Scourge Messenger

Chapter 70 Taking Action (Second Update)

Many scions of prominent families were quite disappointed to find that Jiang Shi hadn't caused any trouble, and some even tried to sow discord with Qun Yushu. But unlike these dim-witted rich kids, Lu Wangji and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, "they ask for the moon, but you have to settle for less." No one really wanted to get rid of Jiang Shi like this; they just wanted a piece of the pie from the Jie family merchants. If Jiang Shi really confessed and submitted to the law, then it would be their turn to be in trouble—anyone can do dirty work and resort to underhanded tactics. Did they really think the Jie family merchants were some kind of benevolent old men?

Unlike the Northern Dynasties, the Liang Kingdom did not experience as many blood feuds and bloodshed. This was not only due to the wise emperor, but also because the powerful clans maintained a tacit understanding of fighting without breaking apart. Officials could be demoted or imprisoned, but no one would die. The winners would not be ruthless, and the losers had a glimmer of hope. Combined with the nine-rank household registration system that left room for advancement, this was the key to the long-term stability of the Liang Kingdom.

The argument surrounding the murder case came to an end. In essence, the Jie family and merchants offered the Huainan Underground Palace Secret Realm in exchange for Jiang Shi's favor and a year of growth time. As for the treasure chest, it was just a bonus. Lu Wangji's request for it was more to find out the list of treasure chest producers, which meant that Jiang Shi had the loophole of being an unregistered user. Otherwise, Lu Wangji wouldn't have been able to intervene.

"Have you all made up your minds?" Lu Wangji beckoned, signaling a servant to come and deal with Luo Weijin's body: "I will report the crime of desecrating a corpse truthfully."

“Jiang Shi, since the merchants have given you a year to find evidence, you are not the real murderer of Luo Weijin before that time. Even if you say you are, it won’t matter unless you find new evidence to prove that you are.” He said calmly, “Confessions only account for a small percentage of the weight in Liang’s laws.”

"Thinking that whatever you say goes is just childish naiveté."

For a fleeting moment, Lu Wangji almost thought Jiang Shi was about to suddenly attack and kill him. Those seemingly perpetually calm eyes revealed a chilling malice, as if death itself was lurking behind Jiang Shi, mocking her cruelly. But Jiang Shi quickly turned her head away, still so beautiful, so serene, as if what had just happened was merely Lu Wangji's petty illusion.

"Since it was just something a child said in anger, Lu Xiaoqi, you shouldn't take it to heart, right?" Shang Yue wasn't interested in continuing to speak nicely: "Jiang Shi is innocent, Lu Xiaoqi, you should understand her emotions better than anyone else."

"I'm only innocent for now," Lu Wangji said, suppressing his unease. "It's getting dark, let's hurry and collect our personal treasure chests."

The group arrived at the individual score leaderboard, and seeing the four gleaming gold scores at the top, everyone couldn't help but feel excited. Throughout history, the highest individual score in the Wildwood Forest had always been 15 points. Now, four monsters with scores in the thousands had appeared—what kind of treasure chests would they reward them with?

Lu Wangji looked at Jiang Shi, seemingly hoping that Jiang Shi would go first, but Jiang Shi turned to look at Qian Gongyu instead.

"Huh? Shall I go first?"

Qian Gongyu, who rarely receives the attention of everyone, was both nervous and excited. She walked to the individual score leaderboard and saw that the words "Qian Gongyu: 7215 points" extended into countless golden threads, as if an unseen god was weaving them for her on the spot. The golden threads converged on the open ground to form the shape of a treasure chest, shining with golden light and carved with dragons and phoenixes. The noble young men who were watching were immediately in an uproar - they had also received treasure chests today, but everyone's treasure chests were made of wood. Compared with Qian Gongyu's treasure chest, their treasure chests were simply toilets.

Qian Gongyu opened the treasure chest, and three rainbow-colored clouds of mist emerged from it.

On the left side of the cloud of energy is a secret manual, which is titled "Secret Technique: Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound".

In the center of the cloud of air were a pair of boots, which gleamed with golden light.

On the right side of the cloud of air is a token with the words "Reward the good and punish the evil" written on it.

"A secret manual?"

"It's a reward and punishment decree! The Wildwood Forest actually produces reward and punishment decrees, quick—"

"Wow, it's a rare and precious keepsake!"

Qian Gongyu reached out and touched the boots. The moment the central cloud of energy shattered, the other two clouds also vanished like bubbles. She hugged the boots tightly, giggling, "Hehe, the Qian family has a rare treasure now, and it's a boot! Ah, so it turns out we could only choose one of three."

She turned her head and saw that everyone was stunned. She asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

“Come back first…” Shang Xinlei gave a bitter smile: “I’ll explain the value of the other rewards to you later.”

"I want to take the treasure chest too, it looks valuable!"

As Qian Gongyu huffed and puffed while carrying the treasure chests, Jie Zilong turned to look at his niece. Without him saying a word, Jie Yuanshao understood his meaning: "If there is a reward and punishment decree, I will take it down."

The treasure chest with "Jie Yuanshao: 8530 points" was also gold, but the patterns on the outside seemed to be more exquisite. As Jie Yuanshao opened the treasure chest, everyone held their breath.

There are also three energy clusters, and even the order is the same: a manual, a token, and a strange object. The manual on the left is named "Secret Technique: Rising Wind Sword".

The token in the middle is a sword, which also gleams with golden light.

The strange object on the right is also a decree for rewarding good and punishing evil.

Without much thought, Jie Yuanshao took the reward and punishment decree and returned it to Jie Zilong. Jie Zilong immediately put it into his storage token and took out a fine steel spear. He looked around, his brows furrowed with murderous intent, and all the onlookers with ulterior motives turned their heads away.

Next up is the "Tears of the Merchant: 8950 points" treasure chest, but unlike the previous two treasure chests, this time there is no reward and punishment decree.

The secret technique on the left is called "Secret Technique: Rift Wheel".

The token in the center is a pair of flying rings, gleaming with golden light.

The strange object on the right is a token with the words "Treasure Hunt" written on it.

Shang Xinlei glanced back at her elder brother, and Shang Yue smiled slightly, indicating that she could choose for herself.

First, we can rule out "Arcane Technique: Rift Wheel," as she has already mastered the Blood Wheel Arcane Technique and is confident enough to advance her class three times. While more Arcane Techniques are generally better, it also depends on her needs.

What does Shang Xinlei lack most right now?
Rare and precious keepsakes!

She has materials for enhancing blood weapons, and as long as she has rare tokens, she can immediately enhance them into legendary tokens! However, flying rings are already unpopular, and the highest level of flying ring tokens that merchants can obtain is only the second-tier rare level. Shang Xinlei originally planned to switch to swordsmanship after the third tier and try to inherit the rare longsword in her family, but now that she can get the rare flying ring, there is no need to go through any more trouble.

As for the third Treasure Hunt Token, Shang Xinlei was ignorant and had no idea what it was for. Although it might be as valuable as the Reward and Punishment Token, she had no interest in gambling on it.

As Shang Xinlei returned with the rare flying ring, the atmosphere in the entire camp reached its peak. They looked at Jiang Shi, then at the top of the individual score leaderboard—

Jiang Shi: 11200 points

He scored more than 2,000 points higher than Shang Xinlei, and his total score exceeded 10,000!
What could she possibly get from her treasure chest? A reward and punishment decree? A legendary item? Or even... a Foundation Establishment Pill?

"We must retreat immediately once Jiang Shi opens the treasure chest!" Lu Wangji said immediately. "The shares will still be split 60/40, but we need to discuss what to choose!"

"Jiang Shi, if the treasure chest reward cannot be yours alone, I can guarantee that the merchant will compensate you with a secret technique and a rare token!" Shang Yue promised, "No matter what secret technique or token you want, the merchant will do his best to help you."

“The same goes for the Jie family!” Jie Zilong added immediately. “Don’t worry, we will definitely not let you suffer any losses. You can come to Mansu Forest for countless years to come. We are not short-sighted enough to take advantage of you on this point!”

Looking at the excited and anxious crowd in front of him, Jiang Shi neither nodded nor shook his head, but walked straight towards the individual score leaderboard.

Lu Wangji followed closely behind, genuinely worried that Jiang Shi would casually use any secret techniques he got from the treasure chest—if the treasure contained a Foundation Establishment Pill or a reward and punishment decree, the imperial court would have to take it down!

Just then, Jiang Shi suddenly turned to look at him. Her face was calm, and her eyes revealed no emotion, but Lu Wangji knew that she must hate him now. Although others were whispering in his ear, he was the one who framed Jiang Shi and also the one who divided up Jiang Shi's reward. The former was a matter of life and death, and the latter involved interests. He had done the two things that were easiest to make enemies in the world. How could Jiang Shi not hate him?
Lu Wangji was actually a little uneasy, mainly because the rewards for the Mansu Forest were just too generous. Jiang Shi could reliably produce four reward and punishment orders every year, and all the noble families in the Liang Kingdom had to rely on her. She was the force of the times and the big picture, and Lu Wangji, a mere third-level messenger from a prestigious family, simply couldn't compete with her.

But there is still a year, enough time for Lu Wangji to 'fake his death and escape'.

For such a troublesome figure as him, the imperial court already had a stable resettlement mechanism. By the time Jiang Shi became unstoppable and sought revenge, he would have already died in some secret place. Then, he would be handed over as a scapegoat in the Luo Weijin case to appease Jiang Shi's anger. At that time, Jiang Shi would only be able to retaliate against other aristocratic families, and the imperial court could remain quietly in the middle.

With these thoughts in mind, Lu Wangji's unease vanished. After all, Jiang Shi was merely a messenger; what could she do, no matter how angry or annoyed she was?

coax!
The sudden burst of powerful energy so close at hand felt like a scorching current, causing Lu Wangji to instinctively squint. In that instant, a dazzling crescent moon pierced the night, accompanied by a fierce wind and thunder, and shone brightly before Lu Wangji's neck!
(End of this chapter)