GRMFBS CH297

“Ge… this was actually an accident,” Zhan Yan explained feebly. “We wanted to tell you earlier, but you went into secluded cultivation… calm down first.”

Zhan Jinli looked remarkably calm: “What is going on between you and Deep Shadow?”

Zhan Yan: …

Ge, how on earth did you pick that out as your main priority?!

Faced with the entire family dropping their disguises, all you care about is my dating life—

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming felt that this priority was pinned down splendidly.

Who told a certain someone to claim just a moment ago that he couldn’t be considered an outsider?

“It’s just…” Zhan Yan suddenly caught sight of a refreshed melon entry. “Ah, someone’s here.”

His mental state still crumbling, Zhan Jinli shifted his gaze to his brother.

Who else was wearing an alter ego he didn’t know about?

He combed through everyone around him: Dad, Mom, younger sister, younger brother, and younger brother’s boyfriend… could it be younger sister’s boyfriend? Oh, wait, no; Rong Sui had a boyfriend, who was the Artisan. Then who else…

Reading the look in his brother’s eyes, Zhan Yan cleared his throat lightly.

“It’s the people from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.”

As efficient as ever, they had already dispatched a team for the cleanup.

Snapping back from his daze, Zhan Jinli swept his eyes across the others once more.

Everyone else felt the silent condemnation radiating from his quiet gaze.

Look at how badly the kid was rattled.

“Let’s move elsewhere,” Zhan Suiru said.

Given their circumstances, it wasn’t suitable to be seen by others. But someone still had to stay behind at the scene.

The ones who arrived were personnel from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

Ji Yueming handed an ID credential to Zhan Yunkai: “You stay.”

Zhan Yunkai: “Alright.”

Zhan Jinli: ???

What kind of operation is this again?

The Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau arrives, and you leave a Demon King from the Wan Yao Alliance behind to communicate with them?

A matter of mutual adjustment, of course. Besides, the double-pupil divine ability of the divine Chongming bird was exceptionally well-suited for tracking down clues.

Gu Jiancheng retracted the Sea of Shadows. Thanks to his timely intervention, the situation at the scene had been frozen in shadow, remaining virtually undisturbed without interference.

The group relocated to a nearby covert base of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. Behind them, golden light rippled across Zhan Yunkai’s double pupils as he watched the young couple’s still-intertwined hands.

Why did he feel that Deep Shadow’s state was somewhat off?

Ever since seeing Deep Shadow’s sprawling Sea of Shadows, he had felt something wasn’t quite right. Deep Shadow appeared a bit overly tense. Deeply concealed unease, anxiety, looking like he was terrified of losing something, refusing to let go of Zhan Yan’s hand even now.

Was Deep Shadow emotionally dependent on Yan Yan?

Judging by this demeanor, getting him to let go wouldn’t be easy.

How had his sequelae been cured? Could it be related to Yan Yan?

The personnel from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had already arrived at the pasture. Zhan Yunkai suppressed his questions for now. Raising his hand, his fingers swept across his visage, and a half-face divine bird mask veiled his handsome countenance.

The face of “Zhan Yunkai” had a certain level of fame among mortals. Since he and Yueming had no intention of making their situation public yet, it was better to cover up when facing regular members of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

Setting aside Yan Yan’s romance issues for the moment, his glowing golden double pupils settled onto the craters and scorch marks on the grassland.

All kinds of subtle traces became as clear as fire before his sight, reconstructing another vivid scene within his double pupils.

Azure thunder qi lingered in the crater, interwoven with his own golden-red demonic power. Along the crater’s rim, watery ghostly qi surged like crashing waves—the work of Jinli’s Ghost King Seal, unable to approach the core due to the thunder qi’s sheer ferocity, yet completely sealing off Monster Doctor’s escape routes on the perimeter.

Traces of snow-white spiritual energy tinged with emerald darted along multiple trajectories—this was Suiru tracing Monster Doctor’s other split avatars through his spiritual imprint. Thunder, demonic power, and yin qi spiraled around the conduits, vanishing into the unseen void.

Tracing backward along the path.

Monster Doctor disguised as a staff member, the footprints left across the pasture…

The personnel from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau stepped out of their vehicles.

The grassland was vast, the wind rippling through the plains. Chongming Demon King stood with his feathered robes resembling rosy dawn, fluttering as though he might take to the wind at any moment.

The ancient, exquisite divine bird mask covered the upper half of his face, yet the elegance of his jawline still exuded peerless grace.

Beneath the bright sun and gentle breeze, five or six machines sat scattered across the meadow, and the dispersed individuals all wore serene, peaceful expressions.

The ancient imprint of divine protection and veneration was awakened, stirring deep waves in their blood and bones.

Seeing this scene, the operatives of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau couldn’t help but hold their breath.

“Is this the transformed humanoid form of Chongming Demon King?” someone in the squad inhaled sharply.

Most top-tier demons preferred using their true beast forms. Although they had collaborated with Chongming Demon King quite often, this was their very first time seeing him in humanoid form.

The squad leader was the first to regain his composure: “Keep your cool. Don’t forget we have an assignment.”

Besides, there was no need to panic; didn’t their Bureau have Tianshi on their side?

…Wait, where was Tianshi?!

Helpless, the squad leader hurried over to greet Chongming Demon King, respectfully inquiring after the formalities, “Did you happen to see the Tianshi from our Bureau?”

From beneath his feathered robes, Zhan Yunkai extended his fingertips, holding out an ID card: “I am taking charge here.”

The squad leader received the badge with both hands, glanced at it, looked up at Chongming Demon King, then looked back down at the badge. His barely regained composure was thrown into turmoil once again.

Isn’t this Tianshi’s official badge?!

Big boss, even if our Bureau is collaborating with the Wan Yao Alliance, isn’t this placing a little too much trust in the other side?!

Zhan Yunkai handed over Chang Rui, who was still unconscious nearby: “You will handle these mortals. Do not touch the areas I have marked.”

Demonic energy condensed into specks of radiance, tracing out every spot where Monster Doctor had left behind a footprint.

Having finished his instructions, Zhan Yunkai retrieved Tianshi’s ID and set off along Monster Doctor’s trail.

…

Inside the base.

Zhan Yan sat flanked by Gu Jiancheng on his left and his elder sister on his right. Beside Gu Jiancheng sat his elder brother, Zhan Jinli. Facing them was Ji Yueming.

Before discussing serious matters, they first had to explain everything clearly to Zhan Jinli, who was still entirely in the dark.

Zhan Yan summarized concisely: Mom and Dad had fallen in love, married, and adopted the three of us without either knowing the other’s true identity. When he and Gu Jiancheng started dating, neither had known the other’s secret either.

A little while ago, an unexpected incident occurred; Mom and Dad discovered each other’s identities, and everyone compared notes.

In short, no one kept it from you on purpose; they had only found out recently themselves, and just as they prepared to lay everything bare, it so happened that you entered secluded cultivation.

Looking into his younger brother’s earnestly blinking eyes, Zhan Jinli fell completely silent.

In short, it was simply his bad luck, right?

Zhan Yunkai returned right at this moment, immediately pulling the atmosphere toward grave business.

“Monster Doctor acted alone; there are no traces of Infinite,” Zhan Yunkai said, taking off his mask with a deeply furrowed brow.

Zhan Yan didn’t quite understand why this warranted such tension.

“Last time, the Record of Worldly Affairs used ‘Way Out’ to track me, so it’s normal for Monster Doctor to have caught on?”

Yet neither parent seemed to agree.

Both turned their eyes toward Zhan Yan.

Ji Yueming offered him a gentle smile: “Yan Yan, you must be tired after going through all this. Take the two of them to the lounge to rest for a bit. And explain the situation to your brother in detail while you’re at it.”

Zhan Yunkai’s gaze lingered on Gu Jiancheng, then shifted back to Zhan Yan, saying nothing, yet having said everything.

Yan Yan had stripped away the disguises of the entire family—how could he not know Deep Shadow’s secret identity? This youngest son was being dishonest!

Zhan Yan: …

Judging by the looks his parents were giving him, how could this possibly be about explaining things to his brother? It was clearly giving him time to think about how he was going to explain dating Xiao Gu later on!

Zhan Yan puffed his cheeks slightly, leading Xiao Gu and his brother to the lounge in utter gloom.

Both parents were boring holes into him with looks of “I’ll wait to see how you make this up,” while his sister watched on with pure amusement.

Honestly!

Left behind in the room, Zhan Yunkai, Ji Yueming, and Zhan Suiru grew solemn the instant the door clicked shut.

“Infinite didn’t participate. Has it still not discovered Yan Yan’s identity?” Zhan Suiru asked.

Zhan Yunkai wasn’t certain either: “If it hasn’t, then Monster Doctor going to such great lengths makes no sense.”

They both leaned toward the conclusion that Monster Doctor had noticed Zhan Yan because of the Record of Worldly Affairs using the “Way Out” ability.

At the gaming convention, Zhan Yan wasn’t the only one who showed clues; Zhan Suiru had as well. In this incident, Monster Doctor spent considerable effort specifically intercepting Rong Sui.

At the same time, he used other split avatars to tie down the personnel of the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance, ensuring his plan went off without a hitch.

Monster Doctor likely didn’t know there were others beside Zhan Yan, or he wouldn’t have been wiped out by the amulets on Zhan Yan’s person.

Using split avatars as bait to distract the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance carried an enormous cost: he would lose at least two-thirds of his clones. Yet Monster Doctor did it anyway.

This showed he believed capturing Zhan Yan was worth such tremendous sacrifice.

Yet this made no sense either.

Yan Yan’s background wasn’t hard to trace. If Monster Doctor had figured out that Zhan Yan was Bai Ze, he could easily uncover the Shoude company through online information, and trace it back to Ji Yueming.

Why didn’t Monster Doctor exploit Zhan Yan’s family?

Furthermore, based on the tracks Zhan Yunkai uncovered, Monster Doctor had arrived at the grasslands long ago, and hadn’t stayed near this pasture initially. He only came here yesterday.

If Monster Doctor had deduced that Zhan Yan was Bai Ze, he would have had chances to capture him long before this—and would have died long ago.

Arriving at the grasslands ahead of time and lingering far away from the operation site suggested that he was unsure where his target would appear.

Ji Yueming tapped her index finger lightly on the ancient lightning-pattern mask, murmuring thoughtfully, “Yan Yan mentioned that when Monster Doctor turned around, he said something…“

Zhan Yunkai repeated: “‘I’m just too happy’?”

Ji Yueming: “I suspect he hadn’t found ‘Zhan Yan’ yet; he had only found ‘Bai Ze’.”

Somehow, Monster Doctor confirmed that the target found by the Record of Worldly Affairs through the “Way Out” skill was Bai Ze. But because the traces had been erased so cleanly back then, Monster Doctor could probably only verify that Bai Ze was still alive and that Rong Sui was helping him.

He didn’t know who Bai Ze was, but used some ability to determine that Bai Ze would appear on the grasslands next, and so he waited here.

If that was the case, all of Monster Doctor’s actions made complete sense.

Zhan Yunkai: “But if it was for Bai Ze, why didn’t Infinite interfere?”

Infinite was maddened with desire for Bai Ze, previously even planting demons inside the Wan Yao Alliance to secretly sniff out clues.

Although Monster Doctor enjoyed relative freedom, at the end of the day, he was merely a pawn of Infinite. Once he learned of Bai Ze’s whereabouts, Infinite inevitably would too.

Yet it made no move. It was as if it had forgotten how desperately it once sought Bai Ze, merely watching from start to finish as Monster Doctor struck and failed.

Why would Infinite do this?

…

Inside the lounge.

The clueless Zhan Yan had just finished telling his brother how he ran into Monster Doctor.

It was unclear whether his brother had even been listening; his eyes were glued onto Xiao Gu, never shifting away for a second.

Their gazes locked.

One wary, one poised.

Zhan Jinli reflected on Deep Shadow’s bizarre temperament—first working himself to the bone, then suddenly falling inexplicably in love with watching gourmet anime and dragging him along to watch too. With such an eccentric personality, he didn’t seem like good dating material in any light.

Even though there was camaraderie between them from catching the Wan Yan cat together, and he owed Deep Shadow a favor for finding Di Ting’s single horn, camaraderie was camaraderie. He could repay the favor on another occasion, but selling out his younger brother was completely out of the question!

Gu Jiancheng still held Zhan Yan’s hand without letting go.

We’re already dating; breaking up is impossible.

What else are you going to do about it?

Zhan Jinli’s eyes turned as cold and deep as an icy pool: “He was the first to arrive? When did you start dating?”

Zhan Yan: …Ge, after I talked for so long, that’s the only thing you want to ask?