Shifting the Blame Eastward

A brilliant golden light shone into his sea of consciousness, dissipating the baleful energy in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. He broke free from the spirit-questioning state, only to see a disheveled Li Dongze and feel pain racking his entire body, as if he had been subjected to a brutal, inhumane beating.

"Honestly, every time he devours the spirit body of an Evil Profession, the Night Wanderer goes berserk."

Li Dongze tossed the Demon Subduing Pestle back to Zhang Yuanqing, straightened his attire, and pulled a pack of wet wipes from his pocket to hand over. "Wipe away the nosebleed. One must always maintain elegance."

Zhang Yuanqing took the wipes, cleaned off the blood, and opened his attribute panel to take a look. His experience points had increased by 5%, bringing his total to 52%.

Next, he sorted through the fragments of memory.

The Spirit Energy Society's Eastern Branch had two vice presidents: one was the Judge of Ghostly Eyes, and the other was the superior's superior of the Outlaw.

The two vice presidents had been vying for the position of branch president for years, locked in a bitter struggle. After the Judge of Ghostly Eyes died, that other vice president attempted to seize the Holy Grail and the Roster, inherit his rival's legacy, and consolidate the Eastern Branch.

That was why he was also searching for Black Impermanence.

The influence of the Spirit Energy Society was truly vast; the Eastern Branch alone had two vice presidents, both of whom were high-level Spirit Realm Walkers. Zhang Yuanqing steadied himself and said, "Squad Leader, I've discovered a major lead."

He immediately informed Li Dongze of the list he had seen in the memory fragments.

Li Dongze nodded as he listened, but when the list was mentioned, his eyes lit up sharply.

"Excellent, truly excellent. With this list, we can conduct targeted investigations instead of running around like headless flies. As expected, no one understands the enemy better than the enemy themselves."

Zhang Yuanqing mused, "I keep feeling like something is off. First Ou Xiangrong, then the Outlaw—it's as if someone is handing us leads on a silver platter."

Li Dongze smiled. "You have a sharp mind. How about this: write an analysis report for me. This will be a test of your capabilities."

You elegant freak, you're going to lose me if you keep this up, Zhang Yuanqing thought, his expression instantly turning blank.

"Li Yuanfang is getting a bargain; his Second Team has made a great contribution." Li Dongze sighed, said no more, leaned on his cane, and walked toward the door, opening the iron gate.

The members of the Second Team in the hallway surged forward immediately. Li Yuanfang, with his cold and stern face, asked with a hint of anticipation:

"How did it go? Any leads?"

Li Dongze smiled. "We obtained a list of Black Impermanence's subordinates. Your Second Team has made a contribution."

A smile spread across Li Yuanfang's stern face.

The captains of the Second Team were pleasantly surprised, their faces beaming.

The weight of this list was self-evident; the more important the list, the greater their merit, and the whole team would benefit.

Li Dongze said in a deep voice, "However, the authenticity of the list remains to be verified."

Li Yuanfang nodded steadily, then looked at Zhang Yuanqing behind Li Dongze and said:

"Once the rewards are issued, we will set aside ten percent to compensate you. Many thanks."

His tone was surprisingly gentle.

He then added with an envious sigh, "Squad Leader Li is very lucky."

The members of the Second Team looked at Zhang Yuanqing with eyes full of goodwill and approval.

No one opposed the Squad Leader's idea of compensation, as they felt it was what Zhang Yuanqing deserved.

Dinner.

Zhang Yuanqing sat at the dining table, enjoying the meal Grandmother had prepared.

Jiang Yu'er was scrolling through short videos while eating. She was wearing a pink hoodie with two large, fluffy ears on the hood.

He remembered that when his aunt was eighteen or nineteen, she loved collecting black stockings and short skirts to show off her mature charm.

After her twenty-fifth birthday, her style of dress became more girlish, and she started calling herself a little girl or a little fairy.

The older she got, the more she loved to pretend to be young.

"Don't play on your phone while eating," Grandmother scolded.

"Just for a little while," his aunt whined. She chewed her food and said:

"Yuanzi, I saw a mixed-race girl at the hospital today. She had a top-tier figure and was beautiful, too. Do you know how old her husband is?"

That mixed-race girl not only had a great figure but was also very good at "driving." Zhang Yuanqing asked cooperatively:

"How old?"

"Still a college student," his aunt said with a look of disdain. "Look at you, still single after all this time. You're completely hopeless."

"Aren't you single yourself? What right do you have to talk about me?" Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her sideways.

"What do you know? I'm single because I'm self-respecting. You're single because you're hopeless."

Even the Overlord of Western Chu couldn't withstand that blow, he thought.

Grandmother heard this and reprimanded her daughter, "You have the nerve to talk about Yuanzi? He's prioritizing his studies right now; what's wrong with that? 'Self-respecting,' are you trying to be a saint? You're going on another blind date next week. I'm not asking you to get married immediately, but at least find a boyfriend to date."

His aunt deflected the trouble, pointing the spearhead at her nephew: "I haven't even been promoted yet, I need to prioritize my career. Your grandson is thirty, and he doesn't have a partner either."

Grandmother thought this made sense and looked at Chen Yuanjun, musing:

"Yuanjun, Grandma will arrange another blind date for you. Last time I gave your photo to the girl, she told me she didn't want someone older. Grandma thinks her family has no taste. I'll have Yu'er edit your photo to look younger."

Cousin's mouth twitched, and he habitually furrowed his brow, saying in a deep voice:

"As long as Grandma is happy. However, I feel that Yuanzi has been sleeping during the day and playing games at night these past few days; he hasn't been putting his heart into his studies at all. University isn't the end of learning, but the starting point for entering society. Aunt is abroad, so Grandma, you should supervise Yuanzi even more. That PS5 should really be smashed."

Grandmother heard this and found it reasonable, so she angrily scolded, "All you do is play games all day. You good-for-nothing, are you forcing me to smash your game console?"

No, Cousin, you're being too much of a dog. Zhang Yuanqing felt his scalp tingle. Seeing Grandmother rambling on, he quietly summoned Little Doubi, signaled him to crawl onto Grandfather's head, then steadied his emotions and took matters into his own hands, swapping out Grandfather's hearing.

"Grandmother, look at Grandfather. He doesn't care about anything and leaves you to manage this household all by yourself. That's not fair."

Cousin and Little Doubi looked at him in surprise; the kid had a lot of nerve today.

Hearing this, Grandmother immediately looked at Grandfather and frowned, "Old Zhang, say something. Old Zhang? Old Zhang?"

A round, cute baby was perched on top of Grandfather's head. He acted as if he heard nothing, eating his meal in silence.

Zhang Yuanqing quietly retracted Little Doubi. Grandfather suddenly raised his head as if he had just heard someone calling him, frowning, "What?"

"I'm talking to you," Grandmother said angrily.

"I didn't hear you."

"What do you mean, playing deaf with me? All you do is stroll around, play chess, and watch TV all day. Am I a servant in your Chen family? You don't care about your daughter, your grandson, or your grandson-in-law. I finally know who that family disgrace inherited it from." Grandmother's explosive temper spiraled out of control.

Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head to eat, hiding his merit and fame.

Moss Pet Cafe.

The rolling shutter was half-closed. The lights in the shop were dim, and the orange glow and elm wood floor blended into a soothing, quiet atmosphere.

Deacon-level figures from Fenghui District, Kangyang District, Jinjiang District, and Puning District gathered together. There were eleven of them in total, huddled around a round table with steaming coffee at their sides.

Undoubtedly, this was a high-level meeting, and anyone capable of summoning deacons for a meeting must be an Elder-level figure.

Under the orange chandelier, in the center of the round table, a Curly Teddy sat upright with a heroic air, speaking in a human voice:

"Everyone is here, so I'll keep it brief. The fall of the Judge of Ghostly Eyes involves major implications. What have you gained in the past few days?"

This was an Elder of the Hundred Flowers Society and one of the people in charge of the Judge of Ghostly Eyes incident. He managed all the Spirit Realm Walker teams in the four major districts mentioned above and was a powerful figure who could report matters directly to the Alliance Leader.

The other deacons did not speak. The deacon of Fenghui District raised his hand and said in a low voice:

"My subordinates killed a Voodoo Master today. It was confirmed that he was one of the Voodoo King's men, and we obtained a list from the memory of his spirit body."

He then announced the contents of the list.

A look of approval appeared in the Curly Teddy's bean-like eyes:

"Well done. Hmm, the spirit body of a Voodoo Master is exceptionally manic. The Night Wanderer from the Taiyi Sect requires a significant price to perform spirit questioning, so provide compensation later."

The Fenghui District deacon nodded and added:

"I believe the Ou Xiangrong incident was not a coincidence. He was bait released by the Voodoo King to let us know about the fall of the Judge of Ghostly Eyes. The Voodoo Master killed today was also a subordinate of the Voodoo King; he wants to use our official power to find Black Impermanence."

The Voodoo King was another Vice President of the Spirit Energy Society's Eastern District, and his struggle with the Judge of Ghostly Eyes for the position of President had been going on for quite some time.

The two sides were like fire and water.

"When the goal is the same, anyone can become a friend. But the Fallen Holy Grail causes endless harm and must be kept by us, the authorities. It must never fall into the hands of the Voodoo King." The Curly Teddy's bean-like eyes swept across the crowd and said:

"Does anyone else have anything to add?"

The deacons silently noted the list. A female deacon frowned and said:

"The case of Zhao Yingjun is a warning to us. I suggest a screening of all members of the Songhai branch, including the Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Sect. There may be pawns of the Spirit Energy Society hidden among them."

The Curly Teddy pondered for a few seconds and nodded slowly: "If we do that, we will have to use the 'Tiger Tally'. I will submit an application to the Marshal."

With the serious business concluded, the Teddy turned his head to look at the silent Fu Qingyang, who was dressed in a white suit, and said:

"I heard that you recently recruited a Night Wanderer with good potential who cleared the Sheling Tunnel?"

Fu Qingyang nodded slightly and then added: "He also killed Ou Xiangrong."

The Curly Teddy said:

"A few days ago, Elder Hongying of the Taiyi Sect contacted me, hoping to take that Night Wanderer. I know Elder Sun said he didn't want that little guy, but the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect have signed an agreement after all.

"Personnel matters are handled by Elder Hongying; Elder Sun doesn't have the final say. What is your opinion, Qingyang?"

Fu Qingyang said indifferently:

"Just refuse her. If it's inconvenient for you, Elder, I'll make the call myself."

A deacon from the Hundred Flowers Society immediately laughed:

"It's not a big deal. It's just one Night Wanderer; giving him to the Taiyi Sect wouldn't hurt. Isn't a favor from Elder Hongying worth more? Besides, we have Taiyi Sect Night Wanderers stationed in every district, and they cooperate actively when we need them to work, right, Old Zhang?"

Old Zhang was the deacon of Fenghui District.

The other deacons remained silent, not expressing opinions on such sensitive issues.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Old Zhang frowned and said:

"Since he is Centurion Fu's man, I won't express an opinion on personnel transfers, but I do want to provide feedback on the work attitude of the Taiyi Sect Night Wanderers. The Voodoo Master killed today was not questioned by a Taiyi Sect Night Wanderer; he refused to cooperate, citing poor condition.

"My Squad Leader had no choice but to ask the Second Team in Kangyang District. Heh, they came with one phone call, without any complaints, and he was only a Level 1 Night Wanderer.

"Personally, I think there is a difference between one's own Night Wanderers and someone else's."

Fu Qingyang was stunned for a moment; he didn't know about this.

After hearing Old Zhang's words, several deacons expressed their own views:

"I think we should let him stay; the Taiyi Sect isn't exactly short of one Night Wanderer."

"We're short-handed right now, and our own people are more trustworthy."

The deacon of the Hundred Flowers Society looked awkward and said nothing more.

Curly Teddy nodded:

"Then let him stay. I'll go decline Elder Hongying. Fu Qingyang, Ling Jun of the Taiyi Sect will be arriving in Songhai with his team in a few days to assist us in hunting down Black Impermanence. Since you two are of the same generation, are on good terms, and are both among the Four Young Masters, you should go and receive him."

Fu Qingyang gave a grunt of acknowledgment.