Chapter 1516: Smoke in the Mountain Forest
It was an unavoidable truth that all major factions had informants placed within them by other forces. This was especially true for the long-established powers; due to their venerable history, the likelihood of hostile forces covertly planting informants was even greater.
For a major power like the Underworld Office, there were certainly informants planted by other forces. Whether these were hostile forces or those not currently in opposition, to gain a clearer understanding of the Underworld Office's every move, they undoubtedly had secret informants within it.
The intelligence an informant could acquire was greatly dependent on their status within the infiltrated faction. The higher their position in the target organization, the more accurate and higher-grade the secrets they could obtain. Conversely, the lower their status, the less valuable the information.
The Underworld Office's recent grand-scale operation against the Great Night Empire was so monumental that not just high-ranking informants, but even those with the lowest status within the Underworld Office, were aware of the action.
It was precisely for this reason that news of Yang Haoran's appearance—the traitor of the Underworld Office—the establishment of the Great Night Empire in the heart of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, and the Underworld Office's catastrophic defeat in its recent campaign against the Great Night Empire, quickly spread throughout the New Beginning Realm.
Before the Underworld Office launched its operation against the Great Night Empire, Yang Haoran's whereabouts and the very existence of the Great Night Empire had been closely guarded secrets. After this operation, however, none of it remained hidden. Yet, the rapid spread of this information brought joy to some, and distress to others.
For the Underworld Office's hostile factions, this matter was, of course, cause for celebration. Not only did the emergence of the Great Night Empire present the Underworld Office with a powerful new adversary, but the Underworld Office's losses in this campaign were also exceptionally heavy. Even the newly appointed Tong Continent Great Emperor had been annihilated by the Great Night Empire. How could these enemy factions not be overjoyed?
As for those who were troubled, the vast majority belonged to the Underworld Office's allied factions, as the Underworld Office's devastating defeat was hardly good news for them. Beyond the allies, those who had long sought to find Yang Haoran and, by extension, claim the Underworld Office's bounty, were equally distraught. Yang Haoran had not only revealed himself but had also directly confronted the Underworld Office in a major clash, naturally dashing their hopes of striking it rich through this avenue.
Seeing the matter spread so widely and inflict ever-greater negative repercussions on itself, the Underworld Office surprisingly stepped forward to debunk the rumors, asserting that all of it was untrustworthy gossip. While it was true that a Great Night Empire existed in the heart of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, and Yang Haoran was indeed its Emperor, they claimed the Underworld Office had not suffered a crushing defeat; instead, it had achieved a considerable victory, delivering a significant blow to the Great Night Empire.
Those who already disbelieved the Underworld Office's crushing defeat at the hands of the Great Night Empire naturally grew even more skeptical after the Underworld Office issued this announcement. They became fully convinced that it was all mere rumor.
Where there were disbelievers, there were naturally believers. Those who doubted had their reasons, and those who believed had theirs. But whether one believed or not, one truth remained: this matter had indeed caused a massive stir and inflicted immense negative impact on the Underworld Office. Conversely, the Great Night Empire, once hidden in the heart of the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, now saw its reputation extend far beyond. Some factions even secretly dispatched scouts to the Eastern Sunrise Ocean's center to verify the Great Night Empire's actual existence.
Lecheng, in Jingling Continent, had once been the most prosperous and largest city in the Ninth District of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office. At that time, let alone within the Ninth District, even across the entire Jingling Continent, cities that could rival Lecheng were exceedingly few.
The reason Lecheng had transformed from a remote small town into a prosperous metropolis back then was, of course, because Yang Haoran was the Guardian of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office's Ninth District. As Lecheng was Yang Haoran's hometown and simultaneously the Guardian District of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office's Ninth District, it would have been difficult for it not to flourish.
However, today, Lecheng had long lost its former prosperity, instead becoming dilapidated with a sparse population. The reason for such a drastic change was, similarly, Yang Haoran.
When Yang Haoran had initially defected from the Underworld Office, he had taken everyone from the Ninth District with him, and Lecheng's common folk were naturally no exception. This had resulted in Lecheng becoming a ghost town at the time.
Afterward, the Underworld Office relocated some ordinary people to Lecheng, hoping they would take root and thrive there. After all, Lecheng couldn't be allowed to fall into disrepair simply because Yang Haoran was gone; such a large territory would be far too wasteful to abandon.
However, the number of ordinary people relocated was, after all, limited. For Lecheng to regain its former glory, merely relying on these relocated common folk was far from enough. Furthermore, taking root and spreading out required time, making it impossible to achieve in the short term. Thus, today's Lecheng not only showed no hint of prosperity but had instead fallen into utter disrepair.
Besides this, there was another reason: Lecheng had once been Yang Haoran's territory, and Yang Haoran was a traitor to the Underworld Office. The Underworld Office naturally wouldn't expend effort to rebuild Lecheng and restore its past glory; simply preserving Lecheng was already quite generous.
Present-day Lecheng was a place of vast land and sparse population. Even within the city walls, people were few, and outside, human presence was even scarcer. There were many abandoned villages, but in these deserted hamlets, one could barely even glimpse a ghost, let alone a person. Consequently, few ever set foot in these areas, and certainly, no important figures would ever come here for a leisurely drive.
Currently, Ye Zhiqiu and Red Lotus were living in seclusion in a remote mountain village within Lecheng's borders. Due to the extreme isolation of this village, coupled with its high mountains and distant roads, it had only ever housed a dozen or so families at its peak. Before the outbreak of the Underworld chaos, this small village had already been abandoned, becoming a ghost village untouched by human feet. It was only with the arrival of Ye Zhiqiu and Red Lotus that human activity returned to this ghostly place.
After Ye Zhiqiu and Red Lotus had left the Great Night Empire, they returned here, and in the blink of an eye, many years had passed. Aside from the couple, there were no other inhabitants here; no bustling streets, no grand buildings. Yet, Ye Zhiqiu and his wife dearly loved this place and deeply cherished such a life.
In a small farmhouse courtyard, Red Lotus was hanging freshly laundered clothes. A small boy, around five or six years old, was chasing a puppy within the yard. The yelps of the puppy and the cheerful laughter of the child continuously echoed from within the courtyard.
Outside the farmhouse courtyard lay a patch of cultivated land where Ye Zhiqiu was swinging a hoe. Upon hearing his child's laughter, he involuntarily paused his work, looking towards the boy chasing the puppy in the yard. A smile, full of profound happiness, unconsciously blossomed on his face.
“This kind of life truly is wonderful,” Ye Zhiqiu thought with a smile. “It seems Red Lotus and I made the right decision back then. ”
Ye Zhiqiu smiled at the thought, then lit a cigarette for himself, deciding to watch the child play for a while and take the opportunity to rest.
This boy chasing the dog was indeed the child of Ye Zhiqiu and Red Lotus. Although Red Lotus cultivated the ghost path, and logically should not have been able to conceive, this only applied to ordinary ghost cultivators. Ghost cultivators like Red Lotus, who had stepped into the Ghost King realm and possessed a Ghost King's body, were an exception. A Ghost King's body was more powerful than an ordinary flesh-and-blood body; anything an ordinary body could do, a Ghost King's body could also achieve, and this naturally included fertility.
Living in seclusion here, Ye Zhiqiu and his wife already found their days wonderfully happy, far from the clamor and free of worries. After the little boy was born, their sense of happiness escalated by several degrees, and they truly had a family of their own.
Such days brought immense contentment to Ye Zhiqiu. For him, this was truly a divine life, one he wouldn't trade for anything.
Unconsciously, Ye Zhiqiu became engrossed in the child's laughter, not even noticing when the cigarette in his hand burned down completely. Only when his fingers were singed did he startle awake.
Tossing aside the cigarette butt, Ye Zhiqiu let out a chuckle and prepared to resume wielding his hoe, intending to finish the remaining farm work. However, just then, a violent fluctuation suddenly erupted from the space not far from him.
Ye Zhiqiu’s attention was instantly drawn to this sudden anomaly. In the courtyard, Red Lotus, who had been hanging clothes, also abruptly paused her movements and cast her gaze towards the area from which the spatial fluctuations originated.
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