Malice

"Ryo-chan?" Seeing Asano Ryo staring wide-eyed at him, Ryuzaki Hajime frowned and reprimanded her in a stern tone, "What kind of attitude is that? Do you think just because you've become a Saint, you no longer need to respect your teacher and the Dao?" "Ah, no, no..." Asano Ryo snapped back to reality, her unfocused pupils regaining clarity. Looking at her teacher, she stammered, "Sen... Sensei, Yu... Yuanshi Tianzun invited me to join his faction." As she spoke, she pointed at the dialogue box floating in midair. Ryuzaki Hajime froze, then leaned forward sharply, his face flushed with excitement. "Yuanshi Tianzun invited you to join his faction?" He repeatedly glanced above Asano Ryo's head. Though he couldn't see anything, he knew where the dialogue box had to be. Asano Ryo nodded vigorously, testing the waters cautiously. "Sensei, should I accept?" "Of course accept!" Ryuzaki Hajime's voice pitched up abruptly, adopting a tone bordering on an order. "Accept! Accept immediately!" He had just been agonizing over having no way to contact Yuanshi Tianzun, only for the man to extend an invitation to Ryo-chan out of the blue. This was heaven's will! Asano Ryo breathed a sigh of relief and chose to accept. She had wished for nothing more, of course, but hadn't dared to make the decision on her own without asking her teacher. Who would have thought he would be even more anxious than she was? Once Asano Ryo accepted Yuanshi Tianzun's invitation, Ryuzaki Hajime quickly asked, "What is the faction's name? How many members? Open the faction warehouse and let me see." He possessed an intense curiosity and desire to probe into that young genius from the mainland. "The faction is called 'Return of the Dead.' There are only four members. The faction warehouse..." Asano Ryo's eyes suddenly went round, and she stammered, "S-So many items..." *Only four members...* Ryuzaki Hajime pondered for a few seconds, a smile appearing on his stern, rigid face. "Few faction members means his standards for recruits are high, and he values each one. Items are faction benefits. In our country, items are scarce resources, but for you, you won't be lacking them from now on. "Ryo-chan, this is your opportunity, and perhaps an opportunity for the Thousand Cranes Group as well. Work hard and cultivate this relationship well." Asano Ryo straightened her back and gave a crisp "Hai!" She knew that although the Thousand Cranes Group took orders from the Heaven's Punishment organization, leaders throughout its history had always dreamed of casting off that leash. No one wanted to be a lackey forever. Paying lip service on the surface while playing both sides in the shadows had always been the Thousand Cranes Group's enduring policy. The Thousand Cranes Group might not necessarily need to call upon this connection with Yuanshi Tianzun, but there were some things you might never use yet could never afford to be without. "However, I still didn't get Yuanshi Tianzun's contact information," Asano Ryo said distressfully. The Spirit Realm lacked any system for private messaging. "The organization will find a way to get Yuanshi Tianzun's phone number." Ryuzaki Hajime rose impatiently, a broad smile spreading across his face. "I'm going to report this matter to the head." *** "Faction members can't send private messages to each other—that really sucks. The Spirit Realm system needs an update." Zhang Yuanqing washed his hands, stepped out of the bathroom, and returned to the living room. "Huh? Where did the two of them go?" Guan Ya and Queen were nowhere to be seen; only Xie Lingxi remained in the living room, directing the workers installing the training equipment. "Sister Queen went back to the hotel to fetch her luggage, and Sister Guan Ya went back to her maiden home," Little Green Tea said sweetly. *Maiden home?* Zhang Yuanqing was stunned for a second before realizing she meant Fu Qingyang's mansion. "How do you know about Fu Qingyang and Guan Ya's relationship?" "It's not a secret. I asked my family to check..." As soon as Xie Lingxi said it, she probably felt that having someone "investigated" didn't fit her persona of innocent and naive, so she quickly changed her tune. "During the arena tournament, my mother came to watch the matches too. I just happened to mention it in passing, and Mother went and checked." *No need to explain; an explanation is just a cover-up...* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. Recalling that Little Green Tea hailed from a Spirit Realm clan, his heart stirred, and he casually asked, "I recruited an overseas Spirit Realm walker, but I don't have her contact info, and the faction system doesn't have a private message function. It's a bit of a headache." He believed this tender, endearing little sister would take the initiative to share her older brother's burdens. "A male member or a female member?" Xie Lingxi asked. *Is that the point? Grasp the point of what I'm saying!* Zhang Yuanqing replied, "About your age." While he was speaking, Xie Lingxi had already opened the faction warehouse to view the member roster. "Asano Ryo... Oh, the one you met during the killing trial?" Xie Lingxi had seen the official score rankings; blessed with an excellent memory, she immediately recalled the name. The little green tea tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "If you want to contact a faction member, the faction warehouse is the only way. Brother Yuanshi, you could leave a note or something." "A paper note isn't a Spirit Realm item; it can't be put into the warehouse," Zhang Yuanqing reminded her. The little green tea chuckled mischievously. "I have a way!" With that, her pupils lost focus as if staring into empty space. After a dozen seconds or so, she produced a voice recorder pen and said, "You can use this." Zhang Yuanqing took the black voice recorder and read the item's info: [Name: Voice Recorder] [Type: Electronic Device] [Function: Voice Recording] [Description: Can record sound and retain it for three hours. Sound at the Transcendent stage retains 100% of its power, while sound at the Saint stage retains 50% of its power.] [Remarks: It loves rap and expects its user to share the same passion.] "This is an item I borrowed from our Ancestor's warehouse," Xie Lingxi said. "Remember to return it when you're done, or the Ancestor will blame me—even though he looks down on low-level items now." All Spirit Realm walkers of the Xie family were members of the Ancestor's faction, and she was no exception. Members of the Xie family had the right to apply to use items stored in the faction warehouse once a month, though limited to items matching their own stage. Zhang Yuanqing nodded, lifted the voice recorder, and recorded his voice: "Yo, yo, my phone number is..." The sound abruptly choked off. Zhang Yuanqing stared quietly at the little green tea. The latter wore a sly smile. "Oh, that's just how this item is. Nobody usually wants to use it." "..." The corner of Zhang Yuanqing's face twitched as he continued rapping: "189... "Use this item to tell me information on the Miller family of the Heaven's Punishment organization, yo, yo..." Finished, he put the voice recorder into the faction warehouse. He hoped that once Asano Ryo saw the voice recorder, she would catch on to his intentions. Otherwise, Zhang Yuanqing would have to consider whether to kick this brainless island girl out of the faction. *** Thousand Cranes Group, Vice Head's office. Sitting on her knees beside the table, Asano Ryo had been relishing reading through the item properties, occasionally exclaiming "Sugoi!" Suddenly, she noticed an extra item had appeared in the warehouse—a black voice recorder pen. "Ah, another new item?" Full of curiosity, she examined the voice recorder's attributes, just like a girl shopping who tirelessly browses bags and clothes. After reading its attributes, she immediately realized this was an item Yuanshi Tianzun was using to communicate with her. She promptly applied to the faction master for permission to use the item. Sure enough, right after she sent the application, it was approved immediately. She hurried to take out the recorder pen, looked it over carefully, and pressed the cap. Yuanshi Tianzun's familiar voice came through the speaker: "Yo, yo, my phone number is..." Asano Ryo's eyes widened. After listening to the brief audio message, she pulled out her phone to jot down the number while murmuring with suppressed laughter: "The way he talks is so funny! Like a baka!" *** Fujia Bay, small-layout villa. Zhang Yuanqing held his phone in one hand and the voice recorder in the other. From the voice recorder came Asano Ryo's "yo, yo" rap, while his phone screen displayed a translation app converting speech to text: "Yo, yo... The mainstream classes in the Heaven's Punishment organization are Thunder Mage and Wind Mage, yo! Thunder Mage and Wind Mage are the names for the Transcendent stage. Founded over a hundred years ago by two powerful Thunder and Wind Dominators, with a long history... After more than a century of expansion, it absorbed the orthodox classes of two major districts, becoming the world's most powerful orthodox organization~ "Yo, yo, among the many factions within Heaven's Punishment, the Miller family ranks in the top five~ The strongest member of the family, yo, yo, was in the first batch of Spirit Realm walkers... "Probably, ah, probably~ a peak Dominator, class is Thunder Mage... Baka, this is so embarrassing... "The Miller family is a powerful family with immense capital, wielding tremendous influence across Western nations, yo, yo... The Miller family has at least six Dominator-stage experts, more than twenty Saints, and an uncountable number of Transcendents, yo~" The recording ended there. Zhang Yuanqing looked away from his phone and leaned back lazily. *At least six Dominators, more than twenty Saints... Hiss, that's equivalent to an entire Songhai branch. No wonder the Fu family is willing to form a marriage alliance with the Miller family. If I were an elder of the Fu family, I would choose marriage too... *The Fu family wouldn't necessarily look twice at an ordinary Dominator. It would take at least a Level 8 Dominator to make them give up on the Miller family. I'll have to ask Fu Qingyang later what Guan Ya's prospective fiancé is named.* He gritted his teeth in secret for a few seconds before shifting his attention back to the "Heaven's Punishment" organization. Now he knew two more overseas orthodox class names: Thunder Mage and Wind Mage. Adding "Void," "Desire," and "Knight," that made five orthodox classes in total. Comparing them against the eight domestic orthodox classes, there were at least two more overseas orthodox classes whose names remained unknown. "All done?" Xie Lingxi picked up the voice recorder pen and asked, "Should I return it to the Ancestor then?" Seeing Brother Yuanshi nod, she immediately returned the item to the faction warehouse and mocked, "What a dumb girl of our age. Brother, you already gave her your contact number—why didn't she just make a phone call?" "..." Zhang Yuanqing began seriously contemplating whether to expel Asano Ryo from the faction. "Lingxi, I'm heading over to Elder Fu's villa." "Okey-dokey!" *** Fu Qingyang's mansion, Lingjun's room. On the balcony, Zhang Yuanqing presented a thick red envelope and bowed deeply. "Please accept this small token of your student's appreciation, Teacher." Dressed in a baggy T-shirt and cropped capri pants, sitting cross-legged on a single-seater sofa with a cup of tea in hand, Lingjun sneered, "Trying to bribe me with vulgar money? You look down on Young Master Ling too much. Take it away, take it away! I don't carry such worldly junk on me. Who still uses cash these days?" "Understood!" Zhang Yuanqing stowed the red envelope, then took out his phone and sent Lingjun ten consecutive red packets in the White Tiger Guards group chat, totaling twenty thousand yuan. Lingjun accepted them in a flash, then gave a dry cough. "Very well, the matter with Annie is water under the bridge. There are plenty of fish in the sea; I'm not a petty man." Zhang Yuanqing seized the opportunity. "There are a few questions I would like to ask Teacher." Lingjun sipped the fragrant tea. "Aren't things progressing rapidly between you and Guan Ya? You don't need me drawing up strategies for you anymore. A month at most, half a month at least, and you'll be rolling into Guan Ya's bedsheets." Zhang Yuanqing whispered, "I suddenly realized that having a Scout girlfriend seems to be rather troublesome..." Lingjun quickly raised a hand to cut him off, then produced an emerald-green bead and placed it on the coffee table. In the next second, the bead radiated a jade glow, coating the room's furniture and walls in a faint layer of green. Only then did Lingjun exhale. "Don't say such things in Fu Qingyang's villa. He's an Elder now, so he eavesdrops on our conversations. Now we're fine." Having said that, he said with aching regret, "This young master warned you long ago: marry a Scout, and you can kiss sneaking around behind her back goodbye for the rest of your life. If you don't listen to your elders, you'll suffer before long. If you want to ask how to fool around with women behind Guan Ya's back, there is no solution to that." "I don't want to fool around!" Zhang Yuanqing explained. "I'm devoted to Sister Guan Ya. It's just... this feeling of being held in a complete death grip doesn't feel very good." Lingjun chuckled scornfully. "You're in the honeymoon phase right now, so your head is full of Guan Ya. Down the road, once enough time has passed, you'll want to experience other girls. "So what's the issue then?" Zhang Yuanqing lowered his voice. "Recently, I invited two female members to join my patrol team. As soon as they met, the three of them started engaging in open and covert rivalry. I feel like I can't handle it." Although he was skilled at socializing, he still lacked experience when dealing with this kind of situation. Lingjun gave him a look. "Both of these female members have feelings for you?" "Maybe a little, but not to the point of being devoted heart and soul to me." Zhang Yuanqing still had a clear read on himself. Famous at a young age, decent-looking, with a limitless future—any normal woman would hold some degree of goodwill toward him. But goodwill was just the baseline. "Remember the method I taught you? When pursuing a girl, make her feel your special favoritism. If you can make proper use of these women, you could be rolling in Guan Ya's bed within a week. "The downside of doing that is those two girls will gradually drop their expectations of you and maintain a normal relationship. As for their infighting, wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. As long as their subtle clashes stay within reasonable bounds and don't ruin surface relations, what does it matter?" Lingjun scoffed. "Absolute harmony doesn't exist. You're too young. In a few years, you'll understand that underlings secretly competing against each other is a good thing, not a bad thing—and the same goes for women. "Take your current situation: having a few pretty girls around you will give Guan Ya a sense of crisis, making her hold on to you tighter. Isn't that a good thing? Of course, you can't actually do anything with them, or your boat will capsize." Zhang Yuanqing nodded repeatedly. "So I just need to ignore it?" "On the surface, you can ignore it, but in private, you must show Guan Ya more favoritism. Only then can you maintain a positive, healthy relationship. For instance, if you have something nice, sneak it to her, or subtly badmouth the other two members in front of her." *Got it, got it,* Zhang Yuanqing thought, then told Lingjun about Annie inviting him to become a member of the Goddess of Beauty Association. "I'm not very good at handling women of that tier," he said. Lingjun was indeed an expert: "Actually, women like that are the easiest to deal with. Do you know how a goddess deals with a backup guy? Annie is basically your simp—the genders are just swapped. "To deal with a backup guy, you keep them dangling. Don't reject, don't commit, don't take responsibility; occasionally show a little concern to give them hope. Most of the time, act like a complete gentleman, but once in a while take a little advantage of her, giving her the illusion that 'this man can be won over.' "If she launches a further offensive, turn her down gently and keep stringing her along. The exact moves depend on the situation—you can text me to ask when the time comes." He could even request off-field assistance. The twenty-thousand-yuan tuition fee was well worth it. "Like... 'Hehe, I'm going to take a shower'?" Zhang Yuanqing had a sudden epiphany. Originally, he had planned to keep his distance from Annie and not give her the slightest glimmer of possibility. Now it seemed he still needed to toss out a few perks once in a while. *** Early the next morning. Zhang Yuanqing woke up early. After eating breakfast and washing up, he stepped in front of the mirror, activated his Star Eyes, and gazed at his reflection. "The Residence Palace is tinged with red and purple—a sign of good luck regarding wealth in the near future. That means my business deal today should go very smoothly. Huh? The Calamity Palace has some haze over it, which points to a bit of minor danger in the near future... Do I have a mission coming up soon?" Yesterday, Zhang Yuanqing had made an appointment with Mr. Bill to talk business, planning to buy materials from him to improve the quality of his yin corpses and spirit servants. For this purpose, he had borrowed a blank check from Fu Qingyang with a limit of thirty million yuan. As he advanced to the Saint stage, Blood Rose and the Ghost Bride were gradually falling behind in strength. As for Little Doubi, he was basically raising him like a son. For a Night Walker, spirit servants and yin corpses were always the more, the better—one needed both low-level and high-level ones. Leaving the house, he hailed a cab and arrived at the International Building forty minutes later. Under the effect of Star Phantasm, he wasted no time and passed through unobstructed into the building, taking the elevator up to the floor occupied by Ante Pharmaceutical Company. "Hello, I'm here to see Mr. Bill. I have an appointment from yesterday." Zhang Yuanqing approached the front desk and spoke to the pretty young receptionist. Dressed in an office lady suit, the girl sat there motionless with a smile on her face. Zhang Yuanqing repeated himself. Yet the girl maintained her smile, keeping her rigid seated posture like a lifeless statue. *She seems to be under an illusion...* Zhang Yuanqing sensed carefully and confirmed her heartbeat and breathing were normal, but this state was clearly aberrant. Frowning, he looked away from the girl and glanced around. Only then did Zhang Yuanqing realize that the interior of Ante Pharmaceutical Company was deathly silent—not at all like a large corporation employing hundreds of workers. While he was puzzling over this, a wave of intense malice suddenly locked onto him.