Calamity Messenger-Chapter 84 - 67: What Are You Still Waiting For_2

Shang Xinlei and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief, being assigned to the tenth battalion of the Silver Spear Guard to guard the Huainan Underground Palace. Although it limits freedom, it also cultivates potential. Moreover, the Shang Family has controlled the Underground Palace for many years, with the family’s support and her personal talent and strength, she would thrive in the Huainan Underground Palace Secret Realm like a fish in water, like a dragon returning to the sea.

Instead of calling it punishment, it would be more accurate to say she was sent to the Secret Realm to settle down for a year.

"Besides that, there’s one more thing," Lu Wangji said. "The Court found no information about Jiang Shi in the Qian Family’s household registry. Jiang Shi isn’t a guard of the Qian Family; she’s undocumented. Qian Gongyu, do you admit this?"

"Ah? Uh..." Qian Gongyu was initially flustered, but quickly calmed down with encouragement from Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuan Shao, nodding, "Yes."

"Mansu Forest Land is open to all citizens of the Liang Kingdom except for those who are undocumented," Lu Wangji said. "According to the law, the Qian Family should be held responsible for harboring the undocumented, and all of Jiang Shi’s gains in Mansu Forest Land should be confiscated."

"Impossible!" Shang Yue immediately said. "There’s no law forbidding undocumented individuals from joining the registry. Since the Qian Family is willing to accept Jiang Shi, she’s not undocumented! How can you take away someone’s spoils under a malicious law?"

"First day no word, second day no word, and third day you speak now?" Jie Zilong laughed angrily, "How is this any different from stealing fruits?"

"If there’s no punishment, how will the majesty of the national law be demonstrated?" Lu Wangji said coldly.

After some disputes, Lu Wangji eventually compromised, agreeing to only confiscate forty percent of Jiang Shi’s treasure chest gains, leaving the remaining sixty percent to Jiang Shi. As for assessing the value of the assets, Shang Yue and Jie Zilong would handle it to ensure Jiang Shi wouldn’t suffer losses.

Seeing the matter about to conclude, Qian Gongyu felt relieved, suddenly exhausted, and collapsed to the ground, her eyes sorely uncomfortable. She sniffled, wiped her tears, and sobbed, "Thank you, thank you all..."

"Don’t cry, you’ll turn into a little tiger if you cry too much." Jie Yuan Shao chuckled, squatting down to help wipe her face. "Besides, we’re helping Jiang Shi, why are you thanking me?"

"If it weren’t for me, Jiang Shi wouldn’t be involved with Luo Weijin, wouldn’t be framed..." she hiccupped through tears, "If you hadn’t helped me, I, I—"

"There, there, it’s all okay now." Jie Yuan Shao helped her up, "But Jiang Shi will have to go to the Huainan Underground Palace for a year."

"Joining the Silver Spear Guard isn’t difficult." Shang Xinlei said, "Our two families can assist with these small matters."

"I want to go!" Qian Gongyu quickly nodded, "I want to go with Jiang Shi! Wait, what about the evidence? Don’t we need to find evidence?"

Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuan Shao exchanged a glance and smiled, "In a year’s time, I believe Jiang Shi will be a formidable messenger that the Court won’t dare underestimate."

"From the start, this time wasn’t to find evidence but to allow Jiang Shi time to develop."

Qian Gongyu blinked, "That’s true..."

"Jiang Shi." Shang Yue and Jie Zilong approached, "Let’s go claim your personal treasure chest now, but your chest will be opened together by us and Lu Wangji. He can’t let you touch the chest—after all, you have the storage token."

"I don’t agree."

"Then let’s go... huh?" Shang Yue hadn’t expected Jiang Shi to refuse this small request, instinctively continuing until she realized it almost too late.

Jie Yuan Shao, Shang Xinlei, and Qian Gongyu all turned to look at Jiang Shi sitting in the chair.

At this moment, they suddenly realized.

Whether it was the Shang Family and Jie Family backing her, Shang Yue proposing to use the Huainan Underground Palace to provide Jiang Shi time, or them fighting for her treasure chest’s benefits... Throughout the entire process, Jiang Shi hadn’t spoken.

She watched everything happen calmly, everyone arguing around her, everyone deciding her future.

She didn’t oppose.

Nor did she agree.

"Jiang Shi, do you disagree with Lu Wangji handling it?" Shang Yue queried, "I could perhaps arrange for Miss Qian to open the chest for you..."

"I disagree with you distributing my treasure chest and I don’t agree to go to the Huainan Underground Palace."

She slowly stood up and walked toward the center of the camp. Jie Zilong was puzzled, asking, "Do you not want to be bound by the Silver Spear Guard? It’s temporary, not even a year, in a few months we’ll help you regain your freedom."

"That’s right, Jiang Shi." Jie Yuan Shao added, "As for the treasure chest, we have no other option, you’re indeed undocumented, the other side has legal grounds—the fact that we secured sixty percent is due to our two families’ connections."

"Jiang Shi, I know being framed has left you furious." Shang Yue advised, "But just as a tree that stands tall invites the wind—because you’re too outstanding, they target you. Now you need to accumulate power and develop, don’t act impulsively for temporary gains."

"Jiang Shi..." Qian Gongyu stared at Jiang Shi’s back in a daze.

The only one who hadn’t spoken was Shang Xinlei.

She covertly glanced at her displeased elder brother beside her, fully understanding their tacit agreements.

Indeed, there were two factions. Lu Wangji and his group aiming to frame Jiang Shi, Shang Yue and Jie Zilong protecting Jiang Shi... but sending Jiang Shi to the Huainan Underground Palace to train for a year was their shared intention.

To Lu Wangji’s faction, they wouldn’t accept Jiang Shi being simply embraced by the Shang Family and Jie Family. With a year’s time, they could employ Divine Techniques to draw Jiang Shi in; for the Jie Family and Shang Family, Jiang Shi was too proud, too free, too talented—rather than accepting an uncontrollable Jiang Shi, better to temper her sharpness.

Jie Zilong and Shang Yue perhaps didn’t know the true plot but didn’t mind helping in this ’winter support’. Compared to bidding highly to recruit Jiang Shi, they now pay with a Huainan Underground Palace, repeatedly opposing the Court for her, unrestrictedly helping her secure benefits—even if Jiang Shi’s heart was of iron, such generous treatment ought to soften it.

If Lu Wangji’s faction represented the stick, then Jie Zilong and Shang Yue were the carrot.

Shang Xinlei suddenly recalled the rivalry between noble families never eliminating promising young talents completely, thus each family being perpetually infused with new blood, continuously growing without decay.

So, what would Jiang Shi do?

Jiang Shi walked toward the center of the camp, gradually drawing everyone’s attention. Initially, Lu Wangji thought she wanted to seize the treasure chest, but seeing her choosing another path, he relaxed, soon realizing her true target, immediately rushing over and shouting, "Jiang Shi, why are you approaching the victim’s corpse?"

It turned out that Luo Weijin’s corpse had been lying in the camp’s center all along, with Lu Wangji and his group so engrossed in negotiations they hadn’t collected it. Left for so long in the forest, insects flew over the corpse, and bugs crawled into its wounds.

Jiang Shi didn’t respond to Lu Wangji’s words, moving before the corpse and raising the White Iron Straight Saber.

Swish!

In the shocked gaze of the crowd, Jiang Shi made a cut on the riddled corpse. Yet compared to the other grim wounds, her cut appeared gentle, delicately closing the victim’s eyelids as though merely to let the deceased rest in peace.

Lu Wangji was dumbfounded, "You, you..."

"You say that this man was killed by me."

Jiang Shi stated expressionlessly, "Indeed, I killed this man."

"You also say that rebelling against superiors is unforgivable." She retrieved two White Iron Straight Sabers from the storage token, raising them crosswise, standing like a crucifix: "So..."

"What are you all waiting for?"