Chapter 1044 Admire
Yang Haoran did not show much excitement or joy because of Xia Xinger's words; he remained as calm as ever.
Xia Xinger knew Yang Haoran didn't believe her words, so she continued, "I'm not joking with Annihilator Yang. I genuinely intend to return this area to your Underworld Office."
Xia Xinger's voice was as calm as before. From her tone, she didn't seem to be lying, nor did she appear to be deliberately teasing Yang Haoran.
"Heh heh, I don't quite understand, Divine Emissary Xia. Why have you decided to do this?"
Yang Haoran asked with a smile, though his expression remained unchanged, showing no hint of doubt.
"Our Saint Mother Cult has no fundamental grievances with your Underworld Office. The main reason we seized this area before the Spiritualists did was not to plunder it opportunistically, but to prevent the ordinary people here from being cruelly slaughtered. I believe Annihilator Yang is well aware of the deep enmity between your Underworld Office and the Spiritualists. If they had taken this area, do you think they would have spared the followers who believe in your Underworld Death God?"
Xia Xinger replied calmly. After hearing Xia Xinger's explanation, the smile on Yang Haoran's face deepened slightly.
"Heh heh, even if you hadn't intervened, I believe the Spiritualists wouldn't have casually slaughtered the Death God followers here."
"Why does Annihilator Yang think so?"
Xia Xinger's question held undisguised doubt. Yang Haoran smiled and explained,
"The Spiritualists of today are different from those of the past. In former times, they might indeed have massacred all the Death God followers here, but they won't do so now. This is because their Spiritualists now have a deity of their own faith, albeit a Pseudo-God without a true divine position. Yet, he too requires a large number of believers to provide him with faith power. Therefore, these Spiritualists, in order to recruit more followers for the Spiritual God they worship, will absolutely not easily kill these Death God followers. Rather, I think their approach will be the same as Divine Emissary Xia's: they'll find every possible way to convert these believers to their own faith."
Yang Haoran's words caused Xia Xinger's brows to furrow even tighter, for she had grasped the unspoken meaning behind them.
After a brief silence, Xia Xinger calmly stated,
"Annihilator Yang's words are not entirely unreasonable. Setting aside that I didn't consider this at the time, even if I had, I wouldn't have gambled with the lives of ordinary people. You only need to know that our Saint Mother Cult seized this area before the Spiritualists not to snatch territory from your Underworld Office, but simply to protect ordinary people. Now that you have taken over the Gu Mo City Underworld Division, I am willing to return this area to you unconditionally, which demonstrates that I have no intention of claiming this territory for myself. I simply don't know if Annihilator Yang is willing to accept this area."
Yang Haoran wore a faint smile as he spoke,
"Heh heh, since Divine Emissary Xia is willing to return this area to our Underworld Office, I naturally couldn't ask for more. It just so happens that our Underworld Office currently has no foothold, and we need such an area to make a comeback. But I want to know what I need to pay."
Although Xia Xinger had said she would return the area for free, Yang Haoran didn't believe in a free lunch in this world, so he proactively asked Xia Xinger about her conditions.
"I don't require Annihilator Yang to pay anything. However, I need Annihilator Yang to grant me one day to relocate. After all, some things within this area currently belong to our Saint Mother Cult, so I must take them with me—and that, of course, includes our Saint Mother Cult followers."
Xia Xinger's words made the smile on Yang Haoran's face recede slightly. He didn't respond to Xia Xinger immediately; instead, he simply continued to watch her with a faint smile.
Xia Xinger also remained silent, watching Yang Haoran with calm, unwavering eyes, patiently awaiting his reply.
After about ten seconds, Yang Haoran finally spoke with a chuckle,
"Heh heh, if Divine Emissary Xia does this, you'll empty out all the ordinary people in this area. I believe Divine Emissary Xia also knows that the ordinary people in this area now all worship the Saint Mother of your Saint Mother Cult. If everyone leaves, even if I take over this area, I'll only be taking over an empty shell."
Xia Xinger gently shook her head, clearly disagreeing with Yang Haoran's statement.
"Not all the ordinary people in this area believe in my deity; there are still followers of other sects."
As she spoke, Xia Xinger's gaze swept over the several corpses in the courtyard before she continued,
"For example, these few. I imagine they still worship your Underworld Death God. So even if I take my cult's followers with me, this place won't become an empty shell. Besides, having a territory is always better than having none. Even if it truly becomes an empty shell, it's still better than having no shell at all, wouldn't you agree?"
Yang Haoran remained silent, merely smiling as he looked at Xia Xinger. This time, Xia Xinger didn't wait quietly for his reply as she had before; instead, she continued,
"I will not force these followers to leave. The choice to come with us rests entirely in their hands. Those who wish to follow us, we will take; those who do not, we will not compel. What does Annihilator Yang think of this?"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Yang Haoran clapped with a smile, then chuckled,
"Impressive! Truly impressive! Since Divine Emissary Xia has put it this way, of course I won't refuse. I'm already immensely grateful that Divine Emissary Xia is willing to return this area to our Underworld Office. How could I possibly refuse such a small request from an Divine Emissary, especially when your request is so reasonable? I have even less reason to decline, don't you agree?"
"So, Annihilator Yang has agreed?"
Xia Xinger asked calmly. Yang Haoran nodded with a smile.
"Heh heh, of course. I, Yang Haoran, will remember this favor. If ever the opportunity arises, I, Yang Haoran, will certainly repay Divine Emissary Xia on behalf of the Underworld Office."
"It's merely a small matter; Annihilator Yang needn't take it to heart. I will handle this properly before dusk tomorrow. However, during this period, I hope Annihilator Yang can be accommodating."
"Naturally. I certainly won't play any underhanded tricks behind your back, Divine Emissary Xia, so rest assured."
"Although this is my first interaction with Annihilator Yang, I am willing to trust Annihilator Yang's character. Moreover, we will have plenty of time together in the future. I believe that with Annihilator Yang's intelligence, he would never 'kill the goose that lays the golden eggs'."
As her voice faded, Xia Xinger gently waved a hand, and space tore open, revealing a spatial rift.
"My time is limited, so I won't linger here much longer. I hope Annihilator Yang can understand."
Saying this, Xia Xinger's gaze once again swept over the corpses present, letting out a soft sigh, then gently shaking her head.
"They were indeed not killed by my people. Judging by the method of killing and the restrictive barrier my people observed earlier, the perpetrators should be from the Demon Cult."
Having left these words, Xia Xinger said nothing more. She stepped into the spatial rift. Seeing Xia Xinger depart, the other Saint Servants present also flickered into the spatial rift she had opened. However, before entering the spatial rift, Zuo Meng did not forget to glare fiercely at Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran watched these members of the Saint Mother Cult leave until the spatial rift completely healed, then he retracted his gaze.
Lu Wu, who had been holding back, could no longer contain himself. Seeing that the Saint Mother Cult members had left, he immediately spoke to Yang Haoran with an excited expression.
"Annihilator, to effortlessly reclaim territory that originally belonged to our Underworld Office without moving a single soldier—this is absolutely wonderful!"
Lu Wu's excitement wasn't feigned; he was genuinely overjoyed at this moment. He hadn't spoken these words earlier purely out of consideration for the situation. Now that the Saint Mother Cult members were gone, he had no more reservations and couldn't help but say what was on his mind to Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran didn't respond to Lu Wu. He sobered his expression, his smile fading, then looked at the desiccated corpses on the ground and let out a soft sigh.
He could, of course, tell that these people hadn't died at the hands of the Saint Mother Cult. Moreover, from Zuo Meng's previous words and actions, he could also discern that the souls of these individuals were not in the possession of Zuo Meng and the other Saint Servants. His reason for demanding their souls from Zuo Meng was entirely deliberate.
And the purpose of his actions was, naturally, to ensure his plan progressed more smoothly. Xia Xinger's appearance was also part of his scheme, though he hadn't anticipated that she would be far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
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