Situation

[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 utterly chaotic.

Zhang Ping had only overheard a single exchange between Prince Yue and Moon Shadow, but it confirmed his suspicion: Chen Juntaing's ability was very likely a power that transcended ranks.

The Blood of the Holy Mother was definitely not simple!

After Prince Yue returned to the City Lord's Manor, he 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 was silent. Some people were secretly watching from inside their homes, but no one came out, and no one dared approach the corpses.

That was a good thing. He had risked coming back precisely to loot the bodies.

The situation had been urgent just now, 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 body had been utterly destroyed by the lightning, his bones and flesh gone, and all his equipment had turned to ash. However, the other two corpses had not been affected.

Zhang Ping approached the telekinetic man's body. Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, 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.

After thoroughly searching the body and confirming that the telekinetic man had nothing else on him, he quickly transformed into a stream of water and left.

In a house some distance away, several awakened ones had gathered together to watch in secret.

"Big Brother, was that a Mutated Beast?"

A girl stared 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 of the spoils. This should be entertaining," another man, barely one and a half meters tall, said mockingly.

In the alley, Zhang Ping had just approached the first person he had killed when a ball of fire exploded beside him.

"Buddy, that one is yours, and this one is mine. How about it?" A red-haired man with a sun symbol tattooed beneath his right eye emerged from the shadows, grinning like a thug while holding a fireball in his hand.

Zhang Ping's body, which had originally been a "lump," slowly rose and reshaped itself, dark mist winding around him.

As he returned to human form, Reaper's Mask condensed over his face, while a black cloak, hazy as mist and illusion, snapped in the wind.

He reached out and drew the Fear War Scythe. Turning his head, he looked at the other man with pitch-black eyes and asked hollowly, "What did you say?"

"Gulp!"

The red-haired man's eyes widened in terror. He instinctively swallowed, and the fireball in his hand instantly went out.

He had barely tried to step back when his legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He braced himself with both hands and tried desperately to stand, but he was so terrified that his limbs would not obey him. After several attempts, he still could not get up.

"B-Big Brother, l-let's... let's talk this out. Let's... talk... talk this out."

Left with no other choice, he gave up struggling. With a miserable expression, he looked up at Zhang Ping and stammered.

Zhang Ping absorbed the red-haired man's fear, then suddenly swung his scythe at the man's neck. Yet at the very last moment, he abruptly stopped. Vast amounts of purple fear energy surged 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's eyes were blank. He had been frightened half out of his mind.

"Next time, remember to keep your eyes open."

Zhang Ping slowly withdrew his scythe, then picked up the green lantern.

He floated over to the head, suppressed his nausea, and removed the copper ring before turning to leave.

Inside the distant house, the three awakened ones who had expected a good 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. He might be an awakened one, or he might be a Mutated Beast. I don't know."

"How could he be a Mutated Beast? He spoke just now. He should be human," the one-and-a-half-meter-tall man said gravely.

After hearing that, the blond man regained a little of his composure and said seriously, "He was around two and a half meters tall, used a war scythe, and had the ability to change his body at will. If you encounter him in the future, be careful. Don't provoke him if you can avoid it."

"Ahhhhh!"

At that moment, the red-haired man, who had been scared senseless in the alley, let out a scream. He got up, turned around, and ran, leaving only a puddle of yellow liquid on the ground.

The three people in the house looked at each other. Deep down, they all felt fortunate that they had not acted just now. Otherwise...

Elsewhere, Zhang Ping deliberately traveled through sparsely populated areas.

Gradually, the abilities of the Assassination Ring and the Mist 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 sky above Mingzhu City.

Was Prince Yue monitoring the entire city?

If that was the case, then the Illusory Light Curtain would probably have a hard time working on Prince Yue again.

Prince Yue's tails were simply too fast. Even targeting one tail required the Barrier Team to expend tremendous effort. If there were several more tails, the Barrier Team would be helpless.

This was equivalent to the Illusory Light Curtain having already lost its usefulness.

Zhang Ping's heart sank slightly. Losing the Illusory Light Curtain meant that the Cleanup Team could no longer openly drive out Mutated Beasts. Mingzhu City would next have to face the onslaught of Mutated Beasts.

Until noon, Prince Yue's tails continued sweeping across the sky.

Zhang Ping had specifically observed that Prince Yue had not used his full strength this time. Only five tails extended from the City Lord's Manor.

The five tails crisscrossed as they patrolled the entire city. Though there were gaps in their coverage, the tails moved extremely fast and often formed intersecting surveillance points in different locations. It would therefore be extremely difficult to do anything under Prince Yue's watch.

With no other choice, Zhang Ping could only honestly forge weapons at Iron Soul.

City Lord's Manor.

Prince Yue sat on the balcony, with Chen Juntaing sitting 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 an expression of sudden realization.

Then she poured herself a cup of tea. After taking a sip, she frowned and said, "The water used for this tea is awful. Whoever brewed it must be an idiot. I'll go make a fresh pot."

With that, she stood and left carrying the teapot.

Prince Yue breathed a faint sigh of relief. He had originally wanted to imprison Chen Juntaing, but whenever she knocked on a door, any Heavenly Fox that heard it would instinctively go open the door for her.

The lower a Heavenly Fox's rank, 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 such circumstances, Prince Yue could only keep Chen Juntaing by his side and monitor her, lest she harm the other Heavenly Foxes.

The problem was that Chen Juntaing's ability was too strange. He could not resist that bizarre charm at all.

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 become angry, much less stop her from doing what she wanted.

When Chen Juntaing returned carrying the teapot, he could not help asking, "You've been out for more than half a day. Aren't your parents worried about you?"

"When I was very young, my father passed away. I grew up living with my grandfather. He never let me come out to play, and he would not even allow me to speak to other people. Now that I 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 finishing, she lifted her cup and took a sip, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

Prince Yue pinched the teacup with his enormous claws. After taking a sip, he frowned. He did not like the taste.

"How is it? Tasty, right? My grandfather loves the tea I make myself. He says he feels full of energy after drinking it," Chen Juntaing said with a smile.

Prince Yue set down the cup and nodded. "Mm, it's very good."

"Then drink more!"

Chen Juntaing immediately filled his cup. Prince Yue frowned and glanced at Chen Juntaing, who was looking at him expectantly. In the end, he gritted his teeth and lifted the cup to drink.

"Such a good drinker! Have another cup!" Chen Juntaing said happily.

In the end, Prince Yue drank the entire pot of tea. His bladder felt unbearably uncomfortable. Normally, he would have relieved himself on the spot, but when he saw Chen Juntaing's gaze, he inexplicably decided to get up and go to the restroom. His five tails instantly retracted.

Mingzhu City was an ancient city.

It held countless secrets: innumerable Dark Rooms, hidden chambers, and even virtual spaces created by special abilities.

Only those who possessed special methods could enter these unusual spaces.

Huang Zeming passed through the long corridors of the City Lord's Manor, then lightly tapped the right eye of a stone statue. He continued onward and entered the study.

Inside the study, he walked toward a seat with strange steps. By the time he sat down, his spirit body had already appeared in another space.

It was an expanse of pure white. 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 serious oversight?" an old man immediately demanded.

Zhu Zeming entered the plaza and said calmly, "Please allow me to explain the situation slowly."

"Go on," the old man said flatly.

Zhu Zeming said in a deep voice, "The Cleanup Team has another hidden operative in Mingzhu City named Zhang Ping. Zhu Zejun's operation was discovered 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 alive or dead 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 before I can 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 want 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 the arrangements as soon as possible and ensure that nothing goes wrong!"