Chapter 1193: Captive
The communication talisman Yang Haoran had just sent was, naturally, addressed to his immediate superior, Luo Yao.
He couldn't be certain if Luo Yao was already aware of the Talisman Order's decision to side with the Spirit Masters, so he deemed it more appropriate to use the communication talisman to report to Luo Yao. If Luo Yao already knew, his report, while not directly helpful, would certainly cause no negative repercussions. However, if Luo Yao was temporarily unaware, then his report would become highly significant.
Moreover, regardless of whether Luo Yao knew or not, his report would undoubtedly further enhance Luo Yao's favorable impression of him.
Luo Yao's reply informed Yang Haoran that he was indeed aware of the situation and was currently discussing it with the other four Great Emperors, preparing to engage in thorough communication with the high-ranking members of the Talisman Order.
As the Jingling Great Emperor, Luo Yao had always maintained his own intelligence agency. However, when the Spirit Masters covertly infiltrated the Death God's believers, Luo Yao's intelligence agency had failed to discover anything, either beforehand or afterward. This had left him deeply disappointed with the intelligence network under his command.
Consequently, he immediately restructured the intelligence agency: those who should be removed were removed, and those who should be promoted were promoted. Furthermore, he significantly increased resource investment into the agency; not only did its personnel double, but the overall capabilities of its members far exceeded the original standards.
Thanks to ample resource support, and with all selected individuals proving exceptionally talented in this field and diligently working under Luo Yao's impetus, this intelligence-gathering team under his command rapidly matured in a very short span of time.
It was precisely because Luo Yao possessed such a competent intelligence agency that Yang Haoran wasn't at all surprised he knew about the Talisman Order's alignment this time.
However, whether the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office could resolve this matter, or if the Talisman Order could be persuaded, was hard to say. In Yang Haoran's view, the chances of success weren't very high. After all, this was a decision the Talisman Order had made after much careful consideration; how could it be easily changed?
If their Underworld Office's Death God were to appear, Yang Haoran believed the likelihood of persuading the Talisman Order would be quite substantial. But the problem was that the Underworld Office's Death God had not emerged from seclusion even now, making it impossible for him to personally intervene and convince the Talisman Order.
In Yang Haoran's opinion, the Talisman Order's decision to side with the Spirit Masters was certainly closely related to the Death God's prolonged absence. After all, the Death God was the Underworld Office's sole deity and its strongest existence; if he were to appear, he would undoubtedly exert immense deterrent power over other factions, even major ones. In that case, perhaps the current situation, where the Talisman Order had decided to side with the Spirit Masters, would never have arisen.
Of course, Yang Haoran also hoped that the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office could persuade the Talisman Order to change its mind. This would mean one less major enemy for the Underworld Office. Conversely, gaining the Talisman Order as a major enemy would undoubtedly have a profound, perhaps even fatal, impact on the entire Underworld Office.
Though Yang Haoran had just appeared aloof and unconcerned in front of Shui Ling, seemingly indifferent to the matter, the truth was quite the opposite. He harbored a certain degree of worry about it. After all, he was a Guardian of the Underworld Office, and high-ranking Underworld officials like him were prime targets for the Spirit Masters. If the Underworld Office truly fell, he, as a Guardian, would absolutely be someone the Spirit Masters would have to eliminate. He certainly didn't want to see that happen.
Therefore, he naturally didn't wish for the Talisman Order to truly side with the Spirit Masters, but he had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
According to his estimation, the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office had little hope of success. The pensive expression on his face at that moment was precisely due to him contemplating how he, as a Guardian, should respond if the negotiations ultimately failed.
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Haoran made up his mind. If, in the end, the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office failed to persuade the Talisman Order, and the Talisman Order remained resolutely on the side of the Spirit Masters, then from his perspective, he felt that meeting violence with violence would be the most suitable approach. At worst, he would simply face whatever came his way, responding as needed.
Of course, when necessary, some insidious tactics would still have to be employed. True to Yang Haoran's character, he didn't concern himself with whether the methods were honorable or not; he cared about the final outcome. As long as he could achieve his desired result, even if the methods were sinister and kept in the dark, he would still use them. He could not afford to fail; once he fell, all those who followed him would be profoundly affected, potentially even suffering the fate of soul transformation.
Thus, in his philosophy, it was preferable for others to die than for his own people to perish. He could choose not to be responsible for outsiders, but he absolutely had to be responsible for his own. Compared to his own life and the lives of those loyal to him, whether the methods were honorable truly didn't matter all that much.
To avoid unnecessary panic, Yang Haoran did not immediately announce in the Underworld Iron Tome that the Talisman Order was highly likely to side with the Spirit Masters.
Furthermore, if the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office presented enough leverage to sway the Talisman Order, it was also possible that the Talisman Order would choose not to side with the Spirit Masters but instead align with the Underworld Office. Although this possibility was pitifully low, it did exist. If he were to prematurely announce in the Underworld Iron Tome that the Talisman Order was siding with the Spirit Masters, and then the outcome proved different—if, through the efforts of the five Great Emperors of the Underworld Office, the Talisman Order chose to stand with the Underworld Office—it wouldn't just be a simple matter of losing face. It would also offend the Talisman Order, causing them to harbor resentment.
It was precisely due to these two considerations that Yang Haoran decided not to announce the matter for the time being. Just as he made this decision, he suddenly received another communication talisman.
The appearance of this communication talisman didn't cause any surprise on Yang Haoran's face. Given the current tense situation, as a Guardian, he frequently received communication talismans from his subordinates—sometimes more than a dozen in a single day.
Therefore, when this communication talisman appeared, he wasn't surprised, nor did he show any curiosity; instead, he appeared remarkably calm.
However, after receiving the information within the communication talisman, the expression on his face was no longer quite so calm. Instead, a hint of joy appeared. From his reaction, it wasn't hard to discern that the contents of this communication talisman were not bad news.
Yang Haoran sent a communication talisman in reply. Not long after, a spatial rift suddenly appeared outside the gates of the Guardian District. The rift's appearance immediately drew the attention of the guards and patrol personnel.
While it was common for people to arrive at the Guardian District via spatial teleportation, and the gate guards and patrol personnel had long grown accustomed to it, whenever a spatial rift appeared outside the Guardian District's gates, they would reflexively raise their highest level of vigilance. This was because none of them could be certain if the newcomer was friend or foe. If it were their own people, there would naturally be no issue, but if the arrival was an enemy, carelessness would undoubtedly bring immense losses to the Guardian District.
Therefore, to protect the safety of the Guardian District and prevent any chance of enemy sneak attacks, the guards and patrol personnel remained constantly alert. Let alone the significant commotion of a spatial rift appearing, even the slightest rustle of wind or grass would trigger their extreme vigilance.
The spatial rift opened, revealing two figures. One was a long-haired individual dressed in a trench coat, with a sheathed longsword slung over his shoulder. This person was none other than the Demon Hunter, Ye Zhiqiu.
Standing beside Ye Zhiqiu was a woman. Her upper body was clad in a white short-sleeved shirt, but due to being covered in mud and bloodstains, and being tattered, the shirt had lost its original color. Without careful scrutiny, it would be difficult to realize its original color had actually been white.
The woman's lower body was covered by denim shorts, which, like the white short-sleeved shirt, were also somewhat tattered. Since the shorts hadn't had much fabric to begin with, they appeared even scantier after being torn.
Beneath the shorts were a pair of long, straight legs. These legs possessed a great deal of aesthetic appeal, the only drawback being that they were also quite dirty, and one could even spot conspicuous wounds and bruises.
Although the wounds had already scabbed over and no fresh blood flowed, they still looked somewhat gruesome. It was regrettable, like a magnificent painting marred by a few random strokes of a brush.
However, what was most striking about this woman was not these details, but rather her impeccable, curvaceous figure and her waist-length, silver-white hair.
As for her face, it was impossible to tell, as she wore a mask. But with such a tall and perfectly sculpted figure, as long as she didn't have a crooked nose or squinting eyes, even if her facial features weren't exceptional, her overall impression wouldn't be too bad.
The woman's hands were firmly bound together by a rope as thick as a pinky finger, the other end held in Ye Zhiqiu's hand. The rope was grayish-white in color, and though not particularly aesthetically pleasing, it emitted a significant power fluctuation and a faint green glow, instantly revealing that it was no ordinary cord.
This rope was indeed no ordinary cord, but a moderately powerful Demon Weapon. Capable of both offense and defense, and also of ensnaring enemies, Ye Zhiqiu had not allowed his Lifebound Demon Armament to devour it upon acquisition. Instead, he had kept it as a reserve weapon, and it had proven useful precisely this time.
With one hand gripping his sword hilt and the other holding the rope, Ye Zhiqiu emerged from the spatial rift, his longsword resting on his shoulder.
The silver-haired woman didn't take a step. Seeing her bruised and battered body, and her hands tightly bound by the rope, it was clear she hadn't come here willingly but had been forced. Her reluctance to step out of the spatial rift was entirely normal.
Having come all this way, Ye Zhiqiu naturally wouldn't give up just because the woman didn't want to step out of the spatial rift. Without even glancing at her, he exerted force with his arm, forcibly pulling the motionless woman out of the spatial rift. The woman stumbled, nearly falling to the ground; had her reaction not been swift enough, she would certainly have collapsed there and then.
Because the woman wore a mask, her face remained unseen. However, the mask had two holes at the eye level, through which one could see the woman's gaze at that moment.
The woman was glaring at Ye Zhiqiu, her eyes seeming to spew fire. Her gaze, filled with murderous intent, was as sharp as a knife. If her gaze could kill Ye Zhiqiu, he would undoubtedly have been hacked into a thousand pieces by now.
Indeed, the woman's gaze was capable of killing. Not only could she achieve this, but many non-ordinary individuals possessed this ability. As long as one was powerful enough, killing with a mere gaze was not difficult. However, it depended on the target: one could certainly kill an 'ant' far weaker than oneself with a gaze, but the opposite was, of course, impossible.
Since the woman had fallen into Ye Zhiqiu's hands, it was clear she was no match for him; otherwise, she wouldn't have become his captive. Facing such a powerful opponent, the woman's gaze naturally lacked the ability to slay Ye Zhiqiu, let alone hack him into a thousand pieces.
Although she knew her knife-sharp gaze could not affect Ye Zhiqiu in any way, the woman still did it, because she wanted to express her inner fury through this method. At that moment, this was the only way she could vent her rage. Yet, her furious gaze was completely ignored by Ye Zhiqiu.
With the woman's murderous intent so strong and obvious, how could Ye Zhiqiu, standing right there, not sense it? Yet, he still didn't spare her a glance, nor did he seem inclined to dispute with her. As if he sensed nothing at all, he tugged the rope in his hand, forcibly pulling the woman towards the interior of the Guardian District.
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