Chapter 1245: Headless Flies
After Yang Haoran gave his promise, he spent a little more time interacting with the white-haired old man and the middle-aged man, before the white-haired old man finally led the four individuals away from the Guardian District.
Apart from the white-haired old man and the middle-aged man, both Three-star Demon Hunters, the other three Demon Hunters hadn't uttered a single word from beginning to end, standing respectfully behind the two, which led to them having virtually no presence whatsoever.
The five men did not linger after leaving Yang Haoran's Guardian District, immediately rushing back to their temporary lodging in Lecheng.
Inside a room set with restrictions, the identities of the five men underwent a drastic transformation. Of the three who had possessed no presence at all when with Yang Haoran, one young man now sat in the main seat. Both the middle-aged man and the white-haired old man stood respectfully before him, to say nothing of the other two Two-star Demon Hunters, whose attitudes were naturally just as reverent.
The reason for such a dramatic reversal was that this young man was actually a Protector from the Demon Hunter Guild. Though merely a Protector, he was a Protector from the main guild headquarters, fundamentally different from a branch guild Protector. The former's status was, of course, far superior to the latter's.
Furthermore, this young man's cultivation realm was not merely the peak of a Two-star, as it appeared, but a higher realm. He had deliberately concealed his true strength and not revealed his actual cultivation when facing Yang Haoran. He did this, naturally, to conveniently observe Yang Haoran closely in secret.
Among the five, the young man originally held the highest status, but to achieve his objective and avoid attracting Yang Haoran's notice, he had, after careful consideration, decided to feign being a low-ranking Two-star Demon Hunter, and had remained silent from beginning to end after meeting Yang Haoran.
"The two of you had a rather long conversation with Yang Haoran today. Do you believe this matter has anything to do with him?"
"Replying to Protector Zhou, based on my observation and conversation with Yang Haoran, I believe this matter should have nothing to do with him. He genuinely has no reason to do such a thing, and I can tell he's an intelligent man. He certainly wouldn't commit such a foolish act as shooting himself in the foot."
The first to speak was the middle-aged man. Although his temper was fiery and his words sharp when facing Yang Haoran, before Protector Zhou, his attitude and tone were utterly respectful, and he dared not even raise his voice.
Protector Zhou neither agreed with the middle-aged man's assertion nor denied it. Instead, his expression unchanged, he turned his gaze to the white-haired old man and asked,
"And you, what do you think?"
The white-haired old man did not respond immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment before finally giving his reply.
"Regarding whether this matter is related to Yang Haoran, I dare not say for certain. According to normal logic, he indeed has no reason to commit such an act. However, if there are secrets involved that we are unaware of, then it's not impossible for him to have done something like this. Therefore, I believe we should temporarily not trust Yang Haoran's one-sided account. Whether he is problematic, or if he is secretly orchestrating this, will only be known after we spend some time investigating."
. . . . The white-haired old man responded respectfully. Upon hearing this, Protector Zhou pondered briefly, then nodded.
"You're right. Whether this matter truly concerns Yang Haoran still requires thorough investigation before we can reach a conclusion. Before that, no matter how eloquently Yang Haoran speaks, we cannot trust him too much, or we'll be played for fools."
At this point, Protector Zhou's voice paused slightly before he continued.
"During this period, we must be careful in all matters. If this truly involves Yang Haoran, then our situation will be perilous. After all, this is Yang Haoran's territory. If he wished to eliminate us on his own turf, while it might not be as easy as turning one's hand over, it certainly wouldn't be too difficult. Moreover, even if this matter has nothing to do with Yang Haoran, our situation is still not optimistic. Since the opposing party dared to destroy our newly constructed temple in Lecheng and kill our people, they must have come prepared. Being able to silently eliminate a Three-star Demon Hunter is enough to indicate that they are not to be underestimated."
The four respectfully assented. In the time that followed, Protector Zhou gave them a detailed set of arrangements. Among this series of arrangements, one item was to focus their investigation on Yang Haoran.
From this point alone, it was evident that Protector Zhou's suspicions about Yang Haoran were not only present, but also quite significant.
Inside Yang Haoran's Guardian District, Yang Haoran sat in the main seat, smoking. Although the five Demon Hunters had departed, he remained where he was.
The reason Yang Haoran hadn't left was that he was pondering a question: whether to discreetly eliminate the five Demon Hunters who had come to Lecheng.
Protector Zhou had actually underestimated Yang Haoran. For Yang Haoran to discreetly eliminate the five of them, saying it would be as easy as turning one's hand over was no exaggeration at all. Moreover, Yang Haoran wouldn't even need to act himself; the people he had cultivated could accomplish it.
However, after some consideration, Yang Haoran still dismissed this idea. The reason he dismissed it was that such an approach would not only treat the symptoms without addressing the root cause, but it would also undoubtedly invite even greater trouble for him. Thus, after careful deliberation, he ultimately abandoned the thought.
Over the next month, Protector Zhou and his four companions continued to investigate the destruction of the temple and the killing of the Demon Hunters. However, in front of outsiders, Protector Zhou maintained the appearance of a subordinate, with the white-haired old man making decisions on all matters, as if he were their leader.
Although Yang Haoran had promised full cooperation, he certainly wasn't foolish enough to genuinely cooperate fully with people investigating him. His so-called "full cooperation" was merely superficial.
Because Yang Haoran's outward performance was exceptionally good, Protector Zhou and his four companions not only failed to detect anything amiss, but under Yang Haoran's ostensible full cooperation, they gradually developed a degree of trust in him. Their suspicions regarding Yang Haoran consequently diminished, until eventually, they no longer suspected him at all, believing the matter had no connection to Yang Haoran. They concluded it must have been the work of some hostile force or enemy of their Demon Hunter Guild, for the Demon Hunter Guild certainly had its own adversaries and grudges.
....As for why the opposing party chose to act in Lecheng, Protector Zhou and his four companions considered two possibilities.
The first possibility was that the opposing party didn't necessarily have to act in Lecheng; for them, any city would have been the same, and they simply happened to choose Lecheng.
The second possibility was that the opposing party deliberately chose to act in Lecheng, thereby framing Yang Haoran, confusing public perception, and concealing themselves.
Although Protector Zhou and his four companions couldn't be certain which of these two possibilities was closer to the truth, they gradually became convinced that Yang Haoran had nothing to do with the matter. It wasn't that they were fools to trust Yang Haoran so easily, but rather because Yang Haoran's performance had no flaws whatsoever, coupled with Shui Ling having preemptively cleared away all traces, which led Protector Zhou and his four companions to gradually believe Yang Haoran.
Although a month had passed, Protector Zhou and his four companions had not left Lecheng because the matter had not yet been thoroughly investigated. If they returned without having uncovered any useful information, they certainly wouldn't be able to account for their mission. So, they remained in Lecheng to continue their investigation, though their investigative direction had shifted, and they had almost entirely ruled out Yang Haoran.
Since the five were unwilling to leave Lecheng, Yang Haoran naturally wouldn't press them. Doing so would only make him appear guilty, and the trust he had just built in the minds of the five would collapse. Therefore, not only did he not urge them to leave, but he continued to cooperate fully with them as always. Whatever they needed, he would immediately provide support, and even feigned sending some of his subordinates to join the investigation.
Yang Haoran's actions naturally earned him even more trust from Protector Zhou and his four companions. And after gaining their greater trust, Yang Haoran secretly left Lecheng with Zhong Siyu, leaving the oblivious Protector Zhou and his four companions to continue investigating in Lecheng like headless flies.
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