Calamity Messenger

Chapter 141 - 113: Exquisite Exchange with the Brush_2

So he seized a moment of opportunity and dashed out between the Wild Bear and his henchmen. The Wild Bear and his crew cursed from behind, but perhaps they had spent too much energy beating him earlier, and for some reason they couldn’t catch up to Wes, that frail scholar, and could only watch as Wes ran out of the courtyard.

"Wes? Just in time, come here quick! Oh, and bring your pen!"

Just after exiting the courtyard, Wes saw Han Xian, a fellow student he was acquainted with, and went with him without much thought. Han Xian seemed to be in a hurry too, urging Wes to hurry up and follow with an excited look on his face: "Quick, quick, quick, we won’t make it if we’re late!"

"In such a hurry, where are we going?" Wes asked, a bit confused, because he noticed that not only Han Xian, but many people were on the street. Although there was no curfew in Chang’an City — it couldn’t be enforced — Chang’an City was mostly quiet at night. The real entertainment venues were in the outskirts, and there shouldn’t be many people on the streets at this hour.

"Don’t ask, just follow me, this is an opportunity you absolutely must seize!"

In no time, Wes followed Han Xian to the Vermilion Bird Dao. This was the main road of Chang’an City, and the burnt An Guo Temple was not far away. On both sides were shops and eateries, bustling with people during the day, yet unexpectedly lively even at this early hour, with a crowd gathered before the bulletin board at the entrance of the Vermilion Bird Dao, the four-lane stone road completely blocked.

"Sold! The dancer’s shoes have been bought!"

"No, my cousin is already on her way, she’s a dancer with the Marquis Huaiqing’s troupe, her shoes would definitely meet the requirements! Immortal, please make another deal, just one more!"

"The tailor’s needle, that deal is gone too! Only the scholar’s pen and the gambler’s dice are left!"

"Has no one come back from Jucai Square? Does it take so long to fetch a gambler’s dice!? A bunch of useless people!"

All around were shouts and complaints, making Wes’s head spin. Everyone was unusually excited, eyes red, expressions thrilled, as if witnessing a miracle firsthand.

"Get in, get in quick, if you’re any later it will be too late!" Han Xian pushed Wes into the crowd, and they finally managed to reach the front. It was only then that Wes learned what everyone was watching — a new Immortal transaction slip had appeared on the blackboard on the bulletin board.

Though Wes didn’t have the money to buy anything, nor had he ever joined the excitement, he had heard much from others at the study room. Everyone said that the transaction slips appearing on the blackboard were issued by the Immortal Gods, for the blackboard existed in the presence of so many, yet even the Foundation Establishment Messenger couldn’t affect it at all, clearly only an Immortal could control the blackboard in a place like Chang’an, a land under the protection of the Immortal Gods, and only an Immortal could complete transactions from afar.

More importantly, only Chang’an had such a blackboard, nowhere else did, indicating that the Immortal recognized the people of Chang’an, and that they were the most outstanding, most qualified to be close to the deities!

Of course, the wealthier you were, the more you could brush against the Immortal aura, as every item sold by the Immortal cost thousands or tens of thousands of Spiritual Jade; Wes couldn’t even muster jealousy, knowing he wouldn’t earn thousands of Spiritual Jade in his lifetime even if he became an officer. To him, the Immortal transaction slips were like mythical tales, although they unfolded right before his eyes.

He had never considered that he would ever become involved with the Immortal transaction slip, nor had he thought he would be the one to catch the pie dropped by an Immortal.

"Look!" Han Xian pointed at the words on the blackboard, shaking Wes’s shoulder excitedly: "The Immortal is exchanging the Heart-Protecting Mirror, a Three-Turned Rare Token, for a scholar’s pen. A scholar’s pen! Your pen! You can exchange your pen for a Three-Turned Rare Token!"

Wes’s eyes widened, staring at the words on the blackboard, where there were still two transaction slips left, both involving the exchange of the Heart-Protecting Mirror, one for a scholar’s pen and the other for a gambler’s dice. He couldn’t quite believe it: "Is it really a scholar’s pen they want? But there are so many scholars in Chang’an, why would it come to me?"

"You’re right, kid, it won’t come to you!"

Suddenly pushed aside, a burly man squeezed to the front of the transaction board, clutching an old pen, and reached out to click on the transaction slip on the board. However, no matter how he tried, the transaction slip showed no signs of completion, and the old pen remained in his hand. He cursed, "Damn! Damn! This is a scholar’s pen, why isn’t it trading? Trade it, damn it, that lousy kid even claimed he loved reading!?"

"Traded, traded!" someone shouted: "Another transaction slip has been completed, it’s the gambler’s dice!"

Wes looked up to find there was indeed only one slip left on the board.

"Go trade, even if it fails, you lose nothing, and if you’re too slow, you’ll miss it!" Han Xian was anxious: "In the whole study room, you’re the most diligent, the most earnest reader, you’re surely the scholar recognized by the Immortal, your pen surely is the scholar’s pen! If you get the Three-Turned Rare Token, maybe you could become a Messenger!"

Recognized by the Immortal? Become a Messenger?

Wes held his breath, hit by this incredible stroke of luck.

He never had grand ambitions in life, although he was the most promising child in his family, he was merely a scholar. Getting to Chang’an City to become an officer was something, but officers could never be officials in the Zhou Kingdom; only Messengers and their families could be officials. Commoners with no background or ability, no matter how hard they tried, could only hope to serve under them, be scapegoated for wrongs, and have accomplishments credited to them... but that was the only way for a commoner to achieve prominence.

As for joining the Military Mansion, that was reserved for warriors with exceptional physiques and talents. Wes, a farm boy who couldn’t even fill his stomach all year round, didn’t have the resources to build strength and train in martial arts. Luckily, the Zhou Kingdom was happy to nurture talented scholars; passing exams could even allow one to study for free because managing the state required many bureaucrats, as most Messengers only liked to wield power and had no interest in actual work, so they needed outstanding commoners to manage the ordinary people, like every large mansion needed a steward to oversee the servants.

But if one could become a Messenger, who would want to be a steward?

With a sudden surge of strength from an unknown source, Wes forcefully pushed aside the burly man blocking the transaction board, clutching his pen tightly in his left hand, and touched the transaction slip on the blackboard with his right hand.

As his fingertip touched it, Wes heard a cold and unemotional voice in his ear:

"Transaction completed."

The next moment, Wes discovered the pen in his hand was gone, replaced by a mirror emitting a deep blue glow. The crowd on Vermilion Bird Avenue instantly fell silent, everyone staring at Wes, even Han Xian was dumbfounded. Although he believed Wes was the most outstanding student in the study room, he hadn’t really expected success... while happy for Wes, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sour.

Wes tightly embraced the Heart-Protecting Mirror in his arms.

Three-Turned Rare Token.

With his limited perspective, he had no way to assess the value of this mirror, nor did he know where he could exchange it for resources to transition to a Messenger. But here was Chang’an City, and he had received the Heart-Protecting Mirror in front of an audience, which was his greatest advantage.

His life truly began from this moment.