Chapter 150: Bloody Case and Request for Help

Chapter 150: Bloodshed and a Plea for Help

Outside a 24-hour convenience store.

Kou Beiyue crouched on the curb, cradling a bowl of Lao Tan pickled cabbage instant noodles, slurping the strands down with wet, rhythmic pulls.

His gaze was vacant, fixed on some distant point, immersed in thought.

I've already pinpointed his workplace, but it's crawling with official Walkers. One on one, I might not even win... And if I kill in the office district, innocents would be caught in the crossfire. That's forbidden by Master Wuhen...

Best to find out which residential complex he lives in, sneak over at night. But I'm no good at tailing—too easy to get spotted...

Going by his habits, tonight he'll hit a nightclub with colleagues. That's my window...

Kou Beiyue's eyes grew progressively savage. Right then, a voice laced with amusement drifted from his side:

"A Bewitching Fiend at the Transcendent realm. Not bad fundamentals, kid. You a rogue cultivator, or with some organization?"

Every hair on Kou Beiyue's back stood on end. From his crouch, he exploded upward two meters in a single bound, simultaneously flinging the bowl of instant noodles toward the source of the voice.

Only after this chain of instinctive motions did he turn his gaze, making out the speaker—a youth wearing a sports headband, sunny and handsome, the athletic type of good-looking.

Scalding broth and noodles flew toward him, but before they could touch the youth's body, they slid down an invisible wall of air.

At the same time, Kou Beiyue's body froze rigid, limbs spasming as he stood rooted to the spot, unable to make any further movement.

Invisible chains bound him.

The youth with the headband smiled: "I'm not with the officials. No need to be tense. Just saw your killing intent's light, yet you're a Bewitching Fiend—an anomaly. Came over to take a look."

Kou Beiyue didn't lower his guard because of the man's words, but with his body no longer his own, he could only comply, voice low:

"What do you want?"

The Demon Eye Heavenly King asked: "Which organization are you with?"

"Rogue cultivator!"

"Why don't you like killing? You should know—the more you kill, the heavier the killing intent, the stronger a Bewitching Fiend becomes. The Order faction calls us an evil class not without reason. A Bewitching Fiend who doesn't crave killing is basically trash."

Us? He's a Bewitching Fiend too? But how did he see through my class... Kou Beiyue sneered:

"Kill or not, I decide. Why should my class dictate me?"

The Demon Eye Heavenly King blinked, then laughed: "Interesting. You're an interesting one."

With that, he stepped forward and slapped Kou Beiyue across the face.

*Pa!*

The crisp crack drew stares from passersby. Kou Beiyue's cheek swelled high. His brows knotted into inverted peaks, eyes spraying rage, roaring like a lion:

"Let me go if you've got the guts! I'll fight you to the death!"

The Demon Eye Heavenly King suddenly realized:

"So you're battle-hungry. Since ancient times, Bewitching Fiends have always been the most ferocious warriors. The temperament fits. If you were just a bit more bloodthirsty, your future achievements would be limitless.

"Kid, interested in following me? My trusted little brother got whacked. Looking to groom a replacement. You'd do nicely."

Li Xianzong, though possessed of a murderous nature, was also of a wild, unyielding disposition, and proud besides; he disdained to kill ordinary folk who did not provoke him. As for slaying Walkers of the Lawful alignment, that was simply the natural order of things.

Moreover, Li Xianzong had no taste for women, and would not stoop to violating them. Coupled with his heaven-defying talent, it was for these reasons that the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King took a shine to him and groomed him with great care.

Had he been a beguiling demon without any bottom line, the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King would never have given him a second glance.

Kou Beiyue’s eyes blazed with a fury that seemed ready to burst forth. She let out a cold snort:

“Not interested!”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?” The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King asked with a smile playing on his lips.

“If you want to kill, then kill. Spare me the nonsense.” Kou Beiyue possessed the spirit of youth, unbending and resilient.

“Interesting~” The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King stroked his chin, chuckling. “No rush. You will agree to me. Once I’ve finished the business at hand, I’ll take you back to the North.”

With that, he silently marked Kou Beiyue, turned, and departed.

……

The Haoyue Hotel.

The taxi pulled up outside the hotel. Wang Qian climbed out of the cabin, stepped into the lobby, and stopped at the front desk.

“The Palace Lord and the brothers are in the 409 Presidential Suite. You go on up.” The pretty female receptionist said in a low voice.

Wang Qian gave a slight nod, proceeded deep into the hotel, took the elevator, and arrived at the fourth floor.

He made his way to Room 409 with practiced ease and, following the pre-arranged rhythm, knocked on the door.

The door opened. Qingdian Dasheng, his hair exploding in a wild, lion’s mane of frizz, stood in the doorway sporting a beer belly. Seeing it was Wang Qian, he hurriedly said:

“Come in quick.”

Wang Qian nodded, squeezed through the gap, and scanned the room. The presidential suite was packed with over twenty members of the Zhisha Palace—men and women, seductive beauties, men of gloomy temperament.

There were Transcendent Walkers like himself, and even powerhouses at the Saint level.

Of course, the strongest was the woman sitting behind the desk, clad in a crimson dress of breathtaking beauty.

She was the goddess in the hearts of the Zhisha Palace members; regardless of gender, all were obsessed with the peerless Palace Lord. This was partly the attribute bonus of her Bard profession, and partly the personal charisma of the Palace Lord herself.

Wang Qian didn’t know the exact headcount of the Zhisha Palace, but he had a general idea—thirty-odd, not quite forty.

This was roughly half the numbers of a major Spirit Realm clan; in the civilian organizations, it counted as a behemoth.

And with a Ruler-level Walker holding the fort, even the officials had to treat them with due gravity, affording them a relatively equal stance.

“Everyone’s here. Those who couldn't make it, I’ve notified personally.” The Zhisha Palace Lord swept her gaze across the room and declared:

“Effective today, everyone is to temporarily withdraw from Songhai. I’ve already secured a landing spot. Qingdian Dasheng will lead you there.”

The members’ expressions shifted slightly, exchanging glances.

Qingdian Dasheng, patting his beer belly, explained:

“The Cult Master’s Demon-Eyed Heavenly King is hunting the Palace Lord, and has posted a bounty on us on the black market. Any lead related to us is worth a hundred thousand. I reckon leaving Songhai to avoid the limelight for a while is the wise move.

“Furthermore, during the withdrawal, the Palace Lord will subsidize you monthly. Ten thousand per person.”

A woman dressed in bewitching finery knitted her brows and said:

"When can I return? Palace Master, I've just gotten a boyfriend. If I leave Songhai..."

The Palace Master of Cessation cast her a cool glance, and the woman immediately corrected herself with a sigh:

"But for the Palace Master, that dog of a man can go to hell for all I care."

The Palace Master of Cessation nodded in satisfaction, chuckling: "Later I'll bind the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and deliver him to your bed."

The bewitching woman's eyes lit up: "You have my word."

The Palace Master of Cessation laughed, her voice gentle: "Lychee, how long has it been since you were strung up and beaten?"

"..."

...

After dinner, in the living room.

Jiang Yuer lay languidly on the sofa, her two long legs draped over her nephew's thighs, a plate of grapes resting on her belly. She ate grapes while watching the news.

They were watching the Songhai News Channel, the same one Grandfather often watched.

"Pfft!"

Jiang Yuer tilted her head, pursed her lips, and a grape flew accurately into the trash bin several meters away.

Zhang Yuanqing stared, dumbfounded: "Aunt, it's a waste you didn't go into basketball."

"This is nothing. A few meters farther and I could still spit it in." Auntie hmphed twice, shifting into an even more comfortable position.

"Yuanzi, massage Auntie's feet."

"No way, they stink!"

"You little brat, countless men would kill to massage Auntie's jade feet. You don't know a blessing when it's staring you in the face." Jiang Yuer, lying flat, narrowed her eyes at her nephew by her feet.

Even from the so-called death angle—viewed from below—Zhang Yuanqing couldn't find a single flaw in his aunt's face; still cute and adorable, her teardrop mole as bewitching as ever.

At this moment, Grandfather's gaze shifted from the TV screen as he turned and asked:

"Since when did you two start liking the news?"

"I don't watch it. I just wanted to keep Grandpa company." Zhang Yuanqing said immediately.

"I want to keep Dad company too." Jiang Yuer cooed.

Grandfather gave them a strange look. "I know exactly what you two are like."

One only knows how to act cute for favors, the other all smooth talk for favors—neither is a filial child.

Jiang Yuer and Zhang Yuanqing laughed twice, continuing to play dead.

Zhang Yuanqing gently kneaded his aunt's soles, freeing his right hand to operate his phone, sending a text to Auntie Xiao Yuan:

"Auntie Xiao Yuan, how's the consideration of the gang matter going?"

Magical Auntie Xiao Yuan: "Talk later!"

Ah, Xiao Yuan is a Saintess, a powerhouse in her own right; if only she could join the gang... Recruit Auntie Xiao Yuan into the fold, and I'd have far better leverage with Master Wuxian.

Master Wuxian, and the forces trailing in his wake, were the very quarry Zhang Yuanqing had long sought to "conquer."

To weave a network of his own, ordinary wild Walkers held little value; at the very least, he needed established factions—the Palace of Cessation and the Traceless Hotel were the two most ideal, most formidable channels.

For now, his rapport with the Palace Lord of Cessation was decent, growing ever closer, yet regarding the Traceless Hotel, his efforts had borne scant fruit.

An Evil Class was an Evil Class, after all; innate grudges and barriers stood between Xiao Yuan and him, not to be dispelled by a few honeyed words—it required the patient grinding of a millstone, or a single twist of fate.

He could only bide his time... Zhang Yuanqing set down his phone, pressing the matter no further.

Just then, the news anchor spoke:

"Next, at 5:32 this afternoon, a villain broke into a company named 'Huiteng Finance' in Rongchuang Tower, slaughtering its staff with inhuman cruelty—methods unheard of in their savagery. Of the twenty-nine employees, only a single receptionist survived.

"Witnesses claim the perpetrator was a young man in his thirties wearing a headband. The Public Security Bureau has launched an investigation..."

The TV screen cut to surveillance footage; in the grainy video, a youth in a sports headband pushed open the finance company's glass doors.

The surveillance feed froze on that single frame.

The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King—it had to be him. The bastard truly wouldn't lie low; barely arrived in Songhai and he'd already stirred up a catastrophe... Zhang Yuanqing's grip on his phone tightened violently.

"Ow~"

Auntie cried out in pain, eyes welling with tears, aggrieved: "You hurt me."

"Sorry, sorry..." Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly released his aunt's little feet, apologizing profusely.

"Hmph!" Jiang Yuer gave his chest a light kick, rose, and headed for the bedroom: "Done watching. Bedtime."

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze instinctively chased his aunt's retreating figure for a moment, then he lowered his head to text Li Dongze:

"Squad Leader, was the Rongchuang Tower massacre the work of the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King?"

He'd been watching the news precisely to see if the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King would cause a scene, and sure enough, his hunch had proven correct.

Li Dongze replied swiftly:

"Yes. Elder Dog and Centurion Fu are already tracking him covertly. Hope they find him."

Just as he thought... Zhang Yuanqing typed: "Why did he slaughter that finance company?"

Li Dongze: "Unclear for now. The Bureau is investigating, but from intel gathered so far, the company's background isn't clean—it's a lending outfit. As for how they provoked the Demon Eye, we'll have to keep digging."

"Understood." Zhang Yuanqing frowned with worry: "Then will the Demon Eye target the Bureau? I'm in Squad Two; he should know our office location. You'll be in grave danger."

Squad Two's office was in the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau—not exactly a secret. Ordinary Evil Classes might not know, but with the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King's means and status, finding out would be child's play.

Li Dongze replied:

"Heh. We have the seed of the Blast Flower; its aura is intensely potent—the Demon-Eyed Heavenly King can't possibly miss it. He won't risk his Morality Points bottoming out just to kill a few unrelated ants.

"That's exactly what the Centurion wants. After all, we can't let the seed actually detonate—that would kill scores. Besides, with today's bloodbath, the Demon Eye's Morality Points took a heavy hit; he'll likely lie low for a while, won't kill again anytime soon."

As they chatted, the sound of a keypad beeped from outside the living room, and the security door swung open.

Chen Yuanjun entered, briefcase in hand, weariness etched across his face.

Zhang Yuanqing replied: "Squad Leader, extraordinary times, be careful in all things."

Then he pocketed his phone and asked, "Brother, why are you back so late?"

"Work stuff." Chen Yuanjun set his briefcase on the coffee table, sat at the dining table, and called out, "Grandma, serve me a bowl of rice, I'm starving."

Zhang Yuanqing, having just heard of the Rongchuang Building massacre, hurried to the dining table and sat down, gossiping, "Is it because of that finance company case? Rongchuang Building, the news just mentioned it."

Chen Yuanjun frowned habitually, looking all the more weathered. He sighed, "Not just that one. Too much happened today... our Public Security Bureau Chief jumped to his death."

"What?" Zhang Yuanqing froze.

Grandpa, over in the living room, turned his head to look as well.

Just then, Grandma came out with a bowl of rice. As she handed it over, she gossiped, "The Bureau Chief jumped? There's a story like that?"

Grandma was never one to be outdone when it came to gossip.

Chen Yuanjun hadn't wanted to talk, but seeing Grandma's keenly interested expression, he knew if he refused, the bowl in his hand might well be snatched back halfway.

Grandma was absolutely capable of doing just that...

"It's that Zhou Yan we talked about yesterday." Chen Yuanjun shoveled a mouthful of rice, eating as he spoke. "The one reported for embezzlement and bribery, acting as a protective umbrella for a lending company."

Grandma asked curiously, "How did she end up jumping?"

Lending company, Zhou Yan, Rongchuang Building bloodbath... Zhang Yuanqing thought, what a coincidence?

Before Chen Yuanjun could speak, Grandpa, sitting on the far sofa, asked in a deep voice, "Is she connected to that finance company in the Rongchuang Building?"

Though he hadn't been a peacekeeper for many years, Grandpa's nose for trouble remained sharp.

Chen Yuanjun gave a slight nod. "That company is the very lending platform she shielded."

"Oh!" Grandpa turned his head back, offering a bland verdict: "Deserved to die."

He refused to say more, focusing on the TV.

Grandma sat at the table, eating and asking questions back and forth. Once she felt she had the gist, she admonished, "Eat your food properly."

Then she turned and went into her daughter's room to share the gossip.

Zhang Yuanqing went to the bathroom to wash up. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he returned to his room, summoned Little Doubi for free activity, and lay on the bed staring at the ceiling in a daze.

The Demon Eye's style was indeed as the Palace Master of Cessation of Killing said... tsk tsk, killing twenty-eight people in one breath, no, twenty-nine, that's two thousand and nine merit points. He probably won't kill indiscriminately for a while now; he'll choose to lie low and do good deeds. Finding him will be even harder. And in this gap, he might shift his focus to finding me and the Palace Master of Cessation of Killing.

Also, is the War God Cult's intelligence this good? Doesn't that mean I'm in even more danger?

...

"Ding!"

A phone notification chimed.

The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King fished out his phone to check the message:

"My King, your subordinate has just uncovered a lead. Over a month ago, Ou Xiangrong—controlled by the Ghost-Eyed Judge—met his end at Songhai University. The Primordial Heavenly Venerate who killed him might be a student there."

Songhai University... The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King replied:

"Can you get a photo of the Primordial Heavenly Venerate?"

"Apologies. Few have laid eyes on the Primordial Heavenly Venerate; they're mostly official personnel. We can't get it, not in the short term at least."

The Demon-Eyed Heavenly King finished reading, replied no further, and pocketed his phone.

No matter. Without a photo, he could simply stake out Songhai University.

...

11 PM, the Traceless Inn.

A shrill ring tore Xiao Yuan from her light sleep. She grabbed the phone on the nightstand; the caller ID read:

Kou Beiyue!

Xiao Yuan's delicate brows arched. She answered, her voice icy:

"You still have the nerve to call me?"

"Xi... Xiao Yuan..." A boy's voice came through the line, awkward and low, tinged with anxiety.

Xiao Yuan fell silent for a second, then said: "What is it? Speak quickly."

"I... I'm trapped in a nightclub by enemies. They're hunting me down. I can't hold out much longer." Kou Beiyue's voice was hushed.

Xiao Yuan shot to her feet, her expression turning grave: "Tell me the location. Now!"

"Kangyang District, Bai Xing Road, Red Dragon Nightclub." Kou Beiyue whispered:

"I'm not calling for rescue. There's no time. You won't make it. I assassinated an official Walker on my own, violating Master Traceless's rules. He won't save me.

"I was too reckless this time. I didn't expect he'd long since sensed me staking him out... I'm calling just to tell you: I've always seen you as a mother. My temper is rotten, violent, impulsive. Since my sister died, you're the only one who didn't hate me, who tolerated my foul mood. I'm so sorry..."

He said a lot, but Xiao Yuan didn't take in a single word.

Her heart plummeted to the bottom of a valley.

From Jinshan City to Songhai, it was forty minutes at the very least. Rushing over was impossible.

Master Traceless had set rules: no deep ties with evil professions, no active conflict with officials. One must forget the past, let go of history, to redeem oneself.

Kou Beiyue had broken the rules. Master Traceless would never save him.

What to do? Who else could save him... Xiao Yuan kept her face cold, thoughts racing.

Kangyang District?

She suddenly thought of the Primordial Heavenly Venerate.

...