Scourge Messenger

Chapter 417 Going Home
As the pharmacist and Shang Xinlei crossed the dying flames, they immediately saw Ying Rushi's white hair fluttering in the wind. Beneath the tattered white fox mask was an eye like the sun, its base color being molten gold, flowing with blazing flames. In the center of this sea of ​​gold were two clusters of inextinguishable blood flames, as if all living beings in the mortal world were burning fiercely within them.

However, the next second Ying Rushi closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they had returned to their usual restrained black eyes. But they were not as unfathomable as Yan Qing's, but calm and easy-going, without any of the pressure of a Foundation Establishment True Person, which made the two thieves, whose strength was slightly inferior, feel good about them.

"The entire Imperial Guard outside has fallen, and the other troops have scattered and become a chaotic mess." Shang Xinlei swallowed nervously: "Ying Le... is he dead?"

"I have accomplished my mission." Ying Rushi nodded. "She is dead."

As Yingru fused the glass dream pearl within the ruby ​​cocoon, perfecting the golden essence of [Pillow of the Mortal World], she clearly heard Ying Le's last heartbeat cease.

Shang Xinlei's hands trembled slightly. Suddenly, she leaped towards Yan Qing, but Ying Rushi happened to walk in and block her path, catching Shang Xinlei's embrace. Shang Xinlei didn't mind, hugging Ying Rushi like an octopus and cheering, "We won! We really won! We killed the Emperor of Qi in the Qi Kingdom's palace! We did it! We are the most powerful thieves in the world!"

Ying Rushi's tense emotions gradually relaxed as Shang Xinlei made a fuss, and she hugged Shang Xinlei and spun around in circles.

Shang Xinlei got off her but still held her hands and swayed them back and forth, her eyes crinkling with a smile, as cute as a child. Ying Rushi couldn't help but laugh, "So excited?"

"Of course, now that Ying Le is dead, no one will be chasing you, White Fox!" Shang Xinlei jumped up and down. "You don't have to worry about things outside anymore, and you can continue to work with us! You don't know, Black Wolf was just planning to kill all the Hundred Guards so that they wouldn't send people to hunt you down after Ying Le escaped."

Although everyone was wearing masks and couldn't see each other's expressions, Ying Ru could feel the warmth of Shang Xinlei's palm. She turned to look at Yao Shiyuan; the aloof Black Wolf, holding the Dragon-Snake Seven Kills, looked around as if he hadn't heard their conversation. Ying Ru felt a surge of bittersweetness welling up in her heart. Only now did she finally feel the reality of her long-cherished wish being fulfilled; she had truly severed her destiny and gained companions with whom she could support each other.

She no longer needs to hurt others to survive.

“Okay, we’ll be thieves for life.” Ying blurted out, “Partners for life.”

Shang Xinlei blinked. She was just being habitual and sticking her arm around Ying Rushi. She hadn't expected Ying Rushi, who usually seemed aloof, to suddenly become so serious. But in this situation, she obviously couldn't give any other answer. Besides, it wouldn't be a loss to be best friends with Ying Rushi for life: "Okay, for life!"

"Where is Ying Le's body?" the pharmacist asked.

Ying Rushi pointed to the dark red scorched earth where two swords were stuck, with smoldering embers still burning on it: "It should be inside."

Digging through the scorched earth, they only found a blood-stained silk dress and some keepsakes, but no trace of a corpse. The nearby soil was a dark red, like blood, and it didn't smell of earth or rust, but rather the fragrance of burning wood.

“Ying Le is probably like Hulü Guang; once his Dao foundation is shattered, his body will be completely returned to the Dao,” Yan Qing said, “leaving no lingering thoughts.”

Ying Rushi rummaged through her long skirt, then suddenly frowned. Shang Xinlei asked, "What are you looking for?"

"The spider lily, the reward I received from the Thieves' Den last time, I gave it to Ying Le," Ying said. "Could it have been destroyed in the battle?"

"Isn't it on your head?" Shang Xinlei reached out and touched it, pulling a spider lily from her head.

Ying Rushi accepted the spider lily, feeling a moment of disorientation. She recalled the icy snowscape in her hallucination, and how Ying Le had pinned the spider lily in her hair before leaving... It turned out it wasn't her hallucination after all.

Besides Ying Le's storage ring and keepsake, they also found a gold lock that appeared to be hanging around her neck, an accessory she wore constantly. They wondered what secret it held. Although there was no corresponding key, the messenger could easily crush such a gold ornament with a simple squeeze.

However, after examining the golden lock for a while, Ying Rushi put it back into her dress, flicked the Heaven-Slaying Sword, and filled the pit with soil, burying Ying Le's last trace.

“It’s nothing important,” she said. “Let Ying Le take it to her grave.”

No one objected, and everyone continued to loot Duan Xiaoxian and Huli Guang's spoils. If they had more time, they would have even skinned and dismembered Yan Feili, as the corpse of a fourth-level demon king was extremely valuable.

A minor incident occurred along the way: when they tried to pick up Duan Xiaoxian's spear and shield, and Huli Guang's two greatswords, the surfaces of these weapons quickly petrified, and they could not activate their powers by inputting spiritual energy.

"Huh? Huh?" Shang Xinlei exclaimed in surprise, "How come they all turned into stone?"

“These are sacrificial tokens.” Yaoshi Yuan was not surprised at all. He explained, “Tokens that Foundation Establishment Messengers have sacrificed cannot be used by anyone other than them unless they voluntarily erase their divine consciousness. If they die, these sacrificial tokens will also become dead tokens and have no value.”

"How could they do this!" Shang Xinlei exclaimed indignantly. "Won't we lose a lot of spoils of war? These tokens are all fourth-rank rare treasures!"

Such a brutal statement made even the pharmacist turn his head in surprise: "If I remember correctly, we should be thieves, not murderers, right?"

Yan Qing had anticipated this, as the refining process in the game is essentially a binding function. The refining token sounds similar to the Asura token of the Demon Path Messenger, but the two are completely different. The latter is a permanent soul binding, while the former can be unbound and traded at any time.

The primary function of the Refinement System is, of course, to prevent players from losing their most important tokens and becoming disheartened, leading them to quit the game. This is evident in the battles of Yan Qing against the three great masters of Qi and Ying Rushi against Ying Le. As long as the opponent cannot counter one's methods, even a messenger can achieve a near-instant kill. While this mutual instant kill is exhilarating, the sense of defeat on the losing side is undoubtedly intense. If even crucial tokens are lost, many players will surely be so angry they'll smash their computers and quit the game. The Refinement System has played a crucial role in maintaining the harmonious Foundation Establishment situation in the Central Plains. Foundation Establishment cultivators are inherently difficult to kill, and the rewards for killing them are minimal; anyone would choose to calmly negotiate.

Ying Rushi stood at the entrance of the altar, overlooking the distant City That Never Sleeps. Hearing footsteps behind her, she said softly, "Actually, I have another question I want to ask her."

"What's the problem?" Yan Qing asked.

“She slaughtered the entire imperial clan back then, leaving only two people alive: her younger brother Ying Su and me,” Ying said. “For so many years, I’ve been wondering why I was the only one who survived.”

"Now that it's over, don't dwell on these pointless worries," the pharmacist said calmly. "Whether you survived or not, you didn't have the ability to save anyone else back then. You did nothing wrong; the one who was wrong was Ying Le."

Black Wolf unexpectedly had a keen eye for people's hearts, and he caught the guilt hidden in Ying Rushi's words.

“I know, that’s why I’ve always looked forward and never looked back,” Ying Ru said softly. “But we didn’t fight immediately after we met today. She talked to me a lot about the secrets of the Divine Martial Bloodline, about the reasons behind her various decisions back then…”

"She probably wants to beg for your forgiveness, right?" Shang Xinlei guessed.

Ying Rushi smiled and shook her head: "You don't understand Ying Le. A person like Ying Le will never think that she is wrong until her death. The world is wrong, the bloodline is wrong, and the Divine Martial Emperor is wrong, but she is not wrong. Everything she did was out of helplessness. No one has the right to judge her."

"Now I wonder, back then, she slaughtered the entire imperial clan, leaving only me and Ying Su alive, could it be..." Ying Rushi looked up at the sky:

"Is she hoping someone can stop her?"

The world fell silent, even the wind and rain ceased. Yan Qing raised her head, her earrings swaying slightly: "It's dawn."

Its daybreak.

This rain was originally a celestial phenomenon caused by the surge of spiritual energy. Now that all the protectors of Nevernight City have fled and the battle has subsided, the dark clouds that had shrouded Nevernight City have naturally dispersed. The midday sun pierced through the clouds, sweeping away the gloom of Nevernight City, as if a god had wielded a brush from the heavens, repainting the city with new colors.

Inside the Hall of Longevity, the empty throne was illuminated by forty-nine beams of soft sunlight.

The four thieves basked in the sunlight, and even time seemed to slow down.

"Let's go back, time is running out," said the pharmacist.

"Let's go home for dinner!" Shang Xinlei patted her stomach. "We're having hot pot today!"

With no further obstacles along the way, Baibao, having lost the link to the "Heart of the Masses," returned to being a mortal with his own joys and sorrows. The moment they realized that a Foundation Establishment battle was taking place, they fled the palace in a panic. Those who hadn't yet escaped from the palace pretended to be blind and couldn't see anything when they saw the thieves.

When you are about to reach the Tai Chi Gate, you should feel something and look back.

Because the Imperial Guards had just passed by, and it had rained for so long, the palace road was filthy. She saw their four rows of footprints stretching all the way from the altar, indicating that they had already walked a long way. They would continue walking together, and these footprints would become even longer in the future.

Indeed, it's quite good.

Upon arriving at the Tai Chi gate, everyone felt as if they had returned to the familiar thieves' den. Everyone relaxed and stretched.

“Oh, right, White Fox,” Yan Qing suddenly remembered something, “there’s something I forgot to ask you.”

"What is it?" Ying Rushi replied in a very good mood.

"The mission objective, the Crystal Dream Pearl, you already had it, didn't you?"

Ying Rushi was startled and subconsciously touched her pockets and bosom.

She suddenly realized something very serious, and her face turned deathly pale.

“The Crystal Dream Pearl,” she told the thieves, “seems to have been swallowed by me.”

(End of this chapter)