Scourge Messenger

Chapter 96 The Hell of the Human Heart

Yan Qing was in a room near the back of the capital. It's worth noting that the entire Ministry of Personnel had stained-glass windows installed, presumably because stained-glass could be obtained in large quantities from the nearby secret realm. Although the bed wasn't visible from the outside, Yan Qing could see the Heaven-Slaying Sword placed on the wardrobe beside the bed, along with the clothes.

Although the Heaven-Slaying Sword is a precious cultural relic bestowed by the Emperor, it is ultimately just an ordinary longsword, mainly used to highlight Shang Xuanwen's nobility and favor. Naturally, it would not be hidden in a storage ring.

Yan Qing's plan was simple: just go in and steal. If Shang Xuanwen woke up, it would turn burglary into robbery. Anyway, the alt account would take the loot and run. In the main city area, Shang Xuanwen couldn't hurt the alt account. Then they could find a place to hide and reunite with the main account at dawn.

Therefore, there is a reason why the powerful and wealthy do not like to live in the main city. If someone were to openly rob them without fear of death, they would really have no way to deal with it for the time being.

However, this would definitely result in the Rat Monk's account being deleted, but if it can ensure the successful completion of this theft, sacrificing it would be worthwhile.

Looking at the Heaven-Slaying Sword in the room, Yan Qing wondered if this would leave Shang Xuanwen with too much psychological trauma.

These past few days, Yan Qing has come to understand that Shang Xuanwen trusts no one because he can vaguely hear other people's inner thoughts and see through their ugliness.

He's like someone who's about to lose control of their bladder at any moment, leading him to distrust everyone's farts and even avoid having servants. It's almost as if he has a form of anthropotropy. Meanwhile, 'sincere' individuals like the Rat Monk are like fragrant, beautiful girls who never poop in his eyes, instantly gaining his complete trust.

When the Rat Monk steals the Heaven-Slaying Sword and betrays him, who knows if his worldview will collapse? He probably won't trust anyone anymore. But a collapsed worldview is better than being ganged up on by his daughter and three thieves. He can only suffer for Shang Xuanwen, while the Rat Monk bears the bad reputation.

Time passed second by second. Yan Qing planned the theft at midnight (11 o'clock), which was still a long time before the crime was committed at 11:45. Even if Shang Xuanwen was alerted, he would not be able to mobilize troops to search the whole city so quickly at night. It would be enough for Rat Monk to find a place to hide and wait to meet up with the big boss.

That's about enough, it's time...

bell--

The doorbell rang suddenly in the lobby, indicating an urgent matter requiring a late-night visit. Yan Qing was stunned to see Shang Xuanwen immediately get up and dress in the room.

Rat Monk, an ordinary person who hasn't even changed jobs, wants to forcibly snatch the Heaven-Slaying Sword from a third-job messenger? Even if he's not afraid of getting hurt in the main city, Shang Xuanwen isn't so incompetent as to not even be able to protect a sword!
Damn it, who ruined my plans?!

Yan Qing watched as a soldier dismounted from a fast horse on the screen, and then followed the soldier into the capital hall under the pretext of security. He wanted to see what matter required disturbing the Prime Minister so late at night. Could it be that the north had attacked?

However, it was neither an urgent military situation nor a natural disaster or man-made calamity; it was just an urgent letter from the Mansu Forest. The soldier delivered it and then went out to rest.

Spending the night in the woods?

How to put it... it's like a murderer suddenly hearing in the police station that the case he committed has been discovered. Yan Qing was naturally full of curiosity and wanted to see how others would describe Jiang Shi's dominating battle. So he had the Rat Monk slowly turn to the side to peek.

Upon reading the contents of the letter, Yan Qing was immediately disappointed, as it made no mention of Jiang Shi. Instead, it listed a long and confusing array of goods, most of which were materials or supplies. Only the ten treasures at the top were of utmost importance.

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she roughly guessed what it was.

Noticing the Rat Monk's curiosity, Shang Xuanwen said without turning his head, "This is the reward list for the Mansu Forest Secret Realm. You can go and broaden your horizons next year; it will be quite beneficial for tempering your will."

Yan Qing opened the announcement page and found that the Mansu Forest event had indeed ended. It had been mentioned before that after the Mansu Forest event ended, there would be ten large treasure chests as a reward, with all players competing fairly. However, Liang Guoxin couldn't bear to see everyone fighting for the rewards, so he changed it to give a share to all participants, with the lion's share going to the imperial court.

The top line, next to "Third-Tier Healing Token - Blood Jade," has Jie Yuanshao's name written on it, indicating that it has probably already been reserved by Jie Yuanshao.

Yan Qing glanced at the rewards and thought they were indeed quite good. "If I reach the Foundation Establishment stage next year, I'll keep all these rewards for myself and won't leave a single one for you bunch of lazy dogs."

Now that you've finished reading the letter, Prime Minister, can you hurry up and go to bed? I'm in a real hurry!
However, Shang Xuanwen was not in a hurry at all. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly, his eyes fixed on the contents of the list. But was it really necessary to look at such a small thing for so long? Was he getting presbyopia?

After a moment, Shang Xuanwen took out a piece of paper, ground ink, and wrote down—

"Tears of the Merchant Heart: Secret Manual - Shockwave Fist"

"Sengu Ame: Third-Tier Token - Wolf Fang Claw"

"Thousand Palace Rain: Three-Compartment Storage Ring"

After finishing writing, he blew on the ink on the paper and handed it to the rat monk next to him: "You don't need to stand guard tonight. Take this paper back to the manor and give it to the Fourth Miss, then go and rest."

Yan Qing looked at the paper and then at Shang Xuanwen, feeling somewhat puzzled.

The number of rewards is fine. Qian Gongyu received Jiang Shi's rewards on his behalf, so she has two. Yan Qing's question is, why did Shang Xuanwen write that Shang Xinlei would receive a secret technique book reward when the list didn't even include it?
Moreover, the most precious rewards among the top ten, the Wolf Fang Claw and the Blood Jade, are just ordinary third-tier tokens, which cannot compare with the Secret Technique Book at all. As Shang Xinlei and the others mentioned in their casual conversation, as an essential path to the third tier, the Secret Technique is a great skill that greatly enhances the power of tokens. Its value is at least equivalent to the rare third-tier tokens, and it is truly priceless.

"Just say it's a reward for staying in the woods, don't say anything unnecessary," Shang Xuanwen said casually, noticing the rat monk's confusion.

"Isn't this a gift you gave to Miss Shang? Why did you use the pretext of staying in the woods?" Yan Qingqi asked. "This is your chance to mend your relationship with your daughter."

Shang Xuanwen remained silent, but Yan Qing knew he wasn't refusing to answer; rather, he was mentally preparing his response. To outsiders, this Prime Minister of Liang was serious, taciturn, and meticulous, like a dormant volcano inspiring awe. But Yan Qing knew that often he was simply contemplating how to reply—if he were to argue with someone, he would be rendered speechless by the insults; he lacked the ability to respond fluently on the spot.

Although they had only known each other for three days, this man felt like a close friend Yan Qing had known for many years—stubborn and clumsy.

"The only child I've ever raised personally is Yue'er," Shang Xuanwen said slowly. "He was often sick when he was little, and they said he was born with a weak constitution that couldn't be cured. Every night I would massage his blood and qi, and I even voluntarily resigned from some of my duties."

"After Xinhao was born, I inevitably had to spend more time taking care of her, so I had less time to spend with Yue'er. Once I saw Yue'er playing with Xinhao in the cradle and asked him if he liked his little sister. Yue'er nodded and said he did."

As if recalling the scene, Shang Xuanwen's face suddenly turned ferocious, his tone became clenched with rage, and his arms trembled uncontrollably. It was more fear than anger: "But I heard him thinking that he wished his sister were dead. If his sister wasn't there, his father would have more time to play with him."

"He was only five years old then, my five-year-old son. Because he was jealous that his younger sister was taking away his parents' love, he wished his own sister would die!"

(End of this chapter)