In the darkness, under the lamplight, Kou Beiyue silently gazed at the ordinary-looking youth with a cigarette in his mouth and black-framed glasses for about ten seconds. He said, "No wonder Xiao Yuan appreciates you so much. She's sensitive and wary, and ordinary official members of The Way of the Extraordinary find it hard to get close to her. But she trusts you and befriends you for a reason. From now on, well, we're friends."
Young people are often affected and thin-skinned. They feel shy and embarrassed when expressing goodwill.
After saying that, seeing Zhang Yuanqing silent and deep in thought, Kou Beiyue felt his self-esteem was hurt and pressed him, "Aren't you happy to be friends with a master like me?"
Zhang Yuanqing snapped out of his thoughts and instinctively said, "Yeah, right."
Then he said suspiciously, "Um, what did you say just now? I didn't hear clearly." Kou Beiyue's face turned from green to white. He snorted angrily and turned his head to the side. Feeling inexplicably confused, Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and said:
"I'm thinking about the plan of action. Now that we've decided to get involved, analysis and deployment are essential. Rushing into the Bronze Sparrow Tower with a hot head would be the most stupid thing to do, and also..."
"A dangerous place." The words "Why not just kill our way into the Bronze Sparrow Tower?" stuck in Kou Beiyue's throat. He swallowed hard and said, "Why? According to my analysis, that Lord Wu should be an ordinary person, not a member of The Way of the Extraordinary. We don't need to be so cautious when dealing with ordinary people, do we?" Zhang Yuanqing agreed that Lord Wu was definitely not a member of The Way of the Extraordinary. No member of The Way of the Extraordinary could afford such moral debauchery.
Even a steward like Chi Yuean would occasionally indulge to vent his inner darkness, like spending his salary, carefully calculating so as not to cause problems. But opening such a place for trading power and sex, cultivating a team for pyramid schemes, fraud, forcing women into prostitution, etc., no member of The Way of the Extraordinary could afford to squander their morality like that. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at his phone, estimating the arrival time of the online taxi, and explained:
"Chi Yuean knows you, right? Your feud with him stems from the Bronze Sparrow Tower. After your assassination attempt, he'll definitely notify the Bronze Sparrow Tower to strengthen security and even send members of The Way of the Extraordinary to be stationed there to protect Lord Wu." Kou Beiyue frowned, "What you said makes sense."
"But don't worry too much. You're an evil profession, not someone from the official side, and you're alone. In Chi Yuean's eyes, you're at most a tricky enemy. I guess what he'll do is set up an ambush around himself or the Bronze Sparrow Tower, waiting for you to walk into the trap. As for the official investigation, he won't consider it, because this matter involves too many powerful people, and they can completely suppress it." Zhang Yuanqing analyzed logically.
As Kou Beiyue listened, he gradually became convinced and completely followed the other party's train of thought, "Then what should we do?" What to do?
Zhang Yuanqing had two ideas. The first was to sneak into the Bronze Sparrow Tower, search for evidence, and then report it to Fu Qingyang, who would then report it to the elders. That way, the authorities would naturally deal with Chi Yuean, but the prerequisite was to find evidence to incriminate Chi Yuean.
There was also another hidden danger. Chi Yuean was a steward, and stewards were in charge of a district. Plus, he had the Zhu family backing him up, and he was a consumer at the Bronze Sparrow Tower, not the culprit. Such crimes might not be enough to put him to death.
As for the murder of Kou Yusi, Kou Beiyue, as an evil profession, definitely couldn't come forward to testify. Although the Five Elements Alliance had ways to make people tell the truth, in the Five Elements Alliance's system, relying solely on props to investigate a case didn't comply with the procedure. There had to be other evidence to support it.
That would give Chi Yuean and his backers an opportunity to stall. Just like a lawsuit, the process was always complicated and difficult, but it was also indispensable. The second idea was simple: to set a tiger against a wolf.
Push the Bronze Sparrow Tower case to the Demon Eye Heavenly King and let the evil grind against the evil.
This was the least risky and highly feasible approach, but there was a fatal problem – it was uncontrollable.
Zhang Yuanqing remembered what the squad leader said, that the Demon Eye Heavenly King had caused two bloody incidents in Songhai, killing nearly twenty people and losing a lot of morality. He should be laying low recently. In the Bronze Sparrow Tower incident, there were too many people who deserved to die. With the Demon Eye Heavenly King's personality, he would never let them go, but he wasn't a fool. He would also consider the situation where his morality wasn't enough. A reasonable approach would be to take notes and wait until he had enough morality before taking action.
But Zhang Yuanqing couldn't wait. Interrogating Kong Liangping tonight meant that this case had to be resolved quickly. Once Chi Yuean and the other powerful people knew about Kong Liangping's death, they would definitely make corresponding deployments to cover their tracks. When it came to scheming, Zhang Yuanqing was well aware that he couldn't beat those seasoned veterans.
In addition, the plan to set a tiger against a wolf had another drawback. Who knew when the Demon Eye Heavenly King would have enough morality? And the elders of the Songhai branch would be taking action soon. If the Demon Eye Heavenly King suffered a big loss and chose to withdraw from Songhai, then it would all be in vain.
"Let's go to the Bronze Sparrow Tower first to gather information," Zhang Yuanqing made a safe decision.
Kou Beiyue gave him a strange look, "So, what's the difference between that and what I thought, directly killing our way into the Bronze Sparrow Tower?" Zhang Yuanqing scoffed:
"The difference is that you didn't think about anything before making that decision. But a wise man has already imagined a political drama before making a decision." Kou Beiyue was unconvinced, "So, there's still no difference."
Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched, "Okay, don't worry about those details. The car is coming soon. Once we reach our destination, listen to my instructions." To prevent this kid from arguing, Zhang Yuanqing changed the subject:
"How did you and Xiao Yuan meet?" Kou Beiyue recalled:
"We met in a multiplayer adversarial dungeon. At that time, I was careless and was ambushed by an orderly profession and almost died. Xiao Yuan saved me. Later, we exchanged contact information. She thought I was a good prospect, so she brought me to Master Wuhen's team for training."
Actually, it was a moment of softheartedness, not having the resolve to kill. He had just become a Charm Demon not long ago and had psychological barriers to killing. But Kou Beiyue was concerned about his image and didn't want to admit it. "I always thought you were Xiao Yuan's son. Um, does Xiao Yuan have a husband or boyfriend?" Zhang Yuanqing asked casually.
As soon as Kou Beiyue heard that, he immediately became wary, "What do you want to do?"
"Think," Zhang Yuanqing teased inwardly, but said openly:
"Xiao Yuan is beautiful and sexy. Isn't it normal to be curious about whether she has a partner? Of course, it's purely out of curiosity."
"I don't know. I've never seen one anyway." Kou Beiyue said with a defiant look, sneering, "How many men in the world are worthy of Xiao Yuan?" You have a deep filter for Xiao Yuan, Zhang Yuanqing "Oh" and stopped talking.
Kou Beiyue couldn't stop and asked:
"You know Yuanshi Tianzun, right? I heard that kid is a rising genius who recently killed Li Xianzong of the Soldier Lord Sect. Compared to him, who's stronger?" Zhang Yuanqing didn't hesitate:
"In front of him, I can only kneel down and sing 'Conquer.'"
Kou Beiyue said blankly, "So powerful? That shouldn't be. Li Xianzong is about the same as me, and you're a little stronger than me. Logically speaking, you and Yuanshi Tianzun shouldn't be too far apart." You're about the same as Li Xianzong? Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but size up Kou Beiyue, thinking that this kid didn't look like he would brag. So he's that strong? Um, he seems to be a level 3 Charm Demon. No wonder the Demon Eye Heavenly King took a fancy to him.
At that moment, a bright white sedan slowly decelerated and stopped beside them. The online taxi had arrived.
Half an hour later, the white sedan arrived at Xinyuan Road, parking a hundred meters away from number 38. Zhang Yuanqing paid the fare and got out of the car with Kou Beiyue.
He came to the roadside, sat cross-legged under a green plant, summoned the Bloodthirsty Blade, and said:
"I'm going in. Take good care of my physical body, little bro, don't stab me in the back."
This was the plan they had agreed on in the car. He would first let his spirit leave his body and enter the Bronze Sparrow Tower to gather information, and then decide what to do next based on the actual situation. If the spirit leaves the body, the physical body becomes fish meat to be slaughtered.
Kou Beiyue rolled his eyes.
What he couldn't see was that beside his feet, a round, adorable infant with sparse lanugo was looking up at him.
Little Silly was Zhang Yuanqing's other insurance. Although he didn't think Kou Beiyue would stab him in the back, it never hurt to be cautious. At a crucial moment, Little Silly could buy him time.
"I have to refine a Yin corpse as soon as possible so that I'll have a strong enough bodyguard next time my spirit leaves my body," Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself as his spirit floated out of his physical body.
He floated to a distance equal to the height of the green plants, looked down at his physical body sitting under the tree, and Kou Beiyue warily surveying the surroundings. He retracted his gaze, wrapped the Bloodthirsty Blade, and floated away. The Bronze Sparrow Tower was built along the river in a remote location, consisting of two residential buildings, one five-story and one two-story, surrounded by a fence with a pulse electric grid.
Judging from the exterior of the building, it looked ordinary, even a little dilapidated.
Zhang Yuanqing's spirit floated over the wall and saw several security squads. They were wearing security uniforms, in teams of two, carrying short batons, and wearing walkie-talkies on their chests. They looked well-trained and very professional.
Zhang Yuanqing transformed into a gust of Yin wind and entered the five-story building on the left. The first floor of this building was the security room, with rows of monitors filling the large room.
Each floor had an iron door that required a security card to enter and exit. The women living inside were like birds trapped in a cage, with no hope and no freedom. The second floor was the office area, with rows of desks, now empty and dark.
From the third floor to the fifth floor, there were female dormitories, which were places for prostitution.
Each bedroom here was very large, similar to a large hotel suite, with a pink decoration style, a round soft bed, a bronze bathtub placed by the bed, and various adult products in a glass cabinet. Zhang Yuanqing planned to start by gathering information from the women in the Bronze Sparrow Tower, which was much more detailed than the information obtained by killing and interrogating spirits.
His spirit floated past one room after another, seeing one woman after another immersed in the soft bed, and seeing one guest after another indulging in lust and reveling in pleasure. The sounds of passion were disgusting.
How many of them were forced? Deceived and brought in for various reasons, becoming tools for guests to vent their desires, forced to welcome one different man after another. Kou Beiyue's sister was also here back then, experiencing what they were experiencing. She tried hard to escape but was brutally murdered.
Finally, Zhang Yuanqing stopped in a suite. By the bay window was a round table, and a pot-bellied man was sitting at the table with a cigarette in his fingers. In the bathroom by the door, the sound of water was rushing, and a woman was taking a bath.
"He's the one." Zhang Yuanqing sighed softly as his spirit "crashed" into the man's body, completing the possession.
After searching for a long time, he finally found a couple who weren't doing business. He couldn't convince himself to possess those men who were venting their desires.
Zhang Yuanqing put away the Bloodthirsty Blade that had fallen, put out the cigarette in the ashtray, picked up the phone on the table, unlocked it with facial recognition, and roughly figured out the man's identity through the chat software.
This middle-aged man was a senior executive of a state-owned enterprise, a regular customer of the Bronze Sparrow Tower, and a good friend of Lord Wu. However, there was very little chat between the two, mostly polite words, with no obvious evidence. At this moment, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and a woman wrapped in a bath towel opened the glass door and came out.
She was about 25 years old, with short hair, a slender figure, and extremely delicate features.
"Honey, I'm done washing. You go wash," she squeezed a smile on her delicate face. Zhang Yuanqing sat in the chair without moving, looked at her, and said, "Come sit down."
The woman didn't think too much. She sat down opposite him, picked up the cigarette case on the table, and lit one for herself.
The woman was caught off guard and startled. A mouthful of smoke choked in her throat, causing her to cough with tears streaming down her face, her face red.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes were cold, "I ask, you answer. If you dare to lie to me, dare to talk nonsense, dare to call for help, I'll kill you!"
This was a last resort. With the identity of this body, it was impossible for him to get the woman to tell him about Lord Wu's crimes and evidence. The Night Wanderer also had no manipulation skills like bewitchment.
The simplest and most effective way was violence.
The woman glanced cautiously at the Willow Blade. Although she didn't understand the situation, she still nodded in cooperation. Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What's your name? How long have you been here?"
"Cao, Cao Jing. Don't you know? I've been working here for 5 years. I came when I was 20," the woman said. "How did you get in?"
"I saw the recruitment information online." "You were deceived, right?"
The woman was silent for a moment and nodded:
"They tricked me into saying I was going to be a shopping guide. As a result, after joining the company, I was brought here, and my job became accompanying guests to eat, drink, and sleep." Zhang Yuanqing said coldly, "Continue, don't make me ask one question and you answer one question. I don't have much patience."
As he spoke, he pulled out the Willow Blade.
The woman's face turned pale with fright, and she said cautiously:
"I didn't want to at first. Lord Wu had people beat me, raped me, and locked me in solitary confinement, confiscated my phone, and didn't give me food or drink."
"I couldn't stand it, so I gave in. From then on, I had to sleep with guests every day, and occasionally I would be taken out to accompany drinks, sleeping with other men like a prostitute. No, we're not even as good as prostitutes because we don't have money."
"The sisters in the building told me that they were all like this, and they had all been beaten. Compared to them, I'm still lucky. Some women were forced to sell their eggs and lost their fertility. Some ran away several times, and then they disappeared. Well, hopefully they escaped home."
"To prevent us from escaping, Lord Wu also brought over some of our family members, arranged jobs for them, and had them work as cleaners and security guards."
"He also promoted obedient women to supervisors, setting an example for us, letting them manage all of us, with salary and benefits. Many sisters are very envious." Envious? Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm his emotions.
Cao Jing said a lot, cautiously looking at the unfamiliar guest, and said, "What else do you want to know?"
Zhang Yuanqing was expressionless, "Tell me some important things, such as Lord Wu's criminal evidence." Cao Jing thought for a moment and said:
"He installed a lot of surveillance cameras in the building, specially filming videos of us having sex with guests. He not only uses the videos to threaten us, but also threatens the guests who come to play. Those guests..." She glanced secretly at Zhang Yuanqing's face, and said, "You know."
"Videos?" Zhang Yuanqing said, "Anything else?"
"I heard that Lord Wu also has a ledger, recording all the guests who have dealings with him. Well, I don't know if it's true. I heard it from the supervisor. The supervisor is Lord Wu's mistress. She had a child for him. At first, she was like us, sleeping with guests." Cao Jing said everything in detail:
"In addition to the Bronze Sparrow Tower, Lord Wu has many such shops outside, hair salons, nightclubs, etc. But this is the most high-end and most secret, and the guests who come here are all influential figures. He took down those shops outside with the help of thugs and connections in both the underworld and the white world, without spending a penny. It is said that there are more than a thousand stores."
She was very confused. The guest opposite should know these things better than she did. The guest opposite lit a cigarette, didn't smoke it, and was lost in thought.
A cigarette quickly burned out. Cao Jing said there was nothing more to say. She had told all the things she knew, including that some young women were tattooed with unsightly tattoos by Lord Wu. A sadistic guest beat and abused the women in the building, and several of them were admitted to the intensive care unit because of this.
"That grumpy guest, is he very burly, with short hair, and likes to wear a white shirt?" Zhang Yuanqing briefly described Chi Yuean's appearance.
"That's him. He's a demon. I, I once served him." Cao Jing seemed to recall unbearable memories and shuddered. "I know, thank you for your cooperation."
Zhang Yuanqing pressed his hand down, chopping the woman unconscious.