Calamity Messenger-Chapter 87 - 69: Taking Action (Second Update)

Many heirs of noble families were disappointed to find Jiang Shi didn’t cause a commotion, some even tried to incite him through Qunyu Book. Unlike these heirs whose minds hadn’t fully developed, Lu Wangji and others breathed a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, "Open sky-high prices, settle at ground level," no one really wanted to resolve the matter with Jiang Shi, they just wanted the Jie Family and Shang Family to cut out a piece of meat. If Jiang Shi truly confessed and surrendered, trouble would eventually reach them—who doesn’t know how to do the dirty work? Would the Jie Family and Shang Family act like the kindly old man?

Liang Kingdom doesn’t have as much murderous feuding as the Northern Dynasty, thanks to both the enlightened Emperor and the unbreakable tacit understanding among noble families. Officials could be demoted or imprisoned, but lives were spared. Winners never exterminated; losers retained a sliver of vitality, supported by the Nine-Grade Household Registration System providing channels for advancement, which is the key to Liang Kingdom’s long-lasting stability.

The disputes surrounding the murder case came to an end. The essence of the matter was actually the Jie Family and Shang Family giving up the Huainan Underground Palace Secret Realm, to gain Jiang Shi’s favor and a year of growth time. As for the treasure chest, that was just a bonus, Lu Wangji demanded it mostly to know its output list, which included Jiang Shi’s unregistered loophole, otherwise, Lu Wangji wouldn’t dare intervene.

"Have you all reached an agreement?" Lu Wangji waved his hand, signaling for a servant to handle Luo Weijin’s corpse: "The charge of damaging the body, I’ll report it truthfully."

"Jiang Shi, since the Shang Family fought for a year for you to gather evidence, until then, you are not the true culprit for killing Luo Weijin. Even if you claim you are, it’s useless, unless you find new evidence proving you are." He said calmly, "Confessions have little weight in Liang Kingdom’s laws."

"To think that whatever one says can be true—this is just a child’s innocence."

For a moment, Lu Wangji almost thought Jiang Shi would violently kill him, those eyes which seemed always calm revealing a chilling malice, as if Death himself were mocking from behind Jiang Shi’s back. But Jiang Shi quickly turned away, still so beautiful, so calm, as if that moment was merely Lu Wangji misjudging with a petty mind.

"Since it’s just a child’s angry words, Lu Xiaoqi, you wouldn’t take them to heart, would you?" Shang Yue too lost interest in maintaining a warm tone, "Jiang Shi is innocent, and Lu Xiaoqi should understand her feelings better than anyone else."

"Only temporarily innocent," Lu Wangji suppressed the unease within, saying, "It’s getting dark, quickly go claim your personal treasure chest."

The group walked over to the personal scoreboard below, looking at the top four scores gleaming in gold, everyone couldn’t help but anticipate. Since ancient times, the Mansu Forest Land’s highest personal score was 15 points, now with four monstrous scores of several thousand points—the reward surely would be extraordinary treasure chests?

Lu Wangji glanced at Jiang Shi, seemingly hoping Jiang Shi would go first, but Jiang Shi turned to look at Qian Gongyu.

"Ah? Should I go first?"

Rarely being in the spotlight, Qian Gongyu was both nervous and excited as she headed below the personal scoreboard, the line "Qian Gongyu: 7215 points" extended countless gold threads, as if invisible deities were weaving for her on the spot, the gold threads converging on the ground to form the appearance of a treasure chest, gleaming gold with engraved dragons and phoenixes, the noble family heirs watching became instantly abuzz—their treasure boxes today were all wooden ones, compared to Qian Gongyu’s, theirs utterly looked like toilets.

Qian Gongyu opened the treasure chest, from which three rainbow-hued mystical energy clusters emerged.

The left cluster contained a secret manual, titled "Secret Technique: Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound."

The center cluster held a pair of boots, glowing with golden light.

The right cluster had a token, inscribed with the words ’Reward Good and Punish Evil.’

"A Secret Technique Book?"

"It’s a Reward Good and Punish Evil Order! How could Mansu Forest Land produce such an order, quick—"

"Wow, it’s a Rare Treasure Token!"

Qian Gongyu directly reached for the boots, and as the middle energy cluster shattered, the other two clusters vanished like foam. She lovingly cradled the boots, giggling, "Hehe, the Qian Family has a Rare Treasure Token now, and it’s boots! Oh, only one of the three could be chosen."

She turned her head to see everyone in a daze, asking curiously, "What’s wrong?"

"Come back first..." Shang Xinlei laughed ruefully, "I’ll explain the value of the other rewards later."

"I’m taking the treasure chest too, it seems valuable!"

As Qian Gongyu huffed and puffed moving the treasure chest, Jie Zilong turned to look at his niece. Without a word, Jie Yuan Shao understood his intentions: "If there’s a Reward Good and Punish Evil Order, I’ll take it."

The treasure chest of "Jie Yuan Shao: 8530 points" was also golden, but with seemingly more exquisite patterns. As Jie Yuan Shao opened the chest, everyone held their breath.

Again, three energy clusters emerged, even in the same order: manual, token, and rare item.

The manual on the left was titled "Secret Technique: Rising Wind Sword."

The token in the middle is a sword, also shimmering with golden light.

The rare item on the right is the Reward Good and Punish Evil Order once again.

Jie Yuan Shao didn’t think much and directly took the Reward Good and Punish Evil Order to hand it over to Jie Zilong. Jie Zilong immediately stored it among his collection, simultaneously taking out a fine steel long spear. He looked around, the fierce intent between his brows was awe-inspiring, causing all sinister observers to deliberately look away.

Next was the "Shang Xinlei: 8950 points" treasure box, but unlike the previous two boxes, this time, the Reward Good and Punish Evil Order did not appear.

The secret technique on the left was named "Secret Technique: Sky-Split Wheel."

The token in the middle was a pair of flying rings, also glowing with golden light.

The rare item on the right was a token with the word ’Treasure Hunting’ engraved on it.

Shang Xinlei glanced back at her elder brother, Shang Yue smiled slightly, gesturing for her to make her own choice.

The first thing she could rule out was the "Secret Technique: Sky-Split Wheel," as she had already mastered the Secret Technique: Blood Wheel, with enough confidence to complete a triple career transition. Although the more secret techniques, the better, they should also meet her needs.

What does Shang Xinlei currently need the most?

Rare Treasure Token!

She possessed the materials for blood weapon enhancement; she only needed a rare treasure token to instantly upgrade it to a legendary token! However, flying rings were unpopular, and the Shang Family’s flying ring token at most reached the level of a rare third-turn grade. Shang Xinlei originally planned to switch to swordsmanship after a third transition, finding a way to inherit the family’s exquisite longsword, but now since she could acquire the rare marvelous flying ring, there was no need to complicate matters.

As for the third rare item, the Treasure Hunting Order, Shang Xinlei, being inexperienced, didn’t know its use. Although it might be as valuable as the Reward Good and Punish Evil Order, she had no interest and found no need to gamble.

As Shang Xinlei took the rare marvelous flying ring and stepped back, the atmosphere in the camp reached its climax. They looked at Jiang Shi, then at the top of the personal score leaderboard—

"Jiang Shi: 11200 points"

More than two thousand points higher than Shang Xinlei, and the total score surpassing ten thousand!

What could possibly come out of her treasure box? The Reward Good and Punish Evil Order? A legendary token? Or maybe even... a Foundation Establishment Pill?

"When Jiang Shi opens her box, retreat immediately!" Lu Wangji promptly said: "The allocation remains sixty-four, but we need to decide together what to choose!"

"Jiang Shi, in case the treasure box rewards cannot be solely yours, I can assure you that the Shang Family will compensate you with a secret technique and a rare treasure token!" Shang Yue promised: "Whatever secret technique or token you desire, the Shang Family will strive to help you obtain it."

"The Jie Family will do the same!" Jie Zilong followed closely, adding: "Rest assured, we won’t let you suffer a loss. You are welcome to come to Mansu Forest Land for countless years. We’re not short-sighted to take advantage of you over this!"

Watching the excited and anxious crowd in front of her, Jiang Shi neither nodded nor shook her head, but directly walked toward the personal score leaderboard.

Lu Wangji followed closely behind, genuinely worried that Jiang Shi might nonchalantly take a secret technique from the treasure box and use it—if the rare item contained a Foundation Establishment Pill or a Reward Good and Punish Evil Order, the court must acquire it!

At this moment, Jiang Shi suddenly turned to look at him. Her expression was calm, and her eyes revealed no joy, anger, or dislike, but Lu Wangji knew she currently hated him. Although others fanned the flames, he was the one who framed Jiang Shi, and he was also the one who divided Jiang Shi’s reward. The former concerned life and death, while the latter involved interests—he had done the two easiest things to make enemies in this world. How could Jiang Shi not hate him?

Lu Wangji was somewhat uneasy, mainly because the rewards from Mansu Forest Land were exceedingly generous. Jiang Shi could consistently produce four Reward Good and Punish Evil Orders every year; all the aristocratic families in Liang Kingdom had to obey her lead. She was the grand trend, the great situation, and Lu Wangji, merely a third-turn messenger from a prominent family, couldn’t possibly compete with that.

Yet there was still a year’s time—a window long enough for Lu Wangji to ’feign death and escape.’

The court already had a stable placement mechanism for someone like him, who offended people. By the time Jiang Shi’s power became unstoppable and her grudges unreconcilable, he would have long become a casualty in some secret realm, submitting a scapegoat for the Luo Weijin case to appease Jiang Shi’s anger. By then, Jiang Shi could only seek revenge on other families, allowing the court to discreetly vanish amidst it all.

With this thought, the unease in Lu Wangji’s heart dissipated. After all, Jiang Shi was now just a First-Turn Messenger. No matter how angry or furious she might be, what could she possibly do—

Rumbling!

The eruption of qi blood might nearby was like scorching airflow, causing Lu Wangji to instinctively narrow his eyes. At that very moment, a radiant crescent moon sliced through the night sky, carrying the mighty thunder and wind, dazzling right before Lu Wangji’s neck!