Calamity Messenger

Chapter 134 - 107: Doubts

"Duke Xuanwen is over there! It seems there are assassins lying in ambush!"

"Who dares to plot against the Chancellor of Da Liang? Surrender immediately!"

"Father, Qia’Er is here!"

Pharmacist’s Wish sighed and suddenly rolled forward, picking up the Heaven-Swaying Sword dropped by Shang Xuanwen, and glanced at Ying Rushi who was still pursuing Shang Xuanwen: "White Fox."

However, Ying Rushi ignored Pharmacist’s Wish’s call and continued to press forward relentlessly, both swords attacking together, with the Brave General Sword and Gui Cang Sword targeting all of Shang Xuanwen’s vital points, trying to seize the moment for a fatal strike.

Though both aimed to assassinate Shang Xuanwen, the interests of Pharmacist’s Wish and Ying Rushi did not align. Nowadays in the Central Plains, the Zhou Kingdom enjoys strategic advantages, the Liang Kingdom occupies the fertile Jiangnan Plain, and the Qi Kingdom boasts the strongest national power with numerous secret realms. Despite constant conflicts and shifts in the situation, the general trend follows ’Zhou and Liang resisting Qi.’

For Pharmacist’s Wish, killing Shang Xuanwen would mean gaining a weaker, easier ally to control. Success would be welcome, but failure wouldn’t be a huge regret, with low upside and downside; whereas for Ying Rushi, a successful assassination would eliminate a major problem for the Qi Kingdom and plunge the enemy nation’s court into a power struggle—a lucrative opportunity she couldn’t afford to miss.

Clang!

Pharmacist’s Wish’s broken spear swept aside casually, and even though Qian Gongyu crossed his arms to defend, he couldn’t resist the mighty force of the Third-Turn Messenger and was slammed against the wall, crashing down half of the brick wall and stirring up a cloud of dust.

"White Fox!" Pharmacist’s Wish shouted sternly, a final ultimatum.

Under the White Fox Mask, Ying Rushi almost bit her silver teeth into pieces. She watched in agony as Shang Xuanwen dragged himself through the vulnerable period of broken defenses and once again condensed the Seven-Layered Mirror Surface. Despite a heavy heart, she realized they must retreat—they could no longer kill Shang Xuanwen before reinforcements arrived, and lingering would risk being surrounded without escape.

Yet seeing Shang Xuanwen severely injured, pale-faced, but still steady with the Longsword—neither sad nor happy—Ying Rushi found solace. They had no excuses; they had the element of surprise, the advantage of premeditated ambush, and Shang Xuanwen entered the trap already in poor condition without any guards, forced to face two foes alone in Jiangnan City.

Despite exploiting time, place, and human factors, they couldn’t take down a retired Third-Turn in poor condition, proving only one thing: they weren’t strong enough to kill the person before them.

You can’t win what you can’t win, without the heavens’ favor enabling them to leverage their advantages fully, they wouldn’t have been able to drive Shang Xuanwen to the brink at all—so what’s there to regret? This world isn’t a game where effort guarantees reward.

Watching the two thieves leap onto the eaves and vanish from sight, Shang Xuanwen still didn’t relax, slowly approaching the crumbled wall: "Patriarch Qian, how are you?"

"I’m fine!" Qian Gongyu pushed aside the debris and jumped up like a carp, tiger-headed and dusty, looking like a dirty little tiger daughter. She stood beside Shang Xuanwen, muttering to herself: "Patriarch Qian... hehehe..."

Shang Xuanwen didn’t understand what she was laughing about. It was rare since he could often hear hidden sentiments in others’ words, yet Qian Gongyu’s laughter held no secrets, only pure smugness, sounding quite silly. But he wasn’t surprised; lately, he couldn’t fathom the thoughts of the younger generation, let alone those of girls similar in age to his daughter.

"Duke Xuanwen! The late general has come to rescue you!"

"Father, the Blood Replenishing Pill!"

"Quickly go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to find Imperial Physician Yu!"

Lanshiju Road welcomed an unprecedented surge of people, dozens of military messengers carrying lanterns crowded the small road entirely, some continued chasing the assassins, others ran to find physicians—all centered around Shang Xuanwen. He took three Blood Replenishing Pills, feeling the pain in his wounds ease a bit, a cool sensation filling his body.

"Father, Brother already went to the military town this afternoon. Do you need me to send someone to notify him?"

"No..." Shang Xuanwen instinctively wanted to deny but thought for a moment and said, "Wait until tomorrow when the news is summarized, write him a letter explaining what’s happened tonight. How’s the family?"

"It’s fine, only some sudden wall collapse burned some trees, no casualties." Shang Xuanwen approached his father, lowering his voice: "The palace is on lockdown, it seems some assassins sneaked in."

"Not necessarily assassins, maybe thieves." Shang Xuanwen said flatly: "Thief’s House thieves."

"Thief’s House!?" Shang Xuanwen subconsciously repeated, shock evident. Shang Xuanwen glanced at him questioningly, but Shang Xuanwen said nothing further, only his eyes subtly shifted.

Shang Xuanwen understood this expression well; the Liang Kingdom’s bureaucracy was filled with officials who remained outwardly calm, aware of rumors about the Chancellor hearing hidden voices. Whenever Shang Xuanwen asked questions they weren’t prepared for, they would stay silent, appearing to ponder while in fact constructing a self-serving rhetoric—a truthful lie.

Shang Xuanwen was adept at hunting such bureaucrats; he could discern the ’hidden’ key information in truth, gradually cornering them until they were forced to yield their weaknesses. From central to local, the Liang Kingdom’s bureaucracy he could manipulate as desired to implement his policies, because no one dared to offend him, no one could deceive him.

This wasn’t Shang Xuanwen’s first attempt at concealment; Shang Xuanwen was accustomed to it. Downstairs, his son would provide an acceptable explanation, he’d nod and let things pass... but tonight, he suddenly didn’t want to maintain this bureaucratic facade, patting Shang Xuanwen’s shoulder: "If you don’t want to say, just leave it, it’s been a hard night for you."

"Huh?" Shang Xuanwen was startled. Hearing his father say this didn’t reassure him. Instead, suspicion arose: could his father already know about the Xinlei matter? What now—could Xinlei really be leading a patricide plot?

Amusingly, the only two people knowing Shang Xinlei as a thief were both coincidentally suspecting whether Xinlei intended to kill his father.

Shang Xuanwen suddenly looked around, noticing Qian Gongyu somehow being pushed outside by the military officers. She was bouncing around on the periphery, seemingly trying to catch Shang Xuanwen’s attention but hesitating to call out. He gestured to the tiger-faced girl: "Patriarch Qian."

"Patriarch Qian?"

"Why does she have a tiger face?"

"Patriarch Qian? I’ve heard she’s not..."

"The Qian Family is about to prosper..."

"Hmph, just her good luck."

The crowd whispered, somewhat jealous of this girl who accidentally caught the Chancellor’s eye. Qian Gongyu most enjoyed these envious and surprised gazes. She deliberately slowed her pace, fully relishing their attention before stepping forward, Shang Xuanwen handed her a bottle of Blood Replenishing Pill: "Heal your injuries."

"I’m not injured, just a bit sore." Qian Gongyu accepted the Blood Replenishing Pill without consuming it, stashing it in her bag. She immediately added urgently, "Uncle, Xinlei is missing, you should send people to find her!"

"Xinlei is missing?" Shang Xuanwen was taken aback, turning to Shang Xuanwen, puzzled: "Where did she go at this late hour?"