Chapter 1 Coffee Shop

Coffee shop, under the arbor.

Zhang Yuanqing held a steaming cup of coffee, his gaze blankly fixed on the street. Streetlights, car headlights, and shop lights intertwined into a dazzling and bustling night scene.

After a long while, he took a big gulp and then exhaled a sigh of turbid air, as if expelling all the spiritual pollution from his chest.

"Devouring spiritual bodies to improve strength seems to be a crooked path."

He finally understood why the Night Watchers of the Taiyi Sect were unwilling to devour spiritual bodies.

If the world is likened to a sea of suffering, mortals are like small boats adrift in it, beset by sorrow and hardship, each with their own misfortune and pain.

These sufferings would be transferred to the Night Watchers along with the spiritual bodies. Even if it was only a small portion, the spiritual pollution caused by the accumulation of quantity would be extremely terrifying.

Over time, even schizophrenia would be a mild outcome.

But the benefits were indeed immediate. His current experience value was 46%. The duration of the "Night Watch" skill had not been extended, remaining at nine seconds, but his physical fitness had improved significantly, and his vitality and healing power had also increased.

These were real gains.

"Right, I still don't know the cause of death of that gay guy... No, I don't want to know at all."

He took a sip of coffee, still shaken.

..........

Morning, villa.

In a large conference room capable of accommodating thirty people, Fu Qingyang swept across both sides of the long table, his eyes calm and deep, like storm clouds gathering.

He was handsome, with the nobility and arrogance of a young master from a wealthy family. When expressionless, his aura was powerful, bringing great psychological pressure to people.

"Five captains, a dozen team members, and dozens of security officers were dispatched, but the Bewitching Demon still escaped." Fu Qingyang's expression was cold: "I am very disappointed in you."

Sitting on both sides of the long conference table were the participants of this operation, five captains and twelve team members, including Li Dongze and Guan Ya.

Faced with the criticism from their executive-level superior, the captains lowered their heads and dared not speak.

The muscle-bound man hesitated, but couldn't help but whisper, "Centurion Fu, Ou Xiangrong seemed to be contaminated by some kind of evil force, becoming especially powerful and especially crazy. This is the reason for our failure. Moreover, the Bewitching Demon is itself a top-tier profession..."

Fu Qingyang said lightly, "Failure is failure. Any reason is a coward's excuse for refusing to admit their own failure."

His sharp gaze swept over everyone. The Spirit Hunters at the table dared not meet his eyes, except for Guan Ya.

Guan Ya was playing with her fingernails, looking absent-minded.

Fu Qingyang continued:

"Because of your failure, the incident has escalated. A seriously injured Bewitching Demon contaminated by evil forces can easily lose control completely. With the Bewitching Demon's cruelty, it will inevitably cause a large number of casualties.

"Now, all the Spirit Hunter teams in Songhai City are participating in the search. If Ou Xiangrong cannot be killed within three days, you will all return to the training camp."

Li Dongze, Qing Teng, Tang Guoqiang and other captains exchanged glances with ugly expressions.

Fu Qingyang sneered:

"Of course, I am also very unsuccessful in this matter, because I had wrong expectations of you and overestimated your abilities. Therefore, I will personally participate in the search in the next three days. Since Ou Xiangrong is looking for the list and the Holy Grail, his target will definitely shift to Zhao Yingjun's family members or women with close relationships. Search along this line."

After his subordinates nodded, he glanced at his expensive watch and said:

"Your time is running out. Dismissed! Guan Ya, stay behind."

The long meeting finally ended, and it was already past lunchtime.

The Spirit Hunters got up with disappointment, bowed towards the end of the long table, and exited the conference room in an orderly manner.

The five captains led the way, and the muscle-bound man, who was one meter ninety tall, lowered his voice and said angrily:

"I don't deny my failure, but Centurion Fu is too arrogant. He wasn't even there and doesn't know how powerful Ou Xiangrong is."

He touched the bloody knife wound on his chest, and snorted:

"While we were fighting outside, he was sitting on the handmade sofa in the villa, sipping fine wine, smoking cigars, and enjoying the service of bunny girls."

Just as he was speaking, three bunny girls came upstairs with refreshments and entered the conference room.

All the servants in the villa were young bunny girls, tall and beautiful.

Bai Long gently patted a bunny girl's upturned butt, and lowered his voice:

"I heard that Centurion Fu has extremely high popularity among the White Tiger soldiers. He is the only one among the Four Young Masters who can compete with the Red Fire Gang's Young Master."

Fu Qingyang was transferred from the capital to Songhai at the end of last year. It is said that he came down to gain experience for a few years, and after accumulating qualifications, he would return to the capital and become a reserve member of the Council of Elders.

Upon hearing this, the muscle-bound man snorted lightly, "Just rumors. Our young master is the most outstanding of the younger generation of the Five Elements Alliance."

Qing Teng then looked at Li Dongze, "What do you think, Chief Li?"

Li Dongze put a cigarette in his mouth and chuckled:

"Of course, it's because he's rich, right? That's what you're thinking."

Isn't it? The other captains looked at him.

"Stupid!"

Li Dongze pointed to his head:

"Use your not-so-smart brains to think carefully. If it really gets to the point that Centurion Fu said, such a bad incident, someone will need to take responsibility, right? Such a big thing, can it be solved by just returning to the training camp?

"Centurion Fu said to let us go back to the training camp. Another meaning of this sentence is that once the worst happens, he will take all the responsibility. We won't be dismissed or held accountable. We only need to stay in the training camp for three months, even if we mess up such a serious matter."

He took out a lighter, lit his cigarette, and shrugged: "Alright, let's get to work. Let's find that bastard Ou Xiangrong as soon as possible."

.........

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

"Li Dongze said you were injured?"

Guan Ya blew on her fingernails, then took out a makeup mirror from her handbag, and said while touching up her powder:

"Spit it out. I still have to go back to work."

A helpless expression appeared on Fu Qingyang's stern face: "Aunt called me and asked you to return to China next month to meet the fiancé she arranged for you."

"When I came back, I already made it clear to her that I won't participate in family marriages. She is willing to be a sacrifice for the family, but that doesn't mean I am willing too."

Guan Ya closed the makeup mirror with a "snap" and said: "You Fu family members are really boring. Qingyang, take power as soon as possible and let the old folks retire."

Fu Qingyang said in a deep voice:

"If you don't want to get married, show some results. Don't be idle all day long and waste your talent in vain. The elders of the family only respect the strong, like me, like her.

"How about this, I'll transfer you to another team. The Third Team of Changtai District is very good. They can win several collective Second Class Merits every year. You can gain some experience there, and I will have a reason to reject Aunt.

"Li Dongze's Second Team has too few talents and it is difficult to make contributions."

Guan Ya frowned, sighed, "The Second Team is indeed disappointing. It's hard for me to refuse... Let's talk about it later. A little guy came to our team. He's quite interesting. Let me observe him for a while."

She put away the makeup mirror, picked up her handbag and walked towards the door, and smiled:

"You should worry about yourself first. If Ou Xiangrong goes on a killing spree in Songhai, it will be an indelible stain on your resume. They will do everything to stop you from entering the Council of Elders.

"Goodbye, cousin~"

.........

Early morning, Zhang Yuanqing carried his backpack and walked towards the General Building.

His schedule for today was to attend professional courses in the morning, and chat with Old Driver Ji in the afternoon, no, to communicate with his colleagues, enhance friendship, and expand social connections.

Groups of people were flocking to the General Building. Just as he arrived downstairs, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling him.

Turning his head to look, it was Li Lesheng and several classmates.

Li Lesheng chased after him with a few boys, and invited him with anticipation, "We plan to have a blind date with a few girls this weekend. Do you want to come along? I heard you are a local in Songhai."

Blind date? This weekend, that's the day after tomorrow... Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and said, "Sure."

Li Lesheng and several boys breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Then let's add each other as friends. Haha, with you joining, I believe the girls will be willing to come out and play."

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

"Let's add each other too." Several other male classmates took out their mobile phones one after another.

After Zhang Yuanqing and his classmates added each other as friends, they walked towards the General Building together.

Li Lesheng smiled: "I heard from a female classmate from the same hometown that security officers came to find Xu Yingying yesterday, and then Xu Yingying cried in the dormitory."

"Security officers? What happened?"

Several boys were taken aback. After all, for college students, security officers were an extremely distant group.

Li Lesheng said: "I heard that the rich man who was keeping Xu Yingying had an accident, but the specific situation is not very clear. The security officers were looking for her to inquire about that person's situation."

"Could it be that he absconded with the money? The economy is sluggish now, and there are too many examples of wealthy people going bankrupt." Someone speculated.

Zhang Yuanqing listened to his classmates gossiping and scanned the students coming and going. In the not-so-crowded flow of people, he saw a familiar figure.

It was a beautiful girl wearing a white dress, with long, straight black hair and delicate light makeup. It was the female protagonist of the topic just now, Xu Yingying.

She nestled against a man like a bird leaning on its master. The man wore a mask, had short hair, sparse eyebrows, and a small scar was visible above the mask.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils suddenly shrank.

Ou Xiangrong?!

He looked at Xu Yingying again and observed her carefully. At this time, he noticed some clues.

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

.....

ps: I'll update first and then fix the typos.