The Xiahou Father and Son

"Got it!" Zhang Yuanqing replied, but his thoughts drifted to Ashamed to Be a Father and Master Wuhen, who was guiding him in cultivation while seeking self-redemption. Evildoers tried to redeem themselves, while orthodox walkers could brawl over personal vendettas, implicating innocent civilians. *Sigh, how could there be pure good and evil in this world? Human nature is inherently complicated...* Zhang Yuanqing gained an even deeper understanding of what Li Dongze had said: "Orthodox does not equal good." As for the attitude of the branch's higher-ups toward this matter: although the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter acted in self-defense and hadn't initiated the conflict, loss of property and human life had occurred after all. Arresting her was the correct decision. How she would be penalized was a matter for later, and Zhang Yuanqing withheld judgment. But the disciplinary decision regarding the Xiahou family could only be described as expected. On the one hand, the Xiahou family was a flourishing Spirit Realm clan with profound heritage. The official organization wouldn't tear apart its ties with a prominent family over the lives of a few ordinary people. Sometimes, those at the top only cared about the big picture; they couldn't see the ants beneath their feet. On the other hand, the Xiahou family had countless ties with the official organization. The official organization was just that—an organization—a mixed bag of factions where good people were inevitably accompanied by bad ones. It couldn't even be simply defined by good and bad people. Rather, each had their own interests. If a single concept had to represent the official organization, it was definitely not justice and goodness, but order. Zhang Yuanqing had understood these principles quite clearly since childhood, listening to his grandfather at home hurling curses at the corrupt former chief of the Public Security Bureau. In short, the Xiahou family, having close cooperation with certain factions within the official organization, naturally received "preferential treatment." Seeing him nod, Guan Ya smiled with satisfaction. Yuanshi wasn't some hotheaded rookie; he was far more worldly and tactful than most peers his age. That was a good thing—people like him could thrive within the system. Right then, Li Dongze walked out. "Guan Ya told you, right?" "Decurion, I'll leave it in your hands," Zhang Yuanqing said at once. Li Dongze instantly chuckled. "Guan Ya and I will fend them off for you. Selling out an informant isn't the conduct of a gentleman. Besides, the grudge between the Xiahou family and the Palace of Halting Slaughter has nothing to do with us. Don't get involved." Leaning on his cane, he pointed out the stakes: "The slogan of the Palace of Halting Slaughter is 'End war with war, halt slaughter with slaughter'—it's extremely radical. If you sell them out today, you'll inevitably face retaliation tomorrow, and the Xiahou family won't have your back." "Understood." Zhang Yuanqing nodded. Li Dongze glanced at Wang Tai, who was buried in work, and said, "Yuanshi, come into my office. I'll brief you on the progress of the Hei Wuchang case." Wang Tai wasn't part of the investigation team, and protocol dictated that this couldn't be discussed in front of him. *This is the real business...* Zhang Yuanqing quickly got up and followed behind Li Dongze. One after the other, they entered the office. Zhang Yuanqing turned to shut the door, while Li Dongze walked straight to his desk and took a stack of files from a drawer. "Cola?" Li Dongze opened the liquor cabinet. *With my current net worth of six hundred and fifty thousand, I should be drinking an '82 Lafite...* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Light ice!" Li Dongze shrugged, tossed a few ice cubes into a tumbler, poured the cola and whiskey, and returned to the sofa. "Remember the list you provided last time?" "I do!" "Based on that list, we locked down their real-world identities. Over this period, we've successfully arrested one and killed two. One of the two killed was under the Gu King's command." The Gu King was another vice chairman and the Deceitful Eye Judge's rival. *The Five Elements Alliance moves fast. How long has it even been, and they've already rooted out three Witch Doctors from the Spirit Society.* Zhang Yuanqing was no longer a greenhorn; he knew how difficult it was to hunt down Spirit Realm walkers in a vast sea of people. If the target also possessed an item like the Disguise Ring, it would be practically impossible. That the officials could eliminate three Witch Doctors in such a short time showed they were playing for keeps. Li Dongze took a sip of the hard liquor and said, "After spirit questioning, we obtained some useful leads. Hei Wuchang seems to have another motive for lurking in Songhai." *Another motive...* Zhang Yuanqing nodded in realization. "I thought it was strange before. If I were Hei Wuchang, with both the officials and the Gu King hunting me, why wouldn't I relocate my hiding spot? Do we know why Hei Wuchang is hiding in Songhai?" Li Dongze shook his head. "Perhaps only Hei Wuchang himself knows. But we can work backward from the clues. For Hei Wuchang to willingly take such massive risks to stay in Songhai means this matter is extraordinarily important—important enough to rival his own life." Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "At this stage, shouldn't his top priority be taking over the Deceitful Eye Judge's legacy? By the way, what level is Hei Wuchang?" "Level 6, the peak of the Saint stage." Witch Doctor was a profession with top-tier combat prowess. Even if a Level 6 Witch Doctor couldn't grapple with a Level 7 orthodox profession, he was certainly far stronger than peers of the same level. In other words, unless an Elder-level figure intervened, it would be very difficult to deal with Hei Wuchang. Zhang Yuanqing sighed inwardly. *Isn't Brother Bing just setting me up for failure? I'm a mere Level 2 Night Wanderer; the guy could crush me with a single finger.* Only then did Li Dongze hand over the file and say, "Take a look." Zhang Yuanqing opened the file. It was a personal dossier. The man in the passport photo appeared to be around thirty years old, with an emaciated face, slanting eyes beneath sword-shaped brows, and tightly pressed lips, exuding a sharp, aggressive presence. "Spirit Realm ID: Unbridled. Real name: Zhu Jingyao. Level 3 Witch Doctor. Financial criminal, former securities firm employee, abused position for illicit gains..." Reading the profile, Zhang Yuanqing said, "I remember this guy. He was on the list I provided." Li Dongze nodded. "The day before yesterday, Captain Qingteng of Baihui received a tip-off that someone spotted him in Kangyang District, though he vanished soon after. Our Kangyang District Spirit Realm squad is currently in charge of him, and he's our primary near-term target." *Too bad we don't have the target's DNA; otherwise, the red dancing shoes could handle everything...* Zhang Yuanqing thought regretfully. Still, having a target was good—better than running around like a headless fly. *Knock, knock!* The glass door of the office was tapped twice, followed by Guan Ya's voice: "Decurion, people from the Xiahou family are here." Li Dongze and Zhang Yuanqing exchanged a look. The latter put away the file, while the former said in a deep voice, "Please show them in." A dozen seconds later, Guan Ya ushered two men into the office. One was a middle-aged man in formal attire with a crew cut, standing straight with a sharp, competent posture. His features were decent, though his eyes were on the smaller side. The other was a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, wearing a white shirt with an open collar and an untucked hem, looking loose and unruly. He bore some resemblance to the middle-aged man but was handsomer, with Korean-style long hair that was messy yet stylish. Paired with a silver stud earring, he was the roguishly handsome type that easily caught girls' attention at nightclubs. "I am Xiahou Xin, and this is my son, Xiahou Tianyuan," the middle-aged man said with a smile. "Welcome, welcome." Li Dongze's twin mustaches lifted with his smile. "Good to see you, Mr. Xiahou. Please have a seat over here!" He shook hands warmly with the middle-aged man, ushered the two to their seats, and asked Guan Ya to brew hot tea. Xiahou Xin waited unhurriedly for Guan Ya to serve the tea, then said, "Decurion Li surely knows the purpose of my visit. That person from the Palace of Halting Slaughter went too far, nearly killing my eldest son. This grievance cannot go unavenged. We found that Dr. Wang Qian of Pingtai Hospital is a member of the Palace of Halting Slaughter, but when we went to apprehend him, he had already fled. "According to the records, he is an informant under Decurion Li. We hope Decurion Li can do us a favor and lure him out. Once it is done, the Xiahou family will offer a handsome reward." *The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter beat up this Xiahou Xin's son? I heard from Xie Lingxi that he's the direct heir of the Xiahou family. In that case, this Xiahou Xin holds quite a high status...* Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but size up the middle-aged man a bit more. Just then, he noticed the young man named Xiahou Tianyuan casting an arrogant sidelong glance his way. "Well..." Li Dongze's face remained plastered with smiles as he replied helplessly, "The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter daring to mistreat Young Master Xiahou Tianwen is indeed outrageous—death would hardly atone for it. However, after last night's battle, the Palace of Halting Slaughter is spooked and on high alert. How could they fall for a trap? This Decurion is simply powerless to help." Xiahou Tianyuan shot another sideways glance at Zhang Yuanqing, saying displeasedly, "Isn't that simple enough? Just send a message to Wang Qian saying that someone inside the Five Elements Alliance dislikes the Xiahou family and asking if the Palace of Halting Slaughter needs help. Extend goodwill first, hook him, and then take it step by step. If you don't know how, just hand over your phone to me." As long as they established contact with Wang Qian, they had plenty of ways to draw him out. What they lacked now was someone Wang Qian was willing to "talk" to. Li Dongze sighed. "All right, I'll speak plainly. Alas, when immortals fight, mortals suffer. We really don't wish to meddle in the feud between the Xiahou family and the Palace of Halting Slaughter. My apologies, but we cannot help." "What did you say?" Xiahou Tianyuan said in disbelief. The Xiahou family had already locked onto leads for several members of the Palace of Halting Slaughter, and Kangyang District's Squad Two was one of them. In Xiahou Tianyuan's eyes, an unremarkable squad like this should have jumped at any request from the Xiahou family, eager to curry favor. It wasn't merely that Xiahou Tianyuan was arrogant; rather, squads like this were a dime a dozen in the Five Elements Alliance, whereas how many Spirit Realm clans like the Xiahou family were there across the entire country? It was like a team of local code enforcement officers turning down a massive corporate conglomerate with official backing. Guan Ya rolled her eyes. "Can't understand? Want me to translate it into a foreign language for you?" "You—" Xiahou Tianyuan glared furiously. Since when did a female employee dare talk to him like this? Being pretty conferred no special privileges in front of him. Xiahou Xin glanced at Guan Ya, checked his angry son with a look, and said earnestly, "This matter is very important to the Xiahou family. Decurion Li, please agree." Though addressing Decurion Li, his gaze was fixed on Guan Ya. Li Dongze looked troubled. Given his status, refusing once was already pushing his limits. Declining again would likely invite retaliation. At this juncture, Guan Ya needed to step up. "What do the Xiahou family's affairs have to do with us?" Guan Ya shot the father and son opposite them a cool glance. "Just because it's important to the Xiahou family, we have to help? When the Palace of Halting Slaughter turns around to retaliate against my colleague, will your Xiahou family step in front of him? Will you protect him twenty-four hours a day forever? Or do you just want to use your family's influence to pressure us and treat my colleague like an expendable tool? You expect us to take risks for a flimsy promise of a 'handsome reward'—what wishful thinking. You want to lure out Wang Qian? Sure. Bring ten items in exchange." "Are you insane?" Xiahou Tianyuan laughed out of sheer fury. "What kind of thing do you think you are? Ten items? I doubt you'd live long enough to enjoy them." Guan Ya sneered coldly. "Say one more word, and this lady will put a bullet through your head." With a fierce glare, Xiahou Xin stopped his raging son. He took a long, deep look at Guan Ya, then said, "Pardon the disturbance!" Xiahou Tianyuan stared at his father in bewilderment. With a cold face, Xiahou Xin stood up and walked out of the office. Xiahou Tianyuan shot Guan Ya a venomous glare and followed his father out. Li Dongze let out a long breath, stood up, stretched his back, and said with a relaxed expression, "All right, that's the end of that. Sigh, these prominent families are not to be trifled with..." He quickly added to save face: "Working within the system, you constantly have to face things like this. Playing both sides and compromising—those are the supreme rules of the system." *Decurion, you don't need to explain that to me. The Xiahou family didn't seem all that domineering either—or does Guan Ya's background run that deep?* Zhang Yuanqing realized he might have underestimated the veteran driver. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell that Xiahou Xin, a member of the Xiahou main branch, was visibly wary of Guan Ya. *This useless Decurion seems steady as an old dog, but he's actually hiding beneath Guan Ya's skirts.* *Yet I don't recall any Guan family among the Spirit Realm clans. Oh, right, Guan Ya is her Spirit Realm ID, not her real name.* "Sigh, compared to marrying into the Xie family, I suddenly feel like becoming a live-in son-in-law for the Guan family instead," Zhang Yuanqing said, half teasing and half probing. The veteran driver didn't take the bait. Sizing him up and down, she clicked her tongue twice. "You won't do. You're too small." Zhang Yuanqing wasn't having it. "You haven't even seen it! How do you know it's small?" "Sure thing. Come to the restroom and let me have a look." "Let's go then!" "Let's go!" Leaning on his cane, Li Dongze shook his head slightly. One had never had a boyfriend, the other had never had a girlfriend, yet their tongues were as bold as could be. Zhang Yuanqing ate lunch at the office and idled until one in the afternoon. Remembering he had a major course class later, he slung on his backpack, left the Public Security Bureau, unlocked a shared bicycle, and pedaled leisurely toward campus. Just past the traffic light, a black sedan came speeding up, forcing him to a halt at the curb. In the rear seat of the black sedan sat the Xiahou father and son.