Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Six: Spirit Police
Yang Haoran's single sentence brought sufficient shock to Wang Yiming and the other two. They had received orders that zombies had appeared here, in extremely large numbers and were difficult to deal with, so before rushing over, they had brought every useful tool they could get their hands on.
But now, Yang Haoran was actually telling them that all the zombies had been eliminated. How could they not be surprised?
The shock in their hearts was written all over the three men's faces, and Yang Haoran naturally saw it.
However, regarding his statement, Wang Yiming was left with only doubt in addition to his shock, while the two behind him, after their initial surprise, revealed expressions of disbelief.
"Come in," Yang Haoran said lightly, then turned and walked into the house. "I didn't expect your first visit to my home to be under these circumstances."
The door, which had originally been blocked, instantly swung open for Wang Yiming and the two others as Yang Haoran moved away.
Wang Yiming didn't hesitate, walking into the house. The two behind him were clearly a bit hesitant, but seeing that Wang Yiming had already gone in, they exchanged a glance and followed suit.
Since Yang Haoran said that there were no more zombies in Yangjiawan, Wang Yiming still believed him. After all, it wasn't his first time encountering Yang Haoran, and he had some understanding of Yang Haoran's character. He believed Yang Haoran had no reason to lie to him. His only confusion was: if the zombies were gone, then who had dealt with them?
Had Yang Haoran eliminated them all by himself?
To Wang Yiming, this seemed somewhat illogical.
"Have a seat."
Yang Haoran pointed to the long benches around the Eight Immortals Table inside the house. As he spoke to Wang Yiming and the two others, he fetched a kettle and three bowls, pouring a bowl of water for each of the three men.
"My home's facilities are limited, please make do," Yang Haoran said, setting down the kettle.
The three men thanked him repeatedly. Then, at Wang Yiming's signal, the other two sat down with him, each taking a spot. Yang Haoran's gaze, at this moment, landed on Wang Yiming.
"Are you here today representing your Talisman Order, or the Spirit Police? " Yang Haoran asked.
Yang Haoran knew that Wang Yiming was a member of the Talisman Order. However, he wasn't sure if Wang Yiming was also part of the Spirit Police.
Now, with such a major incident in Yangjiawan, and since the Lecheng police had been informed, they would undoubtedly dispatch the Spirit Police to handle it. But what surprised him was that Wang Yiming was the one who showed up. A hint of confusion arose in his heart, leading to his question.
"I'm not only representing the Talisman Order, but also the Spirit Police. Furthermore, I rushed here as your friend," Wang Yiming replied.
Although Wang Yiming was not old, he was a serious person, generally unsmiling, and handled matters with considerable prudence. With his words, the indifferent expression on Yang Haoran's face softened considerably.
Noticing the subtle shift in Yang Haoran's expression, Wang Yiming felt a little more at ease about Yang Haoran's current state.
"The tenets of our Talisman Order are to do good deeds, accumulate virtue, and uphold justice. Becoming a Spirit Police officer not only doesn't conflict with our doctrines but can actually serve as a certain driving force. That's why there have always been disciples of our Talisman Order among the Lecheng Spirit Police. It's just that not many people know about this. Even Chen Ying has never known. Since she's my girlfriend, and I often appear at the police station, others simply think I'm Chen Ying's boyfriend, so they don't pay much attention."
"Last time, when something happened at Old Master Wu's home, it was actually the higher-ups who arranged for me to go. Old Master Wu was aware of my Spirit Police identity; he just didn't reveal it."
At this point, Wang Yiming managed to force a small smile onto his face and said, "Last time at the hotel, we were mistaken for lunatics. Actually, even if Old Master Wu hadn't intervened, I could have handled that matter. It's just that in that kind of public setting, I didn't want Chen Ying to know about it, nor did I want her colleagues to find out, so I was in a very difficult and passive position."
Yang Haoran nodded. He didn't doubt the truth of Wang Yiming's words. With Wang Yiming's Spirit Police status, it wouldn't be difficult to extract a few people from the police station, especially since he himself was a party involved at the time.
"Come, Brother Yang, let me introduce you. These two are my colleagues. They are not from the Talisman Order; they are Exorcists."
Wang Yiming did not immediately get to the main topic. Instead, he began introducing the other two to Yang Haoran. It wasn't that he didn't want to quickly clarify the situation in Yangjiawan; on the contrary, he was very anxious inside.
But as a friend, he also had to consider Yang Haoran's feelings. He could see that Yang Haoran was in low spirits at the moment, which was why he prepared to lay some groundwork, distract Yang Haoran's attention, and then proceed with his inquiries.
Although Wang Yiming was unsmiling and relatively composed compared to his peers, he was ultimately still somewhat young. While introducing the other two Spirit Police officers, the anxiety in his eyes was still noticed by Yang Haoran.
Therefore, after Wang Yiming finished his introductions, Yang Haoran didn't wait for Wang Yiming to ask; he proactively began speaking about the situation in Yangjiawan.
From returning home last night, to his blind date this morning, to encountering Chen Ying after returning to Yangjiawan, and finally, to the complete elimination of the zombies.
From beginning to end, Yang Haoran recounted everything in great detail, though he altered many crucial parts. Specifically, he didn't even mention the deceased Zhou Daoshi, as if this person had never existed.
He didn't speak of anything concerning the mountain cave, nor did he mention Zhou Daoshi. As for Xu Meijing, she became a friend he had proactively invited to deal with the zombies.
He told Wang Yiming that a Corpse Ghoul had appeared in Yangjiawan, and it was precisely because of this Corpse Ghoul's presence that all the villagers in Yangjiawan had been transformed into Corpse Puppets in a short period of time.
To deal with the Corpse Ghoul and Corpse Puppets, he had called another friend, who possessed unique methods for handling zombies. Only by the two of them joining forces were all the zombies finally eliminated.
Yang Haoran didn't intentionally want to deceive Wang Yiming; it was just that the matter was too deeply involved. Especially the events inside the mountain cave—those were top secret. Xu Meijing had emphasized this to him multiple times, indicating that this secret truly couldn't be exposed in the slightest.
Therefore, to protect this secret, Yang Haoran had no choice but to alter the course of events.
As for why he didn't mention Zhou Daoshi, it was because he didn't want to stir up more trouble. If he told Wang Yiming that Zhou Daoshi was responsible for everything and had even been killed, it would surely lead to far more complications.
When it came to conning people, Yang Haoran was a master. Even though he was in low spirits at the moment and his mind wasn't as sharp as usual, he still managed to convince Wang Yiming and the other two that his story was true.
Half-truths are the hardest lies to expose, and if the speaker is skilled at lying, the chances of being found out are even lower.
Wang Yiming and his two companions were Spirit Police officers, not detectives specializing in solving cases. Their purpose was merely to handle various supernatural incidents in Lecheng, and in that regard, they were naturally professional. But when it came to solving crimes or discerning truth from lies, they were certainly not on par with actual police detectives.
The story Yang Haoran told the three men at that moment wasn't entirely seamless, but even if they brought in professional detectives, it would be difficult to find the flaws in his words, let alone Wang Yiming and his two companions.
"The bodies of the Corpse Ghoul and Corpse Puppets were all turned into grayish liquid and taken away by my friend using a special method. I originally wanted to leave the bodies for you to deal with when you arrived, but I was worried about the corpse toxin spreading and causing unnecessary trouble, so I agreed to his approach."
Yang Haoran was concerned that the three might want to inspect the bodies of the Corpse Puppets and the Corpse Ghoul, so he added a few more details at the end.
As soon as his voice fell, one of the Spirit Police officers, who seemed to have some understanding and experience in dealing with zombies, fell into thought, unconsciously nodding his head.
"Even if a zombie is slain, the corpse toxin within its body will persist for a period. If any living creature is infected by the corpse toxin during this time, there's a chance they could also turn into a Corpse Puppet."
"Therefore, a zombie's body must be dealt with immediately. There are two methods of disposal. The first is cremation: turning the zombie into ashes, which naturally eliminates the corpse toxin. However, this method isn't entirely safe, because the mist formed during cremation also contains some corpse toxin. If inhaled excessively, it can cause minor physical harm, or, in severe cases, also turn one into a Corpse Puppet."
"The second method, I once heard my master mention, is to completely melt the zombie's body into a liquid. This liquid appears grayish-white and is, in fact, the corpse toxin within the zombie. If this method is handled correctly, there's no harm at all, but if it's not done properly, the danger is even greater than cremation."
"However, anyone capable of the second method is a truly skilled practitioner. A zombie's body is stiff and its defenses are incredibly strong; not just anyone has the ability to make its body melt into liquid. Since Brother Yang's friend understands and possesses the ability to directly transform zombies into corpse toxin, then they definitely have the ability to properly deal with that corpse toxin as well."
No sooner had this Spirit Police officer finished speaking than another, seemingly eager to display his own abilities and knowledge, spoke up: "When a zombie's body turns into liquid, it's quite convenient to dispose of. Just find a place without any living creatures, pour it on the ground, and the corpse toxin will seep into the earth and quickly disappear. Since Brother Yang's friend is an expert in this area, it's impossible for them not to know even this."
Yang Haoran's gaze swept over the faces of the two Spirit Police officers, then turned to Wang Yiming, saying, "It seems both of them are experts in this field."
Wang Yiming forced a smile and said, "I wouldn't call them 'experts. ' Almost everyone the Spirit Police sent this time has some knowledge of zombies, myself included. Otherwise, if we were sent here unable to handle the problem, and even ended up sacrificing ourselves, it would be quite laughable. However, we only have a superficial understanding; we're hardly high-level experts."
"You don't need to be modest, I know your capabilities. The situation in Yangjiawan is roughly as I've described. However, for the sake of safety, I suggest you thoroughly inspect and search Yangjiawan and the nearby villages to prevent any 'fish that escaped the net' from remaining, and to avoid the tragedy of Yangjiawan from repeating itself in other villages."
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