Chapter 128: Happy New Year
He didn't know when it started, but every New Year's Eve had always been the happiest day of Yang Haoran's year.
This year, however, was an exception. No one was there to ring in the new year with him anymore; the happiest day of his year, the day he most looked forward to, had now become the most agonizing day of all.
The entire Yangjiawan was shrouded in night. There were no lights from a thousand homes, no firecrackers, and no sounds of joy and laughter.
Only a deathly silence remained.
Beneath the crescent moon, in the courtyard, Yang Haoran sat alone, holding a wine glass, drinking cup after cup.
There was nothing on the table but wine; not even a plate of peanuts.
His expression was calm, the sadness of the previous days gone. He appeared to have emerged from his grief.
But whether he truly had moved past his sorrow, who could know but himself?
This winter was exceptionally cold.
That night, Yang Haoran didn't know how much he drank. When he woke, it was already dawn.
A thick layer of snow covered the ground. The tables, the ground, the rooftops—everything was a vast expanse of white.
Sunlight streamed onto the earth, dispelling the darkness. The accumulated snow glowed faintly, and a new year had begun.
Shaking the snow from his body, Yang Haoran rubbed his muddled head. He glanced at the wine jar on the table, then at the rising sun. It took him a long time, but he finally managed to force a faint smile onto his face.
The smile was ugly, and unnatural, almost like a sob, yet it signified a new beginning.
A new year, a new start.
Looking at the messy courtyard, the messy house, and then at his own messy self, he forced himself to endure the discomfort of his hangover, picked up a broom, and began to clean.
In truth, he could have activated the Spirit Power within his body to clear his head, but he didn't. As for why he didn't want to, perhaps only he himself knew.
It took him an entire morning, but Yang Haoran cleaned the old house thoroughly. The rubbish on the floor, the dust on the furniture, the cobwebs in the corners—he missed nothing, cleaning with meticulous care.
In the afternoon, he spent more time meticulously cleaning the courtyard, making the entire space look brand new.
These tasks should have been completed before the New Year, but in the days leading up to it, he hadn't been in the mood.
He took off the suit that had been torn by the Corpse Puppet, took a bath, and put on a brand new outfit.
One must wear new clothes for the New Year; that's what his mom used to tell him.
After all that, he began preparing dinner for himself. Though it was still early for dinner, he hadn't eaten properly these past few days. He had, however, drunk a lot of wine, leaving his stomach empty.
Soon after, a wisp of cooking smoke broke the deathly silence, bringing a touch of human warmth to Yangjiawan.
Dinner was simple. Yang Haoran just wanted something to fill his stomach, without any high demands, so he simply cooked some porridge.
After dinner, the sky gradually darkened. Yang Haoran then spent time making two memorial tablets for his parents, placing them on the offering table in the center of the main hall. That was where his family used to worship their deceased ancestors. In the past, during festivals and holidays, his parents would offer sacrifices to their ancestors here, but now, their own memorial tablets were placed among them.
Yang Haoran, of course, knew that his parents' souls had undergone Soul Transformation, but he still made memorial tablets for them. It wasn't to gain any blessings or protection, but rather to provide a tangible place for his inner yearning to reside.
Lying on the chair, Yang Haoran closed his eyes, intending to rest for a bit, but he hadn't expected to simply fall into a deep sleep.
He had been very tired these past few days, having endured too much mentally. If not for the Spirit Power supporting him from within, an ordinary person would likely have collapsed by now. Thus, the moment he relaxed, he fell into a profound sleep.
The first day of the Lunar New Year ended as Yang Haoran fell asleep.
The next morning, Yang Haoran woke from his slumber. He had dreamed of his parents, dreamed they were living well in another world.
As a Night Watcher, Yang Haoran knew this was impossible. Everything he had dreamed was merely what his heart wished for; it wasn't reality. Yet, he didn't dwell on the truth. He was willing to believe that everything in his dream was real.
Waking from his dream with a smile, Yang Haoran quickly washed up. Then he went to the offering table, and sincerely paid his respects to his ancestors, his parents, and the Death God statue.
Yang Haoran hadn't worshipped the Death God these past few days. This was the first time since his parents had passed away. In his eyes, the lives and deaths of his parents were far more important than the Death God.
Perhaps, he wasn't a devout believer at all.
Everything seemed to be slowly returning to normal. Yang Haoran's emotions were also becoming more stable. He had accepted his parents' passing; all that remained was to let time, the great healer, mend his wounds.
After breakfast, Yang Haoran brought out a reclining chair into the courtyard, and lay on it, just as his father once had.
From his appearance, it seemed he still wasn't planning to go out today.
Lying on the chair, allowing the biting, bone-chilling wind to sweep over him, he slowly closed his eyes.
This time, he didn't fall asleep. With his eyes closed, he began to organize his thoughts. His mind had been a mess recently, and it certainly needed to be sorted out.
A moment later, Yang Haoran slowly opened his eyes. He reached into his pocket for his phone, only to find it wasn't there.
He was a little puzzled, then, after a moment's thought, it suddenly dawned on him: his phone must still be in that tattered suit.
With that thought, Yang Haoran looked towards a corner of the courtyard. A large bag sat there, filled with all the rubbish he had cleared out yesterday. His tattered suit was also in that large bag of trash.
Without hesitation, Yang Haoran stood up, walked over to the large bag of trash, then pulled out the tattered suit from inside, and retrieved a phone from its pocket.
He pressed a few buttons, but the phone didn't respond at all. It seemed to be out of battery.
Yang Haoran had no idea when his phone had run out of battery. He hadn't used the phone since he took photos in the Mountain Cave, so he wasn't clear about when exactly it had turned off.
He thought of his phone now because Yang Haoran remembered the Yellow Cloth, the Yellow Cloth that contained information about the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
Xu Meijing had said that the Soul-Refining Cauldron could change the fate of both of them, indicating that the Soul-Refining Cauldron was an extraordinary item. As he organized the information in his mind now, the first thing he thought of was this Yellow Cloth.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that his phone had run out of battery at some unknown point.
He found a charger in his car, then rushed into the house to charge his phone.
Although Yangjiawan had now become a ghost town, luckily, the electricity hadn't been cut off yet. Perhaps it was because he was still living there that the power supply remained uninterrupted.
After the phone had charged, Yang Haoran tried to turn it on. After a few attempts, the phone finally powered on successfully.
As soon as it turned on, the phone's notification sounds kept ringing. Yang Haoran frowned slightly and opened the message inbox.
"Brother Yang, why was your phone off? I heard something happened in your Yangjiawan. Are you, Uncle, and Auntie doing okay?"
"Did something happen? Reply when you see this. I'm very worried."
"I've learned a little about what happened from Old Master Wu. It's good that you're alright. As for Uncle and Auntie, I hope you can face this issue properly. Don't overthink things."
"Are you there? Why is your phone still off?"
"Are you there?"
"Brother Yang, why hasn't your phone turned on yet?"
"..."
These messages were all from Guan Hai; there were many of them. Yang Haoran read them one after another. From these messages, Yang Haoran could feel Guan Hai's concern for him, but the strongest emotion among that concern was worry.
A warm current flowed through his heart. A slight smile appeared on Yang Haoran's face. He sent a message back to Guan Hai.
"I'm fine. Thanks for your concern. Let's talk more when I get back. Right now, I want some more peace and quiet alone. Sorry."
The message was sent, and a reply was quickly received.
"Alright. It's good that you're okay. If anything happens, you must tell me. Don't keep it bottled up. I'm always here. My phone will be on 24/7."
Guan Hai also knew that it was important for Yang Haoran to have some time alone at this moment, so he didn't call to disturb him.
"We're brothers. Don't worry. If I truly can't handle it on my own, I'll definitely come to you to talk."
Yang Haoran sent another message back to Guan Hai, then looked at the other messages.
"Haoran, I've also learned a bit about your family's situation from Yiming. You need to be more open-minded. Don't do anything foolish."
This message was from Old Master Wu. From his message, it could be seen that the reason he knew about the incident at Yang Haoran's home was because he had gotten all the information from Wang Yiming.
Yang Haoran had never told Old Master Wu where he was from, but he wasn't at all surprised that Old Master Wu knew he was from Yangjiawan.
Yang Haoran had some understanding of Old Master Wu. If he guessed correctly, after Old Master Wu learned he was an Emissary of Death, all his background details had probably been thoroughly investigated by the old man.
Therefore, he wasn't surprised that the other party knew he was from Yangjiawan.
Wang Yiming had also mentioned that Old Master Wu knew he was Spirit Police. The inexplicable plague that appeared in Lecheng's Yangjiawan made Old Master Wu detect an unusual aura. He instinctively felt it wasn't that simple, so he called Wang Yiming.
In Old Master Wu's opinion, with such an incident occurring, Wang Yiming, as Spirit Police, couldn't possibly be unaware. If he wanted to know the true story, then asking Wang Yiming was definitely the right choice.
The Spirit Police had their rules, but facing Old Master Wu, Wang Yiming had no choice but to reveal some information.
However, even if Wang Yiming hadn't said anything, given Old Master Wu's status, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to find out what had truly happened in Yangjiawan. Considering he could send Wang Yiming to deal with the spiritual entities in his villa before, how could it be difficult for him to understand what had truly happened in Yangjiawan?
"I'm okay. Thanks for your concern, Old Master. I want to be alone for a while now, so I won't call you."
After replying to Old Master Wu, Yang Haoran looked at the next message. This one was from Wang Yiming, and it also contained words of concern.
After Yang Haoran replied to Wang Yiming, he looked at the next one. It was a message from Ma Ling.
However, the message Ma Ling sent wasn't a message of concern.
"Brother Yang, Happy New Year!"
The message was sent in the early hours of the first day of the Lunar New Year. It seemed Ma Ling didn't know what had happened in Yangjiawan.
Yang Haoran hesitated for a moment, then smiled faintly. He still sent a message back to Ma Ling.
"Happy New Year!"
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