Calamity Messenger

Chapter 124 - 100: Shut Up, Will You

Damn it, we ran into a Foundation Establishment Messenger!

The difference between a Foundation Establishment Messenger and a Third-Turn Messenger is like night and day. It seems like only a single rank separates them, but the disparity is immense. No matter how powerful a Third-Turn Messenger is, they can only ’take the head of an enemy general amidst ten thousand troops’, whereas a Foundation Establishment Messenger merely needs to make a slight move for ’a barrage of arrows to launch and troops to charge’!

A one-man army, turning the world upside down, like a god or a demon, like an abyss or a prison!

Having witnessed Chen Liexia’s destructive power in the Mansu Forest Land, Yan Qing was well aware of a fact: not just the two of them, but even a group of Third-Turn Messengers wouldn’t stand a chance against a Foundation Establishment Messenger. A 39-level Messenger is merely the most powerful mortal, while a 40-level Foundation Establishment is revered by the Enlightened One as an Arhat Bodhisattva, and is a True Cultivator on the path to enlightenment. They have already transcended into great lifeforms, akin to deities walking on earth!

Yan Qing dared not utter a word, suppressing the rising blood in his gut, trying to minimize his presence. He ran to Shang Xinlei as fast as possible, pulled her off the wall, slung her over his shoulder like cargo, and fled without looking back!

A woman, about fifty years old, dressed in a simple palace maid outfit, emerged from the broken wall. Her aged silver hair was smooth like silk refined by time, shimmering with stardust-like fragments. Her face was gaunt, with clear crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, long past her youthful beauty. Yet, neither the young Emperor beside her nor the youthful palace maids nearby could compare to her presence.

Compared to this gracefully aging matron, Shang Xuanwen, the indulged Chancellor, seemed slovenly like a country bumpkin. She glanced at Yan Qing’s fleeing figure; though she didn’t know who he was, how he infiltrated the Imperial Palace, or how he damaged the wall of Chengqian Hall, all these problems could be solved in the simplest way: destroy them.

As she was about to activate her token, a palace maid came stumbling in, sniffling as she cried, "Nanny, I, I was grabbed by that man in black when I went to get something just now. I thought I was going to die..."

The matron was startled, the Silver Bottle was caught but not killed?

Indeed, this is the main city; unless using fire oil or self-harming, no one can harm another.

Thinking this, the matron decided not to waste spiritual power, as it would be of no use anyway. Better to send guards to capture this group of assassins.

"Master."

The young Emperor pointed at the not-so-distant palace wall, grinning, "Look at that assassin, you hit him into the wall."

"Hit directly by Celestial Spirit Battle Qi and not dead; this means their defense item is high level... hmm?" Halfway through, the matron suddenly realized something. She turned to look at the human-shaped pit in the palace wall and immediately grasped the situation.

If they strictly adhered to the main city’s rules, an assassin hit by Celestial Spirit Battle Qi would at most be knocked away but not injured, not even from impact or falling, let alone dent a wall. From the beginning, they couldn’t have breached the walls of Chengqian Hall, as the buildings are protected by the city’s laws and can’t be destroyed violently!

"They are not assassins."

The matron turned her head towards the direction of Yan Qing’s flight, but after so much delay, how could they still be in sight? She realized she had missed a perfect opportunity but wasn’t too upset; instead, she chuckled as she might at the sight of two stray cats causing mischief in her house:

"But a group of lawless thieves."

...

...

"Team two goes this way, team four goes that way, leave no trace behind, and shoot arrows immediately upon seeing an assassin! This is a decree from Your Majesty, and a directive from Layman Yu Li. Make sure you understand the gravity of this—if anyone dares to slack off, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Clear?!"

"Clear!"

Hearing the hurried footsteps outside, Yan Qing felt his shoulder lighten as Shang Xinlei climbed down and sat in a corner, panting as she whispered, "Where are we?"

"I hid in a random house; I didn’t see a name, but there’s a well in the courtyard and lots of clothes hanging."

Shang Xinlei squinted through the window light, saw fabrics and clothing inside, and breathed a sigh of relief, "This is the Laundry Bureau; the guards shouldn’t find us here for a while."

"You know this place well, what should we do next to escape?" Yan Qing was glad his teammate quickly gathered her wits; otherwise, he’d face the dire situation alone: "Since you made a detailed plan, you must have a retreat route too, right?"

However, Shang Xinlei shook her head, "We can’t leave."

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow, leaned close to Shang Xinlei, trying to apply psychological pressure with a mean-looking mask, "Do you still insist on your assassination plan? If you’re hell-bent on getting yourself killed, I won’t stop you, but as teammates, you should at least help divert the guards’ attention to give me a chance to escape, right?"

Shang Xinlei suddenly started coughing, which made Yan Qing anxious, silently cursing his lack of knockout skills, otherwise he could knock her out to stop the coughing. But he couldn’t, so he could only pull Shang Xinlei close, open his coat and shield her head to muffle the sound as much as possible.

When she finally stopped coughing, she didn’t sit up, whether from exhaustion or severe injury, she stayed nestled in his arms, breathing slowly, his clothes felt wet; he hoped it was from blood, otherwise, it was her drool.

"Escaping like this is impossible," Shang Xinlei said softly, "The guards must be watching the palace walls now; climbing over them takes time. As long as they pin us down, Layman Yu Li can quickly arrive."

"Who is Layman Yu Li?"

"A Shao Clan ancestor, Foundation Establishment of the Imperial Family, reportedly the granddaughter of Liang Taizu, such a formidable lineage." She slowly exhaled a warm breath, smiling bitterly, "If I knew she had returned to the capital, why would I come up with such a suicidal plan?"

"Escape isn’t possible, hiding won’t last long; it seems we’ll have to cut off a lizard tail," Yan Qing suggested, "One of us deals with the guards while the other quickly escapes. What do you think?"

Suddenly, Yan Qing felt his waist gripped tightly, Shang Xinlei muttered fiercely, "I have a better plan; if you dare to abandon me... I won’t forgive you!"

This truly is like the farmer and the snake. Actually, Yan Qing intended to confront the guards since he had a Return Order, but he didn’t expect Shang Xinlei’s stress reaction to be so intense, even wanting to bite him. Yet this threat was futile, he would typically retaliate with ’if you leave me, I’ll call for help, and neither of us will get away’.

"What plan?"

"There’s a place the guards will never search; we can hide there for a long time." Shang Xinlei struggled to sit up, wiped the blood from her mouth, and looked at Yan Qing:

"The Royal Secret Vault!"

A quarter of an hour later.

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei pressed against the wall, listening to the footsteps on the other side of the wall gradually fade away, and both breathed a sigh of relief. The imperial authority had only just awakened, and they were nearly overwhelmed—hundreds of guards and palace attendants conducting a search across the palace, encountering search teams every few steps, if it weren’t for Shang Xinlei, a local, they would have long been discovered.

But reaching here safely was the limit; from now on, they must gamble.

Yan Qing climbed up to peek over the wall, seeing people everywhere in the central square. They weren’t patrolling—they were there because the central square is the crossroads for the palace halls, naturally leading many teams through it.

The good news was that there was no one in the exact center of the square; after all, passing through only required skirting the edges, why would anyone cut straight through the middle? The bad news was there were too many people and too many lanterns, there was a chance they might be seen while crossing.

Three minutes later, Yan Qing finally found an opportunity when the number of people around the square decreased, although some were still holding lanterns, a completely dark safe path appeared!

"Let’s go." Yan Qing climbed the wall and reached out to pull Shang Xinlei over. When they jumped down, Shang Xinlei stumbled, almost losing her balance.

Before Yan Qing could speak, Shang Xinlei said, "You go ahead; I’ll follow." She paused, then added, "Even if I get caught, it doesn’t matter; I am the Fourth Miss of the Shang Family, and the Imperial Family wouldn’t dare harm me."

If it weren’t for that last sentence, Yan Qing might have dashed off, but he was sensitive enough to discern the apologetic tone beneath her words, and he couldn’t comfortably accept it. Thinking about it, Shang Xinlei stumbled with every step, needed help just to scale a two-meter wall, how could she assist in dealing with the guards during his escape?

Yan Qing directly placed Shang Xinlei’s right arm over his neck, supported her waist with his left hand, and ran with her towards the center of the square.

"You..."

"Shut up, do you think I came here for anyone else?" Yan Qing hissed, "If you have energy to speak, you might as well run faster!"

Shang Xinlei was taken aback, lowered her head, and softly said, "Next time this happens, you should just carry me..."

"Next time this happens, I’ll leave you behind; I don’t need teammates who bring me the same trouble twice."