Chapter 125 Going Home to Get Something
There were a total of five massive stone doors. Besides the one that had sealed Xue Li to his death, there were four others.
When the two arrived there, only the stone door to Xue Li's chamber was tightly shut; the other four stone doors had already been opened.
As for when these four stone doors were opened, or by whom, or whether Zhou Daoshi was responsible, Yang Haoran knew none of this.
Naturally, what lay beyond those four stone doors, he was equally unaware.
When Xu Meijing brought up the matter now, Yang Haoran didn't think much of it and simply nodded.
The two left the stone chamber, taking the Yellow Cloth with them and the Soul-Gathering Bead filled with souls. As for Xue Li's naked corpse, neither of them bothered with it, leaving it where it was without another glance.
In the time that followed, the two meticulously searched the chambers behind the other four stone doors, but found nothing.
Xu Meijing had suggested checking the other four stone doors precisely because she had tasted success in Xue Li's chamber, and thus wanted to try her luck in the chambers beyond the other four doors.
In truth, even before entering the other four stone doors, both knew in their hearts that there would almost certainly be nothing behind those four doors. The reason was simple: Zhou Daoshi seemed very familiar with this place. If there had been anything valuable behind the other four stone doors, he would surely have emptied them long ago; why would he have waited for them to come pick up scraps?
After all that effort yielded no results, the two finally decided to leave the mountain cave.
Before leaving, Yang Haoran gazed deeply at the spot where his parents and clan members had turned into grey liquid, his heart immensely heavy.
Obtaining the mysterious Yellow Cloth from Xue Li's remains should have been a matter for great joy; as Xu Meijing's reaction made it clear, it was undoubtedly an extraordinary treasure.
However, with the tragic deaths of his parents and the annihilation of his clan, he, wrapped in such profound sorrow, how could he possibly be happy?
Xu Meijing wanted to leave immediately, but seeing Yang Haoran's current state, she held back and said nothing.
He stood rooted to the spot, lost in a daze, for an unknown length of time, until Xu Meijing could no longer resist the urge to urge him on; only then did he withdraw his gaze.
"Let's go."
His voice was low and heavy, as if suppressing something.
Xu Meijing saw it all; she hesitated, on the verge of speaking, but finally, after a moment's hesitation, said nothing.
At this moment, she felt it better to let Yang Haoran have his peace.
Before leaving, however, Yang Haoran specifically approached Zhou Daoshi's corpse and took his satchel.
Outside the mountain cave, both of them stopped and looked towards the entrance of the cave.
Although both of them were looking at the cave entrance at that moment, what they thought in their hearts was entirely different.
"To avoid unnecessary trouble, I plan to seal this place off. Do you have any objections? " Xu Meijing asked, looking at Yang Haoran.
"Sealing it is good. This way, no one will disturb them anymore. " Yang Haoran replied.
Both had the idea of sealing the cave, but their reasons for doing so were not the same.
Xu Meijing didn't want the secrets of this place exposed, while Yang Haoran didn't want anyone coming here to disturb his parents and clan members.
Although he knew his parents and clan members had undergone Soul Transformation and the issue of disturbance was entirely moot, he still hoped this place could remain quiet and peaceful from now on.
Xu Meijing waved her hand, and the wind howled. A powerful surge of Spirit Power, like a black dragon, charged directly into the cave entrance.
Immediately after, under their watchful eyes, the cave entrance shook violently, a muffled rumbling echoed out, and the entire mountain cave completely collapsed from beginning to end.
Sealing just the entrance wasn't enough of a seal. Making the entire mountain cave collapse, ceasing to exist from this day forward—that was a truly thorough seal.
Having completed all of this, Xu Meijing felt much more at ease, and only then did she turn her gaze to Yang Haoran.
"Where do you plan to go next? " Xu Meijing asked.
Where to go?
A hint of confusion flickered in Yang Haoran's eyes. He had originally wanted to go home, but now, did he even have a home?
From the moment his parents had fully transformed into Corpse Puppets, the home in his heart had ceased to exist.
After a moment of silence, he spoke: "I'm going back to the village first."
Although his parents were gone, it was, after all, his former home. He still intended to return to Yangjiawan.
Xu Meijing's brows furrowed slightly, and then she asked: "What's there to go back for?"
Now, Yangjiawan had become a dead land, where not a single living person could be seen, not even a living domestic animal. Returning at this time, in Xu Meijing's opinion, would only deepen his inner sorrow.
"I left some things there. I need to go back and retrieve them. " Yang Haoran replied.
"What things? " Xu Meijing was puzzled.
"Memories."
Yang Haoran answered very seriously. Though only two short words, they conveyed more than a thousand.
Xu Meijing didn't say much more. Since Yang Haoran had made his decision, she naturally respected it.
"Then let's part ways here. If anything comes up, you can find me at my grandmother's house. I'll be staying there these next few days. " Xu Meijing said.
Yang Haoran nodded and said: "Thank you for today's matter. I'll repay this slowly."
"No need. However, I'll take Xue Li's Soul-Gathering Bead. The number of souls inside is astonishing, and it will be of great use to me. When the benefits come, I'll give you half."
Having finished speaking, Xu Meijing shoved her hands into her pockets and, without waiting for Yang Haoran's consent, walked off in the direction of Liu Family Village.
She had only taken a few steps when she paused and looked back at Yang Haoran, her expression serious.
"Remember what I told you. Everything that happened in that stone chamber, you absolutely must not tell anyone, not even your closest friends. It's best if you don't even utter the words 'Soul-Refining Cauldron'."
After receiving Yang Haoran's affirmative reply once more, Xu Meijing finally left, relieved.
As for Yang Haoran, he walked in the direction of Yangjiawan, a direction precisely opposite to the one Xu Meijing had chosen.
The two walked away, backs to each other, growing further and further apart, until both vanished into the dense thicket.
He returned to Yangjiawan in a daze, arriving back at his old family home. Yang Haoran pulled out the key he barely used throughout the year, unlocked the old house's door, stepped inside, and then closed himself off within the old house.
When he had left this morning, his family had been sitting together, laughing and talking as they ate, but now, everything had changed.
He couldn't see familiar figures or hear those familiar nagging voices. Now, this home had become so unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that it filled him with fear.
He had only been home for a little while when a knocking sounded from outside, accompanied by three not-so-strong power fluctuations.
Yang Haoran acted as if he sensed nothing and heard nothing. He lay on the bed like a living corpse, expressionless, his gaze dull.
The knocking continued, and along with it, a familiar voice drifted into the house.
"Brother Yang, it's Wang Yiming. Can you open the door?"
The owner of this voice was none other than Wang Yiming of the Talisman Order.
Yang Haoran, who lay motionless on the bed, after hearing Wang Yiming's voice, his blank expression finally showed a slight change.
His brows furrowed slightly; he hesitated for a moment, but still decided to get up and open the door.
No matter what, Wang Yiming was his friend. If the other party hadn't appeared, that would have been one thing, but since he had, even if his current state was dire and his mood was low, he still had to meet him and couldn't just leave him outside without a word.
The door opened, revealing three people standing outside, Wang Yiming among them.
"Brother Yang, are you alright?"
Wang Yiming's face was as stern as ever, but upon seeing Yang Haoran, a hint of worry couldn't help but show in his eyes.
"I'm fine. How did you find your way here?"
The Yang Haoran of this moment lacked his usual friendliness when facing friends, his voice instead carrying a hint of coldness.
However, Wang Yiming didn't take Yang Haoran's cold attitude to heart; instead, the worry in his eyes intensified.
"After Chen Ying escaped from here, she first called for backup from her superiors, and then she called me, telling me everything that happened in Yangjiawan. That's how I knew you were here."
"We just arrived here not long ago. Just now, I went to Chen Ying's courtyard, but I didn't find you there, nor any zombies. Just as we were about to search elsewhere, we happened to see you, looking utterly distraught, walking into this old house. I called out to you a few times, but you didn't seem to hear me, so the three of us immediately rushed over."
Wang Yiming worried his words might provoke Yang Haoran, so he spoke while observing Yang Haoran's expression. However, from beginning to end, Yang Haoran's expression didn't change in the slightest. It was the same as when he opened the door, and the same after Wang Yiming finished speaking.
Yang Haoran's reaction not only failed to put Wang Yiming at ease but instead intensified the worry in his heart.
"Brother Yang, my condolences. " Wang Yiming gently patted Yang Haoran's shoulder, first offering a word of comfort, and then continuing: "You should rest well first. We'll deal with the zombies in the village. Once we're done, we'll come back for you."
In truth, Wang Yiming harbored many questions at this moment: Why had a large number of zombies suddenly appeared in Yangjiawan? Where had these zombies gone now? And, with a Night Watcher like Yang Haoran present here, why had such a tragedy still occurred?
He had originally wanted to get answers to these questions from Yang Haoran, but judging by Yang Haoran's current state, he felt it best not to disturb him yet.
"All the zombies in Yangjiawan have already been dealt with."
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