Spirit Realm Walker

The Palace Master of Slaughter Cessation lifted her gaze and glanced at him, a playful smile playing across her lips.

”The Five Elements Alliance is hunting Black Wuchang precisely to secure the Holy Grail and the Registry. Why go through the extra trouble? Let me guess… You want the Registry for yourself, and you don’t want the Alliance getting their hands on it.”

Her head tilted as she spoke, her eyes drifting up toward the ceiling in a pose of girlish innocence. ”But you’re just a little nobody. Why would you need the Registry? My, my, how strange, how very strange…”

Zhang Yuanqing’s mouth twitched. ”Everyone has secrets. You don’t need to know mine. Of course, you’re free to refuse. Whether we make this deal is entirely up to you.”

This was exactly why he hated dealing with unhinged and obsessive women. Their minds didn’t work the same way as a normal person’s, which made productive communication nearly impossible. And to make matters worse, he couldn’t beat this one in a fight.

The Palace Master finished brewing a cup of coffee. She pinched the handle between slender, jade pale fingers and raised it to her lips, only for the rim to bump against her mask.

”Oh!” she exclaimed with a little start. ”I forgot I was wearing my mask…”

Not just unhinged, but genuinely scatterbrained too, Zhang Yuanqing groaned inwardly.

The Palace Master set the cup down and smiled radiantly. ”You’re right. Everyone has their secrets. As far as I’m concerned, I couldn’t care less about other people’s secrets, so long as it doesn’t threaten my own safety.”

Relief washed through Zhang Yuanqing, and he lowered his voice. ”The exchange between Black Wuchang and Dark Rose is set for tomorrow night. The most likely locations are the Laifu Inn, Songhai Third Elementary School, and Songhe Park. Of these three, Songhai Third Elementary School has the highest probability.”

The Palace Master swished her wide sleeves back and forth like a little girl entertaining herself, and asked casually, ”Because tomorrow is Saturday and the students will be on break?”

Zhang Yuanqing nodded. ”That’s part of it. The other reason is that the school is in a downtown area, just one street over from a residential neighborhood. It’s a quiet pocket within the bustle of the city. If anything goes wrong, Black Wuchang can slip into the residential blocks and escape.”

There were guests staying at Laifu Inn. A fight would cause mass casualties, and Black Wuchang’s Morality would be drained to zero in minutes. On the other hand, Songhe Park was too isolated. If he got surrounded there, he’d have nowhere to run.

Based on Black Wuchang’s cautious and cunning personality, Fu Qingyang had designated Songhai Third Elementary School as the primary target, with the other two as secondary targets. Beyond those, there were two more locations with slim but nonzero chances.

”The Five Elders of the Songhai Branch will each lead their subordinates to stake out the respective locations. The ones assigned to Songhai Third Elementary School are Fu Qingyang and an elder from the Hundred Flowers Society,” Zhang Yuanqing informed her. ”I think once both sides start fighting, you can seize the opportunity to strike and take your revenge on Dark Rose.”

The Palace Master propped her elbow on the bar counter and rested her chin in her palm, her eyes curving into crescents. ”Not a bad plan. And, in order to keep the Registry and Black Wuchang’s spirit from falling into the Alliance’s hands, would you like me to kill Fu Qingyang for you while I’m at it?”

Are you trying to get us both killed? Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed inwardly, though he kept his expression stern. ”Palace Master, I’m a serious person. I don’t appreciate jokes.”

The Palace Master burst into a fit of girlish laughter, her body swaying with barely contained mirth. ”That’s not what Xie Lingxi says about you. Oh, by the way, after our last meeting, I paid a visit to her hotel and strung her up for a beating.”

Zhang Yuanqing blinked. No wonder that little green tea princess hadn’t contacted him in days. She was angry at him. He couldn’t let the relationship sour. He still hadn’t weasled her Dream Entry Jade Talisman out of her hands yet. Once this Black Wuchang business was over, he’d have to go shower that girl with some well-needed concern.

”If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave,” he said, and rose to go. 

The Palace Master cupped her cheeks in both hands, smiled, and nodded.

Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the cafe and glanced back one more time. There was nothing but darkness behind him. The shop’s front entrance was locked up tight, and the Palace Master’s lovely silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

He turned away and headed home, running through possible scenarios for the confrontation that would happen the next night.

According to official records, Black Wuchang is at the peak of the Saint tier, and he’s one of the strongest classes. He can’t be treated as an ordinary Saint. Dark Rose’s Great Protector is undoubtedly a Nocturnal Specter of an unknown level. If he’s at the Saint tier, that’s manageable. But if he’s a Sovereign, then both sides will be locked in a titanic struggle, and the Palace Master essentially serves as an insurance policy for me and the officials alike.

But that still isn’t enough. The Alliance wants both the Holy Grail and the Registry. If the Palace Master moves to seize the Registry, she’ll almost certainly draw aggression from Fu Qingyang and the Hundred Flowers Society Elder.

Therefore, he had to create an even more chaotic battlefield, one where the officials, Black Wuchang, and Dark Rose would all be forced to prioritize the Holy Grail above everything else.

He already had a plan for that: the vice president of the Psychic Assembly’s Eastern Division, the Hex King.

That high-level Hex Master did not care about the Registry. He only wanted the Holy Grail. If he got involved, then every faction would be compelled to pour their energy into securing the Grail.

That would dramatically reduce the resistance the Palace Master faced in grabbing the Registry. The woman hadn’t shown much desire for the Holy Grail thus far. Her motivation was to foil Dark Rose’s schemes and kill either Great Protector or its leader.

The plan itself is solid, he concluded. The problem is that once things actually kick off, uncontrollable variables will inevitably arise. That can’t be helped. Reality is always full of surprises. Hopefully, though, this will get me through the danger of having my identity exposed. Old man, watch over me.

· · ·

It was early in the morning. Blood Steamed Bun, the baby-faced delivery rider, had just dropped off a breakfast order and was walking out of an apartment building.

As a Hex Master, he had virtually limitless stamina. He made deliveries from dawn to dusk, and occasionally worked overtime, riding through the night until sunrise.

The food delivery business suited him perfectly. It let him roam the city freely, which was ideal for gathering intel and discreet meetings with allies, and the pay was decent too. He genuinely enjoyed the work.

He’d kept his communication channels open at all times the past few days, waiting for word from the person who’d claimed to be a member of Dark Rose. After what happened the last time, Blood Steamed Bun recognized this contact presented a serious opportunity, a chance to earn favor and merit in the eyes of the vice president. As long as the informant provided solid intelligence, a measured amount of risk was worth taking.

He had just swung his leg over his electric scooter when the second phone in his pocket chimed, indicating the reception of a text message. He yanked his phone out, and his mind grew more on edge. There was a message from the informant:

Location for the exchange between Black Wuchang and Dark Rose’s: Songhai Third Elementary School. Tonight at midnight. If no target is sighted, stand by for my next message.

Songhai Third Elementary School, at midnight. The baby-faced delivery rider’s mind buzzed, momentarily unable to process the information. Had he been handed intelligence this critical, just like that? And how had this person managed to pinpoint the place where the meeting between Black Wuchang and Dark Rose would be held? The vice president had been hunting Black Wuchang for close to ten days already, with almost nothing to show for it. He’d been unable to find any trace of the cunning, cautious bastard.

Wild elation surged across Blood Steamed Bun’s face, bursting forth from a joy he couldn’t contain. If the intel was real, he’d just earned himself first-class merit. The vice president would reward him handsomely, and his standing within the Psychic Assembly would skyrocket.

And if it turned out to be false, so what? The Assembly had received no shortage of bogus tips these past few days.

I have to report this to the vice president immediately.

He fired up the scooter and shot off like a bolt of lightning.

***

It was ten minutes to midnight. Night hung heavy over the city. Zhang Yuanqing sat next to the floor-to-ceiling window of a 24-hour convenience store across the street from Songhai Third Elementary School, slurping on a bowl of instant noodles. 

He raised one hand to activate his wireless earpiece and murmured, ”All units, be advised: target has entered the school.”

A few seconds later, Jiang Jingwei’s high-pitched voice burst onto the channel. 

—Fu Qingyang went in? Why can’t we join the fight? Why do we have to sit out here on perimeter duty? This is so boring.

”It’s to keep you from dying young,” Zhang Yuanqing replied. ”Also, it wasn’t Fu Qingyang who went in. It was Heaven’s Injustice.”

Jiang Jingwei’s voice grew whiny.

—Am I really not allowed to go in? I want to fight. I want to blow that school sky high.

Girl, those are some dangerous thoughts…

”Why?” he asked instead.

—That’s the elementary school I attended! The homework was brutal, the teachers were terrifying, and it left me with massive psychological trauma. But back then I didn’t have my Character Card yet.

”Good grief,” Zhang Yuanqing said with a laugh. ”Don’t bully the young and poor, huh? Do you think you could do me a favor and burn down my old school while you’re at it?”

Just then, Teng Yuan’s voice cut through the channel, weary but stern. 

—I don’t mind you two doing a comedy routine, but please consider the feelings of everyone else on this frequency.

Jiang Jingwei and Zhang Yuanqing both fell silent at once.

For that night’s operation, Fu Qingyang had assembled his most trusted subordinates and scattered them across the shops and intersections surrounding Songhai Third Elementary School. Their mission was threefold: keep civilians away, intercept fleeing enemies, and respond to any unexpected developments.

Fighting on the frontlines was not advisable, even for these elite members. Going in would only get them killed.

Zhang Yuanqing focused on his noodles, though his mind was turning over something Fu Qingyang had mentioned earlier that day. The centurion suspected that Black Wuchang had some hidden source of confidence that made him willing to deal with Dark Rose in the first place.

Confidence usually meant a trump card. And trump cards meant surprises.

***

The main campus building of Songhai Third Elementary School rose like a dark monolith against the night sky. Only one room in that massive structure glowed with light: the office at the far left corner of the first floor.

Inside, six desks filled the space, their surfaces cluttered with books, teaching materials, computers, and assorted odds and ends.

At the desk by the window sat a gaunt-faced man. He had a long, horselike face, narrow eyes, and sickly pale skin. He was not handsome by any measure, yet far from forgettable. A face that ugly was the kind you remembered.

Black Wuchang tapped his fingers against the desktop as he listened to a report from his subordinate, Mature Women Are Moist. ”Boss, I’ve confirmed it. Dark Rose has successfully borrowed the Book of Contracts.”

”How did you confirm it?” Black Wuchang asked, his voice slow and deliberate.

A smile crept across the subordinate’s face. ”I grabbed a woman and tested it on her personally. After the contract was established, she became my most loyal slave. She couldn’t refuse a single one of my commands.”

Black Wuchang grunted in satisfaction and nodded. As the leader of a criminal organization, he knew perfectly well that dealing with Dark Rose was like negotiating with a tiger for its skin. The odds of a clean transaction were slim. It was much more likely that he would be double-crossed. That was why, during his time hiding in Songhai, Black Wuchang had been waiting for one specific piece of news: that Dark Rose had borrowed the Book of Contracts from an overseas faction.

The Book of Contracts was an item belonging to the Knight class. Its function was simple: establish binding contracts. Anyone who violated the terms would suffer severe punishment.

With that layer of protection, Black Wuchang finally felt safe enough to deal with Dark Rose. Having Dark Rose borrow this item from abroad had been one of his conditions from the start.

Knights were a Lawful class. If a Hex Master tried to approach one, the Knight would simply kill them on the spot. But Dark Rose did not face that problem. The organization had plenty of Lawful-class members within its ranks. All it took to borrow the Book of Contracts was to pay a certain price.

At that moment, the clock on the wall ticked over to twelve. Almost simultaneously, a knock sounded at the office door.