Chapter 122: Killing People and Extracting Souls
What is an Emissary of Death? Above a Night Watcher is an Emissary of Death. Deng Feng, the Divine Envoy, is Lecheng's Emissary of Death, and currently its only one.
An Emissary of Death is, in essence, a position within the Underworld Office, much like a Night Watcher. The difference lies in their rank within the Underworld Office, which is one level higher than a Night Watcher's. The title "Divine Envoy" is merely a respectful appellation used by Night Watchers for Emissaries of Death. In their eyes, an Emissary of Death is an envoy dispatched by the Death God to various regions, hence the honorific "Divine Envoy".
There is no limit to the number of Night Watchers under each Emissary of Death. An Emissary of Death can determine the number of Night Watchers based on the size of their city and their own strength.
The emergence of each new Night Watcher does not cause any irreversible negative impact on the Emissary of Death, but it does result in a certain expenditure of energy, which requires some time to recover.
The Underworld Office places no restrictions on the number of Night Watchers a city may have; or rather, the high-level officials of the Underworld Office simply do not concern themselves with such minor matters. However, the number of Emissaries of Death in a city is fixed: there can only be one.
At this moment, the spirit informed Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing that the desiccated corpse before them was named Xue Li, and that Xue Li was Lecheng's Emissary of Death. This certainly startled Yang Haoran, for Lecheng's current Emissary of Death was Deng Feng, and a city could not possibly have two Emissaries of Death.
However, Xu Meijing's subsequent reaction surprised Yang Haoran even more. She seemed to know this Xue Li, and from the implications of her words, Xue Li indeed seemed to be Lecheng's Emissary of Death.
Xu Meijing noticed the surprise and doubt on Yang Haoran's face and began to explain: "Xue Li was indeed Lecheng's Emissary of Death, but he was the previous one. Deng Feng only assumed the position after his disappearance."
"Since you know him, you must be aware of his actions. During his tenure as Lecheng's Emissary of Death, that lunatic was a disaster for our entire Lecheng. He not only murdered countless living people, but he didn't even spare animals—he was worse than a beast!"
The spirit's tone suddenly grew agitated again, as if his hatred for Xue Li had reached a level beyond description.
Xu Meijing shook her head. "I didn't 'know' him; I merely knew of him. There are no walls that don't let wind through, and I am aware of some of his actions."
Yang Haoran's expression subtly shifted. Xu Meijing's words seemed to indirectly confirm that what the spirit said was true.
In other words, this Emissary of Death, Xue Li, truly committed such insane acts, just as the spirit claimed?
"He. . . he really dared to do that? " Yang Haoran was still somewhat incredulous.
Xu Meijing shot him a sidelong glance and said, "Don't be so disbelieving. He really did it. During his time as Lecheng's Emissary of Death, he didn't just target ordinary people; he also preyed on followers, members, and disciples of various major sects."
"Night Watchers are guardians of the night, preserving its tranquility, hence the name 'Night Watchers'. Emissaries of Death, on the other hand, are meant to guide the souls of the deceased to the Underworld for reincarnation; they are the true undertakers of the dead. But Xue Li was different. He truly embodied the literal meaning of 'Emissary of Death' to the extreme. Not only did he fail to fulfill his duty of guiding spirits to the Underworld for reincarnation, he directly put living people into the ground."
Though his facial expression remained largely unchanged by Xu Meijing's affirmative reply, Yang Haoran's inner surprise was considerable. Xu Meijing, meanwhile, continued speaking.
"At the time, because of his actions, many sects raised a considerable fuss, causing significant negative repercussions for our Underworld Office. His deeds incurred public wrath, and coupled with our Underworld Office's own rules, which he broke, we naturally had to clean house. However, before we could make a move against him, he suddenly vanished."
"Vanished? " Yang Haoran frowned slightly. "Did he deliberately go into hiding?"
"At the time, many believed Xue Li's sudden disappearance meant he had fled in fear of punishment, deliberately concealing himself—a thought much like your own just now. In response, the Underworld Office even issued a specific kill order for him, aiming to eliminate this traitor. As for the sects and Exorcists who held grudges against him, once they learned he no longer had the immense protection of the Underworld Office, they cast aside all apprehension and openly launched a relentless pursuit."
"But from then on, there was no longer any news of Xue Li. The Underworld Office didn't find him, nor, it is said, did the sects and Exorcists pursuing him. He simply vanished as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trace, no information about him whatsoever."
"This happened decades ago. I only heard about it from an old senior Night Watcher. After so many years, no one mentions it anymore. Whether it's the Underworld Office, other sects, or Exorcists, they have all forgotten this former Emissary of Death of Lecheng. Perhaps only those who hated him to their very bones still think of him constantly."
Speaking of which, Xu Meijing glanced at the spirit floating in the air. That last sentence seemed to be directed at him.
Xu Meijing felt dangerous to the spirit. Seeing Xu Meijing look at him, he instinctively recoiled, the agitated expression on his face vanishing, replaced by a look of fear. Not a shred of the arrogance he had shown moments after emerging from the Soul-Gathering Bead remained.
Xu Meijing didn't press the spirit further. After a single glance, her gaze shifted to the stone chamber's walls, which were covered in blade marks, and an expression of "so that's it" appeared on her face.
"Now I probably know how he died. No wonder the demon curse on the stone door incorporated several different powers. It seems that demon curse was the product of his enemies joining forces. What I didn't expect was that he even provoked the demon race."
"To become an Emissary of Death, one must at least be a powerful expert who has opened their Heaven Soul. To be able to trap and starve such an expert to death in this stone chamber, those few individuals must have paid a considerable price. As for why I could easily break the demon curse within this stone chamber, it's not because the curse was too weak, but because it must have expended most of its power when dealing with Xue Li. Furthermore, decades have passed, and its might is long diminished from what it once was, which is why I could break it so easily. It's hard to imagine how powerful this demon curse in the stone chamber was decades ago."
Listening to Xu Meijing's analysis, Yang Haoran was also extremely surprised. Xue Li was a powerful expert who had opened his Heaven Soul, and Xu Meijing was the same. While he had never witnessed Xue Li's methods, Xu Meijing's formidable strength was still fresh in his memory. To be able to trap and starve such an expert to death in such a confined stone chamber was indeed no simple feat.
However, Yang Haoran still had some lingering doubts. Among them, what he cared about most was how Master Zhou discovered this place, and why he tried every means possible to open this stone door. Did he know what was inside?
Xu Meijing's doubts were fewer than Yang Haoran's. Her only question was why Xue Li would do such a thing in the first place. He slaughtered numerous living people, extracted their souls, and even cultivated Evil Spirits. What could possibly drive an Emissary of Death from the Underworld Office to commit such insane acts?
"What do you think Xue Li was doing that for back then? " Xu Meijing turned her gaze to Yang Haoran and asked.
Yang Haoran was deep in thought, still pondering Master Zhou's motives, when Xu Meijing's sudden question interrupted his train of thought.
Without delving deeper into the question, he casually replied, "Could it be like us Night Watchers? To enhance his own power, he ruthlessly harmed living beings, then extracted their souls to exchange for some benefits from 'upstairs'?"
Yang Haoran's guess seemed somewhat logical, but Xu Meijing shook her head without a moment's hesitation. "Xue Li wouldn't do that, not unless he was a complete fool."
"Why? " Yang Haoran frowned slightly and asked.
"Are you dense? " Xu Meijing blurted out, then seemed to realize her mistake and changed her tone. "Never mind, I take back what I just said."
Pausing, Xu Meijing continued, "We Night Watchers hand over souls to receive Soul Qi infusions from Emissaries of Death. And when Emissaries of Death guide souls from the mortal realm into the Underworld, they also receive benefits, and far more than you might imagine. However, have you considered one crucial point? If Xue Li were to send the souls he gathered through insane means into the Underworld, he would be directly exposing himself. If it were you, would you do that?"
The question momentarily stunned Yang Haoran. While he found Xu Meijing's words to be logical, he couldn't help but think of something else: Wang Qing's soul.
Wang Qing's death was somewhat related to him, and he had already handed Wang Qing's soul over to Deng Feng at the end of the month. So, would Wang Qing seek various opportunities to expose this matter?
At the time he handed over the souls, he hadn't given it much thought. Now, with Xu Meijing's reminder, he realized that his actions back then might have been improper; Wang Qing's and High Liang's souls should not have been submitted.
If Wang Qing and High Liang were to expose this, things might get troublesome. However, fortunately, he hadn't directly attacked Wang Qing himself. Should Deng Feng truly confront him about this, he could still find an excuse, and though the excuse might be rather flimsy, having one was better than none.
Nevertheless, before Deng Feng came looking for him, he absolutely had to make some preparations, which naturally meant preparing his words. Otherwise, improvising on the spot would leave him quite passive.
Of course, if Deng Feng didn't come looking for him, that would be for the best.
Seeing Yang Haoran frozen in place, Xu Meijing decided not to question him further. Instead, she looked directly at the spirit, ignoring the fear in its expression, and asked, "Since you are a victim, do you know why he did that back then?"
This had originally been a casual question from Xu Meijing, without much hope of an answer, so she was greatly surprised by the spirit's reply.
"I know he did that to refine something using our souls!"
Comments