"What happened?" Zhang Yuanqing already had a guess.
"A battle broke out between Spirit Realm walkers over here in Fenghui District. One is dead, and one is injured. We need you to come perform a spirit questioning."
Li Dongze's background was noisy, as if people were arguing.
Sure enough, it was for spirit questioning. The Decurion certainly wouldn't be calling him for backup in a fight, and he couldn't help with much else anyway—after all, he was still just a greenhorn.
"What about Fenghui District's Night Wanderer?"
The Taiyi Sect assigned a Night Wanderer to every major district in Songhai. Kangyang District had Yuan Ting.
Naturally, Fenghui District had one as well.
"The deceased is a Witch Doctor. Witch Doctor spirit bodies are notorious for being vicious, erratic, and sinister, and this one was rather unusual... The risks of Spirit Devouring are relatively high. The Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderer is unwilling to take the risk, which led to a dispute with our colleagues here in Fenghui District," Li Dongze said, his tone low and grave.
As he spoke, the shouting on the other end of the line grew even fiercer.
A Witch Doctor's spirit body? Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted at the news. Over the past few days, he had read quite a bit of occupational dossier material. In terms of mental strength, Night Wanderers and Illusionists tied for first place, followed closely by Witch Doctors.
This would grant him a ton of experience.
Still, Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "The Taiyi Sect is an official organization as well. This falls well within their scope of duty. Isn't there anyone who can keep him in line?"
Even if there were risks, anyone enjoying official benefits and perks ought to do their job instead of idling around and collecting a paycheck.
"The Taiyi Sect is different from the Five Elements Alliance. Night Wanderers are exceedingly scarce. Their Council of Elders is based in the capital, and the Night Wanderer captains across the various districts are all of equal rank," Li Dongze said with exasperation.
Filing a complaint was certainly an option, but a report would have to be submitted all the way to the capital; no one in Songhai had direct jurisdiction over them.
A formal complaint would follow later, of course, but the urgent task at hand took precedence.
Moreover, due to the ferocity of a Witch Doctor's spirit body, Night Wanderers from other districts would hardly risk themselves for an incident outside their own jurisdiction.
At a time like this, the importance of the Five Elements Alliance having its own Night Wanderer became glaringly obvious.
"I'll be right over," Zhang Yuanqing said.
Just then, he faintly caught a voice over the speaker: "Li Dongze, this approach of yours is inappropriate. Desperate as I am for a spirit questioning, he's still only Level 1—"
The voice abruptly cut off as Li Dongze hung up.
Zhang Yuanqing set his phone down. The seasoned vixen swiveled her office chair around and said with a grin:
"Judging by the voice, sounds like Li Yuanfang from Team Two... Team Two in Fenghui District hasn't scored any merits in ages, and their performance has been dead last for a while. That's why the Night Wanderer assigned there puts on such airs."
*Li Yuanfang? What a name!* Zhang Yuanqing quipped internally.
Guan Ya added, "The captain of Fenghui District's Team Two also belongs to our White Tiger Battalion."
She shot him a flirtatious wink.
She was dropping a hint for him to foster good relations with the middle management of the White Tiger Battalion and build up some favors... Zhang Yuanqing wore a complicated expression as he said, "Sister Guan Ya, you're treating me so nicely. Could it be that you've fallen for me and want an old cow to graze on tender grass?"
*Pfft!* At the adjacent desk, Wang Tai spat out a mouthful of water.
He stared at his two colleagues in utter horror. *When did they get together? How did I miss it completely?!*
"Old cow?" Guan Ya's willow brows arched in fury, a blue vein throbbing on her fair forehead. Biting her plump lower lip, she growled, "Yuanshi, I believe we still have time for a sparring match before the Decurion's car gets back."
"I was wrong!" Zhang Yuanqing knew when to bend.
***
The black business vehicle pulled into the Fenghui District Public Security Bureau. Through the window, Zhang Yuanqing saw Li Dongze waiting outside the office building, leaning on his cane.
After Zhang Yuanqing got out, the two exchanged nods before heading into the building together.
A few minutes later, they arrived outside the morgue.
In the spacious, brightly lit corridor outside, seven or eight Spirit Realm walkers were gathered. Zhang Yuanqing glanced across them casually, guessing their professions from their appearances and demeanors.
*Bulging muscles, looks irritable—definitely a Fire Master... What's with the bird perched on that guy's shoulder? Ah, the Decurion said Wood Demons from Baihui love animals... That one with the wooden, blank expression is unmistakably an Earth Monster...*
Every one of these Spirit Realm walkers looked indignant.
Finally, Zhang Yuanqing looked toward the middle-aged man walking up to meet them. The man appeared to be around forty, with sunken eyes, an aquiline nose, and thin lips, projecting a sharp and stern aura.
"Let me introduce you. This is the captain of Fenghui District's Team Two, a Level 3 Scout whose Spirit Realm ID is Great Tang Li Yuanfang." A faint smile touched Li Dongze's lips as he introduced the man's handle.
"Li Dongze, you'd love nothing more than to introduce my Spirit Realm ID to everyone you meet every single day," the middle-aged man sighed. Turning toward Zhang Yuanqing, a smile cracked his austere face. "Years ago, I was obsessed with historical dramas set in the Tang dynasty, so I picked that name. You must be the new Night Wanderer recruited by our White Tiger Battalion. So young, and truly a fine talent."
*I wonder if there's someone named Di Renjie out there. If the two of you ever crossed paths, it would be terribly awkward—no, hilarious...* Suppressing a chuckle, Zhang Yuanqing shook the man's hand warmly, greeting him deferentially as Captain.
This widened the smile on Li Yuanfang's face. "It's still best having our own Night Wanderer."
After sighing with feeling, he continued, "You've heard what happened from Li Dongze, right? My apologies—the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderer stationed in Fenghui District refused to perform the spirit questioning. Left with no other choice, we had to turn to you for help."
A muscular young man snorted coldly. "Even if devouring a Witch Doctor carries risks, it's hardly fatal. Don't we face risks fighting on the front lines against evil professions? The Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers are always so haughty and condescending. Every time we ask them for help, it's as though we're begging on our knees!"
The young man with the bird on his shoulder smiled. "That's why our own people are the best."
Li Yuanfang waved a hand, cutting off his subordinates' grumbling. After a brief pause, he said, "Although Li Dongze vouched for you, I still must warn you: a Witch Doctor's mental strength is exceptionally powerful, chaotic, and frenzied. Furthermore, the deceased was a Level 3 Witch Doctor.
"His residual spirit body is extremely dangerous. Are you confident?"
The team members turned their gazes toward Zhang Yuanqing at once, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "No problem. I'm confident."
The Fenghui District Spirit Realm walkers beamed with delight. Li Yuanfang's expression softened slightly, his gaze carrying an extra measure of approval.
"Thank you for the trouble," he said with a nod.
Li Dongze promptly led Zhang Yuanqing into the morgue and shut the door behind them, barring the Fenghui District colleagues who were itching to watch.
Leaning on his cane, Li Dongze walked over to a steel gurney and pulled back the white sheet covering the corpse.
Upon seeing the body underneath, Zhang Yuanqing was startled, a look of astonishment crossing his face.
The corpse had dark green short hair and coarse, tough, dark brown skin. Thick calluses like armor plating covered his elbows, knees, and other joints. His fingernails were ink-black, sharply curved at the tips and imbued with potent venom.
The skin on his face was dark brown as well. His dilated, lifeless pupils were vertical slits like a serpent's, set in amber irises.
Resting one hand on his cane, Li Dongze explained, "Witch Doctors in the Transcendent stage possess two primary methods. First is raising gu, using venomous insects to kill without a trace. Second is gu assimilation, where they gain an ability based on the characteristics of a gu insect, thereby boosting their close-quarters combat capabilities—such as regenerative healing, vitality, strength, speed, toxicity, and so forth."
Zhang Yuanqing remarked, "Sounds formidable. As expected of an evil profession."
It was worth mentioning that among indigenous Spirit Realm professions, Witch Doctors, Illusionists, and Bewitching Demons were the top tiers, standing shoulder to shoulder with Night Wanderers.
Because of this, there were only three evil professions, and their numbers could not compare with the official Spirit Realm walkers.
Li Dongze said, "He was killed while assimilated with his gu, which is why his body remains in this state. Heh, not an elegant death in the slightest. Precisely because he fused with a gu insect, his spirit body is brimming with ferocity and bestial instincts, causing tremendous mental pollution. That is why the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderer refused to touch him."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
He had the Demon-Subduing Pestle protecting him, so he had no fear of mental pollution.
Li Dongze continued, "The one who clashed with him was also a Witch Doctor. When our people arrived, they killed this one, while the other fled wounded. Preliminary suspicions suggest this man might be a member of the Spirit Society, or perhaps a subordinate of Hei Wuchang.
"Let's make good use of our time and see what clues we can uncover. I imagine the Team Two colleagues outside are growing impatient."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. He accessed his inventory, retrieved the Demon-Subduing Pestle, and handed it to Li Dongze. Then he stepped beside the humanoid corpse and roused the residual mental power slumbering within the body.
A translucent figure drifted upward, its face dazed yet laced with ferocious madness and malice.
*Even more chaotic than Ou Xiangrong's spirit body... I want to devour it, yet I don't...* Zhang Yuanqing sighed inward. A thick, viscous black light welled up in his eyes, swallowing his irises. Opening his mouth, he inhaled the spirit body into his belly.
A sharp pang throbbed between his brows as countless turbulent memories flashed through his mind.
These memories were shattered and disjointed. Through a mix of observation and deduction, Zhang Yuanqing pieced together portions of the deceased's life.
Before becoming a Spirit Realm walker, this Witch Doctor had been an unemployed hooligan with a penchant for violence. He had worked as an enforcer collecting debts for usurious finance firms, bounced at nightclubs, orchestrated badger games, forced migrant women into prostitution, and more.
Despite committing every evil imaginable, he had lived comfortably and luxuriously.
By some twist of fate, he caught the favor of the Spirit Realm, received a character card from the heavens, and became a Spirit Realm walker.
He gave himself the ID 'Desperado.' After becoming a Spirit Realm walker, he threw himself into charity work; once he accumulated enough Morality Points, he would slaughter ordinary people and rape women to vent the malice in his heart.
These broken, disordered memories were painful for Zhang Yuanqing to process. His worldview was severely shaken, and a callous contempt for all life began to fester inside him.
Just then, he extracted the crucial memory he sought.
Inside an extravagantly decorated tearoom, a man whose upper face was concealed by a silver mask sat beside a round glass table, sipping tea from a ceramic cup.
Looking across the table at 'Zhang Yuanqing,' the masked man spoke:
"Deceitful Eye Judge is dead. The position of President of the Spirit Society's Eastern District branch belongs to Master and no one else. After years of rivalry between the two Vice Presidents, the dust has finally settled."
"How did Deceitful Eye Judge die?" Zhang Yuanqing heard his host's voice ask.
"That is not for you to know." The silver-masked man's gaze turned sharp and piercing.
"My apologies, Deacon."
The masked man's gaze softened, and he poured him a cup of tea. "Hei Wuchang went into hiding with the Holy Grail and the roster. The Holy Grail is a rule-based item of the Witch Doctor profession, its importance self-evident. As for the roster, it gathers all the servants Deceitful Eye Judge subjugated over the years.
"Whoever controls the roster controls a vast number of Spirit Realm walkers. Both items are of utmost importance. Desperado, our chance to earn merits has arrived. Help Master track down Hei Wuchang and consolidate the power of the Eastern District branch, and we will be able to rival the Five Elements Alliance's Songhai branch."
"Then Deacon, what should I do?"
Desperado's breathing quickened slightly, his tone laden with excitement.
"I have a list of Hei Wuchang's subordinates. Search according to the list, and you may find where he is hiding. Of course, the people on this list have long gone underground. Their IDs are 'Unchecked Rampage,' 'Heaven Is Unjust,' 'Gramps Kills Without Blinking,' and 'Luscious Young Matron.' Their corresponding real-world identities are..."
Chapter 40