The gate in front was tightly shut.
Zhao Wanqing took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and then lightly knocked on the door.
"Coming!"
A crisp female voice came from inside.
Zhao Wanqing quickly straightened herself, and the door was soon pushed open.
The one who opened the door was still Li Yingling, who looked suspiciously at the tall and elegant beauty standing before her.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Hello, does Senior Chu Xingchen live here?"
Another one looking for Master?
Li Yingling's gaze swept over Zhao Wanqing. She could sense her aura, so her cultivation level should be similar to her own.
Could this be another one of Master's romantic interests?
Li Yingling stepped aside. After all, her cultivation wasn't high, and even if she came looking for trouble, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Come in, I'll call Master."
"Thank you." Zhao Wanqing quickly expressed her gratitude.
Li Yingling pointed to the stone table and chairs in the courtyard. "Take a seat first, I'll go get Master."
"Alright." Zhao Wanqing complied and walked over to sit on the stone chair.
Li Yingling went to her Master's bedroom and lightly knocked on the door.
Chu Xingchen's annoyed voice came from inside. "What are you doing not sleeping at this hour?"
"Master, another woman is here to see you."
"...Again? How come I didn't know I knew so many people in Yuzhou City?"
Chu Xingchen opened the door and, following the meaningful look in his disciple's eyes, glanced toward the stone table.
There sat a woman with long black hair and a cold, elegant face, looking nervously in his direction.
Hmm... I don't recognize her.
Why is she so nervous?
Did I do something bad in the past and she's here to settle the score?!
Chu Xingchen quickly used his system to scan her profile.
【Zhao Wanqing】
【Cultivation: Mid Foundation Establishment】
【Blue Trait: Calm and Composed】
【White Trait: Decent Talent】
【White Trait: Somewhat Strategic】
【Temporary Black Trait: Unstable Mind】
【Does Not Meet Disciple Recruitment Criteria】
Not bad! Even if she's here to settle a score, it's fine as long as she's not some hidden powerhouse!
Zhao Wanqing also quickly stood up, her gaze fixed on the young and handsome man before her.
She couldn't sense his aura at all, which made it hard to believe that someone who looked so young was actually at the Golden Core level.
Could he also be from the Central Continent?!
Zhao Wanqing spoke respectfully, "Are you Senior Chu Xingchen?"
"And you are?"
"Senior Yaoqin recommended me to come. This is what she asked me to give you."
Zhao Wanqing hurriedly took out the envelope Yaoqin had given her and handed it to Chu Xingchen with a slight bow.
Chu Xingchen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't here to cause trouble, it was fine. But what's this about Yaoqin's recommendation? She should know I hate trouble.
But I owe her too many favors, so it wouldn't be right to refuse help now.
Chu Xingchen walked down the steps and stood in front of Zhao Wanqing, taking the envelope and opening it directly.
His eyes quickly scanned the contents of the letter, which was concise and to the point.
"The letter says you can offer spirit stones?" Chu Xingchen looked up at Zhao Wanqing.
"Yes, I can immediately give you three hundred spirit stones," Zhao Wanqing continued. "If that's not enough, I should be able to gather another hundred spirit stones in a short time."
"Four hundred spirit stones... You can't expect me to help you until the case is closed, can you?" Chu Xingchen frowned slightly.
"Three days, at most. Regardless of the outcome, the spirit stones will be delivered in full after three days."
"Fine, for Yaoqin's sake," Chu Xingchen nodded lightly. "Do you want to start investigating the case now?"
Seeing Chu Xingchen agree, Zhao Wanqing quickly relaxed. "If it's convenient for you, Senior, then naturally the sooner the better."
This was also why Zhao Wanqing had come to visit even at night.
The culprits were vicious and ruthless demonic cultivators, not some mindless beasts that slept after eating.
If they achieved their goal, they would quickly flee, and if they waited any longer, there would be nothing left to catch.
Chu Xingchen nodded and then called out toward a side room:
"Li Xingtian!"
Li Xingtian, who had been cultivating, quickly opened his eyes upon hearing his Master's call. He got up and pushed open the door, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard as he asked with a hint of confusion:
"Master, what do you need?"
Chu Xingchen wrapped the envelope in spiritual energy and flicked it toward Li Xingtian, then yawned and said:
"Read it yourself. Meet me at my fishing spot tomorrow morning... no, make it noon. For now, go out with her to handle the case tonight."
His disciple's cultivation technique was even more sinister than those of demonic cultivators. At the Foundation Establishment level, he could drain the life force of a Golden Core cultivator. In terms of cultivation techniques, he completely outclassed those demonic cultivators.
If it was just some minor Foundation Establishment-level foes, it would be a good opportunity for Li Xingtian to gain some experience and level up.
It would also save some spirit stones.
Besides, Li Xingtian still had that Golden Core-level defensive talisman on him, as well as a teleportation talisman.
Even if things went south, they could still escape.
Li Xingtian caught the flying letter and quickly scanned its contents. After confirming the key details, he said:
"Understood, Master."
Li Xingtian then turned to Zhao Wanqing and asked, "Miss Zhao, do you have any leads?"
Zhao Wanqing hesitated. She had originally come to ask for a Golden Core expert to oversee the case... but well, it was good enough that he was willing to come by noon tomorrow.
Moreover, this Li Xingtian was also at the Foundation Establishment level, and his aura was robust, likely at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
He was stronger than most squad leaders, and if it was just about tracking down clues, he would be more than sufficient.
In any case, Chu Xingchen was the only Golden Core expert she could hire at the moment.
No matter how reluctant she was, she had to accept it.
Zhao Wanqing cupped her hands toward Li Xingtian and said, "Yes, I found traces of a demonic ritual near the crime scene. We can start investigating from there."
Li Xingtian nodded. "Lead the way, let's go."
Chu Xingchen watched as the two prepared to leave and couldn't help but add, "Xingtian, be careful. Don't get too carried out, and remember to use the talismans if needed."
"Don't worry, Master."
Li Yingling watched the two leave and then turned to Chu Xingchen. "Master..."
Chu Xingchen knew exactly what his eldest disciple wanted to say, so he cut her off without hesitation:
"Go to sleep! Don't follow your junior brother. You'll just hold them back."
Li Yingling was indignant. "What do you mean, hold him back? I'm the senior sister! My cultivation isn't worse than his!"
Chu Xingchen almost laughed. Her cultivation wasn't bad, but when he wasn't around, no one could rein in this curious disciple. If she went along, it wouldn't be Zhao Wanqing directing Li Xingtian in the investigation—it would most likely be his eldest disciple bossing Li Xingtian around, poking her nose into everything.
His eldest disciple was obedient only in front of him. When he wasn't around, as Li Xingtian put it, she was "extremely opinionated."
That was probably the only compliment Li Xingtian could come up with, which, translated into plain language, meant "I do whatever I want."
But Chu Xingchen was quite experienced in handling his eldest disciple:
"So, do you want to sleep and come with me tomorrow at noon, or do you want to go with them now?"
"Then... I'll go sleep. But Master, you have to take me with you tomorrow!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
