An Unexpected "Guest"

After leaving the conference room, Yuan Ting let out a breath and immediately felt the pressure lift.

Whether it was his own level or his illustrious family background, this young master of the Fu Family was someone ordinary people could never hope to measure up to. Facing him, people often felt the pressure of standing before a superior rather than dealing with a rich second-generation heir.

Yuan Ting's gaze swept over two Rabbit Girls as they passed by. They were in their early twenties, curvy, and pretty. There were seven or eight Rabbit Girls in the villa, and every one of them was a beauty.

Although beautiful women surrounded him, Yuan Ting knew that this young heir from a wealthy family had no interest in women.

Compared to when they had first arrived, the Rabbit Girls in the villa had already changed twice. The girls hired for the job had thought they'd found a chance to rise from the branches and become phoenixes. Unable to suppress their restless hearts, they'd tried to seduce the young master of the Fu Family.

They had all been politely dismissed.

The girls who remained in the villa were now well-behaved. They did their jobs dutifully and no longer entertained any unrealistic notions.

The Rabbit Girls in the villa were like a display of status, or perhaps a private indulgence of Fu Qingyang's.

After leaving the villa and getting into his private car, Yuan Ting reflected on the day's meeting. First, he reported important information to the Taiyi Sect, including Judge of Ghostly Eyes's death.

Once he'd taken care of business, he sent a message to his friend Jian Ji:

"Something major has happened in Songhai. Judge of Ghostly Eyes is dead, and his trusted subordinate Black Impermanence is in hiding with the Holy Grail and the Roster."

Jian Ji replied, "I'm so shocked I can't speak. Judge of Ghostly Eyes just died out of nowhere? It's like waking up to find an entire country wiped off the map."

The two of them exchanged a few remarks about how unbelievable it was, then went on to worry about what would happen if the Fallen included in the Roster all went out of control at once.

Jian Ji: "Anything else?"

There is, but it's about the Night Wanderer who cleared the Sheling Tunnel. He just killed a Level 3 Bewitching Demon. I can't tell him that. If word gets out, Elder Sun will kill me.

Yuan Ting's expression twisted a little as he typed:

"There's one more thing. Just listen, and don't spread it around. Elder Sun was foolish. The Night Wanderer he didn't want—"

In Songhai, inside a dimly lit bedroom.

The lights were off. The only illumination came from three candles on the table, arranged in a triangle around a red-lacquered box. A strange insect was carved into the lid.

A figure wearing a silver mask knelt beside the table and cut the tip of a finger with a small knife. Bright red blood welled up.

He brought his bloodied finger to the insect carving's mouth. The insect came to life and greedily sucked at the blood, while the box's lacquer grew increasingly crimson.

A gust of wind suddenly howled. The candle flames turned bloodred and shot high into the air, forming a scarlet vortex above the wooden box.

"What is it?"

A cold, authoritative voice came from within the vortex of red flames.

"Your subordinate has released the bait as you instructed. The Five Elements Alliance will search for Black Impermanence at all costs. However, I can't guarantee that Black Impermanence will remain in Songhai."

The authoritative voice spoke slowly. "My divination indicates that Black Impermanence is in Songhai. He must have a reason for hiding there, but that remains to be verified."

"What else do you need me to do?"

"Assist the Five Elements Alliance in their search for Black Impermanence from the shadows. Notify me immediately if you get any news. I'll be in the Spirit Realm for the time being, so I may not be able to respond right away."

"Do you have a mission?"

"No. I'm searching for the place where Judge of Ghostly Eyes died. As it happens, I ran into that person from the Taiyi Sect. Heh. There really is more to Judge of Ghostly Eyes's death than meets the eye..."

The voice gradually faded, and the vortex of bloodred flames went out.

"Knock, knock."

Grandmother's voice came through the bedroom door. "Yuanzi, dinner's ready."

There was a lightness in her voice, as if she were in a good mood.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes. The bedroom was pitch-black, and the curtains blocked out the light from outside.

That felt great. He'd finally recovered from the day's exertion. Too bad Songhai rarely had any moonlight, or basking in it would have been perfect. Zhang Yuanqing yawned, slipped on his slippers, turned the doorknob, and walked into the living room.

The rich aroma of food filled his nostrils. The dining table was loaded with dishes: sweet-and-sour pork, braised pork, roast duck, black-bone chicken soup, asparagus, bamboo shoots, and more.

Grandmother, wearing an apron, bustled between the kitchen and living room.

His cousin was helping in the kitchen.

Grandfather sat on the living room sofa, his hair white and his posture ramrod straight, watching television with rapt attention.

A middle-aged couple sat at the dining table. They were Zhang Yuanqing's uncle and Aunt-in-law.

Aunt-in-law had delicate features and fair skin. Though she was no longer young, she had taken good care of herself. She wore a fitted white dress with a cinched waist, and her wavy hair fell loosely around her shoulders. There was a touch of petulance in her eyes and brows.

The man beside her looked a lot like Chen Yuanjun. He wore a purple suit, fitted purple trousers, and a rose-colored shirt. He was dressed like a flashy young nightclub playboy—or, rather, an old one.

Zhang Yuanqing's uncle was unreliable. When he was young, he'd played in a band and talked about chasing his dreams and yearning for poetry and distant horizons. So he'd packed his bags, put on bell-bottoms, and run away from home with a few "like-minded" friends to become a wandering singer.

A few years later, he returned battered and bruised by society, no closer to finding his dream. He didn't get a job, either. He carried around a boombox and loafed about, dancing wherever he went. He spent his days either singing karaoke or hanging out with his bad company.

Of course, that was how young people in the city were back then. They were all just drifting along.

Because he was handsome and knew how to talk, he managed to marry Aunt-in-law, who came from a wealthy family. He did settle down for a few years after they got married, but after Aunt-in-law gave birth to his cousin, his true nature soon resurfaced.

He spent all day lazing around. He never worked—he just played.

"Yuanzi, did you miss your uncle?" His uncle was delighted to see his apprentice and heir.

His uncle loved singing, dancing, and rapping. His favorite song was "Yo, yo, check it out, give me a serving of jianbing guozi!" He even had a dance he'd made up to go with it.

Apart from Zhang Yuanqing, no one in the family was willing to rap and dance awkwardly with him.

So his uncle had taken a particular liking to Zhang Yuanqing, treating him as his heir.

"Aunt-in-law!" Zhang Yuanqing greeted her, then gave his uncle a perfunctory response.

"Your uncle brought you a present," his uncle said.

"Oh, my dear uncle! You're finally back. Why didn't you tell me in advance? If you had, I would have gone to the airport to pick you up. God is my witness!"

Zhang Yuanqing's attitude took a sharp turn, conveying just how strongly he felt.

The uncle and nephew laughed as they shook hands and bumped shoulders. His uncle put an arm around his heir and sat down with him.

"Yuanzi, I've been traveling abroad lately. I even went out of my way to learn rapping from chimpanzees. We should add tongue trills and lip flutters when we sing. It makes us sound much more imposing..."

I know what a tongue trill is, but what the hell is a lip flutter? Zhang Yuanqing gaped. "That's amazing! You really are my uncle. You're incredibly talented. Uncle, I'm a little short on pocket money lately."

"No problem. Your Aunt-in-law has money. I'll ask her to give you some later."

Before long, his cousin and grandmother brought out the last few dishes and called everyone to eat.

"Why isn't my little aunt back yet?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"She said something came up at the hospital. She'll be back later," Grandmother replied.

His uncle raised his brows and chuckled. "Something at the hospital? Is she on a date with her boyfriend?"

Grandmother scoffed. "Then I'd thank the heavens. At the rate she's going, she won't get married before she turns thirty. What's wrong with young people these days? None of them want to get married."

Grandmother was deeply dissatisfied with the state of the world.

His uncle said, "Speaking of which, Yuan Jun is still single too. Yuan Jun, why don't you bring your boyfriend home sometime so Dad can meet him?"

His usually serious and steady cousin froze. "What?"

His uncle shrugged. "You're thirty and still don't have a girlfriend. I can only hope you have a boyfriend instead."

The moment he finished speaking, Grandmother rolled up her sleeves, ready to kill him with her bare hands.

"Mom, Mom, I was just joking!" His uncle hurriedly tried to stop her. "Why don't you have any sense of humor? These days, everyone's pairing up guys as couples. Young people love that stuff."

Aunt-in-law lowered her head and ate without saying anything.

She didn't get along with her mother-in-law. Few mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law ever did.

Grandmother had a fiery temper, while Aunt-in-law was strong-willed. One thought her daughter-in-law couldn't do housework, while the other thought her mother-in-law meddled too much.

When Zhang Yuanqing was little, Aunt-in-law and Grandmother often argued. Whenever they started at each other, his little aunt would sit nearby, cracking melon seeds and watching the show.

Zhang Yuanqing would try to break up their fights, saying, "Please, you two, stop arguing," while taking melon seeds from his little aunt.

His cousin usually did his homework while eating the melon seeds his little aunt offered.

Now Aunt-in-law was past the age of hotheadedness and couldn't be bothered to argue with her mother-in-law anymore, but their relationship remained lukewarm.

At that moment, his cousin looked over and said, "I heard something happened at your school today?"

"Huh? I don't know. I came back early and went straight to sleep." Zhang Yuanqing played dumb.

Grandmother hurriedly asked what had happened. Chen Yuanjun briefly explained, and when Grandmother heard that a criminal had sneaked into the school, she became even more dissatisfied with the state of the world.

Just then, the front door made a beep, and the handle turned.

Zhang Yuanqing, seated at the end of the table near the entryway, turned his head. His little aunt had come back.

Today, his little aunt wore an asymmetrical, cutout sweater that exposed her smooth, rounded shoulder. Underneath it, she wore a black tank top. Her trousers were light-colored spring-summer jeans, and she had on a pair of white sneakers.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze stopped at her lower leg, and his eyes immediately narrowed.

A round little baby was clinging to Jiang Yu'er's lower leg.