Calamity Messenger

Chapter 377 - 308: Demon Gathering Land Map

"Have you heard of the Northern Mo Run Family? The founding contributors of the Houxuan Dynasty, my ancestor Crimson Tribulation Zhenren Murong Talisman followed Emperor Guangwu to conquer the world. Back in the Kunyang Daoming War, my ancestor was a Guardian force, assisting Emperor Guangwu to strike down the alliance of twenty-eight tribes of the demon gate, leaving fallen bodies over a hundred miles. To this day, a stele commemorating my ancestor’s achievements stands by Kunyang Lake, personally engraved by Emperor Guangwu!"

"My great-grandfather Cyan Tribulation Zhenren was the patron of Emperor Divine Martial, often supporting him during his humble beginnings. My great-grandfather was also Shen Jin Great True Man, do you know what Shen Jin is? It’s a phenomenon exclusive to Sixth-Turn Foundation Establishment; heart blood turns golden yellow. Our family still offers a drop of great-grandfather’s heart blood; would you like to see? It hovers in mid-air and rotates!"

"Have you heard of my grandpa Purple Tribulation Zhenren? It’s normal if you haven’t. My grandpa established Foundation forty years ago and has kept a low profile over the years. Yet, my grandpa spoils me; both Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends are ready for me. Once the Divine Marquis Mansion opens, I’m going to rampage in there, snatch the Foundation Establishment Pill, and become the next generation of Foundation Establishment in the Murong Family!"

"By the way, what’s your name? ... Why are you avoiding me!"

Yan Qing said nothing, silently distancing himself from Murong Hui.

Outside the fountain pool at the crossroads, two people were continuously washing the mud off their faces and bodies with clean water. Yan Qing was slightly better off; only his clothes were stained, and if this wasn’t the first set of clothes bought by Shang Xinlei for him, he would have considered discarding them.

He naturally had several sets of clothes in his Storage Ring, but he always preferred washing clean before changing, otherwise putting them back in would lead to pollution again.

In contrast, Murong Hui was in a sorry state. Her Black Scale Armor was sleeveless by default, and her face and hands were fully covered in muck. She was busy washing her hair, chattering nonstop while doing it.

"It’s not in my mouth!" Murong Hui was furious: "My mouth was closed tight while you were making a mess; I didn’t swallow a drop!"

"It went in when you opened your mouth to breathe."

"No, it didn’t!"

"Don’t believe it? Take a sniff of your breath."

"No way!"

"Stinky woman."

"Shut up!"

After washing thoroughly, Yan Qing planned to escape, but Murong Hui darted in front of him with incredible speed, her freshly washed waist-length hair cascading like a black waterfall. When Yan Qing pinched his nose in avoidance, Murong Hui was so infuriated her shoulders trembled: "All because you blew up the manure!"

"I think a normal person wouldn’t stand close to a manure pit." Yan Qing sidestepped her, choosing a wider detour. He wasn’t pretending; the stench was genuine. Even with minimal exposure, he still carried the scent. This seemed like an almost negative state’s pollution effect, where conventional washing could only remove surface dirt, and full clearance required either waiting for the negative state to end or using the likes of Bingzi Pepper Forest Heaven-Covering to forcefully disperse it.

"What could I do? I was being pursued."

"What’s that got to do with me?"

"Of course, it’s your business since you saved me! Do you know who you saved? I’m the true granddaughter of Foundation Establishment Zhenren. You’re now climbing to prominence and fortune; this lifetime is settled for you!"

"No need for thanks, let’s part ways here."

Yan Qing walked several steps away, his nose twitched, realizing the smelly black-skinned beauty was still following him. He frowned: "What are you doing?"

"I am worried there might be other assassins." Murong Hui said candidly: "Following you feels safer."

"What if I disagree?" Yan Qing summoned the Flame Pattern Seven-Star Sword, calmly stating: "Gave you the wrong impression that I’m easy to talk to?"

With a sudden flash, next to the road lamp, Murong Hui was already squatting, the strong wind flaring her damp hair: "My Third-Turned Profession is Shadow Dance Messenger, not skilled in combat, but my speed is unmatched in Third-Turn. Unless you hit me with the Resentful Soul Guide, you absolutely can’t stop me from following you."

While looting the spoils, the assassins’ most valuable Barbarian Bull Great Bow and Thunder Armor meant nothing to Yan Qing, while the other tokens were mediocre except the Third-Turned Rare Treasure Token Murong Hui called the [Resentful Soul Guide], which had an interesting aspect.

The Resentful Soul Guide appears as a Withered Bone Ring, activating it releases a malicious spirit at not remarkable speed. According to Murong Hui, the spirit continuously clings to the target, intermittently drastically reducing their movement speed. Though practical, in PVP it works only once; as long as the enemy is alert, it’s impossible for the Resentful Soul Guide, with its flight speed, to hit again. She was only caught off guard, hence falling for it.

Yan Qing had no other means of restricting movement, and if Murong Hui insisted on following, he indeed had little recourse against her.

However, the next moment, Murong Hui dashed to the front again, and Yan Qing almost wanted to strike her down, but Murong Hui unveiled a scroll, showing a map with the White Bone Wheel in the top right corner and a worm entwined in flames in the sky...

"Such rubbish drawing," Yan Qing commented.

Murong Hui’s face slightly flushed, obscured by her complexion: "I just drew it casually; this doesn’t represent my actual skill. You know what this is, right? The map of Demon Gathering Land! You must be visiting Demon Gathering Land for the first time; this map is definitely useful to you."

"Give it to me." Yan Qing reached out.

"No." Murong Hui took a step back. "But I can take you wherever you want to go. Are you looking for special structures like stone pillars? I’ve noted them all on the map, along with places to rest, bathe, and eat. With me by your side, whatever you want to do will definitely be twice as effective."

"I saved you. Give me the map, and we’ll be even." Yan Qing said.

Murong Hui shook her head, "I have only this original copy. Once we go out, I can give you a duplicate, but the original can’t be given to you. I want to finish drawing the entire map of the Demon Gathering Land."

"Even though I saved your life?"

"Technically, since you saved me, I should fulfill all your requests." Murong Hui said, "But I need to rely on this map to follow you... so not this time!"

Yan Qing clicked his tongue, "Why insist on following me? Don’t say it’s to ensure your safety. With the capabilities of a Shadow Dance Messenger and the vastness of the Demon Gathering Land, you could hide for days without anyone finding you."

"There are many reasons, but the most important one is that you caught my attention!" Murong Hui said dominantly, "I’ve been surrounded by people pleasing me my whole life. Even in Nocturnal Heaven, Ying Le would invite me for treats. If they’re not trying to win my favor, they sure have motives. Some pretend they’re not interested in me, but I see right through them."

She held up two fingers, "I’ve been alive for over twenty years and have only met two people who genuinely didn’t care about me. You’re the second one. The more you’re indifferent to me, the more curious I become. It took me a lot of effort to make the first one my friend, and she turned out to be a genius, like myself—the only one I can trust completely... Do you know what people call someone like me?"

"A needy cat?" Yan Qing offered a balanced judgment.

"It’s keen-eyed!" Murong Hui gritted her teeth in anger. "Friends are few in our Murong Family, but anyone we deem a friend must be a genius of virtue and talent, like my ancestor’s old friendship with Emperor Divine Martial, or like my grandpa with Ying... In short, anyone I fancy must become mine!"

Although she sounded grandiose like a Primordial Dao Venerable ready to openly embrace polygamy, Yan Qing pierced her bubble with one sentence: "But you only fancied one person before, so don’t act as if you have many mighty followers and strategists."

"Let me follow you, let me follow you! I will repay your life-saving grace. You must have something I can help with, right?" Murong Hui stared straight at Yan Qing. "If you really won’t agree, at least... can I hug you?"

As she said so, she approached Yan Qing with open arms. The pungently strong smell made Yan Qing cover his nose and back away, "Alright, I admit your threat works well, stay away!"

"Hmph, don’t regret it. My grandpa wants me to hug him, and I’m not even willing." Murong Hui used a tone as if he didn’t know good things, but her eyes curved with hidden pride, with cheeks faintly red covered in shyness.

She quickly got into work mode, taking out the map and asking, "There are three special structures nearby: a high-rise colorful disc, a Puppet Cage, and a silver mirror. Where do you want to go?"

Yan Qing suddenly felt like her living map wasn’t much use, locals had no idea about the true names of special facilities and had to guess names based on looks. The difference between guessed names and the real ones might be as vast as the distance between Kaspersky and Pakistan.

However, the high-rise colorful disc should be the ’Wheel of Blessing.’ Based on the daily refresh mechanism of the Demon Gathering Land, a facility can only be activated once a day, so it can be excluded first.

"Puppet Cage."

"Then let’s go this way."

Yan Qing walked side by side with Murong Hui, who glanced at Yan Qing then at the Dragon Attendant trailing behind him, exhaling dark mist, and couldn’t resist asking out of curiosity, "How do you control monsters? Token Authority or career-specific traits? Mind telling me? Can I touch it? What does controlling monsters feel like? Does it—"

"Are you used to living life always indulging your whims, thinking that whatever you say should be unconditionally fulfilled by others?" Yan Qing asked calmly.

Murong Hui was slightly stunned, lowered her head, and didn’t speak anymore, her long hair drooping down covering her face like a wilted flower. Yan Qing thought she finally quieted down but was surprised to see her constantly rubbing her eyes. Either she was doing eye exercises or wiping away tears.

Is it possible for the Foundation Establishment Zhenren’s granddaughter to be this delicate? Can a Third-Turn Messenger’s mind be this easily hurt? I haven’t even cursed yet.

Yan Qing’s mouth twitched, even starting to feel slightly guilty, and he murmured after a moment’s silence, "You can touch it."

"Really!?" Murong Hui immediately looked up, her face as clean as caramel licked by a dog, where were the tears? But before she reached out to touch the Dragon Attendant, the Dragon Attendant’s bone-hand preemptively touched her head, seemingly thrilling her more.

Yan Qing was speechless, finding that even a Third-Turn Messenger plays the trick of fake crying, as childish as a little girl. Although she seemed child-like, her cunning was equally notable.

First, she displayed her Shadow Dance Messenger’s ability, letting Yan Qing know he couldn’t restrict her movements. Then, she took out the map of the Demon Gathering Land, highlighting how she could assist Yan Qing. When Yan Qing asked about her intentions, she openly shared her curiosity and fondness towards him, and finally, even presented a way of compromise. One layer after another, carrots and sticks, emotional cards played perfectly, showcasing her Foundation Establishment Bloodline’s social finesse.

It’s worth mentioning that through it all, she only said her Foundation Establishment ancestors could bring returns and benefits to Yan Qing. Whenever Yan Qing rejected or argued with her, she didn’t resort to pressuring him with her Foundation Establishment ancestors’ influence but preferred to fake cry and pretend.

Add to that Ying Rushi’s affirmation for Murong Hui, the good impression Yanzi Military Town left on Yan Qing, and the most crucial reason of the map, Yan Qing accepted forming a temporary team with her.

He raised his hand and noticed the ascension progress of the Dragon Attendant puppet had reached 15/30, a reward from the stone pillar jumper, directly granting Yan Qing’s activated puppet half of the ascension progress.

Earlier, Yan Qing felt strange about the high number of ascensions required. Not to mention that players couldn’t fight that many monsters, but the issue was that while the Demon Gathering Land had a high monster density, finding the same type of monster wasn’t common. Like the Dragon Attendant, Yan Qing had only seen three in half an hour. At this rate, he’d need to spend five hours in the Demon Gathering Land to find thirty Dragon Attendants to ascend them. Who could grind that much? Moreover, this was only one puppet, players can summon up to seven puppets simultaneously!

Killing monsters for ascension is clearly the dumbest method; playing more of the Demon Gathering Land’s entertainment facilities is the shortcut to enhancing strength.