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Chapter 1102: Arriving as Predicted

It was clearly impossible for Shui Ling to immediately pinpoint the source of these rumors as soon as they began to spread. After all, no matter how capable she was in this area, it would still require a certain amount of time. Thus, Shui Ling currently had no knowledge of the rumor's origin, and Yang Haoran did not blame her.

Yang Haoran nodded gently, indicating his understanding. After a brief pause, he spoke with a chuckle.

"Heh heh, could it be that this time, that brute Lu Wu actually guessed correctly?"

Upon hearing this, Shui Ling's willow-like brows furrowed slightly. After a moment of thought, she understood Yang Haoran's meaning.

"Does the Emissary mean that the Spirit Mediums are secretly stirring up trouble?"

Yang Haoran didn't immediately answer Shui Ling's question. Instead, he took a light drag from his cigarette. Only then did he speak.

"It's not impossible. After all, the Spirit Mediums are mortal enemies with our Underworld Office. They would certainly exhaust every means to eliminate me, an Underworld Official. They haven't engaged me in a large-scale confrontation face-to-face up until now, perhaps because they are wary of Ye Zhiqiu. Thus, they can only resort to insidious tactics in the shadows, just like this time."

As his words fell, Yang Haoran took another drag from his cigarette, and continued.

"Of course, I'm only guessing that the Spirit Mediums are behind this, because they have every reason to do so. However, it's also possible that the Corpse-Controlling Gate did it. After all, I have a significant grudge with the Corpse-Controlling Gate as well; they, too, have reason to use such underhanded tricks to frame me. Aside from these two forces, I can't currently think of any other force that would use such damaging tactics to undermine me."

In the battle against the Corpse-Controlling Gate that day, although the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master was rescued, he had not reappeared since. As for the other corpse refiners of the Corpse-Controlling Gate, fearing that Yang Haoran would utterly exterminate them, they had also gone into hiding.

Their failure to appear did not mean they had already left Gu Mo City. Yang Haoran had relocated the ordinary people from their territory, and given their territory to the Holy Mother Cult. This had effectively expunged the Corpse-Controlling Gate from Gu Mo City. This was no small grudge. In Yang Haoran's view, it was entirely reasonable for the Corpse-Controlling Gate to seek revenge on him.

"Indeed, some corpse refiners still remain within Gu Mo City, and your subordinate has also grasped their whereabouts. The reason I haven't acted against them is because your subordinate didn't want to beat the grass to startle the snake, because the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master has not yet appeared. It would be too regrettable if, just to capture a few corpse refiners, we allowed the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master, that big fish, to escape," Shui Ling explained.

"Your approach is not wrong. To catch the big fish, one must be patient. It's indeed not worth startling the big fish for a few small ones. Furthermore, I don't have much interest in small fish," Yang Haoran said with a smile.

As Yang Haoran's words settled, Shui Ling's expression shifted slightly. She seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

"Emissary, the person who rescued the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master that day must have been from the Demon Cult, right? Do you think this disappearance incident, and today's slanderous rumors against you, could be a ploy concocted by the Demon Cult and the Corpse-Controlling Gate working together? Or perhaps, it's a trick played by all three forces—the Demon Cult, the Corpse-Controlling Gate, and the Spirit Mediums—in concert?"

Yang Haoran's brow twitched subtly. Shui Ling's words had indeed given him a valuable prompt.

"There is indeed such a possibility. When the Demon Cult members were willing to intervene and rescue the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master back then, it certainly wasn't without reason or for nothing. Perhaps there's some cooperation between them. And the Spirit Mediums are already mortal enemies with our Underworld Office. It's plausible that the Spirit Mediums sought cooperation with the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master, or that the Corpse-Controlling Gate Master proactively sought cooperation with the Spirit Mediums."

Speaking of which, Yang Haoran pondered for a moment, then instructed Shui Ling.

"For your subsequent investigation, focus your efforts on these three forces. I believe that as long as we keep a close watch on them, we'll definitely find a breakthrough in this matter. As for me, I must prepare thoroughly to meet the impending trouble. Hopefully, before this trouble arrives, you will have gathered useful intelligence. That way, at least I won't be too passive."

Shui Ling accepted her orders and departed. She continued to investigate the matter as Yang Haoran had instructed. However, unlike before, this time her investigation was targeted.

Yang Haoran sat alone in the meeting room. His eyes were slightly closed, one hand held a cigarette, while the fingers of his other hand tapped rhythmically on the table. His face, currently devoid of its usual smile, was replaced by an expression of solemnity.

The rumors that had spread throughout Gu Mo City today would certainly have a significant impact on him. He believed it wouldn't be long before people came to confront him about it.

Although he didn't believe the heads of Gu Mo City's major forces were fools, if he couldn't produce evidence to prove his innocence, others wouldn't readily believe him. After all, the rumors were quite convincing and detailed.

Moreover, it's not out of the question that some individuals would try to seize this opportunity to eliminate him. His presence had allowed the Gu Mo City Underworld Office to rise again, which was by no means a good thing for the other forces in Gu Mo City. The cake was only so big; with an extra force, an additional slice of the cake would be divided away. This was not the outcome they desired. If he were removed, then at least for a short period, the Gu Mo City Underworld Office wouldn't be able to recover, and they could accomplish many things during this time.

In a word, since these rumors had spread throughout Gu Mo City, then trouble was certainly on its way for Yang Haoran. And this trouble could only be faced head-on; there was no escaping it. Though he wasn't a monk, he had a temple.

This matter did not exceed Yang Haoran's expectations. He was still considering countermeasures within the meeting room, and hadn't even had time to step out, when he sensed several powerful energy fluctuations suddenly appearing within the Death God Temple where he was located.

His slightly closed eyes slowly opened. A faint smile appeared on Yang Haoran's face.

"They've come faster than I imagined. It seems I'll have to go and argue with them. If that doesn't work, I'll just have to kill a few more chickens to scare the monkeys. Otherwise, I'm afraid my Death God Temple will become a public latrine from now on, where anyone can come and pee as they please."

Yang Haoran spoke with a laugh. As his words fell, the restrictive barrier enveloping the meeting room vanished, and his body disappeared from his seat along with it.

In the plaza where the Death God statue stood, several spatial rifts suddenly appeared. The appearance of these spatial rifts drew the gaze of all the worshipers present. Under the watchful eyes of these worshipers, figures stepped out of the spatial rifts one by one.

Lu Wu led the Night Watchers to the plaza at once. Because their forces had been consolidated, Lu Wu had not gone out on missions. Among his Night Watchers, some had been dispatched to protect ordinary citizens, while the rest remained garrisoned within the Death God Temple.

After all, this was their main base; it was the foundation of their presence in Gu Mo City. Therefore, sufficient forces had to be left behind to handle emergencies. Moreover, almost all the Night Watchers stationed here were elites.

Lu Wu arrived at the plaza. Seeing the considerable number of newcomers, his expression immediately changed.

"Relocate the worshipers! Take them to a safe area!"

Lu Wu issued the order to a Night Watcher beside him. At his signal, the other Night Watchers immediately surrounded the newcomers with the fastest possible speed.

Although Lu Wu was reckless, he wasn't truly foolish. He could tell that these people all had unpleasant expressions; some even wore murderous looks. From this, it was clear that these people weren't visiting their Death God Temple as guests, but rather coming to stir up trouble.

Thus, he didn't bother with courtesies. He immediately displayed his dominant side, signaling his Night Watchers to surround these people.

"Lu Wu, you little nobodies, you think you can stop us?"

A young man, seeing himself and his companions surrounded, immediately sneered. He spoke to Lu Wu with mockery.

The energy fluctuations emanating from the people before him were all formidable. Lu Wu was well aware that his own strength, combined with that of his Night Watchers, was simply no match for these individuals. But he hadn't forgotten his identity: he was the captain of the First Division of Night Watchers. If an enemy attacked, even if he knew he was outmatched, he would absolutely not back down, neither in words nor in actions.

"Damn you! This is the Death God Temple, not your Talisman Ancestor Temple! You fool, coming here to act so arrogantly. . . are you here to court death?"

Lu Wu's gaze landed on the man who had spoken. He cursed at the man, his voice loud and his demeanor imposing. Not a trace of fear could be seen on his face.

The young man's expression immediately turned extremely grim. Before arriving here, his heart was already burning with rage. Now, not only was he surrounded by Lu Wu's people, but he was also being cursed at by Lu Wu, who was practically pointing at his nose. The intensity of the fury in his heart was imaginable.