Chapter 164: Arrangements
Old Zhao's death greatly surprised Yang Haoran, but his manner of death shocked Yang Haoran even more.
To die in the Death God Temple he was in charge of, and have even his soul swallowed – this was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
Having just learned of Old Zhao's death from Jiang Dashi, Yang Haoran had yet to recover from the shock. That very same day, two more Night Watchers died bizarrely, and just like Old Zhao, their souls were also swallowed.
A soul being devoured and a soul being taken are two different things. The reason it was said all three had their souls devoured was the conclusion drawn by the Emissary of Death, Deng Feng, after his inspection.
Since even Deng Feng was so certain, then the matter was almost certainly true.
Including Yang Haoran, Lecheng originally had sixteen Night Watchers. After Xu Meijing left, only fifteen Night Watchers remained. Now, with three dying in a single day, only twelve Night Watchers were left.
Three might not seem like many, but for the Night Watchers, whose numbers were already few, the existence of every single Night Watcher was extremely important. Especially for the temple keepers who managed the Death God Temples in the towns and villages; almost all of them were solely responsible for one temple. The moment they died, it meant that Death God Temple would immediately fall into paralysis.
That evening, Deng Feng summoned all the surviving Night Watchers to the main hall.
Normally, unless there was an urgent matter, Night Watchers wouldn't gather in this hall before the end of the month. However, the situation was different now. Three Night Watchers had died in a single day. Faced with such a major incident, Deng Feng, as the Emissary of Death, couldn't possibly ignore it or pretend nothing had happened.
Yang Haoran merely knew the three deceased Night Watchers. In the words of ordinary people, they were merely colleagues, and colleagues he only saw once a month. To say he had deep feelings for the three of them would certainly be unrealistic.
However, just because Yang Haoran didn't have deep feelings for the three didn't mean other Night Watchers felt the same way. He was just a newcomer, with no significant interaction with the three, so it was normal for him not to have deep feelings. But the veterans among the Night Watchers had known the three for many years, had executed missions together, and some were even sworn brothers-in-arms. For these people, the deaths of the three naturally brought immense pain to their hearts.
Yang Haoran was not an overly emotional person, but being in such an oppressive and sorrowful atmosphere, he, too, was somewhat affected. His mood grew heavy.
"What happened today, I believe everyone is already aware of. The other party is clearly targeting our Underworld Office. Before we catch the culprit, I expect them to strike at our Underworld Office again."
Deng Feng's voice broke the silence. His voice was deep and subdued, a clear sign of him suppressing his inner rage. Compared to Xu Meijing's departure, today's events fueled his anger even more intensely.
"Emissary of Death, do you know who did this? " A Night Watcher stood up and asked Deng Feng, his voice tinged with agitation.
"Not only were their souls devoured, but all their Spirit Power was also consumed without a trace. What kind of entity do you think would do such a thing? " Deng Feng asked in a deep voice.
One of the Night Watchers seemed to recall something, and abruptly rose from his seat, saying, "Our souls and Spirit Power are a ghost's favorite delicacy. Emissary of Death, are you saying all three of them were killed by powerful ghosts?"
Deng Feng nodded, his face grim, and said, "Spirit Mediums have appeared in Lecheng. In my opinion, this matter was very likely done by a Spirit Medium."
At the mention of Spirit Mediums, the expressions of all the Night Watchers present changed. Yang Haoran, too, couldn't help but frown.
He remembered Du Xiao, and also the words Du Xiao had once spoken.
"Could Du Xiao's master have learned something and begun to seek revenge?"
Thinking this, Yang Haoran felt that this possibility was not zero. Deng Feng had just said that all of this was very likely done by Spirit Mediums. If that were the case, then there was a considerable chance that Du Xiao's master was the one who struck.
At this thought, a trace of guilt arose in Yang Haoran's heart. If the truth was as he suspected, then the deaths of the three Night Watchers were somewhat related to him, because he was the one who killed Du Xiao.
"Spirit Mediums are inherently our Underworld Office's mortal enemies. Whether or not they did this, since they've appeared in Lecheng, we must eliminate them. Emissary of Death, do you know their whereabouts? " A Night Watcher, his face filled with hatred, asked.
Deng Feng glared at the man and cursed, "Are you stupid? ! If this Emissary knew their whereabouts, would I still be sitting here wasting my breath with you all?"
Cursed at by Deng Feng in such a way, the Night Watcher wanted to say something, but ultimately held himself back. Seeing Deng Feng in a terrible mood, the other Night Watchers also fell silent, not daring to speak further.
"Hmph! " Deng Feng let out a cold snort, then stood up and said coldly, "I don't care how many of them there are, or what their schemes are. As long as they attack our Underworld Office personnel, they are challenging the authority of our Underworld Office! Killing my Night Watchers is even more like slapping my face!"
"This matter isn't over. They dared to kill three of my Night Watchers in a single day, so their next move will likely come soon!"
As he spoke, Deng Feng waved his hand, and a plume of black smoke surged forth. In front of Yang Haoran and the other Night Watchers, a Death God Pendant appeared for each of them.
The Death God Pendants themselves were nothing special; Yang Haoran had quite a few of these pendants. However, there was one difference: the power fluctuations emanating from these Death God Pendants were extremely strong. Even if Yang Haoran fully empowered an item, he absolutely couldn't make its power fluctuations reach such an intensity.
"These Death God Pendants have all been empowered by my strength. Keep them on you at all times. If any one of you encounters danger, immediately inject your Spirit Power into it. Then the Death God Pendants in the hands of the other Night Watchers will react, and I will also be able to sense it. At that time, everyone should gather together at the fastest possible speed. I refuse to believe they can still stir up much trouble then!"
Yang Haoran reached out and took the Death God Pendant floating in front of him. The moment the pendant was in his hand, its power fluctuations immediately receded completely, and the Yin Qi it emitted also vanished, rendering it ordinary and unremarkable.
The other Night Watchers had varied expressions, but they, too, successively put away their Death God Pendants.
"When you encounter an irresistible force, offer up the Death God Pendant I have bestowed upon you. Perhaps at a critical moment, it can even save your lives."
Having said this, Deng Feng turned his gaze to Yang Haoran and said, "Haoran, the Death God Temple is crucial for our god to gather faith. Even if something monumental happens, the Death God Temple must continue to operate normally. You are currently the only Night Watcher under me who is not a temple keeper, so I need you to put aside everything you're doing and spend twenty-four hours a day searching for traces of Spirit Mediums within Lecheng."
Yang Haoran stood up, nodded seriously in response, and said, "Yes, Emissary of Death!"
Deng Feng then turned his gaze to Jiang Dashi and continued to instruct, "Dispatch three people from your temple to replace the three who died. The Death God Temple cannot close just because they are gone."
Deng Feng's words not only made Yang Haoran frown, but Jiang Dashi's brows also furrowed slightly. Especially the temple keepers under Jiang Dashi, whose expressions all changed.
The enemy was hidden, while they were exposed. In the current situation, no one wanted to separate from the main group, because doing so would make it highly likely to be defeated by the enemy one by one. Whoever took over the positions of the three deceased would very likely follow in their footsteps.
Forcing Jiang Dashi to send three people out could entirely be understood as sending these three out to their deaths.
Seeing Jiang Dashi frown, Deng Feng's face turned cold, and he asked in a deep voice, "What? Do you have an objection?"
"Emissary of Death, in the current situation, I believe our forces should be kept as concentrated as possible, to avoid being defeated by the enemy one by one. " Jiang Dashi voiced his thoughts.
Deng Feng flew into a rage and cursed loudly, "What the hell do you know? ! How else are we supposed to lure them out if we don't do this? If we don't do this, are we supposed to close all the other Death God Temples? If closing the temples could expose the enemy and eliminate them, then fine. But what if they never show themselves? Does that mean from now on, Lecheng will only have your South Lake Death God Temple?"
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