Chapter 1307: Secret Arrangements
"Yang Haoran, you've got some impressive tricks up your sleeve. No sooner had we left than the Corpse Driving Sect was utterly wiped out. I'm really curious how you pulled that off. Could it be that your tentacles have already extended all the way to Tong Continent?"
Inside a luxuriously decorated room, Zhong Siyu smiled as she asked Yang Haoran, her face betraying unconcealed curiosity.
Yang Haoran, nestled comfortably in the sofa, took a puff from his cigarette before lightly chuckling.
"Heh heh, the mid-to-high levels of the Corpse Driving Sect were pretty much cleared out by you. What remained were just two or three small fry, so naturally, it didn't take much effort to clean them up."
Dissatisfaction flickered across Zhong Siyu's face, for in her eyes, Yang Haoran's answer was utterly nonsensical, akin to no reply at all. Naturally, she was displeased with such a perfunctory response.
"I asked if your influence had already reached Tong Continent. Your answer completely dodges the question."
Seeing Zhong Siyu's persistence, as if determined to break the sand pot to get to the bottom of it, Yang Haoran could only smile helplessly and reply.
"I do have some power in Tong Continent, but it's very limited. Dealing with smaller factions is naturally no problem, but it's insufficient for larger ones."
To be precise, Yang Haoran's answer at this moment was equally perfunctory, though slightly better than his previous one. While Zhong Siyu still harbored some dissatisfaction, she knew perfectly well that pressing further would yield no results. Yang Haoran had already spoken to this extent; trying to extract anything more from him was, if not entirely impossible, certainly exceedingly difficult.
Zhong Siyu was merely curious about the matter; she wasn't intent on making Yang Haoran confess everything in detail as if he were a criminal. Since Yang Haoran had already stated things to this extent, she simply decided not to ask any further questions.
"We've been here for two days now. When do you plan to leave? You're not going to wait until Ma Ling's injuries have fully recovered, are you?"
Zhong Siyu didn't press the previous question but instead posed a different one. Yang Haoran pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Let's wait another two days. In her current state, Ma Ling isn't quite suited for long-distance teleportation. It'll be safer, and I'll feel more at ease, once her injuries have healed a bit more."
At this moment, Yang Haoran and the two women were still within Tong Continent. Due to the severity of Ma Ling's injuries, and the fact that long-distance spatial teleportation places certain demands on the physical body of the one being transported, Yang Haoran had found a decent hotel to temporarily settle in after moving away from the Corpse Driving Sect's territory. This allowed him and Zhong Siyu to rest while Ma Ling could use the opportunity to heal.
"That dānyào you gave Ma Ling was quite the treasure. Even though her injuries aren't completely healed yet, she should be perfectly fine for long-distance teleportation."
Zhong Siyu spoke. Yang Haoran heard her, chuckled faintly, and then replied.
"Theoretically, that's true. However, to reduce the risk to zero, I still think it's better to leave in another two days."
Zhong Siyu was utterly speechless at Yang Haoran's cautious attitude. In her view, it was completely unnecessary. However, she didn't urge Yang Haoran to leave immediately; after all, she wasn't in a hurry, so she naturally didn't mind if Yang Haoran stayed for two more days.
As for whether staying for two more days would invite pursuit from the Tong Continent Yin Division, not only was Zhong Siyu unconcerned, but even the usually cautious Yang Haoran wasn't particularly worried.
Two days later, although Ma Ling's injuries were still a considerable distance from full recovery, prolonged spatial teleportation no longer posed any risk of causing her even the slightest harm. Thus, Yang Haoran set off once more, taking her and Zhong Siyu with him.
The journey was uneventful. Yang Haoran smoothly returned with the two women to the Guardian District of the Jingling Continent Yin Division's Ninth District.
From its outward appearance, his Guardian District seemed unchanged from when he had left, but he knew in his heart that outward appearances were merely superficial, not the truth. His Guardian District was, in fact, undergoing various transformations every day, with its underlying power constantly increasing. For instance, the strengthening of personnel, the creation of various dānyào, the influx of fresh blood, and so on—these were all avenues through which its hidden strength grew. If these weren't openly displayed, one naturally couldn't discern them from the exterior alone.
Presently, all departments and organizations within Yang Haoran's Ninth District were long since on track and operating incredibly smoothly. As long as he, their leader, didn't encounter any unforeseen mishaps, the Ninth District would normally continue to function without a hitch.
Therefore, upon returning to the Guardian District, Yang Haoran merely got a general overview of its recent situation, then stopped inquiring about its affairs. Instead, he secretly made a series of arrangements for Ma Ling.
Following Yang Haoran's usual practice, when a new member joined the team, a welcoming banquet to wash away their travel dust would naturally be indispensable. However, he did not do so this time.
The reason he didn't do so was certainly not due to a lack of regard for Ma Ling. On the contrary, it was precisely because he held Ma Ling in extremely high regard, and likewise attached immense importance to the tasks she was about to undertake, that he kept her out of the public eye.
Few people knew of Ma Ling's arrival. Even among Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates, only a very small fraction were aware that a figure named Ma Ling had joined his ranks. Those loyalists who were privy to this information were instructed by Yang Haoran to cooperate unconditionally with Ma Ling's upcoming work.
Naturally, Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates dared not disobey his orders. Moreover, when he was making these arrangements, his expression was unusually solemn, and he even repeatedly stressed the critical importance of the matter, emphasizing that not a single mistake could occur. Seeing how carefully he spoke, these chosen subordinates, tasked with assisting Ma Ling, became even more cautious, each pledging to flawlessly complete the assignment.
Yang Haoran had gone to such great lengths to bring Ma Ling back to Jingling Continent, and even annihilated the entire Corpse Driving Sect for her sake, even eliminating an Underworld Office Guardian in the process. Zhong Siyu was incredibly curious about what exactly he intended Ma Ling to do, given such immense effort.
After returning to the Guardian District, driven by her curiosity, Zhong Siyu tried every conceivable method to extract useful information from Yang Haoran. Alas, Yang Haoran remained tight-lipped on the matter. No matter how she varied her questions, the only result was Yang Haoran's faint smile; she gained absolutely no useful intelligence.
Seeing that she truly couldn't squeeze any useful information out of Yang Haoran, Zhong Siyu could only give up in resignation. She then demanded compensation from Yang Haoran for her losses. These losses stemmed from that day when she had advocated for confining Ulan and gradually absorbing the power within his body, a suggestion Yang Haoran had rejected. His reason for refusal was that Ulan had to be slain, with not even a soul left behind, before the Absolute Prohibition vanished.
At the time, Zhong Siyu felt that doing so would incur too great a loss, but Yang Haoran believed it was the safest approach and promised to compensate Zhong Siyu for her losses.
What Yang Haoran had considered merely a jest, Zhong Siyu had taken seriously. After failing to wheedle the desired information out of him, she shamelessly demanded compensation.
Though he felt a touch helpless, Yang Haoran did not break his word. He produced a considerable number of Soul Pills and talismans and handed them to Zhong Siyu as compensation for her losses.
Yang Haoran still possessed Soul Crystals, but he wasn't so magnanimous as to use them to compensate Zhong Siyu. Soul Pills, on the other hand, were fine; as long as the quantity wasn't too great, he could still accept it.
Besides Soul Pills, Zhong Siyu also had use for consumables like talismans. If her personal spatial realm contained more powerful talismans, they would certainly prove invaluable at crucial moments.
Zhong Siyu wasn't entirely satisfied with the compensation Yang Haoran provided, but it was acceptable enough. It was precisely because she received this compensation that she didn't continue to pester Yang Haoran, instead returning to her room to refine the vast energy she had acquired from this journey.
This energy included the Soul Crystal she had seized from Ulan, the power she had absorbed from within Ulan, and also the power from the goatee-bearded man and dozens of Night Watchers. However, the meager power from the goatee-bearded man and the Night Watchers couldn't even compare to Ulan's. What she truly needed to refine were the powers obtained from Ulan, as well as that single Soul Crystal.
Although she had managed to refine a portion of it while rushing back to Jingling Continent, there was still some unrefined. Now, with nothing else to do, she could fully devote herself to refining the remaining power!
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