Cousin

Café, under the awning.

Zhang Yuanqing held a cup of hot coffee and stared blankly at the street. The streetlights, headlights, and shop lights intertwined into a gorgeous and bustling night scene.

After a long time, he took a deep gulp and sighed, as if he had spat out all the mental pollution.

"Devouring spirit bodies seem to be an unorthodox path to increase my strength."

He finally understood why the Night Wanderers of the Supreme Solitary Sect were unwilling to devour spirit bodies.

If the world was compared to the Sea of Bitterness, mortals were like small boats floating in it, plagued by sorrow. Everyone had their own misfortune and pain.

These hardships would be transferred to the Night Wanderer along with the spirit body. Even if it was only a small portion, when the amount accumulated to a certain extent, the mental pollution caused would be extremely terrifying.

In the long run, schizophrenia would be the smallest problem.

However, the benefits were indeed immediate. His current experience points were 46%. The time limit of the "Night Travel" skill had not been extended. It was still nine seconds, but his physical fitness had improved significantly. His vitality and healing power had also increased.

This was a real gain.

"By the way, I still don't know the cause of that guy's death… No, forget it, I don't want to know."

He sipped his coffee with trepidation.

...….

Early in the morning, at the villa.

In the large conference room that could accommodate 30 people, Fu Qingyang swept his gaze across the two sides of the long table. His eyes were calm and deep, like clouds that were accumulating a storm.

He was handsome and had the nobility and arrogance of a young master. When he was expressionless, his aura was powerful, giving people extremely strong psychological pressure.

"Five captains, more than a dozen team members, and dozens of security officers were mobilized, but you still let the Bewitching Demon escape." Fu Qingyang's expression was cold as he said, "I'm very disappointed in you."

On either side of the long conference table sat the participants of this operation, five captains and twelve team members. Li Dongze and Guan Ya were among them.

Faced with the criticism of their deacon superior, the captains lowered their heads and dared not make a sound.

Big Muscle wanted to speak, then stopped. He couldn't help himself. He whispered: "Centurion Fu, Ou Xiangrong seems to have been contaminated by some evil power and has become especially powerful and crazy. This is why we failed. Moreover, the Bewitching Demon is a top-notch class…"

Fu Qingyang said indifferently, "Failure is a failure. Any reason is an excuse for cowards to refuse to admit their failure."

He swept his sharp gaze over the crowd. None of the Spirit Realm Walkers at the table dared meet his gaze except for Guan Ya.

She was looking down and playing with her nails, distracted.

Fu Qingyang continued.

"Because of your failure, the situation escalated. A heavily injured Bewitching Demon that has been contaminated by the power of evil can easily lose control completely. With the cruelty of the Bewitching Demon, it will definitely cause a large number of casualties."

"Now, all the Spirit Realm Walkers in Songhai City are involved in the search. If you can't kill Ou Xiangrong in three days, all of you can scram back to the training camp."

Li Dongze, Qing Teng, Tang Guoqiang, and the other captains looked at each other with ugly expressions.

Fu Qingyang sneered.

"Of course, in this case, I've failed, too, because I've misjudged you and overestimated your abilities. So, for the next three days, I'll be personally involved in the manhunt. Since Ou Xiangrong is looking for the register and the Holy Grail, his target will surely shift to Zhao Yingjun's family or women with whom he's close, and he'll follow that line of search."

When his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive wristwatch and said: "You don't have much time left. Go do your work. Guan Ya, stay behind."

The long meeting finally ended. It was past lunchtime.

The Spirit Realm Walkers got up in frustration, bowed to the end of the long table, and left the conference room in an orderly manner.

The five captains led the way. The six-foot-three Big Muscle lowered his voice and said angrily: "I don't deny my failure, but Centurion Fu is too arrogant. He wasn't there at all and doesn't know how powerful Ou Xiangrong is."

He touched the bleeding blade wound on his chest and snorted.

"While we were out fighting for our lives, he sat on a handmade sofa in the villa, sipping fine wine, smoking a cigar, enjoying the services of bunny girls."

As they spoke, the three bunny girls carried the snacks upstairs and entered the conference room.

The servants in the villa were all young bunny girls. They were tall and beautiful.

White Dragon gently patted the bunny girl's buttocks and lowered his voice.

"I heard that Centurion Fu is extremely popular among the White Tiger Soldiers. He's the only one among the four young masters who can compete with that young master from the Crimson Fire Gang."

Fu Qingyang was transferred to Songhai from the capital at the end of last year. It was said that he came down to train for a few years. After accumulating experience, he would return to the capital and become a reserve member of the elders.

When Big Muscle heard this, he snorted. "It's just a rumor. Our young master is the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Five Elements Alliance."

Green Vine looked at Li Dongze. "What does Chief Li think?"

Li Dongze put a cigarette in his mouth and snorted.

"It's because of money, of course. That's what you think, isn't it?"

"Don't you?" The other captains glanced at him.

"Stupid!"

Li Dongze pointed to his head.

"Use your not-so-smart brains to think carefully. If it really comes to the step that Centurion Fu mentioned, someone will have to take responsibility for such a terrible incident. It's such a big matter, so how can we just return to the training camp?

"Centurion Fu said to get our asses back to the training camp. The other meaning of that statement is that once the worst happens, he'll take all the blame. We won't have to be fired. We won't be held accountable. Just three months in the training camp, even if we screw up something this serious."

He took out his lighter and lit a cigarette, then shrugged. "All right, let's get to work. The sooner we catch that bastard Ou Xiangrong, the better."

…

In the conference room, Fu Qingyang stared at the woman who was trimming her nails and frowned.

"Li Dongze said you were injured?"

Guan Ya blew on her nails and removed her makeup mirror from her handbag. As she freshened up, she said: "Just spit it out. I have to get back to work."

Fu Qingyang's cold face revealed a hint of helplessness. "Aunt called me and asked you to come back next month to meet the fiancé she arranged for you."

"I made it clear to her when I returned that I would not marry for the sake of the family. Just because she was willing to be a sacrifice to the family doesn't mean I am."

Guan Ya closed the makeup mirror with a bang and said, "Your Fu family is really boring. Qingyang, hurry up and take charge. Let the old things retire."

Fu Qingyang said in a deep voice, "If you don't want a marriage alliance, show some results. Don't loaf around all day and waste your talent. The elders of the family only respect the strong, such as me and her."

"How about this? I'll transfer you to another team. Team Three in Changtai District is very good. They get a few group second-class honors every year. You'll be carried over there, so I'll have a reason to reject Aunt."

"Li Dongze has too few talents in Team Two. It's difficult to make a contribution."

Guan Ya frowned and sighed. "Team Two is indeed disappointing. It's hard for me to refuse… Let's see. There's a little guy in our team. He's quite interesting. Let me observe him more."

She put away the vanity mirror and walked to the door with her handbag.

"You should worry about yourself first. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it will be a stain on your records that can't be erased. They will stop you from entering the Elders' Circle at all costs."

"I'm leaving, bye~"

…

Early in the morning, Zhang Yuanqing carried his backpack and walked towards the comprehensive building.

His schedule for the day was a morning class. He'd have a chat with the old pervert at noon and afternoon. No, he'd get to know his colleagues, bond, interact, and socialize.

In twos and threes, people streamed toward the complex. Just as they reached the ground floor, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling him.

He turned around and saw Li Lesheng and a few other classmates.

Li Lesheng caught up with a few boys and invited them expectantly. "We're planning to have a social gathering with a few girls. It's this weekend. Do you want to join us? I heard you're from Songhai."

A social gathering? On the weekend, the day after tomorrow… Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and said, "Sure."

Li Lesheng and the boys relaxed and smiled. "Then let's add each other as friends. Ha, with you around, I'm sure the girls will be willing to come out and play."

"Let's add each other as friends too."

"We'll add that, too." The other boys pulled out their phones.

After Zhang Yuanqing added his classmates as friends, everyone walked towards the comprehensive building.

Li Lesheng smiled and said, "I heard from a girl from my hometown that a constable came to look for Xu Yingying yesterday. Then, Xu Yingying cried in the dormitory."

"A constable? What happened?"

The boys were surprised. After all, to college students, constables were an incredibly distant group.

Li Lesheng said, "I heard that something happened to the rich man who kept Xu Yingying, but I'm not too sure about the details. The constable is looking for her to ask about that person."

"Don't tell me he ran away with illegal money. There are too many examples of rich people getting exposed during a bad economy," someone guessed.

As Zhang Yuanqing listened to his classmates' gossip, his gaze swept across the students coming and going. In the sparse crowd, he saw a familiar figure.

It was a beautiful girl in a long white dress. She had long black hair and exquisite light makeup. This was the female lead of the topic just now, Xu Yingying.

She snuggled like a little bird against a man who was wearing a mask. He had inch-long hair and thin eyebrows. A small scar showed at the top edge of the mask.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils suddenly constricted.

Ou Xiangrong?!

He looked at Xu Yingying again and observed her carefully. Only then did he discover some clues.

Xu Yingying's expression was stiff. She seemed to be snuggled in Ou Xiangrong's arms, but it was more like she was being threatened by his arm around her shoulders.

…..