Realm Walker

The phone rang for a long, long time before Auntie Xiao Yuan finally picked up, her tone dripping with hostility.

—Spit it out!

She sounded like she'd swallowed a stick of dynamite, but Zhang Yuanqing plastered on a warm smile anyway. "Auntie Xiao Yuan, it's been ages! I've missed you so much. I still owe you that ten thousand, right? I was thinking, if you've got the time, maybe I could swing by for a visit?"

Master Wuhen had told him previously not to come back to the inn, that the righteous and the wicked walked different paths, and he shouldn't lose his way. Therefore, even though Zhang Yuanqing was a natural socializer, he didn't dare show up uninvited after such an explicit warning. This phone call was a roundabout approach, a flanking maneuver. He wanted Auntie Xiao Yuan to sound out Master Wuhen on his behalf.

Xiao Yuan let out a cold, haughty snort.

—If that's all, I'm hanging up.

"The full inspection for all official Walkers is about to begin," Zhang Yuanqing said, his tone turning serious. "I heard the Songhai Branch applied for a Tiger Seal this time. I wanted to seek Master Wuhen's counsel."

Silence hung on the other end for several seconds before Xiao Yuan's voice returned. It had grown ice.

—You're worried that your past dealings with us will become a liability. That it'll affect your standing with the authorities and your reputation.

Zhang Yuanqing was perceptive, and caught the emotional undercurrent beneath her words. She wasn't happy.

Then, he faintly heard a young man's muffled snarl bleed through the receiver.

—Let me go! My business is none of yours! Who are you talking to? How do you have connections to the authorities?

A dull thud followed, then a stifled groan. The youth seemed to have been knocked unconscious.

"Uh, Auntie Xiao Yuan, did I catch you at a bad time?" Zhang Yuanqing ventured cautiously. "Was that your son?"

Xiao Yuan's voice shot up an octave.

—My son?!

Zhang Yuanqing could hear the sound of teeth grinding on the other end.

He let out a nervous laugh. "Auntie Xiao Yuan, could you please ask Master Wuhen about this for me?"

Xiao Yuan was a woman of indeterminate age. Her figure was all curves, possessing both the fullness of a mature woman and the vitality of a young girl, with round, alluring eyes and porcelain skin. But her aura and the overall impression she gave was decidedly not that of a girl.

Zhang Yuanqing had never been able to pin down her age. If she were thirty, maybe forty, then having a half-grown son wouldn't have been strange at all.

—Wait!

With that single, snapped word, she hung up.

About ten minutes later, she called back.

—Master Wuhen says the Tiger Seal is a rule-type item belonging to the Scout class. In its presence, no one can lie. Only an item or power of equal caliber can resist it. He also says that rather than trying to figure out how to block the item's ability, you should think about who will be the one wielding it.

—Additionally, I personally do not believe that we have a bad reputation with the authorities. Your dealings with us are perfectly ordinary, and given your service record, the Five Elements Alliance wouldn't cut short your future over something like this. That's all. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up.

She was definitely angry. Auntie Xiao Yuan was quite sensitive. The moment he'd shown the slightest hint of concern, she'd picked up on it immediately, and seemed ready to sever all ties. That one truly had a strong sense of pride.

Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat. "Actually, there is one more thing. I got my hands on a Guild Token, and I wanted to ask you something. Auntie Xiao Yuan, would you be interested in joining my guild?"

—You... You want to invite me into your guild?

She sounded stunned, almost in disbelief, and her voice dropped low.

—Have you thought this through? I'm an Evil-class Walker. Have you considered the consequences of inviting me into your guild? If you haven't, let me spell them out.

—First, you'll never be able to invite any of your official friends. Having me as a member will also damage your ability to build connections. Freelance Lawful-class Walkers will steer clear of a guild with an Evil member. Your Guild Token would be wasted. Second, if this ever leaks, the fallout will be far worse than what you're dealing with now. Even with your record and the Merit you've accumulated, you'd be permanently locked out of the Five Elements Alliance's upper ranks. The official background checks are ruthless.

"I know," Zhang Yuanqing said, "but I still want to invite you to join, Auntie Xiao Yuan."

—You—!

She bristled instinctively, then her voice softened.

—Why...?

Zhang Yuanqing was quiet for a long moment.

"It's true that most people who are in the Evil faction are irredeemable monsters because of the nature of their classes," he finally said. "I won't go easy on people like that, and I won't show mercy. But I also know that not every Evil-class Walker is a bad person. You, for example, Auntie Xiao Yuan. And Ashamed Father."

Xiao Yuan's tone turned cold.

—You don't know me. Don't make promises you can't keep.

"I don't know your past," Zhang Yuanqing replied, "but I believe that as long as someone's heart is set on doing good, they deserve the chance to redeem themselves. Look at Ashamed Father. The blood on his hands was forced on him. Society never gave him justice, so he took a blade and carved out his own. I may not know your past, but I know who you are now. And I trust my own judgment."

Xiao Yuan let out a cold laugh.

—Maybe one day your blind trust will get you killed.

"Then I'll die knowing it was worth it," Zhang Yuanqing shot back, "and I won't regret a thing."

She fell silent.

He pressed on, his voice full of earnestness. "I haven't been with the officials long, but I've already seen plenty of Lawful-class Walkers doing terrible things. I have my own sense of right and wrong, and I won't let the Spirit Realm dictate it for me. If the Five Elements Alliance pushes me out of the inner circle over this, so be it. I'll just be part of the loyal opposition. Besides, the whole reason I started this guild was to build a network independent of the official system."

Every word rang with sincerity, and it was all true, without a shred of deception. But convincing Xiao Yuan to join wasn't his only goal. There was another layer to it. He wanted her to carry his message to Master Wuhen with her own lips.

Master Wuhen's stance had been crystal clear—draw a firm line. But Zhang Yuanqing refused to let go of such a powerful backer. He intended to cultivate the relationship carefully as an extra layer of protection for the future.

***

Xiao Yuan listened in silence, then said, "If you've already made up your mind, it's no skin off my back. You didn't need to say all that. Open up the interface for your guild warehouse later, tap the search icon in the upper right corner, and enter my Spirit Realm ID. I'll get the invitation prompt. Oh, what's the guild called?"

Her tone had softened considerably, a far cry from the frigid edge of moments ago.

—Return of the Dead!

She forced down a curse that was rising up through her throat, and her tone instantly turned icy again. "I'm terribly sorry, but we clearly walk different paths. Forget about the guild."

***

Zhang Yuanqing stared at his phone as the disconnect tone droned on, his mind full of question marks. What was wrong with that woman? She was so fickle. Everything had been going perfectly fine.

He sighed in resignation. I guess there's no dodging this. The blade's falling whether I dodge it or not. At least I haven't actually done anything unforgivable...

***

Inside Wuhen Inn, Xiao Yuan set her phone down and pursed her lips. "What a garbage name."

After a moment's thought, she picked the phone back up and texted Yuanshi Tianzun: I'll think about it.

Then she placed the phone on the table, raised her eyes, and looked across the inn's lobby at the young man sprawled motionless on the cold tile floor. He was about sixteen, pale-faced, with thick brows and eyes that glittered like stars. He was handsome in a sharp, fierce sort of way, like a young wolf pup baring his teeth.

The fury on his face had deepened, but it was different from before. The anger now carried undercurrents of resentment and hurt.

"Xiao Yuan, since when have you been cozy with the official authorities? How could you betray us like this? We all swore to follow Master Wuhen, to forget the past, redeem ourselves, never consort with Evil organizations, and never associate with the Lawful ones."

His rage mounted with every word, and he roared like a young lion, "I want to see Master Wuhen!"

Xiao Yuan glanced at him, her tone flat. "The person I was just talking to? Master Wuhen knows him too."

"Huh?" The youth's expression froze. He blinked, stunned for a few seconds, then lost all his bluster. "Oh. Well then... Never mind."

Immediately, though, his anger flared again. "Xiao Yuan, hurry up and get this sedative out of me!"

"You want revenge? Fine by me. But if you want to walk into certain death, I'm not going to stand by and watch." She stepped out from behind the front counter in her flats, not sparing him a glance. "Stay here and reflect upon your actions. I'm going up to see Master Wuhen."

She entered the elevator and rode up to the fourth floor. She walked down the corridor, stopping outside room 404, and gave the door a couple of sharp knocks.

"Master, it's me," she said softly.

She turned the door handle, and the scenery around her shifted in an instant. The hotel corridor dissolved, morphing into the great hall of an ancient temple wreathed in curling incense smoke.

Xiao Yuan offered her Master a respectful bow. "Yuanshi Tianzun has invited me to join his guild."

Master Wuhen sat with his back to her. When he spoke, his voice echoed through the temple, strained with barely-suppressed pain.

"You've come to ask my opinion rather than simply refusing him. You're already tempted. What did he say to you?"

Xiao Yuan lowered her head and relayed everything Yuanshi Tianzun had told her about his principles.

The figure in the blue green patchwork robe sat silent and motionless for a long time. At last, his low voice resonated through the hall once more.

"He really said all that?"

Xiao Yuan nodded gently. "Still, words are cheap."

"Then go and verify them for yourself," Master Wuhen said slowly.

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