November 27th, dusk in winter.

As Bright hurried back to the temporary camp after a day's labor outside, he could hear the clangor of iron and steel from afar. As he approached, he spotted the Transcendents of the Joint Investigation Team gathered to one side, watching helplessly as a fierce battle, swift as the wind and a tumult of red and black, unfolded in the open space.

Bright didn't act hastily but immediately sought out You Jiu, who was sitting nearby cracking sunflower seeds, and asked, "Big Brother You, what happened?"

"Hm?" You Jiu spat out a shell and responded, "Isn't it obvious? Beauty and the Beast."

Bright couldn't help but chuckle before inquiring, "So why are Xingzi and Ursa fighting?"

In the camp's open space, Sakura Kyoko from the Martial Soul Hall and Ursa from Winter Castle, both Fourth Stage Experts, were the ones fighting. Though they seemed to be holding back their attack power to avoid harming others, the ground where they battled had nearly caved in—a giant pit was about to form!

Since both were powerful close-combat Transcendents, their clash resulted in countless sparks as blade met fist and claw. The residual winds from their strikes were strong enough to carve fissures in the ground, forcing the observing Transcendents to keep their distance.

You Jiu, signaling with his finger, took the iced tea that Chen Liao handed to him with a grimace and, while drinking, said, "There's a problem with the Martial Soul Hall's logistics."

"What's the issue?" Bright asked, slightly startled. "Is Russia picky with food?"

"Not that," You Jiu explained. "It's just that the Martial Soul Hall underestimated the Russian Great Han's need for alcohol—the alcoholic content of the liquor they provided was too low. He needs the kind of strong drink that would fry your brain upon consumption. The alcohol they provided couldn't even compare to medical alcohol; he couldn't get drunk off it at all."

The Flourishing Sakura People have always enjoyed sake, soju, and beer. Soju is the strongest among them, but it's at most around 45% ABV. Compared to the Spirytus (Water of Life, a general term for alcoholic beverages 96% ABV or higher) that Ursa drinks daily, it's nothing.

It's likely that Winter Castle hadn't communicated their alcohol needs to the Martial Soul Hall—who would have thought they'd be stranded in the Missile Mountain Range for two days and nights?

The supplies that the Martial Soul Hall rushed over were already quite comprehensive—as evident from the sunflower seeds in You Jiu's hand—but how could they have known that someone needed Water of Life while on a mission?

"But if he had no alcohol, why would he start fighting with Xingzi?" Bright continued to inquire.

"Without booze, he naturally went to find the person in charge of the Martial Soul Hall. Kyoko here made no progress today, so she was also fuming. They started fighting after just a few words," You Jiu shook his head. "It's winter already, and yet their tempers are still so fiery…"

Bright nodded slightly and didn't inquire further. Instead, he got a bottle of water from a Watcher and rested to the side. You Jiu seemed surprised. "Aren't you going to stop them?"

"Why stop them? They need to have this fight," Bright stated. "Having not found the Demon King today, Xingzi, as the person in charge of the Martial Soul Hall, is under the most pressure. Ursa is full of resentment, with no alcohol to suppress it, nor able to exact revenge on the Demon King... It's bad for them to hold it in; letting it out in a fight is for the best."

"Besides, they were quite restrained, rarely using their lethal supernatural powers… Seeing that, why should I stop them? Didn't you realize this, Big Brother You, which is why you're watching from the sidelines?"

You Jiu huffed. "I just wanted to enjoy the show."

"Big Brother You, you too have a warm heart beneath a cold exterior." Bright glanced at the continuing battle. "It seems they are getting tired… I'll give them a reason to stop the fight."

As he spoke, Bright dashed into the fray, slipping between the two combatants' exchanges. He drew his sword to block Sakura Kyoko's lance and pressed Ursa's Thunder Fist with his left hand, stopping the embattled pair in an instant!

"Both of you, for the love of God, stop," Bright said. "It would be a pity if the Demon King appeared afterward and you lacked the strength to fight."

The duo, already looking to stop, used the opportunity to step back. Sakura Kyoko cursed, "For the sake of a handsome face, I'll let you off this time, you bear! Next time I'll see what Red Braised Bear Paw tastes like!"

Ursa glared at her, then suddenly burst into laughter. "A Warrior won't get angry with a little girl under one meter fifty."

"What one meter fifty!" Sakura Kyoko nearly jumped in anger, standing on tiptoe and shouting, "I am clearly—"

"Okay, okay." Bright calmly soothed them, saying, "Both of you, I know you're upset because of the lack of progress, but now that you've vented, it's time to fulfill your responsibilities as leaders. Everyone is watching."

The two fell silent. Then Bright clapped his hands loudly, announcing, "Everyone, it's been a tough search tonight! Those whose turn it is, switch out; those off duty should rest!"

As the show was over, the watching Transcendents also returned to their quarters to eat and rest. Bright looked at Ursa and offered with a smile, "I still have a bottle of whiskey over there. Shall I bring it to you later?"

Ursa eyed him, paused for a moment, burped, and asked, "Fancy a few drinks with me, brother?"

"There's no need for that; I prefer to remain clear-headed when I'm on a mission," Bright said. "I don't have the same tolerance for alcohol that you do, Ursa. If I drink, I might go mad with drunkenness—and I'm already upset about making no progress today."

Upon hearing this, the two showed a trace of embarrassment. At that moment, Dai Ze, who had been watching from the sidelines, came over to ask, "Mr. Leopold, does the Watcher organization have any more precise information about the Demon King?"

Bright gave a wry smile. "Not at the moment. Captain Zack still hasn't found the Demon King's Followers who are the Source of Disaster, so there are no leads to make predictions... But the Demon King should still be in the mountains."

Sakura Kyoko seemed quite disheartened. "But a day has already passed. If she traveled at full speed, she might have already reached Toyama Prefecture..."

"Don't worry, it's just one person," Bright said. "We represent the will of the entire world; we will definitely defeat the evil Demon King... And all the surrounding cities have prepared their defenses, haven't they? She won't be able to escape."

"Of course," Sakura Kyoko immediately said. "All the residents of the nearby cities are aware that two extremely dangerous individuals from the Mysterious Country are on the run. Police forces from the Kinki and Central Region have also been mobilized. They will surely be spotted if they show up in any city."

"Good... What about Kadell?" Bright asked.

Dai Ze replied, "He requested to search alone and hasn't returned all day."

"Everyone is working hard to catch the Demon King..." Bright sighed, then suddenly slammed his fist into his palm, saying loudly, "Alright, I'm going to search throughout the night!"

Sakura Kyoko was slightly startled, then firmly planted her large spear in the ground. "I'll be searching throughout the night too!"

They had originally planned to disperse personnel for daytime searches and keep night watch, with the six Transcendents ready at the camp to provide support at any moment. This wasn't because they were unwilling to work overtime, but because night search efficiency was too low. The light was too faint, and drones were almost entirely ineffective, making it highly probable they would miss the Demon King even if nearby. It was better to get a good night's sleep and conserve energy.

"Not getting proper sleep might affect your growth, you know," Bright joked. Sakura Kyoko's expression changed slightly, but she still gritted her teeth, resolute in her decision to search through the night.

Ursa suddenly spoke up. "I might as well search too. If I'm not drinking, then I might as well be moving around."

Seeing this, Dai Ze had no choice but to follow suit and joined the grueling search party. You Jiu, who had just finished his sunflower seeds, clapped his hands, stood up, and said, "Then I shall take on the most important task—guarding the camp."

"Thanks, Big Brother You." Bright looked around and said earnestly, "Justice will prevail over evil. I wish you all good luck. Now, I'll continue the search."

Watching Bright toss his water bottle into the temporary trash can and marshal the Watchers to stride purposefully away from the camp, Dai Ze clicked his tongue softly. "Hypocrisy..."

Sakura Kyoko immediately glared at Dai Ze and said, "What did you say?"

Dai Ze, certainly not expecting Sakura Kyoko to understand Portuguese, immediately fell silent. Kyoko huffed and looked in the direction Bright had left, unable to help but sigh. "Why couldn't he be from Flourishing Sakura..."

"He's probably Russian; only the cold and strong liquor can forge such a Warrior." Ursa, holding his newly acquired whiskey, took a big swig. His angry expression eased somewhat as he spoke, "I like this blond kid."

You Jiu, who was heading to the dining area for a meal, suddenly turned back to ask Chen Liao, "What do you think of that kid Bright?"

"Handsome, amiable, passionate, powerful, with a strong personal charm," Chen Liao said without hesitation. "For the Federation, he might be more important than Angel Zack."

You Jiu shrugged his shoulders, muttering, "It seems only I and he have yet to succumb..."

「...」

Meanwhile, after leaving the camp and walking a certain distance, Bright said to the Watchers, "I need to leave for a bit to verify something. Continue patrolling according to the planned route and don't reveal any information about my whereabouts."

"No problem, Bright!"

"Go ahead. Since you're here, you might want to try out the bubble baths in Flourishing Sakura..."

"OK."

Even without any explanation from Bright, the Watchers readily complied with his orders.

After bidding them goodbye with a smile, Bright went to a hidden spot beneath a tree. Watching the sun gradually set and the chaotic flurries of snow, he whispered softly, "Detect Evil, Max."

He grunted, covered his nose with a prepared tissue as blood began to flow, shook his head, and said in a low voice, "Just as I thought..."

He casually discarded the tissue. Bright concealed his tracks, trudged through the snow-covered forest, and quickly moved northward.

The blood-stained tissue fell on the withered yellow grass, emitting an enticing scent of rust, which attracted the Hunters who had been waiting for a long time.

「...」

「...」

They arrived.

When Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi hacked their way through thorns and darkness, climbing over several mountains, and finally saw the warmly lit cabin in the mountains, both of them felt calm.

They hadn't encountered any combat and hadn't even seen a single person along the way. They even made time to eat some fried chicken. The duo seemed to be on a date, holding hands while hiking. They were curious about who would be fortunate enough to become Qiao Muyi's clue; only a murder was missing to liven up the atmosphere.

The mountain cabin was a gassho-style house, similar to those in Shirakawa-go, with its roof shaped like an 'A', now turned white by the snow—the further north they went, the heavier the snow became.

Ren Suo couldn't help saying, "It seems the heavy snow in Missile will come early this year; we may see a snowy scene at the beginning of December... TSK, our luck isn't that good."

"Not that good is already pretty good," Qiao Muyi responded with a smile, then strode towards the cabin. Just then, Ren Suo remembered something. He grabbed her, strode forward himself, and kicked open the wooden door!

The moment the wooden door broke open, a blood-red figure burst forth from inside, attacking Ren Suo like an arrow!

Qiao Muyi, who was prepared, slapped out and caught the person's nape, causing him to collapse to the ground, unable to move—while Qiao Muyi's 'Finger Lock' had an Armor Break and Suppression effect, it was so powerful it was as if she had castrated him.

However, Qiao Muyi furrowed her brows at this moment and squinted her eyes at Ren Suo.

"Did you know he would pounce out? Is that why you stopped me and went to open the door yourself?"

Isn't it said that being love-struck leads to a Loss of Wisdom? Ren Suo quietly muttered to himself, then candidly said, "Well... isn't it common sense not to let one's girlfriend face danger?"

"That's not it," Qiao Muyi said. "It's common sense for the strong to protect the weak."

Ren Suo couldn't argue. Let alone the fact that Qiao Muyi's Spells were far more powerful than normal, even if they weren't using any Spells, if Qiao Muyi got truly fierce, she could easily pin him to the bed with her physical strength alone, and he wouldn't be able to resist.

"Don't do this next time."

Qiao Muyi warned, then looked down at their prize for the evening.

The strange man, whose nape Qiao Muyi gripped, kept staring at the ground, probably because he didn't understand their Mandarin; otherwise, their public display of affection might have caught his attention.

"Don't play dead," Qiao Muyi said in Japanese. "I have some questions for you."

"Who are you? Why did you break into my house?" The strange man kept his head down, looking at the ground. He seemed a little hunchbacked, his long hair greasy and unkempt, but his voice contained no fear, instead carrying an indescribable composure and confidence.

"Look at me!" Qiao Muyi ordered sharply, startling not just the strange man but also Ren Suo—Wow, you can be so authoritative when you speak seriously?

Wait, she's stronger than me, speaks with more authority than me, maybe she even earns more money than me...

Hey? Am I the kept man here?

While Ren Suo was realizing a curious truth, the strange man slowly lifted his head, revealing the haggard, bearded face of a middle-aged man.

Both Ren Suo and Qiao Muyi almost immediately noticed his eyes, filled with vigorous Vital Energy and Spirit, visibly burning with a fighting spirit that wasn't concealed by his ordinary, sloppy appearance, but made it shine all the more purely.

In the game, Ren Suo had seen such a gaze once before, but seeing this kind of look in reality still gave Ren Suo a tremendous shock—Just what kind of person could make this downtrodden, average man with no Hope or ambition in life radiate such brilliance?

No greed, no Desire, only endless Determination and devotion!

The long-haired man glanced at Qiao Muyi and slightly narrowed his eyes. "You..."

"Look at me! You remember me, don't you?" Qiao Muyi asked in a cold voice.

"Is... it you!?" The long-haired man's voice suddenly rose with excitement. His happiness was so evident that tears of joy even streamed down his face. If Qiao Muyi wasn't clutching the back of his neck, he might have knelt down and licked Qiao Muyi's shoes right there and then. "Your Highness the Demon King, you personally came!?"

Qiao Muyi thought to herself: Indeed, following the lead of the Detective's Eye, he is the Demon King's Follower with significant connections to the Source of Disaster in the Flattened Boulder Grounds. Although I don't know how he was bewitched, the image of the Demon King that he remembers in his heart is indeed me!

When the Watcher's people use a living Demon King's Follower for prophecy, what the Follower remembers is my image, so naturally the prophecy will also be about me!

And they didn't lie—in their hearts, the Demon King is indeed me.

"Narrate all the tasks I have entrusted to you," Qiao Muyi ordered.

The long-haired man, now breathing heavily in excitement, tried to sit up straighter and stared at Qiao Muyi with fervent eyes, saying, "Murder."

"Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it," the long-haired man said, slightly lowering his head. "Your Highness the Demon King, I have been faithfully executing your commands, hiding in tourist areas and, under the guise of a staff member, I have killed a total of one hundred thirty-nine travelers, without being discovered by the Martial Soul Hall and without relenting in mercy!"

A hint of disgust appeared in Qiao Muyi's eyes. "Is the Source of Disaster in the mountains around Takayama City related to you?"

The long-haired man explained, "That, truly, gave me quite a scare. I was there to hide the bodies and, by chance, to see if any travelers were passing by, when suddenly an earthquake and landslide began, and then that Strange Creature appeared... I immediately ran home."

"Later, I heard that the Martial Soul Hall and the Watchers had sent people to subdue that creature, and I didn't dare go out to work for several days, for fear of drawing the attention of the Transcendents..."

"Your Highness the Demon King, I was truly forced to stay away those days; it wasn't my intention at all! Later on, I worked all night long, even going to Nanto City to commit murders indoors, all just to make up for the days of rest! I have really been working very hard and seriously, never failing the Blessings you bestowed upon me!"

Qiao Muyi's grip on his neck couldn't help but tighten as she asked coldly, "Then tell me, what exactly did I give you?"

The long-haired man said, "The Blessings bestowed upon me by Your Highness the Demon King are always cherished in my heart. They are powerful supernatural power, and a—" Suddenly, the long-haired man's throat made a GULP sound, his body's bones twisted, and his head exploded, bursting into a spray of blood on the spot.

Qiao Muyi reacted swiftly, lunging towards Ren Suo the instant the long-haired man showed signs of abnormality, grabbing Ren Suo and quickly retreating with him. At that moment, Ren Suo said in a low voice, "There's more!"

Qiao Muyi, without breaking her stride, continued to employ the Ghostly Rapid Step, skimming the ground like a dragonfly touching water, dodging into the jungle on the other side!

And in the direction they dodged, a path was now cleaved by a Formless Sword Gang, lifting the earth into a five-meter-high spurt of mud!

"My, my, my."

Under the Moonlight, Bright, wearing a white windbreaker and holding a long sword, sauntered out from the woods, his face still maintaining a kindly smile.

He looked at Qiao Muyi and sighed. He curled his blond hair behind his ear with his left hand and said with regret, "You, neither willing to be a competent Demon King nor willing to die obediently, really put people in a bind."

Qiao Muyi let go of Ren Suo and stepped out of the jungle, positioning herself in front of Ren Suo. She said in a cold voice, "It really is you!"

Meanwhile, Ren Suo, lying in the bushes, took a deep breath, forcefully calming the Chaos in his heart.

He exhaled a long breath and touched the pocket of his coat.

Nothing.

Ren Suo's complexion immediately turned pale. A Fear of death swiftly rose in his heart, but in the next instant, that Fear was firmly suppressed by a resolute Determination.

He looked at Qiao Muyi standing in front of him, lightly licked his lips. His complexion returned to its rosy hue, his mood completely calmed, and he felt the pockets on both sides of his pants.

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