A living, breathing man had just died like that? And in such a bizarre, terrifying way?
Zhang Yuanqing stood rooted to the spot in astonishment, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.
Fu Qingyang, by contrast, remained calm and composed. Pulling out his access card, he opened the iron door and said in a steady tone, "Go take a look. See if any spirit body remains."
"Right, okay..." Shaking off his shock, Zhang Yuanqing strode into the cell and stopped beside the bed.
A thick, pitch-black liquid welled up in his eyes, obscuring the whites. After scanning the surroundings for a moment, he shook his head. "No spirit body left behind. Chi Yue'an's soul was completely scattered. It was a very clean death."
With that, the energy retreated from his eye sockets, and his eyes returned to normal.
Fu Qingyang pondered for a moment. "A Witch Doctor's curse-killing technique. To curse and kill a Saint from afar requires a very high-level practitioner. Furthermore, they must possess Chi Yue'an's Eight Characters of birth, as well as blood, flesh, hair, or something else containing his DNA."
*A Witch Doctor's curse-killing technique... Is the organization behind Chi Yue'an the Spirit Society? No, if that were the case, he would have been ferreted out during the grand health check. Someone who knows a curse-killing technique isn't necessarily a Witch Doctor; they could also be using a prop...*
Zhang Yuanqing asked in a deep voice, "Is the curse-killing technique a type of curse? Is it a skill of the Witch Doctor's Saint stage?"
To be fair, he was no stranger to the Witch Doctor profession. From Tiandao Bugong to Hei Wuchang, and then to the boss in Yinyang Town, all had been Witch Doctors. But this was his first time witnessing such a long-range curse-kill ability, and the thought was genuinely chilling.
Fu Qingyang methodically gathered the wooden cangue and shackles as he spoke. "The curse-killing technique is indeed a type of curse. In a sense, this is true cursing, true sorcery. Among the three evil professions, the defining trait of a Witch Doctor is sinister malice. Often, they do not confront their enemies head-on. Instead, they poison them or find opportunities to collect information on their targets—such as their Eight Characters of birth, DNA, or photographs—before setting up an altar to cast rituals, curse-killing them or inflicting Fortune Diminishment from afar. Among those, DNA is the most crucial. Once a Witch Doctor acquires it, death is almost certain! Only a handful of abilities can neutralize it."
*Going by that, I haven't actually encountered a true Witch Doctor yet. I'll need to be careful about safeguarding my DNA from now on. I shouldn't mess around with women of unknown origin either—DNA isn't just skin and hair...*
Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, pulled his mind back to business, and said regretfully, "If I'd known, I would have killed him right away for spirit questioning."
"There is no need to regret what has already happened. Their decision to silence him is practically a confession in itself," Fu Qingyang said. He was always one to remain unflinching even if Mount Tai were to collapse before his eyes, exuding immense confidence in everything he did.
"So it really is Chi Yue'an's ex-wife?" Zhang Yuanqing asked gravely.
Fu Qingyang gave an affirmative grunt. "Most likely. However, Chi Yue'an is dead, meaning there is no one left to testify. She isn't a member of the Five Elements Alliance either, so we cannot force a grand health check on her. For the time being, our hands are tied." He turned his head toward his confidant and sighed softly with a shake of his head. "I hear that older woman from the Zhu family is exceptionally vindictive. You ruined her ex-husband and severed her revenue stream; there is no guarantee she won't retaliate against you. Then again, I suppose one more debt hardly matters when you already owe so many."
Remembering Chi Yue'an's gruesome death, Zhang Yuanqing felt a jolt of alarm. "Centurion, every formidable enemy and faction I've provoked was for the sake of our organization! The organization should take responsibility for me, not mock me!"
Fu Qingyang replied coolly, "A curse-killing technique requires a medium. Just make sure to clean up your own DNA, and you'll have nothing to fear. It's not as though she's going to come knocking on your door to ask for a lock of your hair."
Zhang Yuanqing retorted, "I'm just afraid the old auntie will try to seduce me."
After a moment's thought, Fu Qingyang said, "I will warn her. This case isn't over yet. We'll find an opportunity to settle accounts with her in the future. Besides, we still need further confirmation—what if it wasn't her?"
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. As long as a suspect was locked in, settling the score later would do just as well. This was the so-called "Justice may be delayed, but it will never be denied."
Fu Qingyang raised his left hand, glanced at his wristwatch, and said, "Go find Guan Ya. The guests I invited will arrive in ten minutes."
***
On the first floor of the villa, in the western combat training room.
Guan Ya, dressed in loose workout attire, was stretching her legs by the window. A few meters away, Zhang Yuanqing was also doing stretches.
*Even though Fu Qingyang is going to warn that Zhu family auntie, she might not just swallow her anger. A curse-killing technique is nearly impossible to guard against. If I slip up even once, I could easily end up dead in a ditch...*
A pressing desire to grow stronger welled up within Zhang Yuanqing.
Opening dungeons took time and could not be rushed. For now, there were two ways to boost his strength in reality. One was to wait for the official tournament to begin, fight for a top ranking, and claim the rewards. The other was to hunt down an evil professional at the Transcendent stage and refine them into a yin corpse, thereby becoming a truly preeminent powerhouse of the Transcendent stage.
Those two objectives would be his primary focus for the foreseeable future.
Of course, he also had to evade Heavenly King Demonic Eye's hunt. He truly hoped the branch Elders would get rid of that radical zealot soon. As long as that guy was on the loose, he couldn't sleep peacefully.
Pulling his thoughts back, Zhang Yuanqing turned to the exquisitely beautiful, charming mixed-race woman and asked, "Why the sudden urge to practice combat today?"
*Because I suddenly felt like beating you up today,* Guan Ya thought bitterly. A bright smile, however, graced her face. "It's been a while since we sparred. I wanted to see if your skills have gotten rusty."
Zhang Yuanqing gave a chuckle. "Ha! While I've been home these past few days, I've been practicing my footwork and punches every single day."
Just then, glancing out the French windows, he saw a black luxury car pull up outside the villa. The door opened, and out stepped a blonde, blue-eyed stunner. Her skin was as pale and smooth as milk, her figure athletic yet undeniably voluptuous.
Behind her stepped a middle-aged man in a tailored suit. He had short, light-brown hair, fine crow's-feet around the corners of his eyes, and a deep, weathered gaze that exuded the distinct charm of a mature man.
*Aren't those Annie and Mr. Bill? Why did they come to Fujia Bay?*
*Could the guests Fu Qingyang mentioned be them?*
Startled, Zhang Yuanqing quickly pressed closer to the window to get a better look.
Guan Ya followed his gaze. Through the decorative trees, she saw the two foreigners walking toward the villa. Her gaze lingered briefly on the stunning Annie before darting to Yuanshi, who looked as if he wanted to gouge his own eyes out and toss them outside for a closer look.
Guan Ya gritted her teeth, an unexplainable irritation rising in her chest.
"Stop gawking. Training begins!"
Guan Ya leaped into the air, her long, straight legs snapping shut around Zhang Yuanqing. Twisting her waist midair like a rolling crocodile, she slammed Zhang Yuanqing flat onto the elm-wood floor with a loud smack.
"Fuck, that was a cheap shot!" Zhang Yuanqing yelled in outrage.
The two instantly threw themselves into a brawl, rapid slaps and thuds echoing continuously throughout the combat room.
***
Out in the lush courtyard, Bill Tarantino suddenly turned his head toward the western wing of the villa.
"What is it?" Annie inquired.
Bill Tarantino drew back his gaze and smiled faintly. "It felt as though someone was watching us just now."
Annie gave an enchanting smile. "Isn't it only natural for people to look at us? Who could resist my charm?"
Bill withdrew his gaze. "Indeed. In that case, beautiful lady, can you use your beauty to seduce the young master of the Fu family and secure the best possible deal for us?"
"Of course!" Annie laughed.
***
An hour later, Zhang Yuanqing emerged from the combat room battered and bruised, heading into the adjacent shower room to wash up.
*Seriously, she doesn't know how to hold back. It's not like I actually used the legendary Dragon Claw Hand on her...*
Returning to the living room, Zhang Yuanqing peered out the front entrance and saw that the black luxury car was still there. He made his way to the dining room to dig into the food prepared by the bunny girl and replenish his strength.
Cutting off a piece of steak, he chewed it slowly. It occurred to him that Fu Qingyang's family had massive business holdings abroad, and Fu Qingyang, like Guan Ya, had grown up overseas. It made sense for him to have dealings with foreign Spirit Realm walkers.
After finishing the steak at an unhurried pace, Zhang Yuanqing picked up a bowl piled high with mashed potatoes and scooped them up spoonful by spoonful. The tender, creamy potatoes mingled with a special sauce and a hint of pepper, perfectly seasoned and deeply satisfying.
Just as he finished the mashed potatoes, footsteps came from the stairs, accompanied by Ling Jun's fawning voice:
"Miss Annie, don't be in such a rush to leave! Would I have the honor of treating you to dinner? Fu Qingyang is an abstinent freak who doesn't know how to respect a lady, but I do! Miss Annie? Miss Annie?"
Zhang Yuanqing poked half his head out to look. Mr. Bill and Miss Annie were striding briskly outside, as if unwilling to linger for even another second.
Ling Jun, wearing flip-flops, followed eagerly at her side, offering a "Miss Annie" here and a "dinner together" there—the very definition of a shameless simp.
Unfortunately, Young Master Ling Jun's flattery failed to earn him so much as a second glance from Annie before she climbed into the luxury car and drove out of Fujia Bay.
Zhang Yuanqing walked out with a glistening sausage speared on his fork, chuckling. "That foreign filly may be top quality, but she's got quite a temper and her nose is in the air—looks tough to tame. Master Ling Jun, you'd better stick to domestic models."
Ling Jun shrugged and flopped onto the plush sofa. "I don't know about her temper, but her standards are definitely sky-high. She looks down on ordinary Spirit Realm walkers."
"Ordinary?" Zhang Yuanqing swallowed the bite of sausage. "Didn't you tell her who you are? You're one of the top crown princes in the entire mainland."
Ling Jun chuckled twice. "I was just messing with her. There are thousands of enchanting beauties in this world worth savoring, but the women of the Goddess of Beauty Association are the one kind you can never touch—they are roses with thorns. You know about the Goddess of Beauty Association, right? It's made up of people from the 'Desire' profession. Women of that profession have a skill that allows them to extract a price from any man they've been intimate with. That's why the higher-ups of the Goddess of Beauty Association all have lovers scattered everywhere. They've dominated the foreign scene simply by sleeping with powerful men."
Zhang Yuanqing put on an appropriately shocked expression. "There's actually a profession like that in the world? Which stage is that skill from—Saint or Transcendent?"
"I think it's from the Transcendent stage... Sigh, if I'm not mistaken, that Annie just now is already at the Saint stage. What a pity," Ling Jun said ruefully.
If she were a Transcendent-stage stunner, he could have relied on his higher level to suppress her, taking what he wanted without paying any price. Against someone of the same rank, that wouldn't work.
"They're foreign Spirit Realm walkers? What are they doing here?" Zhang Yuanqing took the chance to probe.
"What else would the Void profession do besides business? Every year, the Songhai Branch sorts through props and materials that are either low in cost-effectiveness or overstocked and puts them up for sale. The Void profession represents the merchants of the Spirit Realm; they possess an intense obsession with trade. Because of that, the Merchant Guild formed by the Void profession holds an inventory that far surpasses any other organization in the world, with the greatest variety to boot.
"As long as you have the money, you can buy props and materials from every profession through them. June and December have always been the trading seasons. Naturally, the Elders wouldn't bother with such trivial matters, so after Fu Qingyang arrived, trade duties were handed off to him. That Annie was batting her eyelashes non-stop during the negotiations, trying to corrupt our Comrade Fu with her feminine wiles. Truly insidious intentions!"
*If I have outdated or useless props in the future, I could sell them to Mr. Bill or trade for other items. That would be far more cost-effective than handing them over to the branch... After all, merit points and credits aren't of much use to me right now.*
Zhang Yuanqing recalled Annie's infuriated departure. "So the Centurion didn't take the bait?"
Ling Jun rolled his eyes. "Not only did he not take the bait, but he said with a completely straight face, 'If this transaction includes Miss Annie's body, you will have to pay me an additional sum for mental damages.'"
*Savage...* Zhang Yuanqing covered his face in silence.
He had realized that Fu Qingyang actually possessed quite a sharp tongue. The longer you spent around him, the more you realized that beneath that cold, abstinent exterior lay a truly venomous soul.
As for what happened next, he didn't need Ling Jun to explain to picture it.
"Business is all about bargaining. They'll be back in a few days anyway. The Songhai Branch's massive stock of materials and props is an irresistible temptation for the Void profession." Finishing his thought, Ling Jun added, "Did you pull that legendary move of yours on Guan Ya again?"
"No! I didn't do a thing this time. She just attacked me the moment we started," Zhang Yuanqing protested, feeling thoroughly wronged.
Ling Jun gave him an "I get it" look and said earnestly, "Yuanshi, I've met quite a few beauties in Songhai recently. I'll introduce a few to you later. They're very understanding, gentle, and utterly enchanting—so long as you have the cash."
Pulling out his phone, Zhang Yuanqing declared with utmost righteousness, "I am not that kind of person!"
***
The next day.
After finishing breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing headed out with his aunt. Inside the elevator cabin, Jiang Yu'er, carrying a small handbag, stood side by side with Zhang Yuanqing, who had his backpack on.
The mirror-polished elevator doors clearly reflected both their figures.
Jiang Yu'er was dressed simply today in a light-yellow short-sleeved top, form-fitting cropped pants, and a pair of white running shoes.
The outfit flattered her figure while lending her a touch of youthful vigor. Combined with her sweet, well-behaved face, she looked like nothing more than a well-developed teenage girl rather than a twenty-five-year-old woman.
Zhang Yuanqing admired his aunt's peerless beauty in the reflection. Aside from being delicate and lovely, her skin possessed the translucent, lustrous quality of fine jade. Looking at her face for too long almost made one wonder if she were a jade statue come to life, vastly different from those conventionally rosy complexions.
Jiang Yu'er tilted her head up at a forty-five-degree angle, eyeballed her nephew's head, and held up a small hand to measure.
"Did you get taller?" she asked.
After becoming a Spirit Realm walker, his body had undergone a secondary growth spurt, and he had indeed gained four or five centimeters.
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, Zhang Yuanqing glanced down at a forty-five-degree angle and bantered, "You've gotten bigger too."
Jiang Yu'er flared up, chopping her hand against the back of his neck. "Insolent! How dare you flirt with your own aunt? Is there anything you little beast won't do?!"
The two squabbled until the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors slid open.
Jiang Yu'er instantly resumed her demure, well-mannered posture. Under the polite deferrals of several building residents waiting outside, she took her nephew's arm and stepped out of the elevator.
Leaving the building, Zhang Yuanqing hopped into his aunt's car and headed toward Songhai University.
With Chi Yue'an's case wrapped up, he had returned to his status as a college student. He didn't need to report for duty these days, so he had to attend classes when required. He couldn't just idle around at home all day—his grandmother would be the first to object.
The white car arrived at Songhai University and pulled up outside the front gates. Zhang Yuanqing waved goodbye to his aunt.
Watching her car merge into the traffic flow, he hoisted his backpack and turned toward the campus.
Suddenly, a figure by the school gates caught his eye.
It was a young man in sportswear with handsome features, an athletic headband wrapped around his forehead, and a bright smile on his face—the quintessential sunny, attractive guy.
Female students entering and leaving the campus glanced back at him repeatedly.
Yet he seemed completely oblivious to their stares, earnestly sweeping the dust by the school entrance with a broom.
*Heavenly King Demonic Eye...*
Zhang Yuanqing distinctly felt his heart skip a beat, before it began pounding violently against his ribs.
Chapter 166