Calamity Messenger

Chapter 157 - 125: Seven Steps to Mindfulness

The Mouse Monk didn’t die, which surprised not only the Shang Family but also Yan Qing.

Last night, he first escaped a hurdle from the hands of the Foundation Establishment Messenger, then was tortured nearly to death by human-machine verification in the Secret Vault. He returned to play mind games with other thieves, barely filled his stomach, and then fainted. He woke up today because of the urge to urinate and remembered he’d forgotten the Mouse Monk in Jiangnan City last night.

But it wasn’t intentional; after all, Black Wolf White Fox said they hadn’t encountered the monk beside Shang Xuanwen. Yan Qing’s order to the Mouse Monk was to stay by Shang Xuanwen’s side at all costs, so when he received the news, Yan Qing assumed the Mouse Monk was probably dead.

When he turned on the game console and found the Mouse Monk’s account hadn’t been deleted, his first reaction was confusion. Did his compiled auto-evolution program malfunction? Or was the AI revolting? Otherwise, according to Yan Qing’s commands, even if crawling, the Mouse Monk would have crawled to Shang Xuanwen’s side... Within the Mouse Monk’s program, protecting Shang Xuanwen was the first priority, acquiring the Heaven-Swaying Sword was second, and caring for his newly-made three-day-old account was a distant third.

As Yan Qing went through the combat log, he realized he had indeed misunderstood his account.

"The Mouse Monk wasn’t in the alley you mentioned, Father. By the time we got there, he was almost crawling out of Jiangtai Avenue, several hundred steps away from the alley."

The Mouse Monk wasn’t resting in his room but was instead lying in a much grander residence filled with maids and servants and an elderly doctor sitting by the bed, monitoring his condition.

The father and son stood nearby watching the Mouse Monk. With a tone full of respect, Shang Xuanwen said, "He seemed to have lost consciousness even though I told him you were safe. He still insisted on fulfilling his duty as a guard, luckily Doctor Sun arrived in time and used a Cotton Needle to put him to sleep and rest."

In the main city, although harming is not possible, healing is clearly not within this scope. There are numerous treatment tokens with negative effects in the game, such as sleep, confusion, blindness, daze, etc. Without exception, these treatment tokens share two features: close range and long start-up. Therefore, although treatment tokens can take effect in the main city, if the target is uncooperative, even a sneeze can interrupt the token’s effect.

In return, given enough time, these treatment tokens can heal most negative effects.

From the combat log, Yan Qing saw that the Mouse Monk accumulated eight negative effects: ’Severe Burns (-5 Agility)’, ’Serious Internal Injuries (-7 Qi Blood)’, ’Disabled Hands (-9 Agility)’, ’Near-Death (-1 Life Point/second)’, all of which couldn’t be healed by Blood Replenishing Pills. After one night, only ’Minor Internal Injuries (-1 Qi Blood)’ remained, showing how effective the healing was, and how close the Mouse Monk was to death.

"He’s awake," Shang Xuanwen suddenly said.

Huh? Yan Qing was certain he was only looking at the combat log and wasn’t controlling the Mouse Monk. How did he see that the Monk was awake? Doctor Sun, next to him, had the same thought, "Chancellor, my Cotton Needle therapy should at least keep him asleep for six hours, it’s unlikely the patient will wake now."

"You don’t need to get up, just rest well and listen to me." However, Shang Xuanwen didn’t care about their opinions, speaking on his own, "I’ve arranged your registration as a Black Belt Military Household. Although I can help you register with the Shang Family, I believe you wouldn’t want to be bound by their rules."

"As for your destination, I give you two choices: one is Xuanwu Lake Military Town, which includes the First-Turn Secret Realm, Second-Turn Secret Realm, Third-Turn Secret Realm. I’ll provide resources until you’ve advanced three times, but Xuanwu Lake Military Town is under the control of the Jie and Zhou Families; I can’t ensure your safety, and you must adhere to Xuanwu Lake’s rules. The other option is Jingxin Small Residence of the Shang Family with a First-Turn Secret Realm, where you can venture into the Secret Realm with the Shang Family Martial Soldiers, guaranteeing safety, and have your pick of the Secret Realm’s resources."

Shang Xuanwen thought even if the Mouse Monk couldn’t hear, the difference between the two options was too great. The first had risks with uncertain rewards; the second was risk-free with selectable benefits. Surely anyone would choose—

"The first one." The Mouse Monk immediately opened his eyes. "I wish to go to Xuanwu Lake."

Shang Xuanwen and Doctor Sun were both shocked, "Are you sure you want to choose the first one? How did you wake up?"

Only Shang Xuanwen was unsurprised, nodding, "Alright, notify me once you’ve recovered, and I’ll send someone to escort you."

"I’m almost fully recovered." Although the Mouse Monk still had some internal injuries, they didn’t hinder combat. Compared to that, heading to the instance to earn money was the top priority. "I can depart immediately."

Doctor Sun hurriedly stopped him, "That’s not possible; as the saying goes, ’bones take a hundred days to heal.’ Your injuries are so severe, many internal injuries must have accumulated; it can’t be healed in just one day. At least allow me a few more days of treatment—"

Yan Qing glanced at the duration of ’Minor Internal Injuries,’ which still had a full 96 hours. The injury system in The Messenger is quite exaggerated. Once severely injured, recovery is difficult, even if healed; long-term aftereffects remain, effectively another stamina limit. When players get injured while raiding, it indicates they should explore other game contents.

"There’s no need; these injuries will be cured once I advance. Venturing into the Secret Realm for combat is the perfect choice." The Mouse Monk directly got out of bed and tore off his bandages. "When can we reach Xuanwu Lake Military Town?"