Chapter 146: Chapter 146

After getting up the next day, Yan Qing didn’t immediately log into the Bunny Heroine account. Instead, he first logged into Jiang Ten and led the Hundred-Ward to run through the Zhen Sanshan Secret Realm once.

Although the benefits of a First-Stage Secret Realm had dropped significantly, scraps were still meat even if taken from mosquitoes. Fighting monsters helped Jiang Ten and Ye Si improve their secret techniques. Besides, clearing the secret realm 200 times would unlock the “Famous Zhen Sanshan” milestone, so Yan Qing just treated it as his daily quest. Plus, he could grab breakfast from the military camp.

It was both funny and frustrating that when Yan Qing said they were only running the secret realm once today, many couldn’t help but ask whether Jiang Ten was feeling unwell. Some even urged Ye Si to take Jiang Ten to see a doctor. By the time they returned to the barracks, it was already packed with Hundred-Ward concerned about Jiang Ten’s condition.

Even Gai Louxian had heard the news and came to check in. The Banner Leader But-Six-Gu, who had been crushed by Ye Si previously, had anxiously come to the barrack door as well. Then he clashed with other new Messengers who admired Jiang Ten — due to their excessive runs of the secret realm, the Hundred-Ward who followed them reaped the rewards quickly, and the Messengers’ promotion rate rose sharply too. Content orıginally comes from n0velfire.net

These new Messengers all credited this achievement to Jiang Ten. Their respect brimmed with admiration, but since Jiang Ten had already made it clear that her whole heart belonged to someone else, no one dared pursue her. Instead, they quietly protected her. Even in the secret realm runs, they would rush to grab the monsters, which caused Jiang Ten to lose a lot of experience for her secret techniques.

Yan Qing thought rather wickedly — if Jiang Ten died, this camp might see a whole batch of grieving widowers.

Upon logging into the Bunny Heroine account, Yan Qing discovered she was the only one left in the room.

But that was only natural. It was already daylight, and the best travel time in Eternal Joy City was from midnight to early morning. The reason was similar to most animals being nocturnal — daytime belonged to human activity. Only the strong had the right to roam openly; the weak must avoid attention and minimize risk.

Since the Bunny Heroine had already chosen to part ways, there was no reason for Medicine Master Wen and the others to continue traveling together. Leaving early suited her bold and decisive personality.

That was the logic, and he reasoned it out clearly — yet Yan Qing still felt a subtle emotion in his heart… not even a goodbye or a letter.

Then again, maybe they had said farewell before leaving. They probably thought the Bunny Heroine could hear them, so naturally, they didn’t leave a letter. Yan Qing preferred to believe this possibility, because he genuinely liked Medicine Master Wen and her group.

The Bunny Heroine went downstairs openly to check out, though the shopkeeper was no longer last night’s Fu Nan, but still a red-named Messenger.

The Bunny Heroine stood on tiptoe and leaned on the counter to ask:「How do I get to Shu Mountain?」

The shopkeeper glanced at her:「Go north out the door. Once outside the city gate, it’s a mountain trail. Just keep heading up.」

After leaving the inn, Yan Qing didn’t set off immediately. Instead, he wandered around the city a bit more to see if there was anything to buy and unexpectedly found a vendor selling sword tassel tokens. Though pricey, Yan Qing didn’t lack money now.

「Tassel Sword Tassel」

「Grade: Second-Stage Ordinary」

「Equipment Requirement: Sword-type Token」

「Effect · Energy Saver: Reduces Spirit consumption of sword-type token skills by 1 to 5 points. The higher the cost, the more reduction.」

「Review: A plain and simple sword tassel, suitable for novice swordsmen.」

Most weapon tokens had matching accessory tokens. Some weapons could even equip multiple accessory tokens. For example, Yan Qing once saw a player on the forum boasting a Legendary Gauntlet with five gem slots — truly the best of the best.

The Seven-Star Sword was known for its high Spirit consumption, making the Tassel Sword Tassel a perfect match. Yan Qing dawdled in Eternal Joy City for a while longer, feeling that the news had likely spread enough, then controlled the Bunny Heroine to walk toward the north gate with a strut of sheer defiance.

Since he’d decided to test others’ tolerance, Yan Qing wasn’t going to sneak around. The more opponents showed up, the better — gathering all the trouble in one place made it easier to solve.

The higher the difficulty, the more excited he became. He was the kind of person who always chose the hardest difficulty available, firmly believing that only the hardest challenge could unlock the full fun of a game… He had given them all this time so the Demon-Path Messengers could prepare their full force.

There was no obstruction in leaving Eternal Joy City. The gate Messengers only charged entry, not exit — but coming back in would require paying again.

This city was small, so word spread fast. Coupled with the Bunny Heroine’s unmistakable appearance, the gate Messengers clearly reacted upon seeing her. One even reminded her:「Did you go the wrong way? This leads to Shu Mountain. The exit is at another gate.」

「Then I’m right on track.」

The Bunny Heroine replied breezily:「This heroine came specifically to witness the Demon-Infested Zone.」

Under the dumbfounded gazes of the crowd, the Bunny Heroine headed for the mountain path. Yan Qing had expected someone to block the gate but was surprised at the calm. Then he realized — they were probably afraid the Bunny Heroine would flee back into Eternal Joy City.

That city was maintained by the Three Great Guardians of the Black Market. Even Blood Aspect wouldn’t dare violate those rules openly. So, to strike at the Bunny Heroine, they had to wait until she left the city.

To lure her out safely, even the tailing spies didn’t follow. It was as if Zhong Ji had given up revenge.

「Hold it right there!」

The Bunny Heroine turned her head and saw Medicine Master Wen dragging a burlap sack toward her. She held the Soul-Severing Spear in hand, her brown cloak stained with fresh, still-wet dark red blood — clearly just out of a battle.

She tossed the sack in front of the Bunny Heroine. With a swipe of the spear, the sack opened to reveal a bloodied, battered man with multiple spear wounds, though the bleeding had stopped.

A red-named Messenger.

Medicine Master Wen thrust her spear beside his neck.「Repeat what you just told me.」

「The Blood Attendant… Zhong Ji sent people to tail you. They used Earth-Ears to overhear that little girl saying she was going to storm Shu Mountain, so they prepared to ambush you along the trail. The Shu Mountain path is filled with traps, all designed for outsiders…」

The red-named Messenger glanced at the Bunny Heroine and gasped:「Zhong Ji… Zhong Ji said he saw priceless tokens on that little girl. If she escaped back to Eternal Joy City, it would be trouble. So he called in Blood Aspect’s full force — the Four Generals, the Bear Family, the Eighteen Wolves of Yellow Sands, the Twin Killers of Liangzhou… Even if you run, it’s useless. Zhong Ji himself is great at tracking, but I know a secret path, one nobody else knows. I can take you out of Shu Mountain, I—」

Before he could finish, Medicine Master Wen ended him with a single strike.

Yan Qing felt a bit regretful — he had hoped to kill red-names to unlock the “Asura’s Nemesis” milestone, but since this one was Medicine Master Wen’s prey, it wouldn’t have been appropriate. Still, based on this red-named Messenger’s words, there were many more up ahead — perhaps too many for Yan Qing to kill alone.

「Sister, you heard it yourself.」Medicine Master Wen said:「They already know you carry a rare treasure. Zhong Ji is now using every resource at his disposal against you. I wouldn’t be surprised if Blood Aspect personally took action… Are you still determined to ascend Shu Mountain?」

「Of course.」The Bunny Heroine answered resolutely:「It’s just a bunch of Third-Stage Messengers. My brother doesn’t even fear Foundation Messengers — if I chicken out now, he’d laugh at me!」

Yan Qing was ready for persuasion. Although it seemed troublesome, seeing how much Medicine Master Wen cared for him, he couldn’t keep up the cold front from last night.

If things really didn’t work out, Bunny Heroine would just feign retreat, pretend to be convinced, and then sneak off at night to storm Shu Mountain alone.

At worst, she’d die. Maybe her death would become Medicine Master Wen’s source of motivation — inspiring her to reach Foundation and Fourth-Stage and wipe out Shu Mountain. That way, Yan Qing would’ve done a good deed.

However, Medicine Master Wen’s response took him by surprise.

「Alright.」Medicine Master Wen nodded solemnly:「In that case, I’m going too.」