[Moon Shadow, kill... kill... kill her!]
[Your Highness, I can't do it!]
Wind Whisperer was not a particularly reliable ability.
The information it brought was either incomplete or a complete mess.
Zhang Ping had only overheard one exchange between Prince Yue and Moon Shadow, but that exchange confirmed his suspicions. Chen Juntaing's ability was very likely a power that surpassed Levels.
Saint Mother's Blood was definitely not simple!
After Prince Yue returned to the City Lord's Manor, Zhang Ping slowly flowed along the water channels and returned to the alley where the battle had taken place.
After the thunder, all the residents had actually been awakened. But after the initial commotion, the alley had fallen silent. Some people were secretly watching from inside their homes, but no one came out, nor did anyone dare approach the corpses.
That was a good thing. He had risked coming back precisely to loot the bodies.
The situation had been urgent earlier, and he had been too busy saving people to collect the spoils.
But now that the battle was over, he certainly could not leave the equipment on these corpses for unrelated people to take.
The masked man's corpse had been reduced to nothing by the lightning, and all his equipment had turned to ash. However, the other two corpses had not been affected.
Zhang Ping approached the Psychokinetic Force user's body. Suppressing his discomfort, he first removed the copper ring from the man's head, then picked up the green lantern from the ground. After placing both items into the Golden Treasury, he removed the ring from the man's hand as well.
He carefully searched the body, and only after confirming that the Psychokinetic Force user had nothing else on him did he swiftly transform into a stream of water and leave.
Inside a house in the distance, several Awakened had gathered together to observe in secret.
"Big Brother, is that a Mutated Beast?"
A girl looked at Zhang Ping's ink-like body and asked uncertainly.
The blond man beside her smiled. "Would a Mutated Beast know how to loot corpses? It should be a person."
"Look, someone else wants a share too. This should be fun," another man, barely five feet tall, said teasingly.
In the alley, Zhang Ping had just approached the first person he had killed when a ball of fire suddenly exploded beside him.
"Buddy, that one's yours, and this one's mine. What do you say?" A red-haired man with a sun symbol tattooed beneath his right eye emerged from the shadows with a roguish grin, holding a Fireball in his hand.
Zhang Ping's previously lump-like body gradually rose, Nether Mist winding around him.
As he returned to human form, Reaper's Mask happened to condense over his face, while an illusory black cloak rustled fiercely in the wind.
He reached out and took out the Fear War Scythe. Turning his head, he stared at the other man with pitch-black eyes and asked in a hollow voice, "What did you say?"
"Gulp!"
The red-haired man's eyes widened in terror. He swallowed reflexively, and the Fireball in his hand instantly went out.
Just as he tried to retreat, his legs gave way and he collapsed onto the ground.
He braced himself with both hands, desperately trying to get up, but his fear had made his limbs unresponsive. After several attempts, he still could not rise.
"B-Big Brother, l-let's... let's talk this out. Let's... talk... talk this out."
Left with no choice, he gave up struggling. Looking up at Zhang Ping with a miserable expression, he stammered.
Zhang Ping absorbed the red-haired man's fear and suddenly swung his scythe at the man's neck. Yet at the last moment, he abruptly stopped. Vast amounts of purple fear energy erupted from the man's head, filling the entire street with purple mist.
The mist formed a vortex above Zhang Ping's head before rapidly being drawn into his body.
The red-haired man stared blankly, already scared half out of his mind.
"Remember to keep your eyes open next time."
Zhang Ping slowly withdrew the scythe, then picked up the green lantern.
He floated over to the head, endured the nausea as he removed the copper ring, then turned and left.
Inside the distant house, the three Awakened who had been expecting a show were all dumbfounded.
"Big Brother, what was that just now?"
The girl clutched the blond man's arm and asked, trembling slightly.
The blond man shook his head. "Hard to say. It could be an Awakened, or it could be a Mutated Beast. I don't know."
"How could it be a Mutated Beast? He spoke just now. He should be human," the five-foot-tall man said gravely.
Hearing this, the blond man recovered a little of his composure and said seriously, "He was around eight feet tall, wielded a war scythe, and his body could change at will. You'd better be careful if you encounter him in the future. If you can avoid provoking him, do so."
"Ahhh!"
At that moment, the terrified red-haired man let out a scream. He got up, turned around, and ran, leaving only a puddle of yellow liquid on the ground.
The three inside the house looked at one another. Deep down, they all felt fortunate that they had not made a move earlier. Otherwise...
Elsewhere, Zhang Ping deliberately headed toward places with fewer people.
Gradually, the abilities of the Assassination Ring and the Nethermist Nightwalker began to take effect, and fewer and fewer gazes lingered on him.
In the end, he used the interconnected water channels to quietly return to Iron Soul.
The next day, the sun rose as usual.
When Zhang Ping got up, he saw a tail covered in eyes sweep across the skies above Mingzhu City.
Was Prince Yue monitoring the entire city?
If so, the Illusory Light Curtain would likely have a hard time affecting Prince Yue again.
Prince Yue's tails were simply too fast. Just dealing with one tail would consume a tremendous amount of the Barrier Team's energy. If there were several more tails, the Barrier Team would be helpless.
This was equivalent to the Illusory Light Curtain having already lost its effectiveness.
Zhang Ping's heart sank slightly. Losing the Illusory Light Curtain meant the Cleanup Team could no longer openly drive out Mutated Beasts. Mingzhu City would next have to face the Mutated Beasts' assault.
Until noon, Prince Yue's tails continued sweeping through the sky.
Zhang Ping had specifically observed that Prince Yue had not used his full strength this time. He had merely extended five tails from the City Lord's Manor.
The five tails crisscrossed as they patrolled the entire city. Though there were blind spots, the tails moved extremely quickly and often formed intersecting surveillance points in different locations. As a result, it would be extraordinarily difficult to do anything under Prince Yue's watch.
Helpless, Zhang Ping could only honestly forge weapons at Iron Soul.
City Lord's Manor.
Prince Yue sat on the balcony, with Chen Juntaing seated opposite him.
"Sister Luo Shiyu, what is your relationship with the City Lord?" Chen Juntaing asked curiously as she ate a biscuit.
Prince Yue frowned and replied coldly, "We have no relationship."
"I see, no relationship." Chen Juntaing did not find anything strange about that. Instead, she nodded with sudden understanding.
Then she poured herself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, she frowned. "The water used for this tea is so poor. Whoever brewed it must be an idiot. I'll go brew a fresh pot."
With that, she stood up and left carrying the teapot.
Prince Yue sighed faintly in relief. He had originally intended to imprison Chen Juntaing, but whenever she knocked on a door, any Heavenly Fox that heard it would instinctively go help her open it.
The lower a Heavenly Fox's Level, the more likely it was to be affected.
At present, several young Heavenly Foxes had already become Chen Juntaing's followers, clamoring about following her around.
Under those circumstances, Prince Yue could only keep Chen Juntaing by his side and monitor her, lest she bring harm to the other Heavenly Foxes.
The problem was that Chen Juntaing's ability was too strange. He simply could not block that bizarre charm.
By now, he could no longer feel hostility toward Chen Juntaing.
He even felt a sense of helplessness.
No matter what Chen Juntaing did, he found it difficult to get angry, let alone stop her from doing what she wanted.
When Chen Juntaing returned with the teapot, he could not help asking, "You've been out for most of the day. Won't your parents worry about you?"
"When I was very young, my dad passed away. I grew up living with my grandpa. He never let me go out to play, and he wouldn't even let me talk to other people. Now that I've finally escaped, I don't want to go back so soon." Chen Juntaing sat down, poured Prince Yue a cup of tea, then poured one for herself.
After saying that, she lifted the cup and took a sip, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
Prince Yue pinched the teacup between his massive claws. After taking a sip, he frowned. He did not like the taste.
"How is it? It's good, right? My grandpa loves the tea I brew myself. He says it makes him feel completely refreshed," Chen Juntaing said with a cheerful smile.
Prince Yue put down the cup and nodded. "Mm, it's very good."
"Then drink more!"
Chen Juntaing immediately filled his cup. Prince Yue frowned, glanced at Chen Juntaing's expectant expression, and finally gritted his teeth before lifting the cup and drinking it.
"Good tea tolerance! Have another cup!" Chen Juntaing said happily.
The entire pot of tea was soon drunk by Prince Yue. His bladder felt unbearably uncomfortable. Normally, he would have relieved himself on the spot, but when he saw Chen Juntaing looking at him, he inexplicably decided to get up and go to the bathroom. His five tails instantly retracted.
Mingzhu City was an ancient city.
It held countless secrets, with innumerable Dark Rooms, hidden chambers, and even virtual spaces formed by special abilities.
Only those who possessed special methods could enter these Special Spaces.
Huang Zeming passed through the long corridors of the City Lord's Manor, gently tapped the right eye of a stone statue, then continued onward and entered the study.
Inside the study, he walked toward a seat with strange steps. By the time he sat down, his spiritual body had already appeared in another space.
This was a vast white space. He spoke, "Beast-Taming Zhu Family, Sun Clan, I am Zhu Zeming!"
The mist before him immediately dispersed, forming a circular plaza.
Quite a few people had already gathered in the plaza.
"Zhu Zeming, what exactly happened last night? Why was there such a major oversight?" An old man immediately demanded.
Zhu Zeming entered the plaza and said calmly, "Please allow me to explain the situation slowly."
"Speak," the old man said flatly.
Zhu Zeming said in a low voice, "The Cleanup Team has another hidden operative in Mingzhu City named Zhang Ping. Zhu Zejun's operation was exposed by Zhang Ping. However, I already know this operative's identity. Tonight, I will find an opportunity to deal with him."
"Then is Chen Juntaing dead or alive now?" the old man asked with a frown.
Zhu Zeming answered, "Chen Juntaing is still alive, but she is in the fox's hands. I need to find an opportunity to get her out of the City Lord's Manor. When the time comes, the family will need to send people to receive her."
"Remember to get Chen Juntaing out of the City Lord's Manor as soon as possible. If we wish to deal with that old ghost Situ Shibai, she is the most crucial part of our plan," the old man said sternly.
Zhu Zeming immediately lowered his head and replied, "Yes. I will make arrangements as soon as possible and ensure nothing goes wrong!"