Cousin

At the café, beneath the canopy. Zhang Yuanqing held a piping-hot cup of coffee, gazing blankly at the street. Streetlights, car headlights, and storefront signs wove together into a dazzling, bustling night scene. After a long while, he took a heavy gulp, then exhaled a breath of turbid air like a deep sigh, as though expelling all the mental pollution from his chest. "Devouring spirits to increase strength really feels like walking a crooked path." He finally understood why the Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Sect refused to devour spirits. If the world were likened to a sea of suffering, mortals were drifting skiffs bobbing within it, weighed down by grief and sorrow; everyone bore their own misfortune and agony. These tribulations were transferred to the Night Wanderer along with the consumed spirit. Even if it was only a small fraction, accumulating enough of it created horrifying mental pollution. Kept up over time, ending up with schizophrenia would be getting off light. Yet the benefits were undeniably immediate. His experience bar was now at 46%. The duration of his Night Walk skill had not lengthened—it was still nine seconds—but his physical fitness had seen a distinct improvement, and his vitality and regenerative capacity had grown as well. These were tangible gains. "Right, I still don't know how that gay guy died—no, I don't want to know at all." With lingering dread, he took another sip of his coffee. *** Morning, at the villa. In a large conference room capable of seating thirty people, Fu Qingyang looked down both sides of the long table. His eyes were calm and deep, like clouds gathering a storm. Handsome and carrying the noble pride of a prominent family scion, his expressionless face exuded a powerful presence that exerted tremendous psychological pressure. "Five captains, over a dozen squad members, and dozens of peacekeepers were mobilized, yet you still let a Bewitching Demon escape." Fu Qingyang's expression was cold. "I am extremely disappointed in all of you." Seated along both sides of the long conference table were the participants of this operation: five captains and twelve squad members, among whom were Li Dongze and Guan Ya. Facing the reprimand of a Deacon-level superior, the captains hung their heads, not daring to make a sound. Da Jiba hesitated, but ultimately could not hold back, muttering in a low voice, "Centurion Fu, Ou Xiangrong seemed to be tainted by some evil power. He became extraordinarily powerful and completely mad—that's why we failed. Besides, the Bewitching Demon is inherently a top-tier class..." Fu Qingyang said coolly, "Failure is failure. Any reason is merely a coward's excuse for refusing to acknowledge defeat." His sharp gaze swept over the crowd. Not a single Spirit Realm walker at the table dared to meet his eyes—except Guan Ya. Guan Ya had her head down, idly playing with her fingernails, thoroughly distracted. Fu Qingyang continued, "Because of your failure, the incident has escalated. A heavily injured Bewitching Demon corrupted by evil power could very easily lose control completely. Given a Bewitching Demon's cruelty, mass casualties are inevitable. "Right now, every Spirit Realm walker squad across all of Songhai City has been mobilized into the search. If you cannot eliminate Ou Xiangrong within three days, all of you can pack your bags and get the hell back to the training camp." Li Dongze, Qingteng, Tang Guoqiang, and the other captains exchanged grim glances. Fu Qingyang sneered. "Of course, in this matter, I have also failed—because I placed mistaken expectations on you and overestimated your abilities. Therefore, over the next three days, I will participate in the manhunt personally. Since Ou Xiangrong is searching for the roster and the Holy Grail, his target will undoubtedly shift to Zhao Yingjun's family or the women close to him. Pursue your search along that lead." Once his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive wristwatch and said, "Your time is running short. Meeting dismissed! Guan Ya, stay behind." The long meeting was finally over; it was already past mealtime. The Spirit Realm walkers rose somewhat dejectedly, bowed toward the end of the long table, and filed out of the conference room in an orderly fashion. Leading the way at the front, the 1.9-meter-tall Da Jiba lowered his voice and grumbled angrily, "I won't deny my own failure, but Centurion Fu is far too arrogant. He wasn't even at the scene; he has no idea how strong Ou Xiangrong was." Clad in a skin-tight suit, he touched the knife wound oozing blood on his chest and snorted. "While we were out there fighting for our lives, he was sitting on a handcrafted sofa in the villa, sipping fine wine, smoking cigars, and enjoying the service of bunny girls." As he spoke, three bunny girls carrying refreshments walked upstairs and entered the conference room. Those serving in the villa were all young bunny girls, tall and pretty. Bailong gave one bunny girl's perky rear a light pat and lowered his voice. "I heard Centurion Fu is wildly popular in the White Tiger Battalion. Among the Four Young Masters, he's the only one who can go toe-to-toe with that young master from the Scarlet Fire Gang." Fu Qingyang had been transferred from the capital to Songhai late last year. Supposedly, after spending a few years honing himself here and building up his credentials, he would return to the capital as a candidate for the Council of Elders. Hearing this, Da Jiba snorted softly. "Just rumors. Our young master is the most exceptional of the Five Elements Alliance's younger generation." Qingteng looked toward Li Dongze instead. "What do you think, Decurion Li?" Li Dongze popped a rolled cigarette into his mouth and chuckled. "Naturally because he's rich—isn't that what you're thinking?" *Isn't it?* The other captains glanced at him. "Idiots!" Li Dongze tapped his temple. "Use those not-so-bright brains of yours to think for a second. If things really got to the point Centurion Fu described, someone would have to take the fall for such an egregious incident. For a catastrophe of that scale, do you really think just going back to the training camp would cut it? "When Centurion Fu told us to get the hell back to the training camp, what he really meant was that if the worst happened, he would shoulder all the blame. We wouldn't be dismissed, nor held liable; we'd only have to spend three months in the training camp, even after botching something so serious." He pulled out a lighter, lit his cigarette, and shrugged. "All right, let's get to work. Let's dig that bastard Ou Xiangrong out as soon as possible." *** Inside the conference room, Fu Qingyang stared at the woman manicuring her nails and frowned. "Li Dongze said you were injured?" Guan Ya blew on her nails, took a compact mirror from her handbag, and powdered her face as she said, "If you've got something to say, spit it out. I still have work to do." A trace of helplessness surfaced on Fu Qingyang's stern face. "Aunt called me. She wants you to return to the country next month to meet the fiancé she arranged for you." "When I came back, I made it very clear to her that I won't enter an arranged marriage for the family. Just because she was willing to be a sacrificial lamb for the family doesn't mean I am." Guan Ya snapped the compact shut with a click and said, "You Fu family folks are really boring. Qingyang, hurry up and take power so you can put those old fossils out to pasture." Fu Qingyang said in a low voice, "If you don't want an arranged marriage, show some results. Stop idling around all day and wasting your talent. The family elders only respect the strong—people like me, and like her. "How about this: I'll transfer you to another squad. Squad Three in Changtai District is quite good; they earn collective second-class merits several times a year. You can polish your résumé there, which will give me a proper excuse to turn Aunt down. "Li Dongze's Squad Two lacks talent; it's hard to make notable contributions there." Guan Ya furrowed her brows and sighed. "Squad Two really isn't living up to expectations, so it's hard to refuse... We'll see. A little guy just joined our team, quite interesting. Let me observe him a bit more." She tucked away her compact, picked up her handbag, and walked toward the door with a smile. "You'd better worry about yourself first. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it'll be an indelible blot on your record, and they'll do everything they can to keep you out of the Council of Elders. "Your cousin is leaving. Bye-bye~" *** That morning, Zhang Yuanqing walked toward the multidisciplinary building with a backpack slung over his shoulders. His schedule for today: specialized classes in the morning, and around midday and afternoon, chatting with the veteran driver—no, bonding with colleagues, fostering friendships, and expanding his social circle. Students surged in twos and threes toward the multidisciplinary building. Just as he reached the ground floor, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling his name. Turning his head, he saw Li Lesheng and several classmates. Catching up with a few other boys, Li Lesheng extended an expectant invitation: "We're planning a mixer with some girls this weekend. Want to join us? I heard you're a Songhai local." A mixer? If it was the weekend, that meant the day after tomorrow... After a brief hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing said, "Sure." Li Lesheng and the other boys breathed a sigh of relief and broke into smiles. "Then let's add each other on chat. Ha, with you coming along, I'm sure the girls will be much more eager to hang out." "Let's add each other too." "Add me as well." The other boys pulled out their phones one after another. After Zhang Yuanqing finished adding his classmates, the group walked together toward the multidisciplinary building. Li Lesheng grinned. "A girl from my hometown told me peacekeepers came looking for Xu Yingying yesterday, and she had a big crying fit in her dorm afterward." "Peacekeepers? What happened?" The boys were astonished; after all, peacekeepers seemed unimaginably distant to university students. Li Lesheng said, "I heard the rich guy keeping Xu Yingying got into trouble, but nobody knows the specifics. The peacekeepers went to her to ask about him." "Did he run off with the funds? The economy is sluggish these days, and there are way too many examples of rich people going bust," someone speculated. Listening to his classmates' gossip, Zhang Yuanqing let his gaze wander over the students coming and going. Amidst the moderately sparse crowd, he spotted a familiar figure. It was a pretty girl wearing a long white dress, her long, straight black hair draped over her shoulders, wearing delicate, light makeup. It was none other than the heroine of their conversation: Xu Yingying. She leaned clingingly against a man who wore a mask and a buzz cut. His eyebrows were sparse, and a short scar peeked above the top edge of his mask. Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted sharply. *Ou Xiangrong?!* Looking back at Xu Yingying and observing more closely, he finally noticed something amiss. Xu Yingying's expression was stiff. Though she appeared to be nestling against Ou Xiangrong's chest, it looked far more like she was being coerced, his arm hooked tightly around her shoulders.