Chapter 1 The Winter

Dong, dong!

The bathroom door was knocked on twice, followed by the voice of a security guard, "Ma'am, do you need assistance?"

In private clubs, besides waiters serving tea and pouring wine, there are also security personnel responsible for maintaining order. However, in front of a group of official Xingzhe (Lingjing Xingzhe), their protective ability is almost nonexistent.

After asking, the security guard outside the door pushed open the bathroom door without hesitation.

He had already heard the cry for help and couldn't wait at the door. The young ladies invited to the evening banquet were either rich or noble, and no mishaps could occur.

Pushing open the door, the young security guard in black formal attire scanned the bathroom, his pupils suddenly contracting.

He saw a young woman slumped against the sink. Her gorgeous gauze dress and neckline showed signs of being violently torn, and her necklace was broken on the floor.

She lay motionless by the sink. The young security guard noticed that her chest and abdomen weren't rising or falling.

Standing by the sink was the young man who had been the center of attention just moments before.

The security guard glanced at the young man, and seeing him frowning and pondering, cautiously stepped forward, felt the girl's carotid artery, and then checked her breath. His expression immediately changed, and he ran away.

This is troublesome. A setup... Zhang Yuanqing raised his eyes to look at the security guard's fleeing figure, not stopping him.

He calmed down and went over what had just happened.

On the surface, Yan'er, born of a mistress, wanted to climb the social ladder and seduce Yuanshi Tianzun. So, while drinking, she secretly used her Illusionist abilities to slowly stir his desires. It was very subtle. In the atmosphere of alcohol and beautiful women, he was indeed affected and gradually lost his head.

Then, seeing Yuanshi Tianzun enter the bathroom, she quietly followed, first using words to seduce him, saying that he could vent his desires here, and then continued with some teasing, completely detonating his lust.

Relying on accumulation, relying on the final explosion, she successfully plunged a Saint into a state of lust.

Very impressive!

Fortunately, because of Yin Ji's reminder, Zhang Yuanqing noticed something was wrong. He did often crave to find a beautiful young lady to impart his knowledge to, but not so urgently.

If it were someone his age, wouldn't Little Green Tea be much prettier than Yan'er? So, when he was about to lose control, he took out the Ghost Mirror in time.

This mirror is really amazing. Grasping it, all thoughts disappeared. It's more effective than practicing the Evil-warding Sword Manual.

After Zhang Yuanqing used the Ghost Mirror to resolve his desire, he originally wanted to knock some sense into Yan'er, to tell her to respect herself and not take the wrong path at such a young age.

But he didn't expect that she would directly commit suicide...

At this point, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't understand. Illogical suicide and loud cries for help to frame him—what was the purpose?

"Simply outrageous..." he muttered, using Spirit Devour. Black, viscous energy welled up in his eye sockets, preparing to communicate with Yan'er's spirit to see what was going on.

However, an unexpected scene occurred.

There was no residual spirit in Yan'er's body, like a corpse that had been dead for many days.

Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank.

Yan'er had already died? More than seven days ago?

"No, more likely, that wasn't Yan'er at all. She was possessed, her spirit completely devoured, so there was nothing left in the body."

This was more in line with everything that had just happened.

Zhang Yuanqing immediately thought of what she had said before she "killed" herself: Yuanshi Tianzun, you are my prey, you can't escape!

Could he boldly assume that the person possessing Yan'er was coming for him?

"Impossible, apart from Yin Ji, who invited me in advance, no one knew I was attending the banquet tonight. She's definitely not here for me."

At this moment, chaotic and hurried footsteps came.

The next second, the bathroom door was kicked open. The first to enter was Miao Teng'er in a plain long dress. Her face was extremely solemn. When she saw the situation in the bathroom and Yan'er's body in front of the sink, her solemn expression turned into grief and anger. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she looked angrily at Yuanshi Tianzun by the sink.

Behind Miao Teng'er were Yin Ji, Ling Jun, Xie Lingyun, Sister Man Yan, Liu Zhiyi, Duanqiao Canxue, Gaoshan Liushui, and others. Further back, guests crowded in the hallway, craning their necks to look inside.

Ling Jun put away his playful, casual demeanor, his brows furrowed. He pushed past his cousin and felt Yan'er's forehead while asking questions.

His heart immediately tightened. She was really dead.

As the Beast King, he knew very well that the body by the sink was a corpse with no signs of life.

"What's going on?" Ling Jun said in a deep voice.

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head slightly. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Liu Zhiyi, the Third Generation Ling Family, shouted, "Yuanshi Tianzun, do you know what you've done? Do you know who she is?" Duanqiao Canxue, you're a scout, tell us what he did!"

Duanqiao Canxue squeezed forward a few steps, his gaze sweeping over the bathroom, and frowned. "Yuanshi Tianzun intended to assault this young lady, met with resistance, and accidentally killed... I'm just making a deduction based on what I saw."

Upon hearing this, the male guests shook their heads and sighed, while the female guests were full of anger and disappointment. They didn't expect Yuanshi Tianzun to be this kind of person.

"Accidental killing? Where's the wound?" Ling Jun turned his head and glared at Duanqiao Canxue.

Immediately, he scanned the angry faces of the crowd and said loudly, "No one wants such a thing to happen, but since it has happened, we must investigate it clearly. Everyone, please be patient and listen to what Yuanshi Tianzun has to say first."

Although Young Master Hua wasn't serious about his work and lived a hedonistic lifestyle, as the grandson of the Great Elder of the Hundred Flowers Association and the son of the Taiyi Sect Leader, his words still carried weight.

The crowd immediately looked at Yuanshi Tianzun, waiting for his explanation.

Zhang Yuanqing pondered slightly and explained in detail what had just happened.

"Yuanshi Tianzun, does she have a grudge against you?" Sister Man Yan, dressed as a noblewoman, suppressed her grief and took a deep breath.

"I just met her today," Zhang Yuanqing said.

"Since there's no grudge, what's the purpose of her framing you?" she asked loudly, tears in her eyes.

"That's what I'm puzzled about."

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "You're just quibbling. It's clear that you coveted Yan'er's beauty, and under the influence of alcohol, you wanted to take advantage of her, and killed her after being resisted. Yuanshi Tianzun, let me tell you, she's the daughter of Elder Yang of the Dan City Branch. You're finished. The Songhai Branch won't be able to protect you." Liu Zhiyi shouted loudly.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him, ignored him, and looked at Duanqiao Canxue, saying indifferently, "Aren't you a scout? Can't you tell if I'm lying?"

Duanqiao Canxue shook his head. "Naturally, I believe you wouldn't do such a thing, but I'm just a Transcendent. My Insight Technique can't see through the disguise of a Saint. I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Zhang Yuanqing snorted.

Ling Jun thought for a moment and said, "This matter is indeed strange. Just now, I observed that Miss Yan'er had a good impression of Yuanshi Tianzun. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like this."

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He subtly pointed out that Yuanshi Tianzun didn't need to use force to sleep with Yan'er.

Miao Teng'er's beautiful eyebrows were tightly knitted.

After the initial anger and sadness, she calmed down a little. After thinking carefully, it was indeed a bit unreasonable. "Don't make pointless arguments. Let Deacon Yin Ji perform spirit questioning." A steady voice came from the crowd, Gaoshan Liushui.

All eyes turned to the black-dressed woman with a gentle temperament standing by the door.

Yin Ji pondered for a few seconds and said, "Alright! I will truthfully inform everyone of the results of the spirit questioning."

After speaking, black, viscous energy welled up in her watery eyes.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yuanqing sighed inwardly. The more he explained, the worse it would get.

A few seconds later, Yin Ji's beautiful brows furrowed. She raised her eyes to look at Zhang Yuanqing and said in a deep voice, "Her spirit has completely dissipated."

As soon as she finished speaking, a clamor arose in the crowd.

Zhang Yuanqing noticed that if Yin Ji's eyes had been trusting just now, they had now turned to doubt, and a hint of suspicion.

After all, only Yuanshi Tianzun could do this.

Even Yin Ji was like this, let alone others. "You still say it wasn't you!" Liu Zhiyi pointed at Zhang Yuanqing and said, "The person is dead, and the spirit is gone. Who else can do it besides you? You want to make it a case where the dead can't testify, right? So many of us saw it, and we're all witnesses. Don't even think about denying it, Yuanshi Tianzun. Today is the day your reputation is ruined!" Xie Lingyun choked with tears, "You, how could you treat Yan'er like this... She's only seventeen years old."

Miao Teng'er's eyes were red, and she glared at him, "What else do you have to say?"

Several socialites who were close to Yan'er all cast angry gazes at him.

Zhang Yuanqing argued, "First of all, I have no motive to kill her. Beauty can't be used as a reason for me to kill her, it doesn't hold water. Secondly, if there's no spirit, there's another possibility: Yan'er died a long time ago, and she was possessed. When the person who possessed her leaves, there won't be any spirit left in the body. Deacon Yin Ji, am I right?"

Yin Ji nodded, affirming his statement.

She said, "Indeed, that's possible. However, Yuanshi Tianzun, you are a Night Wanderer. Didn't you notice anything at all?"

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "I didn't see anything."

Yin Ji frowned and said, "That's not reasonable. Unless that person isn't a Night Wanderer. Or, besides the Night Wanderer's abilities, they also possess other abilities that can deceive your senses."

"More quibbling, Deacon Yin Ji, don't believe him." Liu Zhiyi snorted, "Maybe there's another possibility: he didn't covet Yan'er's beauty, but Yan'er entered the bathroom and accidentally overheard something she shouldn't have, so she was silenced by Yuanshi Tianzun. Everyone, isn't this more reasonable?"

The expressions of the crowd changed immediately as they looked at Yuanshi Tianzun.

"Stop talking nonsense with him. Call Elder Yang. Deacon Gaoshan Liushui, you call the elders of the Songhai Branch. Everyone, keep an eye on Yuanshi Tianzun and don't let him escape!" A socialite screamed angrily.

Immediately, someone took out their phone from their pocket, preparing to make a call.

Besides the Night Wanderer's abilities, they also possess other abilities?

Zhang Yuanqing didn't pay attention to the excited crowd. Yin Ji's words made him suddenly enlightened. He thought of something, first picked up Yan'er's necklace, and then touched all the jewelry on her body one by one.

Then, he groped Yan'er's corpse with both hands, very carefully, not missing any detail.

Nothing?!

No props. Yan'er had no props on her.

This discovery made Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shrink.

Without props, how did she stir my desires, how did she use the means of an Illusionist?

From Yan'er seducing him to the plot being exposed and her "suicide," the whole process was seen by him. The things on her body hadn't increased or decreased.

This can only mean one thing: the other party is an Illusionist.

But Illusionists don't have the ability to possess. Possession is actually Spirit Devour + Possession, which is a unique characteristic of the Night Wanderer profession.

An enemy who possesses both Night Wanderer skills and Illusionist abilities... Zhang Yuanqing's eyes widened suddenly.

No way? Could it be him? The one who was teasing me, seducing me, and using beauty on me just now was an old geezer from a thousand years ago?

And a male old geezer?

A name appeared in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: Headmaster Chunyang!

"Huh, why is there no signal on my phone?"

Soon, someone discovered that the phone signal was being blocked. Hearing this, everyone took out their phones to check. Without exception, everyone's phones had no signal, and even the wireless network was gone.

At the same time, an elderly man with gray hair squeezed through the crowd, walked to Miao Teng'er, and said in a low voice, "Miss, the club has been shrouded in a mysterious force. I can't break it open. No one here can get out."

"What?" Miao Teng'er's face changed drastically.

The surrounding guests also changed their expressions.

Couldn't get out? The phone had no signal. In this case, Headmaster Chunyang wasn't targeting me from the beginning. It was my arrival that made her change her target and choose to seduce me first. Then her original target was Yin Ji? Or the two Night Wanderers of Taiyi Sect... Zhang Yuanqing's previous doubts were answered.

"Yuanshi Tianzun, what are you doing again? I understand. Are you trying to silence us because your atrocities have been exposed? Ridiculous. With just you?" Liu Zhiyi questioned loudly.

"Yuanshi Tianzun, don't be impulsive." Duanqiao Canxue also echoed.

Looking at the two of them at this time, it was obvious that they had been aroused by jealousy, so they were targeting me everywhere. The emotions of the others were also not right. Except for a few Saints, everyone else was too angry and lacked reason. Everything was the work of Headmaster Chunyang. Not only was he a Night Wanderer, but he was also an Illusionist who could manipulate emotions. Seeing everyone looking at him with fear and hidden vigilance, Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice, "Why would I kill you? Am I crazy? Do you think I look crazy?"

The crowd was still suspicious, but Ling Jun and Yin Ji, after discovering that the phone signal was blocked and the club was shrouded in a mysterious force, had completely believed Yuanshi Tianzun.

Ling Jun didn't need to be said; he understood Yuanshi Tianzun.

Yin Ji's trust was half based on character and half based on logical deduction.

Ling Jun asked, "What did you discover?" Miao Teng'er and the others stared at Yuanshi Tianzun.

"Obviously, we're being targeted by someone, a powerful and unknown enemy. His target is all of us." Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath. "I did make some discoveries. I roughly know what's going on."