“Eek, since this is all just a misunderstanding and you haven’t suffered any losses, how about letting me go?”
The little bat blinked its beady eyes pleadingly.
“I need to chase after Ouyang Jue quickly, or he might slip away again.”
The three exchanged glances.
Xiao Lingshu scratched his head and said, “Theoretically, if you haven’t done anything wrong, letting you go wouldn’t be a problem. But taking matters into your own hands against Ouyang Jue is unacceptable.”
“If he’s broken the law, the state will deal with him. As a foreign vampire, you should report any issues to the relevant authorities first—no vigilante justice allowed…”
The little bat scoffed, “If reporting to the police worked, would Ouyang Jue still be free to this day?”
She knew Ouyang Jue’s methods all too well from personal experience.
The man had ghostly tricks up his sleeve; he’d done so many vile things, yet always covered his tracks impeccably.
Going through official channels would never bring him to justice.
Besides, she didn’t want justice through proper procedures.
She wanted revenge with her own hands.
Xiao Lingshu: “…”
Well, that shut him up!
Shi Pengpeng looked at the tiny bat in her hand and suddenly remarked, “But you’re practically at death’s door now. Are you sure going after Ouyang Jue isn’t just delivering yourself to him on a silver platter?”
Ouyang Jue possessed the Yin-Yang Sword, and after the recent attack, he likely had more than just Xu Qin protecting him.
The little bat: “…”
It had almost forgotten about that!
Though its furry face showed no expression, its beady eyes grew misty with unshed tears, and its voice darkened.
“Even so… I have to find him. I finally have a chance to see him again, and there are things I need to ask him…”
Shi Pengpeng suddenly realized something they’d overlooked and frowned.
“You’re hiding something from us, aren’t you? Why would Ouyang Jue specifically take you abroad just to kill you?”
As Xiao Lingshu had mentioned earlier, given Ouyang Jue’s power and status, if he simply wanted to abandon Liu Ruyan, there’d be no need for such elaborate measures.
Committing murder in Gaul wasn’t a simple matter.
Sure enough, tears rolled from the bat’s eyes as it hesitated for a long moment before sighing.
“Because… he also tricked me into bearing his child, then took the baby away…”
It turned out that years ago, Ouyang Jue had lured Liu Ruyan into an unwed pregnancy under the pretense of marriage.
Taking her to Gaul was part of his plan to keep her there.
After ten months of pregnancy, Liu Ruyan gave birth to a precious daughter.
But during her postpartum confinement, Ouyang Jue secretly took the child away.
To prevent her from reclaiming the baby, he confiscated her passport and cut off all her resources in Gaul, driving her to desperation.
Even after becoming a vampire, Liu Ruyan never stopped yearning to return—not just for revenge against Ouyang Jue, but more importantly, to find her daughter.
At this point, she suddenly remembered something and asked hopefully, “By the way, you must interact with Ouyang Jue often, right? Has he ever brought my daughter out in public? Have you seen her? She should be thirty now… She was so adorable as a child, she must be beautiful…”
Shi Pengpeng and Xiao Lingshu glanced at Yan Jing.
They weren’t familiar with Ouyang Jue’s personal life-only Yan Jing knew him well.
Yan Jing’s expression turned peculiar as he mused, “As far as I know, Ouyang Jue doesn’t…”
Before he could finish, the surrounding air suddenly vibrated.
The group recognized this as an anomaly caused by magical combat, and a faint, ominous scent lingered in the air, making their expressions darken.
Xiao Lingshu looked around.
“What’s going on?”
“Check the message,” Yan Jing said, glancing at his phone, which had just lit up. “
Teacher Yin wants us to head over immediately.”
Shi Pengpeng and Xiao Lingshu also saw the message Yin Cong had sent in the group chat.
However, likely due to the urgency, Yin Cong had only managed to share their location without explaining the situation.
The three didn’t dare delay.
They quickly took the elevator downstairs, bringing the little bat with them.
Along the way, Yan Jing took a moment to call Wei Chi, instructing him to organize personnel to maintain order and discreetly evacuate the banquet guests.
Following the location, they arrived at the hotel garden, which was already under control.
Yin Cong and several other practitioners from the Xuanmen were present, each holding magical artifacts, clearly having just gone through an intense battle.
“Teacher,” Shi Pengpeng hurried forward and asked, “What happened?”
Yin Cong’s expression was grim.
“Xu Qin from Yutian Culture—he’s the Imperial Preceptor we’ve been searching for all this time.”
“What?!”
Shi Pengpeng was stunned.
She had suspected Xu Qin’s identity wasn’t simple, but she never imagined it would be this significant.
Originally, Yin Cong and the others from the Xuanmen had been following the plan, cooperating with the SWAT team to monitor Yu Tian Culture’s people from the shadows around the hotel.
Midway, Hui Xi, Yu Tan’s top star, had tried to leave the hotel early.
A fellow practitioner intercepted her, intending to hand her over to the SWAT team, only to suddenly discover that Hui Xi was possessed by a malevolent spirit.
The practitioner was shocked-not because the spirit was particularly powerful.
On the contrary, it was quite ordinary.
What startled him was that Hui Xi had initially shown no abnormalities at all.
A peculiar force had concealed the spirit’s presence.
For some unknown reason, that force had suddenly malfunctioned, exposing the malevolent spirit on Hui Xi.
A power capable of completely masking a spirit’s aura-so thoroughly that even numerous Xuanmen practitioners present couldn’t detect.
It was something they had only encountered once before: on the Imperial Preceptor.
“The Imperial Preceptor carries a unique artifact. According to confessions from captured members of Longevity Island, it’s likely made from the eye of a Water Spirit Wangxiang…” Yin Cong explained.
Wangxiang, born from water, was said to resemble a child-dark red in color, with crimson claws, large ears, and long arms.
Some legends even claimed Wangxiang was a type of dragon, worshipped as a water deity in ancient times.
Water embraces all things, and as a water spirit, Wangxiang shared this trait, capable of absorbing and purifying all impure energies in the world.
The Imperial Preceptor had somehow obtained a Wangxiang’s eye and refined it into an artifact, carrying it with him to conceal his own aura.
This was how he had evaded repeated pursuits by both law enforcement and the Xuanmen, slipping back into the country unnoticed.
“So that’s how it was…” Shi Pengpeng finally understood why she hadn’t detected anything unusual in the banquet hall, yet Yan Jing had inexplicably been affected by the malevolent spirit.
It seemed that Xu Qin had used the Eye of Wangxiang to conceal his tracks.
This powerful artifact also masked the various unclean auras emanating from Yu Tian and his gang.
No wonder Xu Qin had shown such interest in her at the banquet, constantly striking up conversations.
If he was the Grand Preceptor, it made sense that he would be intrigued by the person who had destroyed his mausoleum by driving the stone chariot.
Later, during his fight with Liu Ruyan, Xu Qin likely lost control, causing the Eye of Wangxiang’s magic to fail abruptly.
This exposed the sinister energy clinging to Hui Xi, alerting the Xuanmen to the anomaly.
Realizing the Grand Preceptor must be nearby, the Xuanmen immediately cast spells to track him down.
Xu Qin, sensing the Xuanmen’s power, abruptly abandoned his fight with Liu Ruyan and fled.
At the same time, Yin Cong received a message from Yan Jing, warning them that Xu Qin-Yu Tian’s associate might have been possessed.
Yin Cong promptly notified the special police and all Xuanmen allies to focus on Xu Qin, only to discover he had somehow blended in with guests from other companies, attempting to slip out of the hotel unnoticed.
Yin Cong and his team immediately moved to apprehend him.
Xu Qin, shocked by how quickly his cover had been blown, was taken aback.
But his experience was vast.
Calculating that the special police and Xuanmen wouldn’t dare act forcefully in front of so many witnesses, he used the crowd as cover to create an opening and narrowly escaped.
Still, this encounter was enough for Yin Cong and the others to confirm his identity-Xu Qin was the fugitive Grand Preceptor.
They finally understood why, despite following every lead from Mian Country back to their homeland, they had never found any trace of the Grand Preceptor.
Turns out, he had long since possessed someone else’s body, assumed their identity, and brazenly appeared on the country’s largest live- streaming platform.
Yet, no matter how audacious Xu Qin was, he could never have anticipated that among the victims of Longevity Island, one had personally witnessed the “Dreamer of Luo River” being nailed into a coffin.
And that this person had survived, returned home, and, through Cat Claw’s algorithm, stumbled upon the supposedly dead male influencer once more.
Truly, the net of justice may have wide meshes, but it lets nothing through.
But now, he had escaped again.
At this point, Yin Cong’s expression darkened further, tinged with self-reproach.
“It’s our fault for being careless…”
They had assumed tonight’s operation was merely assisting the special police in apprehending Yu Tian’s money-laundering ring.
Never had they expected the Grand Preceptor to be among them, so they hadn’t deployed many elite forces.
Though reinforcements were urgently dispatched to pursue him, given the Grand Preceptor’s abilities, recapturing him would require immense effort.
“Don’t say that,” Shi Pengpeng consoled.
“The Grand Preceptor is despicable, and with the Eye of Wangxiang in hand, he’s truly difficult to deal with. But at least now we know his new identity-we finally have a lead.”
Yin Cong had to agree.
Soul possession was an extremely sinister dark art.
Beyond formidable magic, it required perfect timing and conditions no simple feat.
The Grand Preceptor must have known Longevity Island was on the brink of collapse and that he faced imminent cross-border pursuit, forcing him to resort to such a desperate measure.
Now that his identity was exposed again and he was trapped within the country, finding another suitable host for possession in the short term was nearly impossible.
With a clear target, hunting him down would undoubtedly be far easier than before.
Moreover, although Xu Qin had fled, the other members of Yu Tian Culture were still under control.
These people had intricate connections with Xu Qin and might provide useful leads.
As Shi Pengpeng spoke, she suddenly let out a cold laugh.
Yin Cong was puzzled, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, I just realized the Grand Preceptor isn’t as all-powerful as he seems,” Shi Pengpeng mused.
“I think he’s nearing the end of his rope.”
Yin Cong: “What makes you say that?”
“Someone of his status wouldn’t choose to possess a borderline content creator unless he had no other options,” Shi Pengpeng analyzed.
The Grand Preceptor had been causing chaos on Longevity Island for years he certainly wasn’t short on money.
It was unlikely he targeted “Dreamer of Luo River” for their savings.
He probably possessed them out of desperation, with no time for better arrangements.
And because he acted in haste, fearing exposure, he had to continue livestreaming under Dreamer of Luo River’s identity after returning.
Thinking of this, Shi Pengpeng sighed, “The mighty Grand Preceptor even let my colleague touch his abs. I have a video of it—I’ll send it to you later so we can spread the word.”
Yin Cong: “…”
Truly an outstanding student of Liangyi.
Though they hadn’t captured the Grand Preceptor yet, they’d already secured his humiliating evidence.
Yin Cong: “Sounds great.”
Soon, the SWAT team leader reported that they’d found Ouyang Jue.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t fled but was leisurely resting at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant.
Yin Cong perked up, ready to question him.
Just then, a “squeaking” sound came from Shi Pengpeng.
Yin Cong looked down to find her holding a small bat wrapped in talisman paper.
The bat was extremely agitated, kicking its tiny legs wildly as it spoke in human words:
“I want to see Ouyang Jue too! Take me with you, squeak “
Yin Cong paused, confused.
“Where did this bat spirit come from? Why is there no trace of demonic aura?”
A talking bat was obviously a spirit, yet she hadn’t sensed any demonic energy, completely missing its presence earlier.
“Professor, it’s not a bat spirit,” Xiao Lingshu leaned over to explain helpfully.
“It’s Ouyang Jue’s ex-girlfriend.”
Yin Cong: ???
She knew Ouyang Jue was unusual, but this was beyond unusual!