Zhang Yuan returned to the villa with a heavy heart. In the dining room, the patrol team members were seated at the table enjoying dinner. The fragrant aroma of the premium ingredients filled his nostrils and lingered on his palate. After not eating all day, he suddenly felt hungry and walked straight toward the table. As soon as he sat down, the rabbit-dress girl had already served him a bowl of rice. Holding the bowl, Zhang Yuan devoured his meal. The team's meals were on par with Fu Qingyang's standards, with ingredients directly sourced from there. The team members' monthly meal expenses even exceeded their salaries. After eating a few mouthfuls, Zhang Yuan glanced at Xie Lingxi, whose waist and hips had subtly grown fuller, and a thought struck him. "Lingxi, you've gained weight recently!" Xie Lingxi's face lit up with delight. She quickly set down her chopsticks, gently lifting her increasingly full chest. "Really? Really? Where exactly? Yuanshi-brother, please look—where have I gained weight?" She strained to lift her chest. Guan Ya's eyebrows twitched. She thought, this stubborn girl completely ignored me, her official girlfriend, and was openly wooing my husband. "Wherever you go, you're always plump!" Zhang Yuanqing paused slightly on Shé Lingxi's chest, pleased by her development. The fresh, green-cutting girl he first met was a top-tier cute young woman—now, if one day she could grow into Guan Ya's level of E-tier strength, he'd consider himself successful in raising her. "Pay more attention to your figure, Lingxi. Hasn't your training been delayed lately?" Zhang Yuanqing offered a gentle critique, then moved on to the main point: "To keep your figure graceful, I've prepared a trial mission for all three of you." At this, the queen and Li Chunfeng both turned to look. "Get ready tonight—we're heading into the clan's main副本!" "Clan副本?" Lingxi's eyes lit up. "Yes, I've been a member of the 'Return of the Dead' for a long time, but I've never entered a clan副本 before. Brother Yuanshǐ, I'll definitely work hard to help open up the clan's new "The queen hurriedly showed her loyalty, only then remembering she hadn't yet joined the Returning Deceased group." "Neither have I," Li Chunfeng said. Zhang Yuancheng set down his chopsticks, opened the guild warehouse, and invited them all... "Oh, Guan Ya, why don't you join my guild as well? We'll start this venture together as a couple." Xie Lingxi and the queen exchanged a quiet, slightly dismissive glance. Soon, all four received the Lingjing notification. After Guan Ya clicked confirm, she opened the member list. Xiao Yuan, Asano Ryoko, Xie Lingxi, Sun Miaomiao... quite a few female members. With a subtle, cutting glance toward her boyfriend, Guan Ya softened her tone: "I never paid much attention to your guild before, but now I realize you've quietly built your inner court." This woman gets possessive and turns sardonic whenever she's jealous. Zhang Yuancheng knew that if he himself adopted the same tone, he'd never make it to bed tonight, so he simply remained silent. The queen and Li Chunfeng were both stunned. The Lingjing IDs listed among the members—aside from Kogane and Asano Reo—were all well-known rising stars from the official ranks. How could these individuals willingly serve as subordinates to Yuanshǐ Tianzun? After completing three extraordinary quests, he would then bring in Hongji Brother to launch the Saint-level quest. Zhang Yuanqing clicked the miniature window in the upper-right corner of the warehouse, then selected "Clan Quest" from the list of options. The difficulty of Clan Quests was closely tied to the members' skill levels; the more elite members there were, the greater the challenge—though also the greater the potential. Zhang Yuanqing was eager to see what difficulty level the first Clan Quest would present. [Beep! Would you like to activate the Clan Lingjing?] "Activate!" [Beep! Clan Lingjing activated... Lingjing being generated, please wait...] [Beep! Clan Lingjing generated.] [Number: 2209, Dongxing Hotel.] 【Difficulty Level: A】 【Type: Multiplayer (Death-based)] 【Main Quest: Resolve the supernatural incidents within the hotel】 【Note: Non-spirit realm items cannot be brought in.] 【Introduction to Spirit Realm 2209: Dongxing Hotel is a well-known establishment. It is said that the last room on the sixth floor cannot be occupied; the corridor on the seventh floor flickers with blood-like light every hour on the hour; at 3 a.m., an anonymous hotel staff member knocks on guests’ doors; Room 408 emits a persistent foul odor; an elderly woman with a cat-like face wanders the hallways; at 11 p.m., the corridors transform into a maze; the television in the rooms refuses to turn off at night; and blood fingerprints frequently appear on the mirrors in the restrooms. The hotel manager has recently posted notices seeking assistance to address these strange occurrences.】 The副本 information was promptly shared with the faction members. A-level? Death-based? The expressions of Xie Lingxi and her two companions instantly froze. Hmm. A-tier death-themed raid, and the extraordinary members of our guild are all at level three—so the raid itself must be rated at level three as well. Zhang Yuanqing immediately compared it to Yin-Yang Town and the Village of Mute Villagers. That’s actually quite good. Following this trend, S-tier raids might emerge during the Sage stage. The young green tea girl was the first to show hesitation, her face solemn with tears: "Brother Yuan-Shi, is it still possible to leave the guild now?" The queen looked pale, stammering: "Captain, I think I'm not suited for the initial exploration. Perhaps I have other roles to play. Hmm, hmm—whatever tasks Guan Ya can handle, I can also manage..." Li Chunfeng replied calmly: "I am merely a scholar." The difficulty is indeed quite high. My original intention was to have them gain experience, but if the mortality rate is too high, it would clearly be a loss. I need to find a way to improve survival rates and ease their concerns. Zhang Yuanqing had intended to deliver some motivational words, but recalling his own experiences in Yin-Yang Town and the Village of Speechlessness, and looking at the guild's quest details, he found himself convinced that the situation was far more severe than he had expected. While pondering how to comfort his team members, he suddenly heard a soft snap—the gentle sound of chopsticks tapping lightly on the table. She turned first to the Queen: "When we were at Yin-Yang Town, you were at level 3 with only 12% experience—now you're in the late stage of level 3, at 80% experience, approaching 70%. Your actual strength has at least doubled. That doesn't even count the Saint-tier items gifted by Yuan-Shi. A-rank dungeons are risky for you, but not fatal. Haven't you been too comfortable? Every time you face crisis, you retreat. With your current demeanor, how can you possibly compete with me for Yuan-Shi?" The official establishment is short on positions beyond the Five Elements, and a bachelor's degree is a significant advantage. If you can rise to the rank of Saint, they will certainly nurture and promote you—wouldn't you like to become a powerful steward with real influence? The three members bowed their heads, remaining silent. Zhang Yuanqing looked at Guan Ya with growing astonishment. At this moment, he saw in her serious and composed demeanor the reflection of Fu Qingyang—or Fu Qingxuan. This was the unique quality of scouts: an innate leadership and ability to command subordinates. Scouts correspond to the Metal element, represented by the White Tiger, which embodies authority and decisive action. Each high-level scout is born a natural leader—akin to a destined military hero in ancient times. It wasn't clear when, but Guan Ya had already become the de facto leader of the team. Li Chunfeng dared to tease him, Xie Lingxi could flirt and pout with him, and the Queen herself could seduce him—yet before Guan Ya, they all felt like ordinary soldiers in the presence of a general. Moreover, Zhang Yuanqing noticed that the team members' silence was not due to pressure, but rather a sign of thoughtful reflection—of self-encouragement and internal dialogue. This is another application of the art of insight: only by understanding people's inner minds can one truly reach their core. The queen's persistent longing that went unfulfilled, Lingxi's sense of inadequacy as the sole heir of the family line despite her ordinariness, Li Chunfeng's growing ambition to transition from an independent practitioner to a formal institutional role—all these were struck deeply by Guan Ya's lightly spoken words. "I'll have Yuanshi prepare several items or talismans suitable for night-wandering deities to counteract阴 entities," Guan Ya said. "Is there anything else?" Only then did Xie Lingxi and her companions feel relieved, nodding in agreement. Guan Ya picked up her chopsticks once more. "Let's eat." ... In the spacious bedroom, Zhang Yuanqing sat by his desk, holding a brush dipped in vermilion ink, drawing one after another yellow paper talismans. Guan Ya, freshly bathed, stood by the table, gently patting her slightly wavy hair with a dry towel. She wore a silk nightgown, her body radiating the subtle fragrance of body spray, making Zhang Yuanqing yearn to set down his brush and become a devoted puppy. “Heh～” He exhaled a stream of Taiyin energy, and the lively, clumsy infant spirit rolled off the table. “Son, I’ll be out on a mission tonight—going to help two of the elder ladies complete a quest.” Zhang Yuanqing gently stroked the sparse tuft of infant spirit hair on the baby’s head. Xie Lingxi picked up a thick stack of yellow paper talismans and drew one out. "This is the Yin Eye Talisman," she said, channeling her spiritual energy to ignite the talisman. As the bright flame danced, a cold, ethereal energy flowed into her palm and settled around her eyes. A refreshing coolness spread through her eyes, and then she saw the infant spirit lying on the tea table. "Zhang Yuanqing sensed the connection between himself and the little comic had been interrupted, 'The extraordinary-stage quests won't last more than 24 hours. They'll be back by tonight.' Guan Ya nodded, then turned to get onto the bed: 'Let's go to sleep.' 'I need to go out this evening for some official matters,' Zhang Yuanqing said. Just as Guan Ya climbed onto the bed, her tone suddenly turned cold: 'Oh, don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave.' She pulled the air-conditioning blanket up, lay on her side, and turned her back to him. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the digital clock and silently removed his coat, walking toward the double bed. 'Hm, you weren't going out for official matters, were you?' Guan Ya flipped over, using her knees to press against his chest, preventing him from getting onto the bed. 'You're the one who's handling official matters,' Zhang Yuanqing replied calmly. Guan Ya spat out a little, her knees firmly pressing against his chest, smiling gently: 'Fine, go ahead. Just in this position.' 'That won't do. I can't reach you—open up your knees a bit.' ' "Guan Ya seized the opportunity to make her demands: 'You have to ask Xiao Yuan to step down from the guild.'" This woman, once the relationship is firmly established, always instinctively uses two things to pressure her man—her body and her children. "Wait a moment, I'll call Lingjun." The water-like luster in Guan Ya's eyes flashed with confusion. "Why call Lingjun?" "I'd like to ask him how to say sweet things at this very moment." "Get out!" "Fine, get out!" A few minutes later, they rolled onto the bedsheet, the mattress emitting a rhythmic creak. …… 2 a.m., suburban zoo. On the quiet, deserted suburban streets, a figure in a hooded sports jersey, wearing a mask, moved slowly toward the zoo under the soft glow of golden-yellow streetlights. The zoo usually dismisses its staff at night, leaving only the dog manager, the senior dog, to oversee the premises. The senior dog typically does not stay near the outer perimeter. The figure approached the tightly sealed iron gate, gracefully scaling the steel thorns that formed the gate, and entered the zoo. He did not venture deep into the grounds, but paused beneath the glow of a streetlamp. This was a shade—a corpse retrieved by the Marshal from the city of ghosts. At this moment, the role of a mere expendable became evident. Zhang Yuanqing was in charge of this shade, intending to use it as a medium to communicate with the spirit of the artifact. The spirit of the artifact mistook him for his father, Zhang Zizhen—either by bloodline or by soul. If it were the latter, then the current presence of Zhang Yuanqing, guiding the shade, should have been sufficient to awaken the spirit. Should that fail, it would confirm the bloodline hypothesis. Nevertheless, Zhang Yuanqing would not appear personally. Instead, he would softly recite the name, "Zhang Zizhen." Time passed swiftly. After fifteen minutes, the spirit still did not appear, and the sensation of being observed remained absent. It seemed only a grander effort would suffice. Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, lifted his head, and gazed into the dark night sky, speaking softly: "Zhang—Zi As the words settled, fierce winds roared throughout the zoo, causing the surrounding plants to sway wildly, rustling softly, as if spectral figures. A gaze descended from the night sky, settling upon Zhang Yuanqing.