In the dark night, under the light, Kou Beiyue silently stared at the young man with a cigarette in his mouth and black-framed glasses. After about ten seconds, he said, "No wonder Xiao Yuan admires you so much. She is sensitive and cautious, making it difficult for ordinary official practitioners to get close to her. But she trusts you and wants to be friends with you. It's not unreasonable. From now on, we are friends."

Young people are often sentimental, thin-skinned, and feel embarrassed when expressing goodwill.

After speaking, seeing Zhang Yuanqing silent and lost in thought, Kou Beiyue felt his pride was hurt and asked, "Are you not happy to be friends with a master like me?"

Zhang Yuanqing came to his senses and instinctively said, "Ah, yes."

Then he asked suspiciously, "What did you just say? I didn't hear it clearly." Kou Beiyue's face turned pale and then green, snorted angrily, and turned his head aside. Perplexed, Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath and said, "I'm thinking about the action plan. Since we've decided to get involved in this matter, analysis and deployment are essential. It would be foolish to rush into the Bronze Sparrow Tower without a plan."

Kou Beiyue's throat tightened at the idea of directly storming the Bronze Sparrow Tower. He struggled to swallow and said, "Why? From my analysis, that martial artist should be an ordinary person, not a spiritual realm practitioner. Dealing with an ordinary person doesn't require such caution." Zhang Yuanqing agreed that the martial artist was not a spiritual realm practitioner, and their moral values couldn't withstand such turmoil.

A steward like Chi Yue'an occasionally indulges in consuming and venting his dark side, like spending a salary carefully, so there wouldn't be a problem. But establishing a place for such transactions, cultivating teams for pyramid schemes, fraud, and coercion, no spiritual realm practitioner's moral values could withstand such extravagance. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at his phone, estimated the arrival time of the ride-hailing car, and explained, "Chi Yue'an knows you. Your feud with him stems from the Bronze Sparrow Tower. After your assassination attempt, he will definitely inform the Bronze Sparrow Tower to strengthen security forces and may even dispatch spiritual realm practitioners to protect the martial artist." Kou Beiyue frowned, "You make a valid point."

"But don't worry too much. You are an evil practitioner, not an official member, and you are alone. In Chi Yue'an's eyes, you are at most a tricky opponent. I guess his plan is to set up an ambush around himself or the Bronze Sparrow Tower, waiting for you to fall into the trap. He won't consider the investigation from the official side because it involves too many powerful figures who can easily suppress the matter." Zhang Yuanqing's analysis was spot on.

As Kou Beiyue listened, he gradually agreed with the other's line of thinking. "So what should we do?" he asked.

Zhang Yuanqing had two ideas. The first was to infiltrate the Bronze Sparrow Tower, search for evidence, and then report it to Fu Qingyang, who would relay it to the elders. This way, the official side would naturally deal with Chi Yue'an, but the premise was to find evidence against him.

There was also another hidden danger. Chi Yue'an was a steward, a figure in charge of a district, and had the support of the Zhu family. Plus, he was a consumer of the Bronze Sparrow Tower, not the mastermind. Such crimes might not necessarily lead to his downfall.

Regarding the murder of Kou Yusi, as an evil practitioner, Kou Beiyue definitely couldn't testify. Although the Five Elements Alliance had a way to make people tell the truth, it wasn't in line with the alliance's procedures to rely solely on tools for the investigation; there had to be other evidence to support it.

This would provide Chi Yue'an and his backers with an opportunity to argue, just like in a lawsuit, the process was always complex and difficult but also indispensable. The second idea was simple: to drive out the wolves and tigers.

Push the case of the Bronze Sparrow Tower to the Demon Eye Overlord and let the evildoers deal with each other.

This was the lowest-risk method with a high chance of success, but it had a fatal flaw—it was uncontrollable.

Zhang Yuanqing remembered what Elder Shi had said, that the Demon Eye Overlord had caused two bloodbaths in Songhai, killing nearly twenty people and deducting a significant amount of moral values. He should be quieter for a while. In the case of the Bronze Sparrow Tower, there were too many people who deserved to die, and with the Demon Eye Overlord's character, he would never let these people off. But he wasn't a fool and would also consider the lack of moral values. The reasonable approach would be to take note and accumulate enough moral values before taking action.

But Zhang Yuanqing couldn't wait. Tonight, he would interrogate Kong Liangping, and this case was destined to be resolved quickly. Once Chi Yue'an and other powerful figures knew about Kong Liangping's death, they would definitely make corresponding arrangements to cover their tracks. Zhang Yuanqing was aware of his limitations in such political maneuvering and was sure he couldn't compete with those old hands.

In addition, the plan to drive out the wolves and tigers had another drawback: no one knew when the Demon Eye Overlord would accumulate enough moral values, and the elders of the Songhai branch would have some action soon. If the Demon Eye Overlord suffered a big loss and chose to withdraw from Songhai, then all efforts would be in vain.

"Let's go to the Bronze Sparrow Tower and gather intelligence," Zhang Yuanqing made a decisive decision.

Kou Beiyue looked at him strangely and said, "So, how is this different from my idea of directly attacking the Bronze Sparrow Tower?" Zhang Yuanqing sneered, "The difference is that before you made this decision, you didn't think about anything. But a wise man has already imagined a political drama before making a decision." Kou Beiyue retorted, "So, there's no difference."

Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched, "Alright, don't worry about these details. The car is coming soon. When we arrive, follow my lead." To prevent this kid from arguing, Zhang Yuanqing changed the subject, "How did you meet Xiao Yuan?" Kou Beiyue recalled, "I met her in a multiplayer dungeon. I was ambushed by a lawful practitioner and almost died, but Xiao Yuan saved me. After that, we exchanged contact information, and she thought I was a good seed, so she brought me into Master Wuhen's team for training."It was actually a moment of weakness, not having the determination to kill. He had just become a member of the Guhuo Zhi Yao not long ago, and had a psychological barrier to killing. But Kou Beiyue wanted to save face and didn't want to admit it. "I always thought you were Xiao Yuan's son. Well, does Xiao Yuan have a husband or boyfriend?" Zhang Yuanqing asked casually.

As soon as Kou Beiyue heard this, he became alert. "What are you trying to do?"

"Just curious if Xiao Yuan has a spouse, since she's so beautiful and sexy. It's normal to wonder, right? Of course, it's purely out of curiosity," Zhang Yuanqing said with a straightforward tone.

"I don't know, I haven't seen anyone," Kou Beiyue said with a cold sneer. "How many men in this world can match up to Xiao Yuan? You seem to have a deep filter for Xiao Yuan, Zhang Yuanqing." "Oh," Zhang Yuanqing said and fell silent.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

But Kou Beiyue couldn't stop himself and asked, "You know Yuan Shi Tianzun, right? I heard that kid is a recent genius who killed Li Xianzong of the Guhuo Zhi Yao. Compared to him, who is stronger, you or him?" Zhang Yuanqing didn't hesitate: "In front of him, I can only kneel down and sing 'Conquest'."

Kou Beiyue was stunned. "So powerful? That shouldn't be the case. Li Xianzong is about the same as me, and you're a bit stronger than me. In theory, you and Yuan Shi Tianzun shouldn't be too different." "About the same as Li Xianzong?" Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but size up Kou Beiyue and thought to himself that this kid didn't seem like a braggart. Is he really that strong? Yeah, he seems to be a Level 3 member of the Guhuo Zhi Yao. No wonder he caught the eye of the Demon Eye King.

At this moment, a bright white car slowed down and stopped next to the two of them. The ride-hailing car had arrived.

Half an hour later, the white car arrived at Xinyuan Road and parked about a hundred meters away from No. 38. Zhang Yuanqing paid the fare and got out of the car with Kou Beiyue.

He sat down under a green plant by the roadside and summoned the Bloodthirsty Blade, saying, "I'm going in. You watch over my physical body, little brother, and don't betray me."

This was the plan they had agreed upon in the car. He would first project his spirit into the Tongque Tower to gather information, and then decide on the next steps based on the actual situation. If his spirit projected out, his physical body would be left vulnerable to attack.

Kou Beiyue rolled his eyes.

What he couldn't see was a chubby, cute, and sparsely-haired baby lying at his feet, looking up at him.

Little Doudou was Zhang Yuanqing's other insurance. Although he believed that Kou Beiyue wouldn't betray him, it was better to be cautious. At a critical moment, Little Doudou could buy him some time.

"I need to quickly refine a Yin Corpse so that I have a strong bodyguard the next time my spirit projects out," Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself as his spirit drifted out of his body.

He floated to the same height as the green plant, glanced down at his sitting body under the tree, and at Kou Beiyue, who was vigilantly surveying the surroundings. Then he withdrew his gaze, sheathed the Bloodthirsty Blade, and floated off into the distance. The Tongque Tower was built by the river, in a remote location, consisting of two residential buildings - one with five floors and the other with two, surrounded by a pulse electric fence.

From the exterior, the buildings looked ordinary, even a bit run-down.

Zhang Yuanqing's spirit floated over the wall and saw several small security teams. They were dressed in security uniforms, patrolling in pairs with short sticks and walkie-talkies. They looked well-trained and very professional.

Zhang Yuanqing transformed into a gust of Yin wind and slipped into the five-story building on the left. The first floor of this building was a security room with multiple surveillance screens filling the large room.

Each floor had iron gates and required keycard access to enter and exit. The women living here were like birds trapped in a cage, with no hope and no freedom. The second floor was an office area with empty desks and dark lights.

From the third floor to the fifth floor were female dormitories, which were also the places where the organization sold its services.

Each bedroom here was quite large, similar to a hotel suite, with a pink decor style, round large soft beds, bronze bathtubs placed by the bed, and various adult items displayed in glass cabinets. Zhang Yuanqing planned to gather information from the women in the Tongque Tower, which was much more detailed than the information he could obtain from killing and questioning spirits.

His spirit floated through one room after another, seeing women sinking into soft beds, and seeing clients indulging in pleasure. The licentious sounds were nauseating.

How many of them were forced? For various reasons, they were deceived into coming here and became tools for the clients to vent their desires, forced to welcome different men one after another. Kou Beiyue's sister had been here years ago and experienced what they were currently going through. She had tried to escape but was brutally murdered.

Finally, Zhang Yuanqing stopped in a suite, where a round table was placed by the window, and a fat man was sitting at the table, holding a cigarette between his fingers. The sound of water from the bathroom stopped, and a woman wrapped in a bath towel pushed open the glass door and came out.

She was about 25 years old, with short hair and a slender figure, and her features were extremely delicate.

"Darling, I'm done with my shower. It's your turn," she said with a smile on her delicate face. Zhang Yuanqing sat in the chair without moving, glanced at her, and said, "Come over and sit."

The woman didn't think too much and sat down opposite him, picking up the cigarette box on the table and lighting one for herself.The woman was caught off guard and startled, choking on her cigarette smoke, coughing until tears streamed down her face, her complexion turning red.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze was icy as he said, "I ask, you answer. If you dare to lie, to babble, to call for help, I will kill you!"

This was a measure of desperation. With his current identity, it was impossible to make the woman reveal Wu Ye's criminal activities and evidence. He didn't possess any skills like bewitchment to manipulate others.

The simplest and most efficient method was violence.

The woman cautiously glanced at the willow blade, and although she was unclear about the situation, she nodded in cooperation. Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What's your name, and how many years have you been here?"

"Cao, Cao Jing. Don't you know? I've been working here for 5 years, since I was 20," the woman said. "How did you get in?"

"I saw a job posting online and came in." "But you were tricked, weren't you?"

The woman fell silent for a moment, then nodded:

"They lied to me, saying it was a sales job, but after I started, I was brought here, and my job turned into entertaining guests with food, drink, and sleep." Zhang Yuanqing said coldly, "Continue, don't wait for me to ask every question. I'm not patient."

As he spoke, he drew the willow blade.

The woman turned pale with fear, speaking cautiously:

"At first, I refused, and Wu Ye had people beat me, rape me, and lock me in solitary confinement, confiscating my phone, not giving me food or water.

"I couldn't stand it and gave in. Since then, I've had to sleep with guests every day, occasionally being taken out to accompany drinking, like a prostitute sleeping with other men. No, we're even worse than prostitutes because we don't get paid.

"The sisters in the building told me they all went through the same, all beaten. Compared to them, I was lucky. Some women were forced into chaos, losing their fertility, and some disappeared after trying to escape a few times. Hopefully, they managed to escape home.

"To prevent us from escaping, Wu Ye even brought some of our family members over, 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, managing all of us, with salaries and benefits. Many sisters are very envious." Envy made Zhang Yuanqing take a deep breath to calm his emotions.

Cao Jing said a lot, cautiously looking at the stranger who had become unfamiliar, and asked, "What else do you want to know?"

Zhang Yuanqing's face was expressionless: "Tell me some key points, such as Wu Ye's criminal evidence." Cao Jing thought for a moment and said:

"He installed a lot of surveillance in Lou Rui, specifically to record videos of us sleeping with guests. He used the videos to threaten us and the guests who came to play." She sneaked a glance at Zhang Yuanqing's face and said, "You know.

"Videos," Zhang Yuanqing said, "Anything else?"

"I heard that Wu Ye also has a ledger, recording all the guests who have dealings with him. I'm not sure if it's true or not; I heard it from a supervisor, who is Wu Ye's mistress and has borne him children. She started out just like us, sleeping with guests." Cao Jing recounted everything:

"Besides the Tongque Tower, Wu Ye has many such establishments outside, like hair salons and nightclubs. But this place is the most upscale and secretive, with influential figures as guests. Those places outside, he took over through his enforcers and connections in both the underworld and legitimate business, without spending a penny. It's said he has a dozen or more stores."

She was puzzled in her heart; the guest opposite her should know these things better than she did. The guest across from her lit a cigarette, not smoking it, just staring blankly.

The cigarette quickly burned out, and Cao Jing had nothing more to say. She had told everything she knew, a jumble of details, including some young women who were tattooed with indecent images by Wu Ye. There was a sadistic guest who beat and abused the women in the building, sending several to the intensive care unit.

"That violent guest, is he tall and burly, with short hair, likes to wear white shirts?" Zhang Yuanqing briefly described Chi Yue'an's appearance.

"That's him, he's a devil, I, I've served him before," Cao Jing seemed to recall unbearable memories, shivering. "I understand now, thank you for cooperating."

Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand like a knife and knocked the woman unconscious.