Chapter 222: Spirit Realm Mission

Chapter 222: Spirit Realm Mission

"What does the Songhai Branch mean by this?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"The Fuzhou Branch can shelter Zhu Rong, so the Songhai Branch can naturally shelter Palace Master Zhisha."

Upon hearing the Centurion say this, Zhang Yuanqing understood immediately, a smile curling his lips. "So, the Zhu family just has to swallow this loss."

The Zhu family, and even the Fuzhou Branch, held no enforcement power in Songhai. As long as the Songhai Branch offered protection, they could do nothing to Palace Master Zhisha.

This was what one called returning the favor in kind.

Fu Qingyang stood with hands in his pockets, his handsome face maintaining a cold indifference, giving a slight nod. "Palace Master Zhisha appears mad and radical, but in truth, he is meticulous in his calculations."

Zhang Yuanqing agreed with Fu Qingyang's assessment.

The Palace Master was telling the Zhu family: even if I flay Zhu Rong's face and slap the Zhu family's honor, you can do nothing to me.

If you dare harbor designs on my male favorite again, next time it won't be just flaying skin—it will be killing. And the Zhu family still won't be able to touch me.

Of course, if he truly killed Zhu Rong, the Zhu family would never let it rest. If open means failed, they would resort to covert ones. That was why the Palace Master hadn't killed her, but had taught her a vicious lesson instead.

Thus, the Zhu family received the threat, yet was left room to maneuver. However unwilling, they would have to swallow this grievance.

The measure of it was grasped perfectly.

Zhu Rong's trouble was temporarily resolved. When he had the capability in the future, he would settle accounts with her again. The Copper Sparrow Tower case—she had to pay the price... Zhang Yuanqing shifted the conversation to another matter.

"Centurion, has there been any reply from above regarding Sister Kou Beiyue's case?"

Fu Qingyang's heroic brows furrowed. "No reply. And there never will be one. You want to clear Kou Beiyue's name, clear his sister's name—that can be done. But you cannot make the Public Security Bureau admit that the Security Captain fabricated evidence and framed Kou Beiyue."

"If you are willing to compromise, you might listen to my suggestion."

Zhang Yuanqing straightened his spine. "Please speak, Centurion."

Fu Qingyang's gaze remained fixed on the battle in the arena. "The new Sandistrict Public Security Bureau Chief took office just last week. The new chief is determined to reform and rectify discipline. He reopened cases from the past few years and discovered that the Kou Beiyue matricide case is riddled with doubts and insufficient evidence; the true culprit is someone else."

"Therefore, he revoked the warrant for Kou Beiyue. The Sandistrict Public Security Bureau will re-investigate the case and will certainly catch the real murderer."

At this, Fu Qingyang turned his head to look at him. "If you agree to this narrative, I will go negotiate on your behalf."

Fu Qingyang's political aptitude is simply maxed out... Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but recall the Red Moon An incident, where this cold, aristocratic young master had framed the Night Rose. He sighed inwardly.

This was the only way. To restore Kou Beiyue's innocence, to let him hold his head high and be a man—the goal was achieved... Zhang Yuanqing said, "Deal."

Fu Qingyang gave a slight nod, turning his gaze back to the arena, and added, "The second Solo Spirit Realm is coming up soon, right? Let me tell you something interesting. In the Elders' chat group, quite a few old geezers are eagerly anticipating what difficulty level your second Exclusive Spirit Realm will be. They're even more excited about it than the Saint-rank matches."

Zhang Yuanqing froze: "How so?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Yuanqing regretted them; he seemed to hear Fu Qingyang's reply — There was no suspense to the competition, because the champion was inevitably me!

However, Fu Qingyang's answer was:

"The Female Marshal, during the Transcendent stage, had cleared one S-rank, two A-ranks, and one Slaughter Dungeon, before ascending to Sainthood.

"The old geezers are assessing your potential based on the number of dungeons you've entered, their difficulty ratings, and your leveling speed. If your growth trajectory in the Transcendent stage mirrors the Female Marshal's, then you possess the qualifications of an Alliance Leader.

"If your growth trajectory in the Saint stage mirrors the Female Marshal's, then you..."

"I become a candidate for the next Alliance Leader?"

"You get to snatch the title of 'Pawn That Crossed the River'."

The title of 'Pawn That Crossed the River'... Zhang Yuanqing pondered seriously for a few seconds, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Good grief, so he was waiting for me here all along; I let my guard down.

Fu Qingyang didn't blush or feel the least bit ashamed, speaking slowly:

"I'm also very much looking forward to the difficulty rating of your next dungeon; remember to report to Li Dongze before entering."

...

The next day, nine in the morning.

Zhang Yuanqing arrived at Fu Family Bay and entered the luxurious office.

Fu Qingyang sat behind the massive desk, clad entirely in snow-white, gazing at the subordinate who had entered, and said:

"The Shoukou District Public Security Bureau has replied; they agree to my proposal, but Bureau personnel won't make an appearance — you'll have to go speak for yourself. Also, there will be no compensation money."

He pushed over a document stamped with the Shoukou District Public Security Bureau's official seal:

"This manual is the greatest concession they're willing to make."

I have to go myself... no compensation whatsoever... Zhang Yuanqing's face darkened.

The Shoukou District Public Security Bureau's attitude was like a compromise forced by a rascal they couldn't shake off, brimming with disdain and arrogance.

'We agree, and that's already giving you face, but don't you dare fantasize about our people showing up to handle this; as for compensation, don't even dream of it.'

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath:

"Fine!

"But I'll have to trouble the Centurion to relay a message to the Chief of the Shoukou District Public Security Bureau for me; it must be conveyed."

Fu Qingyang nodded: "What message."

"Fuck you!"

...

Traceless Hotel.

Kou Beiyue, dressed in a food delivery rider's uniform, sat on the lounge chair by the front desk, her face clouded with worry, scratching her head from time to time.

Xiao Yuan stood tall and graceful behind the front desk, her voice light:

"Are you worrying about Yuanshi Tianzun? The curse has already been handled properly; there will be no aftereffects."

"Really?" Kou Beiyue's face brightened at those words. "Then that's good."

She turned and sank back into despondency, brow furrowed in worry once more.

Xiao Yuan frowned. "If something's wrong, just say it."

Kou Beiyue had maintained this state for a long time. Xiao Yuan had originally thought it was concern for Yuanshi Tianzun's safety.

Kou Beiyue hesitated, stammering:

"My father is ill. Yesterday I secretly went to visit where they're living."

"What illness?"

"Ankylosing spondylitis."

"So you need money, then." Xiao Yuan said.

Kou Beiyue fell silent. After a long while, she forced out a single word: "Yes."

The moment that word left her lips, the affected, proud youth finally let go of her dignity and face as if unburdened, her emotions finding an outlet:

"Ever since my sister and I had our accident, Father has lived in deep depression. He couldn't stay in the place he'd lived for decades. He took Mother and moved, cutting off all contact with relatives.

"Mother has a bad heart, has been on medication for years, so Father's pressure is immense. He's had an incredibly hard time. Yesterday when I went to see him, I suddenly discovered his hair had turned completely white. He was dark and thin, changed to the point I almost didn't recognize him.

"I so badly want to reveal myself to them, to stay by their side, to let them hold their heads high as people. But I don't dare."

Kou Beiyue rubbed her face hard. "Xiao Yuan, I miss Father and Mother. I want to go home..."

Xiao Yuan listened quietly, her gaze somewhat dazed.

At that moment, the hotel's glass door suddenly opened. A young man in a security officer's uniform, carrying a briefcase, walked in.

Xiao Yuan looked him up and down.

Kou Beiyue instantly tucked away her dejected, sorrowful expression, pulling up a proud, defiant bearing as she sized him up:

"How come you're wearing a dog's pelt?

"Hurry up and peel it off. Just seeing someone in a dog's pelt makes my fists itch."

Zhang Yuanqing sneered. "You can't beat me anyway. Believe it or not, I could make you call me Daddy with just a few words."

How could Kou Beiyue endure such provocation? Her eyebrows shot up. "Bullshit! If you've got that ability, I'll call you Daddy every time I see you from now on."

She'd barely finished speaking when she saw Yuanshi Tianzun pull a document from his briefcase, displaying it before her eyes.

What dogshit thing is this... Kou Beiyue was about to wave it away, but as her gaze swept over the document, her eyes suddenly widened. Her body froze there, breathing turning rapid.

Seeing the reckless, crude Kou Beiyue—so lacking in emotional delicacy—reveal such an expression, Xiao Yuan was stunned for a moment. Then, from Yuanshi Tianzun's attire, she associated something.

Her somewhat lifeless eyes ignited with brilliant radiance.

Zhang Yuanqing tapped the document against Kou Beiyue's face, just like a tycoon slapping a wage slave's cheeks with banknotes, and barked:

“Call me Dad!”

……Kou Beiyue’s face flushed a deep, suffocating red.

……

The white sedan rolled slowly into Pingxiang Town.

Pingxiang Town was a township near Jinshan City; it had no skyscrapers, no aesthetically pleasing infrastructure, consisting mainly of the red-brick houses common to such towns—the slightly more respectable ones had whitewashed walls and roofs of red glazed tiles.

The supermarkets, shops, and restaurants lining the town's main thoroughfare bore a decor style reminiscent of the early 2000s.

Before long, guided by Kou Beiyue, the white sedan pulled up before a four-story red-brick building; his parents lived here.

To be precise, they lived in one of the rooms within this building.

With economic development, industrialization spread from the cities to the towns; the influx of a massive population brought housing demand, and building houses to collect rent became the fastest, most stable channel for locals to make money.

Kou Beiyue's parents lived in this very building, on the third floor, the room nearest the stairwell.

Zhang Yuanqing had heard from Kou Beiyue that his parents had lived in straitened circumstances these past two years, enduring minor ailments and daring not seek treatment for major ones; in truth, Kou Beiyue's family owned a house in Jinshan City.

But the old couple had never sold it, preferring to suffer their bitter, hardscrabble days rather than part with the house.

The reason, ultimately, was likely the fear that that son—worse than a beast—might one day find himself with no home to return to.

The three alighted, entered the red-brick building, and climbed the stairs to the third floor.

Kou Beiyue took several deep breaths, his right hand rising and falling, finally summoning the courage to rap on the door.

*Thud thud!*

Seconds later, the door opened; behind it stood a frail middle-aged woman, her skin dark, covered in sunspots, deep crow's feet etched at the corners of her eyes.

Her face was a map of weathered hardship.

The middle-aged woman froze visibly at the sight of Kou Beiyue, then her lips began to tremble, her gaze trembling in turn.

She just stared at Kou Beiyue, letting tears cascade uncontrollably from her eyes.

Zhang Yuanqing watched in silence from the side; from the woman's expression, her eyes, he read a multitude of emotions—anger, grief, hatred, longing… it was hard to imagine a single person could unleash such complex feelings in the span of a few seconds.

One could only surmise that her heart, at this moment, had been swallowed by a tide of emotion.

Kou Beiyue pressed his lips together, looking at his mother, not uttering a word.

He resented his parents' distrust, resented that everyone had wronged him.

He would absolutely not shed a tear, not speak a single word of surrender.

Boys of this age are stubborn to the core, obstinate to a fault.

Suddenly, a low, furious roar erupted from within the room.

A middle-aged man in a sleeveless undershirt, gripping a kitchen cleaver, charged forward with a stiffened spine.

His face was twisted in ferocity, his features savage, yet his eyes flowed with a sorrow vast as the ocean tide.

This time, Zhang Yuanqing could not remain a bystander; he brushed past the middle-aged woman, intercepting the cleaver-wielding Father Kou, wrenching the blade from his grasp.

“Beast, I’ll hack you to death, you beast! You still have the face to show up, how do you have the face to come back…”

The middle-aged man roared in fury, tears streaming down his face.

Facing his father’s curses and accusations, Kou Beiyue’s eyes reddened, his neck stiffened, and he uttered not a single word.

Zhang Yuanqing repeated “Calm down,” “Don’t be impulsive,” “I’m a Public Order Officer” over and over, half-persuading, half-using force to drag the middle-aged man to the table and sit him down.

The house layout was simple: one room, one bathroom. The bedroom and kitchen were connected—no, there was no kitchen. The so-called kitchen was merely a table placed by the window, used to hold a gas stove.

A gas canister stood beside it.

“Don’t get agitated, stay calm!”

Zhang Yuanqing emphasized it again, then produced a file, set it on the table, and said:

“Kou Beiyue’s case is being retried. Through our investigation, we discovered he is innocent. This is the explanatory document from the Shako District Public Order Bureau for you.”

As he spoke, he took out his credentials. “I am a Public Order Officer with the Shako District Public Order Bureau.”

Hearing these words, the middle-aged woman at the door practically threw herself at the table, reading the document together with her husband, whose hands trembled as he held it.

Ten-odd seconds later, the middle-aged woman burst into wailing sobs, as if venting all the grievances of the past two years in one go.

Kou Beiyue’s father just kept wiping his eyes, old tears flowing freely, indistinguishable whether they were joy or sorrow.

“Comrade Officer, thank you, thank you…”

The middle-aged woman gripped Zhang Yuanqing’s hand tightly, choking with grief.

This was the accountability owed to you all along—why did it feel like a bestowed favor?

Zhang Yuanqing, who had expected to be chased and hacked, suddenly lost all emotion. He set his briefcase on the table and said:

“There’s three hundred thousand here. Compensation from the Public Order Bureau.”

Having done all this, he turned and strode away.

Aunt Xiao Yuan closed the door, not disturbing the family reunion, and followed Zhang Yuanqing out.

“Why the sudden unhappiness?”

Walking out of the red-brick building, her voice carried a rare trace of gentleness.

“The compensation came from my own pocket. The Shako District Public Order Bureau never intended to acknowledge this; they were only willing to issue an explanatory document. They refuse to see Kou Beiyue’s injustice, refuse to see the humiliation and despair of the victims’ families.”

“They never felt they owed the common people an accounting—no, they begrudge even a single explanation.” Zhang Yuanqing gazed at the horizon, voice low:

“I saw the arrogance of those in power. I am furious, but I… am powerless.”

…

The next day, 9:30 AM sharp.

The Arena. The White Tiger Guard’s new favorite, sitting beside the Gang Leader, said:

“Centurion, the Kou Beiyue matter is settled. Many thanks.”

Fu Qingyang didn’t look at him, eyes fixed on the fighting stage: “I detected no gratitude in your tone. By the way, I’ve already relayed yesterday’s message.”

"Many thanks!"

"Hmm, I can feel it now." Fu Qingyang nodded with satisfaction.

Zhang Yuanqing let out a light breath; whatever the case, it was finally resolved.

Next, he would adjust his condition, to welcome the Slaughter Dungeon, or his second Solo Spirit Realm.

If the second Solo Spirit Realm came after the Slaughter Dungeon, then it would not be a Night Wanderer exclusive realm, but a Star Official exclusive realm.

He wondered what a Star Official's dungeon would be like.

Time flowed slowly; by eleven in the morning, four groups of contestants had already finished their matches. It was worth noting that today's competition was for the top sixteen of the Saint Realm.

The quality of the contestants was markedly higher than the previous two days.

Fu Qingyang said that if all went smoothly, tomorrow would see the quarterfinals and semifinals, and the day after, the championship finals.

"Yuan Shi, by my reckoning, your Solo Spirit Realm is due in these next two days."

Guan Ya spoke.

"I've been studying guides recently; even if I encounter an S-rank, I'm confident." Zhang Yuanqing said, brimming with confidence.

The Heavenly Sacrifice Set had granted him immense confidence.

You Fenglaiyi, in the back row, reminded him:

"Don't get too cocky, bastard. The difficulty of an S-rank Trial Spirit Realm and an S-rank Tier-3 Spirit Realm aren't even on the same level."

That bit of danger in the She Ling Tunnel was a certain death sentence for ordinary people, but for Tier-2 and Tier-3 Spirit Realm Walkers, it was child's play.

Therefore, a Tier-3 S-rank Solo Spirit Realm—no, even an A-rank realm—is fraught with peril.

Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak when a Spirit Realm notification chimed in his ear:

[Ding, Spirit Realm map initializing, entering Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. The realm you are entering is "Mute Village", Code: 1018]

[Difficulty Grade: A]

[Type: Solo (Death Type)]

[Main Quest: Survive for 24 hours.]

[Note: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in.]

[Code 1018 Realm Introduction: One day, villager Wang Xiaoi dug up an ancient tomb in the back mountain. Inside lay a female corpse, and rich burial goods. Wang Xiaoi stole the burial goods, planning to take them to the provincial capital to sell to a wealthy family. Unexpectedly, that night, she followed him out...]

Zhang Yuanqing never expected the Solo Spirit Realm to trigger at this moment; the previous three realm missions had all opened at night.

This had given him an illusion: my Spirit Realm missions always happen at night.

Wait, Mute Village? I've read through all the Spirit Realm guides the Taiyi Sect provided; there's no such dungeon as Mute Village... An unguided dungeon? Or one the Taiyi Sect never recorded?

There is a difference between the two. If unguided, it's a World First clear. If the latter, Night Wanderers outside the Taiyi Sect might have cleared it, but the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers haven't, so it's not in the database.

But whichever it is, a guide absent from the database means immense value, but for the person entering the dungeon, the crisis escalates drastically.

Zhang Yuanqing's face changed:

“Centurion, my Spirit Realm mission has arrived.”

…