"She?" The Demon Lord sneered. "So eager to control me already?"
Betty's sweet, husky voice purred:
"Master Demon Lord, you are the most promising Night Wanderer in the world. Our president admires you more than you know—how could it be about control?
"Besides, there's an old saying here—'To die beneath the peony is still a charming ghost.' The president is the most enchanting woman alive; surely you wouldn't mind spending a night with her?"
"Heh, you don't know the other saying we have here: 'The whip can't reach that far,'" the Demon Lord chuckled coldly.
"I will sleep with her, but not yet. When I finish the last solo spirit realm and step into that exalted domain, I will go see her."
After a pause, Betty whispered seductively:
"What if the president told you a secret? A secret about the Night Wanderers—no, one of the highest secrets of the spirit realms?"
"Foolish woman," the Demon Lord said indifferently. "Every gift comes with a price tag. The Beauty Goddess Association wouldn't share such high-level secrets for free—it's just another way to control me. Hmm, do you know this secret?"
"I—I don't know…"
"Don't be afraid. You're a temptress I can't resist. I won't kill you or probe your spirit—at least not until I'm done playing with you."
Then came the slurping sounds. Zhang Yuanqing, innocent as he was, guessed the foreign woman was enjoying some delicacies to replenish her energy.
Just then, the night roaming time ended. Zhang Yuanqing reappeared in his room, hearing the slurping sounds and frowning deeply as a realization dawned on him.
This item... belongs to the Demon Lord!
The King Cat speaker couldn't be stored in the inventory; it had to be carried on one's person. And the audio just played was the process of the Demon Lord and the foreign woman forming a close bond.
What did that mean?
It meant the King Cat speaker was right next to the Demon Lord at the time—not the owner carrying it around casually.
Brother Bing asked me to find this item, yet it belongs to the Demon Lord. What's the relationship between Brother Bing and the Demon Lord?
Brother Bing is definitely not the Demon Lord. His voice doesn't match, and his manner of speech is different. He's known Brother Bing since they were in diaper pants—they're too familiar for that.
Demon Lord: "Come, change your position..."
It seemed the two had reached some understanding, pausing their eating to delve into deeper conversation.
Zhang Yuanqing had no choice but to activate Night Roaming again, blocking the sound. Suddenly, the moans were cut off by a buzzing electric noise. The next moment, a low familiar voice came through the King Cat speaker:
"Great Detective, I am your assistant, A Bing. I can't tell when exactly you'll hear this recording, but I know by then, I should be dead or missing...
"Don't ask about my relationship with the Demon Lord. That truth is beyond what you can bear now. If I've gone missing, don't try to find me—at least, not until you've completed the first large-scale killing mission and advanced to Saint Realm.
"This item will give you lots of useful information—about me, about the Demon Lord... But be warned: never let anyone else hear this recording. If it leaks, remember to silence them.
"The Demon Lord's character card is a gift from me to you. It represents opportunity, but also endless risk. Don't trust the official organizations blindly. Don't trust anyone.
"Now, here's your first hint. When you hear this recording, the Ghost-Eyed Judge is most likely dead. If the Black Impermanence hasn't been found yet, you must find him. Get the roster—get the roster no matter what..."
How did Brother Bing know the Ghost-Eyed Judge was already dead? He couldn't even be sure when I got the King Cat speaker. Unless the Judge was dead before this recording was made, that's why he sounded so certain... Zhang Yuanqing was shocked.
He suddenly recalled the questions Yuan Ting asked him that day: "Although we can't pinpoint the Demon Lord's death, it was recent, and so was the Judge's. Could the deaths of the Demon Lord and Ghost-Eyed Judge be linked?"
"Must get the roster... Brother Bing sounded so serious. What important things are in that roster? Looks like the Demon Lord and Judge's deaths are connected, and maybe that's why Brother Bing went missing."
"So, uncovering the truth about the Demon Lord and Judge's deaths might reveal why Brother Bing disappeared, and where he is now?"
Zhang Yuanqing waited a moment. When the King Cat speaker fell silent, he put it back in the drawer.
He sat at his desk for a long time, pulling out a notebook to organize his thoughts in writing:
"The Five Elements Alliance is hunting for Black Impermanence. The Eastern Branch of the Spirit Council is also searching for him. Too many forces involved. I want to get the roster and ideally join the search team, so I can operate under the Five Elements Alliance's protection and stay undercover."
He planned to visit his unit soon, to feel out the section chief and see if he could join the operation.
"Discovered a new profession—Love and Desire class. Sounds like a foreign profession. Tsk tsk, a temptress? I'd love to see that..."
He scratched that part out halfway through.
"The Demon Lord has close ties with foreign professions. I wonder if he ever met the Beauty Goddess Association's president and learned the secret. If so, maybe the King Cat speaker recorded it... Damn, could this be why the Taiyi Sect is looking for the Demon Lord's heir?"
Soon, he made a short-term plan:
Find a way to join the search for Black Impermanence.
Fulfill the will of the 'Ashamed Father.'
His long-term goal was preparing for the third spirit realm task—but that was too early to worry about.
Click!
He lit a lighter, watching the flame lick the paper. The fire roared up, finally swallowing the plan sheet.
After erasing all traces, Zhang Yuanqing grabbed his phone and King Cat speaker, activated Night Roaming, and leapt out the window, using the AC unit as a stepping stone to climb into the stairwell.
He couldn't leave through the living room openly now—his grandmother would clean house on him.
Knock knock!
In the stairwell, Zhang Yuanqing knocked on his uncle's door.
His aunt opened it, wearing a fitted yoga outfit. Though middle-aged, she kept her figure remarkably well—looking like she was in her early thirties, rare for a woman with a 30-year-old son.
Being pampered and bad at housework, she looked barely forty, not at all like a mother of a thirty-year-old.
"Hey, Auntie, where's Uncle?" Zhang Yuanqing peeked inside.
"Who knows where that ghost's been skulking," she said with a coquettish eye roll.
"I remember he had a waist bag. Since he's not using it, can I have it?" Zhang Yuanqing said, revealing his real purpose.
The King Cat speaker was uncomfortable in his pocket, and a backpack wasn't worth the trouble. After consideration, the waist bag was the best choice.
"It's in the closet. Go find it yourself." Auntie stepped aside.
Zhang Yuanqing dashed into the closet, rummaged, and found his uncle's flashy purple designer waist bag. He strapped it on and headed out:
"Thanks, Auntie! Stay forever eighteen!"
"Wait!"
Auntie called him back, nudging the room behind her with her mouth, habitually ordering:
"Take the trash out from the living room and bedroom."
Zhang Yuanqing flatly refused: "No way!"
Auntie laughed coldly, hands on hips, "So cocky now? Go toss the trash and I'll give you 100 yuan."
Unlike his grandmother, Auntie wasn't cold or ruthless but bribed good youth with money.
Because she hated housework, Auntie had made Zhang Yuanqing her little servant since childhood, her favorite phrase being: "Yuanzi, here's your allowance, help Auntie with this..."
Those years, Zhang Yuanqing made a lot of money off Auntie.
"Auntie, I'm not a kid anymore. Stop bribing me like before."
"Two hundred."
"Don't worry, Auntie. Trash is handled."
Zhang Yuanqing went inside cheerfully.
Auntie pulled out two bright red bills from her exquisite LV wallet, hesitated, then pulled out a third.
"Here!"
"Thanks, Auntie! Stay forever eighteen!"
"Cut it out. Why don't you say fifteen?" Auntie gave him a playful eye roll.
"Auntie, I'm calling the police on Uncle right now."
"Go, go, go..." Auntie laughed heartily.
...
Zhang Yuanqing took a taxi to his office. Using his strong social skills, he got a mask from the stingy driver, pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt, and walked into Kangyang District Security Bureau with hands in pockets.
He entered the glass building's main door, took the elevator to the second floor, and saw Li Dongze and Guan Ya gathered around Wang Tai. Guan Ya smiled sweetly:
"Not bad, huh? Didn't expect you quietly hooked up with a rich family's daughter. What does she see in you? Your nose isn't that big."
Li Dongze leaned on his cane, shaking his head with a sigh:
"Don't judge by appearances. Our chubby-faced Wang Tai here..."
Wang Tai sat at the table, looking like he was questioning life itself.
"Oh, here comes our big hero," Li Dongze's ear twitched as he snapped back, smiling, "Weren't you supposed to rest at home?"
"I was bored, so I came to check things out."
Zhang Yuanqing was about to ask what they were talking about when Li Dongze nodded, his face turning serious:
"Yuanshi, your dossier is more complicated than I thought…"
"What's wrong?"
"Captain Fu Bai is attending the elders' meeting. The elder council is sharply divided on whether to 'sell' this dossier to the Taiyi Sect."