Spirit Realm Walker

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned into a surprised silence. Huh? The Demon Eye wants to see me, and Elder Teddy agreed? Can I refuse?

He’d never imagined that even after the whole Demon Eye affair was over, their paths would cross again. That lunatic had left too deep a psychological scar. Honestly, he wanted nothing to do with the man.

”Why is he taking me to see the Demon Eye Heavenly King? I don’t think he and I have any meaningful connection,” Zhang Yuanqing said, voicing his confusion.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King had come to Songhai to hunt the Slaughter Cessation Palace Master. Yuanshi Tianzun was nothing more to him than an afterthought. There was no reason for the Demon Eye to seek him out so persistently.

Fu Qingyang’s reply was devoid of emotion. 

—Elder Teddy was interrogating him about the details of the Chu family massacre. The Demon Eye set a condition. He asked to see you by name.

There was a pause on the other end.

—You don’t need to worry about safety. He’s imprisoned in the Zoo, and every one of his skills is sealed. Elder Teddy will be watching the whole time.

He asked for me by name? What has this humble Celestial Master done to earn such attention from the great Demon Eye?

Zhang Yuanqing considered for a moment. ”If my safety can be guaranteed, then I’ll go see him.”

The details of the Chu family massacre had piqued his interest. That awful woman, the palace master, was fixated on the events surrounding her family’s destruction all those years ago. She was unhinged, sure, and she loved tormenting him, but she’d actually treated him rather well. Now that he had an opportunity like this, Zhang Yuanqing felt he owed it to her to try.

He hung up the phone, threw on a baseball cap and face mask, and slipped out the door.

Forty minutes later, a taxi dropped him off outside the Fu Family Bay villa complex. A stretch luxury sedan was already waiting at the community gate. The door slid open with a whisper, and Zhang Yuanqing hurried over and ducked inside.

Fu Qingyang sat inside wearing a white suit, his hair tied up in a sharp little ponytail. His expression was blank as stone as Zhang Yuanqing sank into a leather seat that probably cost more than a small car.

”Centurion!” Zhang Yuanqing greeted him, then let his eyes wander over the cabin’s opulent interior. 

Fu Qingyang owned many vehicles, but this was one of the few whose price tag Zhang Yuanqing actually knew: somewhere between seven and nine million yuan, before taxes.

It had a built-in refrigerator, with seats wide and plush enough to sleep in. Between the two chairs sat a small table with a cigar cutter, a lighter, crystal glassware, and other accessories arranged neatly around it. Beneath his feet was a soft carpet, while curtains hung over every window. Recline the seat back, and you had yourself a cozy little bed.

The handsome young scion of the Fu family twirled a rounded, flat-tailed cigar about his fingers. ”Move out!”

The sedan pulled away, so smooth and silent that Zhang Yuanqing felt the chasm between luxury and economy cars in his bones.

Fu Qingyang picked up a punch-style cigar cutter from the table, snipped off the rounded cap of his cigar with a clean snick, and offered it over. ”Want one?”

Zhang Yuanqing waved him off. ”I don’t smoke, neither cigarettes nor cigars.”

He didn’t mind smoking on principle. He just felt that at his age, the most he could claim for smoking was forcing an air of melancholy for the sake of poetry. He hadn’t yet earned enough suffering to need nicotine as a crutch. The only time he’d ever smoked was after walking out of that public security captain’s house with Kou Beiyue, the house of that man whose name he could barely remember anymore.

Fu Qingyang let out a cold laugh. ”If you can’t even smoke a cigar, how do you expect to be a son-in-law of the Fu family? To be my cousin-in-law?”

Zhang Yuanqing felt as if a bomb had detonated in his mind. Faced with that icy smirk, he had no idea what expression to put on, so he simply let his face go blank.

Fu Qingyang bit down on his cigar and stared at him, deadpan.

Zhang Yuanqing took the hint. He snatched up the torch lighter from the table and leaned forward to light the boss’s cigar.

Fu Qingyang plucked the cigar from his lips, watching his loyal subordinate play the part of a dutiful lackey, and said slowly, ”Guan Ya has a fiancé.”

Zhang Yuanqing’s heart sank as he held the flame to the cigar’s tip, coaxing it to a glowing ember before handing it back.

Fu Qingyang accepted it and took a long pull, then exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.

”Among noble Spirit Realm families, the younger generation members with high status and good looks are usually subject to arranged marriages,” he said. ”In the old days, they called it forging political alliances through matrimony. Only a handful with exceptional talent get to choose their spouses for themselves.

”Guan Ya once had that opportunity, but she gave it up. In exchange, she had to accept the family’s arrangement. Her mother—my aunt—found her a fiancé.”

Zhang Yuanqing thought it over, then ventured carefully, ”The other party is from a noble Spirit Realm family, I assume? One of the Five Elements Alliance’s internal clans, or a Musician or Scholar family?”

Fu Qingyang shook his head. ”A foreign noble Spirit Realm family. They hold considerable influence within the Divine Punisher organization.”

That was when Zhang Yuanqing remembered the Fu family business was a transnational conglomerate with vast holdings both domestic and foreign. Fu Qingyang and Guan Ya had spent half their adolescence overseas. Guan Ya was of mixed heritage, meaning that one of her parents was a foreigner. Since Fu Qingyang, her cousin, had no mixed features of his own, the bloodline on their grandparents’ side was purely Chinese.

Divine Punisher? Zhang Yuanqing made a mental note to look into that organization later, then asked, ”What’s Guan Ya’s own stance on this?”

Fu Qingyang glanced at him. ”She’s resistant, obviously. If she were happy about the engagement, would she be flirting with you?”

Having her own cousin lay it out so bluntly made Zhang Yuanqing squirm.

”So becoming my cousin-in-law won’t be easy.” 

Fu Qingyang’s tone was casual, indifferent. Zhang Yuanqing offered no response. Internally, he was trying to decipher the man’s angle. Is he warning me off? Telling me to stay away from his cousin? Or is he pushing me, telling me to step up? Or maybe he’s just conflicted himself?

Before he knew it, the sedan had left the city behind. The density of skyscrapers dropped sharply, replaced by the growing presence of factory buildings. Both downtown Songhai and its suburbs teemed with people. The difference was that tall skyscrapers dominated the downtown area, while the suburbs teemed with industrial complexes.

Another half hour rolled by, and even the factories thinned out. Elevated highways and undeveloped land took the place of apartment blocks and warehouses.

At last, the luxury sedan rolled to a stop outside a zoo.

The place had an old-fashioned motorized gate. The ticket booth near the entrance looked run-down and neglected. A tall standing stone bore the characters for ”Zoo” in faded, peeling red paint.

The two men climbed out. Fu Qingyang stood before the main gate, gazing into the dim, silent grounds.

”Before we go in, there are a few rules you need to follow,” he said. ”First, do not say the word ’animal.’ Second, if you see a rabbit approaching, ignore it completely. Third, if a staff member comes up to speak to you, pay attention to their uniform. If the staff member is wearing a black-uniform, do not respond. Under no circumstances should you respond. If they’re wearing a blue uniform, say: ’I’m fine, I don’t need help.’”

Zhang Yuanqing blinked, then understanding dawned on him. He hesitated. ”This Zoo is…”

Fu Qingyang nodded. ”A rule-type item of the Sovereign tier. During the day, it’s dormant, and you don’t need to follow the rules. That’s why it’s open to regular visitors. After dusk, everyone has to leave.”

A Sovereign-tier rule-type item, Zhang Yuanqing marveled. That’s practically the ceiling of the Spirit Realm world. Or close to it. Wait, the entire Zoo is a single item…?

”Understood,” he said.

Fu Qingyang walked up to the motorized gate and called out, ”Open!”

The gate actually responded, and slowly ground its way open.

Fu Qingyang strode inside, and Zhang Yuanqing hurried to follow. The instant he crossed the threshold into the zoo, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible sense of being watched, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once.

He froze mid-step as his gaze snapped upward. The night sky hung dark and starless, vast and remote. Nothing stirred.

Fu Qingyang stopped and looked back. ”What is it?”

Who’s watching me? That wasn’t my imagination…

Zhang Yuanqing frowned and pointed at the sky. ”I feel like something is watching me.” 

Fu Qingyang followed his gaze upward, considered it for a few seconds, then said evenly, ”Ignore it.”

The two continued along the wide main path. Dim, yellowish lamps lined both sides, each one spaced four or five meters apart. The feeble glow from the lamps could only illuminate a small circle directly beneath each post. Between the lamps lay stretches of still, unbroken darkness.

A classic horror movie setup. No, compared to a Sovereign-tier rule-type item, a little supernatural atmosphere is nothing, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. 

At least the sight of Fu Qingyang’s white-suited, straight-backed silhouette ahead of him was an immense comfort. The man was calm and powerful, always brimming with quiet confidence.

They walked for about five minutes before a fork appeared ahead, marked by a signpost. The sign bore the image of a lion.

Fu Qingyang led the way, turning down the path toward the lion enclosure, and Zhang Yuanqing followed him. Just then, a drifting, ethereal voice floated up from behind.

”Excuse me, do you need help?”

He turned. Under the halo of a lamp stood a figure in a black uniform, wearing a baseball cap. The shadow cast by the brim swallowed the face beneath.

A black uniform, he noted. I must not respond.

He whipped back around and quickened his pace to catch up with Fu Qingyang.

Seeing that Zhang Yuanqing refused to acknowledge it, the figure beneath the lamp grew agitated. It lurched forward in pursuit, its voice growing more and more hollow.

”Excuse me, do you need help?”

As the footsteps of the black uniformed staff member closed in behind him, Zhang Yuanqing nearly broke into a run. But he clung to Fu Qingyang’s instructions, forcing himself to stay calm. Don’t respond. Don’t acknowledge it.

The footsteps drew closer, closer, until they were almost just behind him, then they vanished as suddenly as they’d appeared.

Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in quiet relief. Is it gone?

A low whisper brushed itself against his ear. ”You came. You finally came to see me~”

A chill raced down his spine, and every muscle in his body locked up in reflex. Who said that?

He swept his gaze across the surroundings without turning his head. The lamps burned low. Silhouettes of shrubbery and artificial rocks crouched in the darkness, utterly silent.

Up ahead, Fu Qingyang said without breaking stride, ”Don’t look around. Keep walking.”

Zhang Yuanqing drew a deep breath, emptied his mind of every stray thought, and stayed tight on Fu Qingyang’s heels. Mercifully, nothing else happened after that.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the lion enclosure. Through the tall iron railings, Zhang Yuanqing spotted a single white lion inside the spacious pen, lounging lazily on a raised platform at the center.

Its body was sleek and powerful, and it was crowned with a white mane that was strikingly beautiful. It carried the effortless majesty of a king of the savannah.

The white lion’s deep, unfathomable gaze sought out the two ”visitors” through the iron bars. It watched them in perfect stillness.

In a cell adjacent to the lion enclosure, Zhang Yuanqing’s eyes finally came to rest on the Demon Eye Heavenly King.

He was embedded in a camphor tree that grew out from the floor of the room. His arms, legs, and his entire lower body had merged into the trunk, as if the wood had grown around him and swallowed him whole.

The tree wasn’t tall, but its trunk was enormously thick, gnarled and knotted. Dense foliage hung from the branches, trailing curtains of vine. Beneath the tree sat a curly-haired poodle.

When Yuanshi Tianzun walked in, the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s eyes lit up.