Calamity Messenger

Chapter 135 - 108: Abandoning Companions

Even with all his composure, Shang Qia couldn’t maintain his expression at this moment.

His face turned beet red, and he finally squeezed out, "Xinlei is fine; she has... an appointment tonight."

"But it’s so chaotic outside, she might be in danger!" Qian Gongyu said anxiously, "When I heard about the explosion at the Shang Family, I immediately went to find her and found no one in her room. Then I saw them leaving to find you, and I thought Xinlei was coming to find you too... Uncle, haven’t you seen Xinlei?"

Shang Xuanwen didn’t answer but instead asked, "Patriarch Qian, are you still under house arrest? Do you know the severity of escaping from house arrest?"

"Huh?" Qian Gongyu blinked and scratched her round animal ear, "Well, it seems so... But I was looking for Xinlei, she’s your daughter, uncle, you’ll surely help me, right? Besides, I just saved you, uncle, you wouldn’t deny me that little face, would you?"

As she spoke, she patted Shang Xuanwen’s shoulder, giving him a ’grant me this favor’ smile of a social person. But perhaps due to her feline face, her smile was as pure as ever.

Oh no, Shang Qia thought to himself.

Father emphasizes favor is favor, wrong is wrong. Punish the wrong before applying favor; that’s his principle in handling people. Qian Gongyu has practically handed the handle over to my father; he’s sure to make a big deal of it, making her learn to revere the law, and then compensate her afterward. Shang Qia had seen countless bureaucrats reorganized by his father, and afterward, every one of them held him in awe, like a mouse before a cat when reporting to him in the capital.

Establishing relationships and forming connections is something father detests the most. Regardless of outsiders, even family won’t sway him; the closer the relation, the harsher the penalty.

Qian Gongyu committed two taboos in one go. Shang Qia had prepared words of intercession, as Qian Gongyu was both Xinlei’s friend and had saved his father tonight, he couldn’t just watch her be punished.

"This is an exception."

"Father, Qian Gongyu was only... Father?"

Shang Qia was dumbfounded. He felt as though he had misheard, because he heard his father say, "Patriarch Qian, since you wish to find Xinlei, go ahead, but make sure you return to Shuiyue Pavilion by dawn, or I’ll charge you with prison breaking."

"Got it! Thank you, uncle!" Qian Gongyu cheered, jumping onto the rooftops and dashing away, which was in violation of the law prohibiting rooftop and wall movements in Jiangnan City. However, with Shang Xuanwen’s approval, the dozens of soldiers nearby naturally pretended not to see.

"Qia’er, send people to the alleys near Jiangtai Avenue, the bodies of the martial soldiers from the Ministry of Personnel and the Mouse Monk are there." Shang Xuanwen said softly, "I brought misfortune upon them; the Taihu Rebel Bandits sent the Self-Burner this time to kill me, but they saved me... Take good care of the martial soldiers, you handle the compensation."

"Yes."

"Remember, send the Mouse Monk’s remains back to the Shang Mansion." Shang Xuanwen suddenly coughed violently, his whole body hunching over. Shang Qia quickly supported his father, realizing for the first time how light the man who bore the Seven States of Jiangnan really was.

"I must at least... see him off on his last journey."

Shang Xuanwen said, then suddenly touched his left waist, showing a contemplative expression, prompting Shang Qia to ask quickly, "Is the wound still hurting?"

"No, I just realized... there’s a promise I made that I can’t fulfill anymore." Shang Xuanwen showed a vulnerability that Shang Qia had never seen before, as if his very spirit had been drained, "Let’s go home."

Shang Qia quickly assigned the tasks to different house staff, while he himself supported his father home. On the way back, Shang Qia, holding back for a long time, couldn’t help but ask, "Father, have you ever been to Baiyun before?"

"I’ve heard the mountain scenery is nice, but I’ve never been."

"Then have you known the Qian family before?"

"Qia’er," Shang Xuanwen slightly tilted his head; even though he was now extremely weak, his gaze was more intimidating than a lion’s, "I don’t like beating around the bush."

Shang Qia took a deep breath, summoning the courage to ask:

"Is Qian Gongyu our sister?"

...

...

"It’s almost 1:00 AM." Pharmacist’s Wish listened to the night watchman’s calls below and said, "There’s less than half the time left and they haven’t returned yet."

Pharmacist’s Wish and Ying Rushi didn’t wait directly at Shangxiajiu Archway but hid on the third floor of the ’Jiangnan Kitchen God Building’ nearby. This was one of the three agreed safe points by the thieves, as the archway was too conspicuous, and these three safe points allowed for visibility of both the archway and each other. If separated or in groups, they could return to the safe point to wait for their companions.

"The Heaven-Swaying Sword is in hand; if they don’t come back in a quarter of an hour, we should go look for them." Ying Rushi said casually while sitting on the railing.

Although the assassination attempt on Shang Xuanwen failed, at least the joint attack by Ying Rushi and Pharmacist’s Wish completely shattered his Heart-Protecting Mirror defense, thus neutralizing and seizing his Heaven-Swaying Sword. This was also the fundamental reason why Pharmacist’s Wish suggested retreating—since the Heaven-Swaying Sword was already in her hands, she was the biggest winner in this operation, so it was sensible to preserve strength rather than continue risking it.

It made sense that Pharmacist’s Wish believed so, given her substantial contribution to the fight’s damage output; considering her strength, she was a Third-Turn Messenger, stronger than the other two apart from the yet-to-be-fully-displayed strength of Yellow Dog; and concerning the mission, the objective, the Heaven-Swaying Sword, was already in her possession.

If she wasn’t the first contributor, who would qualify as the first?

Watching Pharmacist’s Wish clutching the Heaven-Swaying Sword tightly, not even caring to disguise, allowing the soft armor to outline curves that even a tight wrap couldn’t completely cover, Ying Rushi knew the moment she said, ’let me have a look at the Heaven-Swaying Sword,’ she would instantly receive a spear throw in return from Pharmacist’s Wish. Hence, she simply abandoned the thought.

However, as she said nothing, Pharmacist’s Wish approached, "Do we really need to look for them?"

"Hmm?"

"The Thief’s House never said all thieves must return together, did they? Last time we just happened to leave together." Pharmacist’s Wish remarked, "Besides, if they really ran into danger, by the time we get there, they might already be caught. I guess they mostly didn’t go to Wenyuan Pavilion, but instead went to the Imperial Palace Secret Vault for looting and ran into trouble."

Ying Rushi blinked, "So, Black Wolf, you mean... we should find them now? I didn’t expect you to have quite a kind heart, Black Wolf."

"White Fox, haven’t you noticed they’ve formed an alliance?" Pharmacist’s Wish asked indifferently.

Ying Rushi raised an eyebrow, "How did you figure that?"

"Just now." Pharmacist’s Wish said, "In terms of strength, the two of us are stronger than Red Snake. Considering the likelihood of accomplishing the mission, we also have a better chance. Yellow Dog choosing Red Snake over us must mean they’re colluding privately, is there any other reason?"

"But that’s inevitable; working together often naturally engenders some camaraderie among companions. It’s nothing to make a fuss over." Ying Rushi shrugged, "So what if they really have formed an alliance?"

"Snakes and dogs can huddle together, wolves and foxes can travel together too." Pharmacist’s Wish gazed directly at Ying Rushi, "White Fox, I looked down on everyone in the Thief’s House, but your performance tonight earned my approval."

"That’s quite an honor." Ying Rushi replied with a hint of sarcasm in her laughter, "So, do you want to recruit me as your subordinate?"

"As allies." Pharmacist’s Wish explained, "As the strong, why should we mix with snakes and dogs? Of course, I’m not saying we should harm them, but if the mission eliminates them, why intervene? The Thief’s House isn’t some mutual aid society; every rule implies we should be cautious of each other."

"Returning early to the Thief’s House might even grant us extra contribution rewards. But staying to find them only increases competition for ourselves." Her voice was like the whispers of a jackal, "If they can’t return, then the rewards from the Thief’s House... will be for us to divide."

"In the future, even if new thieves are brought in, we still have a leading advantage, enabling us to control the Thief’s House. Four people might suspect each other, but two equal allies can share the world."

Pharmacist’s Wish spread her arms, as if to embrace the whole world, "Think about it, we could take turns obtaining the Legendary Token, the Secret Realm of the Thief’s House would be our shared domain... One day, we’ll have an endless supply of Legendary Tokens, be able to reach any place in the world via the Thief’s House, even hold the power to judge life and death in the main city... And the starting point of all this glory requires only a trivial hint of ruthlessness from you."

"Pushing it back a step, even if we do find them, what good would it do? Would they share what they found in the Imperial Palace Secret Vault with us? Surely you don’t have such naive fantasies, White Fox." Pharmacist’s Wish leaned against the railing, gazing into the distant Palace City, "Don’t you think this is better? Compared to the day we inevitably draw blades against each other over interests, letting them stop here now might be the true mercy."

Ying Rushi said nothing, the wild wind blowing her sleeves, rustling loudly.