Calamity Messenger

Chapter 143 - 115: Pharmacist’s Wish’s Little Schemes

As they approached the cave entrance, Yan Qing grasped the hand Pharmacist’s Wish extended down, and he was effortlessly pulled to the ground.

"Yellow Dog, give me a hand," called Shang Xinlei from below the entrance. She was just behind Yan Qing, both of them having tied the snake pattern rope around themselves for support, allowing Pharmacist’s Wish and Ying Rushi to pull them up. Yan Qing thought it was unnecessary since Pharmacist’s Wish was already lending a hand, but considering that Shang Xinlei might not be familiar with Pharmacist’s Wish, he reached out to pull this snotty fellow up.

Once Shang Xinlei was up, she looked around and found the central plaza eerily quiet, with no guards or palace attendants patrolling—no one to interfere with their nearly half-minute rescue operation. Shocked, she asked, "Did you kill all the palace attendants nearby?"

"We’re thieves; why would we do such a thing?" Pharmacist’s Wish replied while tidying the snake pattern rope, "Do we look like serial killers?"

The Yellow Dog glanced at the stained and dark blood marks on the Fox Wolf Night Traveling Clothes and shook his head in tacit agreement. "Tonight you came back to rescue us, so whatever you say goes."

"We set a fire on our way in, so now all the palace attendants are in the back palace putting it out," explained Ying Rushi. "Let’s leave now; this is no place to linger."

No one had objections, and as they retreated, Yan Qing couldn’t help but sigh, "I really didn’t expect you all to come to the Imperial Palace to find us."

"Indeed," nodded Shang Xinlei in agreement, "I thought at most you’d wait for us near the archway, or more likely, just return directly to the Thief’s House after completing the mission. While I was trapped inside, I never thought you’d worry about our safety... Looks like I misjudged your noble intentions."

"The wind knows the strength of the grass, true friends are revealed in adversity." Although without them, Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei could have escaped, this gesture of risking the Imperial Palace to rescue them was something Yan Qing would remember: "White Fox, Black Wolf, you are reliable teammates. In contrast, it’s Red Snake and I who are dragging the team down. This mission, we owe you."

Ying Rushi chuckled lightly, "No need to be formal. After all, the four of us will continue to collaborate in the future. Helping each other is just natural... Black Wolf, don’t you agree?"

"Yes."

Pharmacist’s Wish reacted unemotionally, which didn’t surprise Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei. After all, she was known for being overbearing and proud of her talents. Besides, she had indeed saved the two of them, so accepting their gratitude without modesty was only natural.

Only Ying Rushi vaguely sensed the complicated emotions in Pharmacist’s Wish at the moment, a teasing smile hidden beneath the White Fox Mask.

...

...

A quarter of an hour ago, on the third floor of the Jiangnan Kitchen God Building.

"Your proposal is certainly appealing, but I refuse."

Ying Rushi took out Spiritual Jade to restore her spiritual power, and said blandly, "Even if you go back, I would still go to the Imperial Palace to find them."

"Why?" Pharmacist’s Wish couldn’t understand.

She had witnessed the sword skills of the woman before her, ruthless and always poised to strike, like a fox, elegant yet brutally efficient. Even now, she wouldn’t dare to claim the upper hand against the White Fox. As a martial artist, she evaluated others by their swordsmanship, and she believed the White Fox was definitely not a woman of hesitation or someone shackled by mundane morality. This was why she proposed an alliance with the White Fox.

While Pharmacist’s Wish did entertain the thought of having the White Fox as an ally, she was truly sincere in wishing to cooperate. She recognized that the White Fox was worthy to stand alongside her.

"There are many reasons, but the most important is... my future is above Foundation Establishment," said Ying Rushi. "In the future you describe, where we two lead the Thief’s House and the other two are mere puppets, we might reap the greatest benefits, but it also means we alone face the hardships."

Pharmacist’s Wish scoffed, "I can’t believe the White Fox would underestimate herself like this, even if only the two of us—"

"The two of us alone are far from enough!" Ying Rushi bluntly retorted, "Do you think the Thief’s House is some minor game of international intrigue or a child’s play in Court factionalism? The Thief’s House is a Secret Realm! A battlefield crafted by the world for messengers! If you’re determined to play power games in the Secret Realm, I assure you, this self-righteous foolishness won’t get you far!"

Pharmacist’s Wish had no response, but her fist clenched tightly, veins throbbing, hinting at the fury under the Black Wolf Mask. Yet, even so, she neither rebutted nor acted violently, merely listened silently to Ying Rushi’s admonishments from her moral high ground.

"Black Wolf, I know you’re a lady of a prestigious family, and perhaps you’ve had early experiences in Secret Realm battles, but you have never witnessed true Secret Realm combat..."

"White Fox." The Pharmacist’s Wish squeezed a few words through her teeth: "You don’t understand me, so don’t be too presumptuous."

"I don’t understand you, but I understand the Secret Realm." Ying Rushi retorted unceremoniously: "You might have fought on the front lines of the First-Turn and Second-Turn Secret Realms, but what about the Third-Turn? The Fourth-Turn? If you had witnessed the true brutality, you wouldn’t have such naive fantasies."

The Pharmacist’s Wish’s hands trembled slightly—this was her being so angry that her adrenaline began to surge, her muscles involuntarily relaxing. But she could not refute; she had never been to the Third-Turn Secret Realm, and her father also forbade her to go.

"I’ve been to the Third-Turn Secret Realm. In the Third-Turn Secret Realm, everyone must be a Messenger, but even a First-Turn Messenger has a high mortality rate—one slip, and you’ll end up buried in the absolute domain." Ying Rushi said: "But that’s not what I want to talk about. Just dealing with the demons before the Secret Realm, it’s possible to push through with numbers, but..."

At this point, Ying Rushi’s voice trembled slightly, as if recalling an unbearable past, "The Third-Turn Demon King cannot be stopped by just one or two Third-Turn Messengers. It attacks everyone, as if testing the strength of the Messengers, and as long as you don’t pass, you suddenly drop dead."

"First-Turn Messengers don’t even qualify to challenge the Third-Turn Demon King, and Second-Turn ones can barely preserve themselves. If the Third-Turn can’t unite and doesn’t dare attract the Demon King’s attention, they’ll be picked off one by one sooner or later."

"Black Wolf, the enslavement system you mentioned only applies to the First-Turn and Second-Turn Secret Realms. In a Low-Level Secret Realm, it’s indeed possible to conquer with a few strong Messengers and lots of weak ones. But from the Third-Turn onward, without reliable teammates, even Third-Turn Messengers easily end up without a proper burial."

The Pharmacist’s Wish took a deep breath and slowly unclenched her tense fists: "Do you think the Thief’s House will become more dangerous in the future?"

"It has already become dangerous." Ying Rushi said: "The first target was An Guo Temple, where a small number of Second-Turn monks mixed with a large number of First-Turn ones; in Secret Realm terms, it’s about the Second-Turn level. The second target was Shang Xuanwen. Shang Xuanwen himself is a Third-Turn Messenger, not to mention, as the Chancellor of Da Liang, he can mobilize all the Messengers in the city at will. It’s just that we happened to ambush him at his weakest, so we didn’t encounter much danger. But this doesn’t mean the task was simple. If Jiangnan City were placed in the Secret Realm ratings, it’s close to the Third-Turn!"

"Besides, just because we could ambush Shang Xuanwen this time, does it mean we can ambush the next target? And the one after that? When do you think we’ll face a situation where we have to confront the Foundation Establishment Messenger directly?"

"Someday we’ll face a desperate situation, and by then, the only ones we can rely on are each other." She finished absorbing the Spiritual Jade and glanced at the Pharmacist’s Wish: "So I don’t need slaves, don’t need puppets, and certainly don’t need allies with ulterior motives. What I need are companions who can fight alongside me."

"Let’s go, Black Wolf."

The Pharmacist’s Wish did not refute, merely following Ying Rushi quietly towards the Palace City. On the way, they saw many people leaving their homes, gathering on the main roads of the city as if heading to a fair, but they had no time to stop and investigate.

"White Fox," the Pharmacist’s Wish suddenly asked, "when you went to the Third-Turn Secret Realm, was the Demon King defeated by Third-Turn Messengers working together?"

"No." Ying Rushi replied calmly without looking back: "As I said, all the Third-Turn Messengers were defeated one by one by the Demon King."

"Then how did you survive?"

After a long silence, Ying Rushi didn’t answer, and the Pharmacist’s Wish didn’t press further.

However, in her heart, the Pharmacist’s Wish had already speculated about Ying Rushi’s identity. Possessing both combat talent and leadership skills, entering the Third-Turn Secret Realm at such a young age, and having mastered the swordsmanship of the Qi Kingdom—if not a member of the Qi Kingdom’s royal family, then a founding noble with full power and authority.

It was the first time the Pharmacist’s Wish felt such a huge sense of defeat in front of a peer. In terms of vision, capacity, and demeanor, she was utterly defeated, without any excuse, utterly humiliated. Yet she bore no resentment, instead brimming with fighting spirit.

The Qi Kingdom was the most powerful nation in the Central Plains, and the White Fox could very well become the greatest opponent on her path to dominating the world.

Just as it should be!

When Zhou Taizu, Emperor Divine Martial, and Liang Taizu divided the realm and fought against each other, leaving behind countless epics, people still speak of them with relish today. If my path to horseback conquest came without worthy foes, wouldn’t it lose much of its fun?

Just as three hundred years ago, Emperor Zhao Lie tamed Cao Zhexi, creating a historical legend, I believe White Fox, you will become my most prized trophy in the future!

Looking at the near-at-hand Palace City, the Pharmacist’s Wish stopped her random thoughts and began pondering how she’d win hearts and minds in a bit. Although she was persuaded by Ying Rushi, it didn’t mean she would hand over the credit. Yellow Dog and Red Snake seemed like shameless scoundrels; she must take this opportunity to harshly reprimand them, letting them know the magnitude of this life-saving grace, ensuring they obediently follow her from now on.

Just thinking about being able to stand on moral high ground and scold those two colleagues as she pleased, the Pharmacist’s Wish couldn’t help but hum softly.