Calamity Messenger

Chapter 138 - 111: Shoulder to Shoulder

Although the news didn’t spread, the fact that Jiang Shi safely escaped the hands of the Foundation Establishment Messenger using the Return Order has long been whispered among the prominent families of the Liang Kingdom. After all, the comical figure in this tale is none other than the Chen Family’s Foundation Establishment Prison-Suppressing Thunder King, Chen Liexia. Just like the common people’s fascination with royal scandals, the messengers naturally enjoy gossiping about the blunders of Foundation Establishment powerhouses.

Compared to the miracle-making Jiang Shi, people are even more interested in the key item of this story: the Return Order. After all, no matter how talented Jiang Shi is, it has nothing to do with them. But if one can acquire a Return Order, it’s akin to gaining an extra life—it not only provides immunity to all damage but also allows for teleportation to a safe location, catering to both defense and retreat needs. It’s practically the fashionable accessory that messengers dream of.

Chen Liexia’s relentless bombardment at Jiang Shi further serves as the best advertisement for the Return Order. It is said that many Foundation Establishment individuals have emerged from seclusion, wanting to ask Chen Liexia about the situation, evidently having thoughts about the Return Order as well.

But apart from Mansu Forest Land, no one currently knows which other secret realms can produce a Return Order. And without Jiang Shi, no one can achieve high scores in Mansu Forest Land. If Jiang Shi never returns to the Liang Kingdom, the Return Order in her possession might just be a unique treasure.

Logically, such a life-saving artifact would definitely be tucked away by oneself; no matter how close someone is, it’s impossible to give it away. However, Shang Xinlei suspects that Jiang Shi must have handed over the Return Order.

Because between Yellow Dog and Jiang Shi, there exists a relationship far exceeding the ordinary.

Yellow Dog was willing to lend the Legendary Token Bingzi Pepper Forest to Jiang Shi for her to wreak havoc; why wouldn’t Jiang Shi hand over the Return Order to Yellow Dog just in case? Shang Xinlei tried many times to persuade Jiang Shi with emotion and reason; if Jiang Shi had even a hint of dissatisfaction with Yellow Dog, she surely would have noticed. But Jiang Shi remained steadfast from beginning to end, even showing indifference to Shang Xinlei’s rude remarks.

Even when Jiang Shi later agreed to join the Business Community Family, Shang Xinlei could tell that this bright yet cold-hearted girl was acting for the person trapped in her heart.

That’s why Shang Xinlei was so angry when she talked to Yan Qing about Jiang Shi earlier. She really wanted to loudly question Yan Qing: how could he not cherish such a loyal beautiful girl? How many beauties show deep affection, and how much deep affection is met with indifference? When will Jiang Shi finally recognize this bastard’s true face?

But when Yan Qing truly took out the Return Order from the Storage Ring, Shang Xinlei found herself filled with envy.

She couldn’t quite understand if she envied Yan Qing for having Jiang Shi’s absolute loyalty, or envied Jiang Shi for completely trusting Yan Qing, or perhaps... envied their relationship that outsiders could neither comprehend nor touch.

"The Return Order can only allow one person to leave," Yan Qing said.

"After using the Return Order, where will you be teleported to? Can you return to Jiangnan City?" Shang Xinlei asked.

Yan Qing shook his head: "It can only transport us to a place that’s at most two hours away from Jiangnan City."

The designated safe teleport locations for the Return Order are only the three major newbie villages, probably because they are the points where all players are born and are essential opening points on the map. However, Yan Qing believes this is the greatest limitation of the Return Order—compared to limited usage, being sent back to a newbie village and having to run a long distance to the main city is enough to make many players choose to die instead. Only in real mode, players are forced to use this Token to avoid death.

"But in this way, even if you can escape, you can’t return to the Thief’s House in time," Shang Xinlei raised an eyebrow, "Seems like we both failed this mission."

Yan Qing nodded, but he glanced suspiciously at Shang Xinlei: "You seem a bit happy?"

"Of course, I’m happy; just now I thought I could only starve to death in this Secret Vault, with only you, the bastard leader who snatched the subordinate’s item, by my side. When the royal family sends people down, they will surely think we are a pair of reckless thieves, dying both painfully and shamefully," Shang Xinlei spread her hands, "Now you can escape and come back to rescue me; how could I not be happy?"

She suddenly realized something and angrily exclaimed, "So you bastard purposely scared me earlier; you obviously have a way to escape!"

Yan Qing raised an eyebrow, "Not necessarily to scare you—I may not come back to save you."

"Hmph hmph," Shang Xinlei wiped the tear marks at the corners of her eyes, her nose red, but her face held a smug smile, "Let me guess—Yellow Dog, your safest residence should be the Thief’s House, right? You return to the Thief’s House every night to sleep and rest, don’t you?"

Yan Qing’s pupils contracted abruptly, his heart skipped a beat, luckily the mask prevented Shang Xinlei from seeing his guilty expression. He neither denied nor refuted, merely scoffed as if Shang Xinlei had spoken of a trivial topic.

But he was nervously replaying his recent actions over the past few days in his mind; there shouldn’t be any problems, nothing should have been exposed, unless Shang Xinlei eavesdropped on the sounds he made when exercising?

"Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t eavesdrop on your room’s noise; although I tried, the soundproofing at the Thief’s House is very good, I couldn’t hear a thing." Shang Xinlei pointed at her slightly red eyes and laughed, "I figured it out."

Figured it out?

"Although you have been fully armed during meetings these days, your boots have always been clean without a speck of dust. Ordinary people might not notice, but my second-turn profession has an insight characteristic; my observational skills rank first within the same turn," Shang Xinlei explained, as if she were a detective revealing how she pinpointed the suspect’s clues, "Of course, this point alone doesn’t prove anything; if you reside in the main city, you can also avoid dust. But if you lived in such a safe location in the main city, why would you return to your room at night to rest?"

"You could argue that you happened to stay at Mansu Forest Land those two days and lived in the main city at other times, so I’m only guessing, not certain. But in such matters, just a guess is enough."

"Losing the Thief’s House must be quite troubling; for someone like you who enjoys plotting behind the scenes, a safe space is surely the only place where you can sleep soundly."

"I’m not as delicate as you," Yan Qing replied, admitting to Shang Xinlei’s guess. As she mentioned, such secrets only need to be guessed; he had never imagined he’d keep it a secret forever, just didn’t expect it would be his boots’ cleanliness that exposed him.

"You have to come back and rescue me because I am the Fourth Miss of the Shang Family, wealthy, well-connected, and highly capable," Shang Xinlei smiled, "I can easily arrange a safe point for you in Jiangnan City, and there’s an idle safe location right now where you can stay. You’ve helped me so much, saving my life; I won’t let you suffer, even taking care of you and your subordinates wouldn’t be an issue!"

"Moreover, I caused you to use up the Return Order and lose the Thief’s House opportunity; if you don’t rescue me, how will you collect the debt?" Her voice was alluring, as if she were enticing Yan Qing into becoming accomplices in crime, "I am the Fourth Miss of the Shang Family, ranked third on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, a future Third-Turn Messenger, maybe even reaching the Fourth Turn. Holding onto my flaws means you’ll enjoy it for the rest of your life, getting whatever you wish for in the Liang Kingdom."

"You just want to support Jiang Shi, don’t you?" Yan Qing glanced at her, "Besides, great favors are like great conflicts; I won’t base my life on someone else’s goodwill."

"You already know me so well, do you really think I’m someone who would repay kindness with enmity?" Shang Xinlei shrugged, "Sure, it’s a possibility, but I owe you so much this time; it’s a bit embarrassing. No matter what request you make, as long as I can do it, I’ll surely agree; supporting you for a lifetime isn’t a problem at all."

She suddenly crossed her arms in front of her chest and took two steps back, showing wariness, "Of course, your request can’t be too excessive; don’t imagine I’ll repay your life-saving favor by offering myself."

"Your nose hasn’t been wiped clean," Yan Qing suddenly reminded.

"Ah?" Shang Xinlei quickly covered her face and wiped, finding nothing at all, only hearing mocking laughter under the Yellow Dog mask.

The noble lady trembled with anger, her eyes red as she charged forward, but Yan Qing elegantly dodged yet couldn’t escape because Shang Xinlei abruptly reached out to hug him, seemingly initiating wrestling techniques!

What, she’s really breaking down and going for it? Was my joke that offensive? But I have the Mountain Heart-Protecting Mirror; hit all you want, physical attacks without tokens have no effect on me.

However, Shang Xinlei didn’t initiate wrestling or hitting, instead reaching out to hook his neck, the Red Snake Scarf and Yellow Dog mask nearly touching. They were now like sly friends, linking arms shoulder to shoulder, instantly allowing Yan Qing to recall high school days when he’d find friends to go to the restroom after class.

"Let Black Wolf and White Fox take over the Thief’s House then," she spoke, her breath so close it could blow onto the mask, her voice light like discussing an unspeakable secret, "Even without the Thief’s House, we can still achieve great things. Liang Kingdom has plenty of treasure vaults; if we join forces, all these treasures will be ours."

"What I owe you will be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold in the future. Didn’t you say you’ll eventually be a Fourth-Turn Foundation Establishment? Since even you have such confidence, I have no reason not to accompany you for the long haul."

The tear marks on Shang Xinlei’s face haven’t yet been wiped, her cheeks red like a flower cat, but her eyes are so bright. Perhaps due to the close proximity, Yan Qing even felt she was glowing.

"Be strong, grow bigger, and create brilliance again!" She snorted and smiled brilliantly and dazzlingly, "Let’s march forward side by side on the road ahead."