Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 109: Inner Treasury Predicament

“Why is it another Rare Token again?”

Yan Qing wasn’t asking, he was complaining.

After a brief observation, he quickly noticed that the ‘Human-Machine Verification Difficulty’ varied across different Liuli Pedestals. The easiest ones gave nearly 2.5 seconds for verification, while the hardest didn’t even offer a full second—Yan Qing hadn’t even finished reading the prompt before it switched to the next. The difficulty was such that he suspected only machines could pass it.

By conventional logic, the harder the verification, the better the content inside the Liuli Pedestal. Perhaps due to being idle for so long, none of the Tokens inside the pedestals emitted any light—they only revealed their uniqueness once held in hand. Yan Qing could not judge their rarity by appearance and could only infer it from the difficulty level.

Yet, of the three pedestals he opened, only the first one he handed to Shang Xinlei—the Grass Wristband—was a Marvel-Class Token. The remaining two were merely blue-glowing Rare Tokens.

He had finally managed to sneak into an Inner Treasury of a royal family, and yet, he could only scoop up a few Rare Tokens? How was this different from eating at a buffet only to fill up on drinks and staple foods? Since he was already here, having such meager gains was simply unacceptable.

“Most of these are Rare Tokens.” Not far away, Shang Xinlei responded as she cracked another verification. “The truly powerful, useful, and precious Tokens are all held by various Secret Realm commanders. Who would be dumb enough to stash good stuff underground and not use it? For example, our Stillheart Cottage camp has a treasure vault specifically to store Marvel-Class Tokens and Rare Tokens. Whenever a commander or instructor swaps shifts, they have to return the family’s Tokens to the vault... If one could seize that timing and sneak into such a camp vault, the haul would probably surpass this entire Inner Treasury.”

As Shang Xinlei spoke, a look of longing crept onto her face. Yan Qing caught this glance and thought to himself: could it be that she really had pillaged other families’ camp vaults before? After all, she was a certified thief from the Thieves' House. He decided that from now on, he’d pile some things against the door before sleeping—wouldn’t want to wake up and find even his underwear stolen.

“Of course, even for us, this Inner Treasury is quite bountiful.” Shang Xinlei was unaware of Yan Qing's internal ridicule and said, “To be able to acquire Rare Tokens so easily, what are you complaining about? Are you covered head to toe in Marvel-Class and Legendary Tokens?”

Well, she hit the mark. Yan Qing thought. The two most important Tokens on his body were the Legendary Token Bingzi Pepper Forest and the Marvel-Class Token Heartguard Mirror. Rare Tokens did feel like they dragged down his style.

But he knew he had expected too much. With the words ‘royal’ and ‘Inner Treasury’, how could he not think of all the novels and games he’d read and played, where such places hid superweapons and world-shocking treasures? Not that those stories were wrong—hiding good stuff in safes was perfectly reasonable. If he weren’t using Bingzi Pepper Forest, he’d store it carefully too.

The problem was, powerful Tokens simply couldn’t be “unused.”

The weak needed to clear Secret Realms; the strong needed to do so even more. Not just locals—even max-level players in 《The Messenger》 couldn’t easily conquer highly challenging high-difficulty Instances. Version Completion only existed in theory. Messengers would always seek stronger Tokens, as stronger Secret Realms would always await their conquest.

All Tokens had their use. Leaving them in storage would only let them collect dust. But handing them to clansmen, subordinates, or retainers to conquer Secret Realms would yield endless resources. Any sensible person knew what to do.

In that sense, though Tokens brimmed with mighty powers—able to shift mountains and resist fire and water—they were no different from farming tools, looms, or furnaces. All were means of production. The more precious the tool, the more value it could offer only when used.

The Inner Treasury stored mostly surplus Tokens that couldn’t be rewarded temporarily. Naturally, Rare Tokens formed the bulk of the stockpile. Lower-tier Ordinary Tokens were handed out freely—no need to hoard them in the treasury; as for the more coveted Marvel-Class Tokens, they would be snatched up as soon as one holder died. Passed down through three generations, the Token would remain even if the user perished—there was no retirement in the Inner Treasury for them.

Likewise, there weren’t many Martial Technique Manuals here either. Manuals were even more in demand than Tokens. They were likely all distributed before being sent to Jiangnan. However, some cabinets had excellent cost-performance ratios. Yan Qing had seen one holding five Heartguard Mirrors. Such cabinets weren’t rare. Considering nearly every Third-Stage Messenger in Jiangnan carried a Heartguard Mirror, it seemed the item was a regional specialty.

But what captivated Yan Qing most was the Liuli Cabinet in the very center of the Inner Treasury.

A pair of shimmering gloves, seemingly woven from golden threads yet appearing incredibly soft, rested in the cabinet, displayed on a stand. Every time he passed by, Yan Qing couldn’t help but stop and stare, imagining how comfortable wearing them must feel.

Even without any glow, their exquisiteness and dazzling appearance screamed only one possibility—Legendary Token!

“Stop dreaming.” Shang Xinlei walked past him and glanced at the gloves in the Liuli Cabinet. “That’s a Legendary Token: Hands of Hundredfold Refinement once used by Emperor Taizu of Liang, but they’ve long been damaged. That’s why the Shao Royal Clan stored them in the Inner Treasury.”

Damaged? Yan Qing’s heart stirred. “Is it a Foundation Token?”

“Probably? All of Emperor Taizu’s key Tokens were acquired after he became a Foundation Messenger,” Shang Xinlei casually replied. “That’s why I’m sure the gloves are only for show. If they had even a sliver of use left, the royal family wouldn’t let them gather dust here. Even if you got them, they’d be meaningless... not to mention, you can’t get them.”

Yan Qing had no retort—because the Liuli Cabinet holding the Hands of Hundredfold Refinement belonged to the Fortress of No Fall, which didn’t even allow one second of verification time. He had tried multiple times—at most he could make out the question, but had no chance to see and click the image. It made his teeth itch in frustration. “Is this really solvable by a human!?”

Shang Xinlei came over for a look and said, “Maybe... only a Foundation Messenger could crack it. If it were my father or older brother, they might manage it in an hour or two.”

“Seriously?” Yan Qing was stunned. “They could read it that fast?”

Suddenly, Shang Xinlei poked Yan Qing in the waist. He tensed as if touched by a caterpillar, but she calmly explained, “You really are a Martial Messenger specializing in Vital Energy and Blood. No wonder you’re unfamiliar with Literary Messengers.”

“Literary Messengers, who specialize in the Divine Soul, far surpass ordinary people in reading, memory, and reaction speed. My father and brother can basically memorize anything at a glance—even events from years ago. They read incredibly fast—one or two glances is enough for two pages.”

Yan Qing recalled how Shang Xuanwen worked in the Ministry of Appointments—his review speed had been astonishing. He’d barely glance before issuing a response. Back then, Yan Qing thought he was slacking off and scribbling nonsense.

“If only we were Literary Messengers instead of Martial Messengers, we might empty half this Inner Treasury.” Shang Xinlei spread her hands. “Change your target. You’re not cracking this one.”  

“But this is just too outrageous. What if the Liang royal family doesn’t have any Foundation or Literary Messengers? Wouldn’t they be unable to open these cabinets too?” Yan Qing asked doubtfully. “They wouldn’t bring in outsiders to open them, would they?”

On this point, Shang Xinlei agreed. “In theory, all anti-theft measures are meant to stop outsiders. The royal family should have a much simpler unlocking method. But we’re out of time... After cracking one more, we’ll have to leave. It’s almost the Hour of the Ox now.”

At that, Yan Qing had to give up. Compared to a broken Legendary Token, those he could actually acquire were far more practical. Still, unwilling to give in, he scoured the Liuli Pedestals again, hoping to find a possible backdoor.

And it seemed he did find a clue—beneath the turquoise slab displaying the verification, he felt a deep groove. Squatting down, he saw it resembled the shape of a pen. Other turquoise slabs also had such outlines—some pens, some squares, some triangles—clearly drawn on purpose.

But that was all. Maybe they were just moving marks from the past. Yan Qing couldn’t figure them out and gave up. When he turned around, he saw Shang Xinlei unlocking a cabinet with a sword tassel—those were rare and could be attached to any sword to enhance its power.

Yan Qing’s eyes lit up. Looking around, he finally targeted a Liuli Cabinet containing armguards. Perhaps because these weren’t particularly valuable, the security verifications were the simplest. He and Shang Xinlei quickly cracked them.

Luckily, they hadn’t looted too much—everything fit in their pockets. Any more and escaping would’ve been a hassle.

But when they reached the entrance of the Inner Treasury and pushed the door—they found it wouldn’t budge.

“Did you shut the door when you came in?”

“Weren’t you the one supporting me when we entered?”

The two exchanged glances. It felt like a snake slithered up their spines—coldness seeped through their bones.

They were underground. There was no airflow, not even a breeze. The door couldn’t have been closed by wind. Since neither of them had done it, there was only one possibility—the door had shut itself.

And what could be the purpose of a self-shutting door... in a royal Inner Treasury?

Without hesitation, Yan Qing drew Bingzi Pepper Forest, while Shang Xinlei took out her Throwing Ring. They hacked and slashed at the wall—but only shallow marks formed on the gold-plated door.

“This door is only gold-plated on the outside.” Shang Xinlei lightly brushed the scratch, revealing a cold steel sheen beneath. “The inside is entirely forged from Secret Realm Refined Steel!”

Yan Qing turned toward the stone wall next to the door. He didn’t hesitate to stab Bingzi Pepper Forest into it. The blade almost bent but didn’t even scratch the wall. He could try Heaven’s Veil next, but he’d already lost hope—Bingzi Pepper Forest specialized in cutting damage. For terrain destruction, a hammer would stand a better chance.

Moreover, if the Inner Treasury’s design was to trap thieves, then this internal defense would never be something ordinary people could overcome. It’d require at least a Foundation Messenger to break out by force.

“Yellow Dog, look over here!”

Shang Xinlei pointed at the Spirit Jade Orbs clutched by the golden dragons on both sides of the doorframe. Yan Qing looked over and saw a line of text inside:

「Offer the scholar’s brush to open the Door of No Worry」

A black silhouette shaped like a brush appeared below the text, as if prompting them to insert a matching item.

There were four Spirit Jade Orbs on the door in total, each with similar text—one demanded a tailor’s needle, another a dancer’s shoe, and one a gambler’s dice. There was no doubt—if they wanted to open this Door of No Worry from the inside, they’d need to hand over four corresponding Tokens.

“Could we carve a fake out of wood—a brush or a shoe—to bluff our way through?” Yan Qing offered a suggestion. “It’s giving us the shape, after all.”

“Impossible.”

Shang Xinlei stared at the text on the Spirit Jade Orb and muttered, “You can’t fool it. Not just anything satisfies the condition. If it asks for a scholar’s brush, it has to be one regularly used by a well-read scholar.”

“Because it’s not really a door,” she turned to Yan Qing, face pale. “It’s a Secret Realm entrance!”