Saturday, eleven in the morning.
Zhang Yuanqing woke up with a yawn, his eyes bleary with sleep. Ever since becoming a Night Wanderer, he couldn't fall asleep at night, staying up through the dark hours playing video games, which left him listless and constantly dozing off during the day.
Two days had passed since the spirit questioning that night. Li Dongze and Guan Ya were frequently out, taking part in operations to hunt down Hei Wuchang and his subordinates.
This put Zhang Yuanqing’s combat training on hold.
Originally, according to Li Dongze's plans, Guan Ya was supposed to train Yuanshi in hand-to-hand combat next. Given a Night Wanderer's physical conditioning, picking up the basics of fighting in a short time would not have been difficult.
However, because of the Holy Grail and the roster, the training had to be postponed; after all, Team Two was short on personnel.
Zhang Yuanqing had once asked Li Dongze about those teammates who had never shown their faces, but the Decurion's expression had turned awkward at once, as though he had something difficult to discuss.
The considerate Yuanshi Tianzun did not press the matter further.
In addition, Wang Qian from the Palace of Halting Slaughter had agreed to become his informant, proving surprisingly cooperative and showing great awareness.
Due to the Ou Xiangrong incident, management at Songhai University had suddenly tightened. The school authorities barred resident students from going out at night, so the social mixer was put on the back burner as well.
After a quick wash, seeing that Grandma hadn't finished cooking lunch yet, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom and began teasing the infant spirit.
Right now, he was arranging a zhuazhou ceremony for Little Doubi. Once his experience surpassed fifty percent, both the purity and density of his Lunar force had increased, and he had noticed that the infant spirit, nourished by Lunar force, experienced a slight boost in intelligence.
Zhang Yuanqing laid out textbooks around the chubby, cute infant spirit: mathematics on the left, Chinese on the right, English in front, and physics behind.
"Your master is immensely talented and deeply learned. You can't lag behind either. Pick one."
Little Doubi opened his dark, bead-like eyes and tilted his head in thought for a long while before finally grasping Zhang Yuanqing’s meaning. Then, vigorously paddling all four limbs, he scrambled toward the physics textbook.
"Oh, what a promising child—"
A smile had barely blossomed on Zhang Yuanqing’s face when he saw the little guy bypass the physics textbook entirely and hug the PS5 console. Unable to touch physical matter, he fell flat on his face with a flop.
"Good-for-nothing creature, you're nothing like me!" Zhang Yuanqing scolded indignantly. "When I was your age, I could already compose poetry in seven paces!"
Sigh! He let out a disappointed breath. If he wanted to boost the infant spirit’s intelligence and nurture him into a proper talent, he would have to master the Night Wanderer's skill for raising ghosts.
That meant leveling up.
Counting the days, his second Spirit Realm mission was almost due as well.
After lunch, Zhang Yuanqing walked into his bedroom, poured warm boiled water into a mug, opened his bedside drawer, and took out a white medicine bottle.
"Honestly, I've been so busy lately that I forgot to take my meds. It's already overdue by two days..."
Muttering to himself, he tipped the bottle and shook out several small pills into his palm.
Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing froze.
Wait, I’m two days overdue, so why hasn’t my old ailment flared up?
My condition was clearly getting worse, and the episodes were supposed to come more frequently. There was no way it could be delayed.
Is it because I became a Night Wanderer, and my physical constitution changed?
"Come to think of it, ever since advancing to Night Wanderer, I haven't had a single episode. Could it be cured?" A surge of joy welled up inside him, but uncertain, he decided to test it out.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and visualized his father’s hazy face in his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, his heart thudded loudly. His brainpower boiled over, and all sorts of chaotic noise poured into his mind as shattered images resurfaced.
Yet in the next moment, the noise grew orderly, and the images were no longer fragmented.
No, it wasn't that the sounds and images had turned orderly—his brain’s capacity to process information had simply grown stronger.
He heard his uncle dancing in his own living room to the tune of "Jianbing Guozi."
His aunt was in the bedroom watching a TV drama, complaining every now and then: "Too loud, keep it down."
From the kitchen came the clatter of Grandma washing dishes.
The bed downstairs was creaking rhythmically. Analyzing the impact sounds, Zhang Yuanqing could proudly conclude that the lady of the house was lying on her stomach.
His brain continued processing information...
"Guan Ya always carries an indescribable confidence, and the Decurion seems rather courteous toward her, distinctly different from how he treats Wang Tai and me... When I brought up those absent team members, the Decurion's expression was one of embarrassment and helplessness... Musician Wang Qian’s sudden change in attitude is somewhat strange; yesterday, he looked down on me..."
"Little Doubi has an unusual affinity for Auntie. Auntie, Auntie..."
Right then, the bedroom door was pushed open, instantly shattering Zhang Yuanqing’s profound, enigmatic trance.
"Come on, accompany me to the mall!" Jiang Yu'er called out sweetly.
Today she was dressed in a knee-length pleated skirt, white sneakers, and a loose, light-blue blouse. With her sweet and cute features, she looked distinctly Mori-style and very demure.
That Jiang Yu'er was a hot commodity in the matchmaking market was largely due to this well-behaved appearance.
Confident men felt a pretty, docile girl would be easy to handle, while men with low self-esteem felt that getting along with such a beauty would be stress-free.
Zhang Yuanqing stared dumbly at his aunt, and two streams of warm blood suddenly shot from his nose.
***
Songhai Airport.
Inside a business van parked in the underground garage, Fu Qingyang had waited for a long time. Frowning, he dialed his assistant's number.
Once the call connected, he asked in a deep voice, "Why hasn't he come out yet?"
He had come to pick him up from the airport. The flight had landed an hour ago, yet his assistant still hadn’t brought the man out.
Centurion Fu's time was precious; how could it be wasted on such petty trifles?
"Centurion, he..." The assistant lowered his voice and said, "He hooked up with a beauty and refuses to leave the airport, saying he wants to cultivate mutual feelings..."
A vein throbbed on Fu Qingyang's forehead. "Tell him: either he comes out on his own, or I go in and drag him out."
The assistant acknowledged the order and promptly hung up.
A few minutes later, the assistant led a young man into the underground garage, walking toward the business van.
The young man wore loose off-white trousers and a light-blue unlined shirt. With every step, his clothes fluttered with immense grace. He had handsome features, his smiling eyes half-squinted, exuding a bone-deep indolence.
Approachable, lazy, and harmless.
That was the impression the young man gave.
Fu Qingyang remarked coldly, "Worthy of the Young Master. Wherever you go, women throw themselves into your arms."
This Young Master, who shared equal fame with him, was true to his reputation—a thoroughbred playboy. His father was the Taiyi Sect Master, hailing from an illustrious background. Coupled with his own extraordinary talent, the bevy of beauties flocking around him was beyond count.
If he were merely lustful, he naturally would not have been ranked alongside Fu Qingyang. The reason he was jokingly dubbed the Young Master was that he understood women very well and held an excellent reputation among them.
Faced with the sarcasm, Ling Jun narrowed his eyes with a smile. "Don't put it so vulgarly. Beautiful women are works of art. One must savor them carefully and understand them gradually to discover their beauty. This is elegance."
Fu Qingyang frowned. "Because of your elegance, you wasted an hour of my time and delayed serious business."
"Brother Qingyang, life isn't just about careers; there are many wonderful things worth discovering," Ling Jun smiled with squinted eyes. "I am already aware of the Deceitful Eye Judge matter and will assist you fully. Father cares very much about the Deceitful Eye Judge’s death."
"Why?" Fu Qingyang looked at him.
"The timing of his death was very close to that of the Demon Lord. Father suspects there is a connection between the two."
"Why is the Sect Master obsessed with the Demon Lord's death and obsessed with finding the Demon Lord's successor?"
"Because before he died, the Demon Lord left behind a very important item inside his character card."
"What item?"
"I can only tell you that the item represents the ultimate; it represents the essence of the Spirit Realm."
***
Runfa Mall, bubble tea shop.
Zhang Yuanqing, carrying shopping bags large and small, sank into a seat. He picked up his glass and took a deep pull of the iced milk tea, letting out a satisfied sigh.
He instantly felt revived.
Accompanying his aunt to the mall was not primarily an ordeal for the body, but torture for the mind.
Fortunately, the attractive figures of the young ladies around helped relieve that fatigue. Sipping his milk tea, Zhang Yuanqing found himself in quite a good mood.
He had confirmed one thing: his strange condition had genuinely improved.
Besides the lower frequency of episodes, triggering his old ailment deliberately had become easier, and most importantly, the headaches, nosebleeds, and other symptoms following an episode had lessened.
Perhaps in the future, he could freely control this state of overflowing brainpower—then he wouldn't even need Wang Tai's help to write papers anymore. Hehe.
No, that's too unprincipled... Zhang Yuanqing hastily drove the tempting thought from his mind.
"Sigh, this month’s salary isn't enough again," his aunt lamented.
Zhang Yuanqing shot her a sidelong glance and scoffed, "When has your salary ever been enough? Everything you spend is Grandpa and Grandma's money."
His aunt was still an intern doctor with a pitifully low salary, yet she never lacked luxury goods. Most of her expenses were footed by Grandpa and Grandma.
Grandpa and Grandma had substantial savings. Their eldest daughter was successful in her career, and their eldest son had married a wealthy wife; neither lacked money, so the savings were left for their youngest daughter to squander.
Pouting, Jiang Yu'er put on a pitiful face and said, "Yes, yes, who told your aunt to be useless? Since I can't make money, I can only lean on Daddy with all my might."
While chatting, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out his phone and habitually logged into the official forum to see if there were any interesting posts.
The official forum had two major functions: one was for officials to post important announcements and information; the other was to provide a space for Spirit Realm walkers across the country to communicate and share intelligence.
In Zhang Yuanqing’s eyes, browsing the forums was a quick way to broaden his horizons.
Soon, a thread caught his eye:
#A Large Number of Brand-New A-Rank and S-Rank Spirit Realms Appear for Night Wanderer Class; "Disappearances" Observed Among Official Night Wanderers Everywhere#
Chapter 43