Messenger of Calamity

Chapter 128: Demon-Path Vicious Grounds

Yan Qing grabbed her finger and started pulling it outward. Shang Xinlei hurriedly yanked it back. “It’s going to break, it’s going to break!”

“Hmph.” Yan Qing lowered his head and began eating the pan-fried dumplings.

“You still haven’t answered me,” Shang Xinlei asked. “What exactly does a pig like you want from coming to the Thieves' House?”

“To take control of the Thieves' House,” Yan Qing replied indifferently. “The safest place in the world is none other than the Thieves' House, and the most convenient place is also the Thieves' House. As long as I control this place, I will forever remain invincible. I can reach anywhere, and no one can trap me, no one can threaten me.”

“When that day comes, I’ll be able to remove the mask and no longer need to hide my identity.”

When Shang Xinlei brought up Shang Xuanwen, Yan Qing also realized the flaw in his logic: so what if it was the Main City? Wasn't Shang Xuanwen still assassinated multiple times in the Main City? Even the Pingcheng Military Camp often spread rumors about the Emperor of Buye Tian slaughtering people on the streets—the Main City was far from absolutely safe.

Even if one became stronger, there would always be someone stronger—unless one reached the Ninth Job Change. In comparison, the Thieves' House was a more reasonable target. Once he became the master of the Thieves' House, Yan Qing would no longer have anything to worry about.

At its core, his goal was still survival. It wasn’t driven by any grand ideal. Previously it had been “find a way to live,” and now it was “find a way to live better.” But that’s how most things in the world were. The ministers who seized the throne had once been loyal subjects; the emperors who unified the realm were once fugitives hiding in the mountains. No one knew how far they could go—one step at a time.

Since he could walk, then he would keep walking.

As she watched Yan Qing’s eyes grow steadily firmer, Shang Xinlei couldn’t help the upward curve of her lips. Her brows arched with a smile appearing on her face.

She said leisurely, “Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. The one who will control the Thieves' House in the future can only be me. But if you beg while hugging my leg, I might allow you to stay as a servant.”

“Done eating. You can leave now.” Yan Qing couldn’t be bothered with her and prepared to take off after finishing the last dumpling.

“We haven’t even gotten to dessert!” Shang Xinlei stopped him and brought out two large cups of ice cream from the room—seriously, which Secret Realm actually produced ice cream?

Yan Qing had no choice but to sit back down. After all, wasting food was a sin.

“You got some on your bandage. Let me help you remove it, or it’ll attract bugs.”

“Yeah, bugs that can talk too.”

“Bugs that talk?... Get lost!”

Shang Xinlei couldn’t win the banter, so she stomped in frustration. However, Yan Qing dodged nimbly and even locked her long legs between his own, making it impossible for her to break free.

While they were having their under-the-table showdown, Yan Qing suddenly remembered something. “Do you know of any Third-Stage Secret Realms that one can enter at will?”

Now that the Rat Monk had gone to the Xuanwu Lake Garrison and Ye Si was stationed at Pingcheng, Yan Qing no longer lacked access to First and Second-Stage Secret Realms. He might as well try finding a Third-Stage one. He might get lucky and find a Secret Technique Book or some other advanced manual. Although the Xuanwu Lake Garrison had Third-Stage Secret Realms too, the Rat Monk clearly didn’t have the strength to enter one for now, and likely wouldn’t allow him to enter even if he could.

Previously, Yan Qing had probed Gai Louxian about why Jiang Ten and Ye Si weren’t sent to try out the Second-Stage Secret Realms. Gai Louxian had tactfully explained: Secret Realms above the Second Stage weren’t just rich in resources. The process of “conquering the Secret Realm” itself was a priceless treasure.

How to organize the troops, how to configure the tokens—if others spent countless lives perfecting a strategy, wouldn’t it be a huge loss if you just copied it effortlessly?

Hence, even if the Rat Monk had Third-Stage capabilities, others might not let him in.

“A Third-Stage Secret Realm you can enter at will? That’d definitely be the Demon-Path Vicious Grounds,” Shang Xinlei blurted out.

“Demon-Path Vicious Grounds?”

“There are five major Demon-Path Vicious Grounds in the Central Plains: Yunmeng Swamp, Shu Mountain, Wuyou Cavern, Merry Forest, and Liangshan Marsh,” Shang Xinlei stared at him. “These are places even Demon-Path Messengers would certainly know—”

“I don’t!” Yan Qing replied firmly. Since you already think I’m just a glittering shell, I won’t pretend anymore. “Why are these places called Demon-Path Vicious Grounds?”

“Because each of these places contains high-difficulty Secret Realms and are all far from the three Main Cities, with terrain that is easy to defend and hard to attack, and extremely harsh environments. As long as these criteria are met, such places naturally become Demon-Path Vicious Grounds,” Shang Xinlei explained. “For example, Yunmeng Swamp in Great Liang is a fog-shrouded marsh. If troops are stationed there, they quickly grow irritable and riot. Many things can't be self-sustained and are difficult to transport in. After weighing the pros and cons, they can only be abandoned.”

“But what’s worthless to the Court is a treasure trove for Demon-Path Messengers. Those who commit crimes and are left with no way out all flee to these vicious grounds. Over time, they become a plague to the area. But even the Court dares not casually send troops against them. Unless led by a Foundation Messenger, even most Third-Stage Messengers don’t return.”

“But even if a Foundation Messenger is dispatched, once the Demon-Path Messengers burrow into the wilderness, there’s little they can do. It’s not like you can catch them like mice—assuming you even succeed in clearing them out, soon after, a new wave of Demon-Path Messengers will take over. In the end, any resource-rich area that’s far from imperial oversight inevitably becomes a criminal haven. That’s how all five Vicious Grounds came to be.”

“In places like that, there are no rules. If your fists are strong enough, you get to enter the Secret Realm.”

Yan Qing pondered for a moment and said, “Actually, by your logic, the Messengers in the Demon-Path Vicious Grounds are less ‘demonic’ and more like rogue cultivators.”

As for the criminal part, Yan Qing didn’t even bother mentioning it. In which country didn’t his alternate character have a criminal record? Where there was injustice, there would be criminals—besides, the so-called righteous path wasn’t that noble either.

Shang Xinlei countered, “What do you mean by ‘rogue cultivator’?”

“Someone who hides in remote places, avoids external conflicts, and cultivates alone.”

“And where do they get their cultivation resources? Without Spirit Jade, they can’t even activate tokens. How do they train?”

Yan Qing instantly grasped her point. “But what if they discover a wild Secret Realm? Like those Messengers in the Demon-Path Vicious Grounds?”

“You must understand—developing a Secret Realm is no easy task. Most allow over ten people to enter, and extracting the resources often requires hundreds of workers. That’s not even counting how to make use of those resources,” Shang Xinlei explained. “If a rogue cultivator discovers an easily exploitable wild Secret Realm, their life’s mission becomes establishing a family, occupying the Secret Realm, joining the Court, and trading its resources with the outside world.”

“And the reason Demon-Path Vicious Grounds are so infamous is precisely because the Secret Realms there are nearly impossible to exploit. Most are Third-Stage Secret Realms—military garrisons find it difficult enough to get resources from them, let alone a bunch of rogue cultivators. At most, those rogues can scavenge scraps. As for the treasure chests inside? Forget it. Even if they exist, they’re already claimed by Demon-Path bigshots.”

Yan Qing figured that made sense. Rogue cultivators were basically broke. If they could exploit the freely-refreshing materials in a Secret Realm, why wouldn’t they? But to do so required manpower. And organizing manpower meant building settlements and forming factions. With that many moving parts, it’d be impossible not to join the Court. This was what “serving the bigger picture” meant.

Shang Xinlei added, “Of course, there might be rogue cultivators who, like you said, occupy a Secret Realm alone, choosing not to exploit it just to stay hidden. But they’re exceedingly rare. Most rogue cultivators are rootless drifters. If they don’t join the Court or one of the noble clans, they almost inevitably fall to the Demon Path.”

At this point, even while eating dessert, Shang Xinlei’s gaze held a trace of darkness. Clearly, she didn’t hold Demon-Path Messengers in any regard.

“Why are you so sure?” Yan Qing asked.

“Because of Spirit Jade.”

Shang Xinlei said, “Spirit Jade is the foundation of all a Messenger’s power. But without backing from a faction or support from a Secret Realm, where can a rogue cultivator get Spirit Jade? Without Spirit Jade, they’re no different from commoners. Heck, even a group of farmers with pitchforks could beat them down. So whether to protect themselves or to oppress others, they almost always go down the same road—plundering.”