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[Sect Master Tongtian: Sounds good!] Zhang Yuanqing replied to the message with a heart full of anticipation. A dozen seconds later, his phone chimed, and the file was delivered. He could hardly wait to open it. The first thing that caught his eye was a one-inch passport photo. The woman in the picture appeared to be in her early forties, elegant and refined, neither overtly glamorous nor weak and delicate, carrying an air of clean-cut, sharp capability. However, she was not Chen Shu. Zhang Yuanqing's first reaction was that Asano Ryo had found the wrong person—that the Chen Shu in the dossier was not his mother, but merely someone who shared the exact same name. *No, that's not right. Her facial features are different, but the demeanor is far too similar. Chen Shu is just this cocky, always fancying herself a powerhouse career woman and a delicate princess all at once, ruthless and domineering in everything she does.* She had probably disguised her appearance. Yet why would an ordinary person need to disguise herself? Even if she had crossed paths with spirit realm walkers, she was supposed to be nothing more than a peripheral figure. Zhang Yuanqing read further down, and understanding dawned at once. The files indicated that Chen Shu was the professional manager and public head of a civilian organization called the Relief Society, virtually in charge of all of the organization's external publicity and business dealings. Heaven's Punishment regarded Chen Shu as merely a front-facing puppet because she was not a spirit realm walker. However, Heaven's Punishment had yet to uncover the backing power or the supreme experts lurking behind her. As for the Relief Society itself, the organization currently boasted two confirmed Dominators, fourteen Saints, and several Transcendents. Based purely on the strength it displayed in broad daylight, it was already an A-tier faction. Here in the Freedom Federation, non-governmental organizations were classified into four tiers. From lowest to highest, they were D, C, B, and A. D-tier factions possessed two or more Transcendents, consisting mostly of street gangs. C-tier factions possessed two or more Saints, mostly taking the form of well-run, profitable corporations. B-tier factions possessed a Level 6 Saint alongside multiple Level 4 and 5 Saints, typically found among small investment firms and financial consortiums. A-tier factions possessed one or more Dominators. Zhang Yuanqing stared at the dossier, reading it over and over as a single thought echoed through his mind: *Is this my mom? Is this really my mom? No, it has to be someone with the same name, right?* *My mom can't possibly be this badass!!* Inside the restaurant, noise buzzed as patrons bustled back and forth, coming and going in droves. Zhang Yuanqing sat slumped in his corner, utterly dazed for quite some time. This was nothing like what he had imagined. In his mind, his mother was supposed to be a wanderer who had fled across the ocean to escape enemies, carrying the avatar capable of resurrecting his dead father. Relying on her sharp wit, business acumen, and the general knowledge of spirit realm walkers she had learned from her late husband, she was supposed to have made successful contact with the spirit realm walker community in the relatively progressive First District, running a decent little enterprise of her own. At her core, she was still supposed to be an ordinary person. Yet the Chen Shu described in these files was no peripheral figure at all. She was practically a grand boss among spirit realm walkers, the chief chieftain in a nest of bandits. Fortunately, Zhang Yuanqing was a seasoned veteran who was used to staying calm in a crisis—the type who would snap a picture and post it to his Moments before doing anything else. He quickly reined in his emotions and let his deductions unfold. *Chen Shu is definitely an ordinary human; there's no doubt about that. If she were a spirit realm walker, the Palace Master wouldn't have kept it from me, and Heaven's Punishment isn't stupid either. The assessments in Heaven's Punishment's official files are quite accurate.* *As an ordinary mortal, there's no way my old lady could build such a massive organization from scratch. Someone must be propping her up. And anyone capable of backing an A-tier organization has to belong to either an official faction or the evil camp. What kind of overseas connections does Chen Shu have?* *...I've got it. So it was you, Mr. President.* This was an easy conclusion to reach. The President met virtually every single requirement. He was the powerhouse behind Chen Shu, and Chen Shu was merely his public representative. In addition, Zhang Yuanqing remembered something else. Fu Xue had once told him that a civilian organization in the Freedom Federation called the Relief Society wanted to sponsor him, though Zhang Yuanqing had decisively turned down the offer. Turns out his old lady had just been trying to send him some pocket money? Fu Xue and his mom actually knew each other? What a small world... Zhang Yuanqing exited the messaging app and opened the Bounty Hunter app, scouring the Silver and Bronze bounty boards for any missions related to the Relief Society. Disappointingly, the organization kept a rather low profile. After searching for a long time, he found no relevant tasks. Instead, he unexpectedly came across a bounty connected to himself: #Investigate the Killer of the Rooster Bar Homicide# *Was this posted by Heaven's Punishment, or the Biological Alchemy Society? What a shame it's a Silver-tier mission that I can't take yet. Otherwise, I could play a round of killing myself as the werewolf...* Zhang Yuanqing tucked his phone away and stood up, walking toward the counter. "Check, please." That afternoon, he accepted two bounties: one for debt collection, and another to wipe out a street gang operating in Queens. After gunning down the gang members, the Spirit Realm deducted two hundred Morality Points from him. By five in the afternoon, the taxi he was riding in ground to a dead halt in the rush-hour traffic. *This gridlock is absurd—worse than Songhai. If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken a cab. Traveling five kilometers took half an hour. The commuters in New York must have top-tier bladders,* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. *Good thing mine isn't bad either.* At six in the evening, the taxi finally arrived in Chinatown and turned onto the main avenue. Along the way, Zhang Yuanqing spotted several police cruisers parked along the curb alongside an ambulance, surrounded by a massive crowd of Chinese onlookers with a scattering of Black and white locals among them. *A street brawl?* Zhang Yuanqing rolled down the window and leaned out to look. Thanks to the heavy traffic, the taxi crawled at a snail's pace. He happened to catch sight of two officers carrying a stretcher out of a tenement building. A white sheet draped over the stretcher, but a bluish-black arm hung out from underneath. *Wait... That's a sign of a corpse mutating.* Zhang Yuanqing's brow furrowed instantly. As a Night Walker, zombies and wronged ghosts fell right under his domain. The corpse on the stretcher was shrouded in lingering resentment, with yin qi coiling deep within its flesh and blood. If that resentment were not purged and the yin qi dispelled, it would turn into a yin corpse within three days. *Is someone refining yin corpses in Chinatown?* As the ambulance and police cars gradually fell behind, Zhang Yuanqing pulled back his gaze and paid no further attention. *Beep, beep~* Zhang Yuanqing keyed in the passcode and stepped into the apartment. Inside, he found Annie dressed in yoga attire, sitting on a soft mat in the living room performing a full split to stretch her flexibility. Members of the Desire class occasionally had to engage in combat, making regular workouts essential to keep the body nimble and active. "Sect Master, have you eaten yet?" Annie arched her chest and lifted her chin, deliberately showing off her supple lines, her face practically shouting: *Look at me, hurry up and look at me.* Lately, Annie had been trying her hardest to cultivate an ambiguous, flirtatious atmosphere in hopes of sparking some romance with Mr. Yuanshi. However, the current Yuanshi Tianzun was no longer the man he used to be; he could manipulate emotions at will, making it effortless to quell his desires. With her charm abilities thoroughly suppressed, she found herself completely helpless. Sure enough, Zhang Yuanqing remained totally immune to her allure. Putting on the air of an overbearing CEO, he said, "Annie, pick a charity tomorrow and help me donate one million federal dollars. I took out a crew of mobsters today, and two hundred Morality Points just vanished into thin air." With that, he walked into the bedroom, locking the door and shutting the window behind him. Zhang Yuanqing propped his phone up on the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, and dialed a video call to Guan Ya. The phone rang for over a dozen seconds before Guan Ya sluggishly answered. She was soaking in a bathtub, her bare shoulders gleaming like silky milk as her lovely eyes fixed on the camera. "That face of yours is hideous. I want to see Yuanshi Tianzun," she said, furrowing her brows. Zhang Yuanqing reverted to his true appearance with a smile. "Missed me?" Guan Ya beamed playfully. "I can't afford to miss you. Every time I think of you, my head fills with pixelated scenes!" Shifting into a more comfortable position, she leaned over the edge of the tub and hummed, "You brat, waiting this many days before calling. Did the Desire women in New York make you lose track of time?" Zhang Yuanqing shared everything that had happened over the past few days, telling her about his Bounty Hunter missions and his interactions with the landlady's family. They chatted for half an hour until Guan Ya was ready to rinse off, at which point she hung up. Taking advantage of his official girlfriend heading off to shower, Zhang Yuanqing dialed another video call to Auntie Magic. On the screen appeared Xiao Yuan's pale, delicate face and strikingly radiant features. She remained as mature, aloof, and captivating as ever, though a faint wisp of melancholy lingered between her brows, like lilacs fresh after the rain. The annihilation of her motel team had left an agonizing scar deep in her heart. At times like this, one had to be grateful for time, for only time could heal all wounds. "I missed you, but I didn't dare think of you," Zhang Yuanqing said, his tone and gaze gentle as water. Xiao Yuan's voice was soft and quiet. "Why?" "Because whenever I think of you, my head fills with pixelated scenes," Zhang Yuanqing replied. That cold, pale face instantly melted like spring snow, softening with tender affection. "How has it been for you abroad?" In the end, Xiao Yuan was not Guan Ya; she had no interest in trading dirty banter with him. Zhang Yuanqing repeated the mundane details of his recent life once more. Xiao Yuan listened patiently. Once he finished, she shared her own recent developments with her lover. She and Kou Beiyue were now settled in Songhai, serving as Fu Qingyang's informants. They had become avengers in the shadows, trailing the movements of the Southern Sect and the Dark Night Rose. "Beiyue has grown much more steady, and much quieter. I'm glad to see him mature, even if it had to happen this way," Xiao Yuan sighed softly. After chatting for a dozen minutes, the call concluded with Zhang Yuanqing's heartfelt, affectionate profession of love. Finally, he dialed a video call to the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter. Unlike Guan Ya and Xiao Yuan, she answered almost instantly. A figure clad in a crimson dress appeared on the screen. The Palace Master rested her chin on her hand, her eyes curved in crescent smiles as she gazed into the lens. "My, I was just about to call you. Doesn't this mean our hearts beat as one?" Zhang Yuanqing cast a sidelong glance at the crescent moons beneath her mask and snorted. "Palace Master, let's not beat around the bush—" "I know you want to sleep with me." "?" Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, snapping in exasperation, "Cut the clowning around. I've got serious business." Refusing to give her another chance to tease him, he asked, "That teleportation scroll of yours—did the demigod President of the Merchant Guild give it to you?" "Nope, your mom did," the Palace Master admitted readily. *My mom gave it to you? Bullshit, who's her actual child here?!* Zhang Yuanqing asked in a deep voice, "I've been looking into Chen Shu lately and got some leads. Tell me, back when my severe headaches started and Chen Shu took me abroad for treatment, did she ask the Merchant Guild for help?" The Palace Master chuckled. "You already know the answer." Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment before saying, "So the true mastermind behind the Relief Society managed by Chen Shu is the President of the Merchant Guild." The Palace Master nodded. Zhang Yuanqing let out a sigh. "I get it now." That explained why his mother knew Mr. Bill from the Merchant Guild, why Mr. Bill had always harbored good will toward him, and why Bill had even sold him the Perfect Human Skin. Looking back, it really hadn't made sense. Even though he had already made a name for himself back then, he had still been in the Transcendent stage. Even if the Merchant Guild wished to invest in him, there was no way they would directly invest a causality-type item. The President was not only an old acquaintance of Zhang Zizhen, but also Chen Shu's boss. The ties between the Merchant Guild and his family ran far deeper than he had ever imagined. Three days passed in a flash. While others were awakened in the morning by alarms, Zhang Yuanqing was startled awake by the loud bickering of his landlady. Kicking aside the duvet, he padded barefoot out onto the balcony, only to realize he had forgotten to close the window the previous night. Zhang Yuanqing poked his head out and saw the landlady quarreling with the breakfast shop owner and his wife down below. Fighting one against two, she handled them with effortless ease. Dressed in her nightgown with her hands on her hips, her spit-flying bravado was truly an iconic sight in Chinatown. This was already the fourth time Zhang Yuanqing had watched the landlady argue with the neighbors. At first, he had paid attention to find out what had sparked the dispute, but later he realized that the landlady didn't need a reason to pick a fight at all. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she went to war. Dressed in their school uniforms, Cao Chao and Cao Qianxiu stood off to the side enjoying the show, watching their mother conquer the neighborhood. Occasionally, a couple of street kids passed by, lingering to drop a few bars of rap to hype up the show. Right then, Cao Qianxiu looked up from the street and caught Zhang Yuanqing's eye. She looked back down, fished out her phone, and tapped out a message. A few seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing's phone chimed. He walked back to the nightstand, picked it up, and checked the screen. [Cao Qianxiu: Tonight at eight o'clock, I'm taking you on your trial mission. If you pass the assessment, you'll be an official member of the Anti-Black and White Alliance. Make sure you clear your schedule. I'll brief you on the test details when I get back from school.]