By now, Zhang Yuanqing had already scrambled onto the windowsill, preparing to throw himself down. Watching the vengeful spirit approach step by step with her twisted, unnatural gait, he felt as if he had been cast back into the Sheling Tunnel, confronting vengeful spirits and walking corpses with only the fragile body of an ordinary mortal.
Dangers lurked on all sides; perils abounded.
Yet unlike at the Mountain God Temple, where the main hall had at least offered a sanctuary, he had nothing here in the dreamscape—his items, reinforcements, and skills had all vanished.
Things from the real world could not be brought into a dream.
Wait!
Suddenly, an item he had completely forgotten surfaced in his mind.
The Dream-Traversing Jade Talisman!
A consumable bestowed upon him by Master Wuhen, an Illusionist-profession item produced by the Nightmare Maker.
Since it also belonged to the domain of dreams, could it manifest within one?
*But I can't open my inventory... No, wait, if it's an item from the dream realm, it doesn't necessarily have to be used in reality. Since this is a dream, what would happen if I just imagined it?*
Seeing the Murderess in White draw nearer and nearer, Zhang Yuanqing hesitated no longer and decided to give it a try.
He immediately visualized the silhouette of the black jade talisman in his mind.
In the process, one of his legs was already dangling over the windowsill.
By this point, the Murderess in White had backed all the way up to the window. Her arm twisted one hundred and eighty degrees with a sickening crack, raising the cleaver high above her head.
Just then, a deep, profound black halo slowly emerged above Zhang Yuanqing's head.
*Hum!*
The cleaver, capable of effortlessly cleaving fissures into a steel security door, was stopped cold by this deep halo.
Immediately afterward, the profound halo suddenly expanded, blanketing the entire dreamscape and draping the room in a dark shroud.
The scenery inside the room began to twist and warp. Rustic flagstones replaced the elm wood flooring, a caisson ceiling painted with host upon host of Buddhas and gods replaced the ordinary ceiling, and radiant candlelight took the place of the fluorescent bulb.
Zhang Yuanqing looked around. He was back in that ancient temple. A towering Buddha statue reached all the way to the caisson ceiling, and beneath the statue sat the figure draped in blue-green monk's robes, facing away from him.
The Murderess in White stood just a few meters away, still frozen with her cleaver held high, looking as though she had been pinned by an immobilization spell, rigid and motionless.
*Phew, the Dream-Traversing Jade Talisman really worked...* Zhang Yuanqing felt heartfelt relief. Surviving a brush with death, he had managed to clutch onto his little life.
He looked down at his chest again. The slash wound remained, but for some reason, it had stopped bleeding.
He immediately pressed his palms together toward Master Wuhen's back and bowed.
"Thank you for saving my life, Master."
Having witnessed Master Wuhen's immense power, Zhang Yuanqing's respect deepened even further. Was this the might of the Sovereign stage?
With his back still turned, Master Wuhen's voice sounded low and ethereal, as if he were bitterly suppressing some profound agony as it echoed through the hall:
"Whom have you provoked?"
Numerous candidates flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind before he shook his head.
"I don't know either. But after visiting a hotel during the day, I received a text message mentioning the urban legend of the Murderess in White entering dreams to commit murder. Soon after that, I was hunted by it."
Saying this, Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the vengeful spirit not far away, still wondering what her face actually looked like.
Yet, watching the pitch-black blood steadily dripping from her form, he decided it was better not to look.
Master Wuhen's voice echoed:
"This should be an item—one that blends the two professions of Illusionist and Night Wanderer, of no small caliber."
*It really was an Illusionist's ability. But what on earth is an item that blends two professions?* Zhang Yuanqing frowned.
"There are items that possess abilities from two professions at once?"
Master Wuhen was silent for a moment, seemingly surprised that he was ignorant of such elementary knowledge. He then said:
"The Item Refining skill wielded by the Scholar profession can craft items blending two or more professions. However, it is limited only to low-tier items. The higher an item's tier, the greater the mutual exclusivity."
*So is the Xiahou family trying to kill me? No, Xiahou Xin and his son are already dead, and Xiahou Chi is locked up in the zoo. The other members of the Xiahou family have no reason to kill me; otherwise, why would they kick Xiahou Tianyuan while he was down?*
Zhang Yuanqing sank into deep thought.
After a while, Zhang Yuanqing looked at Master Wuhen's back and thought to himself, *Why am I racking my own brains?*
"Master, I want to find out who is trying to kill me. Do you have any guidance?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Master Wuhen's even voice echoed through the hall:
"Spirit questioning!"
*Of course! Even though it's an item, it's also a spirit body. As long as it's a spirit body, I can devour it...* Zhang Yuanqing's face brightened, but he quickly turned helpless. "However, I am currently in a dream. I can't use my skills."
Master Wuhen explained patiently:
"I will use the power of the dreamscape to trap it and seal it within your sea of consciousness. Once you awaken in reality, you will be able to devour it."
"Thank you, Master Wuhen." Overjoyed, Zhang Yuanqing pressed his palms together in a respectful bow.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw his familiar ceiling and found himself lying on a soft, spacious bed, covered by a light air-conditioning quilt.
"Hiss—"
The next instant, agonizing pain radiated from his chest, and a rich, coppery stench of blood rushed into his nostrils.
Zhang Yuanqing whipped off the quilt and looked down. Across his chest was an alarming slash wound, laying open flesh and revealing bone. The bleeding had stopped, but even with a Night Wanderer's healing factor, it would take considerable time to mend completely.
"Injuries sustained in the dream reflect into reality... What a close call. I almost bit the dust..."
Recalling his ordeal in the dream, he felt a lingering chill of terror.
Fortunately, he had possessed the Dream-Traversing Jade Talisman given to him by Master Wuhen. Otherwise, come tomorrow morning, the Five Elements Alliance would have lost a promising young prodigy.
He didn't even dare imagine how his family would have reacted.
*Illusionist truly lives up to its reputation as one of the three evil professions. Every pinnacle profession has its terrifying aspects. Even though I was lucky enough to escape with my life today, if I don't eliminate the culprit behind the scenes, tomorrow, the day after... I'll still be in danger.*
*And Master Wuhen's talisman was a single-use consumable. He didn't give me another one, which means he won't step in to help me next time...*
Zhang Yuanqing settled his emotions and closed his eyes. Soon, deep within his consciousness, he sensed an intensely yin and baleful presence lurking. It was violently ferocious, yet tightly bound and firmly suppressed by a powerful force.
Just as he was about to devour the evil spirit, it struck him that there was no one around to cleanse him with purification. Playing it safe, he opened his inventory and summoned the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
Then he spat out Little Doubi. Following its upgrade, the child could now interact with real-world objects, serving as a decent assistant.
"A-ba, a-ba?"
Little Doubi looked in astonishment at his blood-soaked master, unable to understand what he had been through.
"In a moment, after I close my eyes, give me a strike..."
Zhang Yuanqing gesticulated repeatedly until he finally got Little Doubi to grasp the complicated instruction.
Terrified of the Demon-Subduing Pestle, Little Doubi cradled it gingerly in his arms and nodded vigorously with his head of sparse baby hair.
*Good boy...* Zhang Yuanqing lay back on the bed with peace of mind. Closing his eyes, he was just about to reach out to the vengeful spirit deep within his sea of consciousness when a sharp pang shot through his calf.
A resplendent golden glow flared, flooding his entire body with purifying power.
*??* With a stiff face, Zhang Yuanqing sat bolt upright and looked at the infant, who had already retreated to cower by the window.
"I literally just closed my eyes..." Zhang Yuanqing's lips twitched.
A few minutes later, after finishing another round of instructions, Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes and deliberately waited several seconds. Seeing that Little Doubi truly understood his intent this time, he finally calmed his mind and made contact with the evil spirit in his sea of consciousness.
His awareness expanded abruptly as fragmented memories accompanied by intense waves of negative emotions flooded into his mind.
The visions shifted from chaotic blurriness to clarity. He saw an oppressive, gloomy sky, beneath which lay a Jiangnan water-town beneath leaden storm clouds.
Stretched across a flagstone lane lay a corpse with a mangled chest.
The scenes alternated. He saw many different corpses strewn across various corners of the town—on streets, inside ancient residences, upon stone-slab bridges...
*Was this vengeful spirit the boss of a single-player Night Wanderer Spirit Realm?* A realization dawned on Zhang Yuanqing.
After an unknown amount of time, someone finally cleared this single-player Spirit Realm, and the evil spirit was granted to that lucky participant in the form of an item.
Its original vessel was a quaint celadon vase.
Then the scene shifted. Inside a sundry shop crammed with clutter, a woman stood by the counter wearing a black tube top and loose trousers. Charming and voluptuous, she held a slender lady's cigarette between her fingertips.
Blowing a puff of white smoke from her flame-red lips, she chuckled softly.
"Looking for an item that can kill most Extraordinary realm walkers?"
She turned around, rummaging through a cabinet piled high with odd trinkets and apparatuses before unearthing a battered old mobile phone.
"This item blends the powers of dreams and evil spirits. Draft a text message and send it to the designated number, and the evil spirit residing within the phone will slip into the target's dream to kill them.
"It is useless against Level 3 Scouts, Level 3 Bewitching Demons, and Level 3 Illusionists, but for any other profession, it is practically a sure kill. Not expensive—five million. Considering you're a Five Elements Alliance Deacon, I'll give you a discount: four million will do. I'll send you the text message script shortly."
"Deal!" A hand reached out and picked up the battered phone.
Following that hand upward, the buyer was revealed to be a solemn-faced man with a square jaw, dressed in a white judo uniform.
*Deacon Pang?!*
The imagery rippled like water, and a new memory unfolded. In a lavishly decorated bedroom, Deacon Pang sat by a desk, drafting a text message with an indifferent expression.
Halfway through drafting the text, a brilliant golden light shattered the vision completely.
Zhang Yuanqing snapped his eyes open. He saw the Demon-Subduing Pestle resting near his feet, while Little Doubi was curled up by the gaming console not far away, propping himself up on his little arms as he watched Zhang Yuanqing with wide, dark eyes.
"I'm fine. You did great!"
After reassuring Little Doubi, Zhang Yuanqing sank into contemplation.
*Why did Deacon Pang want to kill me?*
*I have had no interactions with him, let alone any grudges. Why would he want my life... Well, he is close to the Xiahou family and serves as one of their official connections. Could it be because I got Xiahou Tianyuan thrown in prison?*
*The motive seems plausible, yet something still feels missing...*
*Now that I've destroyed his item, we are thoroughly enemies. After tonight, if he finds out I survived, he'll likely seek further retribution. This man must be killed.*
Zhang Yuanqing had no desire to experience that nightmare a second time.
Moreover, Deacon Pang was in the Saint stage. Using an item for assassination this time was meant to avoid leaving traces. If he decided to act personally next time, Zhang Yuanqing knew he stood no chance against a Saint.
*Should I report this to Fu Qingyang? But the problem is, I don't have hard evidence. Without proof, Fu Qingyang can't just take down an equal-ranking Deacon on a whim, can he?*
A thought crossed Zhang Yuanqing's mind, and an idea sprang up: *Ask the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter to step in and handle the hit!*
He immediately discarded the idea as unreliable.
*Never mind whether the Palace Master would even agree—even if it succeeded, I'd hand a lethal piece of leverage over to that crazy woman. What if she starts manipulating me, breaking out the leather whips and dripping wax...*
*Ask Master Wuhen to step in?*
*A figure of that stature is far beyond what I can afford to hire. Saving me tonight was already returning the favor owed to 'Ashamed to Be a Father'...* Zhang Yuanqing found the situation exceedingly thorny.
After weighing his options back and forth, he decided it was best to inform Fu Qingyang.
On one hand, Fu Qingyang was his direct superior; when a subordinate was targeted for assassination, the boss had to step up and settle the score. From the way he handled Xiahou Tianyuan, it was clear that Fu Qingyang was a very proud man.
He would never permit anyone to lay a hand on those under his wing.
On the other hand, Fu Qingyang would certainly grasp the gravity of the matter. If Deacon Pang failed once, there would inevitably be a second attempt. Left unchecked, his subordinate Night Wanderer was as good as dead.
Under such circumstances, if Fu Qingyang chose to swallow the insult on the grounds of lacking evidence, it would prove that he didn't value Zhang Yuanqing particularly highly, treating him merely as an expendable pawn.
In that case, to save his own skin, Zhang Yuanqing's only choice would be to reach out to the Palace of Halting Slaughter, breaking away from the official organization to become a rogue walker.
Naturally, that was the worst-case scenario, but it was still vastly preferable to ending up dead.
Having made up his mind, Zhang Yuanqing dialed Fu Qingyang's phone number.
The line rang for a long time before finally connecting.
Fu Qingyang's cold, emotionless voice came through the speaker:
"I gave you my contact information, but not so you could make a habit of calling me in the dead of night."
*I'll try to keep that in mind in the future...* Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and got straight to the point. "Centurion, Deacon Pang is trying to kill me!"
The other end of the line fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "What happened?"
Zhang Yuanqing recounted the entire ordeal from start to finish, though he withheld Master Wuhen's name, claiming only that an expert acquaintance had come to his aid.
He knew this account contained obvious gaps, which Fu Qingyang would undoubtedly detect.
If Fu Qingyang pressed for details, he would come clean; if not, he would play dumb.
"Come see me immediately," Fu Qingyang instructed.
"I'm afraid I can't..." Zhang Yuanqing said weakly with a forced chuckle. "I'm severely injured."
Fu Qingyang's tone sank sharply. "You're injured?"
"If I rest for half an hour, I should be much better. But right now, I can't move," Zhang Yuanqing said.
"I will notify Li Dongze and have his driver come pick you up," Fu Qingyang replied coldly. "Before dawn, I will resolve this matter."
*How do you plan to resolve it?* Zhang Yuanqing held his tongue and feigned weakness. "Understood. Thank you, Centurion."
Hanging up the phone, he grimaced with a wince. *It would be best to kill Deacon Pang. If that's not possible, locking him up would work too.*
Enduring the searing pain in his chest, he stripped the bloodstained air-conditioning quilt, bedsheet, and clothes, stuffing them into the wardrobe.
After quickly tidying up the scene, Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the headboard and opened his status panel to check his experience points.
Back when he had cleared the Jinshui Amusement Park, his experience stood at 23%. After delivering Hengxing Wuji, Xiahou Tianyuan, and a handful of ordinary spirits into the afterlife, his experience had climbed to 28%.
Devouring the evil spirit tonight had granted him another 5% in experience points.
Thus, the supposed weakness had been entirely feigned to elicit Fu Qingyang's sympathy.
He was currently brimful of strength. The Lunar force within him had grown even denser, and both his physical constitution and skills had seen improvement.
Half an hour later, Zhang Yuanqing quietly left his home, took the elevator downstairs, and waited outside the residential compound.
Before long, Li Dongze's business van pulled up to the entrance, its automatic door sliding open smoothly.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Li Dongze's vehicle came to a stop outside the Fujia Bay villa district. At the entrance, another white business van was parked.
Stepping out of the vehicle, Zhang Yuanqing saw the window of the white van glide down, revealing Fu Qingyang's handsome face.
He hurried over and boarded the luxuriously appointed vehicle.
Fu Qingyang examined him closely, his expression easing slightly. "The regenerative power of a Night Wanderer is truly enviable."
Without waiting for Zhang Yuanqing to reply, he instructed the driver, "Move out!"
The vehicle started up, speeding down the wide, deserted avenue. Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to ask, "Centurion, what do you plan to do?"
Fu Qingyang said calmly, "Kill him, then question his spirit."
Glancing at his subordinate's stunned expression, he explained:
"Murdering a colleague is a capital offense to begin with. Furthermore, I suspect he is a member of the Dark Night Rose, colluding with Hei Wuchang."
*A member of the Dark Night Rose?* Zhang Yuanqing was startled. "What makes you say that?"
Deacon Pang was close to the Xiahou family, Xiahou Chi's branch belonged to the Dark Night Rose, and that organization had infiltrated the official ranks.
The possibility of Deacon Pang being a Dark Night Rose member certainly existed; Zhang Yuanqing had formed a similar suspicion during his own analysis earlier. Yet he had believed the Dark Night Rose lacked a motive to assassinate him.
A massive organization like that wouldn't fixate on taking out a minor figure. If they did, then Guan Ya, Bailong, Qingteng, and Jiang Jingwei would all be in danger.
If they wanted to stage an assassination, they would target Fu Qingyang instead.
Unless the Dark Night Rose knew he was the Demon Lord's successor—but if that were the case, they would be capturing him, not assassinating him.
"Do you remember the night you were ambushed by Hengxing Wuji? I wasn't in Kangyang District because I had gone to Fenghua District. That night, traces of Hei Wuchang were discovered at an abandoned factory there."
Fu Qingyang continued indifferently, "And the person who requested my assistance was Pang Wudi."
"You suspected him all along?" Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback.
"I couldn't be certain, so I was biding my time. What happened to you tonight confirms my suspicions," Fu Qingyang said.
Chapter 97