Fu Family Bay.
A luxury villa community in Kangyang District's prime location. In Songhai, suburban villas typically cost between 90,000 and 120,000 yuan per square meter, while urban villas... Zhang Yuanqing hadn't researched those.
But since he lived in Kangyang District, he'd heard of the prestigious Fu Family Bay. A few years ago, the most expensive villas here had sold for as much as 350 million yuan.
Taxi drivers weren't allowed inside such exclusive communities. Zhang Yuanqing got out at the entrance and waited silently for a few minutes until a sophisticated woman in a trench coat strolled toward him, her hips swaying gracefully.
"Primordial Heavenly Venerable?" she asked with a gentle smile.
"That's me," Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"Centurion Fu sent me to pick you up," she said with a smile.
The woman was tall and slender, with long legs clad in black stockings and delicate, elegant makeup. She was strikingly beautiful.
Zhang Yuanqing followed her through the wide community streets for about ten minutes until they stopped in front of a magnificent villa.
Behind the intricately carved iron gate lay a vast courtyard resembling a meticulously landscaped garden. Through the artful arrangement of plants, trees, rockeries, ponds, and other features, and by carefully designing pathways and architectural elements, the courtyard exuded an air of refined elegance and natural beauty.
A grand three-story villa stood at the heart of the garden, surrounded by exquisite scenery.
Tsk, tsk, Zhang Yuanqing thought sourly. No wonder he's the son of a damned capitalist. Compared to this, his own well-off Songhai native family's home felt like a shack, utterly impoverished.
The young woman pulled a keycard from her trench coat pocket, swiped it to open the wrought-iron gate, and led Zhang Yuanqing inside.
They followed a cobblestone path through a garden bursting with vibrant flowers, each vying for attention, until they reached the villa's grand hall.
The hall featured polished marble floors that gleamed like mirrors, and the decor exuded both luxury and refined elegance. A double-flight staircase stood directly opposite the entrance, while three bunny girls were busy cleaning the living room.
Huh? Bunny girls? Zhang Yuanqing froze in surprise.
High-quality bunny girls.
At that moment, the mature woman who had led him into the villa shed her trench coat, revealing a sexy black bunny girl uniform. She clipped a pair of white bunny ears onto her head and smiled.
"Centurion Fu is waiting for you upstairs. Follow me."
In an instant, she had transformed from a dignified woman into a curvaceous, slender-waisted, long-legged bunny girl.
Reaching the second floor, the bunny girl led him to the study door and said softly, "Centurion Fu is waiting inside."
With that, she withdrew.
Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand and knocked on the double doors of the study.
"Come in," Fu Qingyang's voice called from within.
The wooden doors weren't locked. Zhang Yuanqing gently pushed them open, revealing the study's interior. More like a reception room than a study, the spacious chamber was carpeted in crimson, furnished with an expensive wooden sofa, antique display shelves, and bookshelves. Oil paintings, suits of armor, Western-style iron swords, and traditional Chinese swords adorned the walls.
Fu Qingyang sat at a desk facing the entrance, his back not to a bookshelf but to a portrait of himself.
Guan Ya had been right—this guy was definitely full of himself. Zhang Yuanqing crossed the long carpet to the desk and said, "Centurion."
"Hmm!" Fu Qingyang nodded curtly, his expression cold and stern.
Some people act all aloof and abstemious on the surface, but secretly keep bunny girls in the back, Zhang Yuanqing thought, glancing at him.
Fu Qingyang said, "Xiahou Tianyuan is locked in the basement. I'll take you there shortly."
"Is it really okay to just kill him like this?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Fu Qingyang replied calmly, "Setting aside his other crimes, his collusion with a secret organization alone warrants a hundred executions. After you Inquire the Soul, I'll arrest Xiahou Xin and execute him according to the law. Then comes Xiahou Chi, but he's imprisoned in Elder Miao's zoo, so we'll need to file a request."
One had to admit, this Centurion of the White Tiger Corps was truly decisive in his actions. Zhang Yuanqing inwardly marveled, then silently added: Too bad he's such a pervert.
The moment he saw the bunny girls, Zhang Yuanqing's mind conjured up a hundred gigabytes of scenarios, his DNA practically vibrating with excitement.
At that moment, Fu Qingyang frowned. "Do you have a problem with me?"
"Huh?" Zhang Yuanqing blinked, then shook his head vigorously. "No, no, Centurion, you are wise and mighty."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do," the wealthy young master insisted, his brow furrowing. "Before a Scout, any pretense is futile."
This... Seeing the situation, Zhang Yuanqing dropped the act and chuckled.
"This subordinate merely didn't expect Centurion Fu to keep such beauties hidden away. As expected of a Centurion—your tastes are truly refined, unlike mine, which are so simple: just black stockings and long legs."
Fu Qingyang's eye twitched. After a moment of silence, he explained, "They are maids in the villa, responsible only for household chores and meals."
Huh? Just household chores and meals? Is that how you're supposed to use bunny girls? Zhang Yuanqing felt a pang of heartache.
Descending the stairs behind Fu Qingyang, Zhang Yuanqing followed him to the second basement level.
The second basement level resembled a hotel, with prison cells lining both sides of a red-carpeted corridor.
Why would he have a dungeon in his home? Is it a personal fetish or a preference of the White Tiger Corps? Zhang Yuanqing wondered, his eyes darting left and right in curiosity.
A well-functioning ventilation system kept the basement air fresh. Fu Qingyang stopped before an iron gate, struck a match, lit a cigarette, and peered into the cell through the bars.
Following his gaze, Zhang Yuanqing looked inside.
Xiahou Tianyuan sat on the edge of a single bed, his neck clamped in a wooden yoke and his wrists bound in iron shackles. He looked surprisingly well-fed and healthy, suggesting he hadn't been deprived of food or clothing here.
These shackles and yoke must be Items, Zhang Yuanqing thought, scrutinizing Xiahou Tianyuan. Otherwise, they couldn't restrain a Level 3 Spirit Realm Walker.
Having already heard their footsteps, Xiahou Tianyuan glared venomously at his two enemies at the gate before his gaze settled on Zhang Yuanqing. He sneered, "Oh, look who's come to visit his dear old dad. I'm doing just fine here. When I get out, I'll skin you alive, you unfilial wretch."
He immediately turned to Fu Qingyang and sneered, "Fu Qingyang, how long do you think you can keep me locked up? I'm a direct descendant of the Xiahou Family. The evidence you've gathered will only keep me imprisoned for a few years at most. Once I advance to the Saint Stage, the Xiahou Family will definitely rescue me."
Even in captivity, he remained defiant.
Xiahou Tianyuan had admitted defeat, but so what? At most, he'd be imprisoned for a few years. If he managed to advance to the Saint Stage during the mid-year or year-end Grand Slaughter Instance, his family would pull out all the stops to secure his release.
Though other factions within the family might wish him dead, once he became a Saint, the Council of Elders would undoubtedly protect him.
Fu Qingyang asked calmly, "Did your Xiahou Family travel all the way to Songhai just to avenge Xiahou Tianwen?"
Xiahou Tianyuan smirked coldly, refusing to answer.
Zhang Yuanqing stepped in as the straight man, saying, "I suspect they have ulterior motives."
Fu Qingyang glanced at him, his expression neutral. "Oh? Elaborate."
Zhang Yuanqing continued, "I believe the Palace Master of Ceasing Slaughter likely obtained some secret from Xiahou Tianwen. That's why Xiahou Chi led the family's direct line forces to Songhai—to silence him permanently."
Fu Qingyang feigned sudden realization. "So, what kind of secret do you think it is?"
Zhang Yuanqing replied, "For example, that Xiahou Chi's lineage might be secretly colluding with the Night Rose."
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Tianyuan's pupils constricted violently, his arrogant demeanor replaced by shock and disbelief.
No, this can't be true. How could they possibly know? Xiahou Tianyuan's mind churned like a stormy sea.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Xiahou Tianyuan quickly regained his composure, adopting his usual defiant stance. "What, are you trying to frame me? The Xiahou Family may not be as powerful as the Fu Family, but we won't tolerate your reckless slander and false accusations, Fu Qingyang."
Fu Qingyang stared at Xiahou Tianyuan's defiant face, then pulled out a security card from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Yuanqing.
Beep! Beep!
Zhang Yuanqing took the card and swiped it to unlock the cell door.
As he stepped into the cell, he reached into the Void and conjured a 40-centimeter-long Yanagiba blade, its cold steel gleaming menacingly.
Xiahou Tianyuan's face paled. His gaze darted between the Yanagiba blade and Zhang Yuanqing's face, his voice trembling with fear and fury.
"You... what are you going to do?!"
Zhang Yuanqing grinned, his teeth flashing. "Kill you, and then Inquire the Soul!"
Xiahou Tianyuan's face froze, then twisted into a frenzy, like a cat with its fur standing on end. He roared:
"You dare kill me? Primordial Heavenly Venerable, you dare kill me?!
"I am the嫡子 of the Xiahou Family! My father is a descendant of the Old Ancestor! If you kill me, the Xiahou Family will never forgive you!
"Who do you think you are? A lowly Walker! How dare you kill me?!"
Zhang Yuanqing advanced step by step. Xiahou Tianyuan's expression shifted from rage to terror. He pleaded frantically:
"Primordial Heavenly Venerable, don't let Fu Qingyang use you! He's manipulating you! Our conflict isn't irreconcilable! Don't be a pawn!"
"I think someone as twisted as you is better off dead," Zhang Yuanqing said, stopping behind him. He tilted Xiahou Tianyuan's head back, exposing his neck, and with his other hand, he lightly drew the Yanagiba across the carotid artery.
A fountain of blood erupted, staining the walls and floor a crimson red. The Blade of Bloodlust's bleeding effect accelerated the carnage.
Xiahou Tianyuan collapsed to the ground, twitching in his death throes before gradually stilling. His dying gaze, filled with venomous hatred, remained fixed on Zhang Yuanqing.
Sheathing the Yanagiba, Zhang Yuanqing swiftly communicated with the dissipating Spirit, a dark surge swirling in his eyes.
The scattered fragments of the spirit quickly coalesced, forming a phantom-like human figure above the corpse. Its eyes were vacant, but its expression was fiercely malevolent.
While expressions could be controlled, a spectral entity revealed a person's true nature. Xiahou Tianyuan was such a man—inherently vicious.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth and inhaled, devouring the spectral entity. Instantly, a chaotic flood of memories surged into his Sea of Consciousness.
These memories flashed through his mind like a broken slideshow, fragmented and disordered.
Zhang Yuanqing glimpsed Xiahou Tianyuan's past: in middle school, he had led gangs to bully weaker students and rape his English teacher, incidents the Xiahou Family had covered up.
Undaunted, he continued to assault female classmates. By high school, he had learned to use money to manipulate teachers and students, preying on the vulnerable.
As an adult, his depravity deepened. He extorted entrepreneurs, colluded with corrupt state-owned enterprise leaders, and employed Wild Spirit Realm Walkers as enforcers.
The memories raced by until Zhang Yuanqing reached Xiahou Tianyuan's most vivid recollections.
In a tightly sealed study, brightly lit, Xiahou Xin sat at his desk, his face grim.
He gazed at his son across the desk and said in a deep voice, "The Night Rose is an unimaginably terrifying organization. Its influence permeates both official and civilian realms. One day, all Spirit Realm Walkers will kneel before it."
"Father, an organization like that could easily carve out its own territory and become a new Official Organization or a powerful evil faction. Why would it choose to remain hidden?"
Xiahou Xin paused before replying, "Do you know why the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect became Official Organizations?"
"Because the Orderly Faction has the most Walkers?"
"No. It's because the Five Alliance Leaders control the ultimate secrets of the Spirit Realm, including those held by the leaders of enduring evil organizations. Tianyuan, the conflict between Order and Evil is far more complex than you realize."
"The Night Rose seeks to become the sovereign of the Spirit Realm."
The vision shattered, and Zhang Yuanqing withdrew from the Soul Inquiry.