Chapter 28: Cousin

Chapter 28: Cousin 

In a coffee shop, under a canopy, Zhang Yuanqing held a steaming cup of coffee, staring blankly at the bustling night scene on the street: the streetlights, car headlights, and store lights intertwined to create a splendid and bustling night view. After a while, he took a big gulp and then let out a sigh, as if he had expelled all the mental pollution.

"Devouring spiritual entities to increase strength seems to be a crooked and evil path," he thought.

Finally, he understood why the Night Wanderer of the Taiyi Sect was unwilling to devour spiritual entities. If the world were likened to a bitter sea, ordinary people would be the boats floating in it, burdened with hardships and suffering. Everyone had their own misfortunes and pains.

These hardships would be transferred to the Night Wanderer along with the spiritual entities. Even if it was only a small part, when the quantity accumulated to a certain extent, the resulting mental pollution would be extremely terrifying. Over time, it could lead to severe mental fragmentation.

However, the benefits were indeed immediate. His experience points had now reached 46%, and the duration of the "Night Wander" skill had not extended; it was still nine seconds. However, there was a noticeable improvement in his physical fitness, life force, and healing ability.

This was a genuine gain.

"Oh right, I still don't know the cause of that gay guy's death... No, I don't want to know at all," Zhang Yuanqing thought, pushing the thought away.

He took a sip of coffee, still feeling uneasy.

...

In the early morning, at the villa...

A large conference room that could accommodate thirty people. Fu Qingyang scanned the area on both sides of the long table, his gaze calm and profound, like clouds gathering before a storm. He had a handsome appearance, exuding the aura of an aristocratic young master, and when he was expressionless, he emitted a strong psychological pressure that made people feel overwhelmed.

"Five team leaders and dozens of security officers were dispatched, yet the bewitched monster still managed to escape," Fu Qingyang's expression was cold, "I am very disappointed in all of you."

Seated on both sides of the long conference table were the participants of the operation: five team leaders and twelve team members, including Li Dongze and Guan Ya.

Faced with criticism from their superior officer, the team leaders kept their heads down, afraid to speak.

Da Ji Ba wanted to say something but hesitated. Eventually, he couldn't hold back and whispered, "Captain Fu, it seems that Ou Xiangrong has been contaminated by some evil power, making him exceptionally strong and crazy. That's why we failed. Besides, the bewitched monster itself is a top-notch professional..."

Fu Qingyang calmly interrupted, "Failure is failure. Any excuse is just a coward's way of refusing to admit their own failure."

His sharp gaze swept over everyone, and none of the spiritual realm cultivators sitting by the table dared to meet his eyes, except for Guan Ya, who was absentmindedly playing with her nails.

Fu Qingyang continued, "Because of your failure, the situation has escalated. A severely injured bewitched monster tainted by evil power is likely to go completely out of control, and considering the cruelty of the bewitched monster, it will undoubtedly cause a large number of casualties. Now, the entire Songhai City's Spiritual Realm team is involved in the search. If you cannot eliminate Ou Xiangrong within three days, all of you will be sent back to the training camp."

Li Dongze, Qingteng, Tang Guoqiang, and the other team leaders exchanged grim looks.

Fu Qingyang sneered, "Of course, I am also a failure in this matter because I had the wrong expectations of you and overestimated your abilities. Therefore, in the next three days, I will personally participate in the hunt. Since Ou Xiangrong is seeking the roster and the Holy Grail, his target will surely shift to Zhao Yingjun's family or women with close relationships. We will search along this line."

After his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive watch and said, "You don't have much time left. Dismissed! Guan Ya, stay."

The lengthy meeting finally ended, and it was already mealtime. The spiritual realm cultivators stood up somewhat dejectedly, respectfully bowed towards the end of the long table, and then orderly left the conference room. The five team leaders led the way, and Da Ji Ba, who was almost two meters tall, lowered his voice angrily, "I don't deny my failure, but Captain Fu is too arrogant. He wasn't even present at the scene, so he has no idea of Ou Xiangrong's strength. While we were fighting outside, he was sitting on the villa's handmade sofa, enjoying wine, cigars, and the service of the playboy bunnies."

As he spoke, three playboy bunnies carrying snacks entered the room.

The villa's staff consisted entirely of young playboy bunnies, all of them in their prime, with tall and beautiful figures.

Bai Long lightly patted the buttocks of one of the playboy bunnies and lowered his voice, "

"I heard that Captain Fu has extremely high popularity among the White Tiger Battalion. He is the only one among the Four Young Masters who can compete with the young master of the Crimson Flame Gang," said someone.

Fu Qingyang was transferred from the capital to Songhai at the end of last year. It is said that after gaining experience and accumulating qualifications here for a few years, he will return to the capital and become a preparatory member of the Elder Council.

Upon hearing this, the muscular man sneered, "Just rumors. Our Young Master is the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Five Elements Alliance."

Qingteng then looked at Li Dongze, "What do you think, Captain Li?"

Li Dongze took a drag of his cigarette and sighed, "Of course, it's because of money. That's what you all think, right?"

Isn't it? The other team leaders glanced at him.

"Foolish!" Li Dongze pointed to his own head, "Use your not-so-bright brains to think about it. If it really comes to what Captain Fu said, in such a terrible event, someone will have to take responsibility, right? For such a significant matter, will returning to the training camp be enough?"

"When Captain Fu said to send us back to the training camp, it means that in the worst-case scenario, he will shoulder all the responsibility. We won't be dismissed, won't be held accountable, just stay in the training camp for three months, even if we mess up something so severe."

He lit his cigarette with a lighter and shrugged, "Alright, let's get to work and find Ou Xiangrong, that scumbag."

...

In the meeting room, Fu Qingyang stared at Guan Ya, who was fixing her nails, and frowned, "Li Dongze said you got injured?"

Guan Ya blew on her nails, took out a makeup mirror from her handbag, and replied while touching up her makeup, "If you have something to say, just say it. I need to get back to work."

Fu Qingyang's stern face showed a hint of helplessness, "Your aunt called me. She wants you to come back next month and meet your arranged fiancé."

"When I came back last time, I made it very clear to her that I won't be part of any family marriage arrangements. Just because she's willing to be a family's sacrifice doesn't mean I am too."

Guan Ya snapped shut her makeup mirror and said, "Your Fu family members are really boring. Qingyang, take control of the family sooner and let those old folks retire."

Fu Qingyang said in a deep voice, "If you don't want to be involved in a marriage alliance, then show some results. Don't waste your talent by idling around all day. The elders of the family only respect the strong, like me and her."

"Here's the deal, I'll transfer you to another team. Team Three in Changtai District is pretty good; they earn collective commendations several times a year. You can gain some experience there, and it will give me a reason to refuse my aunt."

"Li Dongze's Team Two lacks talented individuals, making it challenging to achieve any merit."

Guan Ya furrowed her brows and sighed, "Team Two indeed lacks motivation. It's hard for me to decline... Let's talk about it later. We have a new kid in our team, quite interesting; I'll observe them for a while."

She put away her makeup mirror, grabbed her handbag, and walked towards the door with a smile, saying, "You better worry about yourself. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it'll be a stain on your record that you can't erase. They will stop at nothing to prevent you from entering the Elder Council."

"Alright, cousin, see you later~"

Early in the morning, Zhang Yuanqing carried his backpack and walked towards the comprehensive building. His schedule for the day was to attend professional classes in the morning and chat with Lao Sijie during lunch and afternoon – well, it was actually to socialize and expand his network with colleagues. As he arrived at the entrance of the building, he heard someone calling his name.

Turning around, he saw Li Lesong and several classmates from the same class.

Li Lesong, along with a few male students, caught up with him, and with an expectant expression, he extended an invitation, "We are planning to have a mixer with some girls, this weekend. Would you like to join us? I heard you are a local in Songhai."

A mixer? If it's this weekend, that would be the day after tomorrow... Zhang Yuanqing pondered briefly and replied, "Sure."

Li Lesong and the other male students breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Then let's exchange contact information. With you on board, I'm sure the girls would be willing to join us."

"We can add each other as friends too."

"Yeah, let's do that." The other male classmates took out their phones one after another.

After adding each other as friends, Zhang Yuanqing and his classmates walked towards the comprehensive building together. Li Lesong smiled and said, "I heard from a girl who is from the same hometown as me that yesterday, the security officers came to look for Xu Yingying, and she cried a lot in the dorm."

"Security officers? What happened?" Several male students were surprised, as for university students, security officers were a distant and unfamiliar group.

Li Lesong explained, "I heard that the wealthy man who was keeping Xu Yingying had some trouble, but the specific situation is not clear. The security officers came to inquire about that person's situation."

"Could it be that the person ran away with embezzled money? Nowadays, with the economic downturn, there are too many examples of wealthy people going bankrupt."

Zhang Yuanqing listened to his classmates gossiping and scanned the students passing by. In the relatively sparse crowd, he noticed a familiar figure.

It was a beautiful girl in a white dress, with long straight black hair cascading down, wearing delicate light makeup – the protagonist of their previous conversation, Xu Yingying.

She seemed to be leaning affectionately on a man. The man had a mask on, short hair, sparse eyebrows, and a small scar was visible at the top of the mask.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted abruptly.

Ou Xiangrong?!

He looked at Xu Yingying more closely and observed some clues. At this moment, he finally noticed something unusual. Xu Yingying's expression seemed stiff, and although she appeared to be cuddling with Ou Xiangrong, it looked more like she was being forced to lean on him by his shoulders.