Scourge Messenger

Chapter 86 Only Me
"You shouldn't have saved her," the middle-aged man said calmly.

I know, Yan Qing thought.

While violence can solve many problems, many problems cannot be solved by violence alone. In the case of An Cuihua, helping her drive away the strong-willed servants is only the first step. The more important step is how to settle her down. If we only help her solve her immediate predicament and then leave her alone, it will only postpone the time when she is captured by the Li family.

Buy her freedom? And then she gets sold again?
Give her money to run away? If an orphan girl takes money and goes somewhere else, her fate might be worse than if she obediently went to the Li family.

That's why Yan Qing didn't act immediately after understanding the situation, because he could save her temporarily, but not forever.

If he doesn't handle it properly, he could even ruin her life.

If An Cuihua hadn't finally grabbed the 'Rat Monk' by the foot and begged him, Yan Qing might not have actually made a move.

However, despite thinking this way, Yan Qing wasn't the type to blindly accept whatever others said. Instead, she directly quoted a profound principle: "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Save her? You've only harmed her," the middle-aged man said. "You bald monk might think you're doing a good deed, but you don't realize you're just pushing An Cuihua into an abyss. Do you think her father just randomly found a broker and sold her to whoever offered the highest price?"

"Isn't that right?"

"Of course not. Brokers are all managed by the government, and the buying and selling of slaves requires strict review. In Liang Kingdom, only noble families can keep slaves, but not all noble families can buy slaves. Only noble families with good reputations can buy slaves first, and noble families with bad reputations may not have new slaves for decades."

What constitutes good reputation? What constitutes bad reputation?

"The number of slaves who die each year," the middle-aged man stated a horrifying statistic. "Whether they die of illness, beatings, or old age, the more they die, the worse their reputation becomes. If a family has more than five deaths last year, even if the broker has slaves, they cannot be sold to that family."

"The Li family, headed by Shangbao Cheng Li Chongxin, is a family of excellent reputation, with an average of only one servant dying each year. If An Cuihua can enter the Li family, even if life is hard, she will at least have enough to eat and wear for several decades. If you help her drive away the servants now, it will inevitably displease the entire Li family. When An Cuihua falls into their hands, she will definitely not fare well."

Yan Qing was silent for a moment before replying, "I can help her escape to another place—"

"Escape? Unless she escapes to the Zhou or Qi states, she'll forever be a runaway slave on the household register." The middle-aged man shook his head. "Household registers need to be renewed annually, and you have to go to the local government office. The Li family has already bought her from her father, with a broker as a witness, and she's registered in the government register. A year later, she either has to surrender to the government as a runaway slave, or live as an unregistered resident in the Liang state—Great Monk, do you think she can survive as an unregistered resident?"

"Besides, would she really be willing to abandon her father?" The middle-aged man looked at An Cuihua: "Don't think that just because her father sold her, it's because her mother died when she was young, and she has been relying on her father since she was a child. Her father wasn't always so bad; he could be kind sometimes. If he hadn't been tricked into gambling and lost money this time, he might not have sold his daughter."

"When her father was being chased for debts by the Li family and came to her for help, do you think she could just stand by and do nothing?"

An Cuihua looked at the middle-aged man with eyes full of terror, her whole body trembling, as if she were looking at a monster: "You, how do you know so much about my family..."

As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly lose her strength, releasing her grip on the 'Rat Monk's' sleeve and saying with her head down, "He's right, Master. I'm sorry, Cuihua has troubled you... I... I'll go to the Li family instead..."

"No."

The 'Rat Monk' reached out to stop her and said in a deep voice, "I'll think of a way."

"I thought you were just a foolishly kind person, but it turns out you're a hypocrite unwilling to admit your mistakes." The middle-aged man shook his head. "If you truly care about her, you should take her with you to the Li family to apologize. The longer you delay, the bleaker her future will become."

"Her predicament is not something she has created now, but rather something determined by her background, her family, her connections, and her appearance. You may think that being a slave is pitiful, but it is the most suitable identity for her. Even if you want her to go higher, her vision, education, instincts, and family will all pull her back to where she belongs."

"The universe operates on a constant cycle, and everything has its own function. What makes you think you can change someone else's life?"

"I'm not sure," Yan Qing replied, "but I'm willing to give it a try."

The middle-aged man remained silent, his expression unchanged, and turned to leave. But judging from the force with which he turned, he must have been quite displeased.

Yan Qing ignored the stranger and looked at An Cuihua, who was cowering like a little rabbit, wondering who she should ask to take care of her.

Yes, Yan Qing actually has quite a few connections in Liang Kingdom. She has Qian Gongyu below her, and Jie Yuanshao and Shang Xinlei above her; any one of these young ladies could easily solve this small problem. However, contacting them would inevitably expose the connection between 'Rat Monk' and 'Jiang Shi,' and Yan Qing knows even with a grain of salt that many people in Liang Kingdom are currently searching for clues about 'Jiang Shi.' Once 'Rat Monk' appears in their sights…

Ugh, just thinking about it is a hassle.

But having already spoken, Yan Qing had no intention of taking it back; it seemed he could only take things one step at a time. However, whatever he did, he first had to deal with the two servants watching him, otherwise, his information would easily be leaked…

Hey?
Yan Qing shifted his perspective and noticed that the two servants were gone. Seemingly noticing his search for the servants, An Cuihua whispered, "Master, I just saw that man say a few words to the servants, and then the servants left."

That middle-aged man?
Yan Qing blinked, and for some reason, he suddenly felt like laughing. He picked up the persimmon cake next to him and took a bite.

It tastes pretty good.

boom!
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out not far away, shaking the screen!
Yan Qing shifted her perspective to a higher vantage point and saw a figure on fire running across the rooftop.

He was truly a man of fire, his entire body wreathed in flames and burning intensely, with an astonishing temperature that could be seen distorting the air from afar!

But Yan Qing soon realized he was wrong, because it wasn't just one, but six firemen! They charged in from six directions, like six dump trucks charging forward, and their target was none other than the middle-aged man who had just spoken to Yan Qing!

The middle-aged man showed no panic; instead, he immediately ran in the opposite direction, trying to escape their encirclement.

Boom!
Suddenly, a large area of ​​the ground collapsed. Yan Qing saw people lying in ambush below through the smoke and dust. This location had been dug into a trap long ago, just waiting for the target to walk in and fall into the pit!
Meanwhile, the seemingly stunned passersby and neighbors immediately started throwing various containers into the pit. The rattling sound, coupled with the burning figures preparing to rush in, made Yan Qing realize that the containers were probably full of kerosene. Pit, kerosene, burning figures!
One after another, without a single flaw!
Even though Yan Qing had once planned a "feat" like burning down Anguo Temple, compared to the flawless combo before him, his plan seemed far too naive. These fire-man figures weren't just alts of his; what immense profit, what deep-seated hatred could drive so many to endure the agony of being engulfed in flames, determined to perish together with the middle-aged man?

If we don't know who the two sides are, what their grudges are, or whether there's anything to gain, should we get involved?

Swish!
The fire-man who was near the 'Rat Monk' was suddenly kicked in the head. Although there was no actual injury, the kinetic energy still made him stagger. Even with the aid of the drug, the flames still burned him intensely, making him dizzy. When he saw a monk blocking his way, he immediately pounced on him, hoping the monk would experience his pain as well!
Upon exchanging blows, Yan Qing immediately sensed the opponent's formidable strength and vitality. The fact that the Rat Monk's attack hadn't even sent him flying suggested that, even if he wasn't a messenger, he must be a seasoned martial artist. However, Yan Qing wasn't aiming to defeat his opponent; he merely wanted to delay him for a moment and prevent the 'Six Fire Men Formation' from completing its encirclement.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sounds of shattering jars, exploding flames, and collapsing rubble erupted simultaneously, and the earth shook violently as if a dragon were turning over, demonstrating just how terrifying the explosion inside the crater was.

However, because the encirclement failed, the middle-aged man still managed to escape from the thick smoke. A thin barrier appeared on his body, which was the Heart Protection Mirror Barrier that Yan Qing was most familiar with. At this time, six of the seven mirrors had been broken. He almost perished in the sea of ​​fire because his defensive token exploded!
Seeing the 'Rat Monk' intercepting the Fire Man, the middle-aged man said nothing, kicked the Fire Man away, and gestured for the 'Rat Monk' to follow him. The two ran wildly along the street, surrounded by the panicked screams of the crowd.

"it's over?"

"I guess not yet."

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the ground beneath them collapsed instantly. Just when Yan Qing thought this was another attack by the firemen, he discovered that there was actually a sloping slide in the pit. The 'Rat Monk' and the middle-aged man slid down the slope continuously. The middle-aged man tried to steady himself, but the slope was full of sand, making it impossible to hold on!
It took them nearly ten seconds to slide down to the bottom of the tunnel, and as soon as they landed, there were sounds of many bottles and jars breaking, obviously from the impact they made while sliding down.

The bottom of the passage was completely dark, and the height seemed to be only about one person's height, so Yan Qing couldn't jump up.

"It's kerosene," the middle-aged man said. "This place is full of kerosene, and we're covered in it too. That was just a test; this is the deadly trap they've prepared."

The sloping slide that leads in but not out, with oil piled up at the bottom, is indeed a deadly trap. Yan Qing has no idea how to escape.

Dead.

"Will any fire people come down?" Yan Qing asked.

"The fire people won't live that long, and they have easier options."

Glug, glug, they looked up and saw something sliding down the slope, and it was very bright—it was a torch!

As the torches drew near, the sound of a sword being drawn came from the middle-aged man's direction, pinning the torches to the sand, where they quickly went out due to lack of oxygen.

"Why did you come to save me?" the middle-aged man asked.

"Seeing you get rid of those two servants, I thought you were a good person," Yan Qing sighed. "Don't say anymore, I already regret it. I never thought I'd die."

"This is a lesson, Great Monk. The ways of Heaven are constant; interfering with the cause and effect of others will bring unimaginable backlash."

"Is this how you treat someone who saved your life?"

"I can escape without you, and I won't survive without you. Your kindness is meaningless."

"Then why did you dismiss those two servants?"

"It was just curiosity, just as I was curious why you saved An Cuihua. I've been watching the whole time. You didn't intend to help, but then An Cuihua grabbed your foot. Did your heart waver?"

"I just hope someone else can save her," Yan Qing replied. "Someone powerful and influential in Jiangnan City, someone who can arrange a job for An Cuihua—only such a person can save her life. But until she came to me, there was no such person."

"Then it can only be me, only me."

After a brief silence, another torch fell down, and the middle-aged man plunged it into the sand again, saying, "If I can get out of here alive, I'll grant you one request."

"Two, I guess."

"One of them is to settle An Cuihua, what's the other one?"

"Light incense for me, not in those money-grubbing temples, but in a temple that accepts the poor, and pray to the Bodhisattva for the safe delivery of an old man who sells persimmon cakes' daughter-in-law."

In the darkness, the middle-aged man seemed quite surprised by Yan Qing's request, and remained silent for a while before answering:
"it is good."

In the darkness, the middle-aged man threw a sword over. At this moment, many lights appeared on the sloping passage, indicating that the people above had thrown down many torches.

"Although it's not a token, it's still a good sword. Whether you survive or not depends on how much effort you put in."

As the torches drew near, Yan Qing, quick-witted and agile, thrust forward. By the light of the torches, he saw that the sword in the 'Rat Monk's' hand was indeed valuable, with a cold blade, intricate carvings, and even... somewhat familiar.

He couldn't help but ask, "What's the name of this fine sword?"

The middle-aged man replied, "Yitian."

(End of this chapter)