Chapter 1 The Table

Attached was a form. Once downloaded, Zhang Yuanqing opened it. The form had ten pages, each representing a year. The year with the most members had 2,300 people! The year with the fewest had 1,600.

From 1990 to 2000, the total number of Night Watchers in Taiyi Sect never exceeded 2,500 people.

With millions of square kilometers of land and a population of over a billion, the proportion of Night Watchers was indeed small. Of course, the number of wild Night Watchers couldn't be underestimated, but compared to the total population, they were still scarce. Zhang Yuanqing stared at the form, quickly pondering to himself.

He couldn't yet determine whether the Night Watcher in the Dark Jing Twins was official or wild. Investigation needed to be done step by step.

"Let's see, the Compass of Light appeared in 1998. At that time, the Free Wanderers organization, with its four Lieyang Protectors, were all peak Sovereigns. From 1990 to 2000, Taiyi Sect had nine peak Sovereigns. Six of them had returned to the Spirit Realm before 1998, so they couldn't have participated in the Compass's struggle. It shouldn't be the Shadow Night Watcher. The three who are 'alive' are the Great Elder, Chiri Xingguan, the Telepathy Elder who manages the training camp, and the Starry Sea Elder who is in charge of the patrol team.

"Let's start investigating these three. The Free Wanderers organization disappeared more than twenty years ago, so those who know these past events are all old-timers. Who should I ask? Yuan Ting definitely won't do. Yuan Ting is too young to know about such distant things."

"And with his style, before I even find out about the Sovereigns' past, the fact that Wushi Tianzun is investigating the higher-ups will spread throughout Taiyi Sect first."

"Last time, I asked Fu Qingyang about the Cinnabar Child and that was how I found out about the Free Wanderers organization. If I ask again this time, I'll be showing too much interest. Fu Qingyang is a scout; what if he sees something in my expression? Tch, scouts are so annoying."

Zhang Yuanqing suddenly found himself in a dilemma. He didn't dare ask the elders about the Free Wanderers organization's information, but such old matters were definitely only known by the old-timers. Should he ask Sun Miaomiao to ask her grandfather? That wasn't safe either, but if he really had no other choice, he could try. At that moment, Guan Ya came out wrapped in a bath towel.

"It's been half an hour. I thought you went into the bathroom to give birth." Zhang Yuanqing turned his head for a glance, then refocused his attention on the computer.

"If you insist on saying I gave birth, you wouldn't be wrong, at least the process is right, but the number of children you sowed is a bit much." Guan Ya smiled and revved the engine, then waited for Yuanshi to race with her.

Unexpectedly, the little Teddy Bear, who had been so eager just now, was now ignoring her beauty and not telling her jokes, but instead was frowning and staring at the computer screen. Women in the early stages of love all thought they were the most important little darlings in their boyfriend's heart and couldn't tolerate the slightest neglect.

Although she shouldn't provoke the ghost-detested Night Watcher at this time, even if it was just to walk smoothly, Guan Ya, who had just tasted the joy of love, still felt a surge of emotion. "Even though I'm afraid of being fucked, it doesn't stop me from being angry," she said. "You little brat, is there anything better to look at than me?"

"I need to find an old acquaintance, but I don't know how to proceed," Zhang Yuanqing told his girlfriend his worries. "I want to investigate discreetly, but without the backing of the authorities, my personal channels are a bit stretched."

"Chiri Xingguan… you're investigating Taiyi Sect's elders? You suspect the leader of Dark Night Rose is among them?" Guan Ya frowned. Yuanshi's idea was very bold. "I guess," Zhang Yuanqing said vaguely, not wanting to explain too much.

Guan Ya didn't speak, walked to the wardrobe, and took out a set of skirt, a soft cotton long-sleeved shirt, and a black lace.

She sat on the edge of the bed, not taking off her bathrobe, and put her two big white legs into the skirt, slowly pulling it up to her waist. "Why not ask Ling Jun?" Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.

Guan Ya glanced at him, turned around, took off her bathrobe, exposing her flawless jade back to him, quickly put on the long-sleeved shirt, and turned back around, saying:

"Ling Jun is the Sect Leader's own son, and has lived in Taiyi Sect since he was a child. In terms of seniority, Yuan Ting, Yin Ji, and Zhao Chenghuang are all younger than him. Moreover, that rascal has a carefree personality and doesn't hold any official positions. He has a good relationship with you, so it wouldn't hurt to reveal a few secrets to him." Zhang Yuanqing fell into thought.

Guan Ya raised her feet and slipped them into the black lace, pulling it up little by little along the hem of the skirt. "Wait, you're not looking for the leader of Dark Night Rose, are you? Otherwise, you wouldn't subconsciously avoid Ling Jun and just want to investigate on your own."

Zhang Yuanqing smiled wryly, "Sister Guan Ya, I have no secrets in front of you. How am I supposed to have affairs in the future?" Guan Ya raised her eyebrows and sneered, "You just try to have an affair, and see if I don't give you a permanent cure." "Your Chinese has improved a lot recently. Was it Li Chunfeng's plan?"

"It seems he doesn't cherish his salary..." Zhang Yuanqing picked up his laptop, walked to the bed, bit her娇艳 lips, and gave her a deep kiss, pulling some silk. "I'm going to Ling Jun's villa, Ling Jun's room."

Ling Jun, wearing knee-length shorts, stood in front of a full-length mirror, holding a comb and tidying his messy ear-length short hair. Suddenly, a dreamlike starlight spiral rose, and Zhang Yuanqing appeared in the starlight.

"You rarely come to my room directly," Ling Jun continued to tidy his messy hair, not at all surprised by Zhang Yuanqing's arrival. "What's the matter that needs to be kept from Fu Qingyang?" "Has no woman told you that a carefree and unruly hairstyle is your most charming trait?" Zhang Yuanqing held his computer and smiled.

"As a lady-killer, it's inevitable that I want every aspect of myself to win the hearts of the girls." Ling Jun put the small wooden comb into his pocket and turned around. "You have fifteen minutes; I'm about to go out and have dinner with a beloved girl."

"How many relationships have you had in Songhai these past few months? As a local of Songhai, I must criticize your behavior..." Zhang Yuanqing complained in his heart, but on the surface, he was incredibly enthusiastic, placed the computer on the table, and said:

"Mentor, I want to ask you about something. Have you heard of the Free Wanderers organization?"

"I've only heard of Li Xiaoyao." Ling Jun shrugged.

"Do you think you're very humorous?" Zhang Yuanqing cursed and said, "It's like this: I killed a Dark Night Rose traitor in the Qin Feng movie theater. That fellow had an item called 'Compass of Light Fragment'. You've heard of the Compass of Light, right?"

Ling Jun said, "Oh... the thing that a group of Sovereigns and Demigods fought to the death for back then."

The struggle for the Compass of Light wasn't a secret among the higher-ups of the various organizations; many knew about it, but few knew about the Compass's prophecies.

He sighed and said, "I heard that the previous Marshal of the White Pagoda was killed in that battle. My old man also participated, but unfortunately, his head was hard, and no one beat his brains out." After saying that, he sighed again, seemingly feeling deeply regretful.

"That item was very interesting, so I later handed it over to the Guild Leader and asked him about the battle back then. I learned about the Free Wanderers organization from him." Zhang Yuanqing didn't give him a chance to continue talking nonsense and continued, "That Guild Leader said that the Free Wanderers organization stole a large piece of the Compass fragment and disappeared from then on. That Guild Leader also said that the Free Wanderers organization had a total of four members, two of whom were Night Watchers. I'm very interested in this matter and want to investigate it."

This was Zhang Yuanqing's old trick, pushing the blame onto the big boss and describing his motives as mere interest.

Although it wasn't brilliant, to Ling Jun, this was just gossip, something that had nothing to do with him. No one would get to the bottom of it. Sure enough, Ling Jun said "Oh!" when he heard this!

"So you want to ask me who in Taiyi Sect is a member of the Free Wanderers organization? How would I know? I've never even heard of that organization." Zhang Yuanqing immediately told Ling Jun about his suspected targets and reasons for suspicion and showed him the form on the computer.

Unexpectedly, the first reaction Ling Jun had when he saw the form was, "You actually got Taiyi Sect's member form for a full ten years... Did you sleep with Sun Miaomiao? Otherwise, how would she dare steal Elder Sun's account and steal this information?" "How did you know it was Sun Miaomiao?" Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. Ling Jun sneered:

"You only know so many Taiyi Sect members. Yuan Ting's permissions are too low, Yin Ji has a steady personality. Between Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang, Elder Zhao wouldn't possibly give his account to others, even his own children. "Heh, need I say more?"

This Ling Jun was usually a slacker, but he was actually incredibly perceptive. No wonder Fu Qingyang said he was trash, clearly having extremely strong talent but only knowing how to womanize... Zhang Yuanqing offered up some flattery, "Mentor, you're brilliant!"

"But I didn't sleep with Sun Miaomiao; that's not the point."

Ling Jun shook his head, smiling, "No, no, no. You're the point. Guan Ya broke my tooth back then, and at that time, I thought, whoever that unlucky bastard who marries this tigress will be beaten until they're looking for their teeth every day. I hope you can fulfill your teacher's childhood wish." "I'm not here to tell jokes with you." Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched. "Okay, okay, let's talk about this Free Wanderers organization." Ling Jun pondered for a moment:

"I think you're mistaken. The Great Elder, Chiri Xingguan, accompanied my old man to snatch the Compass of Light back then, so he definitely isn't. The Telepathy Elder likes to stay in the training camp's corpse refining ground, staying with those Yin corpses. The Starry Sea Elder is in charge of the patrol team and has been wandering around for decades."

"Those two are more likely, but peak Sovereign-level Sun Watchers are few and far between. If my dad saw a peak Sun Watcher snatching the Compass of Light with him, what would he do?" "He would definitely investigate the sect immediately. "Sun Watcher..." Zhang Yuanqing understood.

If that aroused the concern of the strongest Night Watcher of that generation, those two elders would no longer be able to hide their identities. Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the Taiyi Sect Leader back then did indeed do so and successfully ferreted out the Shadow Night Watcher, but outsiders didn't know about it. "Zhang Yuanqing said his guess. To this, Ling Jun shrugged. "I don't know anyway."

"Then do you think the Night Watchers in the Free Wanderers organization could be wild rogue cultivators?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. "Not very likely." Ling Jun shook his head slightly:

"You should know that the quality of civilian Spirit Realm practitioners is far lower than that of official practitioners because they don't have resources and don't have dungeon guides. That's still the case now, let alone more than twenty years ago."

"There were even fewer dungeon guides back then. If you say that a peak Sun Watcher emerges from the rogue cultivators, I think it's possible, but for two to appear at the same time and be in the same organization, the probability is too small."

"In 1988, the number of peak Sovereigns in Taiyi Sect was _____, but in the civilian world, there was at most one. It's impossible to reach two. That makes sense..." Zhang Yuanqing nodded inwardly.

In the world of Spirit Realm practitioners, there was a chain of contempt that validated the truth of revering the past and devaluing the present. Ancient cultivators were above Spirit Realm practitioners, and the earlier the era of the Spirit Realm practitioner, the higher it was compared to the later ones.

This was because "back then," Spirit Realm practitioners didn't have guides; they opened up the wilderness with their lives. The people who rose to high positions in that barbaric era were all truly great people. While Zhang Yuanqing was thinking, Ling Jun, who wasn't very interested in this matter, slid the mouse, scanned the form, and said with emotion:

"So many familiar Spirit Realm IDs. I've even held a few of them. It's a pity that they've all returned to the Spirit Realm. Time flies like a knife, cutting down heroes." "It's precisely because I've seen through the essence of Spirit Realm practitioners that I resolutely gave up leveling up, gave up power, and focused on finding a life partner..." "Huh? It's a bed partner!" Zhang Yuanqing just cursed in his heart when he heard Ling Jun suddenly say, "Huh?" "What's wrong?" Zhang Yuanqing asked quickly.

Ling Jun slowly frowned. "Why isn't my seventeenth brother's Spirit Realm ID on here?"