Just as they neared the cave entrance, Yan Qing grasped the hand that Medicine Master Wen extended and was effortlessly pulled up by the latter.

“Yellow Dog, give me a hand.” From below the cave mouth, Shang Xinlei shouted. She was right behind Yan Qing, both of them having tied the Serpent-Patterned Rope to secure themselves so that Medicine Master Wen and Ying Ru Shi could pull them up. Yan Qing thought to himself, "Medicine Master Wen is already reaching out, and you're still asking me?" But considering that Shang Xinlei might not be familiar with Medicine Master Wen, he reached out and pulled up this Snot Goblin.

As soon as Shang Xinlei came up, she saw that the Central Square was very quiet, with no guards or palace attendants patrolling nearby. Hence, this rescue operation that lasted nearly half a minute went undisturbed. Shocked, she asked, “Did you kill all the nearby palace attendants?”

“We’re thieves. Why would we do such a thing?” Medicine Master Wen replied while tidying up the Serpent-Patterned Rope. “Do we look like bloodthirsty maniacs?”

Looking at the mottled and filthy bloodstains on the Fox and Wolf Night Suit, Serpent and Dog exchanged glances and silently shook their heads. Tonight, you came back to save us, so whatever you say goes.

“We started a fire when we arrived. All the palace attendants have gone to the rear palace to extinguish it,” Ying Ru Shi explained. “Let’s go. This is no place to linger.”

No one disagreed. On the way out, Yan Qing couldn’t help but sigh, “I really didn’t expect you two would come to the Imperial Palace to find us.”

“Right,” Shang Xinlei nodded along. “I thought at most you’d wait for us at the archway. More likely, you’d head straight back to the Thieves’ House after finishing the mission. When I was trapped inside, I never thought you’d worry about our safety… seems I was judging gentlemen with a petty heart.”

“Only in strong winds does one see the strength of grass, only in hardship does one see true hearts.” Though even without them, Yan Qing and Shang Xinlei could’ve escaped, their willingness to risk trespassing in the Imperial Palace to save them was a gesture Yan Qing would remember: “White Fox, Black Wolf, you’re both reliable teammates. On the contrary, Red Snake and I were the ones dragging our feet. Thank you for your trouble in this mission.”

Ying Ru Shi chuckled softly. “No need for thanks. After all, the four of us will be committing crimes together in the future. Mutual help is only natural… Black Wolf, don’t you agree?”

“Mm.”

Medicine Master Wen’s response was cold, which neither Yan Qing nor Shang Xinlei found strange. After all, she was a naturally arrogant and headstrong person, and besides, she had indeed saved the two of them. Such gratitude needed no further pleasantries.

Only Ying Ru Shi vaguely sensed the complicated emotions Medicine Master Wen was experiencing. Beneath the White Fox Mask hung a mocking smile.

…

…

A quarter of an hour earlier, third floor of Jiangnan Chef Deity Building.

“Your offer is quite tempting, but I refuse.”

Ying Ru Shi pulled out a Spirit Jade to recover her Spirit, speaking calmly, “Even if you go back, I will still go to the palace to find them.”

“Why?” Medicine Master Wen couldn’t understand.

She had seen the sword of the woman before her—cold, ruthless, waiting for the right moment, elegant and cruel like a fox. Even now, she dared not say with confidence she could defeat White Fox. A warrior judges others through their blade. She believed White Fox was no softhearted fool, much less a person shackled by worldly morals. That was why she had proposed forming an alliance with her.

Medicine Master Wen did indeed have intentions to subjugate White Fox, but at this moment she was also genuinely offering cooperation. She recognized White Fox’s qualifications to stand alongside her.

“There are many reasons, but the most important one is… my future lies beyond Foundation Building,” Ying Ru Shi said. “In the future you envisioned, the Thieves’ House is led by us two, with the other two as puppets. While we may seize the greatest benefits, it also means only the two of us will face the hardships.”

Medicine Master Wen sneered, “I can’t believe you would belittle yourself like that, White Fox. Even if it’s just the two of us—”

“Just the two of us is far from enough!” Ying Ru Shi retorted bluntly. “What do you think the Thieves’ House is? A petty squabble between warring states? A child’s play of court politics? The Thieves’ House is a Secret Realm! It is a battlefield prepared by the world for Messengers! If you insist on playing power games inside the Secret Realm, then I dare say, a self-righteous fool like you will never get far!”

Medicine Master Wen said nothing, but her fists were clenched so tightly that the veins bulged. One could only imagine how twisted her face was behind the Black Wolf Mask. And yet, she didn’t argue or strike back—she simply listened in silence to Ying Ru Shi’s commanding reproach.

“Black Wolf, I know you’re a noblewoman from a powerful family. Perhaps you’ve entered Secret Realm battles from early on, but you’ve never seen a true Secret Realm battle…”

“White Fox,” Medicine Master Wen squeezed the words from between her teeth, “You don’t know me, so don’t be so self-righteous.”

“I don’t know you, but I know the Secret Realms,” Ying Ru Shi fired back without holding back. “Maybe you’ve fought on the front lines in First-Stage or Second-Stage Secret Realms, but what about Third-Stage? Fourth-Stage? If you’ve seen the real cruelty, you wouldn’t have such naive fantasies.”

Medicine Master Wen’s hands trembled slightly. That was her body unconsciously relaxing from an adrenaline surge born of rage. Yet she couldn’t refute it—she had never been to a Third-Stage Secret Realm. Her father wouldn’t allow her to go.

“I’ve been to a Third-Stage Secret Realm. In that place, all members must be Messengers. Even a First-Stage Messenger has an extremely high mortality rate, perishing in an instant if they’re careless,” Ying Ru Shi said. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Just the demons before the Secret Realm boss can be overrun with sheer numbers, but…”

At this point, Ying Ru Shi’s voice trembled slightly, as if recalling an unbearable past. “The Third-Stage Demon Lord cannot be stopped by just one or two Third-Stage Messengers. It attacks everyone, as though testing the Messengers’ strength. Fail the test, and you die instantly.”

“A First-Stage Messenger has no qualifications to challenge a Third-Stage Demon Lord. A Second-Stage can barely survive. If the Third-Stage Messengers can’t unite, can’t draw its attention, they’ll be picked off one by one.”

“The slave system you mentioned, Black Wolf, only works in First and Second-Stage Secret Realms. In those low-level Realms, a few powerful Messengers cooperating with many weaklings can indeed succeed. But from Third-Stage onward, if you don’t have reliable teammates, even a Third-Stage Messenger will die without a trace.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveIＦire.net

Medicine Master Wen took a deep breath and slowly unclenched her fists. “You think the Thieves’ House will become even more dangerous?”

“It already has,” Ying Ru Shi replied. “Our first target was Anguo Temple, where a small number of Second-Stage monks were paired with many First-Stage ones—equivalent to a Second-Stage rating. Our second target was Shang Xuanwen. He himself is a Third-Stage Messenger, and as Prime Minister of Great Liang, he could mobilize all Messengers in the city. We just happened to ambush him at his weakest, so it didn’t seem dangerous. But that doesn’t mean the mission was easy. If we rate Jiangnan City as a Secret Realm, it’s close to Third-Stage!”

“What if next time we can’t ambush the target? What about the time after that? When do you think we’ll be forced to face a Foundation Messenger head-on?”

“Someday we will face a desperate situation, and when that time comes, we’ll only have each other to rely on.” Having absorbed all the Spirit Jade’s energy, she glanced at Medicine Master Wen. “So I don’t need slaves, I don’t need puppets, and I certainly don’t need scheming allies. What I need are comrades who can fight by my side.”

“Let’s go, Black Wolf.”

Medicine Master Wen didn’t argue. She merely followed Ying Ru Shi toward the palace. Along the way, they saw many people leaving their homes and flocking toward the city’s main roads as if heading to a festival, but they had no time to stop and investigate.

“White Fox,” Medicine Master Wen suddenly asked, “that time you went to the Third-Stage Secret Realm… was the Demon Lord defeated by the Third-Stage Messengers working together?”

“No.” Ying Ru Shi didn’t even look back. Her voice remained calm. “As I said, all the Third-Stage Messengers were picked off one by one by the Demon Lord.”

“Then how did you survive?”

After a long silence, Ying Ru Shi gave no answer, and Medicine Master Wen didn’t press further.

Yet in her heart, Medicine Master Wen already had her suspicions about Ying Ru Shi’s identity. Possessing both combat prowess and leadership, entering a Third-Stage Secret Realm at a young age, and wielding refined Qi Kingdom sword techniques—if she wasn’t a royal of Qi Kingdom, then she had to be a founding noble, surely in a position of immense power.

It was the first time Medicine Master Wen felt such overwhelming defeat in front of someone her own age. In vision, tolerance, and composure—she had lost completely. There were no excuses, no dignity left. And yet, there was no resentment—only a burning will.

Qi Kingdom was the strongest nation in the Central Plains. White Fox might well be her greatest rival in the path to hegemony.

Just as it should be!

Back when the Founding Emperor of Zhou, the Martial Emperor, and Emperor Taizu of Liang divided the world and contested each other, they created countless legends still talked about today. If I, Medicine Master Wen, ride across the land without a worthy opponent, wouldn’t that take all the joy out of conquest?

Just as three hundred years ago Emperor Zhaolie subdued Cao Zhengxi to carve out a historic tale, I believe, White Fox, that you will become my most treasured trophy in the future!

Gazing at the palace so near at hand, Medicine Master Wen shook off her wild thoughts and began strategizing how to win people’s hearts. Though she had been persuaded by Ying Ru Shi, that didn’t mean she’d surrender all the credit. Yellow Dog and Red Snake were clearly shameless rascals. She had to seize this chance to knock them down a peg and make them realize how great a favor this rescue was. Best if they pledged eternal loyalty and obeyed her command from now on.

The thought of standing on the moral high ground and scolding those two colleagues as she pleased made Medicine Master Wen let out a soft hum of delight.

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