Chapter 25: Item Rarity

Inside the treasury of the Inner Hall of Anguo Temple, Ying Rushi pulled a coil of snake-patterned rope from her backpack.

"Ah, the Murong family’s rope truly lives up to its reputation," Shang Xinlei remarked as she took the coil and wound it around the dial on the outside of the vault, praising it, "It’s practically a work of art."

"It seems White Fox has quite the connections in the Qi State," Yaoshi Yuan commented dryly while helping with the rope. "The ropes the Murong family sells to the public don’t have this kind of quality."

Ying Rushi chuckled. "I wouldn't call it 'connections.' While this quality of rope is indeed rare and impossible to buy elsewhere, it’s not exactly a hot commodity—hardly anyone else shares the Murong family’s obsession with rope quality, especially since their secret realm is located beneath a cliff. I just happen to know a friend in the Murong family, so it was easy to get."

"By comparison, Black Wolf, your connections are far more outrageous. You actually found a way to obtain a 'Rare' grade keepsake. Did you discover a crafting blueprint for it in some secret realm?"

"It wasn't crafted," Yaoshi Yuan said, lifting her head with a mix of reserve and pride. "It was sublimated."

"As I thought. I know a thing or two about Rare keepsakes, but none of them match the power you displayed earlier," Ying Rushi’s voice held a trace of surprise mingled with just the right amount of envy. "To be able to sublimate a keepsake… that is truly…"

Beneath her mask, Yaoshi Yuan felt a flush of pleasure. Her mood lifted, and her gaze toward Ying Rushi softened, even prompting her to offer some advice: "Sublimating a keepsake isn't that difficult. You just need to temper it day and night, using it until you reach a level of mastery where it becomes an extension of yourself."

Yan Qing felt somewhat confused. He was familiar with "keepsake crafting" and "keepsake sublimation"—they were the two standard paths for upgrading keepsakes. However, the term "Rare keepsake" used by Black Wolf and White Fox was something he had never heard of; he had no idea what they were referring to.

"Black Wolf, your Rare keepsake must have 'Defense' and 'Counter-attack' effects, right?" Shang Xinlei asked, though her tone was certain. "And the strength of the counter-attack is directly proportional to the damage you’ve absorbed; otherwise, there would be no reason for you to wait for those bald monks to attack you first. From that perspective, your Rare keepsake must be a piece of armor? Or perhaps a garment?"

Ying Rushi glanced at Shang Xinlei. She had figured this out as well, but she wasn't about to say it aloud. *Red Snake has a sharp eye, though,* Ying Rushi thought, having assumed that the keepsake was Black Wolf’s conspicuous steel spear.

Yaoshi Yuan hadn't intended to hide it once exposed. She tugged at her collar, revealing a dark brown inner armor. A faint blue light pulsed along the edges, as if the armor were breathing.

"Second-tier Rare keepsake: Mingwang Armor," she said coolly. "Feel free to rely on me when we need to break through defenses in the future."

This time, Yaoshi Yuan finally saw the surprise she had been hoping for in Yan Qing’s eyes. It was just missing that touch of envy and resentment. *Hmph,* she thought, *I suppose he realizes he could never catch up to me in this lifetime, so he’s stopped feeling jealous altogether.*

But Yan Qing wasn't surprised by the Mingwang Armor; he had finally realized that the "Rare keepsake" they spoke of with such reverence—the one that had so shocked the monks outside—was actually just the "Rare" level item from the game!

In the game *Messenger*, keepsakes were both the source of player skills and their equipment, naturally categorized by grade. From lowest to highest, these were: Common (White), Rare (Blue), Precious (Gold), Legendary (Orange), and Immortal (Dark Gold).

Common and Rare items were merely leveling gear for players, which was why Yan Qing hadn't reacted when they mentioned "Rare keepsakes." It was like hearing someone praise a treasure as "thin as a cicada's wing and white as snow," only to realize they were talking about a generic paper napkin.

As he turned the snake-patterned rope, Yan Qing asked, "What comes after a Rare keepsake?"

They looked at him strangely, and Shang Xinlei replied, "That would be a Precious keepsake, of course."

"And above Precious?"

"Then you have the world-renowned Legendary keepsakes. Everyone who holds one is a titan of their era."

"And above Legendary?"

"Legendary is the highest tier," Shang Xinlei said, looking puzzled. "Is there even anything higher than Legendary?"

*So they don't know about Immortal keepsakes…* Yan Qing wasn't surprised. Even Legendary keepsakes didn't start appearing until after the fourth tier of progression. There was no way for the likes of Red Snake and Black Wolf to know about Immortal-tier information.

However, the naming convention revealed that high-tier keepsakes in this world were far, far rarer than in the game—"Rare" had become "Rare-Exquisite," "Precious" had become "Rare Treasure," and only "Legendary" remained the same.

*Well, one can’t make bricks without straw. No wonder they value Rare keepsakes so much.*

As he thought this, his expression shifted from surprise to pity. Yaoshi Yuan was highly sensitive and noticed this change. She was no stranger to such looks—many wealthy nobles would travel outside Chang'an, see homeless children in rags, and toss them scraps of food while watching them fight, looking down with pity at the suffering of the common folk.

Yaoshi Yuan had never imagined she would be the object of such a look. She forgot to be angry, feeling only confused as to why Yan Qing would look at her that way.

Before she could speak, Shang Xinlei posed a question that grabbed her attention: "The mission reward is to turn the 'Bingzi Pepper Forest' into a keepsake, isn't it? As a reward from the Thieves' Guild, it has to be at least a Rare-Exquisite keepsake, right?"

"A Precious keepsake is also possible," Ying Rushi said excitedly. "But it definitely won't be a Common one."

"It's a Legendary keepsake," Yan Qing stated.

Yaoshi Yuan finally realized she ought to be angry and snapped back, "How do you know it's a Legendary keepsake? Do you have any idea how rare those are? Besides, the mission reward is a first-tier keepsake. Who has ever heard of a first-tier Legendary keepsake?"

Yan Qing didn't argue; he simply continued to twist the rope with all his might. As they tightened the coil, the vault door wrapped in the rope began to emit the sounds of metal warping and cracking.

A vault door that even a Messenger couldn't budge was starting to collapse under the pressure of a simple rope!

*Thud!*

With several explosive sounds, the gold vault door, wound tight by the snake-patterned rope, burst from the vault and crumpled in mid-air!

The vault door, which would have taken a monk an hour to open, had held out for only a few sentences in their hands. They hadn't used a single keepsake—just a coil of rope!

"Even though it was planned, seeing it actually happen is still shocking," Ying Rushi murmured. "How can a rope unleash such power just by tying a few knots?"

"It's simple: the principle of a movable pulley system," Yan Qing said, pulling out a large sack. "Let's grab the loot and go."

Opening the vault door with rope relied on using the knots as movable pulleys to multiply force. With enough knots, it acted like an ultra-long lever to pry the door open. This was a trick Yan Qing had learned from the experiences of master thieves robbing banks; it was a field-tested method, and he had simply used his knowledge of physics to reconstruct the steps.

All four vaults were now open. Naturally, they weren't going to leave with just the Bingzi Pepper Forest. Even Yaoshi Yuan had no objections—she had brought the largest sack of them all. However, time was tight and the mission was heavy, and since there was so much treasure, they had to fill their bags and leave as quickly as possible.

Despite the size of the vaults and the sheer volume of items, most were of little value to them: land deeds and commercial contracts were useless, gold and jewelry were unnecessary, and antiques and calligraphy held no meaning.

The most valuable items in the vault were spirit jade, blood-replenishing pills, and rare materials harvested from secret realms!

As for keepsakes, there wasn't a single one. After all, keepsakes were weapons, and weapons were meant to be converted into combat power. Even if one wasn't currently in use, it would be kept at home as a backup; no one would lock a weapon in a vault to collect interest.

But just filling a bag with spirit jade was worth it. Yan Qing estimated his sack could hold two or three thousand pieces. Unfortunately, he wasn't a game character anymore; without his game console, he had no access to personal or public storage, otherwise, he would have emptied all four vaults completely.

*Clang!*

Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing came from behind him. Yan Qing turned to see Black Wolf and White Fox fighting. Black Wolf thrust her spear, and White Fox drew her sword. Neither would yield, blocking the front of one of the vaults.

Inside the vault sat a blade stand, and on it rested a three-foot-long blade. The hilt was inlaid with gems that formed intricate patterns, and the scabbard was carved with beasts and birds—elegant, imposing, and luxurious. Even with the other jewelry and gold in the vault, the blade made everything else look dull by comparison.

This was their target for this mission.

The Bingzi Pepper Forest!