Calamity Messenger-Chapter 51 - 40: Shelter
After returning to the carriage, Qian Gongyu remained silent, gazing at ’Jiang Shi’ with eyes full of unspoken words, hesitant yet earnest, caught in a whirl of emotions.
"If there’s nothing else, I’m going out to train. I just saw a training ground outside."
"You’re going out again? What if you run into Luo Weijin and the others? Even if they beat you to death, they only need to pay a little money!"
"Oh."
Seeing ’Jiang Shi’ so calm, Qian Gongyu suddenly felt some regret and mumbled, "I’m not blaming you... You offended Luo Weijin because of me, I just don’t want you to be in danger..."
She paused, "Next time you encounter such situations, don’t make a move. A few words from them mean nothing, I’m used to it. Right now, the Qian Family is enduring hardships, and as the Patriarch of the Qian Family, I should bear this pressure—"
"There won’t be a next time."
"Huh?" Qian Gongyu was startled, and after considering something, her mood instantly sank, "That’s true, the Fourth Miss Shang values you so much, she can help you avoid the punishment of entering the Mansu Forest Land and offer you a better future. In comparison, the Qian Family is indeed too small... I have no reason to stop you from pursuing a better future, we’ve only known each other for one day... If I were the Fourth Miss Shang, I would definitely recruit you too, you were just so dazzling earlier, even surrounded by so many Forbidden Army soldiers, you showed no fear..."
Qian Gongyu fell into a long ramble, and although Yan Qing wanted to explain that he wouldn’t join the Shang Family, he felt that explaining would give Qian Gongyu unnecessary expectations, especially since he planned to run away after finishing the Mansu Forest Land trial. However, this state of Qian Gongyu was difficult to communicate with, fortunately, he already knew how to handle Qian Gongyu.
"Young Miss, shut your mouth."
Qian Gongyu immediately fell silent, looking pitifully at ’Jiang Shi’, just like a little chick pleading with the mother hen not to leave.
"Introduce the Mansu Forest Land, why is entering it considered a punishment?"
"Mansu Forest Land..." Mentioning the matter at hand, Qian Gongyu’s expression became serious. She gathered her thoughts slightly and said slowly, "Mansu Forest Land has been a trial ground in the Jiangnan Region since ancient times. In the past, it was monopolized by two or three families, until the founding of Daliang, when Liang Taizu designated Mansu Forest Land as a national Secret Realm, allowing anyone to participate in trials here every March."
"However, the nobility rarely participates in this event, with most participants being descendants of noble clans and their retainers. Like this time, even the Fourth Miss of the Shang Family and the First Miss of the Jie Family have come... When this news spreads, the number of people here will likely double in a few days."
Yan Qing found it a bit odd.
"Didn’t you say anyone can come to Mansu Forest Land? Why is it only noble clans and aristocratic families, where are the commoners?"
"How would the commoners know about Mansu Forest Land," Qian Gongyu said proudly, lifting her head, "Even newly risen Blue Ribbon Noble Clans may not have the channels to find out, only my Qian Family, with its thirty-three generations of history and deep roots, knows about Mansu Forest Land."
Even though my Qian Family is just a Blue Ribbon Noble Clan, it is indeed the topmost of the Blue Ribbon Nobility!
But Yan Qing didn’t care whether the Qian Family was beggars or emperors within the Blue Ribbon Nobility, he hurriedly urged Qian Gongyu to disclose the information she knew.
According to Qian Gongyu, Mansu Forest Land is a continuous three-day trial, with the earliest entry on the fifteenth and the latest on the twenty-first. After the twenty-first, no newcomers are accepted.
Once someone enters Mansu Forest Land, there will be two leaderboards outside, namely the "Personal Scoreboard" and the "Total Scoreboard."
Each person can stay in Mansu Forest Land for six hours a day, but they can leave early. However, they must enter Mansu Forest Land for three consecutive days, or they will be considered to have withdrawn from the event, even if it isn’t the twenty-fourth yet, they can’t enter Mansu Forest Land again.
The reward mechanism of Mansu Forest Land is also different from other Secret Realms, with two settlement phases. The first is when the courier completes the three-day trial, and rewards are generated based on personal scores in a chest; the second is when the entire event ends on March twenty-fourth, and ten large chests are generated based on the total scoreboard.
According to the rules set by the Liang Kingdom, personal chests belong to the individual, but the ten large chests are shared by all the descendants of the noble clans participating—take note, it’s only for the descendants of noble clans, a Black Belt Guard like ’Jiang Shi’ has no right to share the pie. This rule seems discriminatory at first glance, and it is discriminatory in nature, but it’s essentially the Court’s encouragement for the Scholarly Clan’s descendants to actively participate in Mansu Forest Land, rather than having their guards and servants make a perfunctory effort.
Yan Qing estimated that in the game, the ten large chests generated from the total score settlement should be the PVP content of this time-limited event, whoever grabs it first keeps it. But in reality, there won’t be a PVP segment, as the Imperial Family and the noble clans have long discussed the allocation plan, not allowing roadside stray dogs to share a piece.
As for the most crucial content of the Mansu Forest Land Secret Realm, Qian Gongyu naturally shared what she knew without holding back —
"I don’t know the specific details either," Qian Gongyu said honestly, "because I’ve never been there."
"But from what I know, Mansu Forest Land is more of a trial than a Secret Realm. Everyone inside will encounter terrifying illusions, and those with a weak mind will soon be unable to withstand the pressure and exit early, while those who can persist longer inside will naturally have higher scores."
