Chapter 1188: Pitiful Complacency
Luo Yao accepted the information Huo Laoban handed over and meticulously perused it. In a short while, this already thin stack of documents was quickly finished.
While Luo Yao was reading, Huo Laoban kept a close eye on Luo Yao’s facial expressions, hoping to discern Luo Yao’s emotional shifts through them. Yet, to Huo Laoban’s bewilderment and surprise, Luo Yao’s expression remained utterly unchanged from beginning to end.
"Great Emperor, your subordinate expended considerable effort and time gathering this intelligence. After verification, your subordinate can confirm it is absolutely true and accurate, neither fabricated nor exaggerated. Therefore, your subordinate suggests an immediate and effective response to this matter, otherwise, our Yin Division's losses will only be greater."
Seeing Luo Yao set down the documents, Huo Laoban quickly spoke. Luo Yao nodded gently and replied.
"I am already aware of this matter and have a plan for its resolution. However, it was quite difficult for you to gather this information. I will record a merit for you in the ledger of achievements. You've worked hard."
Upon hearing this, Huo Laoban was slightly stunned at first, then a flash of surprise crossed his face, before a faint smile finally appeared.
In just that short span of time, Huo Laoban’s expression changed three times, clearly indicating the intensity of his emotional shifts during that brief period.
Huo Laoban’s surprise stemmed from his belief that Luo Yao should not have known about this matter yet. If he had known, he would certainly have begun addressing it, rather than allowing it to continue unchecked. But the outcome was precisely the opposite of his expectations; Luo Yao’s words had made it quite clear that he was not only aware of the situation but already had a plan to handle it. How could Huo Laoban not be shocked?
Luo Yao’s words also revealed another issue to Huo Laoban: it was highly probable that Luo Yao had only recently learned of this matter. Otherwise, Luo Yao shouldn't merely have a plan; the matter should have already been actively dealt with.
Although he felt somewhat puzzled, Huo Laoban wasn't foolish enough to directly question Luo Yao. Besides, he was merely curious about the matter; it wasn't to the extent where he absolutely had to know.
Of course, Huo Laoban still harbored some regret in his heart. If Luo Yao hadn't known about this matter beforehand, then his merit for handing this information to Luo Yao would have been immense. But now, Luo Yao not only knew about it but even had a plan to deal with it, and only then did he present this information. His merit was naturally greatly reduced, and his heart couldn't help but feel regret because of this.
Despite the regret in his heart, Luo Yao didn't show it directly on his face. Instead, he maintained a calm smile.
"Heh heh, although the Great Emperor is already aware of this matter, your subordinate still hopes this information can be of some help to you."
Luo Yao's expression remained unchanged, but he still nodded at Huo Laoban, affirming the information Huo Laoban had brought this time.
"Though your information isn't many pages, it is very incisive and extremely helpful to me. This is because some of the information within it was outside my known scope, perfectly filling my previous gaps."
Luo Yao’s words deepened the smile on Huo Laoban’s face considerably. At this moment, the smile on his face was not feigned, but rather genuine happiness from his heart. Although he had just felt regret because he arrived a bit late, being affirmed by Luo Yao’s words still made him very happy. At the very least, the value of his information had been demonstrated, and his purpose for this trip could be considered achieved.
"It's excellent if this information is useful to the Great Emperor. Only then is your subordinate's hard work worthwhile. Since the Great Emperor intends to address this matter, I wonder if there's any place where your subordinate can be of use. Your subordinate is willing to serve the Great Emperor like a dog or horse."
Huo Laoban seized this opportunity to express his great loyalty to Luo Yao, hoping to gain more affirmation and greater attention from the Great Emperor, thereby paving the way for his future.
However, Luo Yao gently shook his head at him.
"Not needed for now. You only need to do one thing: quickly get your Seventh District in order. If my plan encounters any obstacles when it unfolds, I will let you help immediately."
Luo Yao said with a serious expression. Huo Laoban, seeing this, did not badger him relentlessly but respectfully obeyed Luo Yao's arrangements.
"Then your subordinate will take his leave. Your subordinate also needs to make some response to this matter, otherwise, the Spirit Masters will think our Jingling Continent Yin Division's Seventh District has no one left."
Luo Yao nodded upon hearing this and waved his hand, signaling Huo Laoban could leave. Huo Laoban was also very straightforward, wasting no words, bowing and taking his leave.
After Huo Laoban left, Luo Yao looked at the information on the table in front of him, gently shook his head, and let out a soft sigh.
The contents of the information Huo Laoban sent were also about the secret operations of the Spirit Masters over the past three months, similar to the information Yang Haoran had sent.
However, in comparison, the information Yang Haoran sent was far more comprehensive, whereas Huo Laoban's information was relatively meager.
The communication talisman Luo Yao had received earlier was indeed from Huo Laoban. Huo Laoban had mentioned this matter in the talisman. Luo Yao already had a certain understanding of the situation, and the reason he still asked Huo Laoban to send the collected information was to see if it was more detailed than Yang Haoran's. Even if it wasn't, it would still be quite good if their information could complement each other.
But after Luo Yao had carefully perused all the information Huo Laoban had collected, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Not only was the information Huo Laoban collected far less detailed than Yang Haoran's, but it also couldn't complement Yang Haoran's information. This was because Yang Haoran possessed all the information Huo Laoban had gathered, but Huo Laoban did not have the information Yang Haoran had collected.
Although he felt a little disappointed, Luo Yao had no intention of blaming Huo Laoban; he even stated directly that the information Huo Laoban collected was very useful. His sole purpose in doing this was to avoid dampening Huo Laoban's enthusiasm.
After all, Huo Laoban was also a Guardian he had personally promoted, fundamentally different from Guardians like Long Yan. So, he didn't want to discourage Huo Laoban in the current situation. Giving him more encouragement and affirmation would instead make Huo Laoban more motivated—at least, that's what he thought.
After Huo Laoban left, he couldn't help but feel a little smug. Ever since he noticed Luo Yao placed extreme importance on Yang Haoran, he had wanted to achieve more results to elevate his standing in Luo Yao's eyes above Yang Haoran's.
Three months ago, they received news that the Spirit Masters were about to make a big move. So he spent time and effort, making thorough preparations, to achieve significant results for Luo Yao, the Great Emperor, to see, thereby proving his own capability.
However, as time passed day by day, the Spirit Masters' big move never appeared. Initially, he thought it might be because the time wasn't ripe yet, which was why the Spirit Masters hadn't launched their operation. But in the blink of an eye, almost three months had passed, and the Spirit Masters' so-called big move still hadn't appeared. At this point, he had to consider whether the information was incorrect and if the Spirit Masters had no big move at all.
To figure out what was going on, Huo Laoban sent people to investigate the matter. This investigation indeed revealed some things: the Spirit Masters' actions this time really had something fishy about them. So he spent some time gathering information, which was the information he handed to Luo Yao.
If time had been sufficient, the information Huo Laoban collected would definitely have been far more than what he gave to Luo Yao. But because the matter was important, and he was eager to earn merit, he contacted Luo Yao with the information he had temporarily gathered and personally delivered it to Luo Yao's hands.
Although this information wasn't extensive, it contained all the necessary details, akin to a sparrow, small yet complete in every detail. At the very least, it could fully confirm the Spirit Masters' covert actions. This was also one of the reasons Huo Laoban decided to immediately send the information to Luo Yao.
At this moment, Huo Laoban did not know that Yang Haoran had already sent a copy of information to Luo Yao before him, and this information was much more detailed than what he had collected. Luo Yao also valued the information Yang Haoran collected much more, and Luo Yao saying he had merit this time and that the collected information was very useful was entirely to consider his feelings, not the truth at all.
If Huo Laoban knew this, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit three liters of blood. How could he still be in a mood to be smug? However, tragically, he did not know any of this. He still believed he had made a significant, if not huge, contribution this time, and his position in Luo Yao's eyes would definitely have risen considerably.
When Yang Haoran returned to the Guardian District, Shui Ling had already purged all the common people in Lecheng who had become Spirit Masters and secretly chosen to believe in the Spirit Master False God.
Although Yang Haoran's time in the Underworld was not long, this amount of time was enough for Shui Ling to deal with these matters. After all, these people were all under Shui Ling's surveillance, and there weren't many of them. Their strength was very weak, and dealing with them was quite simple.
Executing these traitors was not the end, but the beginning. The bodies of these traitors were not destroyed by Shui Ling to erase evidence but were all handed over to Zhu Rong to handle. As for the souls of these people, they were all extracted from their bodies by Shui Ling.
Shui Ling left the bodies of these traitors and handed them to Zhu Rong, naturally, to let Zhu Rong use these people as a negative example to warn others. As for how to achieve better results, Shui Ling would not worry about this, nor would she manage it, because this was Zhu Rong's job.
Moreover, she had been in the Guardian District for some time and had become increasingly familiar with Zhu Rong. After all, sometimes their work intersected, so the two had naturally become familiar with each other over time.
It was precisely because she had a certain understanding of Zhu Rong that Shui Ling knew Zhu Rong was an extremely intelligent and capable strong woman. So, how to effectively use the bodies of these traitors to teach everyone in Lecheng a good lesson, to make sure they don't cross this red line, she believed Zhu Rong could do it very well. In her opinion, at least better than herself.
As for why she kept the souls of these traitors, that was because she also wanted to see if she could obtain more useful information from their souls. Although it wasn't certain she would definitely get useful information, the possibility certainly existed. As long as she could extract useful information from their souls, even if the information was scarce, it would be a huge gain for her.
Yang Haoran, back in the Guardian District, first announced the Spirit Masters' so-called "big move" on the Ninth District's exclusive page in the Underworld Iron Tome. He announced what the Spirit Masters' main purpose was and who their targets were.
However, in Yang Haoran's opinion, the Spirit Masters' main purpose was very likely the Power of Faith, but he did not mention this matter on the Underworld Iron Tome's exclusive page. This was because once mentioned, he worried it would cause a huge impact. Someone guessing the truth was one thing, but him, as a Guardian, actively announcing it was another matter entirely. So, to minimize the impact, the main purpose he announced in the Underworld Iron Tome was as Shui Ling had analyzed: that the Spirit Masters were doing this to secretly expand their group, allowing their overall strength to rapidly increase in a short period of time, while also causing huge losses to the Yin Division.
After Yang Haoran announced this matter in the Underworld Iron Tome, he then ordered all Undertakers under his command to thoroughly investigate all believers within their jurisdiction as quickly as possible, including the Night Watchers under them, no exception. They also needed to be investigated, to find these "tumors" and clear them out in the shortest possible time, because they would spread rapidly like a virus. If not dealt with promptly, the number of infected people would only increase.
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