Chapter 294: Chapter 236: Perilous Predicament

Yan Qing heavily crashed onto the tiles of the roof and vaguely heard someone inside the house being awakened, cursing angrily. But he had no time to pay attention to these minor matters now, because the Pharmacist’s Wish was bound by the Golden Lock right in front of him.

As he shouted "Watch out," the Pharmacist’s Wish rushed forward and kicked Yan Qing away; Shang Xinlei, who was further ahead, also dodged, but the price was that the Pharmacist’s Wish voluntarily crashed into the Golden Lock, losing her last chance to escape.

Her hands and waist were tightly bound by the Golden Lock, the other end of which was the Exotic Iron suspended in mid-air. No matter how hard the Pharmacist’s Wish struggled, she could not escape or even step away, as if the Exotic Iron were a steel pillar fixed in the air, and she was like a wolf caught in a trap!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Without any hesitation, everyone took out their weapons and stepped forward, Bingzi Pepper Forest, Dancing Sky Wheel, Heaven-Swaying Sword, three Legendary Tokens wielding force to cut the Golden Chain between the Exotic Iron and the Pharmacist’s Wish. But no matter how hard they hacked and cleaved, there was no sign of wear on the chain at all. The dazzling golden light illuminated these sneaky thieves, as if the blazing sun was mocking the provocations of the subterranean rats.

"True Man of Locking Dragon’s back-up." Yan Qing’s face turned very ugly: "She definitely isn’t in Chang’an City; otherwise, she’d come directly... How could she trigger the trap within the Exotic Iron from such a distance?"

Is there such a long-distance trap skill in the game? From a gameplay perspective, this kind of skill has no meaning at all.

"There’s one more method." Ying Rushi reached out and grabbed the Exotic Iron, and in the next second, the Exotic Iron disappeared, but the Golden Lock on the Pharmacist’s Wish remained, now merely linked to the ring on Ying Rushi’s hand.

The Exotic Iron can still be stored in the Storage Ring!

Just as hope rekindled in everyone’s hearts, Ying Rushi’s Storage Ring shattered in the next second, the Exotic Iron reappeared in mid-air, and the chain sprang out again!

Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei, who were standing far away, were fine, but the Exotic Iron was right in front of Ying Rushi, and even though her dodging speed was fast, she was still captured by her left hand, unable to escape!

Thinking about it carefully, it’s quite foolish; clearly, the Pharmacist’s Wish had just fallen for it this way, and Ying Rushi dared to replicate the attempt, like a beast repeatedly stepping into the same trap twice... But not trying was also unwilling, what if the trap atop the Exotic Iron could only trigger once? Just as the cost of gambling, Ying Rushi sacrificed her freedom.

"Yellow Dog, Red Snake."

The Pharmacist’s Wish suddenly spoke, even though she was bound by the Golden Lock in the upper body without the slightest room to struggle, her voice remained calm.

"You both hide first and observe the situation."

"That’s right." Ying Rushi nodded in agreement: "We basically have no way to deal with these chains and Exotic Iron. The only chance to break the game is to wait for the opponent to exhaust their Spiritual Power. It’s not yet midnight; we have about half an hour!"

"The commotion here is too evident; the messengers of Chang’an City will gather soon." Ying Rushi looked at the distant markets, gradually lighting up with lanterns: "If you still wish to complete the mission, help us buy time, or... simply give up the mission."

Yan Qing said nothing, as his mind swiftly scanned through the game knowledge he had. Although he didn’t know what ability this might be, judging from the Golden Lock, it was certainly True Man of Locking Dragon’s Divine Techniques.

Triggering a Divine Technique over such a distance would surely consume unimaginable power, but ’activation consumption’ and ’maintenance consumption’ are two different things. Does True Man of Locking Dragon spend Spiritual Essence to maintain the Golden Lock?

It could go either way. After all, everyone saw in the Secret Realm dungeon, True Man of Locking Dragon used the Golden Lock to imprison the Rabbit Heroine; thus, her Golden Lock is either permanent once activated or can be made permanent under certain conditions, whereas temporary activation requires Spiritual Essence to maintain.

But whether or not that’s the case, would maintenance consumption dramatically escalate because of the distance?

Yan Qing long felt that some settings in the game "Messenger," made convenient for players, could translate into terrifyingly real effects. If the True Man of Locking Dragon can activate from a distance with no additional consumption, Yan Qing wouldn’t be surprised. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Just then, Shang Xinlei tugged on his sleeve. Yan Qing turned his head and saw the streets in the distance illuminated by lights, with chaotic dense footsteps approaching. Not just from one spot but from the east, west, and south, indicating movements of Mansion Soldiers from all directions.

Chang’an Military Mansion, this grand war machine has fully activated, with Chang’an City ignited by their fury and fear, the Mansion Soldiers are forming an enormous encirclement. They are determined not to let the assassin of Li Long escape; otherwise, by dawn, everyone in the Chang’an Military Mansion will become Zhou Kingdom’s disgrace... although they’ve already been disgraced, the assassination of a Commander within the Principal City’s Mansion is unprecedented even in the entire Central Plains.

To buy time sounds implausible, but how to delay under the siege of tens of thousands of ambushed soldiers? Black Wolf and White Fox cannot move; the enemy only needs one volley to find ninety pounds of iron arrowheads in their hundred-pound bodies. They long anticipated this, the eyes under the masks revealing the resolve of one prepared to die.

Is this the end? This thought flashed through the Pharmacist’s Wish’s mind.

She had never stopped moving in her life, forced by her father to practice martial arts as a child, unwilling to admit to being weaker than relatives as she grew up, and unable to tolerate her father’s misdeeds in adulthood. With so many events that followed, she couldn’t stop at all; stopping would mean the decline of the Ba River Pharmacist Family, equating to betraying the Rabbit Heroine’s trust.

Sometimes, she overheard Wuqiu and Shidong discussing why she wouldn’t just settle down for a lifetime of peace and happiness given her abilities; though not much by worldly standards, it was already reaching worldly peaks. The maids couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t stop to enjoy some romantic moments.

The Pharmacist’s Wish actually loved beautiful things as well; she wanted to bask lazily in the sun, to dress up nicely, but above all, she wanted to control her destiny, never to feel powerless again in her lifetime. Hence, she gritted her teeth and pushed forward. Persevering was exhausting, but now she could finally sigh in relief, for this was her dead end.

She wouldn’t be captured; even if for the people in the Duke Jin’s Mansion, she would die as the Black Wolf.

Having decided her end, unexpectedly, she felt relaxed, as if about to welcome a long holiday.

Opening her eyes to see Yan Qing and the others still standing motionless, the Pharmacist’s Wish couldn’t help but get angry, calling out: "Yellow Dog, aren’t you the most rational? You can even abandon your sister; what are you hesitating about? Are you going to comfort us a couple of words before leaving? If you’re that hypocritical, I might throw up, and if you’re late, you all might—"

"Shut up!"

Being yelled at like this by someone for the first time, the Pharmacist’s Wish felt no anger; instead, a sense of grievance surged within her.

If it were someone else, she wouldn’t bother to care, but because it was the Rabbit Heroine’s brother, she reminded him a couple of times, only to be yelled at? After all, it wouldn’t change the ending, so why are you sticking around? In the end, won’t you have to abandon it? Don’t you understand the meaning of good advice?

But as she met Yan Qing’s gaze, the Pharmacist’s Wish faltered slightly. Because the eyes beneath the wolf mask showed no trace of fear, unease, or cowardice, just the confidence of having control over the situation.

"When I’m thinking, you keep quiet for me." Yan Qing took a deep breath, looking at the Exotic Iron floating in mid-air, and reached his hand out.