Chapter 139: Realizing Value After Loss
Xu Meijing paused, her foot already halfway into the spatial rift. She pulled it back, turned around, and looked at Yang Haoran with an arrogant expression.
“I thought it was something major. To get so flustered just asking for a phone number—look at your pathetic demeanor. ”
Xu Meijing spoke coldly, but despite her words and disdain, she still gave Yang Haoran her phone number.
“Anything else? ” Xu Meijing asked, watching Yang Haoran still jotting down the number.
Yang Haoran felt his face flush. He shook his head, thoroughly embarrassed, unable to utter a single word.
It wasn't that he didn't want to say something, but rather that he dared not open his mouth. He worried he might stammer if he spoke now, and making a fool of himself would be too humiliating.
Normally, Yang Haoran was quite eloquent. He and Xu Meijing had even engaged in verbal sparring before, and while he didn't always secure a decisive victory, he never found himself at a disadvantage.
Yet now, for some reason, simply asking for a phone number had rendered him speechless.
Seeing Yang Haoran shake his head, Xu Meijing shot him a look of disdain before turning and stepping into the spatial rift.
As her arrogant voice faded, the spatial rift before him closed, and Xu Meijing vanished completely from Yang Haoran’s sight.
“With this farewell, who knows when we’ll meet again? I hope that when we do, neither of us will have changed. ”
Yang Haoran sighed wistfully, but then, he recalled the words Xu Meijing had left him before she departed.
“Don't use the Demon Pill haphazardly, and certainly don't foolishly swallow it. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died. ”
These words suddenly made Yang Haoran ponder a question—
The process of obtaining the Demon Pill last night had been smooth, yet Yang Haoran had consistently felt that something was amiss, even a faint sense of danger. But he could never quite pinpoint the source of the problem.
Now, he finally found the root of it—the origin of that unsettling feeling.
Last night, Zhou Daoshi had said that if an ordinary person consumed a Demon Pill, they would not only prolong their life but also gain Demon Power, becoming extraordinary thereafter.
And if a cultivator consumed a Demon Pill, their cultivation would greatly advance, perhaps even breaking through bottlenecks to reach a new realm.
Xu Meijing had also said before that ordinary people would gain Demon Power after consuming a Demon Pill. This point was no different from what Zhou Daoshi had stated; they conveyed the same meaning.
However, just now, Xu Meijing told him that the Demon Pill should not be consumed carelessly, or he wouldn't even know how he died. These words clearly conflicted with Zhou Daoshi’s.
One of the two was lying.
If asked whom Yang Haoran trusted more between Zhou Daoshi and Xu Meijing, it was obvious without a doubt that it would be the latter.
“It’s probably true that a Demon Pill can change an ordinary person, because Xu Meijing and Zhou Daoshi said the same thing about that. But this only applies to ordinary people. And I am no ordinary person. ”
As this thought crossed his mind, Yang Haoran's eyes narrowed. He suddenly recalled a conversation he once had with Jiang Dashi.
During that conversation, he had asked Jiang Dashi why Night Watchers couldn't absorb Yin Qi from ghosts to enhance the Spirit Power within their bodies.
Jiang Dashi's reply was that the Yin Qi from ghosts was too impure. If absorbed, it would not only fail to boost Spirit Power but also harm the body. If one stubbornly tried against all odds, they might even suffer an explosion of their body and perish.
Therefore, the Yin Qi from ghosts could not be directly absorbed. Only by absorbing Pure Yin Qi could one enhance their Spirit Power.
Jiang Dashi’s words from back then, combined with Xu Meijing’s recent warning, and recalling Zhou Daoshi’s words from last night, led Yang Haoran to consider a possibility.
“If I were to rashly consume the Demon Pill, would the Demon Power contained within it fail to merge with my Spirit Power, leading to my body exploding and perishing? ”
Upon this thought, a cold glint flashed in Yang Haoran’s eyes. He felt that his conjecture was highly likely to be correct. The reason Zhou Daoshi told him that consuming the Demon Pill could enhance his cultivation, or even break through bottlenecks, was actually to lure him into a trap.
If he truly couldn't resist the temptation of the Demon Pill and rashly consumed it, he would most likely perish, granting Zhou Daoshi a chance to preserve his soul from dissipating.
At this moment, he finally understood where that unsettling feeling in his heart came from, and where that hint of danger originated. Everything stemmed from Zhou Daoshi's tempting words.
“What a cunning old bastard. As expected, he’s insidious. Thankfully, Xu Meijing warned me, or one day, in my eagerness for quick success, I might have truly swallowed this Demon Pill! ”
The more Yang Haoran thought about it, the angrier he became, even feeling a chill of lingering fear. Without a word, he immediately took Zhou Daoshi out of the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Since he hadn’t used any means to unseal the soundproof enchantment on the Soul-Gathering Bead, Yang Haoran’s previous conversation with Xu Meijing hadn’t been transmitted inside. Naturally, Zhou Daoshi had no idea why Yang Haoran now wore such a dark expression.
“Haoran, you—”
Zhou Daoshi had just opened his mouth when Yang Haoran slapped him.
Yang Haoran put considerable force into that slap, and the Spirit Power he mobilized was far more intense than last night, almost shattering Zhou Daoshi’s soul.
“I originally wanted to keep you and torture you slowly to vent my inner rage, but I still can’t bring myself to do that, because I’m not that perverse. ” Yang Haoran said, his face cold, to the bewildered Zhou Daoshi.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Daoshi first felt a secret delight, thinking Yang Haoran was going to let him go, but then his joy vanished.
The reason was simple: Yang Haoran’s expression was wrong.
Intense killing intent, a frigid expression, a cold glint in his eyes—these were not the signs of someone about to grant mercy.
At this moment, a strong sense of unease welled up in Zhou Daoshi’s heart.
“Before I leave Yangjiawan, I will use your soul to make offerings to my parents and all the clansmen of Yangjiawan. ”
Dropping these words, Yang Haoran wasted no more breath. With a wave of his hand, chains formed from Spirit Power whistled out, coiling towards Zhou Daoshi.
Zhou Daoshi’s face paled dramatically, and he turned to flee. But with his spirit body already unstable, how could he possibly escape from Yang Haoran’s grasp? He had barely made a move before his spirit body was firmly ensnared by the chains.
Zhou Daoshi panicked. This wasn’t feigned panic; he was genuinely terrified. He could feel that Yang Haoran was about to deliver a killing blow to him!
“No! Don’t! Haoran, I’m still useful to you! I really am still—”
Before he could finish, Yang Haoran, his face cold, violently shook the chains. Spirit Power erupted from them, directly shattering Zhou Daoshi’s spirit body.
His spirit body dissipated into faint white smoke. At that moment, before the memorial tablets of Yang Haoran's parents, Zhou Daoshi was utterly Soul Transformation, forever erased from this world.
Yang Haoran had originally planned to spend the longest possible time inflicting various tortures upon Zhou Daoshi’s soul, but he ultimately changed his plan.
Zhou Daoshi was an old fox, and one that could devour people. Keeping him by his side meant there was no telling when he might be tricked to his death.
Furthermore, although Zhou Daoshi didn’t know about the Soul-Refining Cauldron, he was aware that Xu Meijing and Yang Haoran had entered the mountain cave behind the mountain. Yang Haoran didn't want anyone, not even the dead, to know anything about the mountain cave. To reduce the risk to zero, eliminating Zhou Daoshi was absolutely necessary.
Although he could no longer torture Zhou Daoshi, regardless, he had avenged the blood feud for his parents and the clansmen of Yangjiawan.
That afternoon, Yang Haoran still went nowhere. He lay on a chair in his small courtyard, closing his eyes to rest, allowing his mind to regain its tranquility.
Xu Meijing had brought him too much shock that morning. He needed to let his mind settle while also processing all that information.
Early the next morning, Yang Haoran packed his belongings, ready to depart. Aside from his parents’ memorial tablets, he took nothing else from the house.
Outside the courtyard, he sat in the driver's seat, his expression complex. He took a deep, lingering look at the old house, then finally stepped on the accelerator and drove away.
“Dad, Mom, your son is taking you into the city to enjoy a peaceful life. ”
As these words left Yang Haoran’s mouth, he felt a wrenching pain in his heart, accompanied by an ineffable sense of irony.
Before returning home for the New Year, he had already planned to buy a house after the holidays and bring his elderly parents into the city to enjoy a comfortable life. Yet, he could never have imagined that the final outcome would be like this.
He hadn't successfully brought his parents with him; what he took were merely their memorial tablets.
When parents are still alive, how many truly cherish them?
After parents depart, how many lament and regret?
Is this how humans are? Do we always have to wait until we've lost something to realize its value, to understand certain truths, and then to regret, reflect, or try to compensate?
But what good does that do?
Aside from adding another regret to oneself, what else can be gained?
Enlightenment, perhaps?
Perhaps so.
But what is lost will ultimately never return.
Never.
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