Chapter 1340: Self-Recrimination
After receiving Yang Haoran's command, Shui Ling immediately took the token bestowed by Yang Haoran and rushed to the Life Viewing Tower. To confirm the matter in the shortest possible time, she directly tore through space right there in Yang Haoran's study, in front of everyone, and departed for the Life Viewing Tower via spatial teleportation.
After Shui Ling left, Yang Haoran silently lit a cigarette for himself, his brows furrowed, his mind lost in thought.
The other trusted subordinates present remained silent, knowing that the current situation was utterly unsuitable for speaking.
They were all waiting, both Yang Haoran and his trusted subordinates, for the results Shui Ling would bring back.
For a time, the entire study was deathly silent, the atmosphere incredibly oppressive, making even breathing feel difficult.
Shui Ling left quickly and returned just as fast. Before Yang Haoran had even finished one cigarette, the space where Shui Ling had previously stood violently fluctuated. A spatial rift then appeared, and Shui Ling emerged from it with a grave expression.
Everyone's gaze, including Yang Haoran's, converged on Shui Ling at that moment.
At Yang Haoran's signal, Shui Ling revealed the results she had obtained from the Life Viewing Tower: Bai Xue's and Xiao Kang's Life Beads were perfectly intact, while Xiujuan's Life Bead was completely shattered.
They all understood this truth, which was why they felt a slight easing of their tension upon hearing this result.
However, when they heard that Xiujuan's Life Bead had completely shattered, their brief moment of relief vanished, their hearts leaping into their throats once more, and their recently relaxed brows furrowed tightly together again.
They knew very well what a completely shattered Life Bead meant. Xiujuan was a Spirit, and her realm had not broken through to the Ghost King level, so she did not possess a physical body. Her Life Bead being entirely shattered indicated that she had undergone Soul Transformation, utterly vanishing from this world.
This result was not just bad news for everyone present; it was news that plunged them into deep sorrow!
Although Xiujuan was typically reserved in her demeanor, she never proactively provoked anyone or slandered anyone behind their backs. Furthermore, in their daily lives, they had all received more or less care from Xiujuan.
Besides these reasons, the most crucial point was that they, like Xiujuan, were Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates. Xiujuan was their comrade, a comrade they recognized and respected. Thus, upon learning of Xiujuan's Soul Transformation, their hearts became exceptionally heavy.
Among everyone present, Yang Haoran was naturally the one whose heart was heaviest.
Over the years, Yang Haoran had given Xiujuan and her son a great deal of care and ample protection. He had, in essence, given the mother and son a new lease on life—a new beginning that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Xiujuan knew this in her heart, and thus, she was not only fiercely loyal to Yang Haoran but also proactively took care of his daily needs, handling all the chores, big and small, herself. This lightened Yang Haoran's burden and saved him much worry.
While the things Xiujuan did were not earth-shattering deeds, anyone could do them, nothing grand or spectacular, Yang Haoran did not see it that way. In his view, anything done with sincerity, no matter how small the value it created, deserved respect.
Ever since Xiujuan came to Yang Haoran, everything she did for him was done with her heart. Yang Haoran witnessed this firsthand, so even though Xiujuan's tasks were often trivial matters, Yang Haoran never looked down on her. He gave her complete respect and never treated her as a mere servant, but genuinely regarded her as one of his trusted subordinates.
After so many years, Yang Haoran had developed a deep bond with Xiujuan, deeper than anyone else present. Now that Xiujuan had met the fate of Soul Transformation, his heart was naturally immensely heavy.
First, Bai Xue had an incident, followed by trouble in Honghai City, Xiao Kang's whereabouts unknown, and Xiujuan's Soul Transformation. These two incidents combined had plunged Yang Haoran's emotions to their absolute lowest. This was why he now wore a grave expression, his brows slightly furrowed, and his usual calm smile gone.
"Boss, Xiujuan's Soul Transformation is a result none of us wished to see. But since things have come to this, I hope you can accept the inevitable."
It was Old Master Wu who spoke. He could see that Yang Haoran's emotions were deeply troubled, so after a brief hesitation, he offered words of comfort.
Yang Haoran glanced at Old Master Wu upon hearing him, then nodded lightly without a word, his gaze then returning to Shui Ling.
"What was the specific time when such a major incident occurred in Honghai City?"
Yang Haoran asked Shui Ling. Shui Ling's face showed a troubled expression upon hearing this, then she gently shook her head and replied,
"Because my subordinates only recently discovered this matter, and it was by chance, I currently don't know the exact time when this incident in Honghai City began. However, I will arrange for people to investigate it as quickly as possible."
Yang Haoran's brows furrowed even deeper. Although Shui Ling's attitude was respectful, it was clear that he was dissatisfied with her response.
Logically, Shui Ling managed Yang Haoran's overt intelligence agency. Such a major event in Honghai City should have been known to Shui Ling immediately. Yet, the opposite was true: Shui Ling not only failed to learn of it right away but her subordinates discovered it by chance. By all accounts, this seemed like a dereliction of Shui Ling's duties.
Yang Haoran's brows were now furrowed even tighter than before precisely because this was what he believed in his heart; he thought it was due to Shui Ling's negligence.
However, this thought only existed in Yang Haoran's mind for a brief instant. He then discarded it, as he suddenly recalled something. Realizing the truth, he understood that this wasn't Shui Ling's fault; the problem actually lay with him.
The intelligence agency managed by Shui Ling had an intelligence network that not only covered the Ninth District under Yang Haoran's management but also had informants throughout the entire Jingling Continent. However, there were a very few special places that were exceptions.
For instance, cities managed by Yang Haoran's trusted subordinates were among these special places. He had specifically ordered Shui Ling not to plant informants in these cities, as doing so could easily backfire, leading his trusted subordinates to mistakenly believe that Yang Haoran didn't even trust his own inner circle, thus creating negative repercussions.
Shui Ling naturally obeyed Yang Haoran's command absolutely, which was why she hadn't planted informants in Honghai City. This was what led to such a major incident occurring in Honghai City without Shui Ling receiving relevant information immediately.
Yet, at this moment, facing Yang Haoran's silent accusation, Shui Ling chose not to explain, not even mentioning the command. Instead, she immediately assured Yang Haoran that she would clarify the matter as quickly as possible, showing no intention of shirking responsibility.
Having understood, Yang Haoran shook his head helplessly, sighed softly, and then spoke.
"Ah, the fault isn't yours. It's because I was initially inconsiderate that this tragedy occurred. It's my fault, truly my fault!"
Yang Haoran's words referred not only to the lack of informants in his trusted subordinates' territories but also to the matter of sending Xiujuan to Honghai City.
In truth, there was nothing inherently wrong with sending Xiujuan to Honghai City, as Xiujuan was Xiao Kang's biological mother. Some matters would be easier to communicate with Xiujuan present, and Xiao Kang would be more receptive. So, in his opinion, there was nothing wrong with the approach itself. The mistake was in letting Xiujuan go alone. He should have secretly dispatched an expert to handle unexpected situations at any time. Even if that person couldn't protect Xiujuan, at least having someone secretly transmit information to him would have been good. The person in the shadows might not have been able to save Xiujuan, but that didn't mean Yang Haoran couldn't. Thus, he felt some regret and self-reproach regarding this matter.
However, there was also a reason why he didn't do so at the time, and it was a decision he had thoroughly deliberated. It was just that the ultimate outcome was not what he had desired.
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