Fujia Bay.
A prime villa neighborhood in Kangyang District. In Songhai, suburban villas averaged around ninety to one hundred twenty thousand yuan per square meter, while downtown villas... Zhang Yuanqing had never bothered to look into them.
Yet having lived in Kangyang District, he had heard plenty about the illustrious Fujia Bay. A few years back, the most expensive villa here had fetched a staggering price tag of 350 million.
Taxis were not allowed into a luxury estate of this caliber. Zhang Yuanqing got out at the main entrance and waited quietly for a few minutes until a mature, elegant woman draped in a trench coat walked over with graceful, swaying steps.
"Yuanshi Tianzun?" The woman offered a gentle smile.
"That's me." Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"Centurion Fu sent me to receive you." She smiled.
She was tall, with long legs clad in black stockings and light, exquisite makeup—an exceptional beauty.
Zhang Yuanqing followed behind her. After walking along the wide neighborhood streets for ten-odd minutes, they stopped outside a grand, luxurious villa.
Behind intricately wrought iron gates lay a sprawling courtyard reminiscent of a classical garden. Through the artful arrangement of trees, flowers, rockeries, and ponds, paired with refined architecture and winding pathways, the courtyard exuded an elegant, tranquil charm.
A tall, three-story villa stood at the center of this "garden," flanked and framed by picturesque scenery.
*Tsk, tsk. As expected of a scion of wicked capitalists...* Zhang Yuanqing mused with a tinge of jealousy. In comparison, despite being a well-off local of Songhai, his own family seemed practically destitute and living in squalor.
The young woman pulled an access card from her trench coat pocket, swiped open the wrought-iron gate, and led Zhang Yuanqing inside.
Following a cobblestone path past vibrant flower beds vying for attention, Zhang Yuanqing smoothly entered the villa's main foyer.
Mirror-polished marble tiles paved the vast hall, their decor balancing opulence with understated elegance. Facing the entrance was a grand double-flight staircase, and three bunny girls were currently cleaning the living room.
*Huh? Bunny girls?* Zhang Yuanqing froze.
*High-quality bunny girls at that...*
At that moment, the mature beauty who had led him inside slipped off her trench coat, revealing a sexy black bunny suit underneath. Fastening a pair of white rabbit ears to her hair, she smiled and said, "The Centurion is waiting for you upstairs. Follow me."
In the blink of an eye, she had transformed from a dignified older sister into a curvaceous, slender-waisted, long-legged bunny girl.
Upon reaching the second floor, the bunny girl brought him to the study door and said softly, "The Centurion is waiting for you inside."
With that, she took her leave.
Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand and knocked on the double doors of the study.
"Enter," came Fu Qingyang's voice from within.
The wooden double doors were unlocked. Zhang Yuanqing pushed them open gently. What met his eyes resembled a reception hall far more than a typical study.
A vibrant red carpet blanketed the expansive room, adorned with expensive wooden sofas, curio shelves, and bookcases. The walls were decorated with oil paintings, sets of armor, Western iron swords, ancient Chinese swords, and more.
Fu Qingyang sat behind a desk directly facing the entrance. Behind him was not a bookshelf, but a portrait of himself.
*Guan Ya was right. This guy really is full of himself...* Zhang Yuanqing walked across the long carpet, came before the desk, and greeted, "Centurion."
"Mm." Fu Qingyang nodded with a stoic expression.
*Some people look cool and ascetic on the outside, but keep bunny girls at home behind closed doors...* Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him, muttering inwardly.
Fu Qingyang said, "Xiahou Tianyuan is locked in the basement. I'll take you down in a moment."
"Will there really be no problem just killing him like this?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Fu Qingyang replied indifferently, "Setting aside all his other crimes, colluding with a secret organization is reason enough to execute him a hundred times over. Once you perform the spirit questioning, I will arrest Xiahou Xin and execute him according to regulations, followed by Xiahou Chi. However, since Xiahou Chi is held in Elder Gou's zoo, an official request will be required."
*Have to admit, this Centurion of the White Tiger Battalion is truly decisive and ruthless,* Zhang Yuanqing thought admiringly, before adding mentally: *Too bad he's a pervert.*
The moment he saw those bunny girls, a hundred gigabytes of plots had flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind, nearly stirring his deepest instincts.
Just then, Fu Qingyang frowned. "You have an issue with me?"
"Ah?" Startled, Zhang Yuanqing shook his head repeatedly. "No, not at all! Centurion, you are wise and mighty."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do," the wealthy scion said with a deepened scowl. "In front of a Scout, any pretense is futile."
*Well then...* Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing dropped the act and chuckled. "Your subordinate just didn't expect Centurion Fu to keep beauties hidden away in a golden house. As expected of a Centurion, your taste is truly extraordinary. Unlike me, who only likes long legs in black stockings—my preferences are far too plain."
The corner of Fu Qingyang's eye twitched. After a few seconds of silence, he explained, "They are domestic staff hired for the villa. They are solely responsible for housework and meals."
*Huh? Solely responsible for housework and meals? Is that how bunny girls are meant to be used?!* Zhang Yuanqing was heartbroken.
Descending the stairs behind Fu Qingyang, Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the second basement level.
The layout of the second basement resembled a hotel, with rows of cells lining both sides of a red-carpeted corridor.
*Why would he set up a dungeon in his own house? Is it personal taste, or a hobby of the White Tiger Battalion?* Zhang Yuanqing looked around curiously.
A well-maintained ventilation system kept the air circulating smoothly. Fu Qingyang stopped in front of an iron door, struck a match, and lit a cigarette. Peering through the barred gate, he looked into the cell.
Following his gaze, Zhang Yuanqing looked inside.
Xiahou Tianyuan wore steel shackles on his limbs and a wooden cangue around his neck, sitting on the edge of a single cot. His complexion looked decent enough; evidently, he had not suffered from hunger or cold here.
*The shackles and cangue must be props; otherwise, they couldn't contain a Level 3 Spirit Realm walker...* Zhang Yuanqing assessed Xiahou Tianyuan.
Having long heard their footsteps, Xiahou Tianyuan glared venomously at his two enemies at the door, his eyes ultimately landing on Zhang Yuanqing. He sneered, "Well, well, come to visit your daddy? I'm doing just fine. Once I get out of here, I'll skin you alive and pull your tendons, you unfilial brat."
He promptly turned to Fu Qingyang and snorted, "Fu Qingyang, how long can you really keep me locked up? I'm a direct descendant of the Xiahou family! Whatever evidence you dug up will only buy you a few years behind bars at most. Once I ascend to the Saint stage, the Xiahou family will definitely get me out."
Even though he was behind bars, he remained completely fearless.
Xiahou Tianyuan had admitted defeat, but so what? He would be imprisoned for a few years at worst. If he advanced to Saint in the large killing dungeon held in the middle or end of the year, his family would spare no effort to pull strings and secure his release.
Although the other factions in the family wished he were dead, once he became a Saint, the Council of Elders would definitely protect him.
Fu Qingyang said calmly, "Did your Xiahou family really travel thousands of miles to Songhai just to avenge Xiahou Tianwen?"
Xiahou Tianyuan sneered in silence.
Zhang Yuanqing chimed in as the straight man, "I think they had other motives."
Fu Qingyang glanced at him, his gaze placid. "Oh? Like what?"
Zhang Yuanqing said, "I believe it's very likely that the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter uncovered some secret from Xiahou Tianwen. That's why Xiahou Chi rushed to Songhai with his direct lineage—to silence her."
Fu Qingyang reacted with sudden realization. "Then what kind of secret do you think it is?"
Zhang Yuanqing said, "For example, Xiahou Chi's lineage secretly colluding with Dark Night Rose."
Hearing this, Xiahou Tianyuan's pupils contracted violently. The arrogance and insolence on his face were replaced by astonishment and shock.
*No, that's impossible. How could they know?!* Stormy waves surged within Xiahou Tianyuan's heart.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Xiahou Tianyuan said, quickly pulling himself together and resuming his defiant stance. "What, trying to frame me with trumped-up charges? My Xiahou family may not be as powerful as the Fu family, but we won't let you, Fu Qingyang, slander and frame us so brazenly!"
Fu Qingyang stared at his defiant face, retrieved a keycard from his pocket, and handed it to Zhang Yuanqing.
*Beep beep!*
Taking the card, Zhang Yuanqing swiped open the cell door.
As he stepped into the cell, he reached into the void and drew out a forty-centimeter-long, gleaming yanagiba.
Xiahou Tianyuan's expression changed. His gaze darted between the yanagiba and Zhang Yuanqing's face, and he demanded in shock and anger, "Wh-What are you doing?!"
Zhang Yuanqing grinned. "Killing you and questioning your spirit!"
Xiahou Tianyuan froze, then turned hysterical like a cat with its fur on end. He bellowed, "You dare kill me? Yuanshi Tianzun, you dare to kill me?!
"I am a direct son of the Xiahou family! My father is the Old Ancestor's own flesh and blood! If you kill me, the Xiahou family will never let you off!
"What do you think you are?! A lowly walker like you, how dare you kill me?!"
Zhang Yuanqing took step after step toward him. Xiahou Tianyuan's face turned from fury to terror, and he babbled frantically, "Yuanshi Tianzun, don't let Fu Qingyang use you! He's using you! Our conflict isn't irreconcilable! Don't let yourself be used—"
"I think someone as wicked as you is better off dead." Zhang Yuanqing walked up behind him, tilted his head back with one hand to expose his throat, and with the other hand holding the yanagiba, gave a gentle slice across the carotid artery.
Blood surged out like a fountain, splashing a gruesome crimson across the wall and floor.
The bleeding property of the Bloodthirsty Blade only accelerated the effect.
Xiahou Tianyuan collapsed to the floor. After a brief death rattle, he slowly ceased moving, his venomous eyes fixed on Zhang Yuanqing until the very end.
Putting away the yanagiba, Zhang Yuanqing swiftly communed with the dispersing spirit, darkness welling up in the depths of his eyes.
Soon, the scattered spirit fragments gathered, coalescing above the corpse into an illusory silhouette. Its eyes were vacant, yet its countenance was fierce and cruel.
Facial expressions could be faked, but a spirit body truly reflected a person's nature.
Xiahou Tianyuan was fundamentally a brutal and vicious man.
Opening his mouth, Zhang Yuanqing inhaled and devoured the spirit body. In an instant, a torrent of disordered, chaotic memories flooded his sea of consciousness.
Fragmented and jumbled, these memories flickered through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Zhang Yuanqing saw fragments of Xiahou Tianyuan's past. Back in middle school, he had gathered lackeys to bully weak students and raped an English teacher, only for the family to smooth over the incident.
Yet he refused to mend his ways, assaulting several female classmates in succession. By high school, he had learned to pave his way with money, trifling with female teachers and classmates while terrorizing the vulnerable.
Into adulthood, his crimes grew even worse: extorting entrepreneurs, colluding with state-owned enterprise executives, keeping wild Spirit Realm walkers as enforcers...
Scene after scene flashed past until, at last, Zhang Yuanqing saw one of the memories etched deepest into Xiahou Tianyuan's mind.
In a study with doors and windows tightly shut under bright lights, Xiahou Xin sat beside the desk with a grave expression.
Looking at his son across the desk, he said in a low, heavy voice, "Dark Night Rose is an organization terrifying beyond imagination. Its influence permeates both the government and the populace. The day will come when all Spirit Realm walkers grovel at its feet."
"Dad, an organization like that could easily carve out territory and establish itself as a new official organization, or an evil one. Why hide in the shadows?"
Xiahou Xin remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you know why the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect became the official organizations?"
"Because the orthodox faction has the most walkers?"
"No. It is because the five Alliance Leaders command the ultimate secrets of the Spirit Realm, as do the heads of the perennial evil organizations. Tianyuan, the conflict between orthodox and evil has far more complicated reasons behind it than you think.
"What Dark Night Rose wants to do is rule the Spirit Realm."
The vision shattered, and Zhang Yuanqing withdrew from the spirit questioning.
Chapter 92