Chapter 140: Burn Victim
After leaving Yangjiawan, Yang Haoran returned directly to the Lecheng convenience store. He didn't contact anyone, not even Guan Hai; he didn't make a single call.
These days, everyone should be happily celebrating the New Year at home. He didn't want to trouble his friends' peace of mind with his own affairs, so he didn't mention his return to the city to anyone.
Due to Lecheng being a small city, inferior to larger cities in many aspects, many residents chose to leave Lecheng to develop in other major cities. Although Lecheng usually had a fair number of people, during the New Year period, those who had developed elsewhere returned, instantly making the entire city bustling with life.
However, this lively atmosphere not only failed to bring a shred of joy or ease to Yang Haoran's heart but instead stirred within him an unspeakable loneliness.
Because he knew, none of this belonged to him.
The convenience store reopened its doors due to Yang Haoran's return. Not long after opening, the phone rang.
Yang Haoran was a little confused. He took out his phone to check and saw that it was Old Master Wu calling.
With a slight frown, Yang Haoran forced a faint smile onto his face and answered the call.
"Haoran, when are you planning to return to the city? This old man misses you a bit. Let's find a chance to have a few drinks," Old Master Wu's voice, filled with concern, came from the other end of the line.
"I just got back to the city. I was actually about to call you to let you know I'm safe, but I didn't expect you to call first. " Yang Haoran chuckled, making something up.
Hearing Yang Haoran's laughter, Old Master Wu on the other end seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He advised, "Since many things have become reality and you can't change them, you must try to accept them. Adjust your mindset, and do what you should do. That's how a man acts. I believe you understand what I mean by this."
"Don't worry, Old Master, I know. My mindset is very good; I'm not as fragile as you think. " Yang Haoran laughed.
He laughed very happily, as if he had truly emerged from his grief and let go of everything that had happened in Yangjiawan.
However, Old Master Wu wasn't a three-year-old child; of course, he wouldn't naively believe that Yang Haoran had truly let go.
For some people, crying doesn't signify weakness. But laughter doesn't necessarily signify happiness either.
Although he understood in his heart, Old Master Wu also didn't point it out. Instead, he followed Yang Haoran's lead and continued, "It's best not to be fragile. In life, there are always things one must face; it's just a matter of sooner or later. Since you're back, why don't you come and sit with me? I'll come pick you up in a bit."
"No need, Old Master. I just got back and still have some matters to attend to. Once I've handled things here, I'll come over for those drinks with you. " Yang Haoran refused without a second thought.
Seeing Yang Haoran refuse so directly, Old Master Wu was clearly a little disappointed, but he didn't press the issue.
"Alright then. It's good for young people to be busy; it's much better than idleness. After you're done, remember to call me. Don't even try to deceive an old man like me."
"Heh heh, absolutely, absolutely. You can rest assured."
After hanging up the phone, Yang Haoran finally dropped the smile from his face. He wore a thoughtful expression, his mind lost in thought.
A moment later, he slipped his phone into his pocket, then pulled out the broken book, which recorded talisman arts, and lay back in the chair by the counter to study it meticulously.
In the past, he would open for business whenever he had a little time because he wanted to earn more money and reach his goals sooner.
But now, with his parents' passing, money had lost its importance to him. Even if he had more, he wouldn't know what to do with it. The reason he still kept the convenience store open was merely out of habit; whether anyone came to buy anything, he felt indifferent.
The broken book in his hand, which recorded the talisman arts, Yang Haoran had previously only skimmed through. Now, after careful study, he gained a deeper understanding of it and also a clearer grasp of its value.
This broken book not only recorded a portion of the Talisman Order's standard talismans but also some that were believed to be lost, such as the Lock Yin Talisman.
Underneath these lost talismans, special annotations had been made. However, it was unknown whether these annotations were made by Zhou or by the broken book's former owner.
Furthermore, Yang Haoran couldn't be certain whether these lost talismans were truly lost.
However, regarding the Lock Yin Talisman, Xu Meijing had said it was a lost talisman, and Yang Haoran still had considerable faith in her words.
To undertake any task, you must first understand it. The deeper your understanding, the better. Only then can you achieve twice the result with half the effort and avoid as many detours as possible during execution.
What Yang Haoran was doing now was gaining understanding. Only when he had thoroughly grasped the contents of this broken book would he prepare to attempt becoming a Talisman Master.
For several days in a row, Yang Haoran kept his shop open during the day while also studying talisman arts. When his study of talisman arts hit a snag, he would temporarily set aside the broken book and shift his focus to researching the Enchantment Art recorded on the human skin.
With the Demon Pill in hand, the demonic script recorded on the human skin was no longer a challenge for Yang Haoran. He could easily understand the demonic characters, making his research convenient. When he encountered a problem here that couldn't be solved for a while, he would set aside the demonic script and continue researching talisman arts.
And at night, he would drive to the wilderness, visiting places he had never been before, seeking and guiding wandering spirits.
With his current strength, as long as he didn't encounter formidable entities like Evil Spirits or Half-step Evil Spirits, dealing with other wandering spirits posed almost no problem.
However, guiding wandering spirits wasn't his primary goal. The main reason he chose to venture into uncharted wilderness was to search for a Place of Extreme Yin.
After several days, Yang Haoran did guide some wandering spirits and successfully collected them into his Soul-Gathering Bead, which was naturally a good thing for him.
However, he hadn't found a Place of Extreme Yin.
Of course, not finding a Place of Extreme Yin was within his expectations. Xu Meijing had also said that Places of Extreme Yin were rare, so he had already mentally prepared himself, feeling no surprise or significant disappointment.
But the only thing that annoyed him was that after several days of continuous study of talisman arts and the Enchantment Art, apart from gaining a bit more understanding of both, he hadn't made any other progress.
There was no need to mention talisman arts; becoming a Talisman Master was inherently difficult. To achieve anything significant through self-study in just a few days was certainly impossible; perhaps only novels dared to write such a thing.
What he hadn't expected was that the Enchantment Art was also obscure and difficult to comprehend. He had thought that with the Demon Pill in hand, being able to understand the demonic script, studying the Enchantment Art wouldn't be much of a problem, but the reality was precisely the opposite of what he had imagined.
Disappointment was disappointment, but it didn't affect Yang Haoran's state of mind. He continued to follow his plan, doing what he needed to do each day.
"To become a Talisman Master, I must first cultivate Talisman Spirit Power; otherwise, I won't be able to proceed with drawing talismans. I just don't know if Talisman Spirit Power will repel the Spirit Power within my body."
Yang Haoran put down the broken book, his brows furrowed in thought. Although he wasn't yet a Talisman Master, his few days of research had given him a deeper understanding of the subject. It was precisely because he understood more about talisman arts that such worries arose in his heart.
There was no mention of this in the broken book. If there were, Yang Haoran wouldn't be so troubled by it.
This was where the role of a master became apparent. If he had a master, he could simply ask them about such problems, which would be accurate and save time.
Without a master, he could only "feel the stones as he crossed the river" on his own, and taking more detours was inevitable.
"The power fluctuations emanating from Zhou back then were grey, which should have been the result of cultivating the Corpse-Controlling Gate's corpse-refining art. Yet, he was also a Talisman Master, still drawing and manipulating talismans, and I didn't notice anything amiss with him."
"Could it be that as long as the power is cultivated by oneself, even if its attributes differ, it won't cause any harm to the body?"
This was merely Yang Haoran's guess. He couldn't be certain that his hypothesis was correct, but he also couldn't entirely rule out the possibility.
"Whether or not that's the truth, I'll know once I try. If Talisman Spirit Power and Spirit Power can't coexist within the body, then I'll find other solutions as soon as possible. If they truly can coexist as I suspect, then that would be for the best."
Thinking of this, Yang Haoran made some adjustments to his plan, preparing to first cultivate Talisman Spirit Power within his body and observe his body's reactions.
How to cultivate Talisman Spirit Power was detailed in the broken book. Given Yang Haoran's current understanding of talisman arts, he believed that by cultivating according to the book's instructions, he should be able to produce the Talisman Spirit Power unique to a Talisman Master.
However, he couldn't be certain exactly how long it would take, but this didn't deter his decision.
Just as Yang Haoran was about to begin cultivating Talisman Spirit Power, Tianhe Hospital in Lecheng admitted a new patient.
This patient was burned beyond recognition by a massive fire, without a single patch of unburnt skin on their entire body. Their whole body was charred, and by the time they reached the hospital, only a breath of life remained.
In such a state, resuscitation efforts were largely meaningless. The hospital naturally understood this, so they tactfully declined the patient's family's request for treatment, as they also wished to avoid trouble for the hospital.
However, the patient's family didn't see it that way. They believed their loved one could still be saved, as the person was still alive and not yet dead, and perhaps a miracle might occur.
Furthermore, the patient's family promised that regardless of the outcome, they would not trouble the hospital and hoped the hospital would do its best to try.
Before the discussions between both parties could yield a result, the patient died right at the hospital entrance.
Before death, he gasped with an open mouth, his eyes wide, his expression one of extreme agony.
And within his wide-open eyes, there was intense unwillingness and venomous resentment.
Comments