Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 38: The Investigation

Sitting behind his luxurious desk, Li Dongze was holding a sharp razor and trimming his mustache. “I don’t like trimming my mustache—it’s a hassle—but for the sake of elegance, it’s a price I must pay.” Li Dongze smiled, scrutinizing him, and said “It seems you’ve passed Taiyi Sect’s screening.” The squad leader really does know why Taiyi Sect is looking for me—and yet he didn’t give me a hint beforehand. If you keep this up, you’ll lose my... Zhang Yuanqing remarked offhandedly “Does the Squad Leader know the Demon Lord as well?” “Among official organizations, evil organizations, civilian groups, and independent cultivators, the number of high-level Spirit Realm practitioners who have died at the Demon Lord’s hands exceeds the fingers on both hands. His reputation for cruelty is well-known; naturally, I’m aware of him.” Li Dongze said as he continued to trim his mustache with concentration “But such a powerful figure is far beyond our reach. An elephant might accidentally crush an ant, but it would never deliberately step on one.” The Demon Lord isn’t exactly a good guy—how could Brother Bing be connected to a scoundrel like that? Zhang Yuanqing seized the opportunity to say “Squad Leader, could you please check in with Jiangnan Province for me? I’d like to know the progress on Lei Yibing’s case. Also, look into Lei Yibing’s movements and social connections during his college years—the more detailed, the better.” Previously, because he was still a rookie, lacking both ability and experience, Zhang Yuanqing had clung to the fantasy that Brother Bing’s disappearance was a “long-term assignment.” But now that he knew the truth about the Demon Lord character card, he had no choice but to redefine Brother Bing’s disappearance. Why did Brother Bing disappear? Is he alive or dead? What was the reason behind him giving me the Demon Lord character card? The truth behind all this was shrouded in layer upon layer of mystery—it concerned Brother Bing, and it concerned him. Even though his current strength was meager, he had no choice but to try to explore and investigate. Brother Bing had only sent him the character card without revealing any information—and the reason for that was understandable. Sometimes, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk; it was simply that no one could pry the words out of him. Today’s conversation was a case in point. Brother Bing’s silence was likely out of concern for him, but he would certainly have left corresponding clues to guide him step by step toward uncovering the truth. Therefore, Zhang Yuanqing needed as much information about Brother Bing as possible. Li Dongze nodded thoughtfully: “All right, I’ll call my colleagues over there and ask for their help, but this will take some time.” In his view, it was only natural for Yuan Shi to be concerned about his childhood friend’s safety, but Li Dongze suspected that, as a Spirit Realm traveler who had been inside the Spirit Realm for a full week, he was most likely dead by now. After discussing Bingge’s situation, Zhang Yuanqing finally got to the point, his expression grave “Squad Leader, I have something to report.” Seeing his subordinate’s earnest demeanor, Li Dongze set down his razor, closed his makeup mirror, straightened his back slightly, and asked “What is it?” Zhang Yuanqing immediately gave Li Dongze a detailed account of the haunting at the hospital where his aunt was staying and how he had inadvertently brought the infant spirit home. However, regarding the information about the spirit servant, he chose to withhold and alter the facts. He described the infant spirit as a dazed spirit that had undergone purification rituals but had not yet been promoted to the rank of spirit servant. As he spoke, Zhang Yuanqing kept his emotions in check, ensuring his expression and tone gave nothing away, so as not to arouse the Scout’s suspicion. Finally, he concluded, “I suspect a Spirit Realm practitioner is conducting experiments to refine spirit servants in the hospital—most likely a Night Wanderer. But I don’t know if it’s a rogue one or an official one.” Li Dongze’s expression grew darker as he listened; he couldn’t help but grip his cane tightly and exclaimed angrily “Oh, my God, this is a guy who deserves to go to hell. I’ll make him pay for his actions—I swear it.” Devouring a spirit body is different from enslaving one; spirit bodies will inevitably dissipate over time—it’s unavoidable. Devouring merely accelerates this process. And refining a spirit body to serve as a spirit servant goes against humanity—let alone when it’s the spirit of an infant. The prohibition against refining spirit servants from the spirit bodies of ordinary people is also based on humanitarian grounds. To put it bluntly: if your family or friends were special spirit bodies and were refined into spirit servants after death, how would you feel? I thought you’d say, “I’d really like to kick him hard in the ass with my boot…” Zhang Yuanqing mentally mocked the squad leader’s catchphrase. “Squad Leader, I’ve already performed a soul-liberation ritual for that child and retrieved the target’s identity from its memories. I’d like to request to carry out this mission on my own to hone my skills,” Zhang Yuanqing proposed. As soon as he finished speaking, he knew Li Dongze would never agree. Sure enough, Li Dongze shook his head “That’s a good idea, but as you gain experience, you’re bound to run into pitfalls. And among Spirit Realm Walkers, a single mistake could mean death. Here’s what we’ll do: have Guan Ya accompany you. Her martial arts and marksmanship are better than mine.” “Yes, Squad Leader,” Zhang Yuanqing replied, secretly delighted. He had to take the lead on the infant spirit case to cover up the existence of that little rascal, but as Li Dongze had said, one must be extremely cautious when dealing with Spirit Realm Walkers—a single lapse often costs one’s life, as Ou Xiangrong’s case had shown. Therefore, he needed an experienced partner. When he expressed his desire to gain experience, Li Dongze would most likely opt out of going himself and instead compromise by having Guan Ya accompany him. After all, everyone knew full well that as a Night Wanderer equipped with rule-based artifacts, Zhang Yuanqing had a high margin for error—ordinary dangers posed no challenge to him. In Zhang Yuanqing’s view, Guan Ya was much easier to “fool” than Li Dongze. “So should I go find Guan Ya right now?” Li Dongze gave a soft “Mm-hmm” and suddenly sneered, “You sang pretty well—but don’t sing again next time.” Kangyang District, Pingtai Hospital. As a Grade A-III hospital, Pingtai’s flagship department is obstetrics and gynecology, staffed by several leading experts in the field, ranking among the top five obstetrics and gynecology hospitals nationwide. A black minivan pulled into the hospital parking lot. The doors slid open automatically. Guan Ya looked at Zhang Yuanqing’s dazed expression and asked with concern, “Lately, when you look at your phone or computer, do the images appear blurry or double?” “Why do you ask?” Zhang Yuanqing, who had been pondering how to track down his target, snapped back to reality. Guan Ya curled the corners of her delicate lips and batted her big, watery eyes seductively: “Your expression tells me you haven’t been exercising any self-control lately.” Zhang Yuanqing was long accustomed to her way of speaking and ignored her, saying “The squad leader asked me to assist you. In a situation like this, what do we usually do first?” Guan Ya dropped her smile and said in a serious tone “First, we identify the target, then investigate his real-world identity. Since you’ve seen what he looks like, pinpointing him shouldn’t be hard. Next, we make contact with him. If he isn’t very powerful, we take him into custody directly; otherwise, we notify the squad leader and carry out a violent arrest. “But we don’t know if there are accomplices in the hospital, nor do we know the scale of the spirit servant cultivation operation, so it’s best to lie low for now and conduct a preliminary investigation of Pingtai Hospital. “We can start with the rumors of hauntings—find out when they began to narrow down the timeframe. Aside from the infant spirit, are there any other reports of hauntings? “Check the records of abortions and miscarriages during that period. Focus on male infants at a relatively advanced stage of pregnancy—there won’t be too many cases like this, so it shouldn’t be hard to identify the infant spirit. “An infant’s spiritual energy is exceptionally weak; once it dies, it dissipates very quickly. Therefore, anyone who came into contact with pregnant women during that period should be screened. “If any of these people match the target you identified through spirit communication, make the arrest. If not, that means there’s an accomplice.” “Such a clear line of reasoning—is this what a scout is like…?” Zhang Yuanqing listened, completely taken aback, and said, “My aunt is right there in the hospital, so it’s a bit awkward for me to go to the obstetrics and gynecology department. Why don’t we split up? I’ll look into the spirit-related matters, and you go check out the situation in the obstetrics and gynecology department.” The two got out of the car, put on masks and baseball caps, and went their separate ways outside the outpatient building. Upon entering the building, they took the elevator to the fourth floor. As Guan Ya’s gaze swept over the women—some with slightly rounded bellies, others with noticeably large ones—her eyes suddenly lit up. A female doctor in a white lab coat was walking toward her. She had a round, oval face with fair, smooth skin; large, bright eyes; a straight, delicate nose; and wavy hair cascading down her back. With a piece of candy in her mouth and her cheeks slightly puffed out, she looked even sweeter and more adorable. Guan Ya, who prided herself on her own beauty, couldn’t help but admire this doctor, even without makeup. She quickly stepped forward, blocking the doctor’s path, and smiled, “Doctor, I’ve been planning to try for a baby recently. I’m not sure what I should be mindful of.” Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing went to a quiet hallway and summoned the little rascal. “Gaga gaga...” A chubby, adorable baby with sparse baby hair lay on the floor, its jet-black eyes gazing at Zhang Yuanqing with pure innocence. Zhang Yuanqing conveyed thoughts like “roam freely” and “go play” to it. He planned to use Little Doudou to lure the culprit out of hiding. With a precious spirit servant missing, the person behind it would surely come looking; when they discovered the infant spirit reappearing at the hospital, they’d inevitably be drawn there. Even if the plan to lure the culprit out failed, the little rascal could still lead him to the mastermind—it would remember the one who created it and might even feel a natural affinity toward that person. With Zhang Yuanqing’s permission, the little rascal cheerfully fluttered its limbs and began crawling up the hallway. Zhang Yuanqing followed it all the way to the fourth floor, pushed open the hallway door, entered the waiting room, and then trailed after it all the way to the obstetrics and gynecology department. Is that guy really in the OB-GYN department? Just as Zhang Yuanqing was wondering this, he heard a silvery, bell-like laugh: “Really? Really? You like that brand of skincare too? I travel abroad often—I’ll bring you some next time.” It was Guan Ya’s voice. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw the woman chatting animatedly with a female doctor, chattering away. That female doctor in the white coat was his aunt. Damn it! Zhang Yuanqing pulled the brim of his cap down, trying his best to keep his gaze lowered so as not to look at his aunt and avoid making eye contact. Even though he was wearing a mask and a hat, given how well his aunt knew him—and how well they knew each other inside and out—she’d recognize him just by looking at his eyes. Just then, he saw the little rascal happily crawling toward his aunt.