Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 103: Wolf and Fox Bow to the Prime Minister

A sound came from the side. Shang Xinlei turned her head and saw Yan Qing sit down next to her. Before she could speak, Yan Qing asked first, “And then?”

“What do you mean ‘and then’?” Shang Xinlei was a little amused and annoyed. Did you take me for a storyteller?

“Will the royal family ransack your home and exterminate your clan because of what happened tonight?”

“How could that be? The Shang Family is one of the Seven Great Clans. At most, it’ll just hasten my father’s resignation.”

“If that’s the case, then how do you plan to make up for your mistake?”

Shang Xinlei was slightly stunned. After a moment of silence, she replied, “From now on, I will follow my father’s arrangements and no longer act on my own.”

Yan Qing propped his chin with his hand. “And? Isn’t that what you were supposed to do in the first place? That doesn’t count as compensation—it’s just a child pouting after making a mistake.”

“Don’t make it sound so easy!” Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but raise her voice in rebuttal. “Is the current situation something I can fix on my own? If there were something I could do, I would’ve done it already!”

“Have you truly done your utmost? Exhausted all your intelligence and effort? Tried every method you could think of?” Yan Qing’s tone was calm, yet somehow full of irony. “Was assassinating the emperor your only answer? Easier than confronting your father directly?”

“Things aren’t that simple—”

“You people are the ones making it overly complicated.” Yan Qing cut her off. “You don’t even understand your father as well as the Rat Monk who told me about him. But it’s clear from his arrangements that he values you. So why don’t you dare to speak your true thoughts to him? Have you ever really told him you didn’t want Qian Gongyu to suffer injustice? Have you ever defied his plans?”

Shang Xinlei’s fists clenched. If not for her lingering injuries, she might have started a fight with Yan Qing. “Would you do something you knew couldn’t succeed? Would you still try to assassinate the emperor knowing there was a Foundation Messenger by his side? I’ve been Shang Xuanwen’s daughter for so many years—you think I never tried to resist? I did. My brothers did too. But all we got was failure, failure, and more failure!”

“Father only does what he believes is right. He never accepts anyone else’s opinion!”

“To be honest, I don’t know your past.” Yan Qing admitted his ignorance. “Everything I know about Shang Xuanwen comes from what the Rat Monk told me. From my perspective, Shang Xuanwen is already sick. He has seen hell, so he thinks he’s still living in it. He treats everyone according to the imperial court’s logic of sovereign and minister. He is the sovereign, and everyone else is a minister. He’s driven himself into isolation.”

“You mentioned Shang Xuanwen possibly has the ability to hear thoughts. I can tell you for sure—he does. All those fleeting thoughts, fears, worries, and disgust during conversations with him—none escape his ears. He knows very well that you and Qian Gongyu are friends. That’s why he crafted a ‘taming’ scheme specifically for Qian Gongyu.”

“Then why are you still questioning me!?” Shang Xinlei couldn’t hold it in any longer. “There’s no need for me to say it out loud—Father already knows how much I care about Qian Gongyu, yet he still did what he did!”

“Because your father has no friends.” Yan Qing said, “His concept of friendship is just loyal subordinates. Like I said, he’s not the emperor, but he is a lonely man.”

Shang Xinlei was stunned.

“Shang Xuanwen’s only conversation partners are people like the Rat Monk—those with sincere hearts. But even with them, he doesn’t dare keep them close for long, fearing they might one day change and become ‘ordinary.’” Yan Qing said, “He has no friends, nor does he trust anyone. He only adheres to his method of controlling people: better to overuse than underuse. You said Qian Gongyu is your friend, so Shang Xuanwen fulfilled your wish by turning Qian Gongyu into your loyal subordinate—that’s probably the closest thing to ‘a friend’ in his mind.”

“Are you saying everything Father did was for my own good?” After a long silence, Shang Xinlei asked dejectedly, “Was I the only one being self-righteous all along?”

“Of course not.” Yan Qing stood up and said, “Good intentions can still cause harm. Sometimes, the ones who hurt you most are those who love you the most. What I mean is, you’ve picked the wrong enemy. The one you really need to deal with isn’t the emperor—it’s your father.”

“Huh?” Shang Xinlei thought she misheard him. Was Yan Qing encouraging patricide?

“If children don’t rebel, their parents might always think they’ll never grow up. It’s not just parents who need to educate children—children also need to educate their parents. Power is constant. If you want the power to take control of your own life, then you need to raise the banner of rebellion and take it back from your father.” Yan Qing spoke lightly, as if discussing child-rearing. “It’s time you gave your father a good lesson.”

Me?

Teach Shang Xuanwen, who had navigated the treacherous tides of officialdom for thirty years, Prime Minister of Great Liang, and head of the Shang Family?

Yan Qing squatted in front of the dumbfounded Shang Xinlei and teased, “You dared to assassinate the emperor, but you don’t dare rebel against your father? You don’t even have the guts to scold him and say, ‘Old man, you’re meddling too much’?”

“It’s not that I don’t, it’s just…”

“What if he decides it’s for your own good and marries you off? Will you still meekly accept it like this?”

“Of course not!”

“The earlier you rebel, the better. If you wait until it’s a matter of principle to fight back, there’ll be no room left for retreat. Just like children should be disciplined early, so should fathers.” Yan Qing stood up and said, “Besides, you’re already standing on invincible ground—because you know your father loves you.”

He reached out and wrapped the Red Snake neck wrap around Shang Xinlei again. “Be careful here.”

Yan Qing said no more and resumed cracking the human-machine verification. He neither knew how nor was good at comforting people; he could only lay out what he had understood and analyzed. He had said all he needed to, and as for comforting words—he had none. If Shang Xinlei insisted on getting stuck in a dead end, there was nothing more he could do.

“You speak with such high-sounding principles, so where’s the solution?” Shang Xinlei asked from behind, “What exactly should I do to make up for my mistake?”

Yan Qing responded casually, “All the problems you mentioned can be solved with personal strength. Just hurry up and become a Foundation Messenger.”

This time, Shang Xinlei couldn’t hold back her sarcasm. “Do you think reaching Foundation is something easy? Do you even know how many Foundation Messengers exist in Great Liang? I shouldn’t have expected a decent solution from you…”

“I don’t know how many Foundation Messengers there are in Great Liang,” Yan Qing glanced sideways at her, “but if you can’t even reach Foundation… then you’re not even qualified to catch a glimpse of my back in the future.”

Shang Xinlei really wanted to laugh at him out loud, but somehow, Yan Qing’s demeanor and tone at that moment overlapped with her memories of Jiang Ten. Although Jiang Ten was far more beautiful, more elegant, and more pleasing to the eye, both of them were equally firm and self-assured. That innate confidence didn’t seem put on—it was just how they were.

Yan Qing returned to the Glazed Pedestal, warmed up with a few rounds of verification, then entered into the tense and thrilling human-machine verification phase.

After several failures, a voice suddenly sounded from behind, “Didn’t you notice that if there are demons in the image, then the Turquoise Slab always asks you to click images containing ‘demons’?”

Yan Qing didn’t turn around or continue trying. After cycling through six more questions, he finally reached another demon-containing challenge. Without reading the prompt, he simply clicked on every image containing a demon. At last, within two seconds, he selected all the correct images. The Glazed Pedestal let out a hiss like a pressure release, and the glazed panel in the center dropped with a crash, allowing Yan Qing to reach in and retrieve the Grass Wristband Token inside.

The Grass Wristband emitted a faint golden glow—it was clearly a Marvel-Class Token, though it was unclear what stage it belonged to. Yan Qing examined it briefly, then handed it to Shang Xinlei behind him. “See if this helps with your injury.”

Shang Xinlei took the Grass Wristband and asked, “Jiang Ten can identify tokens by sight—why can’t you?”

“Everyone has their strengths.” Yan Qing shot her a glance. “Can it heal?”

“Yes, the pain’s eased a lot.”

“Then I won’t lend you Bingzi Pepper Forest. Hurry up and heal.”

Shang Xinlei was a little surprised. “You even dare lend me Bingzi Pepper Forest?”

“Or do you expect me to carry you up there later?” Yan Qing shot back. “If you don’t want anything from the Inner Treasury, you can come help me figure out the pattern in the Turquoise Slab.”

“No, I have a goal I’ve long yearned for.” Shang Xinlei examined the items within the Glazed Pedestal. “I can’t guarantee becoming a Foundation Messenger, but a Third-Stage Messenger is just around the corner. A Third-Stage Messenger with a full set of tokens is enough to be a pillar of the Shang Family—and to be qualified to make demands of Father.”

Yan Qing curled the corner of his mouth and let out a soft chuckle.

But then Shang Xinlei’s tone turned anxious. “However, if I speak my mind, Father might get angry and confine me... Yellow Dog, you’ll help me, right?”

“How can I help you?” Yan Qing looked at her like she was an idiot. “You’re about to become a Third-Stage Messenger, and you live in a main city like Jiangnan City. How would Shang Xuanwen even confine you? Lock you in the dungeon? But even if you were in the dungeon, you could just teleport to the Thieves' House.”

“I’m not living in the Thieves' House. It’s like a doghouse,” Shang Xinlei shook her head firmly. “And living in the Thieves' House means no one serves you. I’m the fourth young lady of the Shang Family—every aspect of my life is attended to by servants. If Father forbids them from going out with me, I really can’t leave the house!”

You’re clearly spoiled and incapable of taking care of yourself—how do you still sound so proud of it?

“Being confined isn’t that bad. I could still visit you in the Thieves' House. But I’m already of marrying age. What if Father marries me off?” Shang Xinlei sounded truly troubled.

“What do you mean visit me in the Thieves' House—I don’t have time to entertain you,” Yan Qing was equally disdainful. “As for being married off... just run away. Unless it’s a Foundation Messenger hunting you down, could you really not escape?”

“I already told you, I can’t give up the luxurious life of the Shang Family,” Shang Xinlei said seriously, without the slightest shame in her ‘wanting it all’ mindset. “It was you, Yellow Dog, who suggested I rebel against Father. You’d better help me.”

“I’m not eloping with you,” Yan Qing refused immediately.

“I wouldn’t go with you anyway. You look broke.” Shang Xinlei gave him a sideways glance. “What I need is for you to smash the wedding carriage’s axle on my wedding day. Make sure you reveal you have a Legendary Token so everyone knows that I’m so beautiful I’ve captivated a powerful Demon-Path Messenger. That way, I’m both the victim and too risky to marry—a flawless plan!”

Yan Qing summarized, “So you want me, as a Demon-Path Messenger, to cause a scene in Jiangnan City, reveal my Legendary Token, bear everyone’s hatred and get wanted—just so you can keep living in luxury under the Shang Family?”

Shang Xinlei thought for a moment, then nodded like a pecking chick.

Yan Qing was dumbfounded. “Jiang Ten never said you were such a shameless woman.”

“Jiang Ten is a good girl. Of course I show her my good side. But with you, there’s no need to be polite.” Shang Xinlei crossed her arms and tilted her head. “If it were Jiang Ten, she’d definitely help me.”

  Yan Qing had no words to refute. According to Jiang Ten’s personality, she would indeed help. If he didn’t know Shang Xinlei, he might have joined in for the fun too. But since he did know her, he was rather reluctant. It was just like in elementary school, when a boy helped a girl—it always felt a bit subtly embarrassing.

“If you won’t help, I can only turn to Xiaoyu and Miss Jie. But both of them have respectable identities. If we get exposed, it would be a huge disaster...” As she spoke, she glanced at Yan Qing, sighing repeatedly. Though she didn’t mention him directly, every word was a veiled hint at him.

Yan Qing forced out a reply, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”

“Then I’ll take that as a yes.” Shang Xinlei raised her eyebrows, her voice light, “That way, when I speak to Father, he’ll know that his well-behaved daughter was simply deceived and incited by a Demon-Path Messenger. She even intended to sabotage my marriage. No matter how furious he becomes, he won’t direct it at me.”

Yan Qing was dumbfounded. So there was such a layer of planning behind it. She clearly knew that Shang Xuanwen could hear inner thoughts, and deliberately used this fact to shift blame through her thoughts. Regardless of whether Shang Xuanwen believed it or not, his attention would certainly be drawn toward the so-called Demon-Path Messenger who attempted to lure away his precious daughter... Whether Yan Qing would actually do such a thing didn’t matter; what mattered was that she had to secure Yan Qing’s commitment. Only then could she convince herself, and thus make Shang Xuanwen believe it too.

In her heart, he was probably already a completely villainous image of a Demon-Path Messenger—one who would cackle evilly and appear to whisk her away during her wedding. If Shang Xuanwen dared object, she would casually slap him twice... Yan Qing couldn’t help but look forward to what Shang Xuanwen’s reaction would be upon hearing such thoughts.

Shang Xinlei, you scoundrel—you’re really skilled at dealing with your own father!

Everyone in the main world loves playing tactical games. I’d better just retreat back to the Thieves' House and keep gaming.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be well rewarded,” Shang Xinlei said generously. “When I visit the Thieves' House to see you, I’ll bring along refreshments to share.”

You think a few snacks can buy me off? Wait a minute—why are you acting like we’re close?

Yan Qing responded with irritation, “We can stay for at most half an hour. Once the time is up, we have to regroup with Black Wolf and White Fox immediately, no matter what. If you want to loot the Secret Treasury, get to it.”

At the mention of business, Shang Xinlei also became serious: “If they still haven’t found my father... I can use my identity as Shang Xinlei to try luring him over. In any case, we must prioritize completing our mission.”

Yan Qing blinked.

It seemed she wasn’t joking—she was truly prepared to raise the banner of rebellion. She didn’t even flinch at the thought of luring her father into a trap. Yan Qing began to reflect on whether he had gone too far. A daughter who once merely plotted to assassinate the emperor had now turned into a heartless figure who would sweep away her father like falling leaves.

“I think they’ve probably already found Shang Xuanwen.”

“You already learned about my father’s concealment skills through the Rat Monk, and you still trust them that much? Even if—just even if—they did find my father, he’s a Third-Stage Messenger.”

“Last time when I seized Bingzi Pepper Forest from him, they were holding back their anger.” Yan Qing said, “You ran too fast during team splitting, but I saw their expressions clearly... they came prepared.”

……

…

Furong Alley.

Shang Xuanwen ran through the streets with his injured body. The right half of his clothes had already been scorched black, and the right side of his face suffered severe burns. He ran into the alley alone, without any guards by his side.

“I see him. He just stepped through the puddle twenty paces in. You were right, White Fox. He really took this small path home.”

“No wonder he’s the Prime Minister of Great Liang. I was watching closely and still almost missed him... Good thing your scouting token detected his presence, Black Wolf.”

Shang Xuanwen looked up and saw two uninvited guests standing on the rooftops lining the alley.

To the left stood a person wearing a Black Wolf Mask, armored beneath dark night gear, crouched on the eaves with a long spear rested across the nape—fierce and aggressive. On the right stood someone in a White Fox Mask, left hand gripping the sword guard, standing calmly with a chill like moonlight.

The moon hung high behind them, casting long shadows of the two.

Faced with their blockade, Shang Xuanwen didn’t flee. Instead, he picked up speed and charged forward!

“Correct choice.”

Medicine Master Wen, like Black Wolf, kicked off the tiles with force and slammed down her long spear; Ying Ru Shi, as White Fox, stepped forward with elegance—her clear, resplendent sword light stunning the mortal world.

Boom!