Chapter 83: Infiltration
Wang Qian frowned, hesitation written across his face. "Go to him? We barely know each other. I don't really trust him. Boss, you don't understand. The day after the Xiahou family clashed with the Palace Master, he messaged me offering to help. This whole thing is incredibly suspicious."
Their relationship was superficial at best. Wang Qian couldn't believe Yuanshi Tianzun would offend the Xiahou family for his sake. What was in it for him?
A Chinese Odyssey fell silent, clearly wavering. The hot-headed girl beside them glanced at Wang Qian, then at A Chinese Odyssey, and asked with obvious interest, "Are you talking about that rookie who cleared two S-rank dungeons? The guy who's been blowing up on the official forums lately?"
Wang Qian nodded. "I'm his informant."
The woman—Spirit Realm ID, Free Spirit—looked him up and down and clicked her tongue appreciatively.
A Chinese Odyssey seized the opening. "Susu, what do you think?"
Free Spirit shook her head. "I'm definitely interested in a genius boy like that, but I don't know him."
A Chinese Odyssey mulled it over for a few seconds, then laid out his thinking. "Yuanshi Tianzun is young, and still a newcomer. Spirit Realm Walkers that age still have fire in their bellies. They can't stand watching the strong bully the weak. Divine Healer, send him a message about what happened. Just tell him your sister's been kidnapped and you suspect the Xiahou family is behind it. Don't go into too much detail. Let's see how he responds."
Wang Qian nodded. "Should I step outside to send it?"
A Chinese Odyssey shook his head. "Send it right here. We need to relocate anyway. Once you're done, we move."
The headphone wearing youth and the hot girl crowded closer. Under the watchful eyes of his companions, Wang Qian pulled out his phone and typed out a message:
My sister was kidnapped by the Xiahou family. They have no respect for the rules by going after my family. Are you officials really just going to sit back and do nothing?
He finished drafting it and looked up at his companions.
A Chinese Odyssey shook his head. "Young geniuses are proud. They respond better to soft appeals compared to hard demands. Soften the wording. Change it to: 'My sister was kidnapped by the Xiahou family. She's just an ordinary person. Please help me. Please save her.'"
Wang Qian revised the message immediately and hit send.
***
Zhang Yuanqing had just managed to get rid of Xie Lingxi, who wouldn't stop fussing over whether her big brother was hurt while calling Xiahou Tianyuan every name under the sun. The moment he hung up, a notification chimed on his phone.
His spirits lifted instantly. So, Wang Qian finally messaged me? It seems my Disguise Ring is finally going to see some action.
Then, he noticed the message had been sent to "Yuanshi Tianzun" rather than the unregistered number. He read the message, and his expression darkened immediately.
Kidnapping family members? I can't believe the Xiahou family actually went after Wang Qian's family. They wouldn't even spare ordinary folk? How the hell is this any different from an Evil-class Walker?!
He pocketed his phone and stepped out of the restroom.
Guan Ya looked up from her computer and shot him a playful grin. "Less than ten minutes. I now have a deep and thorough understanding of your stamina—"
Noticing his grim expression, she inquired, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Yuanqing kept his voice low. "Wang Qian's sister has been kidnapped."
He quietly relayed the contents of the message to Guan Ya.
The open-minded lady raised an eyebrow, and Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Given the situation, what do you think I should do?"
His first reaction upon reading the message had been anger—pure rage at the Xiahou family's lawlessness. His second reaction had been to doubt, and he had questioned whether any of it was even real. His third was caution.
Guan Ya thought for a few seconds, then said with a furrowed brow, "Something feels off. The Xiahou family is domineering, sure, but this is a step beyond that. Ordinary people are beneath their notice, true, but this is Songhai. They shouldn't be acting this recklessly."
"Are you saying the message is fake? Or that someone else kidnapped her?"
Guan Ya's expression turned serious. "No. I'm saying there's something wrong with the Xiahou family's attitude toward Slaughter Cessation Palace. This retaliation has gone too far. My advice is to stay out of it. The waters here run deep. If you absolutely insist on getting involved, try applying pressure through official channels. But you're only an elite member, not a team captain, and certainly not a steward. The Xiahou family isn't afraid of you."
"I could call Centurion Fu," he suggested.
Guan Ya let out a dry laugh. "You don't know him. I can tell you exactly how he'd respond. 'If you believe in procedural justice, go and gather evidence first before coming to me. If you believe in outcome-based justice, then you don't need to come find me at all.'"
Zhang Yuanqing frowned. The Xiahou family would have covered their tracks perfectly. There's no way I'd find evidence, and gathering it would take time. I don't even know what condition Wang Qian's sister is in right now. The longer this drags on, the more dangerous it gets. As for outcome-based justice... isn't that basically the Slaughter Cessation Palace's whole philosophy?
He glanced over at Guan Ya.
"I'll go ask him," he said, then turned and walked back into the restroom.
A few minutes later, he emerged with a strange look on his face and demanded loudly, "You—Woman. Talk. What exactly is your relationship with Centurion Fu?"
Fu Qingyang's reply had been almost word for word what she'd predicted.
Guan Ya giggled. "Guess."
Zhang Yuanqing said nothing. He grabbed his backpack and stormed out, his face dark with irritation. He hailed a cab outside the Public Security Bureau and headed for the apartment where Wang Qian's sister lived.
As he sat in the car with his eyes closed, he thought it through for a few minutes and arrived at a plan.
If I pursue the procedural justice route, the best move is to borrow that Command Banner from Fu Qingyang and force the truth out of Xiahou Tianyuan. But Squad Leader isn't around right now, and if I go alone, Xiahou Tianyuan might try to start another fight. If that happens, I'm not sure I can stop myself from killing him.
If I go the outcome-based justice route, I can use the Red Dancing Shoes to find Wang Qian's sister. Once I have the victim and the evidence in the same place, it'll be fun to see Xiahou Tianyuan try to weasel his way out of that.
Zhang Yuanqing pulled out his phone and sent a simple message to Wang Qian: Got it.
***
In a run down bungalow on the outskirts of the city, Wang Qian heard his phone chime and his face lit up as he scrambled to turn on the screen. "He replied!"
His companions crowded around immediately.
Wang Qian stared at the two-word reply, and his excitement faded into disappointment. Two words. No promise, no refusal. It left him completely uncertain.
A Chinese Odyssey sighed. "Let's relocate first and give it some time. The fact that he didn't make any guarantees actually shows he's level-headed, right? At least he didn't brush you off."
Wang Qian nodded.
Heaven and Earth and Free Spirit exchanged a glance, let out quiet sighs of their own, and started packing up.
***
In the cab, Zhang Yuanqing heard his phone chime again and picked it up.
Guan Ya: I'm his cousin.
Guan Ya is Fu Qingyang's cousin?! Somehow, Zhang Yuanqing was both surprised and not surprised. He had always known Guan Ya's identity was more complicated than it appeared. He just hadn't expected it to be this convenient, that she'd turn out to be Fu Qingyang's cousin.
No, not convenient. The centurion placing his cousin on one of his own teams makes perfect sense. And it explains why Guan Ya knows Fu Qingyang so well and treats him with so little reverence.
So, was her real name Fu Ya? At the very least, her family name was Fu.
Just then, the taxi pulled to a stop outside a residential complex. "Do you need a code to scan, or are you paying cash?" the driver asked.
Zhang Yuanqing paid in cash, pushed open the door, and entered the complex where Wang Qian's sister lived.
Her home wasn't in Kangyang District, but in the neighboring Fenghui District. The complex had decent infrastructure and a solid location. As a Songhai native, Zhang Yuanqing could estimate the property's value at a glance—around eighty thousand yuan per square meter.
He found the right floor and knocked on the security door.
A dozen seconds later, footsteps approached and paused at the entrance. Someone peered through the peephole at Zhang Yuanqing before finally turning the handle and opening the door.
A young man stood in the doorway, his face haggard, his eyes clouded with anxiety and worry as he studied the stranger before him. "Who are you looking for?"
Zhang Yuanqing didn't answer. He slipped past the young man and into the apartment in one fluid motion, while the man stood frozen in place with a blank expression. He had been hit with Charm.
Once inside the living room, Zhang Yuanqing scanned the floor plan, located the bathroom with precision, and plucked several long strands of hair that had been trapped by the shower's drain cover. For good measure, he went into the bedroom and collected several matching strands from beside the pillow.
With the hair secured, he left the apartment. He stepped out of the residential building and considered his next move.
First, confirm the location of Wang Qian's sister. If she's being held in some hidden safehouse, I'll rescue her on the spot. If Xiahou Tianyuan is keeping her by his side, I'll hold off and call Fu Qingyang.
With that decided, he secured himself a publicly-shared bicycle, rode to a secluded spot, and summoned the Red Dancing Shoes. He stuffed the strands of hair inside them, then cast Charm to conceal the shoes from view.
Tap tap tap... The Red Dancing Shoes pranced in a gleeful circle around their useless owner, then bolted off at full speed.
Slow down, you're too fast! Zhang Yuanqing cursed as he pedaled furiously, chasing after the pair of shoes.
An hour later, he arrived at the outskirts of Fenghui District, where the commercial and residential buildings thinned out and gave way to greenery and villa communities.
The Red Dancing Shoes bounced along with a lively, almost arrogant stride. They reached a gated villa complex and strutted right past the security guard at the entrance, marching through the gate with a swagger that suggested they didn't give a damn about anyone or anything.
Fortunately, the guard couldn't see them. Otherwise, the shoes would have trampled him the moment he turned around.
Zhang Yuanqing ditched the bicycle by the roadside and surveyed his surroundings. Spotting a street surveillance camera, he darted nimbly into the roadside shrubbery and activated Night Wandering.
With his form concealed, he sprinted into the villa complex, following his psychic connection to the Red Dancing Shoes until he found them again. They were about to enter a two-storey villa with a garden.
Zhang Yuanqing ended their tracking function immediately, and the Red Dancing Shoes came pattering back to their owner's side, demanding payment for services rendered.
【Would you like to dance with me? If so, please march in place.】
I don't exactly have time to dance with you right now... Zhang Yuanqing sighed as he left the front of the villa, taking the shoes with him.
A few minutes later, he returned to the villa, having become invisible once more. He scaled the perimeter wall and dropped into the courtyard.
Pressing himself against the villa's exterior, Zhang Yuanqing crept around to the backyard and spotted three middle-aged men sitting at a patio table, basking in the sun. The table was covered with beer bottles and snacks.
One of them, a potbellied man, took a swig of beer and spoke up. "The woman's seen our faces. Should we kill her?"
One of his companions shook his head. "Young Master Tianyuan still has a use for her. Wait until she draws out the Slaughter Cessation Palace people, then we'll talk."
The third man chimed in, "This is Songhai. It's Five Elements Alliance territory, after all. Killing someone here wouldn't be wise, would it?"
The potbellied man sneered. "As if Young Master Tianyuan hasn't killed plenty of ordinary people before."
"Those were done quietly. Staged as accidents or sudden deaths. This is different. Let's not do anything rash for now. Give it a few more days, and that Wang Qian kid should reach out to Young Master Tianyuan on his own."
Zhang Yuanqing waited in place for a few seconds. The duration of his Night Wandering skill expired, and he immediately activated the skill again, cloaking himself from sight. Hugging the wall, he slipped swiftly through the backyard and into the villa.
The three men at the table noticed nothing.
