Cousin

At the café, beneath the awning.

Zhang Yuanqing cradled a steaming cup of coffee, staring blankly at the street. The streetlights, headlights, and shop lights intertwined to form a dazzling, bustling night scene.

After a long while, he took a big gulp, then sighed out the stale air in his chest, as if expelling all the spiritual contamination.

"Devouring spirits to get stronger seems like a crooked path."

He finally understood why the Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Sect refused to devour spirits.

If the world was a sea of suffering, then ordinary people were little boats bobbing on its waves, each burdened by sorrow, each with their own misfortunes and pain.

Those hardships were transferred to the Night Wanderer along with the spirits. Even if only a small part of each person's suffering passed on, the accumulated spiritual contamination could become terrifying.

Keep that up long enough, and even schizophrenia would be the least of your worries.

But the benefits were immediate. His experience was now at 46%. The time limit for the Night Roaming skill hadn't increased—it was still nine seconds—but his physical abilities had improved noticeably. His vitality and healing ability had also grown.

Those were tangible gains.

"Right, I still don't know how that gay guy died. No, I don't want to know at all."

He took a lingering sip of coffee.

Morning, villa.

In a large conference room that could seat thirty people, Fu Qingyang surveyed both sides of the long table. His gaze was calm and deep, like clouds gathering before a storm.

He was handsome, with the nobility and pride of a scion from an influential family. Even with an expressionless face, his imposing presence exerted immense psychological pressure.

"Five captains, more than a dozen team members, and dozens of public order officers were deployed, yet Bewitching Demon still got away." Fu Qingyang's expression was cold. "I'm extremely disappointed in you."

The participants in the operation sat along both sides of the conference table: five captains and twelve team members. Li Dongze and Guan Ya were among them.

Facing criticism from their executive-level superior, the captains lowered their heads and didn't dare speak.

Big Muscle Tyrant hesitated, but in the end couldn't hold back. He said quietly,

"Centurion Fu, Ou Xiangrong seemed to have been corrupted by some kind of evil power. He became incredibly strong and completely unhinged. That's why we failed to catch him. And Bewitching Demon is a top-tier profession to begin with."

Fu Qingyang said coolly, "Failure is failure. Any reason is just an excuse a coward uses to avoid admitting defeat."

His sharp gaze swept across the room. None of the Spirit Realm Walkers at the table dared meet his eyes, except Guan Ya.

She was looking down, idly playing with her nails.

Fu Qingyang continued,

"Because of your failure, this incident has escalated. A badly wounded Bewitching Demon who's been corrupted by evil power can easily lose control completely. Given how cruel Bewitching Demons are, he's bound to cause massive casualties.

"Every Spirit Realm Walker team in Songhai City is now involved in the search. If you can't kill Ou Xiangrong within three days, you'll all go back to the training camp."

Li Dongze, Green Vine, Tang Guoqiang, and the other captains exchanged grim looks.

Fu Qingyang sneered.

"Of course, I failed too. I had the wrong expectations of you and overestimated your abilities. So for the next three days, I'll take part in the search myself. Since Ou Xiangrong is after the Roster and the Holy Grail, he'll definitely turn his attention to Zhao Yingjun's family or women he's close to. Search along those lines."

After his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive watch and said,

"You don't have much time. Meeting adjourned! Guan Ya, stay."

The long meeting finally came to an end. It was already past lunchtime.

The Spirit Realm Walkers rose in low spirits, bowed toward the far end of the table, and filed out of the conference room in orderly fashion.

The five captains led the way. Big Muscle Tyrant, who stood six foot three, lowered his voice and said angrily,

"I'm not denying we failed, but Centurion Fu is way too arrogant. He wasn't even there. He has no idea how strong Ou Xiangrong was."

He touched the knife wound on his chest, which was still seeping blood, and snorted.

"While we were fighting out there, he was sitting on a handmade sofa in the villa, sipping fine wine and smoking cigars, with Rabbit Girls waiting on him."

Just then, three Rabbit Girls carried refreshments upstairs and entered the conference room.

All the villa's staff were young Rabbit Girls, tall and beautiful.

White Dragon lightly smacked one Rabbit Girl's bottom and lowered his voice.

"I heard Centurion Fu is extremely popular in the White Tiger Corps. Of the four young masters, he's the only one who can rival the young master of the Red Fire Gang."

Fu Qingyang had been transferred from the Capital City to Songhai at the end of last year. They said he'd spend a few years gaining experience before returning to the Capital, where he'd become a prospective member of the Elder Council.

Big Muscle Tyrant snorted at that. "That's just a rumor. Our young master is the best of the Five Elements Alliance's younger generation."

Green Vine turned to Li Dongze. "What do you think, Squad Leader Li?"

Li Dongze put a cigarette between his lips and scoffed.

"Because he's rich, of course. That's what you're thinking, right?"

Wasn't it? The other captains glanced at him.

"Idiots!"

Li Dongze pointed to his head.

"Use those not-so-bright brains of yours and think it through. If things come to what Centurion Fu described, someone will have to take responsibility for an incident this serious. Do you think going back to the training camp would be enough?

"When Centurion Fu says he'll send us back to the training camp, what he really means is that if the worst happens, he'll take all the blame. We won't be fired or held accountable. We'll just spend three months at the training camp, even after botching something this serious."

He pulled out a lighter and lit his cigarette, then shrugged. "All right, get to work. Let's track down that bastard Ou Xiangrong as soon as we can."

In the conference room, Fu Qingyang watched the woman filing her nails and frowned.

"Li Dongze said you were injured?"

Guan Ya blew on her nails, then took a compact mirror from her handbag. As she touched up her powder, she said,

"Spit it out. I have to get back to work."

A trace of helplessness crossed Fu Qingyang's stern face. "Aunt called me. She wants you to come home next month and meet the fiancé she's arranged for you."

"When I came back, I made it perfectly clear to her that I wouldn't marry for the family's sake. Just because she's willing to sacrifice herself for the family doesn't mean I am."

Guan Ya snapped her compact mirror shut. "You Fu family people are no fun. Qingyang, hurry up and take charge so the old folks can retire."

Fu Qingyang said gravely,

"If you don't want an arranged marriage, then accomplish something. Stop lazing around all day and wasting your talent. The elders in the family only respect the strong—people like me, or her.

"How about this: I'll transfer you to another team. Changtai District's Third Team is pretty good. They earn several collective second-class merits every year. You can build up your record there, and then I'll have a good reason to turn Aunt down.

"Li Dongze's Second Team doesn't have enough talent. It'll be hard for them to earn any merits."

Guan Ya frowned and sighed. "Second Team really is hopeless. It's hard to turn you down. Let me think about it. A new kid just joined our team, and he's pretty interesting. I want to keep an eye on him a little longer."

She put away her compact mirror, picked up her handbag, and headed for the door with a smile.

"You should worry about yourself first. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it'll be a stain you can never erase from your record. They'll do whatever it takes to keep you out of the Council of Elders.

"Your cousin's off now. Bye!"

Morning. Zhang Yuanqing headed toward the academic building with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

His schedule for the day was professional courses in the morning, then chatting with Old Driver at noon and in the afternoon—no, spending time with his coworkers, strengthening their friendship, and expanding his social circle.

Groups of people made their way toward the academic building. Just as he reached the entrance, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling his name.

He turned and saw Li Lesheng and several classmates.

Li Lesheng hurried over with a few other guys, an expectant look on his face. "A few of us are planning a mixer with some girls this weekend. Do you want to come? I heard you're from Songhai."

A mixer? This weekend would be the day after tomorrow. Zhang Yuanqing considered it briefly, then said, "Sure."

Li Lesheng and the other guys breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Then let's add each other. With you there, I'm sure the girls will be willing to come hang out."

"Let's add each other too."

"Me too." A few other male classmates pulled out their phones.

After Zhang Yuanqing added his classmates, they all headed toward the academic building together.

Li Lesheng smiled. "A girl from my hometown told me some public order officers went to see Xu Yingying yesterday, and then Xu Yingying cried her eyes out in the dorm."

"Public order officers? What happened?"

The guys were surprised. To college students, public order officers seemed like a world away.

Li Lesheng said, "I heard it was the rich guy who'd been keeping Xu Yingying. He got into trouble, but I don't know the details. The officers went to ask her about him."

"Maybe he ran off with the money. The economy's bad right now. There are plenty of rich people going under," someone guessed.

As Zhang Yuanqing listened to his classmates gossip, he scanned the students coming and going. In the not-too-crowded flow of people, he spotted a familiar figure.

A pretty girl in a white dress, her long, straight black hair loose over her shoulders and her makeup delicate. It was Xu Yingying, the subject of their conversation.

She leaned against a man like a dependent little bird. He wore a mask, had a short buzz cut and sparse eyebrows, and a small scar showed above the edge of his mask.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils abruptly contracted.

Ou Xiangrong?!

He looked at Xu Yingying again, studying her closely. Only then did he notice something was off.

Xu Yingying's expression was stiff. She seemed to be leaning against Ou Xiangrong, but it looked more like he had his arm around her shoulders to keep her under duress.