Even though it was between four and five in the morning, intelligence of this magnitude had to be reported up the chain immediately. Delays bred complications, and a long night brought many dreams. Besides, Centurion Fu's progress in tracking Hei Wuchang had been stalled for quite a while.
*Beep, beep, beep—*
The ringtone chimed for a full half-minute before the call finally connected. Fu Qingyang's cold, indifferent voice came through:
"Calling me at this hour... you must have something important."
*Sounds like he's barely keeping a lid on his morning temper.* Zhang Yuanqing said, "Centurion, I just met with the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter."
Fu Qingyang froze. "At her request?"
"Yes!" Zhang Yuanqing said. "She asked to meet with me and discussed a few matters regarding the Xiahou family."
The moment he finished, Zhang Yuanqing heard the faint rustle of someone abruptly throwing off the covers and sitting up, followed by Fu Qingyang's stern tone:
"The reason she nearly killed Xiahou Tianwen?"
*Sure enough, Fu Qingyang sensed something was off too.* It made sense—if Guan Ya could pick up on it, Fu Qingyang, who was also a Scout, would be even sharper. Zhang Yuanqing did not beat around the bush and said:
"The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter said that Xiahou Chi's lineage are members of Dark Night Rose."
Silence fell over the other end of the line. After five or six seconds, Fu Qingyang spoke again, his tone exceptionally grave:
"Are you certain?"
Zhang Yuanqing relayed everything the Palace Master had told him, word for word.
"That's what she said, but I can't confirm whether it's true or false, so I'm calling to report it to you."
Fu Qingyang said slowly, "Dark Night Rose was indeed involved behind the fall of the Chu family. During the turmoil back then, the Soldier Master Sect's target was a rule-based item belonging to the Musician profession. Throughout that battle, the authorities were one step too slow to react. Someone interfered with the transmission of intelligence, and only an insider within the Five Elements Alliance holding substantial authority could have pulled that off."
After realizing Hei Wuchang was secretly in contact with Dark Night Rose, Fu Qingyang had called the Fu family's Council of Elders and learned the outline of that past incident.
Following the destruction of the Chu family, the Five Elements Alliance had noticed the presence of Dark Night Rose and conducted a covert internal purge.
However, the affair disgraced the official organization, so it was hushed up and forbidden to be discussed. Twenty-one years had passed, and the new generation of official walkers knew virtually nothing about it.
"So it seems Dark Night Rose isn't just tangled up with Hei Wuchang—they also joined forces with the Soldier Master Sect back then to wipe out the Chu family." Zhang Yuanqing frowned deeply. "This organization has massive ambitions."
To infiltrate both a Spirit Realm clan and an official organization, the sheer reach of Dark Night Rose was easy to imagine.
With such immense power, yet choosing to remain hidden in the shadows, whatever they were plotting had to be beyond comprehension.
Fu Qingyang gave an affirmative "Mm," agreeing with his subordinate's assessment, and said in a low voice, "Who else did you tell besides me?"
"The moment I got the information, I reported it straight to you, Centurion," Zhang Yuanqing answered.
Fu Qingyang immediately said, "Not a single word of this is to leak out."
Judging by his tone, he sounded extremely pleased with Zhang Yuanqing's response.
"Understood!" Zhang Yuanqing asked further, "Centurion, how do you plan to handle Xiahou Chi's branch?"
Fu Qingyang chuckled coldly. "If you were a high-ranking member of Dark Night Rose and learned that Xiahou Tianyuan had been thrown into jail, what would you do?"
"Keep a close watch on him. If there's any risk of exposure, find a way to silence him," Zhang Yuanqing said thoughtfully.
"I will hold Xiahou Tianyuan in my hands under the charge of endangering public security, and then cast a long line to reel in the big fish. Until then, I won't startle the snake in the grass." Speaking up to here, the coolness in the Centurion's tone vanished, replaced by warmth. "Rest assured, as long as we hold Xiahou Tianyuan, Xiahou Chi and Xiahou Xin won't dare retaliate against you. And by the time I close the net, they won't have the chance to."
*Phew!* Zhang Yuanqing exhaled. With that, the trouble with the Xiahou family could be considered settled for now.
Fu Qingyang added, "There's no rush to close the net right now. In a few days, the grand health check will begin. I plan to run an initial screening first to see how the official walkers react."
"The grand health check?"
Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. He recalled the Demon Lord's words: *I won't pass the grand health check!*
Fu Qingyang explained, "The grand health check is both a benefit provided by high management to organization members and a form of oversight. The former examines and treats physical ailments, while the latter inspects one's mental state and temperament. For the Fallen, it is a demon-revealing mirror that leaves nowhere to hide.
"Anyone with something to hide will show flaws."
*Don't tell me they'll fail to catch anyone from Dark Night Rose and end up dragging out the Demon Lord's successor instead...* A herd of ten thousand alpacas stampeded through Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
His instinctive thought was: *Time for you to step up again, Little Doubi!!*
On second thought, could the grand health check really be bypassed that easily?
He would ask Guan Ya about the checkup later. Zhang Yuanqing continued, "Centurion, have any large killing dungeons opened up recently?"
Fu Qingyang shook his head. "Large killing dungeons are concentrated around the middle and end of the year. None will appear anytime soon."
*Strange. Then how did the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter advance to Dominator? She had no reason to lie to me...* Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Centurion, I have no more questions."
"Go back and get some rest!"
Young Master Fu rarely showed such consideration for a subordinate.
***
The next morning, inside the grand villa.
Three bunny girls bustled about, laying breakfast onto the dining table. Ling Jun yawned as he took his seat, greeting Fu Qingyang across from him:
"Morning~"
His gaze swept across Fu Qingyang's stern face, then flicked back to scrutinize him. "You seem to be in a good mood."
The corners of Fu Qingyang's lips curved slightly. "Because I've discovered that convincing people through virtue earns far more respect than giving them a raise."
***
That same morning, inside the presidential suite, the female assistant woke on time. After washing up and getting neatly dressed, she turned the handle of the master bedroom door to wake the young miss.
*Click!*
The moment the lock released, she felt as if she had broken through an unseen barrier, and a breeze stirred silently within the room.
As the door swung open, the sight inside the master bedroom came into view.
Her young miss was hanging from the crystal chandelier by an ethereal, shimmering red string. She wore nothing but a pair of girlish panties and a dainty bra, her fair, tender body glaringly exposed.
At that moment, she was staring tearfully at the female assistant entering the room.
The assistant's face changed drastically, and she gasped, "Miss..."
She dashed forward and untied the hair-thin red cord.
"Who did this? Who did this?!" the assistant fumed in fury.
Xie Lingxi wept with brimming tears. "Sister Palace Master came by! Brother Yuanshi set me up, sob, sob..."
Through her broken sobs, the assistant pieced together what had happened. At dawn, the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter had paid a visit. Apparently, because the young miss had leaked her background to an outsider, she had strung her up and given her a beating.
The assistant thought to herself, *Thank goodness, it was just a beating.*
Seeing her young miss stripped down earlier, she had thought a lustful thief had snuck into the hotel and stolen her purity. If the family ever held her accountable for that, she would have had to commit harakiri to atone.
***
At the Good Music Hotel.
Wang Qian looked down upon his three companions from high above, saying in a deep voice, "The view of you all from this angle is actually quite nice."
His three companions looked back at him with pity.
Wang Qian went quiet for a moment before probing, "The Palace Master has already left. Could you take me down?"
The companions looked up at him and shook their heads one after another. "We think the view of you from this angle is quite nice too."
"..."
***
After returning home, Zhang Yuanqing took a short nap until his grandmother's knocking woke him.
He put on his shoes and walked out to the living room, where he saw his cousin and aunt looking completely drained. The two night-shift workers had returned, sitting at the dining table waiting to be fed.
Chen Yuanjun pinched the bridge of his nose, looked at his listless cousin, and shook his head.
"Stayed up playing games again last night, didn't you? Here I am wishing I could sleep but can't, while you can sleep and choose not to."
*No, I'm the one who wishes I could sleep but can't. The sun is shining brightly outside—this is prime sleeping time.* Zhang Yuanqing sighed inward. He had already become a creature of the night, yet he was forced to go about during the day.
Taking advantage of the moment, his aunt tattled on him, whining in a delicate voice, "Mom, your grandson pulled an all-nighter gaming. Come hit him!"
*You wicked woman, what did I ever do to you?!* Zhang Yuanqing shouted, "Mom, your daughter said she's pulling an all-nighter with me to play games tonight!"
Grandmother ignored them both.
After breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room and summoned Little Doubi, letting him crawl around on the floor by himself.
*The Xiahou family's matter is settled for now, so I don't need to worry about it temporarily, but this grand health check makes me a bit nervous...*
*Besides, it's time to nurture Little Doubi. Spirit servants and zombies are crucial means for Night Wanderers to overcome enemies in the later stages. The Spirit Talismans I control can't refine zombies yet, so I should strengthen Little Doubi first.*
He felt that nurturing Little Doubi was very necessary. For one, it would raise the spirit servant's intelligence, and for another, it would increase his overall strength.
Before his third dungeon, his options for boosting his power were limited. Devouring spirit bodies barely provided any experience points now, and hunting evil-profession walkers just to level up was obviously unrealistic.
That left nurturing a spirit servant as the only viable path to grow stronger.
Glancing at the infant spirit crawling circles around his gaming console, Zhang Yuanqing found himself in a bind. *The problem is, I don't have the materials to refine a spirit servant...*
Simply nurturing a spirit body with Lunar force yielded very slow growth, and its quality would never change.
Therefore, materials were required. Materials from different professions would grant the spirit body different traits, and the purpose of Spirit Talismans was to strip the spirituality from those materials and imbue it into the spirit body.
However, not just any material could be used to refine a spirit servant. There were two constraints: first, the material had to be of the yin attribute; second, it had to be compatible with the spirit body.
The former was easy to determine, but as for the latter, only the spirit body itself knew whether it was compatible.
Little Doubi had become a spirit servant under the influence of an item from the Musician profession. Logically, his future development path would likely lean toward that profession.
*I wonder what materials Little Doubi's 'constitution' is compatible with, and what abilities he'll gain. If he turns out to be the type with boundless potential, he could fight in his father's stead in the future...*
The thought filled Zhang Yuanqing with anticipation.
Yet the issue remained: he had no materials, nor did he know where to find them.
*As expected, I should still go to Guan Ya. She knows a lot.*
Ever since becoming an official walker, Zhang Yuanqing had developed a habit: turn to Sister Guan Ya when in need, and banter with the seasoned flirt when free. Guan Ya had always served as a "teacher" to him, coaching him on writing reports, educating him on Spirit Realm common knowledge, and the like.
So far, except for refusing to teach him deep squats and demonstrate her "chicken-restraining prowess," Guan Ya had performed her role as a teacher quite admirably.
Putting on a mask and a baseball cap, he slipped out the door, hailed a taxi to the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, bypassed the administrative building, and reached the two-story glass annex behind it.
Decurion True Eyes was recovering at home, leaving only Guan Ya and Wang Tai on the second floor.
Zhang Yuanqing greeted Wang Tai with tireless persistence, then pulled over an office chair and sat beside Guan Ya.
Seeing his posture, Guan Ya knew he had business. Turning her body to face him directly, she smiled:
"Move your eyes away from my chest. Speak up, what is it?"
"They always say big-breasted women have no brains. I just want to know how you managed to have both," Zhang Yuanqing opened in the tone the seasoned flirt preferred.
"How do you know they aren't fake?" Guan Ya hummed with complete self-deprecating ease.
"Then you're doomed!"
"Hmm?"
"When your child is born, they'll rage, 'Mom, is there any safe milk left in this world?!'"
"Hahaha..." Guan Ya laughed so hard her chest trembled.
Having indulged the seasoned flirt's tastes, Zhang Yuanqing cut to the chase:
"I heard the grand health check is coming up in a few days? I've never taken part in one before. What kind of items are on the checklist? And please don't say 'the full-service package'; we're talking serious business here."
He figured that given the potential issues among official walkers, if categorized strictly as good or bad, at least fifty percent of them had something wrong.
Guan Ya said, "It's split into two main categories: physical examination and mental screening.
"The former checks for physical illnesses and detects whether one is under someone else's control. The latter is more complicated. Broken down, it first checks whether your mind is sound and free of mental illnesses, a step completed using items.
"Next is the lie detector test. The contents vary: sometimes they inquire about your Morality Points and Reputation points, while other times they straight up ask whether you've betrayed the organization.
"Lastly is the interview, conducted face-to-face with questions posed by a high-level Scout. They'll analyze you based on your responses."
*As for the lie detector, I should be able to pass. The mental test shouldn't be an issue either since I'm not crazy. The high-level Scout is the real headache. I wonder if it'll be a Deacon or an Elder conducting it...* Zhang Yuanqing asked further:
"Now that I've reached Level 2, I want to collect some yin-attribute materials for experiments, but I don't know how to obtain them."
Without hesitation, Guan Ya supplied the answer:
"Two ways. First, submit an application to the organization and select from the organization's inventory. Depending on your merits and rank, you can enjoy a certain discount, which is very cost-effective.
"As for the second way, go check out the black market. Songhai has several black markets formed by civilian organizations and wild Spirit Realm walkers. Official walkers drop by sometimes too."
"Our branch allows black markets?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"Not officially, but they tacitly tolerate their existence. A market is the kind of thing that will inevitably appear wherever there is trade; bans never stop it. Classic examples are drugs and human trafficking," Guan Ya explained. "So the branch tolerates the black markets, but only allows individuals with certain official backgrounds or connections to run them, keeping them as contained as possible. Captain Quanwang from our Kangyang District is the person in charge of the black market in this district."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. After careful consideration, he decided to visit the black market.
Procuring materials from the branch's inventory offered discounts and saved money, but withdrawing materials would be recorded.
Anyone who knew their stuff would realize he was trying to refine a spirit servant just by glancing at the materials he chose. Zhang Yuanqing was not yet ready to reveal that he possessed one, especially when Yuan Ting's interrogation had taken place barely twenty-odd days ago.
"I want to visit the black market."
"Then I'll take you after work," Guan Ya offered.
*The seasoned flirt is the best...* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. Just then, Guan Ya cleared her throat and said solemnly:
"In a little while, the acting Decurion and another colleague will be arriving."
"So soon?" Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback. "Didn't the Decurion say tomorrow?"
Guan Ya smirked. "They heard about how you didn't hesitate to offend the Xiahou family just to rescue a hostage. They admire you greatly, so they decided to come early."
Chapter 89