Realm Walker

Fu Qingyang stood motionless in the corridor, still as a sculpture.

Knowing the centurion couldn’t respond, Zhang Yuanqing continued to speak. ”Dark Rose is searching for someone called Young Soldier King. Black Wuchang knows this person’s identity and background, which is why Pang Wudi was pressing Heaven’s Injustice for information. However, Black Wuchang doesn’t know why Dark Rose is looking for this person.”

He took a deep breath. ”Since it wasn’t directly related to the mission, I didn’t report it earlier. But considering Black Wuchang showed a degree of interest in the matter, I felt you should know.”

These words were the product of careful deliberation, a compromise born of necessity. Black Wuchang might not ask about Bro Bing at all, but based on the memories of Heaven’s Injustice, there was a strong chance he would bring it up. If Zhang Yuanqing continued to hide this, not only would the fruits of the entire search operation be wasted, he would also lose Fu Qingyang’s trust entirely.

Therefore, he chose to compromise. Confess part of the truth, downplay the rest, and bury the most critical detail that Young Soldier King had participated in Demon Lord’s operation to hunt down Ghost Eye Judge.

He knew Fu Qingyang would sense something was off. A Saint stage Scout could never be fooled so easily. But that was a price he had to pay. Between living under some amount of suspicion or suffering a total loss of trust, the choice was obvious.

***

Inside the bedroom, Heaven’s Injustice stiffened slightly, then replied in a low voice, ”There was no response!”

He let out a derisive snort. ”Dark Rose is looking for this person, and there seems to be a deeper purpose behind it. Why would they tell us anything?”

His voice, his micro expressions, weren’t identical to the real Heaven’s Injustice, but they were remarkably close. Nothing was out of place. Fu Qingyang’s understanding of Heaven’s Injustice was limited to a brief encounter and Zhang Yuanqing’s description of him from what he had seen during the spirit communion, but for a high-level Scout, that was more than enough.

The face within the bloody mist hovering above the bowl spoke in a low and indifferent tone, ”No matter. This isn’t important. Lie low for the next two days and don’t go out again. Meet me at the usual place the night after tomorrow, at midnight.”

With that, the blood in the bowl stopped boiling, and the crimson mist dissipated.

***

In the corridor, Fu Qingyang, who was as still as a wooden carving, stirred. Life returned to his eyes.

He glanced at Zhang Yuanqing beside him, relayed the conversation from the bedroom word for word, then said, ”Think back. Does Heaven’s Injustice have any strong memories of any specific locations? Places that might be Black Wuchang’s hideouts, or locations they frequented within the Songhai area.”

Within the Songhai area... Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes and thought for a moment before slowly listing out a few places. ”Jiusan Youth City, Building 2, Room 1802... Laifu Inn... Songhai Third Elementary School... Songhe Cafe...”

He rattled off seven or eight locations in a single breath, then explained, ”Some of these are places Black Wuchang stayed at, some are businesses they operated, and some are places they previously worked at. The common thread is that Black Wuchang held meetings with his subordinates at all these places, using them as temporary hideouts. Even so, I can’t be sure that’s all of them. A spirit’s memories are incomplete, after all.”

Fu Qingyang leaned against the railing with both hands, gazing out at the distant night skyline, his brow furrowed. Zhang Yuanqing didn’t dare speak, terrified that beneath the young master’s calm exterior, he was contemplating the ten great tortures for dealing with double agents.

Fu Qingyang exhaled slowly. ”There are too many possible hideouts and we don’t have enough manpower.”

He did not elaborate further, but Zhang Yuanqing understood the problem immediately.

The hunt was swiftly reaching its conclusion. All they needed to do was stake out the location where Dark Rose and Black Wuchang would meet, then catch them all in one sweep. But there was a mole within the Five Elements Alliance. The ambush operation couldn’t involve too many people, which was exactly why Fu Qingyang had only relied on him the past two days.

Before the Rampaging Recklessly incident, the Alliance’s search for Black Wuchang had been a carpet sweep, with multiple official squads working in coordination. Once they’d learned of Dark Rose’s involvement, though, Fu Qingyang had changed tactics entirely, abandoning his subordinates in favor of operating alone.

There were two problems with this thorny issue. First, secrecy demanded a small team, making large scale mobilization impossible. Second, both Black Wuchang and the leader of Dark Rose were high-level Spirit Realm Walkers.

Anyone below Saint-tier was essentially irrelevant.

”The Songhai Branch has five Elders. Therefore, we can only stake out five hideouts with the people they trust. We need to narrow the targets down to five,” Fu Qingyang mused aloud. ”If I had detailed information on Black Wuchang, I could analyze his personality and habits to predict which locations he’d choose.”

I’m getting that information, but Blood Steamed Bun hasn’t replied yet, thought Zhang Yuanqing.

He matched his expression to the centurion’s, offering up a cooperative frown. ”Centurion, what do we do next?”

Fu Qingyang gave him an imperceptible glance. ”Head home. I need to review some files.”

***

The next day, Zhang Yuanqing woke up on schedule and once again found Little Goofball balancing his uncle’s wallet on its head, crawling around the room like a seal performing tricks with a ball.

Leave Uncle’s wallet alone, would you? Maybe, just maybe, steal one of Auntie’s undergarments instead. You can’t keep fleecing the same sheep, Zhang Yuanqing grumbled to himself.

He sat up and fished his phone out from under the pillow, checking the inbox on his anonymous number. There was one unread message.

His expression brightened. After returning home the night before, he had sent a message to Blood Steamed Bun requesting the dossier on Black Wuchang as soon as possible before falling asleep with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

Say what you will about Evil-class Walkers, their work ethic is pretty solid. Then again, given how they operate, the inefficient ones probably got killed off by their superiors, he speculated idly as he opened the message.

There were two parts to the message. The first half described Black Wuchang’s personality: cautious, sinister, tenacious, accompanied by the writer’s personal impressions. This section was kept brief, as though they didn’t want to bias the reader.

The second half catalogued things Black Wuchang had done, his methods of response, his tactics for handling problems, and even his particular... preferences.

Apparently, when Black Wuchang was intimate with women, he enjoyed covering their bodies with various venomous creatures. That way, he got double the pleasure. Gradually, though, even that wasn’t enough to satisfy him. So he began refining the women he captured into venomous beasts, which allowed him to rediscover a long lost sense of masculine satisfaction with these humanoid female creatures. Over time, Black Wuchang lost all interest in normal women. No matter how beautiful, none could so much as catch his eye.

So Rampaging Recklessly’s fetish was something he learned from his boss, then? Zhang Yuanqing racked his brain, analyzing the information for a long while, but the only conclusion he could extract from between the lines was two words. Absolute deviant.

”Better leave the professional work to the professionals,” he muttered. ”I’ll let Fu Qingyang handle this.”

He copied the material and forwarded it to Fu Qingyang through Yuanshi Tianzun’s phone number. As for the source of this intel, he already had a cover story prepared: he would pin it on Slaughter Cessation Palace.

The Palace Master and Yuanshi Tianzun already had an established connection, and the secrets of the Xiahou Chi branch had come from the Palace Master herself. Wouldn’t it be perfectly reasonable that Yuanshi Tianzun had privately asked her to keep tabs on the Hex King’s faction?

As for how the Palace Master obtained the information, well, that wasn’t something Yuanshi Tianzun needed to know.

***

In an opulently-decorated study, Fu Qingyang set down the documents and sat in silence for several seconds before dialing Elder Teddy’s number.

After several rings, the call connected. A cacophony of barking dogs erupted from the speaker, then abruptly cut off. Elder Teddy’s weathered, steady voice came through.

—Have you found Black Wuchang?

”I’ve confirmed the meeting time between Black Wuchang and Dark Rose, as well as the possible locations of the exchange,” Fu Qingyang replied evenly.

Elder Teddy chuckled.

—That’s good progress. If we can resolve the Black Wuchang situation cleanly, the lion’s share of the credit will go to you. The people at headquarters who’ve been opposing your seat on the Council of Elders will have to hold their tongues.

There was a pause.

—Let’s hear the details.

Fu Qingyang’s tone grew serious as he reported the previous day’s findings to the elder. ”I’ve pulled the Branch’s files on Black Wuchang, but they’re not enough. Not personal enough, and not detailed enough. If we misjudge the location, the consequences will be unthinkable.”

If Black Wuchang obtained the Holy Grail, it would be an even greater disaster. And if Dark Rose gained control of whatever Demon Lord had left behind, things would become far more troublesome still.

Elder Teddy fell silent for a long while before finally speaking again.

—We could request support from headquarters. Let’s hope there’s enough time.

Fu Qingyang’s brow creased. ”I suppose that’s our only option—”

His phone buzzed, and a notification banner appeared at the top of the screen: a message from Yuanshi Tianzun. Fu Qingyang tapped to open it, read it, and his expression froze.

Surprise flickered across his features. ”Elder, we may not need headquarters’ support after all.”

—Why not?

”I’ve just received a dossier on Black Wuchang,” Fu Qingyang said. ”Fairly detailed. Cross-referencing it with information I’ve already seen, the authenticity of the document appears very high.”

—Where did you get that?

Elder Teddy sounded taken aback. After all, if Fu Qingyang had already had access to such a dossier, he wouldn’t have been talking about requesting backup just moments ago.

”Yuanshi Tianzun submitted it,” Fu Qingyang said calmly. ”He’s been in private contact with the Palace Master of Slaughter Cessation Palace, and some time ago, he asked her to keep an eye on the Hex King’s faction.”

Elder Teddy went quiet for a beat, then laughed.

—Resourceful and adaptable. That boy has enormous potential. Once the Tiger Seal comes through, if he passes the full screening, we should prioritize his development.

Fu Qingyang gave a grunt of acknowledgement, then said, ”I’ll study Black Wuchang’s dossier further and contact you again shortly.”

After hanging up, he turned his full attention to the message he had just received, and gradually, the image of Black Wuchang crystallized in his mind. Ruthless. Vindictive to a fault. The assassination attempt on Yuanshi confirms that much. But he’s also cautious and patient. The fact that he’s willing to meet Dark Rose in person now isn’t just because of Yuanshi’s ”death.” There must be another reason behind it.

Still, I think I know which locations he might choose for the meeting.

***

It was late at night. Zhang Yuanqing strolled down the street under the yellow glow of the streetlamps, his hands in his pockets, and Wang Tai’s face concealed beneath his face mask.

He walked at an unhurried pace down the empty street, arriving at the cafe across from the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau.

Every shop in the area had closed for the night, and only this place was still ablaze with light. Its doors were wide open, yet the interior was completely empty, without a single customer. Beside the counter with its coffee machine stood a slender figure in red.

She was resplendent and beautiful in a vintage Song Dynasty gown, deep red with clouds and dragons embroidered along the sleeves and bodice in gold thread.

Her posture was graceful, and her dark hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Even with a silver mask covering her face, it was obvious she was a woman of breathtaking beauty.

The Palace Master of Slaughter Cessation Palace held a delicate kettle in her slender hand, pouring hot water in a thin stream over the filter paper.

”Why not use the coffee machine? Does a pour-over really taste better?” Zhang Yuanqing asked with a smile.

The Palace Master kept her gaze lowered, watching the dense curls of steam rising from the stream of water.

”I like pour-over coffee,” she said softly. ”I like using the filter paper.”

I also like doing things by hand, but I use tissues instead of filter paper...

Zhang Yuanqing kept that particular quip safely locked inside his head. He wasn’t about to say that to someone as unhinged as this woman.

He stood at the counter, studying those lively, beautiful eyes behind the mask. ”Palace Master, we’ve identified the time and location of Black Wuchang’s meeting with Dark Rose. I’ll give you the intelligence, but you need to do two things for me in exchange.”

Without warning, the Palace Master’s voice turned chillingly cold. ”Speak! I hope it’s nothing too difficult, or I might consider killing you and consulting your spirit instead. I’m not a Nocturnal Specter, but I do have items that I can use to perform spirit communion.”

She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers and broke into a girlish giggle. ”Just kidding. Don’t be scared. I could never bear to kill you and consult your spirit. Someone as talented as you is much better suited to being my boy toy.”

Zhang Yuanqing let the silence hang for a beat, then said in a measured voice, ”First, I need you to seize the Registry for me during the chaos. Second, if Black Wuchang dies in the crossfire, I need you to destroy his spirit.”