Adjusting the Plan

With an exhaled puff of Lunar force, Little Doubi "tumbled" onto the ground by Zhang Yuanqing's feet. Propping himself up with his two short, chubby hands, he looked around in bewilderment before obediently clutching at his master's pant leg in midair. In such an unfamiliar environment, the infant spirit was instinctively timid around strangers and instinctively reliant on his master. *Stupid and cowardly, nothing like me at all. Ah, forget it, he's just a child after all.* Zhang Yuanqing sent him a mental command to pick something out like a child at a zhuazhou ritual. Upon receiving his master's order, Little Doubi finally turned his dark, bead-like eyes toward the stall. Tilting his head, he hesitated a moment before plucking up the courage to crawl toward the stall. He sniffed at a bottle of zombie bodily fluid, crawled away in utter disgust, and didn't even spare a glance for non-yin materials like bursting stones. Every time Little Doubi inspected a material, Zhang Yuanqing asked about it. "What's this?" "Bloody soil from a yin-gathering spot in a mass grave." "And what's this?" "A ghost infant's umbilical cord... Are you going to buy anything or not?" "Of course I am. Why else would I come here?" Seeing Little Doubi stop in front of a nautical compass, Zhang Yuanqing immediately asked, "What's this?" The nautical compass was ancient, encased in brass with a cloudy glass cover. Palm-sized, its dial was engraved with English words and distorted runes. It looked like a compass used by pirates during the Age of Sail. "This? Now this is something special..." the vendor claimed with conviction. "I picked it up from a foreign walker. Supposedly, it's an item fragment, and a high-tier one at that." "A fragment..." Zhang Yuanqing scrutinized the compass, which was completely intact apart from its age, and said irritably, "Where is it fragmented?" "How would I know?" The vendor shrugged. "Can I touch it?" Zhang Yuanqing squatted down. The vendor's eyes lit up. "Of course." Earlier, this customer had only asked questions without touching anything, clearly having no intention of buying. Now, however, he had visibly taken an interest in the nautical compass. The item truly had been acquired from a foreign walker, and it had been stuck in his hands for a long time without selling. Zhang Yuanqing picked up the compass and held it in his palm. After waiting a few seconds, no information surfaced. However, through contact, he sensed that it was indeed an item aligned with yin. "Materials and item fragments don't display item descriptions." One look, and the vendor knew he was dealing with a rookie. At that moment, Guan Ya asked, "Which foreign profession does this compass belong to?" The vendor recalled, "Seems to be the 'Void' profession. Overseas, they're also called 'Merchants.' Personally, I think Merchant suits their traits better." "Void" was the name bestowed by the Spirit Realm, whereas "Merchant" was a moniker coined by walkers. *Void?* Zhang Yuanqing paused, suddenly recalling the red dancing shoes. He remembered Ou Xiangrong mentioning that the red dancing shoes were an item belonging to the foreign Void profession. Since Little Doubi had chosen this compass, it wouldn't be fake. But why would Little Doubi pick something from the Void profession? Hadn't he become a spirit servant under the influence of an item from the Musician profession? Zhang Yuanqing fell into thought. "How much?" Guan Ya asked. "One million," the vendor demanded outrageously. "How do we know you didn't just pick up some piece of junk to fool us?" Guan Ya intended to haggle, signaling with her eyes for Zhang Yuanqing to keep quiet and leave it to her. "Take it or leave it," the vendor said stubbornly. "There are plenty of materials around here. We can always look elsewhere," Guan Ya scoffed. "Suit yourself." The vendor shrugged. Guan Ya frowned. To be honest, bargaining was not her forte. As a wealthy heiress, she never considered the price when buying things, only whether she liked them. With the vendor being so rigid, she was momentarily at a loss for how to drive the price down. Right then, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly handed over a business card and said: "Brother, let's get acquainted. I'm Wang Tai, an official walker with Team Two of Kangyang District." *An official walker?* The vendor's expression instantly tightened. Shedding his lax attitude, he took the card with both hands. "Don't be nervous. Just making a friend. Brother, this item fragment of yours is priced a bit steep, don't you think...?" "Brother Wang, you get what you pay for..." Half an hour later, Zhang Yuanqing bought the nautical compass for one hundred thousand. Not wanting to draw the attention of Bailong or Quanwang, he and Guan Ya left the black market. In the elevator, Guan Ya looked at him with a strange expression. "You're pretty good at bargaining." "I don't know how to haggle; I just know how to make friends." Zhang Yuanqing shrugged. "By the way, I'll pay you back later." It was worth noting that transactions in the black market were divided into two methods: "chips" and "cash." The former worked like a casino, where cash was exchanged for chips, and once transactions were complete, the chips could be cashed out with the faction running the market. Those who used this method usually trusted the host but distrusted buyers. Cash transactions were the exact opposite. Zhang Yuanqing had used chips, but Guan Ya was the one who paid to exchange them; he had used the excuse that he forgot his bank card. "Let's go. Dinner's on me; I've already booked a restaurant. Sister Guan Ya, which hotel do you prefer to sleep in? I'll book that while I'm at it." By the time he returned home, it was 10:30 PM. His grandma and grandpa were already asleep, and Jiang Yu'er hadn't come to his room to play video games. Sitting at his desk, Zhang Yuanqing logged into the official database to look up the "Void" profession. [Void Profession: In the Transcendent stage, this profession specializes in theft and stealth, possesses exceptional speed, and is not adept at combat.] With his clearance level, he could only access information on the Transcendent stage. "Doesn't look too bad. If Little Doubi gains agile speed, he can form an Assassin's Brotherhood with me. Hmm, the compass might not necessarily be Transcendent stage; what if it's Saint stage? Then I'd have hit the jackpot. I wonder what abilities the Saint stage of the Void profession has..." Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of anticipation. "Wait?" He suddenly froze, muttering to himself, "Theft... swapping..." Zhang Yuanqing realized why Little Doubi had chosen this compass: the infant spirit's skill was swapping, and swapping and theft shared a certain degree of similarity. "Then again, why is Little Doubi's skill swapping in the first place? Does the Musician profession have this ability?" Zhang Yuanqing immediately dialed Wang Qian's mobile number. The call connected quickly, and Wang Qian's respectful voice sounded: "How may I help you?" Ever since Zhang Yuanqing rescued his sister, Wang Qian, his attitude toward him had undergone an immense transformation. "Back when you tried to save your nephew, what kind of item did you request from your organization?" Wang Qian didn't know why he was bringing up the past, sounding torn: "I'm sorry, but I can't disclose information about the organization's items." "Then let me ask you: in the Saint stage, or even the Dominator stage, does the Musician profession have abilities like theft, swapping, or transferring?" "I don't know about the Dominator stage, but there are no such abilities in the Transcendent or Saint stages," Wang Qian answered truthfully. "Thanks." Zhang Yuanqing hung up, his brows furrowing deeply. Little Doubi had become a spirit servant under the influence of a Musician item, yet the ability he awakened didn't belong to the Musician profession? "It's not from the Musician profession, but resembles theft from the Void profession instead. Strange..." He pondered it for a long time, but found no answer. At a hotel. Xiahou Xin stood before floor-to-ceiling windows, impassively looking down upon the bustling night view as he listened to his phone. Once the person on the other end finished speaking, he asked in a deep voice: "What is Elder Gou's stance?" "Elder Gou has devoted all his energy recently to hunting down Hei Wuchang. He'll likely put Young Master Tianyuan's punishment on hold for now. However, I don't think there's any need for the Xiahou family to pull strings anymore. The evidence Fu Qingyang provided is airtight, and the matter has blown up so much that countless official walkers are watching..." Xiahou Xin let out an "Mm" and asked expressionlessly, "I heard the Five Elements Alliance is moving up the grand health check?" A moment of silence fell on the other end before the voice replied: "This grand health check is different from past ones. Elder Gou requested the Tiger Tally from the higher-ups..." Xiahou Xin's tone darkened. "Are you confident you can handle it?" "Heh, who dares claim confidence in the face of a rule-based item?" The voice on the phone showed no urgency, chuckling lightly. "I've already reported this upstairs. If we can't solve the problem, we can always solve the person causing it. By the way, leave that Yuanshi Tianzun alone for now. Don't make a move until the storm blows over." Xiahou Xin said flatly, "Once the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter is dealt with, and once the Leader finishes business in Songhai, I will slice that brat into a thousand pieces." The colder his tone, the fiercer the fury beneath it. It wasn't that Xiahou Xin had never encountered adversaries before, but they had always been his equals. This was the first time an insignificant ant had bitten him so hard as to cause heavy losses. "The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter won't remain arrogant for long. The Leader is searching for her in secret." "Good." At midnight, Zhang Yuanqing woke from a sound sleep, refreshed and energetic. He left the bedroom, walked into the kitchen, and fetched a bowl. Retrieving the Demon-Subduing Pestle from his inventory, he sliced open his wrist, letting the blood rich in Lunar force flow into the bowl. Before long, he had gathered nearly half a bowl of fresh blood. To inscribe Spirit Talismans, one had to use the blood of a Night Wanderer; otherwise, the drawn array would possess form without power, devoid of any divine wonder. Midnight was when yin energy peaked, and it was also when the Lunar force within a Night Wanderer surged most vigorously. Dipping his fingers into the blood, Zhang Yuanqing drew twisted runes one after another on the bedroom floor. Some resembled tadpoles, some were circles, some triangles, and others looked like traditional Chinese characters, varied and diverse. Yet when combined, they produced a sense of seamless unity. Soon, a circular array composed of distorted runes appeared on the bedroom floor. As Zhang Yuanqing made the final stroke, the array took shape. The auras of every single rune connected, radiating a brilliant crimson glow. *Done.* Zhang Yuanqing looked tired, but gazing at the surging energy of the array, he felt a rush of joy. Inscribing such a grand Spirit Talisman array was a tremendous drain on a Night Wanderer. The exhaustion felt equivalent to going through an intense battle. Without further delay, he took out the ancient nautical compass, placed it in the center of the array, and exhaled a breath of Lunar force to spit out Little Doubi. "Go inside!" Zhang Yuanqing sent him the command. Little Doubi paddled his four limbs, crawling into the array. As the infant spirit entered, the crimson light rippled like water. Then, the dense blood-red glow contracted inward, enveloping both the infant spirit and the ancient compass. *Very comfortable...* Little Doubi transmitted a sensation of that sort to his master. At that moment, the crimson glow encasing the compass detached from the item and floated slowly into the air. Within the bloody radiance, a peculiar spirituality bobbed up and down. Zhang Yuanqing stared at the compass for a few moments, sensing that something seemed to have vanished from the item fragment, though he couldn't put his finger on what. He didn't dwell on it, because at that very second, the floating orb of crimson light crashed into Little Doubi's body. *Hurts so much, it hurts...* Little Doubi transmitted waves of "agony" to his master. Bathed in the crimson glow, he rolled across the floor, wailing and crying, enduring an agony no child of his age should have had to bear. This process lasted about ten minutes until the crimson light gradually merged into the infant spirit's body. Little Doubi lay limply on the ground, sticking his little bottom into the air, looking utterly drained. *It's over. What ability did he get?* Zhang Yuanqing couldn't wait to calm his mind and send his consciousness into his spirit servant. Soon, he had a clear grasp and understanding of Little Doubi's changes. The changes were threefold. First, the wind-up for Little Doubi's initial skill, "swapping," had shortened: from requiring three seconds of contact to two, while the swap's duration increased from three seconds to five. Second, Little Doubi's Lunar force had grown far more robust. The resulting effect was heightened intelligence, making him noticeably smarter; he could also weakly affect reality now, allowing him to carry lightweight objects. Third, a new skill: Treasure Seeking. He possessed an innate talent for finding treasures, endowed with a natural sensitivity to anything valuable or spiritual. "Treasure Seeking? The extraordinary power contained within the compass was Treasure Seeking? Uh, no wonder 'Void' is also called Merchant overseas." Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of delight. Although he joked about having him take his father's place in battle, Zhang Yuanqing knew very well that Little Doubi was merely a low-tier spirit servant; even if he gained an offensive skill, it would only be at the Transcendent stage. It couldn't possibly reach the Saint level. And at the Transcendent stage, Zhang Yuanqing considered himself among the strongest; combined with his numerous items, he didn't lack offensive power. A skill like Treasure Seeking, on the other hand, was immensely useful—for instance, when finding treasures inside instances. The higher the difficulty of an instance, the fewer hints it provided, requiring Spirit Realm walkers to explore on their own. Little Doubi's Treasure Seeking ability would definitely shine brilliantly in instances. Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the room and returned a few seconds later with a mop, wiping away the bloodstains on the floor. Then, recalling Little Doubi to nourish him inside his body, the utterly exhausted young man crawled into his bed covers. Before drifting off to sleep, he habitually made plans, sorting through his thoughts to consider what he should do next. *My next priorities are hunting down Hei Wuchang and dealing with the grand health check. The check mainly targets the Fallen, and since I'm not one, it shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully this check can root out the people from Dark Night Rose, so the operation to hunt Hei Wuchang can continue.* *Sigh, over the past few days, the Deceitful Eye Judge's thralls have gone berserk all over the country, causing quite a stir. Fortunately, there shouldn't be many thralls controlled by the Fallen Holy Grail left in the Songhai area.* His thoughts grew increasingly sluggish, and he soon drifted into dreamland. The next morning, Zhang Yuanqing was awakened by a flurry of "Aba, aba" sounds. Opening his eyes, he saw Little Doubi lying beside his pillow, balancing a white lace bra on his head, looking at him with an expression that practically pleaded for praise. *Where did this women's underwear come from... Wait? Underwear?!* Zhang Yuanqing snapped wide awake and sat bolt upright. Staring at the white lace bra for a few moments, his face turned to sheer horror. *This is my aunt's bra.* "Why—why did you steal my aunt's bra?!" Zhang Yuanqing demanded in a hushed whisper. "Aba, aba..." With the bra perched atop his head, Little Doubi looked at him with dark, beady eyes, a glint of smug pride in their depths, as if saying: *Praise me, hurry!* Following his upgrade, his micro-expressions had grown increasingly vivid. Zhang Yuanqing stared at his aunt's bra and sank into deep thought. *Why on earth would he think my aunt's bra is a treasure? Is there something wrong with this lousy Treasure Seeking skill, or did my upbringing go wrong?* *Is this account ruined? Should I roll a new one?* *Knock, knock!* A knock sounded at the door, and his grandmother called from outside, "Yuanzi, time to get up." "Got it!" In a frantic scramble, Zhang Yuanqing stuffed his aunt's bra under the blanket. At the dining table, the family had breakfast. Jiang Yu'er took a sip of porridge, looked toward her mother, and complained distressingly: "Mom, have you seen the underwear I took off to wash? It was in the bamboo hamper in the bathroom." "Haven't seen it." "But I can't find it. Help me look for it, okay? I haven't washed it yet." "Alright, alright, don't talk about that while eating. Leaving things all over the place all day long," Grandma grumbled in disgust. Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head with a guilty conscience and sipped his porridge. To answer Decurion Teng Yuan's call, Zhang Yuanqing felt obligated to skip half a day of work, lest he fail such an enlightened leader. Conveniently, he had a major course that morning. *Going to school is such a chore. To me, studying has lost all meaning, but skipping too many classes will lead to being expelled, which would be difficult to explain to my family...* Zhang Yuanqing suddenly found himself envying adults who had entered society. Just as the class ended, he received a phone call from Fu Qingyang. "Centurion Fu?" Zhang Yuanqing was a bit surprised. "You're not at the office?" Fu Qingyang's cool, aloof voice came through. "Is something the matter?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, standing up and leaving the classroom. "The convoy transporting the Tiger Tally ran into an accident midway. They were ambushed, suffering heavy casualties. The Elder leading the escort went after the enemy. The surviving members don't dare proceed alone and plan to turn back along their original route. The grand health check will have to be postponed." Fu Qingyang's voice carried a hint of heaviness. *Tiger Tally? What Tiger Tally?* Zhang Yuanqing didn't catch on right away. Fu Qingyang continued: "The Tiger Tally is a rule-based item capable of helping us identify members of the Dark Night Rose organization lurking within our branch. The leader of Dark Night Rose wants to make contact with Hei Wuchang and relies on undercover members in the Five Elements Alliance to pass intelligence. Holding the grand health check now poses the greatest threat to him. I suspect they are the ones obstructing it." Zhang Yuanqing's tone grew grave in turn. "Then what do you plan to do?" If he recalled correctly, Fu Qingyang had originally intended to filter out a batch of "spies" via the grand health check first. Fu Qingyang said calmly, "Adjust the plan: execute Xiahou Tianyuan, and have you conduct spirit questioning." Though he possessed lie-detecting items, telling lies apart from truth was entirely different from compelling a target to speak the truth. "You're making a move on the Xiahou family?" Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. "Yes. I consulted the Elder, and the Elder agreed." "Understood. I'll head over right away."