Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 101: Royal Secret Vault

The two of them walked all the way to the carved pattern at the center of the plaza. Yan Qing hesitated slightly.

Although he knew the Secret Treasury was right below, how exactly was one supposed to enter it?

“You really haven’t looked into the Secret Treasury, huh.” Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but laugh. “Then you really can’t get rid of me.”

She pulled out the Throwing Ring, which bounced back and forth on the carving, striking the tiles depicting the Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. As the tiles of the Four Divine Beasts sank slightly, a crisp vibration echoed from the sun at the center of the carving, shaking dust out from the seams. The sun then rotated along the central axis, revealing two crescent-shaped entrances.

Yan Qing peered into the hole and saw that there was light inside—likely the ever-burning lamps produced in Secret Realms—illuminating a near-bottomless vertical shaft.

“How do we get down?”

“There are grips on the tunnel wall for climbing… to the side gate…” Shang Xinlei trailed off mid-sentence.

Yan Qing asked in confusion, “Side gate? But this is the central gate.”

“That’s why you’re supposed to jump straight down here.” Shang Xinlei looked at him. “After all, this is the Main City. You won’t die from the fall. They only made a path to climb up from the inside. The outer mechanism opens only the central gate, and the inner mechanism only opens the side gate.”

Because you wouldn’t die from the fall, you were supposed to just jump down.

Yan Qing patted his head. He had never lived in the Main City, so this way of thinking was unfamiliar to him. No—this wasn’t a Main City mindset. It was the mindset of the strong—Messengers had Defensive Tokens and weren’t afraid of fall damage. He himself had just leapt from the twenty-zhang-high Palace Wall; what difference would jumping from thirty-plus zhang make?

Just then, a squad of Palace Attendants walked out from the distant palace gate, seemingly planning to cross the central plaza along the edge. There was a chance they might see them. Yan Qing said, “I’ll go down first. Remember to close the entrance later.”

“Mm.”

Yan Qing grabbed the edge of the crescent-shaped hole and was about to leap down, when he noticed Shang Xinlei standing perfectly still. He instantly realized something. “Where’s your Defensive Token?”

“…It was shattered by a single strike from Hermit Yu Li.” Shang Xinlei took out a broken Jade Pendant from her chest. As a Second-Stage Messenger, she wasn’t yet qualified to use the Heartguard Mirror. “I can’t go down.”

Without the Main City’s protection and without a Defensive Token, jumping down meant meeting the earth with bare flesh—there was only one outcome: a bloody pulp, bones crushed to powder. Foundation Messengers were indeed formidable; even if they could block a random blow, that didn’t mean they could walk away unscathed.

Yan Qing fell silent. He lowered his head and picked up a pebble from the roadside, tossing it high into the air, as if venting his frustration.

Shang Xinlei had actually already steeled herself mentally. Escape was impossible, but she didn’t necessarily have to be captured as “Red Snake the Thief.” She could just pretend to be a curious onlooker who had come to the Imperial Palace in search of her father. Punishment was inevitable, but it was better than—

“After I jump, if you trust me, jump down too and let me catch you.”

Shang Xinlei looked at Yan Qing in astonishment. However, he had no intention of explaining. He leapt into the crescent-shaped hole, landing steadily five breaths later.

The footsteps of the Palace Attendants drew nearer, and the light from their lanterns was about to sweep over. Shang Xinlei had to decide at once: close the entrance and return to her identity as Shang Xinlei, or jump down as Red Snake the Thief? Shang Xinlei would surely face punishment, but Red Snake might end up a smear of blood on the floor.

To entrust one’s life to a stranger—there could be no more foolish gamble, she thought.

“Hmm?”

One of the Palace Attendants suddenly turned his lantern toward the central plaza.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, maybe just the wind.”

While the Palace Attendants conversed, Shang Xinlei pierced the still air like a ripple. Her robes fluttered like butterflies, and her hair wound with the wind like strings. It wasn’t her first time falling from a great height, but it was the first time she did so without the protection of a Defensive Token. She shut her eyes tightly, unable to face the echo of fate about to come—perhaps the sharpest ridicule of her life, an annotation to her own foolishness.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… After learning from Jiang Ten that this equated to a single breath’s duration, she too had grown used to using seconds to describe such fleeting moments.

“How long are you planning to pretend to be asleep?”

Shang Xinlei opened her eyes and was met with Yan Qing’s Yellow Dog mask. Behind the mask, his eyes brimmed with disdain, as if he were looking at some silly grown girl playing childish games.

“I… how come I didn’t feel anything?” Shang Xinlei exclaimed in joy, realizing she was completely unharmed—not even the slightest impact. It felt as if she had merely climbed through a window and fallen into Yan Qing’s arms.

“Making a fuss over nothing.” Yan Qing’s expression was calm, though he was secretly quite pleased.

Since he dared to boast about catching Shang Xinlei, of course he had made preparations.

『Heartguard Mirror of the Mountains』

『Grade: Third-Stage Precious』

「Durability: 81/100」

「Equipment Requirement: 15 Vital Energy and Blood, 15 Spirit」

「Effect · Sevenfold Mirror: Upon activation, you will be guarded by seven mirror surfaces. Mirror defense is 0, and HP is linearly tied to the number of mirrors. Each mirror grants 200 HP; with all seven active, each mirror has 1400 HP; with only one, 200 HP. Activating or replenishing each mirror costs 12 Spirit. Once all mirrors are shattered, cooldown of five seconds before reactivation is required.」

「Effect · Mountain Mirror: While guarded by the Sevenfold Mirrors, all non-token kinetic force inflicted on you is nullified. You cannot be moved, nor can you move others.」

「Evaluation: The back of the mirror bears the four characters ‘Unmoving as the Mountain’.」

The first Token that Yan Qing enhanced using Blood Weapon materials was this most practical Defensive Token in his possession—the Heartguard Mirror. His previous Heartguard Mirror was indeed good, but required 70 Spirit to activate. Yan Qing wouldn’t be able to meet that condition until after his Third-Stage.

After enhancement, the Spirit cost per mirror of the Heartguard Mirror of the Mountains increased to 12 points, but in return, mirror HP doubled and no longer required full activation at once. Yan Qing could gradually activate the Sevenfold Mirrors, enjoying Third-Stage Rare Token defense with First-Stage strength. That was how he managed to block a casual strike from a Foundation Messenger earlier.

As for the second function, Mountain Mirror, he had initially thought it was just a decorative add-on. Though it could nullify kinetic force, it excluded that from Tokens—meaning it was basically useless. That was until he jumped from the twenty-zhang-high Palace Wall and landed without a sound. Only then did he realize the mystery behind this function.

Of course, even so, Yan Qing wouldn’t have dared let Shang Xinlei gamble her life purely on that. Before jumping down himself, he ran a final test: throwing a pebble. He caught it with the back of his hand, and to his surprise, the pebble halted instantly the moment it touched him, completely unmoving.

Given the irregular shape of the pebble, a vertical drop should have caused it to bounce. His hand back wasn’t flat either—it had an angle. This phenomenon could only mean that the kinetic force of the pebble had been entirely absorbed by the Mountain Mirror effect the instant contact occurred.

Shang Xinlei, after all, was just a slightly larger, taller, and heavier pebble.

Of course, if things really had gone wrong, Yan Qing wasn’t unprepared—Heaven’s Veil from Bingzi Pepper Forest could restore all injuries. As long as Shang Xinlei still drew breath, the Legendary Token could bring her back. With himself cushioning below, and Shang Xinlei’s Second-Stage level Vital Energy and Blood, there would be at least one chance at resuscitation.

Looking back now, Yan Qing felt he had been too bold, actually letting someone stake their life on trusting him.

And even bolder, naturally, was Shang Xinlei, who did just that.

One dared to say it, the other dared to believe it.

The two exchanged a glance, each feeling the other—and themselves—were a bit of an idiot. Yan Qing reached out to support her arm again. This time, Shang Xinlei didn’t refuse. Half her body leaned against him, practically treating him as a crutch. Yan Qing thought to himself, this woman was surprisingly shameless—it seemed she had a pushy personality. He’d best avoid her going forward.

The Secret Treasury gate was rather peculiar—made entirely of gold. The doorframes on either side bore two five-clawed golden dragons, each gripping a Spirit Jade orb. The entire display shimmered lavishly in golden brilliance. However, Yan Qing knew well that gold and silver in this world were merely building materials, decoration, and minor currency for mortals. The truly precious parts of this gate were those four Spirit Jade orbs.

The two of them pushed open the grand gate. Unlike the gate’s exterior, the interior of the Secret Treasury was not particularly extravagant—it resembled more of a showroom. Aside from bookshelves, Treasure Chests, and artworks piled in corners, the most space-consuming and valuable items were the sixty-four glazed pedestals, each holding a Token, Manual, or equally prized treasure.

Perhaps drawn in by the treasures, neither of them heard the faint sound of the Secret Treasury gate closing automatically behind them.

Yan Qing immediately let go of Shang Xinlei and went over to study how to open the glazed pedestals. On the foremost pedestal sat a Secret Technique Book titled 《Ultra-Solution》. He didn’t know which weapon it applied to, but acquiring it was definitely a gain.

However, the glazed pedestals were not so easily opened. The sand table didn’t show their operating mechanisms either. Yan Qing tried slashing at it first, but couldn’t even nick the pedestal’s edges. Left with no choice, he calmed down to study its opening method. He quickly noticed a turquoise panel below the pedestal. On the turquoise surface were eight images and a line of very familiar text—「Please click all images that contain ‘Token’.」

Yan Qing blinked. Before he could act, the turquoise panel changed again—the text became 「Please click all images that contain ‘Demon’.」

This time, he managed to click two images, but the panel shifted again after two seconds. He finally realized—the panel changed far too quickly, leaving no time to observe and judge!

Damn it, where the hell in Great Liang did something like this come from? I transmigrated just to suffer these stupid human verification tests?