Chapter 284: Chapter 227: Casting Off My Red Tape Here

Duke Wei Chu Luoyan!

Pharmacist’s Wish looked at the disheveled and old white-haired man in front of him, unable to relate him to the memory of the Duke Wei from the Six Pillars of the Nation. During Yao Shi Moke’s rule, although he reached the pinnacle of power, deciding the affairs of the world with a single word, there were still people in the Court beyond his control, and Chu Luoyan was among them.

He stabilized regions, brought peace to the central governance, and his achievements surpassed all the advisers of Duke Jin’s Mansion combined. He was one of the rare ministers who dared to publicly oppose Yao Shi Moke, seen as a model by countless scholars. Although Yao Shi Moke disliked him, he never took deadly action against Chu Luoyan, merely sidelined him to regional posts.

Ultimately, Chu Luoyan’s opposition was not extreme, nor did he conspire with Zhao Yuanbao and others in rebellion, but his reputation was high, and his administrative skills were strong. After much thought, Yao Shi Moke could only begrudgingly use him.

Pharmacist’s Wish last saw him three months ago when he came to Duke Jin’s Mansion to meet with his father. At that time, he was over fifty years old, but his temples were dark, his posture straight, composed in speech and elegant in manners, the only person Pharmacist’s Wish knew who could match his bearing was Chancellor Shang Xuanwen from the Liang Kingdom.

The next news of him came along with the news of his father’s death, where Chu Luoyan served as Imperial Secretary and Minister of the Secretariat, helping the Emperor purge the remnants of Yao Shi Moke. Although Pharmacist’s Wish himself would also employ Chu Luoyan if he came to power, his immediate appointment to a central post could only be due to his significant contributions during the coup—a reward fulfilling the Emperor’s promise.

Upon reflection, even though Pharmacist Changqiu passed away, the Imperial Palace remained under Yao Shi Moke’s control, and the young Emperor could not possibly orchestrate an assassination plot alone; it must have been collaboration with influential ministers outside, and the core of the coup likely involved Chu Luoyan.

Returning to Chang’an, Pharmacist’s Wish had many important matters to attend to, and every night she argued with Yan Qing in frustration, naturally losing sight of information about Chu Luoyan and others. Moreover, she did not expect him to be imprisoned in such a place. If Chu Luoyan had not disclosed his name, who would imagine that this haggard, white-haired old man simply half a month ago was reaching the pinnacle of power as Prime Minister of Zhou Kingdom?

"Hey."

Yan Qing, back to back with her, spoke in a low voice: "You’d better not use your full strength... I’ll handle the constables from the Divine Marquis Mansion; you hold off this old man."

"Are you up to it?" Pharmacist’s Wish raised an eyebrow: "Every time I ask if you’re competent, my sister only says you’re good at sleeping, eating, farting... If you’re still under ten years old this year, then I’ll admit you’re quite capable."

Yan Qing really wanted to say confidently, "Watch this, the next move will be impressive, brother is just a legend, don’t idolize brother..." Unfortunately, he couldn’t. If it were Shang Xinlei, he might have been able to bluff past it, but Pharmacist’s Wish, naturally talented in battle, was someone who understood his abilities completely; just displaying his true strength would expose his lack thereof.

Yet, Yan Qing was prepared for this; although previous acts avoided combat, luck couldn’t always favor him, and this time he had to fight personally. However, even lacking personal strength, is a messenger’s battle dependent on the messenger’s own skills?

Of course not!

Yan Qing swept both hands, planting eight White Iron Long Sabers into the ground! If observed closely, it becomes evident that all ten fingers bore Storage Rings!

Logically, while everyone knows one can wear rings on each finger, few do so primarily due to low necessity—and Storage Rings aren’t cheap. Usually, Pharmacist’s Wish or Shang Xinlei might only need to store weapons, Spiritual Jade, and Blood Replenishing Pills in their rings, generally wearing two or three rings at most, avoiding confusion during action.

Yan Qing dared this because his Storage Rings were mostly filled with White Iron Straight Sabers, no issue!

Pharmacist’s Wish immediately understood his intention upon witnessing his actions, feeling a bit unmoved: "Now? Here?"

"Right now, right here!"

Yan Qing raised Bingzi Pepper Forest, and Pharmacist’s Wish voluntarily retreated to avoid being affected.

Her gaze at Yan Qing mixed envy and disdain; envy because she had witnessed the full liberation of Bingzi Pepper Forest before, resembling death walking the Mortal World, disdain because he audaciously revealed his biggest trump card right at the start—as opposed to her or the Rabbit Heroine who might eliminate a few constables from the Divine Marquis Mansion first, minimizing risks.

Yan Qing, however, cared little for this or that; he spent so much time, raised many small accounts, fought numerous Secret Realms, all for the thrill of this moment. Now he had enough strength to defend his weakness, and this was the force of accumulation!

Discard my verbose protocols, let them be forsaken here!

Heaven-Covering, initiate!

The eight White Iron Straight Sabers shattered completely, revealing the brilliance of Bingzi Pepper Forest’s blade, ablaze with orange light, inscribed on both sides—left side: "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows," right side: "Like dew or lightning, thus should one observe." Yan Qing’s Spiritual Power emptied instantly, bursting a powerful shockwave pushing back approaching constables from the Divine Marquis Mansion!

Power, surged!

Though he had used the Heaven-Covering mode twice in the game, only through firsthand experience could Yan Qing fully grasp its terrifying power—Bingzi Pepper Forest seemingly became an extension of his hands, able to extend freely with a mere thought. Enhanced to the second transformation, its maximum attack power reached 600 points, now as light as a feather, sharp enough that wind resistance almost ceased to exist.

Even more astonishing was the state of ’Unwavering,’ where Yan Qing felt the weight of his equipment vanish entirely, so light he seemed to walk naked across the grass, the surrounding heat from the ground barriered away, inhaling what no longer was hot air... not only enemies but even trivial factors like air, gravity, and temperature couldn’t shake his stance!

This is strength... I am strength!

At the same time, Yan Qing absorbed the Spiritual Jade in his pocket with his left hand, replenishing his Spiritual Power once more. As he charged towards the constables of the Divine Marquis Mansion, his entire body was dazzlingly bright, with the Wave-Riding Boots glimmering in gold and the Hand of Melting Hundred Forms radiating in orange!

Bingzi Pepper Forest: Heaven-Covering!

Melting Hundred Forms Hand: Direct Strike!

Secret Technique: Naraku Curse!

Yan Qing’s Qi Blood surged throughout his body, but his whole demeanor became more profound. The Heaven-Covering Blade Aura continuously slashed through the dungeon’s lower levels, accurately and sharply striking the constables of the Divine Marquis Mansion. In the blink of an eye, it cut blood marks on them, and the blood fell on the scorching ground, evaporating in mere seconds.

For an ordinary person, such injuries would surely have a substantial impact, but not for the constables of the Divine Marquis Mansion. They showed no change because they were not human at all, but demon fiends descended from the Secret Realm, undeterred by injury or even death!

However, they now began to slow down, with the Copper Seal Constables at the back even stumbling to the ground, only to quickly get back up. The closer they got to Yan Qing, the slower their steps became. On closer inspection, you could see their knees, heels, and other crucial joints bleeding profusely, on the verge of breaking. If not for the unique physique of demon fiends, they would have already collapsed and been unable to move.

This is the effect of the second Secret Technique mastered by Yan Qing, the Naraku Curse!

Though it seems like some sort of curse, it is indeed a Sword and Saber Secret Technique with a very peculiar effect: attacks on joint areas by the messenger deliver blunt damage, causing the enemy to enter a sluggish state. In practical application, it means that the moment Yan Qing hits the knee joint, his wrist suddenly twists forcefully, striking the knee with the blade or aura, shattering the enemy’s balance.

This isn’t a killing secret technique, but a punishment to cripple the enemy’s mobility. According to Shang Xinlei’s description, the so-called Naraku Curse plunges the enemy into Eternal Hell, where they are subjected to countless cuts and wounds without dying, slicing away their hope of survival with every blow.

The purpose of the Naraku Curse is not to kill but to render life more excruciating than death.

Yan Qing was quite surprised himself at why he drew such a brutal Secret Technique from the Random Secret Technique Manual. He actually preferred a dashing and powerful Secret Technique like Iaido. But now, Yan Qing had to admit, the system was indeed accurate in its judgment; Naraku Curse was very much to his liking: he indeed enjoyed this kind of vile yet safe way of fighting.

The constables of the Divine Marquis Mansion whose joints were destroyed by the Naraku Curse had their speeds drastically reduced, allowing Yan Qing to easily play kite with them. Finally, by the ninth second, a Copper Seal Constable completely broke his foot, moving as slowly as a turtle, and following him, the other Copper Seal Constables also successively broke their feet, turning the situation heavily in Yan Qing’s favor.

Some might wonder why other messengers don’t readily break the limbs of Secret Realm demon fiends. The reason is simple: the physiology of demon fiends is akin to game characters, requiring a substantial amount of damage to various parts within a certain time frame to achieve a dismembering effect. If it weren’t for special dismembering items or burst characteristics like torrential rain, messengers would struggle to deliver massive damage in a short period.

Yan Qing could dismember with such ease partly because the Secret Technique: Naraku Curse inherently had a dismembering bonus, and partly because he also possessed 11 points of Power of Calamity, offering real damage that effectively broke limbs. Furthermore, these Copper Seal Constables were only Second-Turn Demon Fiends, while Yan Qing, as a Third-Turn Messenger, used Bingzi Pepper Forest, rendering his output absolutely overflowing for these fiends!

By the fourteenth second, although Yan Qing concentrated all his attention on the Silver Badge Chief Constable, he still incidentally splashed killed a Copper Seal Constable.

"I’m powerless; I must take my leave for now!" The fallen Copper Seal Constable said earnestly from the ground, "Beneath the Yellow Springs, I will protect you!"

Three clusters of blood energy emerged from his corpse, flowing into other constables, and immediately the injuries of the Divine Marquis Mansion crowd were mostly healed. The Copper Seal Constables’ broken limbs even directly healed, their momentum soaring sharply, as they roared blood-red-eyed at Yan Qing!

Although the Naraku Curse still had its effect, the speed of the Divine Marquis Mansion demon fiends was now significantly higher, and Yan Qing could no longer stop them from closing in!

Boom!

Yan Qing used the quick turn of the Wave-Riding Boots to dodge their charge, the Black Ebony Rock Wall behind him being slashed by them as if scraped by gigantic beast claws, leaving three terrifying gouge marks.

If the Copper Seal Constables had been at level 20~25 before, they were surely at level 29 now. Whereas the Silver Badge Chief Constable was roughly at level 35, solely in terms of normal attacks, he had already surpassed Yan Qing.

This mechanism isn’t hard to understand: the demon fiends of the Divine Marquis Mansion likely have a bond; each time one perishes, the others receive his protection, temporarily boosting strength and recovering some injuries.

Now Yan Qing has two choices: one is to first kill the Silver Badge Chief Constable, with the consequence being the Copper Seal Constables may very likely rise above level 30; the other is to kill two Copper Seal Constables first, but the Silver Badge Chief Constable would inevitably rise to level 39, equivalent to a Third Transformation Demon King level of power!

It’s a bit tricky, Yan Qing exhaled a long breath, a bitter smile on the corners of his mouth beneath the Yellow Dog mask, but his eyes were brighter than ever.

But the demon fiends of the Divine Marquis Mansion gave him no time to think. Shouting about dreams, justice, and comrades, they charged at Yan Qing again!

The only solace was that the hatred of the demon fiends of the Divine Marquis Mansion seemed firmly locked on Yan Qing, otherwise, Pharmacist’s Wish would indeed have a hard time dealing with this pack of mad dogs... Thinking of this, Yan Qing glanced at Pharmacist’s Wish, thinking that she should hold her ground, right? After all, the opponent was just an old man.

But what met Yan Qing’s eyes was Pharmacist’s Wish pulling out a Fine Steel Long Spear!