Suburbs of the city — Good Music Hotel.
Wang Qian and his three comrades from the Palace of Slaughter had relocated to this new hideout.
The Good Music Hotel was one of the Palace of Slaughter's important bases in Songhai City, operated by a member of their organization.
It was common for rogue spiritual walker groups to run hotels and restaurants. Compared to residential homes, these places were more suitable for housing large groups of people or holding meetings. Since they were on their own turf, there was no need to worry about surveillance devices and the like.
Of course, this only worked when times were peaceful.
When faced with a large-scale manhunt by the authorities, hotels and restaurants were actually more vulnerable to exposure, as law enforcement would inevitably go door-to-door.
The Five Elements Alliance didn't have enough manpower to screen all the hotels and inns in Songhai — only the Security Bureau had the capacity to carry out such an enormous operation.
But Wang Qian and the others, including the Mad Monk of Passion, believed that while the Xiahou family was deeply rooted and had close ties with the authorities, they did not wield enough influence to command the Security Bureau.
The Bureau and the Five Elements Alliance were on equal footing — a cooperative relationship. The former handled public order, while the latter managed matters among spiritual walkers.
Even the Five Elements Alliance didn't have the authority to command the Security Bureau, let alone a spiritual walker aristocratic family.
In the suite, the Mad Monk of Passion was sprawled out on the couch, snoring loudly. The hot girl in jeans and a black tube top sat cross-legged in front of the TV, completely immersed in a video game.
The pale-faced "Heaven and Earth Are Unkind" had his eyes closed, headphones on, lost in the music.
Wang Qian stood by the window, keeping a close watch on the street. Every so often, he would pull out his phone to check it.
He kept telling himself over and over: It's not that fast… It can't be that fast. Even if Primordial Lord of Heaven was willing to help, it would still take time.
But still, he couldn't help checking his phone again and again.
"Relax. If your sister ends up dead, we'll just go hunt the Xiahou family down ourselves," said Heaven and Earth Are Unkind, opening his eyes and glancing at Wang Qian by the window.
Then he launched into his usual "orphan strategy" rhetoric again.
The temperamental Wang Qian shook his head. Heaven and Earth Are Unkind had an extremely volatile personality — someone who would repay a drop of kindness with a tidal wave, yet wouldn't hesitate to die together with anyone who wronged him. A textbook extremist.
Even within the Palace of Slaughter, his kind of temperament was rare.
Wang Qian put his phone down and silently stared out the window. Then came a "ding" sound. His body jolted as he quickly raised his phone.
"Your sister is safe."
Seeing the message, Wang Qian's face lit up with disbelief and excitement. "Boss! Boss! Primordial Lord of Heaven replied!"
The Mad Monk of Passion twitched, startled awake by his shout.
The other two quickly gathered around. The Mad Monk stared at the screen, his expression turning grim.
"It's a trick. It has to be. Even if he's willing to help, there's no way he could have rescued your sister this quickly."
The hot girl — Miss Unrestrained — frowned and said, "Exactly. In such a short time, even locating your sister would be hard. Unless he already knew where she was. And if that's the case, he might be working with Xiahou Tianyuan."
Disappointment clouded her face.
Wang Qian thought for a moment, then typed back a reply: "Really?"
Seconds later, a "ding" — a voice message came through.
Wang Qian hurriedly tapped on it.
"Wang Qian, I was rescued by security officers. I'm heading to the Kangyang District Bureau now."
It was Wang Qian's sister's voice.
His eyes immediately turned red, overwhelmed by relief. The heavy burden he'd carried all day was finally lifted.
"She's really been rescued? That's fast… crazy fast." The Mad Monk of Passion looked shocked. He had only suggested seeking Primordial Lord of Heaven's help because of his ties to the authorities.
Even if the guy couldn't rescue anyone, he might at least gather some intel and help pressure the Xiahou family.
Then the Palace of Slaughter could act based on his findings.
But this guy had solved the whole thing directly?
A prodigy, my ass. Is he really not some secret heir of a bigwig in the Five Elements Alliance?
Miss Unrestrained let out a sigh of relief and patted Wang Qian's shoulder.
"Well, no need to worry now. That Primordial Lord seems kind of reliable after all. Later, you should call your family and confirm if your sister really made it out."
Just then, the phone rang again. The caller ID showed "Primordial Lord of Heaven."
Wang Qian looked at the Mad Monk, waiting for a decision.
The latter hesitated for a few seconds, then gave a nod.
Wang Qian answered the call cautiously. "Primordial Lord?"
But the voice from the speaker was his sister's.
"Wang Qian, I'm fine now. Where are you? Why did you suddenly stop going to work? The people who kidnapped me were looking for you. Did you borrow from loan sharks or something?"
Her voice was filled with urgency and worry, bombarding him with questions.
"Don't worry, sis. I'll be back home soon," Wang Qian reassured her.
Then came a young man's voice: "Let me take the phone."
It was followed by Primordial Lord of Heaven's voice.
"This isn't the time for family chit-chat, Wang Qian. I need to speak to your superior."
He deliberately avoided saying "Palace of Slaughter" with Wang Qian's sister still present.
Wang Qian glanced at the Mad Monk. "Why?"
"When I saved your sister, my identity was exposed. The Xiahou family will definitely be out for my head. You guys better take responsibility."
Zhang Yuanqing's tone was calm. "And besides, I may have saved your sister once, but I can't save her again. What if they go after your family again? Or target the families of your other members? What will you do then?
"We're all in the same boat now. It's time to strike back. Of course, if you're the kind of cowards who'd rather hide, then forget I said anything."
Wang Qian gripped the phone and looked to his teammates. The Mad Monk hesitated. Miss Unrestrained whispered:
"I think we should at least hear him out. Let me do it."
Moments like these showed how useful high favorability was.
"No, I'll do it," said the Mad Monk. "I know how to read people. Let me talk to him."
He took the phone and deliberately deepened his voice to a gravelly tone:
"Primordial Lord, no need to use reverse psychology."
"You are?" Zhang Yuanqing perked up.
"Mad Monk of Passion. Saint Hand's superior."
"Oh my god, that name is badass. I love it," Zhang Yuanqing said admiringly.
The Mad Monk paused for a second, then said, pleased, "I thought it was a good name too. Took me ages to come up with it— cough, anyway, to the point. I understand your position, but unless the Palace Lord gives the order, we can't act."
"Fine. I'll take on the Xiahou family myself. Fight fire with fire, kill to stop the killing — that's my philosophy. You guys clearly don't have what it takes. Change your name while you're at it," Zhang Yuanqing said loudly.
"Bullshit!" snapped Heaven and Earth Are Unkind. "Our organization has countermeasures, but they're in the Palace Lord's hands. And ever since she clashed with the Xiahou family's law enforcement captain, she hasn't shown herself."
The Mad Monk shot him a sharp glare.
Yep, Palace of Slaughter people are just as intense as advertised. And they said reverse psychology wouldn't work… Zhang Yuanqing chuckled. "What are these countermeasures?"
Guan Ya had already suspected something fishy about how relentlessly the Xiahou family was pursuing the Palace of Slaughter. This confirmed her suspicions — there was definitely more going on.
The Mad Monk took a deep breath.
"We suspect the Palace Lord has entered a dungeon instance. That's why she told us to lie low.
"As for what our countermeasures are, I don't know. And if I did, I couldn't tell you. Here's what I can promise: I'll try to contact the Palace Lord and report everything to her.
"If she wants to cooperate, or offer compensation, that's up to her. But we really can't act without orders."
Ugh, don't let her contact me. Let her talk to Fu Qingyang instead… I don't want to deal with some crazy woman… Zhang Yuanqing groaned inside, but outwardly he nodded. "I look forward to it."
He hung up, finally relaxing a little.
This operation had completely burned his bridge with the Xiahou father and son. Retaliation was inevitable.
Though he had merit on his side, so they wouldn't dare move openly — covert revenge was another story. There were many underhanded ways to exact payback.
That's why he had to eliminate the Xiahou duo — or at least make sure they could never recover.
The Five Elements Alliance wasn't a reliable option. Too many conflicting interests. That's why he needed to hedge his bets and bring in external forces.
Thus, he had insisted on speaking with a mid-to-high-level member of the Palace of Slaughter.
"He hung up," said the Mad Monk, handing the phone back to Wang Qian.
Miss Unrestrained gave him a look, then glanced at the others — her expression filled with newfound doubt.
"What?" the Mad Monk frowned.
"So who's manipulating who?" she said flatly.
The Mad Monk, Wang Qian, and Heaven and Earth Are Unkind all looked at each other in silence.
In the car, Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look at the mature woman next to him. She was sitting up straight, hands tightly gripping the wheel.
"Don't repeat anything you heard today. Otherwise, your brother's dead meat," Zhang Yuanqing warned.
Wang Qian's sister hesitated, then finally nodded.
Obedient. Good.Should I let Little Dumbass meet his biological mom? Nah, a regular person would probably faint at the sight of a spirit. Better let her focus on driving.
Oh right, now that I've mastered the spirit rune, once the Xiahou business is settled, I need to start gathering materials to raise Little Dumbass.
With the serious business done, and still a bit of time before they arrived at the Security Bureau, Zhang Yuanqing eagerly opened his item menu to check his spoils.
Making sure Wang Qian's sister wasn't watching, he quietly pulled out a fiery red pair of gloves.
[Name: Berserker's Gauntlets]
[Type: Weapon]
[Abilities: Burn, Speed Boost, Explosion]
[Description: These gloves once belonged to a powerful fire-elemental user. After long use, they absorbed traces of the owner's power — and recklessness. They can store energy and unleash it through impact.]
[Note: Explosion is an art. If one blast doesn't solve the problem — try another.]
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up.
Nice. I finally have an AoE skill. This makes up for the assassin class's biggest weakness. And with Night Wanderer's vitality, I can totally withstand the blowback.
Only downside… that "reckless" penalty is annoying. From the description, it's obvious these gloves encourage rash behavior and self-harm.
Self-harm didn't matter — he could take the pain. But recklessness? That could get him killed.
"But if I treat them like the Pearl of Caution and only use them in critical moments, the cost should be manageable."
Killing and looting really is the path to wealth. If there were no moral constraints, spiritual walkers would've gone completely berserk by now.
Then he opened his stat panel to check his reputation.
One glance — and he burst out laughing.
His reputation neither increased nor decreased.
In the spirit realm, killing other walkers didn't affect moral value, but if you killed someone from your own camp who had reputation, then your own reputation would drop. And once reputation hit zero, your moral value would start to decline.
The fact that his reputation remained unchanged meant those four pieces of trash hadn't killed a single evil profession—zero reputation.
Pure social parasites. Not worth mourning.
Ten-odd minutes later, the vehicle pulled into the Public Security Bureau.
Zhang Yuanqing asked Wang Qian to park in front of the glass building, got out, and walked inside.
On the second floor, he saw seven or eight spirit realm walkers who didn't belong to Team Two, including the cheongsam beauty Qingteng and the alpha woman Bailong.
On the way over, Guan Ya had already informed him that Fu Qingyang was waiting with his people at the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau.
"The corpses of the kidnappers are in the car downstairs, please trouble someone to bring them up."
Zhang Yuanqing gave Qingteng a slight nod, glanced briefly at the visibly uncomfortable Wang Tai, and went straight to Li Dongze's office.
Knock knock!
He knocked on the glass door.
"Come in," Fu Qingyang's cool, aloof voice responded.
Pushing open the door, he entered the luxurious office. Fu Qingyang was seated at Li Dongze's desk, while the reception lounge featured Guan Ya with her long legs crossed, the casually dressed Lingjun, and an old acquaintance he hadn't seen in a while—
Yuan Ting!
He's still alive, huh. Looks like Elder Sun didn't leave the dungeon... Zhang Yuanqing muttered to himself, then turned to Fu Qingyang.
"I brought Wang Qian and the bodies of the kidnappers back."
Fu Qingyang nodded calmly. "I've already ordered the summons for Xiahoutianyun. Once we have the evidence in hand, we'll detain him."
Then he turned to Yuan Ting, who stood up with a sigh.
"Time for another spirit interrogation. Captain Fu, you better make sure I get a bonus."
Fu Qingyang replied flatly, "No problem. Just hope it doesn't end up being part of your inheritance."
Yuan Ting's expression stiffened, and he looked at Zhang Yuanqing with bitter resentment.
"This all started because of you—you owe me a bonus too."
Sure, I'll burn some cash for you... Zhang Yuanqing replied inwardly, then looked at Fu Qingyang. "Captain, the kidnappers included strong ones. Are you sure you don't need me to handle the spirit interrogation?"
The implication being: killing that kind of opponent wasn't easy; it forced him to reveal some of his trump cards. He knew Fu Qingyang was aware he possessed rule-type items.
Fu Qingyang said indifferently, "Captain Yuan is diligent and upright. Let him handle it."
So he's backing Yuan Ting? Zhang Yuanqing said nothing more.
A few minutes later, Yuan Ting returned, his face pale, and reported in a grave tone:
"The kidnappers were nurtured by the Xiahou family. The abduction of Wang Qian's sister was also ordered by Xiahou Tianyuan."
As a captain from the Taiyi Sect, Yuan Ting's accusation carried weight and could be considered semi-official.
Then Yuan Ting looked at Zhang Yuanqing, his expression complex. "You actually killed a Level 3 Fire Master. That's some strength for a rookie... Freak, you're a total freak."
He really didn't mention the Red Dancing Shoes.
Lingjun squinted his eyes and smiled, "Well, what else would you call a genius? I heard about the kidnapping. Yuan Shi, you did well. I like young people with a sense of justice. But do you know what geniuses fear most?"
Well, it's definitely not being single... Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "What?"
"Dying young!" Lingjun sipped his tea. "And do you know how to avoid dying young?"
Trying to recruit me again, huh? But my boss is right next to you… Zhang Yuanqing pondered, then jokingly said, "Die young as a child?"
Lingjun choked on his tea. "No! It's finding a powerful backer. Join Taiyi Sect. I'll protect you. The Xiahou family won't dare seek revenge."
Fu Qingyang glanced at Zhang Yuanqing with a satisfied look, then shot Lingjun a cold sideways glance.
Knock knock!
The office door was knocked on again.
Fu Qingyang looked over. "Come in."
A cold-looking young man in a black t-shirt entered and stopped in front of the desk, speaking in a low voice:
"Xiahou Tianyuan has been arrested."
Fu Qingyang narrowed his eyes. "Who arrested him?"
The cold youth replied, "It was Deacon Pang of Fenghua District. Just now, Xiahou Tianyuan assaulted someone in Fenghua District and was detained. After an investigation, he confessed to more crimes—including the kidnapping."
Listening to this, Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. A sense of trouble immediately crept in.
According to internal rules of the Five Elements Alliance, to prevent credit snatching, the jurisdiction where the incident occurred takes responsibility. The person who discovers the case also claims responsibility.
Since Deacon Pang "discovered" the case, technically it should fall under Fenghua District. But since Zhang Yuanqing had gotten involved earlier, and the victim had reported to him first, the case's jurisdiction was now a grey area.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The real issue was that Xiahou Tianyuan had committed assault in Fenghua and was already in custody. That incident undoubtedly belonged to Fenghua District.
Which meant Fenghua had every right to delay the process and use the investigation as a pretext to shield Xiahou Tianyuan.
Then they could fight over the kidnapping case's jurisdiction.
The bottom line was: as long as Xiahou Tianyuan wasn't in Kangyang's hands, the Xiahou family had room to maneuver.
They were playing the rules very well.
If the Xiahou father and son weren't eliminated, the consequences would be endless. If the Alliance couldn't handle this… then the only option was to cooperate with the Palace of Slaughter.
Zhang Yuanqing's mood turned grim. "Captain Fu, what should we do now?"
Fu Qingyang glanced sideways at him. "Did the victim report the case to you?"
"Yes!"
"Did it happen before Xiahou Tianyuan attacked someone?"
"Yes!"
Fu Qingyang said calmly, "Then go arrest him."
"But…" Zhang Yuanqing thought, But he's in Fenghua. How are we going to arrest him—snatch him away?
Fu Qingyang stood up from behind the desk and walked over slowly. His deep, abyss-like eyes locked onto his younger comrade as he said:
"When rules clash and both sides are in the right, the one with the bigger fist decides. Remember that. Also…"
His sculpted, handsome face took on a rare solemnity.
"When you draw your bow, there's no turning back. Once you make an enemy, you must destroy him at all costs. Even if an elder steps in, smash the elder's damn head."
With that, Fu Qingyang turned and walked out, slow but resolute, leaving behind a tall, unyielding figure.
"Come with me. We're going to arrest him."
Fenghua District Public Security Bureau.
In the west wing of the building, inside a bright and spacious office, Xiahou Tianyuan sat on the reception couch, left hand turning a pair of walnuts, right hand lifting a ceramic teacup for a sip.
"These feel nice. You've had them for a while, huh?"
"If you like them, they're yours," said Deacon Pang with a smile. He wore a leather trench coat over a white judo uniform.
He was tall and brawny, with a square face that looked strict and intimidating when he wasn't smiling.
"Forget it. A gentleman doesn't take what others favor." Xiahou Tianyuan put down the walnuts and cup, adjusted his suit collar, and said:
"There are two things I'd like your help with. First, we got word from the Xie family that after that family was wiped out back then, the surviving members scattered. The Palace of Slaughter's Master was sent to Songhai at that time.
"She was just a kid, not a Spirit Realm walker yet. Whether she could even become one was uncertain, so her identity wouldn't have been classified when she registered. I need you to dig into Songhai's household registry database.
"She's likely between 24 and 27 now. I also had someone recreate the appearance of the family's core members back then. Try using facial recognition."
"That's a tough one," Deacon Pang shook his head. "Songhai has over twenty million residents, more than ten million with local IDs."
"Of course it's hard—that's why there's no rush." Xiahou Tianyuan smiled. "Whether you succeed or not, you can go to the Xiahou family's treasure vault and pick a Saint-level item."
Deacon Pang grinned. "Deal."
Xiahou Tianyuan continued:
"Second, help me investigate Yuan Shi Tianzun from Kangyang District. I need to find out his real-world identity."
Deacon Pang frowned. "You want revenge?"
Xiahou Tianyuan took a slow sip of tea, his face turning cold. "Since he's opposing me, he's the enemy. And for enemies, any method is fair game."
There was also something he wouldn't admit out loud: the kid was strong. So strong, it made him jealous—and afraid.
Deacon Pang thought for a moment and said seriously:
"Then make sure you clean up after yourself. If you get caught, I can't protect you. As for Yuan Shi Tianzun's identity, I can't access it. You'd need elder-level clearance."
"I'll give you two options. First, interrogate his superior. Li Dongze definitely knows his identity. But that means you'd have to kill Li Dongze."
"That'd be basically announcing to the world that I'm targeting the kid." Xiahou Tianyuan waved it off. "What's the second?"
Deacon Pang said, "About half a month ago, Yuan Shi Tianzun killed a Bewitching Demon at Songhai University. That demon had just escaped custody and no one could find him.
"Which means Yuan Shi Tianzun probably ran into him by chance in Songhai."
Xiahou Tianyuan's eyes lit up. "He's young. You're saying... he's a university student in Songhai?"
Deacon Pang drank his tea slowly. "That's for you to confirm."
The two men exchanged a knowing smile.
Just then, Deacon Pang frowned and looked toward the office door.
Moments later, hurried footsteps approached, and an official walker burst in, looking grim.
"Deacon Pang, Fu Qingyang from Kangyang District just barged in with a team."