*Holy shit, the Deceitful Eye Judge really was killed by the Demon Lord!* A turbulent wave of emotion surged in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. Although he had been the one to propose the theory that the Demon Lord killed the Deceitful Eye Judge, it had merely been a bold hypothesis lacking careful verification.
Thus, when he had heard Fu Qingyang state with such certainty that the Fallen Holy Grail had been influenced by the Demon Lord and that the Deceitful Eye Judge was indeed slain by him, Zhang Yuanqing had felt the Centurion's judgment was overly confident and far too arbitrary.
Yet now, after listening to this conversation, Zhang Yuanqing was convinced that the Deceitful Eye Judge had indeed been killed by the Demon Lord.
Even the reason Hei Wuchang had connected with the Dark Night Rose was because of the Demon Lord.
The causes and effects linked together all at once.
*Has the Dark Night Rose's influence already infiltrated to the Deacon level? Fuck, the Five Elements Alliance is just too massive; monsters and demons lurking within are inevitable. Brother Bing said not to trust the authorities too much—maybe this was part of the reason...*
*Why did the Demon Lord say that killing ten members of orthodox professions every month was his mission? Where did that mission come from—was it assigned by the Spirit Realm? Is this why he became a Fallen and was despised by the Taiyi Sect?*
*In any case, the Demon Lord truly had ties with the Deceitful Eye Judge and Hei Wuchang. That makes Brother Bing's reason for wanting me to obtain the roster understandable as well...*
Zhang Yuanqing then considered whether he should subtly convey this information to Fu Qingyang.
It was undoubtedly an opportunity to claim major merit and build goodwill.
*No, there's no need. Unbridled's memories have already provided clues; there's no need for me to say more. Besides, if the Dark Night Rose can infiltrate to the level of Deacons, whether Fu Qingyang can be trusted is still a question mark.*
Zhang Yuanqing waited a moment, but the Cat King Speaker played no further audio.
He immediately wrapped the speaker in a thin blanket for simple soundproofing and slipped into bed.
*The Demon Lord experienced a dungeon set in the Ming dynasty, where the people inside relied on cultivation. Doesn't that match the contents of the manuscript I read at Lady Sandao Temple? If the Spirit Realm is a parallel world, then are we outsiders equipped with a "system," leveling up by completing quests?*
*Sure enough, I'm not the only one who realized the Spirit Realm might hold secrets. The Demon Lord was a high-level Spirit Realm walker; I wonder if he investigated this further later on. Actually, the best way would be to meet Lady Sandao in person, but that old hag is too terrifying.*
*The Cat King Speaker recorded so many secrets, giving me tons of information far beyond my clearance. If I make good use of this information asymmetry, I can hold far more secrets and knowledge than other Spirit Realm walkers...*
Letting his thoughts wander, he gradually drifted off to sleep.
***
Early morning.
In a luxurious, magnificent private dining room at Huayu Hotel, Xie Lingxi warmly hosted two distinguished guests—Xiahou Xin and Xiahou Tianyuan.
"Speaking of which, it's been some years since I last saw you, my niece. You've grown into an even more captivating young woman."
Xiahou Xin picked up his coffee, took a sip, and grabbed at the empty air. From it, he produced a small palm-sized mirror with a bronze handle and a brass surface.
He smiled and said, "This is a gift from your uncle. Just a minor prop—not of much use, so consider it a toy."
"Thank you, Uncle," Xie Lingxi said with sparkling eyes and a delicate, sweet voice.
Beside him, Xiahou Tianyuan couldn't help taking a few extra glances. He hadn't seen this girl in many years. The last time, she had still been in middle school. Although clear-featured and obviously born to be a beauty, she had been far too young back then.
Who could have thought that after just a few years apart, she would turn out so elegantly stunning and unworldly? Her voice was soft and sweet, her eyes bright, her teeth pearly white, and her demeanor completely innocent.
Having presented the gift, Xiahou Xin cut straight to the chase. "Lingxi, I heard that you came to Songhai to meet the one from the Palace of Halting Slaughter?"
"Yes. It's been a long time since I saw Palace Master Sister, so I came to visit her." Xie Lingxi nodded obediently.
Xiahou Xin nodded with satisfaction and asked gently, "Do you know where she is?"
Xie Lingxi shook her head. "After her fight with Grandpa Xiahou, she went into hiding. I don't know where she is either."
Xiahou Xin was not surprised by this answer. Smiling slightly, he changed the subject: "You and Tianyuan are of the same generation, so you should spend more time together in the future. Although Tianyuan is unaccomplished, he's already reached level 3. Becoming a Saint is only a matter of time."
Xie Lingxi immediately adopted an admiring expression, clasping her hands together with starry eyes. "Brother Tianyuan is amazing!"
Xiahou Tianyuan paused. He had seen plenty of women flatter and curry favor with him, but this kind of pure admiration—like an innocent girl looking up to the big brother next door—felt so wonderful and pure.
He couldn't help feeling a bit elated.
Xie Lingxi shifted the topic. "I heard that there's a young man in the Five Elements Alliance called Yuanshi Tianzun, who is quite a genius."
Xiahou Tianyuan's face darkened, an unbidden surge of anger rising as if something precious had been snatched away from him. He glanced at his father and brushed it off casually: "Being able to clear two S-rank Spirit Realms means he has some skill, I suppose."
Xie Lingxi looked at him and said with a sweet smile, "I believe Brother Tianyuan is stronger than him."
The Xiahou father and son finished their breakfast and took their leave.
The moment they left, the innocence and sweetness on Xie Lingxi's face faded, replaced by calm contemplation.
*Did Xiahou Tianyuan have a conflict with Brother Yuanshi? Well, at the very least, there was an unpleasant encounter...*
*The day before yesterday, when Brother Yuanshi called to ask about the Xiahou family, she had found it odd. If he had just been curious, he could have easily asked around within the Five Elements Alliance.*
*Basic information could certainly be gathered that way, more than enough to satisfy mere curiosity. Why ask her?*
*So she had tested the waters just now. Given Xiahou Tianyuan's domineering personality, her flattery laced with Musician abilities would normally have sent him walking on air. Yet when she turned to praise Brother Yuanshi, Xiahou Tianyuan had reined in his temper.*
*They most likely clashed, and the Xiahou family didn't want outsiders knowing about it. After all, Brother Yuanshi had distinguished merits to his name... Ah, was he bullied by Xiahou Tianyuan?*
Just as Xie Lingxi was wondering whether she should call to show some sympathy for her big brother, the female assistant beside her said, "Miss, they were using a lie-detecting prop to test you just now."
Xie Lingxi hummed in acknowledgment and said, "Go look into whether the Xiahou family had a conflict with Brother Yuanshi, and find out the reason."
"Yes, Miss!" the assistant replied.
Inside the elevator, Xiahou Tianyuan clicked his tongue in admiration. "That girl has grown prettier and prettier. Dad, I want to marry her. Propose to the Xie family on my behalf, will you?"
Xiahou Tianyuan was different from his older brother, Xiahou Tianwen. The latter's playboy nature lay in indulgence with women, whereas the former's flaws were of temperament—overbearing, arrogant, and tyrannical.
Xiahou Xin pondered for a moment. "Come to think of it, your third aunt on your mother's side is from a branch of the Xie family. We can have her test the waters. With your natural talent, you're more than worthy of her."
The father and son said nothing more. Stepping out of the elevator, flanked by bodyguards, they got into their car.
Looking straight ahead, Xiahou Xin turned to serious business. "That girl truly doesn't know the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter's hiding place. She might have a way to contact her, but that no longer matters; we cannot coerce a direct daughter of the Xie family. Now that our leads on the other members of the Palace of Halting Slaughter have also run cold, you've been shadowing me to gain experience for quite a while—what are your thoughts?"
Just as the official organization searched for Hei Wuchang like looking for a needle in a haystack, the Xiahou family found tracking down the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter equally arduous.
Trying to locate a high-level Spirit Realm walker among the vast sea of people was exceedingly difficult; the other party possessed far too many methods to evade real-world surveillance.
Xiahou Tianyuan chuckled. "No matter how formidable a Spirit Realm walker is, as long as we uncover their real-world roots, we can make them yield. The Xie family is in contact with her, so they must know something about her real-world identity. And in the real world, there has to be someone she cares about.
"We can't touch the core members of the Xie family, but we can bribe regular people connected to them to do the digging."
Xiahou Xin glanced at his son. Compared to his elder son, he preferred his younger one. Although arrogant and tyrannical, showing no regard for rules, disregarding rules meant he wasn't bound by them either.
Back when Xiahou Tianyuan was young, Xiahou Xin had recognized this strength in him. Over the years, he had indulged him while occasionally keeping him in check, feeling he had raised him quite well.
And Xiahou Tianyuan had indeed lived up to his expectations. There were plenty of young men in the clan with more talent than him, but when push came to shove, Xiahou Tianyuan was never the one getting bullied.
With a few more years of tempering, once he learned to control the degree of his arrogance, his accomplishments would surely surpass those of his elder brother, Xiahou Tianwen.
"Anything else?" Xiahou Xin asked.
"Of course." Xiahou Tianyuan touched his silver earring and sneered, "That Wang Qian guy might be hiding, but his family can't hide, nor can his relatives and friends. I'll hire someone to run down his family with a car as a warning. He'll come out on his own."
Xiahou Xin shook his head. "Too extreme. This isn't our territory; it will invite intervention from the Five Elements Alliance."
As if expecting this response from his father, Xiahou Tianyuan offered a second plan: "Then kidnap his family. Capture them without killing them. Once we lure Wang Qian out, we release his family. That way, the Five Elements Alliance won't turn against us."
Xiahou Xin nodded slightly. "Execute both plans together."
He fell silent, gazing out the car window with worry etched between his brows.
For that woman to track down the Xiahou family, there was definitely someone backing her.
This matter was extremely thorny; even the most extreme measures had to be attempted.
***
Having changed into workout clothes, Xie Lingxi stretched her willow-slender figure by the window, intending to hit the hotel gym for half an hour.
She had no choice; she had eaten a bit too much lately—heavy feasts and post-meal desserts. At the Transcendent stage, a Musician's physical enhancement was limited. Without regular workouts, she ran the risk of gaining weight.
Of course, gaining weight wasn't inherently bad; the worry was gaining it in the wrong places while the right places stayed flat.
Xie Lingxi looked down at her underwhelming little chest and comforted herself: *This is better. It's better for combat. Big-breasted women die fast...*
At that moment, the female assistant, dressed in a tailored blazer and skirt, pushed open the door and entered. "Miss, I just found out that people from the Xiahou family approached Yuanshi Tianzun. A member of the Palace of Halting Slaughter is his informant, and the Xiahou family hoped Yuanshi Tianzun would help lure that member out.
"However, there doesn't seem to have been any conflict between them."
Listening to the first part, Xie Lingxi frowned deeply, but hearing the latter half, a smile immediately broke out on her face. "It seems that after Brother Yuanshi rejected them, the Xiahou family sought him out in secret. Quick, bring me my phone. I need to show some sympathy for my big brother—he definitely got beaten up by Xiahou Tianyuan!"
The assistant immediately walked over to the bedside, unplugged the charging phone, and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window, saying, "There's one more thing from last night."
Chapter 81