Scourge Messenger

Chapter 35 Side Mission
As expected, 'Jiang Shi' quickly attracted the attention of the entire street. Even the noise gradually died down, and everyone put down their work and came out to watch.

It seems that my face shaping has reached the level of stunning beauty, Yan Qing thought.

However, the keywords "rainy day", "wet body" and "barefoot" should also add a lot of color.

At this moment, four playboys were walking towards us on the road. They were immediately recognizable as playboys, not only because they were bare-chested, idle, frivolous, and dressed like hipsters, but also because they walked without umbrellas in the rain—they didn't even know how to hide from the rain; their minds were only those of hooligans.

The four thugs' first reaction upon seeing Jiang Shi was to freeze in shock. It was clear they had never seen a prettier girl than Jiang Shi in their lives, and without exception, their expressions were filled with lust and ecstasy. Just as Yan Qing was about to kill a few people to liven up the atmosphere, one of the thugs, with a look of horror on his face, caught sight of something and whispered something to his companion. The other thugs' expressions changed drastically, and they quickly dodged to the side of the road to avoid Jiang Shi.

It was the first time that Yan Qing had seen such a sensible passerby. Are local thugs so polite?

Could it be because Jiang Shi carries a galvanized straight knife with him?

If you think about it carefully, 'Jiang Shi' is now walking in the rain without an umbrella and holding a knife in her hand, so other people's impression of her must be 'not very smart' + 'armed'. On this street, she is the strong one at the top of the food chain. Of course, the thugs with 'not very smart' dare not mess with her - as if who has a good brain!

But as time went on, Yan Qing felt more and more that something was amiss. Passersby not only avoided her but even closed their doors and windows. Jiang Shi was like Moses parting the sea. Before she could even get past him, all the shops and houses in front of her had closed their doors, and the pedestrians didn't know where to hide. The entire town was so quiet that only the curtain of rain hung between heaven and earth.

A group of tall horses suddenly broke through the rain, barring the road with a chorus of hisses. One by one, knights wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats dismounted and, at a leisurely pace, approached Jiang Shi. Some drew their chains, others drew their spears. Though they remained silent, their hostility was evident in the wind and rain.

Yan Qing had no intention of dodging. He asked Jiang Shi to hold the hilt of the sword with his left hand and gently push the sword guard with his thumb, pushing the white iron straight sword out an inch. This was the carp mouth cut, which would increase the sword drawing speed by 0.2 seconds in the next battle.

If the opponent is an ordinary person, use the ordinary person's fighting style; if the opponent is a messenger, Yan Qing also has the messenger's fighting style.

Just then, the sound of wheels and horse hooves came from behind.

Attack from front and back?

Yan Qing looked back and saw a four-horse carriage galloping towards them through the wind and rain.

There was a satin flag on top of the carriage with the word "Qian" embroidered on it.

The horses were good, each one was a pack horse with black hair and white mane; the cart was a good cart, even on such a bad road and at such a speed the body of the cart did not shake much, the ruts were deep and stable, and the carriage was almost the size of a house; the groom driving the cart was no ordinary man either, because he was not wearing a hat or a straw raincoat, but his clothes did not get wet.

Even the grooms are messengers equipped with defensive tokens. What a grand occasion.

Unsure whether the carriage was friend or foe, Yan Qing and the straw raincoat knight paused until the carriage slowly came to a stop behind Jiang Shi. The carriage's door curtain rolled up like a roller blind, and the voices arrived before the person appeared.

"Why are you blocking the road?" The girl's voice was as cold as the rain. "If you dare to block this imperially bestowed carriage without a valid reason, you are tantamount to humiliating the Baiyun Qian clan. According to etiquette, allowing you to commit suicide is already a gift!"

Yan Qing raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Anyone who blocks the way must die?
It seems that every place has its own difficult sutras...

The straw raincoat knight responded in a clear voice, his voice piercing the rain. "Your Excellency, I am a constable from the county yamen. I have received word that an unlicensed individual has appeared here in the 18th century. I suspect he is the Taihu rebel, and I have come to apprehend him. Please wait a moment. We will apprehend him and report back."

"Taihu traitor?"

The girl looked at Jiang Shi, who was soaking wet and alone, sandwiched between the two groups.

"You're calling her a Taihu traitor?"

"We can only confirm this after we return and interrogate her," the straw raincoat knight said calmly, "but it's certain that she's an illegal immigrant. Regardless, she's committed a serious crime and must be detained pending the county magistrate's judgment."

No black household?

Yan Qing only then noticed that everyone here seemed to have a band tied around their wrists. The straw raincoat knights all had black bands tied around their wrists, which were visible as soon as they stretched out their hands. The groom and the girl also had bands tied around their wrists, the groom's with a black band and the girl's with a blue band.

It wasn't just them, everyone on the street, from vendors to thugs, all had belts tied around their waists, but their belts were gray or brown, very similar to the color of their clothes, so Yan Qing didn't notice this detail along the way.

"Hey, you," the girl asked, "where's your belt?"

"I don't have a belt."

"Are you the Taihu traitor?"

"No." "Where is your home? Where are you going?"

"I don't have a home," Yan Qing replied, "I'm going to a wooded area in the east."

The girl was startled. "Are you also going to—"

"Miss!" the groom called out softly, and the girl immediately stopped talking.

At this moment, the raincoat knights seemed to realize something and surrounded Jiang Shi from four directions. They said in a neutral tone, "Miss Baiyun Qian, please do not interfere with our official duties."

"How could the Taihu traitor appear in a place like this!" the girl exclaimed. "Does she look like a traitor to you? She has nothing but a knife, not even shoes! She's clearly just an ordinary person!"

"Undocumented individuals without children are barbarians and traitors who refuse to obey the king," the straw raincoat knight said. "Could it be that the Baiyun Qian family intends to protect these traitors?"

"Miss," the groom called softly, "it's better not to..."

The girl gritted her teeth, her expression clearly showing her dissatisfaction. She glanced at Jiang Shi's back several times, but ultimately sat back in the carriage without saying a word.

The coachman cracked his whip, and the four pack horses bypassed their group and continued pulling the carriage forward.

"Try to capture her alive," the straw raincoat knight ordered. "Don't hurt her, especially her face. Whoever hits her too hard will be the last one in line."

"I thought it would be unlucky to go out on a rainy day, and I'd probably get a few taels of silver at most, but I didn't expect to find such a good thing."

"If Old Huang and his group knew about this, they would probably die of envy."

"Oh, you can wield a knife, but I prefer those with a more aggressive temperament."

The fight can finally begin.

Yan Qing controlled Jiang Shi, unsheathing his slivered blade, ready to seize the right flank and retreat into a narrow alley. Perhaps due to his increased vitality, Yan Qing's skill level rivaled his seventeen-year-old self. Perfect dodges and counterattacks were effortless, and he wasn't afraid of a fight at all—in a mortal-level fight, his skill could offset any equipment disadvantage.

The law——

The carriage that was about to pass by suddenly turned back and rushed directly towards the straw raincoat knight and his companions. The straw raincoat knight seemed to be very afraid of the carriage and did not even make a move to cut the horse's body, but simply dodged.

Yan Qing was about to hide, but at this moment the carriage door curtain rolled up, and the girl leaned out and stretched out her hand towards Jiang Shi.

"Come up!"

Faced with the girl's invitation, Jiang Shi moved.

She stepped forward quickly, rushed towards the nearest straw raincoat knight, and slashed with her sword, cutting through the rain curtain in front of the latter's astonished gaze.

The straw raincoat knight's head shot up into the sky, and his headless body fell powerlessly to the ground, with blood spurting from his neck into the sky.

The carriage stopped again. Everyone, from the young woman and the groom to the other straw raincoat knights, stared blankly at Jiang Shi, who was shaking her sword and shedding blood. Her face was expressionless, her demeanor relaxed and elegant. If it weren't for the headless corpse lying at her feet, no one would have imagined that this beautiful girl had just beheaded a fast-moving constable.

'One dead, three left,' Yan Qing thought.

The moment the girl stretched out her hand, two thoughts popped up in Yan Qing's mind.

The first one is the main task. Holding the girl's hand allows you to escape from this place immediately.

The second one is a side quest, kill all enemies (optional).

Obviously, Yan Qing, who is a single-player Brahmin and loves full-trophy games, will not miss any opportunity to unclog the toilet (complete the side quest).

And running away is not Yan Qing's style of play.

(End of this chapter)