[Police Station · Small Conference Room]
After Lin Zhiyuan led Zhang Yunxiang away, Xie Qingyan and Yin Wuwang also left the interrogation room. They walked down the corridor to a small conference room at the end—Lin Zhiyuan had mentioned earlier that they could use this room freely.
Xie Qingyan walked to the window. Outside was the police station's courtyard, where several officers were changing shifts, their footsteps and voices faintly audible.
"What did you see?" he asked.
Yin Wuwang walked to his side, arms crossed, leaning against the window frame. "His memory has problems."
"How so?"
"When he said 'I hit him,' that was the truth." Yin Wuwang paused, organizing his thoughts. "But when he talked about 'that woman,' he wasn't lying—he was confused. There's a blank spot in his memory, and he doesn't understand it himself."
Xie Qingyan glanced at him, a hint of appreciation in his eyes. This man's sensitivity to lies was extraordinary, better than any interrogation expert he'd ever seen. "A memory blank?"
Yin Wuwang considered for a moment. "Those words came out too smoothly, not a single mistake. He was clearly subjected to repeated indoctrination—hearing it over and over, again and again, until he believed it."
"He was definitely indoctrinated." Xie Qingyan's words came as confirmation, not question.
"Yes." Yin Wuwang nodded. "He doesn't 'not remember' that woman—he genuinely didn't see her clearly, because every time she appeared, he was drunk. That woman deliberately chose to appear when he was drunk, deliberately planted those words when his consciousness was hazy."
Xie Qingyan didn't speak. That woman—with her lovely voice, appearing whenever Zhang Yunxiang was drunk, repeating the same words over and over. She was very patient, very methodical, knew how to find weaknesses and break down judgment.
"Calculated manipulation," Xie Qingyan murmured. "This was calculated manipulation."
A hint of amusement tugged at the corner of Yin Wuwang's mouth. "He was manipulated without knowing it. Attacked someone but doesn't know why. Thought it was his own decision, but from start to finish, someone else was pulling the strings."
He paused, his gaze growing deep. "Last night I was thinking—this method is eerily similar to the heart-bewitching curse from the demon realm."
"Heart-bewitching curse?" Xie Qingyan turned to look at him.
"A curse that plants thoughts in someone's mind." Yin Wuwang kept his explanation brief. "This world has no magic, but the principle is the same—find the target's weakness, repeatedly indoctrinate, until that thought becomes their own idea."
"And Zhang Yunxiang's weakness?"
Yin Wuwang considered. "He loves his wife, but doesn't believe he deserves her. People like that are the easiest to manipulate—just find that soft spot, and you can control them completely."
"So she seized his weakness and told him what he feared most—that his wife was having an affair." Xie Qingyan's voice was thoughtful.
"Once isn't enough, so she says it twice. Twice isn't enough, so she says it three times. Until he believes it."
Xie Qingyan turned to face him directly. "Who is she?"
"No idea." Yin Wuwang shook his head. "But she definitely has a connection to Chen Wan."
"Why so certain?"
"Because her goal was to kill Chen Wan." A trace of coldness crept into Yin Wuwang's voice. "Zhang Yunxiang was just her blade."
After those words fell, the room went quiet for a moment. Outside the window, the sky was growing darker.
That woman—with her lovely voice, who knew Zhang Yunxiang's weaknesses, and was extremely patient. If Zhang Yunxiang was the blade she'd selected, how long had she been observing him? Did she ever show her face while brainwashing him?
"Tomorrow." Xie Qingyan broke the silence, his voice returning to its usual calm. "We investigate everyone who might have had contact with the bar—employees, regulars, suppliers, contractors. No one gets overlooked."
"This sovereign will accompany you." Yin Wuwang's tone made it sound like the most natural thing in the world.
Xie Qingyan glanced at him, the corner of his eyes seeming to curve slightly. "Alright."
Just one word. Yin Wuwang lowered his gaze, staring at their overlapping shadows on the floor, and suddenly felt the lights in this world were too harsh—so harsh he had nowhere to hide.
He coughed once and headed toward the door first: "Let's go."
[City Streets · Night]
By the time they left the police station, it was completely dark.
Night had blanketed the entire city. Pedestrians came and went, everyone hurrying along, no one noticing the two men who had just walked out of the police station. Yin Wuwang and Xie Qingyan walked side by side down the street. Neither spoke, but the silence wasn't awkward—instead, it carried an inexplicable sense of understanding.
Yin Wuwang's stomach suddenly let out a loud growl, startlingly clear in the quiet night.
Xie Qingyan glanced at him, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Hungry?"
Yin Wuwang felt his face grow warm and quickly looked away. "This body is too weak. Always getting hungry." Not entirely a lie—the Demon Sovereign's true form could go centuries without eating, but this mortal shell needed food every few hours. Troublesome indeed.
"Come on. My treat."
"You're treating?" Yin Wuwang raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get the money?"
"Consultant fee from Captain Lin. Enough for us to eat for a while."
They walked into a small restaurant on the street. The place wasn't large, but it was kept very clean, the air filled with the aroma of food. The owner was a middle-aged woman who greeted them warmly: "Two handsome gentlemen, what would you like?"
Yin Wuwang looked at the menu on the wall, somewhat lost—he didn't recognize any of these mortal dishes.
Xie Qingyan spoke directly to the owner: "Two bowls of beef noodles, one side dish."
Before long, two steaming bowls of noodles arrived. Rich broth, springy noodles, and large chunks of beef piled on top, the aroma wafting up invitingly. Yin Wuwang picked up a chopstick-full and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up instantly.
"Delicious." He shoveled in another huge mouthful. "Even better than the spirit foods back home."
Xie Qingyan watched him wolf down his food, the curve of his lips becoming more pronounced. "Slow down. No one's going to take it from you."
"Haven't had anything this good in ages," Yin Wuwang mumbled, mouth stuffed with noodles.
"You didn't eat in the Demon Abyss?"
"Sure I did, but it was all pills and spirit fruits for replenishing spiritual energy. Filled the stomach but had no flavor." He stuffed another piece of beef into his mouth, chewed a few times, then added almost as an afterthought: "Besides, eating alone is boring."
Xie Qingyan's chopsticks paused mid-motion. Eating alone is boring—the words sounded simple enough, but they stirred something in him. He thought of his own days cultivating in solitude: fighting alone, healing alone, eating those flavorless foods alone. The loneliness of cultivators couldn't be dismissed with just the word "boring."
"From now on—" his voice came out softer than usual, "we can eat together often."
Yin Wuwang looked up. Xie Qingyan didn't meet his gaze, just lowered his head and continued eating. But Yin Wuwang noticed—the tips of his ears had turned slightly red.
He stared at that touch of red, and suddenly this bowl of beef noodles tasted even better.
"You said it." A hint of a smile crept into his voice. "It's a promise."
After finishing their noodles, the two walked out of the restaurant. The night breeze was cool, their shadows walking side by side, overlapping as one.
Yin Wuwang suddenly felt that this world without spiritual energy might not be so bad after all.
[End of V2_Chapter 19]
Next: The hunt begins—who among the bar's contacts is hiding behind a lovely voice?