I have to admit, being around her really is comfortable, Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself.
It was like looking at a female version of himself—good-looking, capable, and sweet-talking.
He pondered for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. "Since it's just passing along a message, I can take you with me."
Though the girl was acting a bit like a tail, it was understandable given that they didn't know each other inside out. Her concerns were reasonable. At least it showed that while Xie Lingxi was rather sly and manipulative, she was someone who repaid kindness.
"Thank you, Brother Yuanshi," Xie Lingxi smiled radiantly, then composed herself and said seriously, "I remember he told you to find someone named 'Master Wuhen.' Before coming to Songhai, I looked into him, but found no relevant information."
Zhang Yuanqing hummed in agreement. "There's nothing in the Five Elements Alliance's database either. However, if this 'Master Wuhen' were an ordinary person, Ashamed to Be a Father wouldn't have avoided you as an 'official.' I suspect Master Wuhen belongs to an evil profession."
Both of them had considered this, which was why after "logging off," they had separately used their own channels to investigate the person.
Xie Lingxi's eyes sparkled with the joy of having her guess validated. "I thought so too, but I believe he and Ashamed to Be a Father should be the same kind of person."
"Still, there is risk involved."
"Brother Yuanshi, the danger should be manageable. If it were extremely risky, Ashamed to Be a Father wouldn't have asked you before dying. Since he did, he must have been fairly confident."
Xie Lingxi had come all the way to Songhai precisely because she realized Master Wuhen might belong to an evil profession and feared he might be turned into a KPI metric by "Brother Wang Tai," which she saw as a way to repay Ashamed to Be a Father for saving her life.
And Zhang Yuanqing agreed to let her come because he figured the young miss of the Xie family most likely had Spirit Realm walkers protecting her; having her along would hedge against potential risks.
"When will you be done with your business?"
"I'm visiting that Palace Master tomorrow. I'll be free the day after."
Holding a small spoon, Xie Lingxi scooped up a bite of dessert. While savoring the treat, she rested her chin on her hand and gazed at the young man across from her.
"Brother Yuanshi, you're so amazing, clearing two S-tier Spirit Realms in a row. I admire you so much!"
*She knows I'm a complete rookie, yet she hasn't breathed a word about me claiming to be an experienced walker in the Spirit Realm. That's high emotional intelligence.* Zhang Yuanqing took a bite of dessert as well.
Recalling her flattering and sweet-talking just now, he couldn't help marveling that this young girl was remarkably sophisticated for her age.
A girl who constantly stroked your ego and showed sheer admiration was actually the hardest type to deal with, because it made it tough to refuse her. An average man would definitely be wrapped around her finger.
But Zhang Yuanqing was no average man—he was completely socially fearless.
"Little Sister Lingxi, look, the moon is quite lovely tonight. Since you admire me so much, how about I stay over and admire the moon with you? What's your room number?"
"Brother Yuanshi, I... I'm still a child..." Xie Lingxi blushed.
"What a coincidence, I'm a child too."
Xie Lingxi sighed inwardly. She liked to take the initiative by playing coy. After all, who could refuse a reasonable request from a girl who clearly idolized him?
Make a man float on clouds first, and he'd be easy to handle.
Though she had never dated, she was deeply versed in the art of male-female dynamics. Her mother was a grandmaster at this—the kind of high-level operator who could slap her husband, coax him back into good spirits, and make him feel like he was the master of the house.
Having absorbed this by osmosis, Xie Lingxi had mastered seventy to eighty percent of her mother's prowess, wielding it against elders and peers with unbroken success.
Yet against Brother Yuanshi, it didn't seem to work very well.
He would ride her flattery right to the top and turn the tables on her.
Of course, Xie Lingxi genuinely felt some admiration for this boy who wasn't much older than herself.
"Let's exchange contact info. I'll come find you the morning of the day after tomorrow."
After exchanging phone numbers with her, Zhang Yuanqing left the hotel.
Leaving the hotel and riding in the MPV on the way home, Zhang Yuanqing dialed Li Dongze's cell phone.
"Decurion, I've left the hotel and I'm heading home."
Li Dongze was visibly relieved, then chuckled teasingly, "So, should I start calling you the Xie family's live-in son-in-law? Both Guan Ya and I can tell that the young miss is quite fond of you."
Zhang Yuanqing said with feigned woe, "Compared to being the Xie family's live-in son-in-law, I'd rather be the Guan family's."
Li Dongze paused, then replied in his usual tone, "Then you'd better work harder."
Li Dongze could tell that the kid Yuanshi was probing Guan Ya's background. How did he know her identity was out of the ordinary? For now, it seemed Yuanshi only knew Guan Ya was someone special, but didn't know her connection to Centurion Fu.
Zhang Yuanqing laughed it off, brushed past the topic, and then spoke seriously, "The day after tomorrow, I'm going out with that Xie family girl for fun. We should be back in about a day."
"She asked for you by name to host her, so keep her good company," Li Dongze did not object.
Zhang Yuanqing felt reassured. The Decurion's lack of objection indicated that the Xie family had a decent reputation.
He then brought up his second matter: "Decurion, after clearing Jinshui Amusement Park, I successfully advanced to Level 2 and was rewarded with a pretty good item."
*Advanced to Level 2...* Li Dongze let out a sigh. "Gaining a level with every mission... Your speed of advancement really makes people envious. Well, envious only of your leveling speed. Your frequent matching into S-tier Spirit Realms draws only pity. So?"
"I want to join the manhunt for Hei Wuchang. On one hand, to contribute to Team Two's merits, and on the other, to temper myself," Zhang Yuanqing said quickly.
Li Dongze did not object, but hesitated slightly. "A Level 2 Night Wanderer's combat strength is higher than that of other professions at the same level. You are indeed qualified to participate. But the person in charge of this operation is at the Deacon rank, so I can't make the call. I'll report it to Centurion Fu tomorrow and see what he decides."
"Thank you, Decurion."
Hanging up, Zhang Yuanqing glanced out the window and noticed the driver was taking the wrong elevated highway. He frowned. "What's wrong?"
The driver in front replied, "Taking a detour to prevent tailing."
*Prevent tailing... Right, my reputation is growing, and quite a few people know I'm in Kangyang District's Team Two. Traveling between work and home in the future, I really need to watch out for being followed.* Zhang Yuanqing noted the detail down mentally.
An hour later, the driver dropped him off at his residential compound. Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator up to his floor. Just as he was thinking of climbing through the corridor window back into his bedroom, his ears twitched—he heard intense fight sound effects coming from inside the room.
*Sigh...* He let out a helpless breath and chose the front door instead. Carefully unlocking the security door and seeing that his grandmother wasn't lying in wait in the living room, he was immediately relieved, and twisted the handle of his bedroom door.
Inside the bedroom, Jiang Yu'er was sitting cross-legged before the TV, clutching a controller and clacking away at a game.
Hearing the door open behind her, Jiang Yu'er said through gritted teeth, "The boss in this game is a boy who doesn't come home after class and just fools around outside. I'm going to hack him to death..."
"I'll help you chop him," Zhang Yuanqing walked over shamelessly.
"Get lost!"
With a twist of her waist, Jiang Yu'er kept her upper body still and continued gripping the controller while flinging her long legs backward in a flurry of kicks, displaying astonishing core strength.
Zhang Yuanqing caught one of her cool, slender feet and gave it a gentle lift; with an "Oof!", she toppled backward onto the floor.
Taking the opportunity, he sat down, grabbed the other controller, and restarted the game.
Jiang Yu'er pushed herself upright, rubbed the beauty mark near the corner of her eye, and huffed, "Where did you go fooling around?"
Sitting shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the television, they talked while playing:
"I had dinner with a high school girl today. When she heard I'm from Songhai University, she idolized me so much she insisted on dragging me to a hotel to tutor her on her homework. She even booked a five-star hotel. Heh, as if I had the money for a room."
"So you came back?"
"No, I made her pay."
"Go die!"
***
7:30 AM.
At the dining table, Jiang Yu'er had a fried dough stick between her teeth, listless, her head bobbing up and down like a pecking chick.
"Did you stay up late again? I told you, no staying up late on weekdays! Are my words hot air to you?!"
Grandmother scolded her daughter just as her grandson walked out of his room, yawning.
Grandmother gave a cold snort, still furious over yesterday's affair. But cleaning up family scum wasn't something to be done right in front of everyone, so with a sullen face, she entered the kitchen to bring her grandson a bowl of hot congee—all the better to serve him his final meal before execution.
A few minutes later, Grandmother looked at her daughter and grandson sitting side by side, their heads bobbing in unison, and exploded with rage:
"What on earth were you two doing last night?!"
"Jiang Yu'er insisted on coming to my room to play video games!"
"Zhang Yuanqing insisted that I go to his room to play video games!"
They answered in unison.
Then they turned on each other: Zhang Yuanqing yanked his aunt's hair, and Jiang Yu'er clawed at her nephew's face.
Grandfather and cousin were long accustomed to this and calmly continued eating.
***
Two days later, at 8:00 AM, Zhang Yuanqing, having texted her in advance, took a cab to the entrance of Huayu Hotel. He didn't have to wait long before Xie Lingxi came out through the revolving doors.
Today, she wore black track pants, a white T-shirt, a white women's jacket, and white running shoes.
Light sportswear.
Her long, straight black hair was tied into a ponytail, bobbing with each step as she jogged over.
Notably, she wore a pair of exquisite white over-ear headphones on her head; anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was out for a morning run.
"Brother Yuanshi, I had the driver fetch the car."
Xie Lingxi stopped in front of him, her smile sweet.
"Did you get to see that Palace Master?" Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.
Xie Lingxi shook her head slightly, disappointed. "She wouldn't see me."
"Plastic family ties," Zhang Yuanqing scoffed.
"Of course not!" Xie Lingxi puffed her cheeks and glared. "It's because people from the coastal Xiahou family came to Songhai to cause trouble for her. She had to prepare for a powerful enemy, so she couldn't see me."
"The Xiahou family?" Zhang Yuanqing racked his brain and recalled what family this was.
Because he had cleared an S-tier Spirit Realm, his security clearance had increased, granting him access to higher-classified documents.
In the world of Spirit Realm walkers, among the orthodox profession camp, the most influential forces were the two major official organizations: the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect. Beneath them were five major clans. For the "Scholar" profession, there were the Zhao, Liu, and Xiahou families.
For the "Musician" profession, there were the Xie and Zhu families.
The clan that the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter belonged to was not recorded in the files, likely because it had been erased many years ago.
"The Xiahou family's direct son was crippled by the Palace Master last month, so they came seeking revenge," Xie Lingxi said with worry. "The Xiahou family has operated for years with countless experts and a vast network of connections. The Palace of Halting Slaughter, after all, is merely a local Songhai organization. If they really clash, the Five Elements Alliance will definitely side with the Xiahou family."
*The Palace of Halting Slaughter's strength is still far below the Xiahou family's; looks like the Palace of Halting Slaughter is in trouble...* Seeing a luxury MPV pull up, Zhang Yuanqing said, "That's not our concern. Here's our ride."
The destination of this trip was Jinshan City.
Located to the north of Songhai, it was not far—only 25 minutes by high-speed rail, or about an hour's drive.
They arrived at their destination at 9:30 AM. It was a small hotel built on the outskirts of town, the neon sign above the main entrance reading: "Wuhen Hotel."
Once the MPV parked, Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi got out and walked into the hotel lobby.
"What kind of room would you two like?"
The receptionist was a glamorous woman in her early thirties with a professional smile, round, sultry eyes, a full bust, and an alluring charm.
"We're not checking in, we're looking for someone." Zhang Yuanqing got straight to the point, lowering his voice. "We're looking for Master Wuhen."
The glamorous receptionist retained her smile, but her round, sultry eyes narrowed, her gaze suddenly turning sharp as a blade.
"There is no one named Wuhen here," she said, enunciating every word.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze. Zhang Yuanqing and Xie Lingxi felt immense pressure at the same time, giving them the chilling illusion of being targeted by a hungry wolf.
*This pressure can't belong to the Transcendent stage, can it? Even a receptionist is this high-level?* Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuanqing said:
"Ashamed to Be a Father asked me to pass a message to Master Wuhen."
Chapter 66