Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 43: Sudden Changes and Old Ailments

Saturday, 11:00 a. m. Zhang Yuanqing yawned as he got out of bed, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Ever since becoming the Night Wanderer, he’d been unable to sleep at night, spending entire nights playing video games. As a result, he was listless during the day, constantly feeling drowsy and dozing off. Two days had passed since that night when he consulted the spirit. Li Dongze and Guan Ya had been going out frequently to participate in the search for the Black Wuchang and his subordinates. This had put Zhang Yuanqing’s combat training on hold. Originally, according to Li Dongze’s plan, Guan Ya was supposed to provide Yuan Shi with combat training next. Given the Night Wanderer’s physical conditioning, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to master the basics of combat in a short time. However, due to the Holy Grail and the Register incidents, this had to be postponed—after all, Team Two was short-staffed. Zhang Yuanqing once asked Li Dongze about those teammates who had never shown their faces, but the squad leader’s expression immediately turned uneasy, as if there were something he couldn’t bring himself to say. Being a considerate person, Yuanshi Tianzun did not press the matter further. Additionally, Wang Qian of the Palace of Ceasing Killing agreed to become his informant; his cooperation was unexpectedly smooth, and he showed great commitment. Due to the Ou Xiangrong incident, Songhai University’s regulations had suddenly become much stricter; the administration no longer allowed boarding students to go out at night, so the social gathering plans were put on hold. After a quick wash, since his grandmother hadn’t finished lunch yet, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room and began playing with the infant spirit. At that moment, he was preparing a “grabbing ceremony” for the little rascal. After reaching 50% completion, the purity and intensity of the Taiyin energy had both increased, and he discovered that the infant spirit, nourished by this energy, had shown a slight improvement in intelligence. Zhang Yuanqing arranged textbooks around the round and adorable infant spirit: math on the left, Chinese on the right, and English and physics in front and behind. “Your master is a man of extraordinary talent and vast learning—you can’t fall behind. Pick one.” The little rascal opened his dark, round eyes, tilted his head, and pondered for a long time. Finally, he understood what Zhang Yuanqing meant, and then he swiftly moved his limbs and crawled toward the physics textbook. “Oh, what a promising child...” Just as a smile began to spread across Zhang Yuanqing’s face, he saw the little guy crawl past the physics textbook and reach for the PS5 console. Unable to grasp the physical object, he fell with a thud. “You good-for-nothing—you’re nothing like me!” Zhang Yuanqing scolded angrily. “When I was your age, I could already compose a poem in seven steps.” "Oh well! " he sighed in disappointment. To boost the infant spirit’s intelligence and nurture him into a capable individual, he would have to master the Night Wanderer’s skill of raising ghosts. That meant he had to level up. Come to think of it, the second Spirit Realm mission was fast approaching. After lunch, Zhang Yuanqing walked into the bedroom, poured lukewarm water into a teacup, opened the nightstand, and took out a white medicine bottle. “Seriously, I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot to take my medicine—I’m already two days behind…” Muttering to himself, he tipped the bottle and poured a few small pills into the palm of his hand. Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing’s expression froze. That’s right—I’ve been two days late. Why hasn’t my old condition flared up? My condition is clearly getting worse; the frequency of flare-ups should only be increasing—it shouldn’t be delayed. Is it because I became a Night Wanderer and my physical condition has changed? “Come to think of it, I haven’t had an episode since I was promoted to Night Wanderer. Could it be that I’m cured?” He felt a surge of joy but wasn’t entirely sure, so he decided to test it out. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and visualized his father’s blurry face in his mind. He didn’t know how long it had been when his heart gave a loud “thud,” his mind began to boil, and all sorts of static flooded his thoughts as fragmented images came back to life. But in the next instant, the noise became orderly, and the images were no longer fragmented. No—it wasn’t that the sounds and images had become orderly; rather, his brain’s ability to process information had increased. He heard his uncle dancing in their living room, with “Jianbing Guozi” playing in the background. His aunt was watching a TV drama in the bedroom, occasionally grumbling, “It’s too loud—keep it down.” From the kitchen came the sound of his grandmother washing dishes. The bed downstairs was “creaking” loudly; by analyzing the sounds of the movements, Zhang Yuanqing could confidently conclude that the woman was lying face-down. His brain continued to process the information... “Guan Ya always exudes an indescribable confidence, and the platoon sergeant seems quite polite to her—unlike how he treats me and Wang Tai... When I mentioned those team members, the platoon sergeant’s expression was one of awkwardness and helplessness... There’s something off about musician Wang Qian’s change in attitude; yesterday he was dismissive toward me...” “The little rascal has a special closeness to his aunt—‘Auntie, Auntie…’” Just then, the bedroom door suddenly swung open, instantly shattering Zhang Yuanqing’s deeply mysterious state of mind. “Let’s go—come with me to the mall,” Jiang Yu’er said in a coquettish voice. Today she was dressed in a knee-length pleated skirt, white sneakers, and a loose-fitting light blue blouse. With her sweet and adorable looks, she had a very “forest-style” vibe and appeared very well-behaved. This well-behaved appearance was the main reason Jiang Yu’er had become such a sought-after figure in the blind-date scene. Confident men find beautiful, well-behaved women easy to handle, while insecure men feel less pressure when interacting with such beauties. Zhang Yuanqing stared blankly at his aunt when suddenly two streams of warm blood spurted from his nostrils. Songhai Airport. In the underground parking garage, Fu Qingyang, sitting in a minivan, had been waiting for quite some time. Frowning, he dialed his assistant’s cell phone. When the call connected, he asked in a low voice “Why haven’t they come out yet?” He had come to pick someone up; the flight had landed an hour ago, but his assistant still hadn’t brought the person out. Fu Baifu’s time was precious—how could it be wasted on such trivial matters? “Captain Fu, he...” The assistant lowered his voice and said, “He’s hooked up with a beautiful woman. He’s stuck at the airport and refuses to leave, saying he wants to ‘connect’ with her...” A vein throbbed on Fu Qingyang’s forehead as he said “Tell him: either he comes out on his own, or I’ll go in and drag him out.” The assistant acknowledged the order with a brief “Got it” and immediately hung up. A few minutes later, the assistant led a young man into the underground parking garage and walked toward the minivan. The young man wore off-white, loose-fitting pants and a light blue shirt; as he walked, the sleeves fluttered gracefully, giving him an air of effortless elegance. He had handsome features, his eyes half-closed in a playful smile, exuding a laid-back charm that seemed to run deep in his bones. Approachable, laid-back, harmless. That was the impression the young man gave. Fu Qingyang said coldly, “Just as you’d expect from a playboy—wherever you go, women throw themselves at you.” This playboy, whose reputation rivaled Fu Qingyang’s, lived up to his name—he was a bona fide womanizer. As the son of the Grand Master of the Taiyi Sect, he came from a distinguished family, and combined with his exceptional natural talent, he was surrounded by countless women. If he were merely a lecher, he certainly wouldn’t be on par with Fu Qingyang. This fellow was nicknamed “Playboy” because he truly understood women and enjoyed an excellent reputation among them. Facing the mockery, Lingjun narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Don’t put it so crudely. Beauties are works of art; one must savor them carefully and get to know them slowly to uncover their beauty. That is true refinement.” Fu Qingyang frowned. “Because of your ‘refinement,’ you’ve wasted an hour of my time and delayed important business.” “Brother Qingyang, life isn’t just about career—there are many other beauties worth discovering,” Lingjun said with a smile, his eyes narrowed. “I’m already aware of the matter concerning the Ghost-Eyed Judge, and I’ll do my utmost to assist you. My father is deeply concerned about the Ghost-Eyed Judge’s death.” “Why?” Fu Qingyang looked at him. “This man’s death occurred very close in time to the Demon Lord’s. My father suspects there’s a connection between the two.” “Why is the Sect Leader so fixated on the Demon Lord’s death and on finding his successor?” “Because before the Demon Lord died, he left something very important in his character card.” “What is it?” “All I can tell you is that it represents the ultimate—the very essence of the Spirit Realm.” Runfa Mall, a bubble tea shop. Zhang Yuanqing, carrying a pile of shopping bags, took a seat, picked up a glass, took a big sip of the milk tea with ice cubes floating in it, and let out a satisfied sigh. Instantly, he felt completely revitalized. The most exhausting part of accompanying his aunt to the mall wasn’t the physical strain, but the mental agony. Fortunately, the lovely figures of the young women helped ease that fatigue, and Zhang Yuanqing felt quite cheerful as he sipped his milk tea. He confirmed one thing: his strange illness had been effectively alleviated. Not only had the frequency of his episodes decreased, but it had also become easier for him to trigger his condition on purpose. Most importantly, symptoms like headaches and nosebleeds had lessened after an episode. Perhaps in the future, he’d be able to freely control the state of mental fervor—then he could get Wang Tailai to help him write his thesis. Hehe. No, that would be too pathetic... Zhang Yuanqing quickly banished that tempting thought from his mind. “Sigh, this month’s paycheck isn’t going to be enough,” his aunt lamented. Zhang Yuanqing shot her a sidelong glance and said dismissively, “When has your salary ever been enough? You’re just spending your grandparents’ money.” His aunt was still a medical intern, so her salary was ridiculously low, yet she was never short on luxury goods; most of her expenses were covered by her grandparents. Her grandparents had substantial savings. Their eldest daughter had a successful career, and their eldest son had married into a wealthy family—neither of them was short on money—so their savings were left for their youngest daughter to squander. Jiang Yuerr puckered her lips and put on a pitiful act, saying, “Yeah, yeah, it’s all because I’m useless. I can’t make any money, so I have no choice but to rely entirely on my parents.” As they chatted, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out his phone and, out of habit, logged into the official forum to see if there were any interesting posts. The official forum served two main purposes: first, to publish important announcements and information from the authorities; second, to provide a space for Spirit Realm Walkers from all over to communicate and share information and intelligence. In Zhang Yuanqing’s view, browsing the forum was a quick way to broaden his horizons. Soon, a post caught his attention #A Large Number of Brand-New A- and S-Rank Spirit Realms Have Appeared in the Night Wanderer Class; “Disappearances” of Official Night Wanderers Have Been Reported Across the Country#