Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 94: Shopping

March 24th, yet another ordinary day.

As the sun set in the west, Jiangnan lit up in a riot of colors. Even while standing guard at the Ministry of Appointments, one could still see the brilliance on the horizon. Just like Chang'an, the outer county towns were the true places of revelry, while Jiangnan served more as a residence for the powerful. At the end of each day, countless officials would call on friends to indulge in pleasure. Even the Rat Monk received many party invitations—not from just any nobodies, but from notable aristocratic officials or young masters of noble families wanting to ‘get to know him.’

By rights, if even the Rat Monk—a guard by the Prime Minister’s side—enjoyed such treatment, then the courtesy extended to Shang Xuanwen should be even more extravagant. Yet over the past three days, Yan Qing had neither seen him attend any banquets nor received any invitations or gifts meant for him. Every official who met him focused solely on reporting work, with not a trace of flattery or bootlicking.

Yan Qing once sighed that Great Liang still had good officials, but Shang Xuanwen shook his head and said, “Flattery is still flattery, even if it comes wrapped in duty. But at least those who want to flatter me are willing to take the time to read the reports handed in by the aides. That’s what I want.”

As night deepened, lights lit up within the Administrative Hall. Tonight was Shang Xuanwen’s night duty. He would work until the hour of the pig, then rest in the room behind the hall. Yan Qing glanced up at the sky, a creeping tension growing in his heart.

At midnight tonight, it would be time for the thieves to act.

During the Thieves’ House meeting two days prior, after Yan Qing suggested they could directly steal the Wave-Splitting Sword, they finally came up with a plan balancing the mission and profit: if Yan Qing succeeded in stealing the sword, they would quietly infiltrate the Imperial Palace and plunder the Inner Treasury; if he failed, then they would simply rob the sword by force—and if time permitted, they could still take a stroll through the palace.

In simple terms: the mission comes first!

The Inner Treasury of the Imperial Palace was certainly tempting, but everyone knew the difference between one big feast and guaranteed daily meals. Completing the mission was the highest priority. If there was strength to spare, only then would they consider a free-for-all in Great Liang’s Inner Treasury.

As for Shang Xinlei’s plan to kidnap the Emperor, it was unanimously vetoed. Though the potential gains were massive and incredibly prestigious—enough to make both the ambitious Medicine Master Wen of Zhou and the loyal Ying Ru Shi of Qi deeply tempted—after a day of deliberation, they resolutely gave up the chance to etch their names into history.

Too many variables. Too much risk. They were geniuses and prodigies, yes, but not gamblers with their lives.

Though the plan was rejected, their attitude toward Shang Xinlei had obviously shifted to one of respect. Before this, she had merely been seen as a carefree noble lady. Afterward, they would always remember that the Thieves’ House had someone far more daring and risk-taking than they were.

Shang Xinlei raised no objections to the plan. Yan Qing had kept a close eye on her activities over the past two days. Besides shopping around Jiangnan, she visited the Imperial Palace to play with the Princess—though she was more likely mapping out the guards’ patrol routes and locating the Inner Treasury entrance.

So Shang Xinlei wasn’t trying to kill her father, but simply wanted to loot the Inner Treasury? Could it be that she felt she owed Qian Gongyu too much and wanted Great Liang’s national treasury to offer some compensation?

If that were the case, Yan Qing would be fully supportive. He was poor too. He needed subsidies!

Yes, even though Yan Qing could now earn tens of thousands of Spirit Jade daily by selling manuals and Flame Pattern Straight Blades, he was still a poor man.

Because for some reason, Gai Louxian had opened the Banner Leader purchase access channel for Jiang Ten and Ye Si. In Qi's garrison system, only Messengers could serve as Banner Leaders, so the lowest qualification to purchase Messenger materials was Banner Leader. Although Jiang Ten and Ye Si met the strength requirement, they lacked the military seniority—unless someone influential backed and promoted them, they wouldn’t become Banner Leaders for at least a year of service.

Now, without needing promotion, they could directly purchase Messenger supplies. Such an opportunity was not one Yan Qing would miss, especially since he needed many of the items:

"Thunderclap Blade Technique Manual" – 1000 Spirit Jade.

"Cangjian Villa Toolkit" – 1000 Spirit Jade each.

"Bandit Tailor Kit" – 200 Spirit Jade each.

"Shopkeeper’s Jewelry Cleaning Kit" – 300 Spirit Jade each.

"Refined Gold Furnace Liquid" – 3000 Spirit Jade each.

That’s right. Even though Jiang Ten and Ye Si could farm dozens of Thunderclap Blade Technique manuals per week, each one still cost 1000 Spirit Jade. But at least now they could be acquired via official channels. Yan Qing bought ten copies to stockpile. Though they wouldn’t increase level, they could speed up the activation of blade-type Tokens.

Many Martial Techniques in The Messenger had this trait—they didn’t boost level but could increase combat effectiveness, albeit slightly.

As for the various toolkits, they could be used to restore the durability of low-grade weapons, clothing, and jewelry Tokens, as well as to repair damaged Tokens.

In The Messenger, restoring Token durability was a troublesome affair, giving rise to an entire industry. There wasn’t an official NPC who could just “ding” and repair all Tokens in one go. These toolkits, while stackable, each occupied one inventory slot. For many players, the first thing they did after a battle was open their Personal Storage to check Token durability.

These toolkits also came in different qualities. Among those mentioned, only the “Cangjian Villa Toolkit” could fully restore durability. The other two would reduce the maximum durability by one point, and this difference was reflected in their pricing.

Thus, players often referred to acquiring their favorite Token as “marriage.” Getting the Token was just the beginning; they would then spend countless resources and effort maintaining it.

Surprisingly, although the durability feature was cumbersome, player reviews were mixed. Those who disliked it complained about the hassle. Those who appreciated it thought the durability system added just the right amount of hardcore depth. Some players were even willing to pay more than tenfold in resources to restore lost maximum durability.

Items like "Refined Gold Furnace Liquid" were the least likely repair tools players would use. Although it could repair a damaged item, the cost was a reduction of 20 levels on the Token and a 50% decrease in durability—essentially demoting a Third-Stage Token or lower directly to First-Stage.

The price was utterly outrageous, but it was clearly a deliberate design. If players didn’t want to pay such a devastating cost, they had to take good care of their Tokens.

Yan Qing bought the toolkits specifically for Bingzi Pepper Forest. When Jiang Ten used it to slash enemies, it lost a few durability points. Though it was still far from being damaged, it made Yan Qing uncomfortable—like having a beautiful girl crawling all over him.

When he took out the "Cangjian Villa Toolkit" and followed the manual to maintain Bingzi Pepper Forest, the entire process took nearly half an hour. At that moment, Yan Qing suddenly understood why players treated their Tokens like lovers—it had gone through so much with you, fought for you, got damaged for you, and you in turn spent time and energy repairing and cherishing it. The amount of time you invested in each other was the same. How could you not care?

The "Cangjian Villa Toolkit" also had a limited purchase cap. Yan Qing bought out all five available packs and still felt he hadn’t stockpiled enough.

Though expensive, toolkits alone weren’t enough to empty Yan Qing’s small treasury. He became broke only because he bought the "Advanced Footwork Manual"—priced at 200,000 Spirit Jade.

Two hundred thousand!

By contrast, the "Advanced Throwing Ring Manual" on the same list cost only 130,000 Spirit Jade, and the "Advanced Shield Warrior Manual" just 150,000. When Yan Qing asked why the Advanced Footwork cost so much, Gai Louxian gave a classic market-driven answer: “Because everyone wants it.”

Yan Qing had no choice but to buy it. He didn’t think his Comprehension could reach the passing threshold to self-learn an advanced Martial Technique. He had originally wanted to buy the Advanced Dual Blade Manual, but Gai Louxian told him a cruel truth: Dual Blades were too rare to be circulated.

Obviously, before the military ranks had a chance, the nobles had already consumed all such manuals. If Yan Qing wanted to learn Advanced Dual Blade, he had two options—either farm Secret Realms himself, or self-study. But the Secret Realms that dropped advanced manuals were mostly Third-Stage, and even if Yan Qing was willing, Qi wouldn’t allow Jiang Ten and Ye Si—two outsiders—to enter such vital military strongholds.

As for buying advanced manuals at the Treasure Pavilion… while feasible, everything Yan Qing had to offer was loot obtained by Jiang Ten. Once listed, anyone associated with Mansu Woodland would immediately link it to Jiang Ten’s connection with the Merchant Immortal, and worse, link the Merchant Immortal to Yellow Dog.

Yes, I’m talking about you, Shang Xinlei!

If not for Shang Xinlei, Yan Qing would’ve sold the loot long ago. But now he could only wait a while before fencing it.

He didn’t care about others speculating his identity. But as a fellow thief, he still hoped Shang Xinlei and the others didn’t know too much about his hand.

Although he could have just learned some other Advanced Martial Technique to change class faster, Yan Qing wasn’t a game character. He didn’t get the privilege of choosing one of three professions; he had to settle for a random one. If he learned another technique, the randomly assigned class could be unpredictable. If he ended up as a Throwing Ring Messenger or Shield Warrior Messenger, how would he be any different from a Default Face?

After much thought, his only hope was to find something valuable during this mission and trade it at the Treasure Pavilion for an advanced manual.

When Jiang Ten brought out 200,000 Spirit Jade to verify the funds, even Gai Louxian was stunned. Even when combined into Hundred-Jade, 200,000 Spirit Jade amounted to 2,000 Hundred-Jade—a large chest was required to hold it all.

Yan Qing had already prepared answers to potential inquiries and mentally braced himself for Gai Louxian possibly coveting the money and making a deadly move. But Gai Louxian didn’t ask anything—he simply said it would take a few days to deliver the manual.

After dinner, Yan Qing went into auto-mode while practicing Dual Blades.

The day before, he had exchanged two Basic Blade Technique Manuals at the Treasure Pavilion for one Basic Dual Blade Manual and leveled it straight to max. He had learned it, yes, but he still needed extensive training to turn it into instinct in battle.

Time flew during training. When Yan Qing finally stopped, sweat had pooled at his feet. Yet he felt no fatigue. Instead, he was even more energized, as if every cell in his body had been activated.

He took a quick shower, and upon returning, saw the lights at the Ministry of Appointments’ Administrative Hall had been extinguished. That meant Shang Xuanwen had gone to the back room to rest.

Roughly two hours remained until the operation.

It was about time to steal the sword.