The structure of the Spirit Master Association's branch is quite simple. At the top are the branch president and vice president, followed by the steward managing the stewards, and at the bottom of the management hierarchy are the stewards, who can mobilize the spirit masters contracted by the association.

Being at the bottom still means one needs to be at least a Four-Star Spirit Master to hold the position.

Lin Guang was somewhat surprised by the other's attitude, but after some thought, he understood; those who can afford to train at the True Waterfall are generally wealthy or powerful individuals. If the matter were to escalate and affect the association's reputation, the other party would find it hard to handle.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Guang said in a deep voice, "I found a Gale Eagle whistle among the attacker's belongings and want to know the details."

"Please wait a moment."

There was the sound of keyboard tapping coming from the conch, and after a while, Deacon Mu said, "Yes, after you, there was a guest who temporarily hired and rented a Gale Eagle. He didn't specify a destination, and the rented Gale Eagle is of a higher level and can understand some commands. If the whistle in your hand has the number '9527' engraved on it, then it's indeed the one."

Lin Guang took out the feather-shaped whistle, turned it over, and sure enough, the same number was engraved on it.

"If it's an offline temporary commission, the association probably hasn't uploaded his record to the network yet. Could I trouble Deacon Mu to delete his commission record?"

"This..."

Lin Guang calmly said, "This matter should be kept confidential for me, that's my only request."

"What's done in the wilderness should be solved in the wilderness."

It seemed they realized there was certainly some inside story to this incident. After a bit of hesitation, they agreed.

"Alright, I can decide on this matter and will delete his commission and access records."

"This person paid a deposit of ten thousand credit points when they rented the Gale Eagle. Since the person is dead and the commission record is deleted, the extra money is somewhat problematic. You can hand the whistle to the staff next to you. Once I confirm it, I'll transfer the deposit to your account registered with the Spirit Master Association, as my apology and compensation to you."

"Alright."

The conch call was disconnected, and Lin Guang let out a long sigh of relief.

If the Divine Heart Association has an extensive network that includes people like this, then so be it.

As long as this matter doesn't leak, at least for a long time, no one will link the death of the cloaked man to him.

Although he doubted anyone would seek revenge given the cloaked man's personality, one mustn't forget that person was tasked with retrieving Lily (an experiment), initially a Purple Legend-level Spirit Beast, which was a business worth several billion. As long as the director doesn't contact the cloaked man, they will surely no longer conceal this matter, and by then, someone will definitely investigate the clues down the line from the cloaked man.

Nevertheless, while the influence of the Divine Heart Association is enormous, it mainly has some impact in Fenghai Province, whereas the reach of the Spirit Master Association extends throughout the entirety of Great Xia. So, who investigates whom by then is uncertain.

After returning the conch to the staff, Lin Guang took out his own feather-shaped spoon, infused it with Spiritual Power, and blew on it. After a while, the Gale Eagle descended from high up, landing after confirming that the battle had ended—the chaotic effect caused by the Spiritual Shock didn't last long. The Spirit Master Association's training results kept it from escaping, but the instinct to pursue benefits and avoid harm prevented it from descending actively.

Lin Guang said, "Let's go back."

The silver-haired girl, noticing Lin Guang's apparent concerns and lack of spirit, took his hand proactively, and they leaped onto the Gale Eagle together.

In no time, the two, along with the fox, returned outside the walls of the southeastern part of Zhen Sheng City.

The number of people entering the city wasn't large. The two quickly registered to re-enter the city.

The sun had already begun to set, casting the light of dusk upon the earth.

As soon as they entered through their home's gate, Lin Guang finally let out a sigh of relief, freed from a burden.

He closed the door, drew the curtains, and carefully confirmed that there's no unusual gaze around before finally summoning Lily onto the sofa.

At this moment, it was still asleep, with its nine fluffy, yellow tails raised high, and its big ears were twitching adorably.

[Status: Sleeping, Exhausted (Negative), Neurasthenia (Negative), Ore Disease (Slight), Unknown Status ①.]

After canceling the "Disguise" skill, one previously unknown status turned into "Ore Disease," which Lin Guang had expected, but another status remained unknown, which seemed unusual. However, at least it didn't appear to have negative effects now, setting Lin Guang's mind at ease.

Water sounds came from the bathroom—Vishdair was showering. Lin Guang thought for a moment, hugged the little fox, and placed it on his bedroom bed, before heading to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

Even though he was very tired, it was necessary to prepare a hot meal for everyone, as often a table of steaming dishes could smooth over a lot of bad emotions.

He heated the oil in the pot, selected a few quick dishes to prepare swiftly, hoping to finish eating soon and rest earlier.

In less than half an hour, he had finished preparing all the dishes. The silver-haired girl had also freshened up and casually put on a plain white casual T-shirt and jeans, walking in to help him bring the plates and chopsticks outside.

Just as the two sat around the dining table, suddenly they heard scratching noises at Lin Guang's bedroom door.

"Whimper~."

Lin Guang went over to open the door, finding the golden little creature sitting obediently at the entrance. Upon seeing him, it affectionately climbed up to his shoulder, just like it used to.

But it obviously didn't realize it was now in its nine-tailed form, much larger than before, with its nine tails almost burying Lin Guang's face.

Lin Guang felt the furry sensation and couldn't resist grabbing Lily, instantly burying his head amidst its nine tails, taking a deep breath.

Apart from the faint scent of mint body wash and a hint of grass from the wilderness, there was more of a unique puppy smell.

It didn't seem to mind at all, letting out a few soft whimpers: "Woo woo."

"It really was thanks to your vigilance this time."

Lin Guang rubbed its head again—Lily in its nine-tailed fox form was twice the size of its Desert Ear Fox form, and could no longer be called small-headed.

If Lily hadn't timely discovered the sneaking Akalin Demon, even if Lin Guang managed to avoid a first strike kill with a life-saving spiritual artifact, he would have lost the chance to injure the Shadow Wing Demon with an Explosion Fist. With the Shadow Wing Demon and Akalin Demon attacking from both sides in full status, Lin Guang might not have held out until Vishdair arrived.

The man and the fox returned to the dining table in this strange manner, and Vishdair couldn't help but comment: "Your shoulder can barely hold it."

"Yeah, this form has really grown quite a bit."

"Ying!"

Seeming to understand their conversation, Lily shook its head, lightly landing from Lin Guang's shoulder onto his lap, its nine tails curling up and brushing against Lin Guang, making it hard to tell if it was a puppy or a kitten.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Hmm, much better now."

Vishdair first curled up the corner of his mouth, seeing Lily cling tightly to Lin Guang, using those nine large tails to sweep back and forth across Lin Guang's chin, appearing affectionate yet with eyes slightly squinted, amber eyes revealing an inscrutable light: "Isn't it too attached to you?"

"Hmm... I don't know how long it lived in such fear."

Lin Guang sighed lightly.

"..." Vishdair slightly raised an eyebrow, his chopstick movements pausing, the corner of his mouth curving into a dangerous arc, "Next time something similar happens, tell me earlier. Letting that guy die so easily is really too cheap for him."

On the way back, Lin Guang borrowed the association's flying mount to return home, and because there was no driver, he told Vishdair what had happened and his speculations.

Perhaps coming from the same Terra Continent and both caught by Spirit Beast Hunters, Lin Guang could feel the brewing anger in Vishdair's heart.

Lin Guang shook his head: "I was too impulsive this time."

"Killing on the spot was indeed clean and quick, but in hindsight, it would have been better to let that cloaked man live a little longer; many things remain obfuscated."

Vishdair tilted his head: "Leave the interrogation to me; it's not like I haven't done it before."

Hearing this, Lin Guang couldn't help but laugh: "Well, then you better learn the Daxia Language first, or you won't understand even if he confesses."

The silver-haired girl was slightly taken aback, then a hint of embarrassment and anger flashed in her eyes: "Hey! Why bring that up now!"

"Oh, by the way."

She seemed to suddenly remember something, or perhaps was changing the topic: "Is there a record of the laboratory's location in that diary?"

"No. I don't know whether intentionally or unintentionally, he recorded a lot of information related to the laboratory but no location. But... I found an unopened parcel box in a corner of the spatial spiritual artifact, with an address on the delivery note. I checked it out, and it seems like a factory, not like the laboratory's location, most likely a Divine Heart Association outpost."

"Can we take them on?"

"Not right now."

"Then what do we do?"

"We live in a law-abiding society, of course, we report it first."

A question mark appeared over Vishdair's head: "…Report?"

Soon afterward.

After washing dishes and freshening up, Lin Guang sat in his bedroom, editing files on his computer while taking out his phone to call a certain number.

"Hello, Officer Peng?"

"Yes, I'm Lin Guang, the one from Haiyue District."

"I want to report the illegal organization Divine Heart Association's outpost."

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