Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 97: Squad

The Armory caught fire, smoke rose from the Imperial Palace—how delightful that sounded. With such a commotion, the residents of Jiangnan County naturally stayed up late to watch. They poured out of their homes, gathering in neighborhoods and alleys, enthusiastically debating whether it was a powerful minister rebelling or a royal usurper rising, exuding the relaxed composure of southern city folks.

If one spent a lifetime in a place where no one could hurt them, it was hard not to feel relaxed—no matter who you were.

Occasionally, some heard tiles being stepped on above their roofs, but when they looked up, they could only vaguely catch a few fast-moving shadows, as if crows had flown past.

Unlike their leisurely stroll through Chang'an City last time, this time it was three thousand steps from the Archway to the Imperial Palace. The thieves had to run at full speed. At moments like this, differences in their strength became apparent in their speed.

The fastest was Medicine Master Wen. Her footsteps were the loudest. Under her black nightwear, she seemed armored, yet her strides remained steady—like a leopard stalking through the forest. Next was Shang Xinlei. She ran almost without sound, as if she were familiar with every rooftop and brick in Jiangnan County, moving as effortlessly as if on an after-dinner stroll.

At the rear were Yan Qing and Ying Ru Shi, loud and slow in their steps, drawing several disdainful glances from Medicine Master Wen. Yan Qing was slow because he had not mastered Advanced Footwork, while Ying Ru Shi appeared to be holding back on purpose—her left hand always tightly gripping the sword hilt, a posture that made full-speed running impossible.

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

After darting through eight streets and five residences, they finally arrived at the base of the Imperial City. Jiangnan County had no shortage of five- and seven-story buildings, but within a one-li radius around the Imperial City, all structures were single-story. The Imperial City's walls stood about twenty zhang tall. From afar, they seemed unremarkable, but standing before them, one had to crane their neck to see the top.

That wasn't all. A moat was dug outside the Imperial City—not wide, but deep enough that an adult couldn’t touch the bottom. Such tight defenses weren’t for warding off external enemies, but to stop deranged Messengers from sneaking into the palace to steal—or defecate.

There truly had been cases of people defecating, even on the throne. After all, if a lunatic could break into the Imperial City, they could just as easily escape. And since no one in the main city could harm them, why wouldn’t they drop a load just to humiliate the emperor and all the officials? Messengers weren’t necessarily educated—many harbored crude tastes.

Hence, not just the Imperial City, but even places like the Ministry of Appointments had abnormally high walls, as if caging the emperor and his ministers inside.

But with three days of preparation, no cage could stop the thieves' advance.

Ying Ru Shi took out a serpent-patterned rope from the Murong Family, one end tied with a hook. She smiled and said, “This wall is really tall. Black Wolf, think you can throw it over? You'll have to catch the railings inside.”

Unlike regular city walls, the top of the Imperial Palace walls was oval-shaped, specifically designed to prevent thieves from hooking onto them. But thanks to the sand table, the thieves had discovered that beyond this section of the wall lay a courtyard with a spring pool, a Lanting Pavilion inside. The pavilion had hollowed-out railings—perfect for anchoring the hook.

But to hurl the heavy serpent-patterned rope and hook over the twenty-zhang wall, and further into the Lanting Pavilion over a dozen steps away, wasn’t something an ordinary Messenger could do. At least, Yan Qing didn’t think he could.

Medicine Master Wen only sneered and snatched the hook from Ying Ru Shi’s hand. She glanced up at the wall, fixed her position, and began to twist her body dramatically.

Left foot forward, right foot bent into a bow stance. Her upper body twisted nearly 180°, spinning the rope and hook with a whooshing sound!

Had he not seen it himself, Yan Qing would never have believed a human body could be that flexible. Medicine Master Wen always portrayed herself as a martial warrior, yet this movement resembled a top-tier dancer charging up. Even those standing nearby could feel the searing heat radiating from her body!

“Secret Technique: Bloodburst?” Ying Ru Shi said with a mix of suspicion and awe. “Is she still learning it, or has she already mastered it?”

Whoosh!

Thunderclap on strings, waves crashing on the shore—in that fleeting instant, Medicine Master Wen unleashed all her body’s force. With a crisp air-tearing sound, the rope and hook launched skyward. The serpent-patterned rope coiled through the air like divine noodles being slurped by the heavens.

After a full eight seconds, Medicine Master Wen felt the rope tense—signaling the hook had landed. She gave it a tug, and soon, the rope wouldn’t budge—the hook had securely caught onto the railing inside the wall.

“Amazing!”

“To toss such a heavy rope and hook that high—truly worthy of the name Black Wolf!”

“Among us, only you could’ve done it!”

Medicine Master Wen raised an eyebrow, folded her arms, and exhaled a foot-long white mist. She was inwardly ecstatic, but her voice remained indifferent, like she had just done something utterly mundane: “It was almost too easy. You all—ah!?”

She turned her head to find her teammates already scaling the rope, not a single one watching her show off. Normally, she would’ve bitterly noted that in her heart, but the praise moments ago had left her too satisfied. So she chose to be magnanimous and grabbed the rope to follow.

All four stood atop the oval-topped palace wall, not descending for the moment. At twenty zhang high, the wall offered a clear view of both the Imperial Palace and Jiangnan County. The county bustled with noise, but the palace was no less active—many palace attendants had been startled awake, holding lanterns as they awaited their masters’ orders; the guards too had been roused and were standing night watch.

“The emperor has one empress and two concubines. But according to the sand table, he’ll be sleeping in his Chengqian Hall tonight,” Shang Xinlei said. “If Shang Xuanwen were to enter the palace for an audience, he wouldn’t be allowed into the harem but would wait for a summons at Wenyan Pavilion. Chengqian Hall is to the northeast; Wenyan Pavilion is to the southeast. Which way first?”

“Chengqian Hall!” “Wenyan Pavilion.”

Medicine Master Wen and Ying Ru Shi simultaneously spoke the names of two locations. The two exchanged a glance, sharp as blades crossing.

“We should aim to complete the mission with minimal risk,” said Ying Ru Shi.

“We must ensure the mission is completed!” Medicine Master Wen insisted firmly. “We no longer know Shang Xuanwen’s exact location. If he’s gone into hiding, we can’t afford to waste an entire hour searching every corner of Jiangnan County!”

The clash between the Wolf and the Fox ultimately ended with the Fox conceding for the greater good.

“Then to Chengqian Hall we go,” said Ying Ru Shi coldly. “You’d better pray a Foundation Messenger doesn’t jump out from the emperor’s bedchamber.”

“Hmph, like anyone would—”

A thunderous explosion snapped everyone’s attention to the northwest, where a great fire had erupted. From their vantage point, they saw collapsing walls and burning buildings.

“What’s going on…”

“That’s the Shang Family!”

Yan Qing immediately identified the third explosion site as the corner of the Shang Family estate. He turned to glance at the stunned Shang Xinlei, thinking she truly seemed surprised—was she not involved in these explosions?

The others had already memorized the key landmarks and layouts of Jiangnan County and affirmed Yan Qing’s assessment. That made things awkward—while the Imperial Palace was important, the family estate was even more critical. So would Shang Xuanwen go to the palace first, or rush home to check on things?

The thieves seemingly had one hour, but in such a vast city, one wrong decision could waste huge amounts of time—and they had no way of knowing if their choice was correct. Without the aid of the sand table, they couldn’t pinpoint Shang Xuanwen’s location. Moreover, Shang Xuanwen possessed a Token that concealed his presence—they could brush shoulders with the Heaven-Reliant Sword and never know it.

“I’ll go to Wenyan Pavilion. You all go to the Shang Family.”

At that critical moment, it was the local expert, Shang Xinlei, who made the suggestion: “It’s highly likely Shang Xuanwen will go home. If he goes to the palace first, I’ll try to make enough noise to alert you.”

“Good!” With no hesitation, Medicine Master Wen and Ying Ru Shi agreed to the plan. The thieves split into two groups—one to intercept Shang Xuanwen, the other to wait in the palace in ambush.

But a deep unease stirred in Yan Qing’s heart. It was like watching a brat standing in front of a glass display—nothing had happened yet, but you could already foresee disaster. However, Shang Xinlei ran like a streak of light, leaping from the twenty-zhang-high palace wall and landing silently, disappearing into the palace with practiced ease.

A heavy thud followed. Yan Qing turned to see Medicine Master Wen had also jumped. The split was inevitable. The question now was—which side should he follow?

Logically, he should go intercept Shang Xuanwen. After all, he had arranged the Rat Monk as backup. If he was present, not only could he easily retrieve the Heaven-Reliant Sword, but he could also prevent unnecessary conflict between the thieves and the Prime Minister of Great Liang.

But tonight, Shang Xinlei’s movements tugged at him. Truth be told, Yan Qing still didn’t like Shang Xinlei. She was too smart, too deep—like a brilliantly colored venomous snake. Even being near her made him uneasy.

Then again, ever since arriving in this world, there weren’t many people Yan Qing felt comfortable around. Qian Gongyu was the only exception.

He kind of wanted to see Qian Gongyu tonight… Though they weren’t friends, and Qian Gongyu didn’t know him, it was like meeting a great teammate in a game. Even if you wouldn’t be friends in real life, you’d still want to see them from afar—just to check if they were as reassuring as they were in-game.

So, he had to follow Shang Xinlei.

She was a friend of Jiang Ten and Qian Gongyu. That alone was reason enough.

“White Fox!” Yan Qing grabbed Ying Ru Shi’s wrist. “If you find Shang Xuanwen, there’ll likely be a tall monk by his side. That monk is mine! If you end up fighting Shang Xuanwen, he might hand the Heaven-Reliant Sword to the monk!”

Ying Ru Shi paused. Yan Qing couldn’t see the expression beneath the White Fox Mask, and continued, “I’m going after Red Snake now. The monk can’t see me. He won’t cooperate with you. In fact, he’ll protect Shang Xuanwen with everything he has.”

“I don’t care what you do, but don’t waste all the effort I put into this.”

That was all Yan Qing could offer. In the Rat Monk’s transformation protocol, the backdoor command could only be triggered by Yan Qing himself. He thought he had prepared well enough, but ever since that letter from Mansu Woodland arrived tonight, the plan had started falling apart.

“I understand,” Ying Ru Shi said slowly.

But apparently imagining something, she added, “Since you trust me so much, I won’t let you down. I promise your insider will remain safe and continue to stay undercover.”

Huh?

Before Yan Qing could say, “Actually, it’s fine if you kill him,” Ying Ru Shi had already leapt from the palace wall, chasing after Medicine Master Wen.