Chapter 1288: Three Orders
The matter of the Medicine God Society formulating its rules was entrusted by Yang Haoran to Feng Xiao and Xiang Chuan; he would only be responsible for the final review.
Although Feng Xiao was the president, Yang Haoran knew very well that Xiang Chuan, the vice-president, would have to handle this matter. Feng Xiao’s personality simply wasn't suited for it. The main purpose of involving Feng Xiao was to help her adapt to her role as president and gain more experience in this area.
Besides formulating the rules, Yang Haoran also handed over the Medicine God Society's uniform design to Feng Xiao and Xiang Chuan. They could make it however they liked, and he would again only be responsible for the final review.
A few days prior, both the Guardian District and the Lecheng Underworld Division had successively adopted the Underworld's new Death God attire. These Death God uniforms weren't brought back by Yang Haoran from the Underworld, but rather retrieved directly from the Underworld by Wu Laoyezi, Shui Ling, and Lu Wu themselves.
It had been quite some time since the three of them transitioned from Night Watchers to Emissaries of Death, especially Shui Ling and Lu Wu, who had joined the Underworld even earlier than Wu Laoyezi. Although they had been part of the Underworld for a while, none of them had visited the Underworld before this.
Before becoming Emissaries of Death, the three had no qualifications to travel to the Underworld; they didn't even have the authority to open the Ghost Gate. It was only after becoming Emissaries of Death that they gained the right to visit the Underworld, for only then were they truly recognized as Underworld Officials by the Underworld.
The three had always yearned for and been curious about the Underworld, hoping to visit it someday. However, after becoming Emissaries of Death, they had numerous matters to attend to, leaving them no opportunity to go. Coincidentally, some time ago, Yang Haoran, in his capacity as a Guardian, issued two commands to the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District. One of these commands instructed all Emissaries of Death in the Ninth District to find time to visit the Underworld, specifically the Jingling Continent headquarters, to collect the new Death God attire, and furthermore, stipulated that all Emissaries of Death, including Night Watchers, were not permitted to wear casual clothing unless under special circumstances.
It was precisely because of this command that the constantly busy Wu Laoyezi, Shui Ling, and Lu Wu finally had the chance to visit the Underworld. However, to ensure that Lecheng always had an Emissary of Death on hand and that Yang Haoran wouldn't have to worry about every little thing, the three did not go to the Underworld together but went one after another.
Yang Haoran had issued a total of two commands. Besides the one regarding the Death God attire, there was another: if an Emissary of Death in the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District encountered trouble they couldn't handle and required assistance, they could directly access the Ninth District's exclusive page via the Underworld Iron Tome and submit a detailed report to him. He would then dispatch personnel for immediate support, depending on the situation, to resolve their difficulties.
Previously, Luo Yao was the Guardian of the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District, but he had not taken actions like Yang Haoran. Perhaps Luo Yao felt it was unnecessary, or perhaps it was because mobile phones were still usable before the world fell into chaos, allowing issues to be resolved by phone contact without such elaborate measures. Of course, it was also possible that Luo Yao simply hadn't thought of this point.
Whatever the reason, it was a fact that Luo Yao had not enabled this function on the Underworld Iron Tome at that time. Yang Haoran, however, utilized his Guardian authority to activate this feature on the Underworld Iron Tome.
Besides using the Underworld Iron Tome to request assistance, Emissaries of Death in the Ninth District were also required to submit their work reports through it. Due to the wartime conditions, and the significant weakening of the Jingling Continent Underworld Division, with Spirit Masters running rampant and other factions holding subtle attitudes towards them, the Jingling Continent Underworld Division found itself in a far more disadvantageous position compared to other continents. Therefore, he demanded that his subordinate Emissaries of Death provide a work report every week, regardless of whether they needed assistance.
Yang Haoran's reason for doing this was naturally to ensure the smooth operation of his Ninth District and to avoid being caught off guard. If he remained uninformed about the Ninth District's situation or failed to understand the circumstances in the various major cities as much as possible, then who knew what issues might arise later.
He had only just become a Guardian, and he certainly didn't want major problems to erupt in the Ninth District before he had even settled into his position. If that happened, he might very well be removed by Luo Yao, and the Ninth District Guardian position would be taken by someone else—that was not the outcome he desired.
His idea was simple: only by achieving success as the Guardian of the Ninth District could he gain more attention from Luo Yao, solidify his position as Guardian, and secure an absolute standing among the nine Great Guardians. Therefore, he had to find every possible way to achieve this, rather than passively just getting by.
While the Medicine God Society was designing uniforms for its members, the Flock of Demons Society, led by Bai Xue, was also designing their own uniforms. Comparatively, the Flock of Demons Society had far more members than the Medicine God Society, making their need for unified attire and corresponding rules even more urgent. The rules were for convenience and better management, while unified uniforms were to cultivate a sense of belonging and honor among the members.
As fellow presidents, Bai Xue was entirely in a different league than Feng Xiao in this regard. On one hand, Bai Xue's age and experience were incomparable to Feng Xiao's; moreover, Bai Xue had served as a Spirit Police captain for a period, giving her some experience in management, whereas Feng Xiao had none at all in this area.
Everything takes time, and Yang Haoran understood this. Therefore, he not only refrained from putting any pressure on Feng Xiao but allowed her to develop freely.
Yang Haoran sat in his chair, flipping through the Underworld Iron Tome, a faint smile on his face. Yet, this smile subtly conveyed a sense of helplessness.
At this very moment, he did feel a degree of helplessness, because ever since his subordinate Emissaries of Death learned they could request assistance through the Underworld Iron Tome, the number of those seeking his aid had grown steadily in recent days.
For him, as a Guardian, this was hardly good news. The more Emissaries of Death requested assistance, the more severe the situation in his Ninth District proved to be, hence his current sense of helplessness.
Since his subordinate Guardians had already sought his aid through the Underworld Iron Tome, support certainly had to be dispatched. Otherwise, he, as a Guardian, would not only be disgracing himself, but the situation in the cities requesting aid would also become even more dire due to the lack of assistance.
Assistance would definitely be provided, but how to assist these Emissaries of Death—that was the question.
Yang Haoran currently commanded considerable forces, but some of these forces operated in the shadows, while others were public but did not belong to the Underworld. Sending such individuals to assist the Underworld would be somewhat inappropriate.
In Yang Haoran's view, it was most appropriate to use their own Underworld personnel to assist these cities. But therein lay the problem: currently, he had very few Emissaries of Death among his trusted confidantes. Not only was their strength limited, but each had their own duties and tasks, making it impossible for them to leave their posts. Therefore, when it came to providing assistance, his personal Emissary of Death confidantes were entirely out of the question.
After a brief consideration, Yang Haoran decided to transfer personnel from other cities to assist those requesting help. However, he wasn't planning to use coercive methods to force transfers. While such an approach could successfully mobilize personnel and provide support, the results would definitely not meet his ideal expectations. He intended to use rewards to incentivize his subordinate Emissaries of Death to volunteer for assistance. This approach would not only achieve the goal of providing support but also ensure that the Emissaries of Death who went would have no complaints, as it would be their voluntary choice.
As for whether some Emissaries of Death would disregard the rewards and be unwilling to provide assistance, such cases were certainly possible. However, Yang Haoran believed that as long as the rewards were sufficient, the Emissaries of Death unwilling to assist would be a definite minority; the vast majority should choose to provide support.
With a decision made, Yang Haoran once again issued a command through the Underworld Iron Tome, on the exclusive page for their Jingling Continent Ninth District. The content of this command was simple: all Emissaries of Death, without affecting their own jurisdiction, could go to cities requesting assistance. Any Emissary of Death who participated in such support, regardless of their performance, would have a record made in the ledger of merits. Naturally, the more astonishing the achievements made during the support operation, the greater the merit and the more benefits they would receive.
Periodically, he would distribute rewards based on the ledger of merits. In addition to Soul Pills, those who earned merit could also make corresponding requests to him based on the magnitude of their achievements. If he could fulfill the request and it was reasonable, he would grant their wish.
After this command was issued, the reactions within the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District varied. A portion of the Emissaries of Death chose to 'sweep the snow from their own doorstep' and were unwilling to provide assistance, because they found such an endeavor too dangerous. Thus, even with the incentives, they opted for self-preservation.
There was another group of Emissaries of Death who wished to go and earn merit by providing assistance, but circumstances did not permit it. Some were too far from the cities requiring aid, while others simply lacked the strength to assist; if they couldn't even protect themselves, how dared they go aid others? If the assisted city was saved, but their own jurisdiction was trampled by an adversary, it would be a net loss.
And then there was a third group: those whose own strength was sufficient, whose managed jurisdictions were relatively safe and stable, and who happened to have nearby cities in need of assistance. Driven by self-interest, they immediately gathered their personnel and began preparing for the relief effort!
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