Realm Walker

Late at night, at half past eleven, two furtive shadows appeared at the entrance of a residential compound in Shakou District.

"This place is a dump," Kou Beiyue said as he craned his neck, peering past the gate into the compound. "Are you sure Kong Liangping lives here? He's the enforcement division captain. Would he really live in a hole like this?"

"Shows what you know!" Zhang Yuanqing scoffed. "Look at this place. On the surface it looks run down, but the security is tight. Officials love living in places like this. Luxury apartments and upscale neighborhoods are for the rich. The people with real power prefer to keep a low profile."

Shakou District was a fair distance from Kangyang District. The two of them had met up, slurped down a bowl of rice noodles each and then taken a cab over. The whole trip had taken about an hour and a half.

Zhang Yuanqing paid for the noodles. He paid for the cab too. When he asked Kou Beiyue about it, he learned the boy had only a few hundred yuan to his name, all of which had gone toward lodging.

It was proof of a simple truth: without the ability to steal or rob, a person who couldn't earn money wouldn't suddenly start earning it just because they became a Spirit Realm Walker.

Kou Beiyue's gaze drifted toward the perimeter wall topped with high-voltage pulse netting. "Let's climb the wall."

"Climb? No, that's far too inelegant. Follow me."

Zhang Yuanqing walked straight toward the guard booth. Kou Beiyue watched as his companion's figure grew smaller and further away, and had no choice but to hurry after him.

Zhang Yuanqing reached the security booth and rapped on the glass window. The old man sitting inside, absorbed in his phone, looked up and saw the young man at the window. The next instant, his eyes lost their focus and he sat there in a daze.

Zhang Yuanqing gestured for Kou Beiyue to follow and strode into the compound. Utilizing his Charm skill had become second nature by now. He wielded it with effortless precision.

The two of them entered the compound, followed the block numbers, and located Block 3, where Kong Liangping lived. They nimbly scaled up the building's exterior to the second-floor corridor and slipped inside.

They stopped in front of unit 202, and Zhang Yuanqing curled his fingers and knocked on the security door.

Knock, knock.

He knocked for quite a while before they heard footsteps approaching from inside, moving toward the entryway.

"Who is it?" A middle aged woman's voice came through the door.

They could see her silhouette as it stopped at the entrance, scrutinizing the two of them through the peephole.

"Property management!"

"What's the matter?"

"Someone scraped your parked car downstairs. The other driver is waiting below. You should go take a look." The lie rolled off Zhang Yuanqing's tongue without a hitch.

"What?"

The moment she heard her car had been hit, whatever little vigilance the woman possessed evaporated. She threw open the door, ready to storm downstairs and demand compensation.

The instant the door swung open, though, she froze. She stood rooted to the spot with a blank, wooden expression as her consciousness was trapped in a hallway she would never find her way out of.

A ghost wall illusion.

Zhang Yuanqing stepped past her and entered the apartment, with Kou Beiyue hot on his heels.

The first thing they saw was a living room decorated with extravagant luxury. Everything from the furniture to the electronics reeked of expense and opulence. It was hard to imagine anyone spending this kind of money to renovate an apartment in such an old, decrepit compound. The décor belonged in a villa or a sprawling penthouse in an upscale neighborhood.

Past the living room, a hallway branched left toward a bedroom and a bathroom, while the master bedroom was to the right.

The door to the master bedroom stood half open, lamplight spilling through the gap. A middle-aged man with a notably receding hairline lay on one side of the bed.

When he heard footsteps, he opened his eyes and called out, "Who was it? Why is someone knocking in the middle of the night..."

He trailed off as his eyes slowly focused, then his voice sharpened. "Who the hell are you?!"

He bolted upright, eyes wary and alert as the two strangers walked into his room. His gaze instinctively swept over the two intruders' hands and waistlines, checking for weapons.

Zhang Yuanqing ignored the man's question, staring at him silently. Kou Beiyue's face had darkened considerably. His breathing was rapid, and his eyes flickered with disgust and hatred.

The intruders' silence seemed to embolden Kong Liangping. He threw off his blanket and swung his legs off the bed.

"Two little punks!" he barked. "Do you have any idea who I am? Breaking into an enforcement captain's home? Do you want to rot in prison for the rest of your lives? Who sent you?"

His bluster was fierce and his expression savage. He showed none of the fear or weakness of any other ordinary person. He grabbed his phone with one hand, and with the other, he snatched up a collapsible baton from the bedroom's interior balcony and swung it viciously toward Zhang Yuanqing's head.

Zhang Yuanqing kicked him square in his beer belly. Kong Liangping's nearly two-hundred-pound body flew backward and the baton slipped from his grip as he hit the ground and rolled twice. He clutched his stomach, his features twisted in agony, though no scream escaped his lips.

Kou Beiyue summoned a military bayonet, his face ashen, and charged forward. "I'm going to gut him."

Zhang Yuanqing slapped him aside with one hand. He stepped forward, grabbed a fistful of Kong Liangping's rapidly thinning hair, and delivered two open palmed slaps across his face. The man's fleshy cheeks swelled up instantly.

Kong Liangping finally caught his breath and let out a piercing shriek.

"Shut up!" Zhang Yuanqing snapped, but Kong Liangping kept screaming, apparently hoping the noise would attract the neighbors' attention. As an enforcement captain, he was far more cunning than the average person.

Zhang Yuanqing seized him by the hair and slammed his face downward. A dull thud, and the screaming stopped abruptly. Blood sprayed from Kong Liangping's nose, and his mouth was filled with crimson foam. His nose was broken, and his front teeth had been knocked out.

Zhang Yuanqing gave a cold smile. "Try screaming again."

Kong Liangping didn't dare. His voice trembled with fear.

"You... You want money, right? Take whatever you want from the apartment. Take anything..."

"We don't want money. We just want to ask you some questions."

"Wh-what questions?" Blood from his nose had trickled into his mouth, but Kong Liangping didn't dare wipe it away.

"Remember Kou Yusi? The case you handled two years ago?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

Kong Liangping blinked in surprise. It took two two three seconds for the name to click.

"You... Who are you people, exactly? That case was mine. That girl was pitiful, done in by her animal of a broth—"

Before he could finish, Kou Beiyue roared like a young lion. "Shut your mouth! You're the animals!"

Zhang Yuanqing thrust out an arm to hold him back. "This guy's a slippery old fox. Don't waste your breath on him. Stick to the plan."

Kou Beiyue drew a deep breath, forcing down the fury churning inside him. He crouched and clamped a hand around Kong Liangping's throat. Crimson runes blazed in his eyes.

At the Transcendent tier, the Enchanting Demon's Enchant skill required a considerable amount of time to achieve full control over a person.

The fastest method would have been to beat the answers out of him, but although Zhang Yuanqing had killed before, torture was something he couldn't bring himself to do. He had a psychological barrier against it.

While Kou Beiyue worked his Enchant on Kong Liangping, Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the bedroom. He guided the dazed woman in the doorway back to the living room, then hid in the dark hallway, listening for any sign that the neighbors had noticed something amiss or called the police.

Fortunately, the soundproofing in Kong Liangping's apartment was decent. The commotion they had caused hadn't been loud or sustained enough to alert anyone on the same floor.

Zhang Yuanqing quietly retreated to the living room, closed the security door, and opened his status panel. He cursed under his breath. Two Morality points had been deducted. What a loss. He would have to get Guan Ya to donate to a charity on his behalf the next day to earn those two points back...

He sat on the living room sofa and waited. About half an hour later, he heard Kou Beiyue's voice from inside the master bedroom.

"It's done."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately got up and entered the bedroom. Kong Liangping sat on the edge of the bed in his pajamas, tissue paper stuffed up his nostrils to stop the bleeding. His expression was anxious and meek, like a schoolchild who knew he was in trouble.

"I've enchanted him," Kou Beiyue said softly. "'Leniency for confession, severe punishment for resistance.' He's very cooperative now. Ask him anything. The effect lasts for twelve hours."

So even "leniency for confession" needs to be enforced with Enchant now? Zhang Yuanqing thought wryly. He turned his gaze to the uneasy-looking Kong Liangping.

"During your time as enforcement captain, what laws did you break?" he asked.

Kong Liangping's face crumpled with remorse as he confessed his sins: accepting bribes, extorting money from the families of detainees, carrying on an illicit affair with a female subordinate, soliciting prostitutes, and more.

Good Lord, Zhang Yuanqing thought. If the Demon Eye Heavenly King found out about all this, he'd skin you alive.

"What really happened with the Kou Yusi case?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"It came from above. They told me to handle it, to fabricate evidence and frame Kou Yusi's brother. It was all orchestrated from higher up. I just followed orders. They promised that if I took care of this case, they'd promote me to captain."

"Who are these higher-ups?"

"The Special Department and Bureau Chief Lu," Kong Liangping said.

Zhang Yuanqing understood. "Special Department" was how the ordinary officers at the Public Security Bureau referred to the Five Elements Alliance. The officers knew the department existed, but most had no idea its personnel possessed supernatural abilities. Even those who did were bound by confidentiality agreements. It couldn't completely eliminate rumors, but it severely limited their spread.

Of course, the higher-ups in the Public Security Bureau definitely knew about Spirit Realm Walkers. Those at the level of division captain or bureau chief would be in the loop.

Some wealthy businessmen and high ranking officials were deeply superstitious about feng shui and fortune telling, holding certain "reclusive masters" in special reverence. This was where that reverence originated.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at Kou Beiyue, then pressed on.

"Why did the Special Department want Kou Yusi dead?"

A look of struggle crossed Kong Liangping's face. This was clearly a secret he wasn't supposed to reveal. After a long battle, his personal willpower buckled under the force of Kou Beiyue's enchantment.

"Because that woman was a sparrow kept in Bronze Sparrow Tower," he admitted honestly.

Zhang Yuanqing and Kou Beiyue exchanged blank looks. What?

Zhang Yuanqing's confusion stemmed from not knowing what Bronze Sparrow Tower referred to. Kou Beiyue's was simpler. He had never heard the name before and had absolutely no idea what it meant[1].

"Bronze Sparrow Tower is what we call it in our circle," Kong Liangping explained. "It's located at 38 Xinyuan Road, in the more remote part of Shakou District. I only found out about it later. Before that, I wasn't considered important enough to know.

"The man running it behind the scenes is called Master Wu. His real name is Wu Xingye. He owns multiple companies in Songhai and is supposedly worth tens of billions. Master Wu used to be involved in shady businesses, and made his fortune through all sorts of underhanded schemes.

"Later on, he got into pyramid schemes. His scam teams didn't just swindle people out of money. They also specifically targeted attractive young women from out of town, luring them in and sending them to Bronze Sparrow Tower to be broken in. They were trained to become obedient playthings for powerful officials and businessmen to enjoy. Bureau Chief Lu and the higher-ups in the Special Department are regular visitors to Bronze Sparrow Tower, and there are plenty more like them."

Zhang Yuanqing felt a vein in his temple throb.

Kou Beiyue's chest heaved, and he gripped the bayonet so fiercely that the veins on the back of his hand seemed about to pop. When he spoke, his words came through clenched teeth, each one forced out like broken glass.

"My sister quit her job to go into business with someone from her hometown. That's how they tricked her into it... It's my fault. I was useless. She was always worrying about my future, and it made her desperate for money... She was in that place for a month. I can't bear to imagine what they did to her..."

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath to calm himself.

"How long has this been going on? Bronze Sparrow Tower, I mean. How long has it existed?" he asked the enforcement captain.

Kong Liangping thought for a moment. "Almost ten years, I'd say."

"And it was never investigated?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"Girls escaped from time to time, but it was always hushed up. The ones who got out were sent back and tortured for a few days until they learned their lesson. It always came down to beatings. Beat them until it hurt, beat them until they were terrified, and then they behaved. The other women inside saw that escaping was pointless, so hardly anyone dared resist. If they kept their heads down and served Master Wu's guests well, at least they had food and clothes. It was better than ending up dead."

A place of indulgence and depravity, a place that fed the private appetites of powerful men. No wonder Chi Yue'an had been willing to kill to silence the truth. This wasn't a simple case of imprisonment and abuse. Pulling on this thread would unravel a long list of prominent figures.

Zhang Yuanqing struggled to keep his anger in check. "Do you know where Master Wu lives?"

"No," Kong Liangping said, "but he spends most of his time at Bronze Sparrow Tower. He's there maybe three or four days a week. Important guests show up every day to enjoy themselves, and he needs to be there to keep them company, lose money to them at cards, and pick out the young, pretty ones to serve them."

"Do you have a photo of him?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

Kong Liangping shook his head. "He's very careful about that. He never lets anyone take his picture. But I can describe him. He's in his mid-forties, about six feet tall, with a full beard and a mole on his right cheek."

Zhang Yuanqing committed the details to memory, then turned to Kou Beiyue. "Knock him out. We're paying Bronze Sparrow Tower a visit."

"I'm going to kill him," Kou Beiyue said.

Zhang Yuanqing's voice hardened. "No. He's a key witness."

"I don't need witnesses," Kou Beiyue spat, enunciating every word. "What I need is blood for blood."

He turned his burning gaze onto Zhang Yuanqing. "You. Step outside for a moment."

There was fury in the boy's eyes. Fury, pain, and a sliver of pleading.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, but said nothing. He backed out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

***

The night hung heavy and dark. The clock had just struck midnight. Zhang Yuanqing bought a pack of cigarettes from a 24-hour convenience store, and two people who didn't know the first thing about smoking walked along the empty, silent street, taking drags from their cigarettes and immediately blowing the smoke back out.

Zhang Yuanqing rarely felt the urge to light up, but that night was one of those times.

He exhaled a lungful of smoke that had never touched the bottom of his lungs. "You killed him. Once the sun comes up, there's no hiding this. We don't have much time."

"Then let's hit Bronze Sparrow Tower right now. Kill Master Wu and rescue the women inside!"

Kou Beiyue was fired up, his earlier gloom burned away. His voice brimmed with zeal.

Zhang Yuanqing snorted. "Idiot! If you kill him, Chi Yue'an will send you a thank-you card. What we need to do is bring down this steward. But this is about more than just him. It's far too serious, and too many people are tangled up in it. We don't know whether other stewards or official Walkers beyond Chi Yue'an are involved beyond. This is going to be a nightmare to deal with."

Kou Beiyue considered that for a moment. "Then what about filing a report?"

"A report?" Zhang Yuanqing thought it over. "If we go through official channels, we'd need evidence. At minimum, we'd need to secure some hard proof before the Council of Elders would even accept the case.

"Don't forget that wealthy and powerful people are involved too, and they're not under the jurisdiction of the Five Elements Alliance. The Alliance only governs Spirit Realm Walkers. The higher-ups actually hate it when the Alliance oversteps and meddles in 'mundane' affairs.

"On top of that, these kinds of cases only get taken seriously when there is a name attached to the complaint. Anonymous reports almost always get buried because too many people are implicated. But filing a complaint under our real names means exposing ourselves, and that puts us in serious danger."

Kou Beiyue was unfazed. "Then let's go to Bronze Sparrow Tower right now and find the evidence. What's there to be afraid of? You only die once. I've staked my life in dungeon after dungeon. My head's been dangling from my belt for a long time now—"

He caught himself mid-sentence and glanced at Zhang Yuanqing. "Actually, you should sit this one out. I'm already ruined. My parents have disowned me, and Xiao Yuan wants nothing to do with me. If I die, at least it'll be over."

Zhang Yuanqing met his gaze. "Two months ago, I probably would have backed down. Self-preservation above all else. But now..."

He paused. "I'm a Lawful-class Walker. If an Evil-aligned Walker like you knows how to punish the wicked and protect the innocent, and I chicken out, how am I supposed to justify my fifty thousand yuan a month salary?"

A wild, almost reckless grin spread across his face. "Besides, I have superpowers now. Why should I keep tolerating this sort of people, filth who are no better than animals?"

1. Bronze Sparrow Tower, or Bronze Bird Terrace, was an iconic structure built by Cao Cao, the late Eastern Han dynasty ruler. It is widely referenced in classical Chinese poetry. ☜

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