Chapter 173: Lending You a Protective Talisman
A few days later, the end of the month arrived as scheduled.
Usually at this time, all Night Watchers in Lecheng would rush to the South Lake Death God Temple; however, this particular month was an exception.
Due to the appearance of Spirit Mediums, the Night Watchers had suffered heavy losses. Thus, this month, Deng Feng did not perform the usual Soul Qi infusion for the Night Watchers, but time, however, would not stop for it.
A new month had begun, and Du Da had given Yang Haoran only twenty-something days.
If you were waiting to use the toilet, twenty-something days would surely feel interminably long, beyond words.
If it were just passing normally, time would flash by, quietly slipping through one's fingers unnoticed.
But if you only had twenty-something days left to live, those twenty-something days would be no different from twenty-something seconds.
Initially, Deng Feng's task for Yang Haoran was to track the Spirit Medium's whereabouts, but since Yang Haoran needed to implement his own plan, the task of finding the Spirit Medium was assigned to someone else.
However, in the past few days, Yang Haoran had not done anything out of the ordinary. His convenience store operated as usual, he continued to read, continued to draw talismans, and continued to go out to guide spirits at night.
Deng Feng hadn't sought out Yang Haoran during this period. Whether he was unaware of Yang Haoran's recent actions, or knew but chose not to speak, remained unknown.
While Yang Haoran had made no moves recently, Deng Feng was the exact opposite.
Deng Feng had withdrawn several individuals from the Night Watchers, and under his leadership, they launched a pursuit and retaliation against the Spirit Medium Du Da. It was unknown what means Deng Feng had employed, but he truly managed to find Du Da, and the two engaged in a fierce battle. It was said that Deng Feng was quite seriously injured, and Du Da was no better off; not only was he injured, but he also lost two formidable Evil Spirits.
All these things were told to Yang Haoran by Jiang Dashi. As for whether the facts were exactly as Jiang Dashi had described, Yang Haoran couldn't be certain.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Jiang Dashi, but rather that he didn't fully believe the matter itself; this disbelief was directed at the situation, not the person.
Inside the convenience store, Yang Haoran looked at the scattered talismans on the table, his expression weary, his brow furrowed.
The talismans on the table were all drawn by him, uniformly Ghost-Slaying Talismans.
The Ghost-Slaying Talisman was merely a very basic talisman, much simpler to learn compared to other talismans. Coupled with his own need for this type of talisman, he decided to begin his studies by drawing Ghost-Slaying Talismans.
Each Ghost-Slaying Talisman on the table looked decent enough, but they only had the form and lacked the spirit; compared to true talismans, there was still a fundamental difference.
Looking at these talismans on the table, Yang Haoran sighed, collected all of them, and then burned them to ashes with a single flame.
Drawing effective talismans and becoming a true Talisman Master was more difficult than he had imagined.
After cleaning up the interior, Yang Haoran pulled up the rolling shutter door of his convenience store. Outside, the sky was already faintly bright. Instead of staying in the convenience store as usual, he closed the rolling shutter door and left.
Last night, he didn't go out to guide spirits as he normally would. Not only did he not go last night, but he also wouldn't go for the next twenty-something days.
He had spent a few days thoroughly clearing out the Lecheng urban area. Aside from the notorious ominous places, spirits that needed to be subdued were subdued, and those that needed to be guided were guided. He did this precisely so that he wouldn't have to do it again over the next twenty-something days. He would dedicate all his time to drawing talismans, hoping that through his efforts, he could become a Talisman Master in his final days, and perhaps then he might even be of some use.
Wang Yiming had gotten Yang Haoran quite a few books some time ago, and the books he had been reading these past few days were precisely those Wang Yiming had brought him.
However, he wasn't just casually reading these books; he was flipping through them with a specific purpose in mind, searching for any information related to the Soul Dispersing Needle.
In a matter of days, he had gone through all the books Wang Yiming had brought, but he found no records whatsoever concerning the Soul Dispersing Needle. He did, however, learn and understand many other things, which could be considered a considerable gain, but these gains were not what he desired most at the moment.
To say he felt no disappointment was clearly impossible. However, Yang Haoran's principle for living and acting was that no matter how disappointed he became, he must not despair. If some people or some matters truly became impossible to change, he shouldn't end in despair; instead, he would adjust his mindset and accept it.
Du Da had promised that if Yang Haoran helped him achieve his goal, he would retrieve the Soul Dispersing Needle from Yang Haoran's body. Yang Haoran wouldn't believe such words, fit for coaxing a child.
Deng Feng had also assured him that once the matter concluded, he would extract the Soul Dispersing Needle from Yang Haoran's body. Yang Haoran similarly didn't put much faith in Deng Feng's words; even if Deng Feng's credibility was slightly higher than Du Da's, it was only by a sliver.
Therefore, to remove the Soul Dispersing Needle from his body, Yang Haoran felt that finding his own solution was the most appropriate course of action.
After driving away from the convenience store, Yang Haoran stopped at the entrance of a high-end residential complex. At the complex entrance, Wang Yiming was already waiting. Yang Haoran spotted him from afar, that young man who always liked to feign maturity and maintain a stern expression.
Yang Haoran rolled down the car window and smiled at Wang Yiming. Although he was deeply troubled in his heart, when facing a friend, he still forced a smile onto his face, trying his best not to burden his friend with his troubles and affect him.
Perhaps some people would think, isn't that what friends are for?
But people are different from one another, and different people have different principles for handling affairs, so their approaches naturally varied.
Wang Yiming had been swamped with work lately, but looking at Yang Haoran's smiling face at this moment, he felt much better.
No one wants to see a face full of worries first thing in the morning, but a smiling face is different; sometimes, a smile can truly influence those around you.
"Come, get in the car and let's talk," Yang Haoran said with a smile, motioning to Wang Yiming.
Wang Yiming nodded, not refusing, and opened the car door to get into the passenger seat.
After closing the car window and locking the car doors, Yang Haoran finally spoke to Wang Yiming: "I've finished reading all the books you lent me. Thank you very much; they allowed me to gain a lot. I came to see you today specifically to return them."
"Brother Yang, what are you talking about? It's not our first time dealing with each other; there's no need to be so polite about returning books. You could have just told me, and I would have come to pick them up. Why did you need to specifically deliver them?"
As he spoke, Wang Yiming seemed to suddenly remember something, his expression subtly changed, and he hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Yang Haoran saw the hesitation on Wang Yiming's face and said with a smile, "You just said there's no need for us to be polite, so don't hide anything. Just say what you need to say, relax a bit."
Yang Haoran's words were like a calming pill for Wang Yiming, making the hesitation on his face disappear.
"Since you put it that way, then I'll really speak my mind."
After a pause, Wang Yiming lowered his voice. Even though they were inside the car, with the doors locked and windows tightly shut, he still subconsciously lowered his voice significantly.
"I heard that something major happened with your Night Watchers recently. Several Night Watchers have died, is it true?"
Deng Feng had repeatedly emphasized that the deaths of the Night Watchers must not be leaked, to avoid embarrassment, impacting the authority of the Underworld Office, and damaging his own image. But somehow, Wang Yiming had still found out. There truly are no walls in this world that don't let wind through.
Although Wang Yiming was now seeking confirmation from him, such a question from Wang Yiming indicated that he already knew some things. Denying it would not only be self-deception but might also cause dissatisfaction in his friend. So, Yang Haoran did not deny it, but nodded readily.
"Indeed, some major incidents have occurred, and they are currently being handled. This month, if you need me to assist with police duties, I'm afraid I'll find it difficult to spare the time, so I'm taking a leave of absence with you in advance," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Wang Yiming looked speechless and said, "What's all this about asking for leave? Don't tease me. Since you have important matters to attend to, if we encounter cases involving spirits this month, we'll figure out a way to handle them ourselves. It just might be a bit more troublesome without a professional like you around."
"Then I'll just have to trouble you temporarily, haha," Yang Haoran chuckled.
"Look at you, saying that. This is what we're supposed to do. In fact, if anything, it's our Spirit Police who have been troubling you all this time."
Yang Haoran merely smiled at Wang Yiming's statement, saying nothing, while Wang Yiming continued to speak.
"I know a bit about the specific troubles your Underworld Office has encountered. This is no small matter; several Night Watchers have even died. I won't press you for confirmation, so as not to put you in a difficult position. But, you haven't been implicated, have you? " Wang Yiming's face showed a hint of worry.
Yang Haoran waved his hand with a smile, saying, "What implication could I face? If I were truly implicated, I'd be at the crematorium by now. How could I still be sitting here chatting with you, perfectly fine?"
Yang Haoran's words made Wang Yiming laugh heartily. Seeing Yang Haoran capable of saying such a thing, he felt much more at ease.
"As long as you're okay. If you need any help, remember to tell me. Please, don't be shy with me."
Having said that, Wang Yiming's face showed a hesitant expression again. Yang Haoran saw the hesitation on his face and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
"I say, what's wrong with you now? " Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
The hesitation on Wang Yiming's face vanished, replaced by a look of determination, as if he had suddenly made a certain decision.
"I'm still a bit uneasy, so I've decided to borrow a protective talisman for self-defense first. This protective talisman is very important to me; I only have this one. Once this period passes, remember to return it to me."
When Wang Yiming said this, he was very serious, very earnest, not joking in the slightest.
But after hearing his words, Yang Haoran's facial expression stiffened, and the corners of his mouth twitched a few times subconsciously, because it couldn't help but make him think of Zhou Daoshi. . .
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