Scourge Messenger

Chapter 406 Ruler and Subject

Altar.

This is the heart of the storm, yet it is calmer than anywhere else in the City That Never Sleeps; even the wind and rain have become gentler.

After passing through the glass barrier, Ying Rushi could no longer hear any sounds outside. The sounds of horses' hooves, footsteps, and the clash of armor all faded away, as if she were in a secluded paradise within the palace. Her turbulent emotions gradually calmed down, and even her steps unconsciously followed the manners she had cultivated since childhood—unhurried, graceful, and composed.

A woman in red stood on the altar, with several corpses dressed as constables at her feet. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around, her delicate face splattered with blood, adding a touch of eerie beauty.

She was carrying a person with only an upper body in her hands. Not far from the lower body, there were gruesome wounds, as if it had been torn apart by bare hands. A blood-stained gold belt lay on the ground, indicating that this person was not human, but a demon.

Only a demon would still futilely raise its fist to attack Ying Le even with half its body severed.

“Prince Lanling, wait for me.” Ying Le said gently, “I’m sorry, I should have dealt with these demons a long time ago… but it’s been so many years since we last met, and I couldn’t help but play with them a little longer because of their hospitality.”

Ying Rushi actually stayed where she was, waiting for her to deal with the Golden Chapter Divine Detective.

Long before the mission began, they had learned that the Golden-Badge Divine Constable and three Silver-Badge Constables would descend upon the vicinity of the Glazed Dream Pearl, that is, Ying Le's side. Therefore, they had never worried about how to deal with these four demons from the Divine Marquis's Mansion—and the scene before them proved that they were right.

Ying Le drew a long sword that gleamed with golden light and with one stroke severed the head of the Golden-Clad Divine Constable. A foot-long stream of blood gushed from his neck, and a faint aura of blood rose from the corpse, flowing into Ying Le's body. She held the sword, looked up at the sky, and exhaled softly. Her whole body was soaked by the rain, and the wet, light gauze dress outlined her breathtaking curves. Strands of hair clung to her face, and rainwater flowed down with the blood. Her long eyelashes were covered with water droplets. Her profile in the wind and rain was breathtakingly beautiful, like a naturally formed ink painting.

She didn't deploy a defensive barrier.

It only took Ying Rushi one breath to draw her sword, and three breaths to strike Ying Le's neck. She was only four breaths away from killing Ying Le.

For the past ten years, she had tossed and turned countless times, contemplating how to seize such an opportunity, like an ancient assassin sacrificing his life for righteousness, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, assassinating the king, killing the tyrant, and saving the people. But when the moment actually came, Ying Rushi felt no excitement, because such an opportunity never existed. The Foundation Establishment Messenger could manifest the Dao Foundation Protection with just a thought.

Only another Foundation Establishment cultivator can kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Satisfied?" Ying Rushi walked to the corpse of Jin Zhang Shenbu and asked calmly, "After all the twists and turns and countless schemes, His Majesty still got what he wanted in the end."

“I’m satisfied,” Ying Le said, “but it’s too late.”

"late?"

"My Thousand Blood Feather Flow Dao Foundation is the most supreme killing Dao Foundation in the Great Xuan Dao Foundation Compendium. It possesses many wonders. In the past, the Thousand Blood Feather Flow Dao Foundation was used by the great Xuan Zhaolie Emperor to charge in and out of a million-strong army seven times, killing so many heroes that they were terrified and bowed down to him when they established their foundations," Ying Le said. "However, the Thousand Blood Feather Flow Dao Foundation is not without its weaknesses. It has only one taboo, so once it is violated, the consequences will be particularly severe."

"Is it related to the Golden Badge Divine Constable?" Ying Rushi finally understood why Ying Le was so obsessed with the Divine Constable's Mansion.

“Demons must be killed.” Ying Le said, “Every demon I have ever fought must be killed. If even one escapes, my foundation will forever be flawed and unable to reach perfection.”

She glanced at the Golden-Badged Constable on the ground and sighed, "Last time the Divine Marquis's Mansion opened, I obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill and immediately took it to establish my foundation. On my way out, I encountered the Golden-Badged Constable, and I was eager to hunt him down..."

"you lose?"

“I didn’t lose, but I didn’t win either. The time for the Divine Marquis’s Mansion has come, and I have been forcibly expelled.” Ying Le’s face showed a rare trace of bitterness as he sighed, “If I were simply outmatched, I would accept it, but this result… is really hard to accept.”

"But didn't His Majesty kill him now?"

“If I were still at the fourth level, killing him might have been enough to complete my Dao foundation. But if the messenger advances to the fifth level with a flawed Dao foundation, then he will forever remain flawed after the fifth level, never achieving perfection.” Ying Le reminded him, “Prince Lanling, you must also be careful in the future, paying close attention to the Dao foundation restrictions. Don’t make the same mistake I did, going around in circles for ten years, only to end up with nothing but a dream. The future of the Ying family ultimately rests in your hands.” After a brief silence, Ying Rushi cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, I will never fail your trust.”

“However, the imperfection of our Dao Foundation is not entirely a bad thing for us.” Ying Le kicked away the corpse of the Golden Chapter Divine Constable. “You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? The more perfect our Dao Foundation is, the stronger our [Red Dust Eye] becomes. It even penetrates our Dao Foundation and grows stronger together, as if… as if it is our Dao Foundation Divine Power.”

"But this comes at a price." Ying Le recited in a voice like that of a chanting poem: "A dream of wealth and glory on the pillow, reflecting the mortal world. Prince Lanling, how long did you sleep last night?"

“I slept for four hours in the real world,” Ying replied, “but in my dream… I probably spent a whole day.”

"The time difference is about the same as mine back then. It seems your foundation is in no way inferior to my Thousand Blood Feather Stream." Ying Le asked with great interest, "What did you dream about? Was it related to me?"

"It has nothing to do with His Majesty."

"That must be related to that man outside." Ying Le turned to look outside the altar; the glass barrier separating the inside from the outside seemed to have no effect on her. "Perhaps it's also related to those two female thieves?"

Ying Ru did not respond, and Ying Le did not expect her to answer such a question. She said to herself, "I have never had a similar dream. It's probably because the man I liked had died before. So the dream I have the most is that he died in front of me, covered in blood, broken into pieces, trampled like a dog... You know, for a while I was really afraid of corpses and blood. I would tremble with fear and my mind would go blank when I saw blood."

Ying Rushi genuinely knew nothing about this and couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty... how did you cure him?"

“Cure? Maybe.” Ying Le said, “When I had nightmares for half a month straight, and every time I closed my eyes I could see rivers of blood, I completely broke down. I found someone who looked a lot like him, and then I…I…” Her breathing became rapid, as if she was forcing herself to say a fact she didn’t want to admit: “I replicated the scenes in my dreams in reality.”

She looked down at her hands, stained with demon blood, as if gazing back at the past.

"You should understand, right?"

Ying Le turned to look at Ying Ru Shi, her eyes revealing a look that Ying Ru Shi was very familiar with—it was neither kind nor malicious, but rather the pity and mockery that a patient tormented by illness would show when seeing a new patient.

"what?"

“Instead of suffering like this every day, it’s better to just let it happen and get it over with.” Ying Le’s voice was so beautiful that it seemed to resonate in Ying Ru Shi’s heart: “Then you will find that everything you have been afraid of and dreading… is actually nothing more than that.”

"What truly torments us is hope. Utter despair can actually bring relief."

Ying Rushi was startled and for the first time looked away, not daring to meet Ying Le's gaze, because Ying Le had truly spoken to her heart this time.

Why did she see Yan Qing and Murong Hui engaging in illicit acts in her hallucinations? Why did she dream of those lewd scenes these past few days? Essentially, it's because she believed in this possibility, and she was afraid that such a thing would happen, which is why the "Eye of the Mortal World" had the opportunity to exploit her.

What made Ling Yingru both angry and amused was that, because Yan Qing had been openly interacting with the other two people these past few days, and shamelessly clinging to her in private, she actually felt much better in her hallucinations and dreams. Since Yan Qing was clearly a scoundrel, and she had no expectations of him, she naturally felt less disappointed.

Therefore, a thought inevitably arose in Ying Rushi's mind: if everything in the illusion had actually happened, if everything had settled down, perhaps she wouldn't be tormented by such a illusory hope? A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one; hope that yields no result is poisonous…

"That's wrong."

Although Ying Ru was wearing a white fox mask, Ying Le seemed to be able to hear her thoughts just by looking into her eyes, and chuckled softly:
"You can't escape it. Whether you're a mortal or a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you have to hold onto hope to survive. You can run away, and as long as you run fast enough and pass by quickly enough, hope might not catch up for a while. But no one in this world can always have their way. Even the Primordial Daoist had his downfall. You will eventually encounter setbacks and stop, but hope will never stop. The bigger your heart, the faster your hope will catch up with you."

(End of this chapter)