Disaster of Bloodshed

"Judging by your expression, it seems something bad has happened." Guan Ya had just cut a piece of steak and brought it toward her lips, but seeing his look, she quietly set it down. The captains seated around the table also tacitly abandoned the thought of eating and turned their attention to Fu Qingyang. "I just received word that a squad in Chaomen District was slaughtered," Fu Qingyang said, his voice heavy. Qingteng's expression shifted slightly, and she blurted out, "How could..." Zhang Yuanqing asked in a deep voice, "Was it Lust Divine General?" The expressions of everyone else turned solemn at once. The southeastern coastal region had always been relatively stable. Not once since joining the organization had they ever encountered an incident as egregious as an entire squad being butchered. "The specifics are still unclear." Fu Qingyang rose to his feet with a cold expression. "Everyone, come with me into the field. We're going to the scene." Amidst the scraping of high-backed chairs, the group around the conference table stood up and followed Fu Qingyang out of the meeting room. Zhang Yuanqing waved over the bunny girl who was holding his phone and instructed, "Cut up Guan Ya's steak and pack it in a takeout box for me." The bunny girl immediately carried the plate away. Zhang Yuanqing caught up with the others. The group waited in the living room for a few minutes before three black business vans slowly drove up and stopped in front of the villa. Fu Qingyang led the captains across the courtyard toward the entrance. Zhang Yuanqing waited for a dozen seconds until a bunny girl hurried over holding a takeout container. "Mr. Yuanshi, your steak!" "Thanks!" Zhang Yuanqing took the box and dashed outside. By this time, Fu Qingyang and the others had already gotten into the vehicles, watching him through the windows. Through the glass, Jiang Jingwei saw Yuanshi Tianzun holding the container and heading straight for her van. Her eyes lit up, and she happily reached out. "Yuanshi, did you bring food for me?" Unexpectedly, Yuanshi Tianzun replied, "It's not for you. Going hungry for a few meals won't hurt a kid." With that, he climbed into the van. With everyone present, Fu Qingyang said in a flat tone, "Depart!" The three business vans swiftly pulled away from Fujia Bay Villa. In the middle van, Zhang Yuanqing handed the takeout box to Guan Ya, who was sitting upright and proper, eyes fixed straight ahead. Only after he nudged her waist twice with the box did Guan Ya turn her head, complaining playfully, "What are you doing? Don't make an exception for me. With so many people watching, it's so embarrassing..." She seemed a bit shy. Like Zhang Yuanqing, the seasoned teaser was actually sorely lacking in experience in certain matters, scarcely better than an innocent girl. "You didn't have lunch." Zhang Yuanqing set the box on the seasoned driver's lap and smiled. "I only care whether you're hungry or not. Pay no mind to what others think." Guan Ya's eyes instantly softened, and the smile on her lips widened. She teased, "Quite the improvement!" Zhang Yuanqing gazed into her beautiful eyes and said softly, "Only because it's you..." A faint blush rose on Guan Ya's cheeks. "Cough, cough, cough..." In the back row, Li Dongze coughed vigorously like a consumptive patient. The Decurion stared out the window and said in a grave voice, "Mind the influence you're having!" Zhang Yuanqing held his tongue. Guan Ya picked up a small silver fork and took delicate bites of the sliced steak. Seated beside Li Dongze in the back, Jiang Jingwei kept pawing at Guan Ya's shoulder. So Guan Ya took a bite herself and then turned back to feed Jiang Jingwei a bite, finishing the steak before long. Night fell, and the light pollution of the metropolis replaced the sunlight. The city's liveliness did not wane just because the sun had set; vehicles flowed like rivers, and pedestrians on the sidewalks streamed like brooks. More than half an hour later, the three vans drove into an apartment complex. Several official constable cruisers were parked below the building. Zhang Yuanqing stepped down from the van, looked up at the high-end apartment building, and frowned. "Here?" With an entire squad killed, he had assumed it would be an official spirit walker branch office. From the look of it now, had the squad uncovered an evil class's hideout? The one capable of wiping out an entire team was most likely Lust Divine General. But how could Lust Divine General be discovered by an ordinary squad? If it was a deliberate trap... that seemed improbable. After all, if a suspected hideout of Lust Divine General had been discovered, multiple Deacons would have teamed up to investigate, or Fu Qingyang would have been notified directly. Full of doubt, he followed behind Fu Qingyang, took the elevator, and arrived at the incident floor. The entire floor had been sealed off. Red police tape was strung across the hallway and elevator exits, and constables armed with live ammunition guarded every access point. Just as they stepped out of the elevator, a refined, middle-aged man came forward to greet them. "Elder Fu!" The man wore a suit without a tie, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. Fine crow's feet lined the corners of his eyes, and his gentle, scholarly demeanor carried an air of easygoing unruliness. Zhang Yuanqing appraised him for a few seconds and judged his class—a Wood Demon! If he had worn a tie, kept his collar buttoned, and looked stern and humorless, he would be a Scout. If he wore only a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, three buttons undone at the chest, and untamed, messy hair, he would be a Fire Master. The Five Elements Alliance's five mainstream classes were easy enough to distinguish. "Deacon Wan!" Fu Qingyang gave a slight nod, his expression heavy. "Please lead the way." Deacon Wan made an inviting gesture and led the group down the hallway into a room cordoned off by police tape. It was a two-bedroom apartment, quite stylish and roughly a hundred square meters in total. The living room decor was upscale, with the sofa, coffee table, and home appliances visibly expensive. Notably, the living room furnishings were neat and orderly, with no signs of a struggle. Deacon Wan walked straight across the living room and turned the knob to the bedroom door. Inside, the air conditioner hummed, blowing cold air. Lying on a double bed covered in light blue sheets was a woman in her early thirties—mature and beautiful. Her lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling in fear and resentment, death having frozen her final expression in time. Bruised choke marks lingered on her pale, slender neck. Deacon Wan said in a low voice, "Her name was 'Deepwater Queen.' She was a captain under my command, and this is her home." Fu Qingyang, Guan Ya, and Li Dongze—all three Scouts—quietly surveyed the bedroom's decor. Fu Qingyang's face remained impassive, but his tone sounded grim. "Tell us everything that happened in detail." Deacon Wan nodded and recounted, "This afternoon, the Chaomen District Public Security Bureau received a distress call reporting a woman crying for help next door, and the caller claimed to have seen a stranger entering and leaving the residential building. Deepwater Queen reported it to me and led her squad to check it out. "Only after investigating did they find it was a false alarm—just a young couple arguing. After reporting back to me, she returned home. "Tonight, the northern branches compiled all intelligence on Lust Divine General. I called an impromptu meeting for my captains, but I couldn't reach Deepwater Queen no matter what. "I brought a team over to check on her, only to find she had already been murdered. Sensing something was terribly wrong, I immediately tried to contact her squad members. In the end, all six were out of reach. I reported the matter to Elder Jinghong, obtained the residential addresses of the six squad members from him, and sent people over. Only then did we learn that every one of them had been killed..." His face showed deep grief and fury. Fu Qingyang looked toward the woman's corpse on the bed and asked, "Have you examined the body?" Deacon Wan's cheek twitched. "Raped and murdered! This is definitely Lust Divine General's handiwork—that son of a bitch." Fu Qingyang pondered for a few seconds and deduced, "The distress call was just a cover. Lust Divine General must have been nearby at the time and marked Deepwater Queen and her squad. Once the commotion died down and they went home, he followed the marks to their doorsteps to slaughter them. "Lust Divine General is provoking the Songhai Branch. He wants to show us what happens when we target him." "Arrogant!" Dajiba growled under his breath. "Arrogant!" Jiang Jingwei roared along, the two Fire Masters instantly resonating in their fury. None of the official spirit walkers present looked pleased; their faces were etched with a mix of wrath and dread. They knew that if someone of Divine General caliber set their sights on them, they would hardly stand a chance of survival. Guan Ya frowned. "Deacon Wan, you were still too lax. Lust Divine General is not like Hei Wuchang, who only cares about hiding and making illicit deals." *If a Divine General at the peak of the Saint stage shamelessly goes out of his way to hunt down Extraordinary spirit walkers, there's simply no defending against it. They have countless ways to unearth the addresses of low-level walkers. Sigh, this is the advantage of having nothing to lose. Destruction is always easier than upholding order. But with Lust Divine General raising such havoc, the Elders won't tolerate his existence any longer...* Zhang Yuanqing spoke up, "It couldn't be guarded against. Unless every team in the Songhai Branch went on a collective strike, they'd still get baited. A Level 6 Saint who abandons all bottom lines is an absolute nightmare to deal with." At that moment, Fu Qingyang retrieved a pair of black gloves from his pocket, walked to the bedside, and said, "Look away, everyone!" *He's going to examine the body?* Zhang Yuanqing and the others hurriedly turned their backs. Roughly a dozen seconds later, Fu Qingyang's voice came from behind. "That's enough." He stripped off the gloves and tossed them into the trash bin, saying with a cold face, "Lust was very careful. He left behind no bodily fluids." *No bodily fluids left behind...* Zhang Yuanqing quietly dropped the idea of summoning the Red Dancing Shoes. "Elder Fu, didn't you say that if Lust dared to kill, you could find him?" Jiang Jingwei, blunt and impatient as ever, urged, "Why haven't you made a move yet? Were you just boasting?" Fu Qingyang's austere expression froze for an instant. "I was just about to prepare." Zhang Yuanqing hastily interjected, "Jingwei, don't rush. Elder Fu has his own plans." *This girl really can't compare to a single strand of Yuanshi's hair...* Fu Qingyang stepped toward the bedside and opened his palm. A surge of black mist rolled out, and in his palm appeared a miniature sky lantern about the size of two hands. It was framed by delicate bones, with paper replaced by human skin as thin as a cicada's wing. At the bottom rested a shallow dish. Strangest of all, the miniature sky lantern was semi-transparent throughout, resembling a holographic projection rather than a physical object. "Is this a Night Wanderer class item?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. Fu Qingyang gave an affirmative "Mhm." and explained, "This item is called the Grudge-Seeking Lantern. Using the deceased's lingering spirit body as its flame, it will guide me to the killer before the spirit body burns out. Most aura-concealing items cannot shield against it. It is an essential tracking item used by the Taiyi Sect." At this point, he cast a glance back at his trusted subordinate. "Obtained in exchange for the guide to Mute Village." *Large organizations truly possess immense resources. This thing is quite nice. Too bad I already have the Red Dancing Shoes, or I'd throw a tantrum to get one from the branch...* Zhang Yuanqing mused to himself. Bailong, Qingteng, and the others looked overjoyed. With this item, they could swiftly pinpoint Lust Divine General. Fu Qingyang extended his hand and positioned the Grudge-Seeking Lantern over the center of Deepwater Queen's brow. A silent black flame leaped up from the shallow dish at the base. The black flame burned, filling the withered human-skin lantern. Slowly, the Grudge-Seeking Lantern floated upward, passed straight through the ceiling, and rose rapidly. Fu Qingyang commanded, "None of you can fly, so wait here for me. Yuanshi, read my countenance." Zhang Yuanqing immediately opened his Star Eyes and examined Fu Qingyang's facial features. *His Virtue and Fortune Palaces are radiant and bright, indicating smooth sailing in his career in the near future... His Labor Palace is gray, showing a heavy workload ahead... The Calamity Palace shows no issues; he won't run into danger...* Zhang Yuanqing said, "Elder Fu is under great fortune lately. There is no danger." Fu Qingyang nodded, opened the bedroom window, and transformed into a streak of white light that vanished into the sky. In the blur of his departure, Zhang Yuanqing faintly caught sight of an ethereal wisp of sword qi beneath his feet. *I hope Fu Qingyang succeeds and takes down Lust Divine General...* Zhang Yuanqing thought, shifting his gaze toward Guan Ya. With an incident like this taking place, checking whether his colleagues were facing any imminent disaster of bloodshed was an absolute necessity just to be safe. Guan Ya's countenance was normal. Jiang Jingwei's was normal. Bailong's and Qingteng's were normal too. But when he looked at Li Dongze, his face abruptly changed. Between Li Dongze's eyes, a bloody light hung over the top, signifying an impending disaster of bloodshed. Not just him—Tang Guoqiang and Dajiba were likewise shrouded in bloody light, both facing imminent bloodshed. Meanwhile, black qi permeated the center of Deacon Wan's brow, indicating he would suffer an injury soon. *Then what about me?* With a grim face, Zhang Yuanqing looked toward the vanity table beside the window and saw his own face reflected in the round mirror surrounded by cosmetics. The space between his brows was shrouded in bloody light! *This... Did Fu Qingyang fail to kill Lust Divine General?* *Is everyone present—except Guan Ya and the other women—destined to die?!* Zhang Yuanqing stood frozen, never expecting such an outcome. His mind raced frantically. *Every male here will encounter mortal danger, yet the women face none. What's the difference between the two? Right—those women will be staying at Fu Qingyang's villa in the coming days, protected by Fu Qingyang.* *Whereas we, who lack that protection, will suffer bloody calamities... Every man present has been targeted by Lust Divine General?!* Realization struck Zhang Yuanqing like a thunderbolt, and he blurted out in shock: "This murder is also a cover—Lust Divine General is nearby!"