Chapter 192: Unexpected Name

Chapter 192 An Unexpected Name

"Elder!"

Zhang Yuanqing saluted in greeting.

Dog Elder nodded slightly, maintaining his crouching posture, gazing at the Demon Eye sealed within the tree, and said:

"The one you wish to see has arrived. I hope you can fulfill your promise."

The Demon Eye Heavenly King looked at Zhang Yuanqing, curled his lips, his face full of delight: "I wish to speak with the Primordial Heavenly Venerable alone."

Dog Elder shook his head: "You know this is meaningless."

In the zoo, the plants were his eyes and ears.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King grinned: "This Seat simply dislikes having small fry around when speaking."

The small fry, Fu Qingyang, raised an eyebrow.

Dog Elder pondered for a moment, looked at Zhang Yuanqing, and said: "No matter what he says, you absolutely must not remove the band on his forehead."

Zhang Yuanqing asked with some unease: "The eyes of the Bewitching Demon can also release skills."

"No need to worry, his abilities are sealed; he is no different from a normal person." Having finished, Dog Elder left with Fu Qingyang.

The prison cell instantly held only Zhang Yuanqing and the Demon Eye, the Demon Eye Heavenly King revealing only his upper body and head, smiled:

"We meet again, Primordial Heavenly Venerable!"

"In truth, I did not wish to see you again." Zhang Yuanqing's face was expressionless, his tone low: "Speak your piece, Demon Eye Heavenly King, though I feel we have nothing to discuss."

The Demon Eye Heavenly King maintained a radiant, sunny smile:

"At first, I merely wished to casually erase you, this ant, to avenge Li Xianzong. As for Li Xianzong, though he was cruel and belligerent, killing by nature, he possessed one merit I admired: compared to most Bewitching Demons, his bottom line was slightly higher.

"So I intended to cultivate him into a capable aide, to assist me in cleansing the world. Alas, he was killed by you. Of course, you were acting on behalf of the heavens; I do not deny this."

Can we cut the crap and get to the point... Zhang Yuanqing roasted inwardly.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King continued:

"You know I have rules when killing; I never kill the innocent. So upon arriving in Songhai, I ordered an investigation into your criminal record. Alas, you have never done anything violating the law—no embezzlement or perversion of justice, no abuse of power, no rape of women, no killing of innocents. I truly cannot find a reason to kill you."

...Zhang Yuanqing couldn't hold back, prompting: "Your Majesty, do you think there is a possibility that I simply haven't had the time to do these things yet."

The Demon Eye Heavenly King nodded:

"My subordinates reminded me. But how do you explain the Copper Sparrow Tower case? In that case, your gains and risks were disproportionate. What drove you to risk your life to destroy the Copper Sparrow Tower?

"No need to answer me; just ask your own heart."

Zhang Yuanqing was at a loss for words, replying helplessly: "You asked me to come see you—what exactly do you want to say? What do you want to do?"

The Demon Eye Heavenly King answered irrelevantly, sighing:

"My life has been a profound failure. In childhood, I struggled to survive, life as cheap as grass. In youth, I raged impotently at corrupt officials, yet submitted meekly to villains who bullied the weak.

"When I became a Bewitching Demon, those I faced were precisely the people I loathed most. I sometimes endured them until it was agonizing, yet was powerless to act.

"I want to cleanse the world of its sins, to stop killing with killing, to curb violence with violence. The lawful ones call me radical, a madman deserving of ten thousand deaths. The wicked say my mind is broken."

"Is that not so..." Zhang Yuanqing listened in silence.

"Hard enough finding a Li Xianzong, barely passable as a companion. Until I came to know you..." The Demon Eye Heavenly King's gaze suddenly burned, and he spoke:

"Yuanshi Tianzun, there are many who abide by the law, but those willing to stake their lives for righteousness are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. And those willing to stake their lives for righteousness, who possess the capability, and who harbor immense potential—you are the only one I have ever seen.

"Yuanshi Tianzun, follow me. Let us cleanse this world together. This world is sick. It needs healing."

He sought me out in the dead of night just to turn me? Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing found it both absurd and yet exactly the sort of thing the Demon Eye would do.

He longed to mock the man as a lunatic, but watching the Demon Eye's animated expression, his earnest eyes, the martyr-like fervor when he spoke of cleansing the world—

Zhang Yuanqing fell silent.

Such a man might be a madman, or deserving of death, but he should not be mocked.

Zhang Yuanqing considered, then said:

"Demon Eye Heavenly King, our philosophies differ. My maternal grandfather once said: nine out of ten officials are corrupt, and the tenth is corrupt enough for the rest. Bureaucrats, those in the system, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders... anyone with power in hand—who among them is not greedy? Who does not scheme for private gain?

"Greed is human nature. To not be greedy is to defy human nature. The saints of this world exist only on the internet; in reality, every last one wishes all the world's benefits belonged to him alone.

"So we must face human nature, face those dark facets. While punishing evil and promoting good, we must also learn to mingle with the dust.

"Your philosophy is too radical. The world you idealize—is it a cleansing? No. It is the slaughter of all humanity."

"And so?" The Demon Eye stared at him.

"So I can never walk the same path as you." Zhang Yuanqing spoke in a low voice.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King was silent. After a long while, he slowly spoke:

"I understand your thinking now. Then, Yuanshi Tianzun, I curse you. One day, when you witness the darkness of human nature, when your grievances find no justice, when righteousness is forced to yield to power, when the weak become lambs—I curse you to become like me."

Within that low voice, Zhang Yuanqing felt a sharp pang in his chest, as if an invisible hand had clenched tight around his heart.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

At that moment, two vines shot forth, entwining Zhang Yuanqing, emitting a soft yet vigorous jade-green glow.

Seconds later, the vines retracted. From within the camphor tree's main trunk came Elder Dog's grave voice:

"No curse, no beguilement. Demon Eye, what did you do?"

The Demon Eye's smile was radiant: "I did nothing. My words work only on those who share my ideals."

He gazed deeply at Zhang Yuanqing, grinning: "My purpose is achieved. Yuanshi Tianzun, you will ultimately walk the same road as me."

Fuck! Without a word, Zhang Yuanqing summoned the Subduing Demon Pestle and drove it fiercely into his own thigh.

Dazzling golden light erupted, his pupils igniting with brilliant gold.

The next moment, the gold light dispersed. Zhang Yuanqing wore a face of bewilderment. Elder Dog had been right—he was not cursed, not beguiled, his body and soul suffered no external negative influence.

The Demon Eye's speech seemed merely an ordinary declaration, devoid of practical effect.

But why does my heart ache? Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself.

“Don't play these petty tricks,” the Dog Elder’s voice carried a hint of displeasure. “Demon Eye, you ought to fulfill your promise.”

“Of course!” Demon Eye curled his lip, his face alight with delight. “This Seat keeps his word; I will tell you the information I know regarding the Chu Family extermination case.”

He paused a moment, then spoke:

“Back then, those who led the faithful to destroy the Chu Family were Extinction and Ghost Blade; they acted on Asura’s orders.”

“Asura?” The Dog Elder’s tone turned astonished. “Why would Asura destroy the Chu Family?”

Asura was the strongest of the Evil Classes, hailed by them as the Number One Walker of the Spirit Realm; he had lived in seclusion for years, rarely making an appearance.

The Chu Family was indeed a Spirit Realm clan, but to say Asura specifically named them for extermination was utterly unreasonable.

Demon Eye let out a “Heh.” “Naturally, it was the Night Rose who wanted the Chu Family destroyed. The Night Rose’s true objective was to seize that Rule-class artifact of the Chu Family; surely I needn't explain its function.”

The Dog Elder fell silent for a long while, then asked: “Resurrection... who does the Night Rose want to resurrect?”

Before Demon Eye could reply, the Dog Elder realized: “Resurrect the Night Rose’s Leader…”

He understood; no wonder Demon Eye had said that before the Chu Family’s extermination, the Night Rose had no Leader.

At that time, the Night Rose had yet to grow strong, insufficient to overthrow the Chu Family, so they conspired with the War Master Bishop; but if that were all, the Night Rose would only need to contact the Heavenly King-level upper echelons.

Why would Asura concern himself with such matters? Let alone issue the command personally.

“Would Asura care about such trifles?” the Dog Elder asked, bewildered.

The Heavenly King Demon Eye spoke:

“This is no trifle. You must know, the Night Rose’s Leader is a Night Tour God, you dog. With your status and clearance, you should know the Bright Compass’s Prophecy, or at least have heard of it. I do not know the Bright Compass’s Prophecy; I can only tell you that the Night Rose’s Grand Protector reached an agreement with Asura.

“Asura placed his wager on the Night Rose’s Leader.”

The Bright Compass’s Prophecy? Zhang Yuanqing wore a blank, calm expression on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil.

The last time he had heard of the Bright Compass’s Prophecy was in the Demon Lord’s audio recording, spoken by that mysterious Void Class expert of unknown identity.

The Bright Compass’s Prophecy involved the Night Rose and Asura? Even Asura, hailed as the Evil Organization’s strongest, cared this much... Asura destroyed the Chu Family to help the Night Rose resurrect their Leader, which amounted to investing in the Night Rose... And the Beauty God Association, that mysterious Void Class powerhouse, had also invested in the Demon Lord...

Just what secrets does the Night Tour God class hide... Zhang Yuanqing’s mind raced, flashing with all manner of thoughts.

The prison cell fell into a long silence, so long that Zhang Yuanqing thought the Dog Elder had dozed off, when the Dog Elder’s voice rang out from within the tree trunk:

“I understand. Yuan Shi, you may leave first.”

Phew... Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief, but did not leave immediately, instead saying:

“Elder, I feel Demon Eye’s words are fishy; I got the short end of the stick on this trip. I request compensation.”

“But you suffered no curse or beguilement... Fine, what do you want?” The Dog Elder was in no mood to haggle.

“I want to tell this intelligence to the Palace Master of Slaughter.”

“Allowed!”

Zhang Yuanqing turned and left happily.

Pushing open the cell door, Fu Qingyang stood beneath the streetlamp by the road, his figure tall and straight, expressionless, truly embodying the phrase 'standing like a pine'.

Seeing him emerge, Fu Qingyang gave a slight nod, then turned and walked away.

Zhang Yuanqing fell in step, relaying to Fu Qingyang every word the Demon Eye had spoken just moments before.

Fu Qingyang slowed his pace, listening with utmost attention; when Zhang finished, he said in a low voice:

"Without Elder Dog's permission, you so easily divulge such vital intelligence to me?"

Zhang Yuanqing's expression was grave: "Once a White Tiger Guard, forever a White Tiger Guard; this subordinate lives as the Centurion's man, dies as the Centurion's ghost."

Fu Qingyang shot him a sidelong glance: "Hardly necessary!"

He added at once: "But I am well pleased with this resolve. Hmm, the housing allocation standard for you — raise it by five million."

Truly generous; that means I now have a twenty-five-million housing standard... Zhang Yuanqing's mood brightened instantly.

Fu Qingyang murmured to himself: "The prophecy of the Light Compass..."

Zhang Yuanqing's ears were sharp; he asked:

"Does the Centurion know?"

Fu Qingyang gathered his thoughts, pondered a few seconds:

"I do not know, but your words today remind me of an old affair from childhood, some twenty years past: the Marshal of the White Tiger Legion perished in an accident, and during that time the elders of the Fu clan were greatly alarmed, fearing the Legion's influence would wane and it would become a second-rate power.

"I once overheard mention of the 'Light Compass,' but in my youthful ignorance I paid it no heed."

Ah, I know this — the White Tiger Marshal died in that upheaval, leading to the founding of the Five Elements Alliance... Zhang Yuanqing failed to pry the prophecy's content from Fu Qingyang, and felt keen disappointment.

A dozen minutes later, the two left the fork and returned to the main path, heading toward the zoo's main gate.

Just as they were about to exit the zoo gate, a chill ran down Zhang Yuanqing's spine; that sensation of being watched from the unseen depths descended once more.

This feeling again — who is spying on me? Zhang Yuanqing could not help but quicken his pace.

"You've finally come to see me..."

By his ear, the ethereal whisper echoed once more.

This voice again! Zhang Yuanqing quickened his steps while whispering low:

"Centurion, do you hear any sound?"

"No!" Fu Qingyang's face was cold as he stared ahead, "Remember my words — ignore it."

As he spoke, the ever-confident Fu Qingyang also hastened his stride, as if eager to leave this place at once.

The whispering continued:

"Have you finally come to see me, Zhang Zizhen..."

Zhang Yuanqing's body stiffened; he halted abruptly.

Zhang Zizhen — that was his father's name!

…