Chapter 8: The Duke of Lecheng—As It Should Be
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Did they know that “Yan San” had changed his class? Yan Qing was slightly stunned for a moment but quickly caught on. Setting aside the fact that “Yan San” instantly restored all his health and healed his injuries, the mere “+4 Vitality” was quite remarkable—an ordinary level 1 person typically has only 1 Vitality, and even most people at level 10 have about 7 Vitality. For “Yan San,” who started with 11 Vitality, a +4 increase meant his physical strength had improved by nearly one-third; it would be impossible for others not to notice the difference.
While it might not be clear on the screen, in the real world, “Yan San” must have muscles so swollen that they seemed about to burst through his armor.
“That’s right, I’ve switched to the Messenger class,” Yan Qing said as he picked up the loot dropped by Zheng Shan. The surrounding Bai Bao Cavalry erupted in murmurs; evidently, even among elite soldiers, switching to Messenger was a rare occurrence.
Karasuma Ryuu stared at him intently; even through his mask, Yan Qing could sense his shock. Although it felt a bit awkward, Yan Qing chose this moment to immediately go to Zheng Shan’s side and gather the dropped items before anything could go wrong.
“You picked up Spirit Jade ×800.”
“You picked up Healing Pills ×2.”
“You picked up ‘Token: White Iron Straight Sword.’”
“You picked up ‘Basic Footwork Mastery Manual.’”
When Yan Qing saw the last item, he was momentarily stunned, then widened his eyes and quickly opened his personal storage to transfer the “Basic Footwork Mastery Manual” to the public warehouse!
Though only a few steps, Yan Qing’s hands were sweating, his nervousness akin to pressing a detonator. His tension stemmed from the fact that this item might directly turn his current predicament around!
“Basic Footwork Mastery Manual”
“Source: Any elite humanoid enemy proficient in basic footwork.”
“Usage Requirement: None.”
“Effect: Instantly grants you full mastery of max-level basic footwork.”
“Note: This manual contains very detailed dodging and retreat techniques. Whether you’re a murderer or a righteous hero, it will greatly assist you.”
Clicking on the “Basic Footwork Mastery Manual” in the public warehouse brought up three options:
“Use”
“Transfer to another character’s personal storage”
“Discard”
Yan Qing swallowed hard and chose “Use” → “Used by Yan Qing.”
Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded powerfully, vitality surged through his limbs and blood vessels, and his legs burned as if on fire! But the strange sensation came fast and vanished even faster. When Yan Qing took a deep breath, his body returned to normal.
He set down the game console and moved to an open area. Without any thought, purely following instinct, he leapt, first stepping on the wall to jump onto the ceiling, then pushing off the ceiling to the opposite wall. Repeating the trick, within three seconds, he moved around the room without his feet touching the ground, his heart steady and breathing calm, as if walking on flat ground.
His knees felt as if fitted with springs, so light that a jump could launch him into the air.
It really worked!
Although there was no system prompt, Yan Qing knew his basic footwork was now level 10, max level, and his character’s level had risen by five or six levels, with vitality and skill increasing by two or three points. Otherwise, his physical condition wouldn’t be this good—by his estimation, his original fragile body, honed by hard work and corporate grind, had a vitality level of about 1. Increasing five or six levels had multiplied his physical strength several times over.
Yan Qing exhaled deeply. The inexplicable transmigration, the approaching thieves, the unfamiliar world, his own weakness—all the unease vanished in that moment.
He had finally found a way to grow stronger!
“Messenger” was a game designed for veteran players to start new characters. Veteran players often disliked grinding levels, so the “Mastery Manuals” were created to solve this problem: they not only allowed rapid level-ups for new characters but also enabled veterans to customize class choices by collecting skill manuals and skipping the tedious leveling process.
Take the “Sword Dance Messenger” for example—a highly popular first-class profession. Only veteran players starting new characters could switch to it because it required basic swordsmanship and basic dance skills. Swordsmanship initially had limited attack range and low power, and dance skill improved slowly; leveling these by oneself was a torment.
Veteran players only needed to reach levels in the teens or twenties with a popular weapon to obtain various skill manuals, making switching to Sword Dance Messenger much easier.
Yan Qing could perfectly replicate the veteran-newbie setup, except he himself was the newbie, while “Yan San” and other created characters were the veterans. The veterans would venture out to gather resources while Yan Qing coordinated everything in the thieves’ hideout, waiting for the veterans to get strong and then lead him to strength!
When Yan Qing picked up the game console again, he noticed the other Bai Bao Cavalry were gradually leaving. The underground hall now held only Karasuma Ryuu and “Yan San.” Seeing “Yan San” move, Karasuma suddenly said, “You can take some treasure before you leave; it’s an unspoken rule, and no one will pursue you.”
After speaking, he turned and left, seemingly to prove his words, casually picking up a few pearl necklaces from nearby gold and silver treasures.
Treasure? Yan Qing looked at the scattered riches and tried to pick something up, but “Yan San” didn’t move—within the game system, these treasures were just background decorations, untouchable, and gold or silver held no value. The game’s main currency was Spirit Jade.
Just as he was about to leave, Yan Qing suddenly noticed a large treasure chest in front of Zheng Shan’s big bed. Looking around, seeing Karasuma Ryuu and the other Bai Bao Cavalry had left, he approached and opened the chest.
A pickup list appeared on the right side of the chest:
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“Spirit Jade ×1500”
“Healing Pills ×10”
“Steel Ingots ×10”
“Leather ×10”
“Thunderblade Technique Beginner’s Manual ×1”
Hmm!? Yan Qing’s eyes lit up when he saw the last item.
“Thunderblade Technique Beginner’s Manual”
“Source: Any fast-blade messenger may drop this.”
“Usage Requirement: Basic blade skill level 5.”
“Effect: Instantly grants you level 1 Thunderblade Technique. Learning it changes your blade attack style.”
“Thunderblade Technique: Each level increases casting speed of blade tokens by 5%, up to level 10.”
“Note: Eight out of ten fast-blade messengers name their mediocre blade skills ‘Thunderblade Technique.’ In fact, the essence of these manuals can be summed up in one word: fast.”
Yan Qing naturally couldn’t learn it; he didn’t even have level 1 basic blade skill.
But “Yan San” could!
Remembering, Yan Qing recalled “Yan San” just picked up Zheng Shan’s dropped straight sword token. However, his attention was monopolized by the mastery manual, and he forgot about this.
In his personal storage lay a sharp straight sword emitting a piercing chill. Its bright white name tag indicated it was no ordinary item but a token containing powerful energy.
“White Iron Straight Sword”
“Grade: First-class ordinary”
“Durability: 50/50”
“Equip Requirements: 5 Vitality, 5 Spirit”
“Base Attack: 3–15 points”
“Effect · Moon Ring Slash: After a brief charge, instantly slash a circular ring centered on the user, dealing 40 points of area damage. Costs 5 Spirit to activate, initial attack radius two meters; each additional 3 Spirit extends the blade’s reach by one meter, up to ten meters max.”
“Effect · Armor Break: After Moon Ring Slash, the blade’s ring energy attaches to the sword, increasing the next Moon Ring Slash’s damage by 40 points. The energy dissipates after three seconds but can stack, refreshing the duration each time.”
“Review: ‘Think you can avoid my blade by keeping your distance? Blades are not so inconvenient.’”
Without a doubt, the Thunderblade Technique and White Iron Straight Sword were fixed drops in this dungeon. Together, they allowed a newly switched player to instantly become a professional swordsman. If players liked the blade style, they would keep playing until level 20 to switch to a related profession.
So, should he take it?
Karasuma Ryuu had said they knew every treasure drop in this dungeon. Taking this beginner manual would surely be noticed. This wasn’t a game world; looting and logging off meant no consequences. If caught stealing...
After much thought, Yan Qing felt it wasn’t worth it for just one Thunderblade Technique manual. He had already taken nearly 2,000 Spirit Jade in this run, not to mention the White Iron Straight Sword and other tokens. Seeing Karasuma and his team’s smooth dungeon runs, they likely farmed it often, meaning “Yan San” could stay to level up and collect drops steadily.
Better to have a full meal now than go hungry later.
On the way out, Yan Qing noticed the outside was being torn apart. The auxiliary soldiers who had waited at the dungeon entrance were now efficiently dismantling the Zheng estate, breaking it down into bricks and timber for transport. Food and treasures in the manor were not spared. Some even counted the number of pigs, blankets, and chairs at the entrance, meticulously noting everything—Bai Bao Camp knew every detail without missing a thing.
No wonder they came early—this thorough digging and tearing down would take a whole day.
Yan Qing suddenly connected the dots: the rich provisions, the solid infrastructure, even the luxury of one room per person in the camp—all made sense now. No wonder the Bai Bao Camp was so wealthy; every time they ran a dungeon, they raided the Zheng estate!
Though they couldn’t pick up drops like players, precisely because they weren’t players, they could fully exploit the dungeon’s value.
Yan Qing marveled, sensing that the people of this world had formed a unique ecological relationship with the dungeons. Stepping out, dawn had broken. The Bai Bao Camp waited outside, their expressions complicated as they looked at “Yan San.”
“Count the secret realm’s spoils and then distribute rewards,” Karasuma Ryuu said. “As usual, the combat team rests this afternoon and returns to camp the day after tomorrow. Anyone who doesn’t return on time won’t blame my whip.”
At this, the weary and injured Bai Bao Cavalry cheered. Yan Qing hadn’t expected a two-day rest, but on reflection, fighting a dungeon was a life-or-death ordeal. Even the rear archers had to shoot nonstop, so a two-day break was deserved.
But Yan Qing wanted to quickly gather 9,000 Spirit Jade to pay the fine and hoped to run the dungeon multiple times to find other skill manuals, itching to play every day. As he pondered how to propose continuous runs, a quartermaster emerged from the dungeon and whispered to Karasuma Ryuu.
Karasuma nodded and made several hand signals. Yan Qing couldn’t understand, but the waiting Bai Bao Cavalry all changed expressions dramatically and immediately dropped their weapons, squatting down.
Thud, thud, thud!
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The fortress overhead echoed with rapid footsteps. Dozens of crossbowmen adjusted their aim toward the dungeon entrance and the gathered people!
“Inventory check found that the big treasure chest in the Demon King’s room is missing one Thunderblade Technique manual,” Karasuma Ryuu said coldly. “I was the second-to-last person to leave; before I left, no one touched the big chest.”
“The last person out of the room was you, Yan San! I’ve repeatedly stated that stealing loot is a capital offense. Yet you dared to break the law knowingly. If you hand over the Thunderblade Technique manual now, you might avoid death!”
“You’re young and have switched to Messenger. I planned to recommend you to the Bai Bao Cavalry. Don’t ruin your future with greed.”
Staring at the dozens of crossbows aimed at him from the fortress, Yan Qing understood perfectly.
He certainly wouldn’t foolishly claim, “I didn’t take the Thunderblade Technique manual” to prove his innocence—Karasuma knew he hadn’t taken it, so this was a setup. If he genuinely wanted to give Yan Qing a chance to surrender the manual, it would be in private, not by staging an execution and waiting for him to fail.
Those who falsely accuse know one’s innocence best.
Karasuma’s framing with the Thunderblade Technique manual was cunning. If Yan Qing guessed correctly, once the manual was used, it would disappear without a trace, just like in the game.
But other items like Spirit Jade and pills would leave evidence even if used. So if Yan Qing denied taking it, Karasuma could claim he already used the manual and kill him with no evidence. If he framed with other items, Yan San’s dead body would reveal the truth. Once “Yan San” died, the matter would end, and the “stolen” Thunderblade Technique manual would be in Karasuma’s hands.
Yan Qing didn’t know why Karasuma set up this trap. Maybe he originally wanted to steal the Thunderblade Technique manual and found “Yan San” to be a convenient scapegoat; maybe he thought their previous relationship was poor and now that “Yan San” switched to Messenger, he wanted to crush him early; or maybe he simply envied “Yan San’s” potential… Many reasons were possible but irrelevant.
What mattered was that Karasuma could choose to have “Yan San” die here,
but Yan Qing could choose how “Yan San” would face death!
Yan Qing glanced at the bottom right item bar; the first slot was “Spirit Jade.”
In “Messenger,” Spirit Jade was not just currency but the source of every messenger’s power—the primary way messengers replenished their spirit energy was by using Spirit Jade to recharge.
Moreover, if messengers hadn’t learned special skills, their spirit energy wouldn’t replenish automatically.
This seemed odd at first, but if you think of messengers as cars, Spirit Jade as fuel, and tokens as engines, it made sense: an ordinary person becoming a messenger was like a pile of steel becoming a car. The messenger holding spirit energy was like a car holding fuel; both were merely carriers where fuel (Spirit Jade) and engines (tokens) reacted. But the car was still just metal; the messenger was still human.
So although Spirit Jade could be hundreds or thousands at once, spending it was like a waterfall—unstoppable once flowing.
With a press, twenty Spirit Jade quickly consumed, and “Yan San’s” spirit energy filled to 20.
Then, he equipped the token “White Iron Straight Sword.”
In the first skill slot appeared the usable skill “Moon Ring Slash”!
“Yan San” brushed his right hand over his belt, and an unremarkable sword appeared at his waist. Some might have noticed, but would assume “Yan San” had hidden the sword earlier—petty theft among Bai Bao Cavalry in the secret realm was normal, as long as they didn’t touch treasure chests, everyone turned a blind eye.
“Yan San! Show your items now!” Karasuma Ryuu shouted, his demon mask’s patterns seeming to ignite as he fixed his gaze on “Yan San’s” every move.
“Alright.”
Yan Qing stepped forward, closing the distance to Karasuma Ryuu. The initial attack range of Moon Ring Slash was two meters, costing 5 Spirit to activate, with 3 Spirit extending the blade’s reach by one meter. Thus, 20 Spirit could slash four times within two meters or twice within three meters.
Six meters, five meters, four meters...
“What’s going on here?!”
At the fortress gate, a black-haired girl wrapped in a fox fur cloak approached Yan Qing and the others, flanked by demon guards. She raised her hand and loudly commanded the crossbowmen on the fortress, “Daqi crossbows are not to be aimed at our own people—lower your weapons!”
Everyone in the fortress, including Karasuma Ryuu, immediately knelt: “Greetings, Lord of Lecheng County!”
“Yan San” naturally did not kneel but took two steps closer, now less than three meters from Karasuma Ryuu.
“What’s going on?”
“I report to the County Lord: this rogue entered the secret realm with us for the first time and stole a manual from the treasure chest. I urged him to hand it over to avoid punishment, but he refuses and has likely already used it.” Karasuma said quickly. “I ask the County Lord to judge!”
The black-haired girl said nothing but looked at “Yan San” standing to the side.
“I am Ying Rushi, County Lord of Lecheng. Do you admit the accusations by Karasuma? If not, I can ensure justice.”
Above her head appeared her title:
“County Lord of Lecheng · Ying Rushi.”