The attachment was a spreadsheet. Once the download finished, Zhang Yuanqing opened it. The document was ten pages in total, one page per year. The page with the highest count had 2,300 people, while the one with the lowest had 1,600.
From 1990 to 2000, the total number of Night Walkers in the Taiyi Sect had never even exceeded 2,500.
For a territory spanning millions of square kilometers and a population of over a billion, Night Walkers were indeed exceedingly scarce by this proportion.
Of course, the number of wild Night Walkers was nothing to sneeze at either, but compared to the total population, they were still a rarity.
Staring at the spreadsheet, Zhang Yuanqing pondered quickly:
“For now, I can't be sure whether that Night Walker among the Shadow Twins was official or wild. The screening has to be done step by step.
“The Compass of Light appeared in 1998. Back then, all four members of the Xiaoyao Organization—the Scorching Sun and Shadow Four—were peak Dominators. Between 1990 and 2000, the Taiyi Sect had nine peak Dominators. Six of them returned to the Spirit Realm before 1998, so they couldn't have participated in the fight over the compass. They probably aren't the shadow Night Walker.
“The three who were still alive are Grand Elder Red Sun Executioner, Elder Tongling, who runs the training camp, and Elder Sea of Stars, who commands the patrol units.
“I should start by screening these three. The Xiaoyao Organization vanished over twenty years ago, so only the old-timers would know about that history. Who should I ask? Yuan Ting is definitely out. He's too young to know about events from that far back.
“Besides, knowing his style, before he even found out anything about the Dominators' past, news that Yuanshi Tianzun was digging into the Dominators would spread across the entire Taiyi Sect first.
“Ask Fu Qingyang? I found out about the Xiaoyao Organization from him last time. If I ask again now, I'll seem far too interested. Fu Qingyang is a Scout—what if he reads something from my expression…
“Tsk, Scouts are seriously annoying.”
Zhang Yuanqing found himself in a bind. He didn't dare ask the elders about the Xiaoyao Organization, yet only those old-timers would know such bygone affairs.
Have Sun Miaomiao ask her grandfather?
That wasn't safe either, but if push came to shove, he could give it a shot.
Just then, Guan Ya walked out wrapped in a bath towel.
“Half an hour. I thought you went in there to have a baby,” Zhang Yuanqing said, glancing over before turning his attention right back to the computer.
“If you insist on putting it that way, you're not wrong. At least the procedure was right—it's just that your count was a bit high.” Guan Ya smiled playfully, stepping on the gas and waiting for Yuanshi to join in the dirty banter.
To her surprise, the little rascal who had been ravenous just a while ago was completely ignoring her charms. He didn't banter with her at all, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the screen.
At this stage of romance, women often felt like the most important sweetheart in their boyfriend's world, unable to stomach the slightest neglect.
Even if she shouldn't provoke this fearsome Night Walker if she wanted to walk properly, Guan Ya—having just tasted the joys of intimacy—still felt a surge of petulance: *Even if I'm afraid of getting shagged, it doesn't stop me from getting mad!*
“Brat, what could possibly look better than me?”
“I'm looking for an old acquaintance, but I don't know where to go from here,” Zhang Yuanqing admitted, sharing his dilemma with his girlfriend. “I want to investigate discreetly, but outside of official channels, my personal avenues are pretty limited.”
“Red Sun Executioner… You're checking the Taiyi Sect's elders? You suspect the leader of Dark Night Rose is among them?” Guan Ya frowned. Yuanshi was making a bold guess.
“Something like that.” It wasn't easy to explain, so Zhang Yuanqing gave a vague reply.
Without another word, Guan Ya walked over to the wardrobe and picked out a skirt, a soft long-sleeved top, and a pair of black lace stockings.
Sitting on the edge of the bed without taking off the bathrobe, she slid her long, pale legs into the skirt, slowly drawing it up to her waist. “Why don't you ask Ling Jun?”
Zhang Yuanqing blinked.
Guan Ya glanced at him, turned around, and shrugged off the bathrobe, revealing her flawless, fair back. She quickly pulled on the long-sleeved shirt, turned back around, and said:
“Ling Jun is the Sect Master's biological son and grew up in the Taiyi Sect. In terms of seniority, youngsters like Yuan Ting, Yin Ji, and Zhao Chenghuang can't compare to him. Besides, the guy is carefree and holds no official post. He has a good relationship with you too, so leaking a few secrets to him won't hurt.”
Zhang Yuanqing fell into thought.
Guan Ya raised her feet, slipped them into the black lace, and slowly rolled it up beneath the skirt. “Wait, you're not looking for the leader of Dark Night Rose, are you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have subconsciously avoided Ling Jun and tried to investigate on your own.”
Zhang Yuanqing offered a wry smile. “Sister Guan Ya, I really have no secrets in front of you. How am I supposed to cheat on you in the future?”
Guan Ya's eyebrows shot up, and she let out a cold laugh. “Go ahead and cheat. Let's see if I don't castrate you for eternal peace.”
“Your Chinese has improved quite a bit lately.”
“Li Chunfeng suggested the strategy.”
“Sounds like he doesn't care much for his salary…” Zhang Yuanqing picked up his laptop, walked over to the bed, captured her luscious crimson lips, and kissed her deeply, parting with a lingering strand of saliva. “I'm off to find Ling Jun.”
***
In the large villa, inside Ling Jun's room.
Dressed in knee-length shorts, Ling Jun stood in front of a full-length mirror, holding a comb and styling his messy, ear-length hair.
Suddenly, dreamlike starlight spiraled up, and Zhang Yuanqing materialized from within it.
“You rarely come straight to my room,” Ling Jun said, continuing to groom his messy locks, completely unfazed by Zhang Yuanqing's arrival. “What needs to be kept from Fu Qingyang?”
“Has no woman ever told you that an untamed, unruly hairstyle is your most charming look?” Zhang Yuanqing asked with a smile, holding the laptop.
“As a heartthrob, it's only natural to hope that every facet of myself can capture a lady's heart.” Ling Jun tucked the small wooden comb into his pocket and turned around.
“You have fifteen minutes. I'm getting ready to head out and have dinner with my beloved.”
*How many relationships have you been in during these few months in Songhai? As a local, I have to condemn this behavior…* Zhang Yuanqing complained inwardly, though his face beamed with warmth. Placing the laptop on the table, he said:
“Instructor, let me ask you something. Have you ever heard of the Xiaoyao Organization?”
“I've only heard of Li Xiaoyao.” Ling Jun shrugged.
*Do you think you're funny?* Zhang Yuanqing groaned inwardly before explaining:
“It's like this. Didn't I take down that Dark Night Rose spy back at Qinfeng Academy? That guy had an item called a 'Compass of Light' shard.
“You've heard of the Compass of Light, right?”
Ling Jun gave an “oh.” “The thing a bunch of Dominators and demigods beat each other's brains out over back then?”
The battle for the Compass of Light was no secret among the top brass of major factions; many knew about it, though very few knew of its prophecy.
He sighed. “I heard the previous Grand Marshal of the White Tiger Guards died in that fight. My stallion of an old man took part too. Pity his skull was too thick—nobody managed to beat his brains out.”
With that, he sighed again, sounding deeply disappointed.
“That item is very interesting. I returned it to the President later and asked him about the battle back then. From him, I learned about the Xiaoyao Organization.” Zhang Yuanqing didn't give him a chance to keep spouting nonsense and pressed on:
“The President said the Xiaoyao Organization made off with a huge piece of the compass shard and vanished without a trace afterward. He also mentioned that the organization had four members in total, two of whom were Night Walkers.
“I became quite curious about this, so I wanted to look into it.”
This was Zhang Yuanqing's old trick: pass the buck to an important figure and frame his motive as simple curiosity.
While not particularly clever, to Ling Jun, this was just gossip completely unrelated to himself. No one would dig deeper into it.
Sure enough, Ling Jun gave an understanding nod.
“So you want to ask me who in the Taiyi Sect belonged to the Xiaoyao Organization? How would I know? I've never even heard of them.”
Zhang Yuanqing immediately told Ling Jun about his suspects and reasoning, showing him the spreadsheet on the laptop.
To his surprise, the moment Ling Jun laid eyes on the spreadsheet, his gut reaction was:
“You actually managed to get a member roster of the Taiyi Sect spanning ten whole years… Did you sleep with Sun Miaomiao? Otherwise, how would she dare steal Elder Sun's account to take this information?”
“How did you know it was Sun Miaomiao?” Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.
Ling Jun scoffed.
“You only know so many Taiyi Sect members. Yuan Ting's clearance is too low, and Yin Ji is prudent. Between Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang, Elder Zhao would never share his account with anyone, not even his descendants.
“Heh, need I say more?”
*This guy acts completely frivolous on ordinary days, but he's razor-sharp underneath. No wonder Fu Qingyang calls him trash—he possesses immense talent, yet only cares about chasing women…* Zhang Yuanqing offered a dose of flattery:
“Instructor is truly brilliant!
“Though I didn't sleep with Sun Miaomiao. That's not the point.”
Ling Jun shook his head repeatedly, chuckling. “No, no, no, you are the point. Guan Ya knocked out my front tooth back in the day. Ever since then, I wondered what unlucky bastard would marry a tigress like that—he'd probably be beaten until he spent every day searching for his teeth. I hope you can fulfill your teacher's childhood wish.”
“I didn't come here to do a comedy routine with you.” Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched.
“Fine, let's talk about this Xiaoyao Organization.” Ling Jun pondered for a moment.
“I think you guessed wrong. Grand Elder Red Sun Executioner accompanied my stallion father to seize the Compass of Light back then, so it definitely isn't him.
“Elder Tongling likes holing up in the training camp's corpse-refining grounds with those yin corpses. Elder Sea of Stars commands the patrol units and has spent decades wandering all over the place.
“Those two are more likely. But peak Dominator-level Day Wanderers can be counted on one hand. If my old man saw a peak Day Wanderer competing with him for the Compass of Light, what do you think he would have done?”
“He would definitely investigate the Day Wanderers within the sect right away.” Zhang Yuanqing understood.
And if they drew the scrutiny of the era's strongest Night Walker, the two elders would hardly have been able to keep hiding their identities. Of course, it was also possible that the Taiyi Sect Master had indeed done so back then and successfully ferreted out the shadow Night Walker without outsiders ever finding out.
Zhang Yuanqing voiced his hypothesis.
Ling Jun merely shrugged. “No idea. I wouldn't know anyway.”
“Then do you think the Night Walkers in the Xiaoyao Organization could have been wild rogue cultivators?” Zhang Yuanqing asked.
“Unlikely.” Ling Jun gave a slight shake of his head.
“You should know that the quality of civilian Spirit Realm walkers is far below that of official walkers because they lack resources and dungeon guides. If that's true now, it was even truer over twenty years ago.
“Back then, dungeon guides were even scarcer. If you said a single peak Day Wanderer emerged among the rogues, I might believe it. But two of them appearing in the same era and ending up in the same organization? The odds are far too low.
“In 1998, the Taiyi Sect had three peak Dominators. Among the civilian ranks, there could have been at most one. Reaching two was simply impossible.”
*Makes sense…* Zhang Yuanqing nodded quietly.
In the world of Spirit Realm walkers, there was a hierarchy of disdain that mirrored the idea that the ancient surpassed the modern.
Ancient practitioners were considered superior to Spirit Realm walkers, and earlier Spirit Realm walkers were held above those who came later.
This was because the walkers of the past had no guides; they forged their paths by staking their lives. Those who could rise to high ranks in that barbaric era were genuine heavyweights.
While Zhang Yuanqing was lost in thought, Ling Jun, who had little interest in the matter, scrolled through the spreadsheet with the mouse and sighed:
“So many familiar Spirit Realm IDs. A few of them even held me when I was little. Pity they've all returned to the Spirit Realm. Time is a blade that slashes through every genius.
“It was precisely because I saw through the true nature of being a Spirit Realm walker that I decisively gave up leveling up, gave up power, and dedicated myself wholly to finding a life partner… Huh?”
*A bed partner, you mean!* Just as Zhang Yuanqing was ridiculing him in his mind, Ling Jun suddenly let out a gasp of surprise.
“What is it?” Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked.
Ling Jun's brows slowly knitted together. “Why isn't my Seventeenth Brother's Spirit Realm ID here?”
Chapter 458