Chapter 177: Accusation (Part 2)
The moment the burly man's voice shifted, Yang Haoran's smile vanished. His eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing in their corners, before instantly returning to normal, as if nothing had happened.
He swiftly relocked the door, then followed the old man behind the green curtains.
Under Yang Haoran's gaze, the burly man's body changed with every step. By the time he reached the chair beside the bed and sat down, he was no longer a burly man, but a stooped old man leaning on a walking stick.
This old man was none other than the Spirit Medium Du Da. It was just unknown what technique he had used to make the Yin Qi swirling around his body so faint. If Yang Haoran hadn't possessed strong Sense Yin abilities as a Night Watcher, it would have been difficult to detect the Yin Qi on him.
Yang Haoran harbored a bone-deep hatred for this old scoundrel before him. Yet, at this moment, not only did he not show his animosity, but he instead greeted Du Da with a smiling face.
"Old Master, what brings you here? " Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
"I'm not in a good mood, so I came to see you. " Du Da said gravely, his face dark and his eyes glinting with cold light as he looked at Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran took in Du Da's attitude. With just a moment's thought, he understood what was going on.
A few days prior, Deng Feng and Du Da had clashed. It was said that while Deng Feng sustained serious injuries from the battle, old man Du Da was far worse off. Not only was he severely wounded, but he had also lost two powerful Evil Spirits, a truly heavy loss.
However, during such a sensitive period, it struck Yang Haoran as odd why Du Da would risk being discovered by Deng Feng just to come looking for him.
"This old scoundrel's gaze is off. He's in a bad mood, so he comes to see me? Could he possibly think Deng Feng found him because of me?"
Yang Haoran mused internally, but didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, with a smiling face, he said, "For Old Master to come and see me, I'm truly flattered."
Du Da frowned. Yang Haoran's reaction made him quite uncomfortable, especially that smile on his face, which somehow made the young man seem utterly insidious.
"I've already come to your doorstep, are you still going to pretend with me? " Du Da asked, his face cold and his tone icy.
Yang Haoran's expression shifted, a look of confusion crossing his face.
"Old Master, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean. What exactly happened?"
Seeing Yang Haoran feign ignorance, Du Da let out a cold snort, a flash of killing intent glinting in his eyes.
"A few days ago, Deng Feng ambushed me, and I lost two Evil Spirits. Do you dare say this has nothing to do with you?"
"So that was true! " Yang Haoran exclaimed, a look of shock on his face. Seeing Du Da's grim expression, he quickly explained, "Old Master, please don't misunderstand, this really has nothing, not even half a copper coin's worth, to do with me. I did hear about what you're talking about, but I thought it was an exaggeration, so I didn't take it seriously at all. If you hadn't told me just now, I would have completely forgotten about it."
Du Da's face didn't brighten at Yang Haoran's words. His expression remained as grim as ever, clearly indicating he didn't believe Yang Haoran's nonsense.
"I can swear to the heavens, this truly has nothing to do with me. If you genuinely don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. But think about it, I still have the Soul Dispersing Needle you planted in my body. How could I possibly do something like that? Wouldn't that be seeking death? What good would angering you do me?"
Yang Haoran spoke with considerable agitation, though this agitation was, of course, feigned. Yet, his words were true: Deng Feng's successful ambush of Du Da genuinely had nothing to do with him.
"Did you mention the Soul Dispersing Needle in your body to Deng Feng? " Du Da asked in a deep voice.
Yang Haoran's expression froze, then a look of hesitation spread across his face.
Du Da's expression turned even uglier. From Yang Haoran's reaction, he could already guess certain things.
"Speak! " With a sharp roar, Du Da's body suddenly erupted with a fierce killing intent.
Yang Haoran's body trembled slightly, a hint of fear appearing on his face, as he stammered, "I. . . I did tell him about this matter. Not just the Soul Dispersing Needle, but also that I had met you that day, and even that you wanted me to lure him into the Ghost Building—I told him everything."
"What? !"
Du Da's expression changed drastically, his wrinkled face contorted with fury and killing intent. With a flicker, his figure vanished from the chair. Immediately, Yang Haoran felt a gust of Yin wind rush towards him, and his neck tightened as if clamped by iron pincers, making it difficult to even breathe.
Du Da's eyes blazed with fire. His hunched body hung suspended in the air, his hand clamped tightly around Yang Haoran's neck. That seemingly frail body had actually lifted Yang Haoran entirely off the ground!
Yang Haoran's face was beet red, and he struggled to explain, "Things. . . things aren't as you. . . you think! Listen to my explanation!"
Du Da flung Yang Haoran's body away, sending him crashing into the wall. Gritting his black-and-yellow teeth, he glared menacingly at Yang Haoran, who was scrambling to his feet, and spoke through clenched jaws.
"If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, today I will make sure your soul disperses! I mean what I say!"
Yang Haoran coughed violently a few times before speaking with a helpless expression, "Although I am Deng Feng's trusted subordinate, and he is cultivating me as his right-hand man, Deng Feng is a cunning and treacherous person. Even if I hold some status in his eyes, trying to lure him into the Ghost Building is an extremely difficult task."
Du Da did not interrupt Yang Haoran. His face full of rage, he waited for Yang Haoran to continue.
"To successfully lure Deng Feng into the Ghost Building and then make him fight the one inside—that's even harder. Forget me, even his own mother wouldn't necessarily be able to achieve it. So, after much deliberation, I thought the best approach was to make him willing to enter the Ghost Building."
At this, Du Da's brow furrowed slightly. Though the anger on his face hadn't vanished because of Yang Haoran's words, it was clear that Yang Haoran had successfully captured his attention.
"After my careful consideration, I came up with an idea: I decided to tell him everything about meeting you, and to reveal your objective to him without holding anything back, all to gain more of his trust."
"Events unfolded exactly as I predicted. I told him everything that happened after I met you that day, and he was delighted. Not only did he trust me more, but he also immediately rewarded me with a large amount of Pure Yin Qi. I believe, Old Master, you must have noticed this by now—my strength has increased by at least twofold compared to when we last met."
Yang Haoran didn't mention this point, but Du Da hadn't noticed it himself. Before, his mind was consumed by fury; he had no capacity to sense the changes in Yang Haoran's Spirit Power. Now that Yang Haoran brought it up, he sensed it, and indeed, just as Yang Haoran claimed, his Spirit Power had increased by at least twofold compared to their first meeting.
"What does this prove? It only proves that you sold me out and then went to Deng Feng to claim your reward! " Du Da roared furiously.
"No, gaining a reward wasn't my main objective. How could a paltry reward compare to my life? My true objective was to make him willingly enter the Ghost Building and willingly fight the one inside."
Du Da's old face contorted into a look of mockery. He let out a cold snort and roared, "You sold me out, and he would willingly enter the Ghost Building and fight the one inside? You're being too naive! Is Deng Feng a fool?"
"Just that, of course not. I told him that to successfully lure you out, we had to put on a show, a play specifically for you. To perform this play well and successfully deceive you, Old Master, he would need to cooperate fully with the one inside the Ghost Building. Only then would you fall for the trap, reveal yourself, and then be taken down in one swoop."
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, Du Da's body began to tremble with rage. The killing intent in his gaze towards Yang Haoran intensified even further than before!
Yang Haoran saw all this and quickly interjected, "Old Master, hold your hand. Just listen to my last sentence: if the one inside the Ghost Building played along with him for real, who would be the ultimate beneficiary?"
As that last sentence left his lips, Du Da was momentarily stunned.
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