A gale roared, sweeping up leaves and dust, causing plants to sway like waves—whole zoo came alive. Amid this towering spectacle, Zhang Yuanqing once again sensed the "gaze," a terrifying presence from the unseen depths. Unlike before, this time the gaze from the spirit of the artifact burned with furious wrath, as though a deity had been offended by the mere touch of a mortal, its stormy winds serving as tangible proof of its indignation. An indescribable chill and alarm surged through him, instantly awakening a sense of urgency to face the wild beasts with bare hands. Hair on his arms stood rigid, adrenaline pouring forth, muscles in his legs and back tightening silently—his body responding with vigorous physiological adjustments, automatically shifting into peak combat readiness. Not good—the reaction was a bit intense. He clearly sensed the surrounding temperature dropping, as if countless eyes were watching in the darkness, the night itself now tinged with an atmosphere of danger. The moment he uttered Zhang Zizhen's name, he had violated the rules. Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced through his mind. Although the significance of the shadow corpse was merely to serve as a sacrificial pawn, he had come to the zoo to gather information—not to deliver a shadow corpse over a thousand miles. He needed to act immediately to remedy the situation. On the other hand, the relationship between Old Dad and the artifact spirit clearly stands out—pretending to be Zhang Zizhen before the spirit would be easily exposed, potentially angering the spirit and undermining the very purpose of their visit. "Are you his descendant?" A clear, youthful voice echoed, reminiscent of a composed young lady. Zhang Yuanqing turned in that direction and finally spotted a small rabbit with red eyes nestled among the shrubs behind him. Through the gaps in the foliage, the rabbit observed him with cautious curiosity, its gaze cold and slightly displeased. The spirit had taken form in the rabbit? Quite endearing. From the tone, the spirit’s personality seemed to be that of a young woman. Zhang Yuanqing试探ly asked, "Then, you're the spirit responsible for this garden area?" "Are you his descendant?" The rabbit repeated firmly. "Yes, Zhang Zizhen is my father," Zhang Yuanqing replied clearly. The rabbit gazed at him thoughtfully, as if assessing the truth of his words. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then said, "When I came here last time, you mistook me for him." This was something only he and the spirit of the vessel knew. "It was you—I remember now…" The rabbit's three-pointed mouth moved gently, and her tone softened noticeably. "You are indeed the Night-Wanderer. His lineage should be that of the Night-Wanderer. Where is Zhang Zizhen, though? Where has he gone?" Her tone had improved. I've been telling myself that everyone has returned to the spiritual realm for over a decade—wouldn't she have burst into a fit of panic right then? Zhang Yuanqing decided to take a steady approach and shook his head. "I don't know. When I was still young, he left, saying he had something important to accomplish. He hasn't returned since." This was a story he had adapted from the conversation between Zhang Zizhen and the Dog Elder at the Monkey Garden, one that made sense to the vessel's spirit. "Do you not know where he is?" The little rabbit's lips moved gently, her voice crisp yet tinged with disappointment, her tone growing colder: "What are you here for? Do you intend to gain my trust under Zhang Zizhen's name, then take everything away from me through the little dog? Though you are his descendant, that doesn't count as a plus point with me—on the contrary, your mother has left me deeply dissatisfied." "Have you met my mother?" Zhang Yuanqing felt a spark of interest. "Not personally, but I know humans only breed with their closest kin. That's why I'm unhappy," the little rabbit said with conviction. So you're jealous? After all, why would a spirit of an object have such strong possessiveness toward the host... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, glancing around nervously, afraid to see a fluffy Teddy dog emerge from the shadows. "No one will come," the little rabbit said, peering through the bushes, her voice bright and clear. "Speak your purpose." Zhang Yuanqing had already carefully prepared his remarks. Upon hearing this, he spoke without hesitation: "After becoming a Spirit Realm traveler and joining the official organization, I stumbled upon the identity of Zhang Zizi as the twin of the Leye Sun and Moon during a chance encounter. Since then, I've been quietly investigating, aiming to find my father, who has been missing for years. "During my investigation, I discovered you and your connection with Dog Elder. Today, I learned that one of the Shadow Twins, Ling Tuo, has become the leader of a sinister organization. "I would like to ask you about something that happened in 1999—what exactly transpired? What caused Ling Tuo's death? And what exactly did the Xiao Yao Organization do after acquiring the core fragment of the Light Compass?" Moreover, as a son, it is entirely natural to seek out a missing father—thus, the spirit vessel must rely on Zhang Zizhen to find him. Is there anyone in the world more eager to know where their father has gone than a son? Indeed, the small rabbit, with a voice as cool and clear as a young girl, said: "After obtaining the core fragments of the Light Compass, the four of them stayed in the park for some time, constantly studying the fragments. The park is the secret base of the Xiao Yao organization, where they usually gather to discuss plans. I have not been particularly involved in the Light Compass matters, only knowing that one day they suddenly became very excited and spoke some rather strange things..." "Strange things?" Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked, "What exactly did they say?" “It’s… like keys, vessels, offshoots of the sun—basically, they’ve mastered the way to use the fragments of the Light Compass. Then Zi Zhen told me he’d be leaving for a while. The zoo will be without a manager during that time, but I’m a mature spirit-being now, so he hopes I’ll learn to manage the malevolent entities on my own.” My dad understands CPUs… Zhang Yuanqing grumbled, asking, “Where did they go?” “They entered the Spiritual Realm—together, four of them, claiming they wanted to uncover the ultimate secret of the Realm.” Entered the Spiritual Realm? Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brows, “All of them together? Through a transportation device?” For most Spiritual Realm travelers, entering a Spiritual Realm instance is a passive experience, occurring once a month, driven by the Realm itself. Only transportation devices can break this pattern. They entered the Spiritual Realm through the core fragment of the Light Compass. The little rabbit instinctively twitched its delicate nose, snuffling randomly while emitting a crisp, clear voice: "I've forgotten how long it has been since they left, but I'll never forget the day they returned—because that's when all the misfortunes began. When they came back, they were disheveled and injured. After returning to the park, the four of them argued fiercely, seemingly over something significant, though I didn't catch the specifics—the sounds were muffled by the set. That argument ended badly between Shizutaka and the others. After that, Shizutaka began to fall ill. What kind of illness?" "He was cursed—by a dreadful curse, one of the most severe I've ever witnessed. His condition has been steadily worsening, as the curse's power slowly erodes his life force. Yet Shizutaka himself seems completely indifferent. He has grown increasingly quiet, often sitting in silence, lost in thought." One day, he suddenly told me he had to go out to handle some matter. He left briefly and returned quickly, but brought with him a negative update—Ling Tu had passed away. After Ling Tu's death, he moved us to Songhai, and from then on, he rarely left the premises, spending most days accompanying me in sealing away the malevolent entities within the zoo, only occasionally returning home. "He seemed to be avoiding something. The other two never came to the park to see him again. Then, one day, he suddenly told me Chu Shang had also died. "Chu Shang's passing deeply affected him. He stopped staying at the park and began traveling frequently, until one day he told me he would be away for a while and asked me to follow that little dog. "Since then, I have not seen him again." Zhang Yuanqing extracted two key insights: First, Ling Tu did not die during the 'action' of uncovering the secret of the spiritual realm, but after leaving it. Second, the core fragment of the Light Compass enables spiritual realm travelers to move between realms—it functions like a key. He was somewhat disappointed—though the information was important, it fell short of his expectations. The once-cold, youthful voice had, unconsciously, grown more weathered and distant: "Actually, over the years, I've often wondered if he might have already returned to the spiritual realm. But the little dog tells me he simply left—there's no evidence that he ever passed away. What's your name?" Zhang Yuanqing listened intently and didn't immediately respond, hesitating slightly before answering: "Zhang Yuanqing!" "Zhang Yuanqing..." the little rabbit gazed at him. "You'll find him, won't you?" "I will." Zhang Yuanqing nodded. After carefully absorbing the information, he suddenly remembered the recorded conversations from the monkey garden and asked immediately: "I've learned that several items held in the garden are tied to secrets of the spiritual realm. Could you tell me about them?" "It was an accidental exploration." "The little rabbit sat neatly and said, 'They entered a site where ancient evil spirits were sealed. As I heard from Zi Zhen, these spirits are the souls of animals that refuse to die—they're filled with resentment and malice. Only animal bodies can carry them. So, he used materials from the site and nearly spent everything he had, personally commissioning a craftsman to create this artifact, and then incorporated me into it, forging me into its spirit essence.' 'Wait—what do you mean "incorporated me into it"? You're not one of the spirit essences born within the park, are you?' 'I am, in fact, a rule-based artifact, specialized in sealing.' Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood, thinking to himself: 'That's why you're so dependent on Zi Zhen and so distant from the Three Free Spirits—you're always been a piece of equipment from your father's old days.' 'What exactly do you mean by "souls of animals that refuse to die"?' 'These are the souls of those who perished in a war from ancient times—war you should know about.' 'Why do I know about this?' Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. "There is an unyielding, indestructible will among the spirits, lingering deep within the park, constantly growling in restless defiance: '%￥#.' Zi Zhen said, 'the one who utters this...' The rabbit gazed at him. 'Xuan Yuan!' Zhang Yuanqing didn't immediately catch on. After several seconds, he gasped, 'The Yellow Emperor, Xuan Yuan?' The rabbit remained silent. Hmm, so the dialect-like language of the leather city was actually an ancient regional dialect? The ancient war god was calling out 'Xuan Yuan'—the legendary Yellow Emperor? It now seems that the enduring resolve of the ancient war god in the zoo belongs to... Zhang Yuanqing's mind instantly conjured up a renowned mythological and historical figure. Following the Empress Nüwa, two more legendary figures have been confirmed as travelers of the spiritual realm—Emperor Huang and Chi You." Looking back, the skill descriptions of the ancient war god bear a strong resemblance to the legendary Chiyou—especially the one known as the Fog Lord. It's said that Chiyou was dismembered and beheaded by Huangdi, which matches exactly with the unyielding spirit I've witnessed. So, Chiyou was indeed an ancient war god—no, not quite. That form was only the manifestation of his posthumous resentment; his original, true form must have been even more formidable. Therefore, this war must be the Battle of Zhuolu? I remember historians have yet to pinpoint the exact location of the Battle of Zhuolu. Could it be that the battle has been folded into the realm of the Su Mi Jie? Or perhaps it has always taken place within the Su Mi Jie itself? The little rabbit stopped and turned to gaze back, "Is there anything else?" "Who is the other member of the Shadow Twin?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. The three known members are the Master Zhang, Chu Shang, and Ling Tu. The fourth remains profoundly mysterious—supposedly, no outsider has ever seen his true form. Others may not know, but the spirit beings of the zoo certainly do. Master Zhang and Chu Shang have returned to the spiritual realm, Ling Tu has become a fallen one. What has become of the last member? Will he, like the first two, return to the spiritual realm, or, like Ling Tu, become a fallen one? "I promised him I would keep his identity a secret," said the little rabbit, "but since you are the true descendant of the lineage, I think it's appropriate to tell you now." "His name is—Wan Shi Wu Heng!" A thunderbolt of surprise! Zhang Yuanqing stood motionless, stunned.