Cousin

Under the pergola at the cafe.

Zhang Yuanqing clutched a steaming cup of coffee, his gaze dull as he stared at the street. Streetlights, headlights, and shop signs wove together into a gorgeous, bustling nightscape.

After a long while, he took a deep gulp, then exhaled a breath of turbid air as if sighing, feeling as though he had purged all the mental pollution from his system.

Devouring spirits to increase one's strength seems to be a crooked, evil path.

He finally understood why the Night Wanderer of the Taiyi Sect were unwilling to devour spirits.

If the world were likened to a sea of bitterness, mortals would be the small boats drifting within it, entangled in sorrow, each carrying their own misfortunes and pains.

These sufferings would be transferred to the Night Wanderer along with the spirit body; even if it were only a small fraction, the accumulation of such quantity created terrifying mental pollution.

In the long run, schizophrenia would be the least of his worries.

But the benefits were indeed immediate. His experience points were now at 46%. The duration of his "Night Wander" skill hadn't extended—it was still nine seconds—but his physical fitness had seen a clear improvement, and his vitality and healing power had also increased.

These were tangible gains.

Right, I still don't know the cause of that gay guy's death... No, I don't want to know at all.

He took a sip of coffee, still feeling a lingering fear.

Early morning, the villa.

In a large conference room capable of holding thirty people, Fu Qingyang swept his gaze across both sides of the long table. His eyes were calm and profound, like clouds gathering a storm.

He was handsome, possessing the nobility and arrogance of a scion from a prominent family. When his face was expressionless, his aura was formidable, exerting immense psychological pressure on those around him.

"Five captains, over a dozen team members, and dozens of security officers were dispatched, yet you still let the Bewitching Demon escape," Fu Qingyang said with a cold expression. "I am very disappointed in you all."

Seated on both sides of the long conference table were the participants of this operation, including the five captains and twelve team members; Li Dongze and Guan Ya were among them.

Facing criticism from their Deacon-level superior, the captains kept their heads bowed, not daring to make a sound.

Big Muscle Tyrant wanted to speak but hesitated, eventually unable to hold back, and said in a low voice:

"Centurion Fu, Ou Xiangrong seemed to have been polluted by some kind of evil power, becoming exceptionally strong and particularly insane. That is the reason we failed. Moreover, the Bewitching Demon himself is a top-tier profession."

Fu Qingyang said indifferently, "Failure is failure. Any reason is merely an excuse for a coward to refuse to admit their own defeat."

His sharp gaze swept across the crowd. None of the Spirit Realm Walker at the table dared to meet his eyes, except for Guan Ya.

Guan Ya was looking down at her nails, distracted.

Fu Qingyang continued:

"Because of your failure, the incident has escalated. A severely injured Bewitching Demon, polluted by evil forces, is easily prone to losing complete control. Given the cruelty of a Bewitching Demon, it will inevitably cause heavy casualties.

"Now, every Spirit Realm Walker squad in Songhai City is participating in the search. Within three days, if you cannot kill Ou Xiangrong, you will all get back to the training camp."

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

Fu Qingyang sneered:

"Of course, I am also a failure in this matter, because I held wrong expectations for you and overestimated your abilities. Therefore, in the next three days, I will personally participate in the manhunt. Since Ou Xiangrong is looking for the roster and the Holy Grail, his target will certainly shift to Zhao Yingjun's family or the women he has intimate relationships with. Follow this lead to search."

After his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive wristwatch and said:

"Your time is running out. Meeting adjourned! Guan Ya, stay behind."

The long meeting finally ended, and it was already past mealtime.

The Spirit Realm Walker rose with a sense of frustration, bowed toward the end of the long table, and exited the conference room in an orderly fashion.

The five captains led the way. The 1.9-meter-tall Big Muscle Tyrant lowered his voice and said angrily:

"I don't deny my failure, but Centurion Fu is far too arrogant. He wasn't even at the scene; he doesn't know how strong Ou Xiangrong was."

Wearing a tight-fitting suit, he touched the bleeding knife wound on his chest and huffed:

"While we were fighting for our lives outside, he was sitting on a handmade sofa in the villa, sipping fine wine, smoking cigars, and enjoying the service of bunny girls."

As he spoke, three bunny girls carried snacks upstairs and entered the conference room.

The villa was served entirely by young, beautiful bunny girls with tall figures and pretty faces.

White Dragon gently patted a bunny girl's backside and lowered his voice:

"I heard that Centurion Fu enjoys immense popularity within the White Tiger Corps. Among the Four Young Masters, he is the only one who can go head-to-head with that young master from the Red Fire Gang."

Fu Qingyang had been transferred from the Capital City to Songhai at the end of last year. It was said he was here to gain experience for a few years, and after accumulating enough credentials, he would return to the Capital City to become a reserve member of the Elder Council.

Upon hearing this, Big Muscle Tyrant snorted, "Just rumors. Our Young Master is the most outstanding of the younger generation in the Five Elements Alliance."

Green Vine looked at Li Dongze, "What does Squad Leader Li think?"

Li Dongze lit a cigarette and scoffed:

"Because he's rich, of course. Is that what you're thinking?"

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

"Stupid!"

Li Dongze pointed to his own head:

"Use your not-so-bright brains to think carefully. If it really reached the point Centurion Fu mentioned, such a terrible incident would require someone to take the fall, right? For such a big matter, do you really think just going back to the training camp would be the end of it?"

"Centurion Fu said to let us roll back to the training camp. The other meaning behind that is that if the worst-case scenario happens, he will shoulder all the responsibility. We won't be dismissed, we won't be held accountable, and we only need to stay in the training camp for three months, even if we messed up something this serious."

He pulled out a lighter to ignite his cigarette and shrugged: "Alright, let's get to work. Let's drag that piece of trash Ou Xiangrong out as soon as possible."

In the conference room, Fu Qingyang stared at the woman filing her nails and frowned:

"Li Dongze said you were injured?"

Guan Ya blew on her nails, took a compact mirror from her handbag, and started applying powder as she said:

"If you have something to say, spit it out. I still have work to go back to."

A look of helplessness appeared on Fu Qingyang's cold, stern face: "Aunt called me. She wants you to return to the country next month to meet the fiancé she arranged for you."

"I made it very clear to her when I came back that I wouldn't be a part of a family marriage alliance. Just because she was willing to be a sacrifice for the family doesn't mean I am."

Guan Ya snapped the compact mirror shut and said: "You Fu Family members are truly boring. Qingyang, hurry up and seize power. Let the old fogies retire."

Fu Qingyang said in a deep voice:

"If you don't want to marry into an alliance, then produce some results. Don't spend your days idling about and wasting your talent. The elders of the family only respect the strong—like me, or like her.

"How about this: I'll transfer you to another team. The Third Team in Changtai District is quite good; they manage to earn collective second-class merits several times a year. You can go there to gild your resume, and I'll have a reason to decline Aunt.

"Li Dongze's Second Team has too little talent. It's hard to earn merit there."

Guan Ya frowned and sighed: "The Second Team is indeed disappointing. It's hard for me to refuse... let's talk about it later. A little guy joined our team; he's quite interesting. Let me observe him a bit more."

She tucked away her compact mirror, grabbed her handbag, and walked toward the door, laughing:

"You should worry about yourself first. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it will be an indelible stain on your record. They will do everything in their power to stop you from entering the Council of Elders.

"Cousin is leaving now. Bye~"

Early in the morning, Zhang Yuanqing carried his backpack and walked toward the general building.

His itinerary for today was professional classes in the morning, and chatting with the old driver—no, communicating with colleagues to foster friendship and expand his social circle—in the afternoon.

Streams of people flowed toward the general building. Just as he reached the bottom, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling his name.

He turned his head to see Li Lesheng and several classmates.

Li Lesheng chased after him with a few other boys, his face full of anticipation as he issued an invitation: "We're planning to hold a mixer with some girls this weekend. Do you want to join? I heard you're a local of Songhai."

A mixer? If it's the weekend, that would be the day after tomorrow. Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and said: "Sure."

Li Lesheng and the other boys let out a sigh of relief and smiled: "Then let's add each other on social media. Ha, with you there, I'm sure the girls will be willing to come out and play."

"Let's add each other too."

"Add me too." The other male students took out their phones one after another.

After Zhang Yuanqing finished adding his classmates, the group walked toward the general building together.

Li Lesheng laughed: "I heard from a girl from my hometown that a police officer came to look for Xu Yingying yesterday, and then Xu Yingying cried her eyes out in the dormitory."

"A police officer? What happened?"

The boys were shocked. After all, for college students, police officers were an incredibly distant group.

Li Lesheng said: "I heard that the rich man who was keeping Xu Yingying got into trouble, but the specific situation isn't very clear. The police officer was looking for her to ask about that man."

"Could he have run away with the money? The economy is bad right now; there are too many examples of rich people going bust," someone speculated.

Zhang Yuanqing listened to his classmates' gossip. His gaze swept across the passing students, and in the not-so-crowded flow of people, he saw a familiar figure.

It was a beautiful girl wearing a long white dress, her long, straight black hair draped over her shoulders, wearing delicate, light makeup. It was none other than the protagonist of the conversation just now, Xu Yingying.

She was snuggled up to a man like a little bird. The man was wearing a mask, had a buzz cut, sparse eyebrows, and a small scar visible above the edge of his mask.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted sharply.

Ou Xiangrong?!

He looked at Xu Yingying again, observing carefully. Only then did he notice some clues.

Xu Yingying's expression was stiff. She appeared to be snuggled in Ou Xiangrong's arms, but it looked more like she was being coerced by him with his arm around her shoulder.