none of your business."

"Yes." Shi Dong bowed his head in response and squatted down to pick up the broken pieces on the ground.

Looking at the taciturn Shi Dong, Yao Shi Yuan sighed inwardly. She hesitated for a moment, then squatted down and picked up the shards. In the past, Shi Dong would definitely have refused Yao Shi Yuan's help, but now she remained silent, offering no opinion on whatever Yao Shi Yuan did.

Shi Dong finished tidying up the broken pieces of the wine pot, looked at the pharmacist hesitantly, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Young Miss, did you go to see that person?"

“Hmm? I don’t…” The pharmacist instinctively wanted to refute something, but seeing the pink longing in Shi Dong’s desolate eyes, she hesitated for a moment, pursed her lips, and nodded: “Hmm.”

"Did he make you angry?" Shi Dong glanced at the cracked floorboards, which were marble tiles a finger-thick thick, transported from the secret realm.

"Ah."

"But Miss doesn't seem unhappy?" Shi Dong glanced at the blush that hadn't faded from Yao Shi Yuan's neck.

"Ah."

"What happened?" Shi Dong perked up, her tone slightly excited: "You two held hands? You must have! Did you do anything else? Tell me, tell me!"

Yaoshiyuan gritted her teeth and lowered her voice to tell Shidong what had just happened. At first, Shidong couldn't help but smile like an aunt, but gradually she became shocked and stared at Yaoshiyuan with disbelief.

She hesitated for a while before finally blurting out, "Young Miss, you two are progressing so fast! It's almost as fast as the forbidden books I've been reading. I didn't expect you to be so impatient..."

“I didn’t!” Pharmacist Yuan immediately shook her head. “I only intended to chat with him for a while, I didn’t mean to do anything else, it’s just that he… he…”

"Then why didn't you hit him, Miss?" Shi Dong asked curiously.

"Why would I hit him?" Yaoshi Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Aren't you unwilling?"

"I don't know." The pharmacist pondered for a moment: "Although my first reaction was to run away, actually... it wasn't that I felt uncomfortable, but I just felt a little scared, like entering a secret realm for the first time. Shi Dong, you understand that feeling, right? Unknown, anticipation, fear, I don't know how to describe it."

Shi Dong was completely bewildered. How could I possibly understand? The thing I've ever experienced that best fits your description is being tortured by Master Suolong.

She focused on the most crucial question: "If he treats you like this again next time, will you just let him get away with it?"

The pharmacist stared blankly at her, as if her mind had been fried by the question. After a brief silence, the pharmacist slumped onto the table, burying her head in her arms.

"Miss?"

"Young Miss, what's wrong? Please answer me."

"Miss, I won't ask you anything, so don't hide."

The pharmacist raised his head and said, "Don't tell Wuqiu."

“Okay, we won’t tell her. It’s our secret,” Shi Dong said. “But tell me, when he touched you, was it… Oh, Miss, I won’t ask anymore, really I won’t!”

　I'm asking for monthly votes, but I'm out of votes tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)