Scourge Messenger

Chapter 82 The Thieves' House - Case Two

At midday, at the thief's house.

There was still some time before the meeting, but the thieves were all present. The pharmacist pulled out a chair and sat down, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers interlaced, her head slightly lowered. Even with the mask on, everyone could tell from her body language that she was saying, 'I'm very unhappy.'

No one wanted to mess with her, but hearing her stomping her feet and growing increasingly angry, as if she couldn't stay calm without venting, Ying Rushi had no choice but to ask, "Black Wolf, what happened? Let me guess... did you fail to snatch the sword technique manual?"

"Damn those merchant scoundrels!" Pharmacist Yuan slammed his fist on the round table, gritting his teeth as he said, "They should have their homes ransacked and all their money stolen... How dare they even try to steal strategic resources like these secret manuals! They're asking for death!"

"I originally wanted to buy it too, but when I saw that the cheapest one cost more than five thousand spirit jades, I was really short of money," Ying said with a smile.

Hearing this, the pharmacist's mood improved considerably. She said resentfully, "It's not that I don't have money, I just don't want to be a sucker and spend so many spirit jades to buy a basic sword technique manual. Maybe there will be another chance to bid for it in the future—have you seen this manual auction from other places?"

“Yes, after all, there are seven or eight trading boards in the main city, one at each of the four city gates and another at each of the major thoroughfares, so it’s really hard to miss them.” Ying Rushi remained very cautious, not revealing any of her specific information: “There are a bunch of people in front of each trading board. I didn’t expect there to be so many rich people.”

"A trading board... that's a fitting name." The pharmacist pondered. "No wonder the price skyrocketed so ridiculously in the end; it seems everyone in the three main cities could participate in the bidding."

Suddenly, Shang Xinlei blurted out, "I bought a copy."

Yingru was very surprised: "I remember the cheapest one cost more than 10,000 spirit jades... Red Serpent, you really spare the money."

The pharmacist felt that Shang Xinlei was deliberately flaunting her wealth, and was quite displeased.

At this moment, Yan Qing finally couldn't help but ask, "Why would so many people be willing to pay a high price for a basic manual? It's not a token, it's just a manual."

As expected, everyone looked puzzled when they heard Yan Qing's question, as if she had asked a stupid question like, "Which tastes better, Coca-Cola or Pepsi?" But Yan Qing couldn't suppress her curiosity and was willing to risk having her persona questioned.

"Explaining this is a bit troublesome," Ying said in return. "Why don't you first tell me why you think the token is more valuable than the secret manual?"

Even though she knew that Ying Rushi was testing her again, Yan Qing still answered seriously: "Because a messenger can only exert extraordinary power when he has a token, while a secret manual can at most make an ordinary person a messenger, and may not even be able to."

"So in your view, if the token is a weapon, then the secret manual is merely something that can instantly transform an ordinary person into a soldier," Ying said. "Do you think weapons are more important than soldiers themselves?"

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow: "This analogy doesn't hold water. Without spears, soldiers can fight with pitchforks, bamboo, or stones, but a messenger without a token is just an ordinary person."

Surprisingly, the yellow dog seemed to be well-educated, and might even have received training in rhetoric... Many thoughts flashed through Ying Rushi's mind as she continued, "Then let me put it another way, do you think there are more tokens or secret manuals in the world?"

“Of course, there are more tokens; once the manual is used up, it’s gone,” Yan Qing said. “But once the manual is used, the same manual cannot be used again, so those who need the manual…”

He stopped mid-sentence and said with a smile, "You've realized it too, haven't you? No matter how many secret manuals the secret realm produces, they will always be in short supply. Let alone ordinary people, even within the forces that control the secret realm, the supply of manuals is so limited that it can't even meet the internal demand. Many people are fighting tooth and nail just to get the chance to buy a manual."

“A 30% casualty rate.” The Pharmacist added calmly, “This is the casualty rate of soldiers in a second-tier military mansion secret realm that can reliably produce secret manuals. Although we can draw first-tier messengers from other military mansions, how can training keep up with rapid development? Second-tier military mansions often allow soldiers to exchange battle merits for secret manuals, so that they can be immediately put into combat as combat force after their first job advancement.”

Yan Qing clicked his tongue in amazement. Soldiers had to fight to earn merits, and then use those merits to buy secret manuals to upgrade themselves before they were qualified to enter higher-intensity battles. However, even with such a brutal competitive mechanism, only the best of the best were qualified to climb the path of advancement. The rest of the mediocre people, even though they lived on this land with extraordinary power, could only crawl on the ground and look up at the miracle in the messenger's palm.

He began to understand why the secret manual was so expensive.

"There will never be enough secret manuals, not even enough to meet the needs of military governments, the imperial court, and aristocratic families. Ordinary people are excluded—even if they are wealthy merchants, fallen nobles, or even high-ranking officials—as long as they don't have a third-tier messenger backing them, they don't even qualify to buy manuals." The Pharmacist sneered, "It's just that the main city protects them too well, allowing them to accumulate so much wealth..."

“Black Wolf has already demonstrated the scarcity of the manuals, and I’d like to add something,” Ying said. “Not everyone who buys a manual wants to become a messenger. Or rather, they’re content even without changing their class.”

"Oh?"

"After using the manual, adult men's Qi and blood generally increase two to three times. Even if they don't join the army or fight, they can live a comfortable life. Not to mention, they don't need to train their strength or hone their skills; they can directly master a basic martial art." Ying paused for a moment: "Or to put it more bluntly—the basic manual has the effects of prolonging life, strengthening the body, enhancing male virility, nourishing yin, and beautifying the skin and body for ordinary people. Not only are there no side effects, but the effects can last for decades."

Yan Qing blinked, recalling that she had indeed been brimming with yang energy when she woke up in the mornings recently.

That's right, the basic manual not only teaches learners the techniques, but more importantly, it helps them level up!

Yan Qing always viewed basic skill manuals from a gamer's perspective. In the game world, basic skill manuals were obviously worthless, since players could quickly level up to level 10 even after playing for a short time. In the original game *The Messenger*, there was no place for ordinary people. But in the real world, the vast majority of people are just ordinary people at level 1!
If a level 10 character is equivalent to a top-tier soldier, then an ordinary person at level 5 after learning the secret manual is at least an elite. And you don't need to train, you don't need to spend time; whether you're physically lazy or just naturally lazy, as long as you learn the basic manual, you'll directly possess an elite body honed through countless trials… This isn't just a basic manual, it's practically super soldier serum!
No wonder so many people flock to it.

“Even for a messenger, buying a basic manual they don’t know is never a bad deal. At the very least, it can increase their Qi and Blood, and maybe they can even broaden their knowledge and advance further.” Ying Rushi crossed her arms: “I wonder if they will still sell basic manuals in the future, or… sell more advanced items?”

"Compared to that, I'm more curious about who sold them." The pharmacist pondered, chin in hand. "This person... no, this organization sold ten manuals, and it's definitely not just for a little bit of spirit jade. How could a force that controls the trading board be poor? You know, the trading board has existed in the main city for countless years, and no one has ever discovered its true function. If it weren't for this sale of the manuals, no one would know that it's actually a trading platform that can connect the world."

I'm so sorry I'm poor.

"A trading platform with only one seller," should be corrected.

“Yes, everyone can buy things on the trading board, but only the mysterious organization can sell goods… I understand!” The pharmacist became more and more certain as he spoke: “Moving a tree to establish trust, every word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. They used these ten secret manuals to announce their existence to the whole world!”

You don't understand anything.

“Right now, countless people are undoubtedly watching any changes on the trading board. Whatever the mysterious organization sells, it will attract a lot of attention, thus affecting the prices of goods in various regions. Moreover, no matter what they sell, no one can supervise or even stop the transactions!” Pharmacist Yuan said, emphasizing each word, “This mysterious organization probably wants to use this unique trading channel to manipulate the situation in the Central Plains at will!”

“They can even use trading boards for long-distance transmission.” Ying suggested another possibility: “For example, they could put dangerous goods like petroleum on the market, and then their spies in the main city could immediately buy them…”

The two women chatted back and forth, devising various countermeasures that the mysterious organization might take, which broadened Yan Qing's horizons. He was still basking in the glory of earning 100,000 spirit jades, but compared to these two schemers, he felt that the treasure-hunting token in his hands was a complete waste. If they had gotten their hands on that thing, they could probably stir up the world's affairs.

Suddenly, a large hole appeared in the round stone table, and the sand table rose up with a rumble. The thieves immediately fell silent, watching as the sand table gradually constructed a giant city. As the city's outline became clearer, they all looked at Shang Xinlei.

Because Shang Xinlei never hid the fact that she was from Jiangnan.

"Target of this theft: Jiangnan, Yitian"

"Location of Arrival: Intersection of Shangjiu Road and Xiajiu Road"

"Time of Arrival: 3:45 PM, three days from now"

"Evacuation point: You can evacuate immediately upon reaching the archway at the intersection of Shangjiu Road and Xiajiu Road."

"Evacuation deadline: 3:45 AM"

"Theft successful: Obtained the token - Yitian".

"Failed theft: 30,000 spirit jades deducted, permanent disqualification from entering the Thieves' Den."

Golden light emanated from the sand table, making the entire city transparent. Then it shrank to a tiny size, and a silver-white longsword appeared in the center of the sand table. As the silver-white longsword moved, the landscape of the sand table also changed continuously.

Why is the silver-white longsword moving?
Because it was not kept away or hidden in a treasure vault, but was worn on the waist.

"The legendary sword Yitian!" Yaoshi Yuan's eyes lit up: "The sword of the General Who Conquered the West, which was famous in the foreign lands three hundred years ago! It has actually ended up in the Liang Kingdom?"

“No wonder there was no specific location; it's in someone else's hands. This is troublesome.” Ying asked, “Red Serpent, do you know who this person is? If you don't, we'll have to find out their identity first—”

“I know who he is,” Shang Xinlei said.

"Oh?"

Everyone was somewhat surprised, not expecting that Shang Xinlei actually knew. Could this person be very famous?

"In the third year of Yongding, the General of the Flying Cavalry of Liang quelled the rebellion of the Gushu military government. He was promoted to the positions of Attendant-in-Ordinary, Minister of Works, Acting General, and Director of the Imperial Secretariat. He was also appointed Director of the Imperial Secretariat, enfeoffed as Duke of Shixing, and granted the Yitian Sword. He was granted the privilege of not being called by name when receiving imperial greetings and not having to bow when entering the court."

"The master of the Heaven-Slaying Sword is none other than Shang Xuanwen, the current Prime Minister of Liang and a third-level messenger."

(End of this chapter)