Chapter 1284: One Person Down
Yang Haoran could somewhat guess Ye Zhiqiu's thoughts. Perhaps he hadn't understood before, but now he could empathize with Ye Zhiqiu's feelings, so he didn't stop him, allowing Ye Zhiqiu to leave.
After Ye Zhiqiu left, Yang Haoran smiled and retrieved a thin stack of documents from his independent space. He first casually flipped through the papers in his hand, then turned his gaze to the three individuals standing before him.
After a quick comparison, Yang Haoran confirmed these three were his targets. Without exception, all three were Pharmacists. However, aside from the wrinkled Old Crone, who had already stepped into the Spirit Medicine realm, the Middle-aged Man and the Young Man were merely ordinary Pharmacists.
Of course, the information Yang Haoran had acquired recorded their realms as such. As for whether their true realms matched the records, that was difficult to ascertain.
"Hehe, you three must be tired from your journey. Please, sit down and have some tea to rest."
Yang Haoran smiled and spoke to the three, then called out to Xiujuan. A chilling breeze swept through, and Xiujuan quickly appeared before Yang Haoran.
"Divine Emissary, please command!"
Xiujuan spoke respectfully. Her appearance startled the three, and simultaneously filled their hearts with confusion and astonishment.
As for why they were confused and astonished, it was because Xiujuan was a ghostly entity, and an Evil Spirit at that. For Yang Haoran, an agent of the Underworld Office, to actually keep such an Evil Spirit under his command, how could they not be astonished or confused?
"Hehe, prepare tea for the three Pharmacists."
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile. Xiujuan bowed respectfully, acknowledged the command, and immediately went to prepare tea as Yang Haoran instructed.
"Hehe, there's no need for you three to be surprised. Her life was quite tragic; her child was still young when she died and couldn't bear to be separated from her. So, back then, I kept her by my side, not forcefully tearing mother and son apart. Several years have passed since then. Logically, I should have sent her to the Underworld for reincarnation, but with the world in such chaos now, I'm a bit uneasy about letting her reincarnate. Hence, I've simply kept her with me."
Yang Haoran noticed the confusion and surprise in the three individuals' eyes. His expression remained unchanged, always bearing a faint smile as he casually explained to them, as if speaking of a trivial matter.
"Hehe, Divine Emissary Yang, with your esteemed position as a Guardian of the Underworld Office, it's truly nothing strange to have one or two ghostly entities helping you."
The Old Crone spoke with a smile, then, without bothering with formalities with Yang Haoran, she smiled and sat down.
Seeing this, the Middle-aged Man, though still maintaining a stern expression, did not continue to stand. Instead, like the Old Crone, he chose to sit down.
Only the Young Man, tightly bound from head to toe, did not sit. Instead, his eyes blazed with fury, glaring intensely at Yang Haoran. If looks could kill, Yang Haoran would undoubtedly have been torn to shreds by him then and there.
Yang Haoran, of course, saw the rage in the Young Man's eyes, but he paid it no mind.
"Hehe, my apologies, I forgot to untie you."
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile, then with a gentle wave of his hand, the ropes binding the Young Man instantly snapped apart. Not only the ropes that restrained the Young Man shattered, but even the restriction Ye Zhiqiu had placed on him was broken at that very moment.
Freed from the restriction, the man not only recovered his strength but also regained his ability to speak, which he had previously lost.
"Damn it, what kind of dog-shit are you? ! How dare you forcibly drag me here? ! Don't think for a second I'll submit just because you're a bit stronger than me! I will absolutely never serve you!"
Faced with the Young Man's furious curses, Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged, his face still bearing a faint smile. Not the slightest change in his demeanor was provoked by how vile the Young Man's insults were.
The Young Man continued to curse Yang Haoran for a full ten minutes before finally stopping. Throughout this entire process, Yang Haoran's expression remained perfectly consistent. In contrast, the Old Crone and the Middle-aged Man, who were seated, both showed some changes in their expressions. The Young Man's insults were truly too vulgar, yet Yang Haoran managed to maintain his composure amidst such abuse. This left both of them astonished by the Young Man's capacity for swearing, and equally surprised by Yang Haoran's forbearance.
The Young Man's torrent of curses had drained a good deal of his stamina, as he had cursed with great vigor. Consequently, after unleashing his barrage of insults, he couldn't help but gasp for air in large, ragged breaths.
During this time, Xiujuan brought in the tea. She, too, had heard the Young Man's insults directed at Yang Haoran. Although she felt quite uncomfortable about it, she didn't move to reprimand the Young Man, not even uttering a single word. After setting down the tea, she respectfully departed.
Xiujuan acted this way, naturally, because she knew Yang Haoran would handle the matter. If she had intervened or spoken up, it would have disrupted Yang Haoran's plan and produced a counterproductive effect.
"Hehe, are you finished cursing?"
Seeing that the Young Man had stopped his verbal abuse, Yang Haoran smiled and asked. His tone was calm, betraying not the slightest hint of anger.
"No!"
The Young Man responded fiercely. Whether it was because he was tired of cursing or because he couldn't find any more insults for Yang Haoran, he only gave Yang Haoran a brief two-word reply, and then there was nothing more.
"Hehe, it seems you must be tired from cursing. Why don't you sit and rest for a bit, and listen to what I have to say? Once you're rested, and I'm mostly done speaking, it won't be too late to curse again then."
Yang Haoran said with a smile. The Young Man snorted coldly, remaining silent and not sitting down. Instead, he stood in place with a disgruntled expression.
Yang Haoran naturally saw this. He didn't speak again to tell the Young Man to sit down. Since the Young Man didn't want to sit, standing was fine. He had no time to waste on such a trivial matter.
Let alone the Young Man being merely an ordinary Pharmacist, even if he had reached the Spirit Medicine realm like the Old Crone, Yang Haoran would absolutely not waste time on this issue.
"Hehe, my Guardian District has just been successfully established, and my subordinates are in urgent need of Pharmacists. The reason I invited you three here this time is in the hope that you can join the Medicine God Society founded by my friend."
Yang Haoran didn't beat around the bush, directly stating his main objective to the three. However, he didn't explicitly say that the Medicine God Society was actually an organization under his direct command; instead, he told them it was founded by his friend.
Although this approach carried a hint of covering one's ears while stealing a bell, it could still have some effect. If he had directly stated that the Medicine God Society was an organization under his banner, that would certainly have been even more inappropriate.
"Medicine God Society? That's quite an arrogant name."
The Middle-aged Man, who had maintained a stern expression, couldn't help but speak after hearing Yang Haoran's words, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Hehe, arrogant? I don't find it arrogant at all. In my eyes, every Pharmacist in the Medicine God Society is a Medicine God."
The Middle-aged Man's brow furrowed slightly. Yang Haoran's words left him momentarily unsure how to respond.
"Hehe, Divine Emissary Yang, as long as you don't disdain this old woman, this old woman is indeed willing to join the Medicine God Society."
The Old Crone, leaning on her crutch, spoke with a smile at that moment. She was very straightforward, accepting Yang Haoran's recruitment without even proposing any conditions, and she appeared quite eager.
Judging from the information Yang Haoran had received, among the three, only the Old Crone had stepped into the Spirit Medicine realm; the other two were merely ordinary Pharmacists. Logically, the Old Crone, as a Spirit Medicine realm expert, should have been more difficult to win over. However, the reality was quite the opposite: Yang Haoran had barely brought up the matter when the Old Crone decisively agreed, which brought a hint of surprise to Yang Haoran's heart.
Although he felt a slight surprise inwardly, Yang Haoran did not let it show on his face. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, nor would pies fall from the sky. Since the Old Crone had agreed so readily, there must certainly be some underlying interest involved. If the Old Crone truly had no agenda whatsoever and simply agreed to join the Medicine God Society, to be honest, Yang Haoran wouldn't believe it.
As for what the Old Crone was after, Yang Haoran didn't know yet, but he would definitely figure it out. However, now was not the time to unravel that mystery. For the moment, as long as the Old Crone agreed to join the Medicine God Society, his objective would be achieved.
It wasn't just Yang Haoran who was somewhat surprised by the Old Crone's decisiveness; even the Middle-aged Man and the Young Man were equally surprised by how readily she had made her decision.
This time, Ye Zhiqiu had brought the three of them to the Guardian District. Although the Old Crone had shown no anger or resistance throughout the journey, they still hadn't expected her to agree so straightforwardly.
"Hehe, if you, venerable elder, are willing to join, I'll be overjoyed! How could I possibly be displeased?"
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile, and upon hearing his words, the smile on the Old Crone's face deepened a few shades.
"Since Divine Emissary Yang doesn't disdain this old woman, then from now on, this old woman is a member of the Medicine God Society. In the future, I hope Divine Emissary Yang will look after me more."
The Old Crone said with a smile, and Yang Haoran responded with a smile as well.
"It's not about 'looking after,' rather, my Guardian District and the Medicine God Society are in a cooperative relationship, mutually beneficial, each taking what they need. Of course, if a Pharmacist from the Medicine God Society encounters any trouble, my Guardian District will certainly go all out to resolve it for them, absolutely never standing by idly."
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile, and even made a promise, though this promise wasn't just for the Old Crone's ears, but also for the Middle-aged Man and the Young Man.
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