Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 32: A Major Event

The ringtone played for quite a while before the call was finally answered. The voice was clear and articulate, but the tone was cold “I’m reviewing Ou Xiangrong’s file and analyzing his movements. I’ll give you ten seconds.” Within the official Spirit Realm Walkers, the various squads are the main force handling cases, while the Steward coordinates from behind the scenes, stepping in personally only when faced with particularly difficult cases. The Centurion was under a lot of pressure... Li Dongze cleared his throat and reported in a low, serious voice “Centurion Fu, we’ve already neutralized Ou Xiangrong.” This response was clearly unexpected. The line went silent for a few seconds, then Fu Qingyang’s voice—no longer cold—came through “Where did you find him?” Li Dongze replied “We killed him at Songhai University. He was trying to force Xu Yingying to reveal the whereabouts of the Holy Grail and the roster, but Xu Yingying knew nothing about it—she’s just an ordinary female student. Your assessment was correct; Ou Xiangrong had indeed lost his mind.” Fu Qingyang praised him: “Very good, Li Dongze. You were very perceptive this time. You successfully prevented a large-scale bloodbath, and I’ll commend you to the Council of Elders on your behalf. Were there any casualties?” “None,” Li Dongze paused. “Centurion Fu, we weren’t the ones who killed him.” “You didn’t kill them?” Fu Qingyang’s tone carried a hint of confusion. It seemed he’d just realized something, and he exclaimed with sudden understanding, “I almost forgot—there’s an Elder from the Water God Palace at Songhai University. Was it he who intervened? It seems I’ll have to find time to pay him a visit and express my gratitude.” An Elder at Songhai University? Li Dongze looked taken aback, but immediately realized Centurion Fu had misunderstood. He explained “It was the Yuanshi Tianzun who killed Ou Xiangrong—the Night Wanderer I recently recruited.” A Level 1 Night Wanderer killed a Level 3 Bewitching Demon? The Centurion on the other end of the line fell silent again. After a dozen or so seconds, Fu Qingyang said, “Got it. Have him write up a report and submit it.” After a brief pause, he added with a hint of amusement in his voice, “Well done.” After ending the call, Li Dongze gripped the steering wheel with a beaming smile, unconsciously pressing harder on the gas pedal. Bai Long opened his phone and added a few nearby squad leaders to a “last-minute” group chat: “Look how smug Li Dongze is—his mustache’s almost flying up to his eyebrows.” Qing Teng: “His team pulled off a major feat. If I had a subordinate like that, I’d be proud too.” According to the internal regulations of the official organization, to foster a sense of collective honor among team members, when one person performs a meritorious act, the entire team is commended, and the other members also receive bonuses and performance-based rewards. As for this “Night Wanderer” that Li Dongze had recruited—if they’d merely felt envy before, now the team leaders were so jealous they were ready to throw all sense of honor to the wind. Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, morgue. Li Dongze closed the morgue door, keeping the captains out. He looked at Zhang Yuanqing beside him with a deep, intense gaze and said “The Night Wanderer gains experience by devouring spirit bodies, but the side effect is that, over time, one’s mind becomes corrupted. If you’ve ever tried to boost your strength this way, you should understand what I mean.” Zhang Yuanqing nodded. “Have you tried using that item to purify your impure thoughts?” Li Dongze prompted—this was his solution. Seeing Zhang Yuanqing frown in deep thought, Li Dongze burst into laughter. “It seems that item comes at quite a cost.” That’s right—overuse can easily lead to anemia and a deficiency in both qi and blood… Zhang Yuanqing suddenly recalled a detail: he had once found a spirit crystal in the mouth of the Mountain Goddess. Now it seemed highly likely that the crystal had been formed from the condensed soul of a Spirit Realm Walker who had died in the Mountain Goddess’s temple. That’s why the description stated it was the best tonic for Night Wanderers. The impurities in the spirit crystal must be mental contamination, but they were purified by the Goddess. Based on this, the Demon-Subduing Mace must also be capable of purifying mental contamination. With that in mind, Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory and took out the Demon-Subduing Mace—cast in brass and intricately engraved with patterns and incantations. He briefly explained the item’s effects and the cost involved, saying, “If I go berserk later, use it to stab me—in the thigh.” “Got it!” Li Dongze took the item. Zhang Yuanqing walked over to Ou Xiangrong’s corpse, pressed his palm against the man’s chest, took a deep breath, and as viscous, pitch-black energy surged from the depths of his eyes, he awakened the lingering spirit within the corpse. A throbbing pain surged in the center of his brow, and his consciousness immediately expanded as something foreign forcefully flooded into his brain. Through a haze, Zhang Yuanqing saw himself, the underground parking garage, and the eerie red dancing shoes. This was the battle that had just taken place in the parking garage. Zhang Yuanqing waited silently for the battle to end. The scene quickly shifted to a dimly lit room, where a masked man stood before Ou Xiangrong, holding an exquisitely crafted crystal goblet filled with a liquid as crimson as blood. “As a demon of seduction, your evil is pure. You possess considerable potential. Drink the wine from the Holy Grail, and you will become my servant.” “Every half-month, you must drink from the Holy Grail again; otherwise, not even the gods can save you.” “Remember my name: The Judge with the Deceptive Eye.” In a cheap rental apartment, a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap stood in the living room and said coldly “The Judge with the Deceptive Eye is dead. His right-hand man, Black Wuchang, fled with the Fallen Holy Grail and the Register, and is now hiding in Songhai City. If you don’t want to ‘die from the poison,’ find him for us. The Spiritual Energy won’t treat you unfairly.” The scene shifted. He saw a blue sky and a group of students in school uniforms kicking and punching him. The shift in the scene was so abrupt that Zhang Yuanqing was momentarily bewildered; it took him several seconds to realize he was being subjected to a school bullying incident. Were these Ou Xiangrong’s past memories? Who would’ve thought that such a cold-blooded killer had gone through something like this during his school days... “No money? Ou Xiangrong, are you just ignoring what I said? If your parents won’t give you money, why don’t you go steal some, you good-for-nothing.” “Beat him! Beat him to a pulp! He won’t learn his lesson unless you do.” “Here, light a cigarette and burn his face with it.” “Everyone step back—I’m going to piss on him.” Don’t hit me, don’t hit me... Zhang Yuanqing sensed the intense fear within Ou Xiangrong, who cowered in terror. They were all just teenagers, yet their cruelty was so pure. In the run-down office, the bespectacled teacher scolded them sternly “Why is it always you who gets bullied, and never anyone else? Have you ever thought about where you might be at fault? You need to get along well with your classmates and not run to the teacher about every little thing—I’m very busy, you know.” From Ou Xiangrong’s emotions, Zhang Yuanqing sensed intense anger. “You good-for-nothing—got bullied again? If they hit you, hit them back! What are you crying to me for? How could I have given birth to a good-for-nothing like you?” A middle-aged man unleashed a torrent of abuse, spittle flying everywhere. This time, Zhang Yuanqing sensed despair in Ou Xiangrong’s emotions. A series of chaotic, fragmented images flashed rapidly through his mind—one bullying incident after another, one beating after another. Eventually, his mindset became increasingly twisted and violent. Just then, a brilliant, pure golden light burst into his mind, dispelling the violence and pain and bringing warmth. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly opened his eyes and saw the bright fluorescent lights and the white walls, as well as Li Dongze, his face bruised and swollen, his suit in disarray. “Squad Leader, are you okay?” Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback. He immediately touched his face and discovered it was streaked with tears. “I’m fine.” Li Dongze casually tossed the bloodstained Demon-Subduing Mace onto the floor, straightened his clothes, and grumbled “I should’ve sent Guan Ya. She’s better at hand-to-hand combat than I am—this isn’t elegant at all.” Once he’d finished straightening his clothes, he asked eagerly, “So, did you find any new leads…? You look like you’re in rough shape.” “I’m just… a little sad.” His experience points had gone up again, but this time, Zhang Yuanqing didn’t feel any joy over it. Li Dongze looked as if a light bulb had gone off, and said, “Is it because of Ou Xiangrong’s memories?” “Mm-hmm.” The memories of a spirit form are incomplete and fragmented; they only retain experiences that are difficult to let go of. All these years later, Ou Xiangrong still harbors deep resentment over what happened during his school days—an experience that has shaped his entire life. Although the man was a despicable criminal, Zhang Yuanqing still felt a deep sense of sorrow. Li Dongze sighed and said “I don’t know what you saw in your memories, but I understand. This is precisely why the Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Sect detest spirit bodies that devour those of ‘evil classes.’ Yuan Shi, do you know why the concept of ‘evil classes’ exists?” Rather than rushing to ask for clues about the case, he took this opportunity to guide and instruct him, saying “In the conflict between factions, we’ve killed countless members of ‘evil classes.’ After analyzing the data from the Taiyi Sect’s Night Wanderers’ spirit interrogations, we observed a pattern: every single member of an ‘evil profession’ is a real-world villain or criminal. “In other words, the Spirit Realm travelers who are evil classes are selected by the Spirit Realm from a specific group of people.” Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback. “So, they didn’t become bad people because they took on evil classes—they were already bad people to begin with.” “But their wickedness isn’t entirely innate—it’s something humanity has brought upon itself,” Li Dongze sighed. “The Spirit Realm does not actively cultivate evil; the emergence of any evil profession stems from humanity’s own karmic fire. This phenomenon is disheartening and not very uplifting, but this is the reality of the world. Just understand this—don’t go spreading it around.” Zhang Yuanqing nodded silently. “Also, let me tell you one more thing: you’ve already killed Ou Xiangrong, so you should have gained some reputation points,” Li Dongze said. “Killing other Spirit Realm Walkers doesn’t deduct Morality Points, but if you have Reputation, it will make Spirit Realm Walkers in your faction wary of you. For example, if you have 10 Reputation points, a Spirit Realm Walker from your faction who kills you will lose 20 Morality Points. Heh, there’s a difference between Lawful and Good.” After saying this, Li Dongze patted him on the shoulder: “All right, let’s get down to business. Let’s not waste time.” Are there Good characters among Lawful classes, as well as Chaotic and Neutral ones? Then among Evil classes, might there be those who’ve truly reformed...? Zhang Yuanqing pulled his thoughts back, composed himself, and said in a deep voice “Squad Leader, I think I saw something major in Ou Xiangrong’s memories.” “A major event?” Li Dongze chuckled. “He’s just a Level 3 Seduction Demon—how big could it possibly be? I’ve been on the job for so many years; I’ve seen it all. Go ahead.” It wasn’t that he was being arrogant; it was just that, in Li Dongze’s view, Yuan Shi was inexperienced, and his definition of a “major event” might not be accurate. “It’s like this…” Zhang Yuanqing recounted the memories he had accessed in detail. A few minutes later, Li Dongze burst out of the morgue at full speed and roared at the squad leaders outside “Something major has happened!!”