Chapter 1146: A Difficult Choice
An hour later, Yang Haoran opened his eyes. Although he was still weak and his injuries remained very severe, his condition had improved somewhat compared to before; at the very least, his movements were no longer a problem.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Bai Xue, a bewitching smile on her face, hovering before him.
"Emissary of Death Brother, you're awake. How do you feel?"
Bai Xue, her face still bearing that alluring smile, asked Yang Haoran. Although Bai Xue's complexion was still a bit pale, the seductive power of her bewitching smile was as potent as ever.
"Heh heh, much better."
Yang Haoran chuckled as he spoke, pushing himself to his feet.
"Though it will still take a long time to fully recover, at least for now, my life is safe."
At this point, Yang Haoran paused slightly, then continued to address Bai Xue.
Upon hearing this, Bai Xue's smile deepened noticeably.
"Emissary of Death Brother, there's no need to be a stranger. We're not out here for a leisurely trip. Where there's action, there's bound to be unforeseen danger. That's perfectly normal. Besides, aren't you and I both perfectly fine now?"
Yang Haoran chuckled and nodded, seemingly agreeing with Bai Xue's sentiment.
"Oh, right, Emissary of Death Brother. While you were healing, I've already tidied up the battlefield here. All the corpses have been gathered in one place. Since I wasn't sure if these corpses held any other value for you, I merely collected them and didn't dispose of them. Also, one fellow's soul escaped, but I estimate his soul should still be within this Death Valley; after all, the restrictive barrier you set up hasn't been breached."
Bai Xue finished with a smile, her gaze drifting to an area below where the corpses of the Crippled Elder and the others were laid out.
Yang Haoran followed Bai Xue's gaze downward and indeed saw several neatly arranged corpses. After his gaze swept over them, it settled on Shang Yuanqi.
The reason his gaze lingered on Shang Yuanqi was because he knew Shang Yuanqi was the one whose soul had escaped. After all, the souls of the other four had long since been devoured by the Crippled Elder, and the Crippled Elder's soul had been collected into his Soul-Gathering Bead. Thus, only Shang Yuanqi fit the condition of an escaped soul.
"Heh heh, don't worry. He won't escape."
Yang Haoran said with a faint smile, then he closed his eyes and began to sense. After a short while, he opened his eyes and pointed into the air towards an area at the edge of the restrictive barrier.
Several chains appeared out of thin air. Amidst a clang of chains, they successively drilled into the ground like thick black snakes. In just a few breaths of time, the chains emerged from the earth. Bound to one end of the chains was a soul that had coalesced into a Spirit. This soul was precisely Shang Yuanqi's.
Bai Xue had been unable to sense where Shang Yuanqi's soul was hiding because Bai Xue was not an Emissary of Death and thus not as sensitive to souls and ghosts as an Emissary of Death. Furthermore, her severe injuries had weakened her perceptive abilities. Moreover, Shang Yuanqi's soul had deliberately restrained the Yin Qi it released. Although he hadn't reached the level of sealing all his Yin Qi, the Yin Qi he released was extremely faint. This was why Bai Xue couldn't sense Shang Yuanqi's soul.
Yang Haoran was different from Bai Xue. He was naturally an Emissary of Death and extremely sensitive to Yin Qi. Therefore, after a careful sensing, he immediately discovered the hiding place of Shang Yuanqi's soul. If it weren't for his severe injuries diminishing his perceptive abilities, he could have easily found where Shang Yuanqi's soul was hiding without needing to close his eyes and sense carefully.
Of course, if Shang Yuanqi had completely sealed all the Yin Qi on his person, then Yang Haoran might not have been able to find him. However, Shang Yuanqi's soul had only just coalesced into a Spirit. It couldn't compare to an Evil Spirit, much less a truly malevolent Evil Spirit. It was only slightly stronger than an ordinary soul. In this state, he simply couldn't employ any method to seal all his Yin Qi. If he could have done so, he would have done it long ago. He wouldn't have merely tried to restrain the Yin Qi emanating from his soul.
Under the chains' control, Shang Yuanqi's soul struggled violently, trying to break free from the chains' hold on his Spirit Body. But no matter how he struggled, it was futile. He simply couldn't escape from the chains.
Shang Yuanqi's fierce struggles seemed utterly powerless before Yang Haoran. This made him face reality. He knew it was impossible for him to successfully break free from the chains. Thus, he simply gave up struggling and began to hurl curses at Yang Haoran.
All sorts of vile, unspeakable words poured from Shang Yuanqi's mouth. Without exception, they were all directed at Yang Haoran. He knew he had fallen into Yang Haoran's hands this time, and there would be no chance of recovery. Therefore, he could only vent his inner rage and resentment through insults.
As for Shang Yuanqi's insults, Yang Haoran pretended not to hear them. He took out his Soul-Gathering Bead and collected Shang Yuanqi's soul, then sent it into a separate dimension.
Witnessing this, Bai Xue, who was standing by, couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on her face.
"Emissary of Death Brother, he cursed you so horribly, and you could actually tolerate it?"
Bai Xue had heard every single one of Shang Yuanqi's nasty curses against Yang Haoran; she didn't miss a single word. Though the curses weren't aimed at her, they were still quite unbearable for her. Yet Yang Haoran acted as if nothing had happened. Even though she had a deep understanding of Yang Haoran's personality, she couldn't help but be a little surprised. After all, Shang Yuanqi's curses were truly awful.
"How would a giant care about the clamor of an ant? Besides, his soul is already in my hands. I can deal with him anytime I want in the future. There's no need to rush."
Yang Haoran chuckled softly, then his gaze returned to the corpses of the Crippled Elder and the other four. After a slight pause, he continued.
"Heh heh, originally, I didn't have any particular plans for these five corpses. Either burn them, or abandon them in the wilderness. However, what you just said gave me an idea. I think these five corpses can still be put to good use. Perhaps they could bring me a significant surprise."
Bai Xue naturally understood what Yang Haoran meant by these words. However, how Yang Haoran intended to execute it was unknown to her. This sparked a strong curiosity within her.
"I'm very curious, Emissary of Death Brother, how do you plan to 'make good use' of them?"
Bai Xue asked with a bewitching smile. Yang Haoran chuckled as he responded.
"How I'll make good use of them, you'll find out soon enough. If I tell you now, you might lose interest."
Seeing Yang Haoran being secretive, Bai Xue was somewhat displeased but found it inconvenient to press further. She also didn't try to act coy or playful with Yang Haoran, because she knew Yang Haoran wouldn't fall for that.
"Alright, I'll see how Emissary of Death Brother handles it when the time comes, to make these corpses ultimately yield value. But what about her?"
Bai Xue's gaze shifted to Zhong Siyu's location below. Yang Haoran also followed Bai Xue's gaze to Zhong Siyu. Seeing that Zhong Siyu was still unconscious, the smile on his face involuntarily faded a bit. He even showed a hint of a troubled expression.
"Ah, her. She's indeed a bit troublesome to deal with."
Currently, Yang Haoran was in need of high-level ghosts to refine Soul Crystals. Because in his view, the higher the level of the ghost, the greater the likelihood of refining a Soul Crystal from it. A Blood-Clad Ghost King like Zhong Siyu was certainly excellent material for refining Soul Crystals, but he found himself unable to act.
Although there were times when he would resort to any means to achieve his goals, this was only sometimes, not always. When faced with special circumstances, he still adhered to his own principles and bottom lines.
Although Zhong Siyu was a ghost, and had even snatched some advantages from right under his nose in the past, the fact that Yang Haoran was where he was today was partly due to Zhong Siyu. Even if their relationship at the time was merely a collaboration, it was precisely that cooperation that led to his present achievements. Otherwise, he might have been long dead by now. How could he have achieved what he had today?
Although Yang Haoran could be ruthless, he was also a person who valued relationships and knew how to repay kindness. He certainly wouldn't go against his conscience and do something just because Zhong Siyu was good material for refining Soul Crystals.
Moreover, Zhong Siyu had fallen victim to his Enchantment Art back in the Ghost Building. Influenced by this technique, Zhong Siyu's hostility towards him wasn't strong; one could even say she had no hostility at all. If Zhong Siyu truly harbored hostility towards him, even if it was just a tiny bit, Zhong Siyu wouldn't have entrusted her life to him this time and so simply fallen unconscious before him.
The other party had shown him kindness and bore him no ill will. To use such a person as material for refining Soul Crystals, Yang Haoran truly couldn't bring himself to do it.
Being unable to kill her was one thing. But how to arrange Zhong Siyu at this moment was also a headache for Yang Haoran. After all, Zhong Siyu was currently unconscious and certainly couldn't make a choice herself. The choice still needed to be made by Yang Haoran. In Yang Haoran's view, there were two options at this moment: either leave Zhong Siyu here, or take Zhong Siyu away.
If he were to abandon Zhong Siyu here and ignore her, then Zhong Siyu's situation would naturally become very dangerous. Because Yang Haoran couldn't be sure when Zhong Siyu would wake up, nor could he guarantee that she wouldn't encounter someone with ill intentions while she was waking.
But if he took Zhong Siyu with him, where should he take her?
Also, whether Zhong Siyu would cause him trouble or get him into trouble after waking up, all of this was within his considerations.
After a brief consideration, Yang Haoran chose the latter. Because leaving Zhong Siyu here alone was indeed inappropriate, he decided to take Zhong Siyu with him.
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