"Brother Wang Tai? Him?"
Li Dongze almost instinctively moved to correct the young miss of the Xie family. The person whose jacket hem she was clutching wasn't Wang Tai at all; the genuine Wang Tai was standing right beside him. How could she mistake one person for another?
It was simply too awkward.
Yet a moment later, Li Dongze's expression froze. He realized that he was the one who had failed to grasp the situation.
The Xie family's eldest young miss had headed straight for Yuanshi. She hadn't spared a single glance at the other members of Team Two. Her target was unmistakably clear; there was no possibility of a mix-up.
So why had she claimed she wanted to see Wang Tai?
The playful smirk on Guan Ya's face abruptly stiffened. She glanced at Yuanshi, then at Xie Lingxi, the expression on her charming, oval face gradually draining away.
Only Wang Tai quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"What did you come to Songhai for? And why demand that Wang Tai host you?"
Standing at a meter eighty, Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the little green tea's head. Her legs looked long, but she was actually a shorty.
"I told you I'd come find you~"
Xie Lingxi hopped on the spot, speaking with delight.
She was truly a teenage girl, lithe and light on her feet—unlike a plump woman like Guan Ya, who would lose her center of gravity if she hopped like that.
"What's the point of looking for me? I told you we shouldn't keep in touch." Zhang Yuanqing looked somewhat displeased.
Xie Lingxi pouted, on the verge of tears, sounding deeply wronged.
"How can you be like this? You weren't like this to me last time! You showed me such care and tenderness, and you even took away my precious thing. Now you turn around and pretend you don't even know me!"
Li Dongze, Guan Ya, and Wang Tai scrutinized Zhang Yuanqing with startled suspicion.
If it had been Wang Tai facing such a green tea girl, his brain would have crashed on the spot. Even a normal person would feel embarrassed, awkward, and tied in knots.
Zhang Yuanqing, however, was different. After a moment of silence, he burst into laughter. Reaching out, he threw an arm around Xie Lingxi's slender waist and said, "Decurion, she was willing! Don't arrest me!"
Xie Lingxi was stunned. She only felt the hand resting on her waist—scorching hot and firm. A tingly chill surged through her heart, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson. Like a startled rabbit, she sprang back.
"Y-You..." For a moment, words failed her, her watery eyes glaring at Zhang Yuanqing.
Seeing this, Li Dongze and Guan Ya, being Scouts, looked thoughtful.
Having neutralized Xie Lingxi's antics, Zhang Yuanqing finally explained, "We met playing video games together last night."
Li Dongze had a sudden realization. He instantly remembered that Zhang Yuanqing had posed as Wang Tai. If the young miss of the Xie family had also been a walker who entered Jinshui Amusement Park that night, then the scene before them made perfect sense.
She wasn't looking for Wang Tai at all.
At that moment, the real Wang Tai glanced at the Decurion. "Since she isn't looking for me, can I go now? Decurion, I still have research to do."
Xie Lingxi finally noticed him. Hearing his words, she found it hard to understand why this plain-looking man didn't seem downcast in the slightest, showing neither resentment nor dissatisfaction.
Instead, there was even a faint hint of relief and happiness?
Xie Lingxi's eyes darted slightly. Adopting a delicate, fragile posture, she said in a soft, gentle voice, "You must be the real Brother Wang Tai. It's so nice to meet you. Please don't be angry! Brother Yuanshi tricked me, which is why I mistook you for him."
Wang Tai responded with utter seriousness, "I'm not angry. In fact, I'm a little bit happy."
Xie Lingxi: "???"
Li Dongze cleared his throat. "All right, let the driver take you back first."
Wang Tai disliked socializing; there was no point in forcing him to stay.
Once Wang Tai left, Xie Lingxi ushered the three of them to their seats and instructed the waitstaff to serve the meal.
At the table, she addressed them as 'Big Sister' and 'Big Brother' at every turn. Her pure, sweet looks and soft, tender voice quickly won Li Dongze and Guan Ya's strong favor.
"Brother Yuanshi, do you belong to the White Tiger Battalion, or another faction?"
"White Tiger Battalion. I like the White Tiger."
"Mm-hmm! I heard our ancestor say that the White Tiger Battalion has the strictest discipline. Although they have a lot of rules and sometimes seem rigid, they're the most reliable in the Five Elements Alliance."
"You're just flattering us on purpose, aren't you?"
"How could I? Brother Yuanshi always assumes the worst of people." Xie Lingxi cast him a petulant glance before continuing to chat. "Apart from the White Tiger Battalion, the purest is the Scarlet Fire Gang. But our ancestor doesn't like the people from the Scarlet Fire Gang—he thinks they're too crude and short-tempered. Brother Yuanshi, do you know what the Scarlet Fire Gang's emblem was before the Five Elements Alliance was formed?"
"No."
"It was a minotaur!"
"What?"
"The Scarlet Fire Gang considers themselves descendants of Emperor Yan. Emperor Yan is the Shennong clan, who had the head of an ox and the body of a man. I heard that before the Five Elements Alliance was formed, members of the other four factions often used that to tease the Scarlet Fire Gang. The best way to infuriate a Fire Master was to shout right in their face: 'Death to the cuckold minotaurs!'"
Li Dongze coughed violently. Looking at Zhang Yuanqing, he solemnly warned, "Miss Xie is joking. No need to bring up old history—never say things like that recklessly."
"What happens if someone says it?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"You'll be beaten to death."
*Then what would happen if I substituted it with 'The pure love warrior arrives uninvited'?* Zhang Yuanqing picked up a tender slice of stir-fried beef and seized the opportunity to ask a question that had puzzled him for a long time:
"I remember character cards are distributed at random. Why are there Spirit Realm walker clans?"
Xie Lingxi took a sip of freshly squeezed coconut juice, tilted her head, and said sweetly, "Brother Yuanshi, have you ever heard of 'profession inclinations'? Different professions have different inclinations. For example, Fire Masters are usually irascible, impulsive, and reckless."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
Xie Lingxi smiled cheerfully. "Character cards pick their owners. Hot-tempered people have the highest chance of receiving a Fire Master character card; gloomy, sullen people are more likely to get Water Ghost; and evil criminals get evil professions.
"Then, the profession also influences personality. The hot-tempered become even more hot-tempered, and the gloomy become even gloomier. If two Fire Masters have a child, do you think the child's chances of being hot-tempered are high? Over the long run, clans gradually formed.
"Even so, within a Spirit Realm walker clan, not everyone is able to get a character card."
Zhang Yuanqing came to a sudden realization. He thought to himself: *Then why was I verified for the Night Wanderer character card?*
*What are the traits of the Night Wanderer profession? Wicked, eerie, and noble?*
The banquet soon came to an end. The four of them had enjoyed a fairly pleasant meal and lively conversation.
Li Dongze tactfully took his leave, but Xie Lingxi took hold of Zhang Yuanqing's arm and said coquettishly, "Decurion Li, lend him to me for a little while! I'll have someone send him back later."
Seeing Li Dongze hesitate, she quickly clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.
Who could refuse a young girl like that? Li Dongze gave a slight nod. "No need to trouble yourself, Miss Xie. I'll have the driver wait downstairs at the hotel. Yuanshi, remember to call me when you're done."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded and watched Guan Ya and Li Dongze leave.
Only after their figures vanished through the entrance of the revolving restaurant did Xie Lingxi wrinkle her nose and huff, "With a chest that big and a butt that round, she's clearly a vixen who specializes in seducing men!"
Inside the elevator cabin, Guan Ya sneered.
"Young in age, but heavy on scheming. Do young girls nowadays reek this strongly of green tea?"
Before a Scout, any disguise was futile.
Leaning on his cane, Li Dongze stroked his mustache. "She harbored some hostility toward you, yet seemed quite fond of Yuanshi. In addition, she appears to want something from Yuanshi and deliberately sent us away."
Throughout the meal, the girl had constantly praised Guan Ya's beauty and figure, asking with an admiring face: *Sister Guan Ya is so pretty, you must have dated so many boyfriends, right?*
Guan Ya rolled her eyes.
"She's no match for Yuanshi. When it comes to scheming, Yuanshi is far deeper than her."
Guan Ya had been inside Zhang Yuanqing's room and checked his computer. Beneath that cheerful, optimistic exterior lay an aloof, solitary heart.
With her abilities as a Scout, however, she wouldn't have been able to tell from appearances alone without checking that private information.
As for Xie Lingxi, she had seen through the girl's inner nature at a glance.
There was a clear difference in their levels.
*You sounded so close and well-behaved just now when calling Guan Ya 'Big Sister.'*
Zhang Yuanqing dropped his act as well and frowned. "What did you come to Songhai for? You didn't come all this way just to find me, did you?"
Xie Lingxi stuck out her tongue and said playfully, "I came to Songhai on behalf of my family to visit an old acquaintance. Has Brother Yuanshi heard of the Palace of Halting Slaughter?"
*The Palace of Halting Slaughter? The one full of lunatics?* Zhang Yuanqing gave an affirmative grunt. "Naturally, I know of it."
"The family that palace master belongs to has a generations-long relationship with the Xie family. Later, due to an upheaval, that family declined, and the two families lost touch as a result." Xie Lingxi sighed with emotion. "Who would have thought that this Palace Master of Halting Slaughter would rise so fiercely in recent years, becoming a high-tier Spirit Realm walker, and re-establish contact with the Xie family?"
*If I remember correctly, the Palace of Halting Slaughter possesses high-tier items of the Musician profession, and many members within the organization are Musicians. The Xie family is also a Musician clan.* Zhang Yuanqing understood at once.
Xie Lingxi giggled. "I have one more matter to take care of in Songhai, but I need Brother Yuanshi's permission first."
"What is it?"
"Before Ashamed to Be a Father died, didn't he ask you to pass a message to a friend?" Xie Lingxi asked timidly. "Could you let me come along too?"
"Your reason?"
"I don't like owing favors. He didn't tell me because he suspected I came from an official organization, but the truth is, you're the official member." Xie Lingxi pressed her lips together.
"So you want to keep an eye on me." Zhang Yuanqing gave her a sidelong glance. "You actually knew I was Yuanshi Tianzun all along. Making such a fuss about meeting Team Two and demanding that I host you was because you were afraid I'd reject you in private, so you wanted to give me a reason I couldn't refuse."
Ashamed to Be a Father was clearly wary of official organizations. The final request he made on his deathbed couldn't be entrusted to an official member, yet he hadn't known that Yuanshi Tianzun belonged to the Five Elements Alliance.
If handled poorly, it would be leading a wolf into the fold.
Having her intentions laid bare, Xie Lingxi wore a face full of admiration. "Brother Yuanshi, you really are amazing!"
Chapter 65