Calamity Messenger-Chapter 48 - 38: Shang Xinlei

"Five thousand!"

Yan Qing exhaled a long breath, completing five thousand wholehearted punches. He broke out in a light sweat but felt refreshed and invigorated.

The benefits brought by this Martial Arts Genius milestone far exceeded imagination. Yan Qing, who initially punched without any technique, gradually mastered the force techniques of his hand, arm, shoulder, and waist. Later, his punch even made a sound that broke through the air; more importantly, he found the simple action of punching intriguing, still enjoying it after an afternoon of practice.

Friends who have failed to lose weight all know that the most troublesome aspect of exercise is ’not fun.’ Activities like running, swimming, and fat-burning training combinations are exhausting, but the lack of enjoyment during these exercises is why many find them hard to persist with. On the other hand, many people tirelessly indulge in team sports like basketball and badminton, even if exhausted to the point of being unable to get out of bed the next day, they accept this without complaint, simply because they aren’t exercising just for the sake of exercise but to play.

Yan Qing is now certain that his past lack of interest in exercise has transformed and he can tirelessly practice boxing, clearly thanks to the Martial Arts Genius skill. As the milestone describes, a true Martial Arts Genius isn’t just someone with high perception but someone who can find joy in mastering skills.

This realization is crucial for Yan Qing — he has finally found a second source of entertainment!

Although he loves playing games, playing the same game for so many days without other forms of entertainment made even Yan Qing, a hardcore gamer of the Brahma, feel a bit overwhelmed.

Dinner naturally is a ’Ye Si’ private meal, as the Team Leader, he now has the privilege to have the chef cater to Yan Qing’s taste. As Yan Qing prepared to dig in, in the game ’Jiang Shi’ and her companions just arrived at Mansu Forest Land.

At this moment, the sky had already darkened, but the surroundings of Mansu Forest Land were bright as day, each burning torch leaving fiery scars against the night sky. When ’Jiang Shi’ peeked outside to observe, what appeared before them was a vast camp stretching dozens of miles, with spike fence barricades extending almost out of sight, seemingly surrounding the entire forest land.

A team of soldiers stood at the entrance, adorned in Bright Armor and shod in Purple Gold Boots, their armor immaculate under the torchlight. Compared to the knights of Qi Kingdom and soldiers of Zhou Kingdom, the first impression of Liang Kingdom soldiers was ’luxurious,’ appearing more like ceremonial artefacts at a grand festival than blades for dirty work.

A Scribe came over to register the visitors’ information, with Qian Gongyu and the coachman Lin Yuan naturally posing no issue, until he saw ’Jiang Shi’ emerge.

"Patriarch Qian, you mean... she is your bodyguard?"

The Scribe’s gaze darted between Qian Gongyu and ’Jiang Shi’, increasingly puzzled until Yan Qing thought they wouldn’t get away with it, the Scribe said, "I thought she was your sister or relative, Patriarch Qian."

"Distant relative," Qian Gongyu smiled, "She has mastered her skills and is now serving the family."

"The Qian Family never ceases to impress, truly a cradle of talents," the Scribe echoed, making way, "Please enter. Inside, a Flowing Goblet banquet is underway; if you haven’t dined yet, please join us."

He paused, "Gathered here in Mansu Forest Land are heroes, including two prodigies from the Shang Family and Jie Family."

"What? Shang Family and Jie Family?"

Originally lacking interest, Qian Gongyu instantly became excited upon hearing this, "Uncle Lin, let’s go inside quickly!"

No need for Yan Qing to inquire, Qian Gongyu eagerly spilled the news inside the carriage, "Although the Shang Family is only a Red Gate Family, Patriarch Shang Xuanwen is the current Chancellor, making them incredibly influential; the Jie Family is even more remarkable, long established before the founding of Liang Kingdom, now a formidable Purple Ribbon Scholarly Clan."

"Usually, it’s hard even to catch a glimpse of these family scions, who knew we’d meet here! If I can network a little, this trip to Mansu Forest Land won’t be in vain!"

"Miss, you can head to the banquet first, I’ll take care of the carriage," the coachman Lin Yuan said considerately.

"Thank you, Uncle Lin!"

Qian Gongyu eagerly dragged ’Jiang Shi’ out of the carriage, finding the inside bustling with activity, servants and maids scurrying about, dish after dish of delicacies from the kitchen, even through the screen Yan Qing could smell the aroma. Guided by the servants, they quickly arrived at a large tent.

Though called a tent, its area was no less than a banquet hall, with a silk and bamboo orchestra playing, the top adorned with huge chandeliers, and patterned carpets laid across the floor, lavishly dressed men and women exchanging toasts inside. The tables brimmed with mountain and seafood delicacies, even exotic beast meat unheard of by Yan Qing.

It’s astonishing, considering they are in the wilderness, and Mansu Forest Land is open for less than half a month each year. Yet, despite this, these family scions can still indulge in luxurious lifestyles here — of course, this is just the perspective of the impoverished Yan Qing. Perhaps, for these people, the environment here is already quite harsh.

From here, one can glimpse a fraction of the upper society of Jiangnan Liang Kingdom.

Qian Gongyu’s goal was clear, she wanted to connect with the nobles from the Shang and Jie Families, and finding the targets was effortless since everyone had similar ideas. People had already circled these nobles, requiring some effort to squeeze in.

But Yan Qing had no interest in meeting any noble, instead headed straight for the table to stock up. The exotic beast meat was tasty, the roast meat looked crispy, what? There are shrimp as long as an arm, and hold on—are those ice creams kept cold with ice piles?

Just when Yan Qing was across the screen, indulging in food, intense arguing suddenly erupted nearby with Qian Gongyu’s voice among them.

"Luo Weijin, dare you repeat that?" Qian Gongyu coldly said, "Don’t think I won’t—"

"Think you won’t bite? Oh, I never thought that," the youth named Luo Weijin retorted with mock fear, "Your threats are so powerful, I’m truly terrified."

Yan Qing glanced, noting the youth named Luo Weijin had a family belt in bamboo green, representing his family’s affiliation in the second tier of prestigious families, a level above the Qian Family.

Qian Gongyu’s face turned bright red with anger from Luo Weijin’s words, but instead of overreacting, she simply turned and left. Seeing this, Luo Weijin raised an eyebrow and loudly said to those around him, "Don’t underestimate the Baiyun Qian Clan, though they are merely Blue Ribbons, their family can steadily train Third-Turn Messengers, albeit at a cost, such as the previous Patriarch Qian—"

"Luo Weijin!" Qian Gongyu pointed outside, "If you want revenge against the Qian Family, that’s fine, we can go out and fight right now, but you must not defame my father!"

"As expected of the last bloodline of the Qian Family, truly barbaric. When you can’t win the argument, you want to solve it with violence?" Luo Weijin laughed, "But I’m not seeking revenge, I’m just introducing the background of the Qian Family to my friends. Am I revenging the Qian Family if I speak the truth? That’s not reasonable, right?"

Qian Gongyu bit her silver teeth, yet didn’t dare to leave and let Luo Weijin spew nonsense. She could only stand alone in the crowd, bowing her head to hide her expression, enduring the humiliation of her family by others. She even began to regret why she came to the Mansu Forest Land, clearly having minimized social interactions ever since her father’s death, in hopes of fading the past’s impact, waiting for time to forget the Qian Family’s disgraceful history.

I shouldn’t have come for the small reward from the Mansu Forest Land... If I had stayed home, no one would remember the Qian Family, no one would humiliate the Qian Family...

I shouldn’t have...

"Ah!!"

A sudden scream arose from the tent, and Qian Gongyu snapped her head up, witnessing Luo Weijin, who was bragging, knocked to the ground, losing two teeth, his mouth full of blood. The crowd scattered like startled fish, leaving only one emotionless young woman with a sword standing still, like a stone dropped into the lake, unafraid and fearless.

It was ’Jiang Shi’!

"She’s hit someone! She’s hit someone!"

"How can a mere guard dare to strike a member of a noble family, what a disgrace!"

"Wow, she hit really hard, even knocked his teeth out."

"Such a pity, such a beautiful guard..."

Qian Gongyu hurriedly pulled ’Jiang Shi’ aside, anxiously saying, "You, how can you hit him, you are just a Black Belt and he is a Green Belt, defying orders is already rebellious, let alone you’re overstepping by two levels... Even our Qian Family can’t protect you!"

"Do you feel relieved?"

"Huh?"

"Miss, do you feel relieved?"

Qian Gongyu was speechless, "Why are you asking this now, what difference does it make if I feel relieved... But yes, it is relieving."

"Then it’s fine. You don’t need to protect me, let that punch be my repayment for your travel expenses."

Soldiers rushed into the tent, quickly surrounding ’Jiang Shi’. An elder immediately dashed to Luo Weijin’s side, seemingly using a token to heal him, looking at ’Jiang Shi’ with sharp eyes, but the token on his hand was just a Black Belt, seemingly just a guard of the Luo Family.

’Jiang Shi’ pushed Qian Gongyu aside, left thumb pushed out her sword handle an inch, ready for a fight.

The food had been scavenged bare here, and it was close to the dungeon entrance. Yan Qing had no interest in adhering to local gang rules, preferring just to break out into the dungeon.

"Catch her, catch this rebellious commoner!" Luo Weijin shouted, covering his mouth, still a bit slurred, "Daring to beat a noble, she must be caught and punished to set an example! The Qian Family are really just a bunch of mongrels, unfit to be a noble family!"

"No!"

Qian Gongyu ran in front of ’Jiang Shi’, pursing her lips, "Our Qian Family can pay and apologize, there’s no need to—"

"Pay and apologize? What do you take our Yunfu Luo Clan for? A destitute household that can be trampled with a bit of money?" Luo Weijin was determined to restore his reputation, "She must die!"

"Haha, you can also try using force to protect that commoner, let me see the backbone of the Qian Family—so long as you’re not afraid of being expelled from the noble ranks."

The soldiers unsheathed their weapons, and ’Jiang Shi’ gripped her sword handle, again pushing Qian Gongyu away. But this time, Qian Gongyu seemed rooted to the ground, and ’Jiang Shi’ couldn’t push her away even with force.

The situation was on the brink of exploding, just when everyone thought a fight would break out, a voice like silver bells halted the confrontation.

"Stop."

A noble girl dressed in red robes walked out from the crowd, her demeanor elegant and her expression cold, speaking softly but clearly for everyone to hear.

"Let’s end this conflict for the sake of giving me, Shang Xinlei, a face."