Scourge Messenger

Chapter 98 Detachment
The armory was on fire, and smoke rose from the palace—how delightful it sounded! Such a grand spectacle naturally drew the attention of the residents of Jiangnan City, who stayed up all night to watch. They flocked out of their homes, and neighbors gathered together, enthusiastically discussing whether it was a rebellion by a powerful minister or a usurpation by a member of the imperial family, filled with the relaxed air of being the lords of the southern capital.

If you live your whole life in a place where no one can hurt you, it's hard for anyone not to feel relaxed.

Occasionally, people would hear the sound of tiles being stepped on coming from the roof, but when they looked up, they could only vaguely see a few shadows flying by, which seemed to be crows flying by.

Unlike their previous leisurely stroll through Chang'an, the distance from the archway to the palace was a full three thousand steps, requiring the thieves to run as fast as they could. This is where the difference in their abilities became apparent in their speed.

The fastest was Yaoshi Yuan, whose footsteps were the loudest. Underneath her black night clothes, she seemed to be wearing armor, but her steps were still steady, like a cheetah hunting in the forest. Next was Shang Xinlei, who ran almost silently, as if she knew every roof and every brick in Jiangnan City, as leisurely as if she were taking a walk after dinner.

Bringing up the rear were Yan Qing and Ying Rushi, their footsteps loud yet slow, prompting Yao Shiyuan to turn back several times, his eyes filled with disdain. Yan Qing's slow pace was due to his failure to grasp the advanced footwork, while Ying Rushi's slowness seemed intentional; her left hand remained tightly gripping the sword hilt, a posture that naturally prevented her from running at full speed.

In just ten days, the thieves seemed to have gained new power and new secrets.

After passing through eight streets and five residences, they finally arrived at the foot of the imperial city. Jiangnan City was not lacking in five-story and seven-story buildings, but all the buildings within a mile radius of the imperial city were single-story houses. The imperial city wall was about twenty zhang high. From a distance, it did not seem like much, but when they arrived in front of the imperial city wall, they had to look up to see the top of the wall.

That's not all. A moat was dug outside the imperial city, not wide but quite deep, so deep that an adult couldn't possibly reach the bottom. Such tight defenses weren't for dealing with external enemies, but simply to prevent mad messengers from sneaking into the palace to steal or defecate.

Someone really will defecate, right on the throne. Anyway, the madmen who can get into the capital city will naturally find a way out, and no one in the main city can hurt them, so why don't they take a dump and thoroughly humiliate the emperor and his officials? The messenger group isn't necessarily educated, and many of them are full of vulgar tastes.

Therefore, not only the imperial city, but also the walls of important places such as the Ministry of Personnel were unusually high, as if the emperor and officials were locked in a cage.

However, with three days to prepare, the cage naturally couldn't stop the thieves.

Ying Rushi took out the Murong family's snake-patterned rope, one end of which was tied with a hook. She laughed and said, "With such high palace walls, Black Wolf, can you throw it over? You'll have to hook it onto the inner railing first."

Unlike regular city walls, the palace walls of the imperial palace were oval-shaped at the top to prevent thieves from using hooks to climb them. However, with the help of a sand table, the thieves discovered that inside the palace walls was a pond and courtyard with a pavilion and openwork railings, which could be used as fulcrums for hooks.

But throwing the heavy snake-patterned rope and hook over the twenty-zhang palace wall and continuing to fly to the Orchid Pavilion a dozen steps away was not something an ordinary messenger could do; at least Yan Qing did not have that kind of confidence.

The pharmacist merely sneered and snatched the hook from Ying Rushi's hand. She glanced up at the palace wall, confirmed her location, and then began to twist her body dramatically!
With her left foot forward and her right foot in a half-squat lunge position, she twisted her upper body nearly 180 degrees, making the rope hook whirring loudly!

If Yan Qing hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have found it hard to believe that a person's body could be so flexible. Yao Shiyuan was always presented as a martial artist, yet her movements now resembled those of a top dancer gathering strength; even those standing around could feel the intense heat emanating from her body!
"Secret Technique: Bloodlust?" Ying Ru asked with some surprise and uncertainty, "Is she learning it, or has she already mastered it?"

Hey!
With a thunderous roar and crashing waves, in a split second, Yaoshiyuan unleashed all her kinetic energy, hurling the rope hook with a crisp, piercing sound. The snake-patterned rope, like noodles being slurped up by the heavens, was sucked up with a whooshing sound. A full eight seconds later, Yaoshiyuan confirmed the hook had landed by the vibration of the snake-patterned rope. Then she pulled hard, but soon couldn't move it any further; the hook firmly hooked onto the railing inside the palace wall.

"Great!"

"To be able to throw such a heavy iron hook and snake-skin rope so high, no wonder it's Black Wolf!"

"You're truly the only one among us who can do this!"

The pharmacist raised an eyebrow slightly, crossed his arms, and exhaled a foot of white smoke, secretly pleased with himself. But his voice remained calm, as if he had only done something insignificant: "It was a piece of cake. You... ah!?"

When she turned around, she found that her teammates had already climbed the palace wall along the snake-patterned rope, and no one had even watched her showing off. Under normal circumstances, she would have definitely held a grudge against them in her heart, but because she had just felt so good praising them, the pharmacist chose to be magnanimous and forgive them, grabbing the snake-patterned rope and following her teammates.

The four stood atop the oval palace wall, not yet descending. From a height of twenty zhang (approximately 63 meters), they could see both the imperial palace and Jiangnan City. Jiangnan City was bustling, and the imperial palace was no less lively. Many palace servants had been awakened, carrying lanterns and awaiting their master's summons; the guards, not to be allowed to doze off, were all urged to rise and stand guard.

"The emperor has one empress and two concubines, but judging from the sand table, he will rest in his Chengqian Palace tonight," Shang Xinlei said. "If Shang Xuanwen enters the palace for an audience, he will not go to the inner palace, but will wait for the summons in the Wenyuan Pavilion. However, the Chengqian Palace is in the northeast and the Wenyuan Pavilion is in the southeast. Which side should we go to first?"

"Chengqian Hall!" "Wenyuan Pavilion."

The pharmacist and Ying Rushi simultaneously uttered two place names, and the two exchanged a glance, as if they were at loggerheads.

"We should strive to complete the task with minimal risk," Ying said.

"We must ensure the mission is completed!" Pharmacist Yuan said resolutely, "We don't know Shang Xuanwen's exact location now. If he's hiding, an hour isn't enough time for us to turn Jiangnan City upside down!" The conflict between the wolf and the fox ultimately ended with the fox prioritizing the overall situation.

“Then let’s go to Chengqian Hall,” Ying Rushi said coldly. “You’d better pray that a Foundation Establishment messenger doesn’t jump out of the emperor’s bedchamber.”

"Hmph, who would—"

The thunderous explosion drew everyone's attention. They turned to look and saw a fire burning in the northwest. Because they were standing high enough, they could see the walls collapsing and the houses burning.

"what happened……"

"Those are shops!"

Yan Qing instantly deduced that the third explosion occurred in a corner of the shop. He turned and glanced at the stunned Shang Xinlei, wondering if she was also surprised. Could it be that these explosions had nothing to do with her?
The other two had already memorized the locations and appearances of important places in Jiangnan City, and they both affirmed Yan Qing's judgment. This created an awkward situation. Although the palace was important, the family was of paramount importance. Would Shang Xuanwen go to the palace first, or return home to check on the situation?

The thieves may seem to have an hour, but in the vast city of Jiangnan, a single wrong decision could waste a significant amount of time, and they might not even be able to judge whether their choice was correct—without the aid of a sand table, they simply cannot pinpoint Shang Xuanwen's location. Furthermore, given that Shang Xuanwen possesses a token that conceals his presence, they might not even recognize him if they brushed past the Heaven-Slaying Sword.

"I'll go to Wenyuan Pavilion, you guys go to Shangjia."

At this critical moment, it was the local strongman Shang Xinlei who offered advice: "Shang Xuanwen will most likely go home. If he goes to the palace first, I will try to make a commotion to remind you."

"Good!" Without any hesitation, the pharmacist and Ying Rushi immediately approved the plan. The thieves split into two teams: one team attempted to intercept Shang Xuanwen, while the other team waited in the palace.

However, Yan Qing felt an indescribable unease, as if he were seeing a brat standing in front of a Gundam display case. Although nothing had happened, he could already foresee a cataclysmic disaster. But Shang Xinlei was incredibly fast. In a flash, she jumped off the twenty-zhang-high city wall, landed silently, and easily sneaked into the palace.

A loud thud came from behind. Yan Qing turned around and saw that Yao Shiyuan had also jumped out. Squad splitting was inevitable; the question now was which side he should go to.

Logically, he should have intercepted Shang Xuanwen, since he had already arranged for the Rat Monk as a backup plan. As long as he was present, he could not only easily obtain the Heaven Sword, but also prevent the thieves from engaging in an unnecessary fight with the Prime Minister of Liang.

But tonight's movements by Shang Xinlei are hard to ignore. To be honest, Yan Qing still doesn't like Shang Xinlei. She's too smart and too cunning, like a colorful venomous snake. Even just getting close to her makes Yan Qing feel uneasy.

However, after being in this world for so many days, there are very few people that Yan Qing is willing to get close to, with Qian Gongyu being the only exception.

He actually wanted to see Chimiya Amane tonight... Although they weren't friends and Chimiya Amane didn't know him, it was like meeting a great teammate in a game. Even if you wouldn't become friends with her in real life, you'd still want to see her from afar and see if she was as reassuring as she was in the game.

Therefore, he still had to go and follow Shang Xinlei.

She was Jiang Shi and Qian Gongyu's friend; that reason alone was enough.

"White Fox!" Yan Qing grabbed Ying Rushi's wrist: "If you find Shang Xuanwen, there will probably be a tall monk next to him. That monk is one of my men! Once you fight Shang Xuanwen, he will likely hand over the Heaven-Slaying Sword to the monk!"

Ying Rushi was taken aback. Yan Qing couldn't see the expression behind the white fox mask and said to herself, "I'm going to catch up with the Red Serpent now. The monk can't see me, so he won't cooperate with you. Instead, he will do his best to protect Shang Xuanwen."

"I don't care what you do, but don't waste all my preparations."

This was all the help Yan Qing could offer. In the evolution program he designed for the Rat Monk, only he could trigger the backdoor command. He thought his preparations were sufficient, but ever since the letter from the Woodland arrived tonight, plans had been disrupted.

“I understand,” Ying said slowly.

But for some reason, Ying Rushi continued, "Since you trust me so much, I will not let you down. I guarantee that your mole will be safe and sound and can continue to remain undercover."

what?
Before Yan Qing could say, "Actually, it's okay if you kill him," Ying Rushi jumped off the palace wall and chased after Yaoshi Yuan.

(End of this chapter)