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Chapter 1152: Despair in Silence

This time, Yang Haoran's stay in the command conference room was similarly brief. After gaining a detailed understanding of the current battle situation, he handed these trivial matters over to Old Master Wu, Zhu Rong, and the others, while he returned to his private residence. In his study, Yang Haoran took out two Soul-Gathering Beads. One of these Soul-Gathering Beads contained Zhong Siyu, and the other contained the Soul of the Crippled Elder. Although Zhong Siyu had gained a physical body after becoming a Ghost King, her body was significantly different from a normal person's. A normal human body is tangible, while hers could be both ethereal and solid, and this was true for all Ghost Kings. It was precisely because a Ghost King's physical body possessed this ethereal-solid characteristic that Ghost Kings could be contained within a Soul-Gathering Bead, something a normal human body could not achieve. Of course, other special artifacts used to collect ghosts could also accomplish this, provided the artifact was sturdy enough and had a large enough capacity. If the artifact wasn't sturdy enough, even if the target was successfully contained, the artifact could easily be damaged, making it impossible to truly trap the target; even if it could, it would only be temporary. If the artifact's capacity wasn't large enough, it would be even worse, because the capacity of an artifact largely determined whether the target could be contained. If the capacity was insufficient, it would be impossible to fully contain the target successfully. At most, only a part of the target's body or Soul Body could be collected, not the entirety. Of course, "capacity" here doesn't refer to the artifact's physical size, but rather how much power it can hold internally. It has little to do with the artifact's own dimensions. Some special artifacts, even if only finger-sized, can contain a mountain peak – that's the principle. Because he didn't want to harm Zhong Siyu, Yang Haoran was extremely careful when collecting her Soul, unlike the rough and simple methods he used for other ghostly entities. Precisely for this reason, Zhong Siyu's form within the Soul-Gathering Bead did not dissipate into Yin Qi, but instead remained in human form, albeit a miniature version. Her size was a world of difference compared to her normal state, and she was still unconscious. Although unconscious, her expression showed no trace of pain; rather, it seemed very natural, as if she were merely asleep. From this, it could be seen that she should not be in discomfort at this moment, otherwise, she wouldn't have such an expression. Yang Haoran glanced at Zhong Siyu inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, hesitated slightly, and then temporarily set the bead aside. The reason for his hesitation was whether to release Zhong Siyu from the Soul-Gathering Bead and then have a Pharmacist treat her, as he now had all the necessary conditions back in the Guardian District. With the help of a Pharmacist, Zhong Siyu would undoubtedly recover in the shortest possible time. However, after a brief hesitation, he abandoned this idea. Such a thought hadn't just popped into Yang Haoran's mind; it had surfaced even before he went to the Medicine God Society for his own treatment. It was only after careful consideration back then that he had dismissed the notion. At this moment, the thought resurfaced, and after a slight pause, he still chose not to act on it. Given Yang Haoran's personality, when making decisions, he usually wouldn't repeatedly consider and abandon an idea like this. Once a decision was made, he would execute it, unless he encountered a person or matter that caused him extreme inner turmoil. How to deal with Zhong Siyu happened to be one of these special situations, which was why he kept oscillating and couldn't make up his mind. Although he abandoned the idea of immediately taking Zhong Siyu out of the Soul-Gathering Bead and sending her for treatment, he did not return the Soul-Gathering Bead containing Zhong Siyu to his independent space. Instead, he placed it to the side. He did this because he intended to temporarily defer dealing with Zhong Siyu, and only after handling the Crippled Elder would he make a final decision. Also within a Soul-Gathering Bead, the Crippled Elder's state was completely different from Zhong Siyu's. Zhong Siyu was unconscious, while the Crippled Elder was awake. However, compared to Zhong Siyu, the Crippled Elder's Soul was far too weak. Even with Zhong Siyu lying unconscious inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, one could visibly see streams of Yin Qi emanating from her body, filling the entire bead. In contrast, the Crippled Elder's Soul, within the Soul-Gathering Bead, was only slightly larger than an ordinary person's Soul. How could it compare to a Blood-Clad Ghost King like Zhong Siyu? The gap between them was beyond description, truly a world of difference. The Crippled Elder was indeed powerful when alive, that much was true, especially after he devoured other Grand Spirit Masters and successfully broke through to the Spiritualist King realm; his strength naturally became even more terrifying. But this was merely when he was alive. After death, he not only completely lost that world-shattering power, but he retained less than one ten-thousandth of his former strength, because he was now merely a ghost, an ordinary ghost that hadn't even reached the Evil Spirit realm. Before the Spiritualist King realm, a ghost of this level wasn't even a speck of dust. Yang Haoran had expected that after he took out the Soul-Gathering Bead, the Crippled Elder's Soul would surely make futile and powerless struggles within it, hoping to break free from its control. But to his surprise, the imagined scene did not occur. Inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, the Soul Thread formed by the Crippled Elder's Soul floated silently, motionless, like a dead object. This scene surprised Yang Haoran a little, but it was merely a slight surprise and would not affect his plans or thoughts in the slightest. He glanced at the Soul Thread inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and then, with a gentle wave of his hand towards the Soul-Gathering Bead containing the Crippled Elder's Soul on the table in front of him, a burst of Yin Qi surged up from the bead. The Soul Thread formed by the Crippled Elder's Soul was forcibly expelled from the Soul-Gathering Bead by a surge of power. As soon as the Soul Thread left the Soul-Gathering Bead, it immediately transformed into streaks of Yin Qi and condensed in the air. Soon, the Crippled Elder's Soul Body materialized. However, the Crippled Elder, having successfully condensed his Soul Body, did not attempt to escape. Instead, he floated silently in the air, gazing coldly down at Yang Haoran, who was half-reclining in his chair, smoking. This sight made the smile on Yang Haoran's face deepen. Just now, seeing the Crippled Elder's Soul so quiet within the Soul-Gathering Bead had given Yang Haoran a slight surprise. Now, seeing the Crippled Elder so calm after emerging from the Soul-Gathering Bead, his surprise intensified. Under normal circumstances, once a ghost forcibly contained in a Soul-Gathering Bead escaped, even if they knew escape was impossible, a strong will to survive would drive them to use every trick in the book to try and flee. Yet, the Crippled Elder did not do so. Not only did the Crippled Elder not do so, he instead looked down coldly at Yang Haoran. One must remember that he was currently a prisoner in Yang Haoran's hands, and Yang Haoran could destroy him at any moment. Facing such a ruthless individual who could make his Soul scatter at any time, he dared to show such an attitude. How could this not surprise Yang Haoran? Besides surprise, Yang Haoran also felt a touch of appreciation for the Crippled Elder that he hadn't felt before. "Heh heh, I didn't expect you to be so calm in such a predicament. I certainly misjudged you. However, I wonder if your calmness at this moment is due to resignation, or if you have another trick up your sleeve to escape your current dilemma? " Yang Haoran looked at the Crippled Elder. He first took a puff of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled the smoke, before finally speaking with a faint smile. The Crippled Elder offered no response, continuing to stare coldly down at Yang Haoran. If his gaze could kill Yang Haoran, Yang Haoran would surely have been flayed alive by now. Seeing that the Crippled Elder remained silent, Yang Haoran wasn't annoyed. He didn't speak further but directly activated his Ghost Eye. The reason he released the Crippled Elder's Soul this time wasn't to show off in front of him, but to obtain some information from the Crippled Elder. As for whether the Crippled Elder would seize the opportunity to escape after being released from the Soul-Gathering Bead, Yang Haoran wasn't worried in the slightest. He would rather believe he'd choke on smoke or on his own saliva than believe the Crippled Elder had the ability to escape from right under his nose. One must remember, this was his Guardian District, Yang Haoran's territory. Not only were there numerous powerful restrictions and experts here, but the Crippled Elder was also just an ordinary ghost that hadn't even reached the Evil Spirit realm. What ability could such a ghost possibly have to escape from his Guardian District? Even if Yang Haoran didn't intervene and allowed the Crippled Elder to flee however he wished, the Crippled Elder absolutely could not escape this place by his own power. It was precisely because he had no worries whatsoever about the Crippled Elder escaping his grasp that Yang Haoran so generously released the Crippled Elder from the Soul-Gathering Bead. As for the Crippled Elder choosing not to escape after leaving the Soul-Gathering Bead, but instead silently watching him, whether it was due to despair from knowing escape was impossible, or because he harbored other intentions, Yang Haoran couldn't be certain. But this wasn't important to Yang Haoran. What was important was that he could smoothly obtain some information from the Crippled Elder, as this was his primary objective. If the Crippled Elder had no tricks, then so be it. But if he did, Yang Haoran was eager to see what kind of tricks he could pull off. Seeing that Yang Haoran no longer spoke but directly activated his Ghost Eye, the Crippled Elder's brows involuntarily furrowed, and his expression simultaneously turned grim. As a Spirit Medium, he had dealt with Underworld Officials countless times. How could he not know the abilities of the Ghost Eye, and how could he not guess Yang Haoran's intention in activating it? It was precisely because he knew that his expression suddenly turned grim!