Chapter 123 Major Event

The ringtone rang for a long time before the call connected. The voice on the other end was articulate, but the tone was cold:

"I'm reviewing Ou Xiangrong's file, predicting his movements. I'll give you ten seconds."

Within the official Spirit Realm Walkers, the various teams were the main force for handling cases. The Zhishi (Executive) coordinated behind the scenes, only personally intervening when encountering particularly difficult cases.

The centurion is under a lot of pressure... Li Dongze cleared his throat and reported in a low, solemn voice:

"Centurion Fu, we've already killed Ou Xiangrong."

This answer was clearly unexpected. The phone went silent. After a few seconds of silence, Fu Qingyang's voice, no longer cold, came through:

"Where did you find him?"

Li Dongze said:

"He was killed at Songhai University. He was trying to force Xu Yingying to reveal the location of the Holy Grail and the roster, but Xu Yingying wasn't aware of it. She's just an ordinary female student. Your assessment was correct; Ou Xiangrong had indeed lost his mind."

Fu Qingyang praised, "Good, Li Dongze. You were very sharp this time. You successfully nipped a large-scale bloodbath in the bud. I'll recommend you to the Elder Council for commendation. Any casualties?"

"No," Li Dongze paused. "Centurion Fu, we weren't the ones who killed him."

"Not you?" Fu Qingyang's tone was tinged with doubt. He seemed to think of something and suddenly understood. "I almost forgot. There's an elder from the Water God Palace at Songhai University. Was it him? It seems I need to pay him a visit sometime to express my gratitude."

An elder from the Water God Palace is at Songhai University? Li Dongze looked stunned, then realized that Centurion Fu had misunderstood. He explained:

"It was Yuan Shi Tian Zun who killed Ou Xiangrong, the Night Wanderer I just recruited."

A level 1 Night Wanderer killed a level 3 Bewitchment Fiend?

The centurion on the other end of the phone was silent again. After more than ten seconds, Fu Qingyang said, "Understood. Have him submit a report."

After a pause, he added with a hint of a smile in his voice, "Well done."

Ending the call, Li Dongze steered the car, his face beaming, unconsciously pressing harder on the accelerator.

Bai Long opened his phone and created a temporary group chat with several other team leaders: "Look at how smug Li Dongze is. His mustache is practically flying up to his eyebrows."

Qingteng: "His team accomplished a great feat. If I had a subordinate like that, I'd be smug too."

According to the rules and regulations within the official organization, in order to deepen the team members' sense of collective honor, if one person performed a meritorious service, the entire team would be rewarded. Other team members would also receive bonuses and performance pay.

Regarding the Night Wanderer recruited by Li Dongze, if they were simply envious before, now, the other team leaders were so jealous that they wanted to resort to unscrupulous means.

..........

Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, morgue.

Li Dongze closed the morgue door, keeping the team leaders outside.

He looked at Zhang Yuanqing beside him, his eyes deep, and said:

"Night Wanderers can increase their experience points by devouring spiritual bodies. The side effect is that over time, their minds will be contaminated. If you've already tried to increase your strength in this way, you should understand what I mean."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded.

"Have you tried using that item to purify distracting thoughts?" Li Dongze prompted. This was his solution.

Seeing Zhang Yuanqing frown in thought, Li Dongze immediately smiled. "It seems the cost of that item is considerable."

Yes, using it too much can easily lead to anemia and qi and blood deficiency... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered a detail. He had once found a spiritual body crystal in the Mountain Goddess's mouth.

Now it seemed that the crystal was very likely formed from the soul of a Spirit Realm Walker who had died in the Mountain God Temple.

That's why the information mentioned that it was the best tonic for Night Wanderers.

The impurities in the spiritual body crystal must be mental pollution, but it was purified by the Goddess. From this, he inferred that the Demon Subduing Pestle must also be able to purify mental pollution.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory and took out the Demon Subduing Pestle, cast in brass and engraved with exquisite patterns and incantations.

He briefly explained the item's effects and costs, and said, "If I go crazy later, just stab me with it. Uh, stab my thigh."

"Okay!" Li Dongze took the item.

Zhang Yuanqing walked to Ou Xiangrong's body, placed his palm on the other's chest, took a deep breath, and viscous, dark energy surged from the depths of his eyes, awakening the remnant spiritual body within the corpse.

A burst of throbbing pain hit his brow, and his consciousness immediately expanded. Something that didn't belong to him forcefully flooded his brain.

........

In a haze, Zhang Yuanqing saw himself, saw the underground parking garage, saw the strange red dancing shoes.

This was the battle that had just occurred in the parking garage.

Zhang Yuanqing silently waited for the battle to end. The scene quickly changed. This time, it was a dim room. A masked man stood before Ou Xiangrong, holding a delicate crystal goblet in his hand. The liquid in the goblet was as scarlet as blood.

"As a Bewitchment Fiend, your evil is pure. You have good potential. Drink the wine in the Holy Grail, and you will be my servant."

"Every half a month, you must drink the wine in the Holy Grail again, otherwise, even the gods can't save you."

"Remember my name, Guì Yǎn Pànguān (Devil-Eyed Judge)."

......

In a cheap rental apartment, a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap stood in the living room, saying coldly:

"Guì Yǎn Pànguān (Devil-Eyed Judge) is dead. His confidant, Hei Wuchang (Black Impermanence), has absconded with the Fallen Holy Grail and the roster, hiding in Songhai City. If you don't want to 'die from the poison,' then find him for us. Lingneng Hui (Spirit Energy Association) won't treat you unfairly."

.......

The scene changed again. He saw a blue sky, saw a group of hoodlums in strange clothes, punching and kicking him.

The change in style was too sudden. Zhang Yuanqing was a little dazed. After several seconds, he realized that he was being bullied.

This was Ou Xiangrong's past memory? To think that this ruthless villain had actually experienced this before...

"Ou Xiangrong, are you taking my words as wind in your ears?"

"Ou Xiangrong, you should cherish the times we talk to you nicely."

Don't hit me, don't hit me... Zhang Yuanqing felt Ou Xiangrong's intense fear, cowering in fright.

.......

"Useless thing, getting bullied again? If you get hit, hit back! Why are you crying to me? How could I have given birth to a useless thing like you?"

A middle-aged man cursed loudly, spitting everywhere.

This time, Zhang Yuanqing felt despair from Ou Xiangrong's emotions.

Many chaotic, fragmented scenes flashed by quickly. In one similar event after another, his mentality became increasingly twisted and violent.

Just then, a dazzling, pure golden light pierced into his sea of consciousness, dispelling the violence and pain, bringing warmth.

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly opened his eyes, seeing the bright fluorescent lights and the white walls, and also seeing Li Dongze, bruised and swollen, his suit disheveled.

"Squad Leader, are you alright?"

Zhang Yuanqing was shocked. He immediately touched his face and found it covered in tears.

"I'm fine." Li Dongze casually threw the bloodstained Demon Subduing Pestle on the ground, tidying his clothes, complaining:

"I should have had Guan Ya come. She's better at fighting than me. This isn't elegant at all."

Once he had tidied his clothes, he eagerly asked, "How was it? Did you discover any new clues... You look terrible."

"I'm just... a little sad."

His experience points had increased again, but this time, Zhang Yuanqing didn't feel happy about it.

Li Dongze revealed a look of understanding and said, "Is it because of Ou Xiangrong's memories?"

"Yes."

The spiritual body's memories were incomplete and fragmented, only remembering some unforgettable experiences.

For so many years, Ou Xiangrong had been hung up on his experiences in his student days, which had affected his entire life.

Although the other party was a damned criminal, Zhang Yuanqing still felt very uncomfortable.

Li Dongze sighed:

"Although I don't know what you saw in the memories, I can understand. The Night Wanderers of the Taiyi School hate devouring the spiritual bodies of evil professions the most, and the reason lies in this. Yuan Shi, do you know why there's even the concept of evil professions?"

He didn't rush to ask about the case clues, but took this opportunity to enlighten him, to teach him, saying:

"In the factional conflict, we've killed countless evil professions. After summarizing the Taiyi School's Night Wanderer spirit interrogation data, we observed a phenomenon: every evil profession is a villain and criminal in reality.

"In other words, the Spirit Realm selects the Spirit Realm Walkers of the evil professions from specific groups."

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. "So, they didn't become bad people because they became evil professions; they were bad people to begin with."

"But their badness isn't entirely innate either, but created by humans themselves," Li Dongze sighed.

"The Spirit Realm doesn't actively cultivate evil. The birth of any evil profession is the karma of humanity itself. This phenomenon is depressing and not very positive, but that's the real world. It's good that you understand, but don't publicize it."

Zhang Yuanqing silently nodded.

"Also, let me tell you, you've already killed Ou Xiangrong, so you should have gained reputation, right?" Li Dongze said:

"Killing each other among Spirit Realm Walkers doesn't deduct morality points, but if you have reputation, it will make Spirit Realm Walkers of the same faction wary of you. If you have 10 reputation points, killing you will deduct 20 morality points for Spirit Realm Walkers of the same faction. Heh, lawful and kind are different."

After saying this, Li Dongze patted him on the shoulder, "Alright, let's talk business. Don't waste time."

There are kind, chaotic, and neutral people among the lawful professions? Then, among the evil professions, are there any who have reformed?... Zhang Yuanqing refocused his thoughts, steadied his mind, and said in a deep voice:

"Squad Leader, I think I saw something big in Ou Xiangrong's memories."

"Big?" Li Dongze smiled. "He's just a level 3 Bewitchment Fiend. How big can anything he knows be? I've been working for so many years. What big things haven't I seen? Speak."

It wasn't that he was arrogant, but in Li Dongze's view, Yuan Shi was inexperienced, and his definition of big events might not be accurate.

"It's like this..." Zhang Yuanqing recounted the memories he had read.

A few minutes later, Li Dongze rushed out of the morgue, roaring at the team leaders outside:

"Something big has happened!!"

......

ps: Update first, then revise.