He sent a message to Alice White: “Brother Mountain Wind, I just moved into Xiuxian Bieyuan and haven’t had a chance to go into seclusion yet. I heard there have been several murder cases recently, and I’m so scared I can’t sit still. Do you have any inside information?”

Two minutes later, Alice White replied with a voice message: “Fatty, did you forget there are twelve districts in Rongcheng? I’m in charge of Wuhou District, but Xiuxian Bieyuan is in Jinjiang District. You’re the consultant I brought in by going against my superiors, so don’t overstep your bounds.”

Chubby sent a cute emoji: “I live here, so for my own safety, how is that overstepping? I heard those deaths were caused by some dirty things. What if I run into them while in seclusion? Then I won’t be able to be your consultant anymore. You have so many old comrades and colleagues—help me ask around.”

“Cut it out. If you think it’s unsafe over there, just move out right away.” Alice White knew Consultant Parker well and wasn’t so easily fooled.

“Come on, I paid a hundred thousand in rent and fifty thousand as a deposit. It was my dream to finally move into Xiuxian Bieyuan, and now you’re telling me to move out on the first day? That’s heartbreaking.” Chubby started to complain.

Five minutes later, Alice White finally replied: “I just asked Old Harris, who’s in charge over there. Those cases are pretty complicated, and even Old Harris can’t handle them. They’ve been handed over to another department.”

“Can’t you reveal even a little bit?” Chubby pressed on.

“From the way Old Harris sounded on the phone, he doesn’t know much either. If you really want to investigate, ask a few colleagues in that area. Old Carter, who brought you into the business back in the day, is also looking into the case.” Alice White replied by text.

“Thanks. I’ll be waiting for a task while I’m in seclusion. If you get anything, let me know right away.” Chubby was always ready to make another hundred million.

“You finally awakened, so spend more time cultivating. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. Wait a few months after your seclusion before taking on another task.” Alice White’s voice message was full of concern.

“These days, cultivating for a few months costs a fortune—you know that better than I do. If I don’t have money, seclusion is useless. I have to be prepared. Now, bonuses are the same as cultivation resources.” Chubby kept complaining about being broke.

“Alright, enough talk. If there’s a task, I’ll call you.” Alice White replied.

Chubby gathered his thoughts and called Old Carter with a voice message.

On the other end came the voice of a sleazy uncle: “What’s the deal? You said you were going into seclusion at noon, and now you’re out already?”

Chubby sounded deeply aggrieved: “My old landlady kicked me out, said I was too loud at night. Tell me, is that reasonable? The noises weren’t even coming from me.”

“You never have good intentions when you beat around the bush. Speak plainly.” Old Carter knew Chubby well.

“I just moved into Xiuxian Bieyuan and heard about the murders here. They’re said to be related to the Nine-Lives Demon King. You’re well-informed—give me some juicy info.” Chubby said excitedly.

“This time I’m working for someone else. You suddenly butting in is making things difficult for me.” Old Carter had no intention of sharing information.

“I don’t want a cent, I’ll be your assistant. If needed, I can even take the lead.” Chubby was going all in.

“You haven’t done anything for free in years. Since when did you start working out of love?” Old Carter was surprised.

“Old Carter, you brought me into this business, and you told me yourself—those hundreds of deaths in my hometown are tied to the Nine-Lives Demon King. You should know what I want to do.” Chubby was getting serious.

“This isn’t up to me, but I can point you in the right direction.”

“The boss who hired me lost a relative to the Nine-Lives Demon King. This time, he’s spending big to hire several demon hunters to get to the bottom of the case.”

“The boss has three requirements for new hires.”

“First, plenty of demon-hunting experience. You’ve got that covered.”

“Second, cultivation at least at the late Manifestation stage.”

“Third, you must have mastered at least one spell of level 8 or above.”

“The boss will be back on March 20th. You have five days. If you can meet these requirements, I’ll take you to meet the boss.”

Old Carter’s meaning was clear: if Chubby didn’t meet the requirements, he wouldn’t reveal a single detail about the case.

Currently, Chubby only met the first requirement. The second, late Manifestation stage, meant at least level seven Manifestation—he was still far from that.

The third requirement shocked him even more: “Old Carter, you’ve got to be kidding. Some people can’t learn even one spell in three or five years. Now you want me to not only learn a spell in five days, but it has to be level 8 or above? That’s impossible!”

Old Carter said, “No matter what weird things happen to you, I wouldn’t be surprised. If you really can’t do it, just stay in seclusion and don’t get involved.”

With that, he ended the call.

Chubby could tell what was going on—Old Carter had taken a lot of money this time and wouldn’t leak a single word.

He still had five days to level up and develop.

Hunting demons earned bonuses, bonuses increased his power, and spending boosted his cultivation realm… In this perfect cycle, Henry Parker was missing a crucial link—he hadn’t learned any spells yet.

That set of “Bishui Divine Arts” came from his spiritual root inheritance.

The divine arts were instantly mastered, as if by enlightenment.

But spells were a different story—there was no inheritance.

He had to start from scratch, like an elementary school student learning the basics.