Chapter 1520: Internal and External Adjustments
In the Great Night Empire, Yang Haoran received a communication talisman from Ye Zhiqiu.
Ever since Ye Zhiqiu's departure, Yang Haoran had never received a single communication talisman from him, except for this one. He could guess the reasons why Ye Zhiqiu hadn't sent him one. However, he also hadn't sent Ye Zhiqiu a communication talisman either. It wasn't because he was petty and wouldn't send one just because Ye Zhiqiu didn't; he wasn't that narrow-minded towards Ye Zhiqiu. The reason he hadn't sent communication talismans to Ye Zhiqiu and his wife was that he didn't want to disturb their lives, and also because he didn't want the couple to misunderstand.
Receiving a communication talisman from Ye Zhiqiu so suddenly this time greatly surprised Yang Haoran. What he never could have imagined, however, was that the content of the talisman would surprise him even more.
After successfully receiving all the information from the communication talisman, Yang Haoran waved his hand, dissipating it. He then leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigarette. A faint smile graced his face, yet his expression was complex. After a long while, he exhaled a heavy plume of smoke, sighed, and muttered to himself.
"It's good that it's been investigated thoroughly. I didn't want you to keep misunderstanding. As for grand gifts, there's no need. As long as you can live well in this world, I'll be content."
After speaking, Yang Haoran extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand and cast the matter from his mind, no longer dwelling on it. Although Xiaokang had betrayed him, he had never harbored hatred for Xiaokang; instead, he wished for Xiaokang to live well, and this had always been the case, both before and now.
As for the grand gift Xiaokang mentioned, he didn't take it to heart at all. He had never thought of receiving any reward from Xiaokang, nor did he wish to receive any. Therefore, he wasn't going to waste time on this matter, especially since he had so many other things to deal with now.
Soon after, two figures arrived in Yang Haoran's study: one was Shui Ling, and the other was Tang Shi. Upon seeing Yang Haoran, both knelt on one knee and saluted him. At Yang Haoran's gesture, they rose and took seats opposite him.
"I've summoned you two today because there's something I need to tell you. After our last battle with the Underworld Office, the existence of our Great Night Empire is no longer a secret. Because of this, I believe it won't be long before spies from other factions start appearing within our Great Night Empire. These factions might even try to infiltrate our high-level personnel to obtain more useful intelligence. Therefore, to prevent this from happening as much as possible, I must make preparations in advance. If we ignore this matter, it will cause incalculable losses to our Great Night Empire."
Upon hearing this, Shui Ling and Tang Shi promptly assented respectfully. Neither spoke further, instead quietly awaiting Yang Haoran's instructions. Both understood Yang Haoran's character; since he had spoken to them directly like this, rather than in a consultative tone, it meant he had already made up his mind. They simply needed to await his next words.
Sure enough, as the two replied to Yang Haoran almost simultaneously, he immediately continued to speak.
"Currently, our Great Night Empire has external intelligence operatives from both the Myriad Ghost Grotto and Shui Ling's own people. From today onwards, all of Shui Ling's personnel are to be recalled, and the Myriad Ghost Grotto will assume full responsibility. The two of you will make the handover shortly."
Originally, Yang Haoran had intended to hand over all of Shui Ling's external operatives to Tang Shi, with Tang Shi managing them from now on. This way, Shui Ling wouldn't need to recall them, and Tang Shi wouldn't have to send other operatives to take over, killing two birds with one stone.
However, after careful consideration, Yang Haoran abandoned this plan. The reason was simple: Shui Ling had undoubtedly invested a great deal of effort into training these operatives. Even if they were no longer to carry out missions for other factions, simply handing them all over to Tang Shi to become members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto would surely make Shui Ling uncomfortable, even if she didn't voice it.
Furthermore, all members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto were formidable ghost cultivators, whereas Shui Ling's subordinates were not all ghost cultivators. Therefore, handing these operatives of Shui Ling's over to Tang Shi was something Tang Shi might not necessarily want. But if it were an order, Tang Shi would have no choice but to accept, which would also put Tang Shi in a difficult position.
It was precisely due to these two considerations that Yang Haoran ultimately decided to have Shui Ling recall her subordinates and have Tang Shi arrange trustworthy personnel to take over the positions of Shui Ling's operatives.
Neither of them had any objections to Yang Haoran's arrangement. They nodded in agreement and continued to await Yang Haoran's next words. At this point, Yang Haoran turned his gaze to Tang Shi.
"There won't be any major changes to the Myriad Ghost Grotto. Aside from fully taking over external intelligence operations, I've also added another task to your existing responsibilities."
Upon hearing this, Tang Shi quickly offered his assurance.
"Emperor, please give your command without hesitation. No matter the task, your subordinate will do his utmost to complete it!"
Yang Haoran nodded with a faint smile, then spoke.
"Currently, our Great Night Empire is dispatching more and more envoys. Their expertise lies in recruiting more believers for me; their strength is in their words, not their fists. Therefore, they will find it difficult to resolve issues that require physical force."
Yang Haoran did not utter any hypocritical, high-minded words in front of Shui Ling and Tang Shi. Regarding the envoys' roles, strengths, and weaknesses, he chose to express them directly and bluntly, knowing that any excessive pretense would be useless in front of the two. They were perfectly clear on the matter, and being overly hypocritical would only diminish his image in their eyes.
"Does Emperor mean that our Myriad Ghost Grotto needs to protect them?"
Tang Shi asked. Yang Haoran smiled faintly, then replied.
"Saying 'protection' isn't entirely wrong, but it's not comprehensive. What I want is for the Myriad Ghost Grotto to step in and resolve issues for them whenever they need powerful enforcers. This could involve protecting their own safety from threats, or it could involve threatening the safety of others. Our Great Night Empire's envoys are now spread across the world, and your Myriad Ghost Grotto members are also spread everywhere. This is a perfect opportunity to assist them. With the experts of the Myriad Ghost Grotto supporting them, our Great Night Empire's envoys will have the confidence to fully unleash their capabilities and fulfill their mission."
"Your subordinate obeys. Your subordinate will certainly handle this matter appropriately and not disappoint Emperor!"
Tang Shi once again offered his assurance, and Yang Haoran nodded with satisfaction.
"The Funerary Division is responsible for the Great Night Empire's envoys. Later, go find Old Master Wu and request a list of envoys. The list will not only contain detailed information about the envoys but also their respective assigned territories. With this list, I believe I don't need to say more; with your intelligence, you'll know what to do."
"Your subordinate understands. Emperor, please rest assured!"
"Heh heh, I'm at ease when you handle things."
After receiving Tang Shi's third assurance, Yang Haoran didn't pressure him further. With a smiling reply, his gaze shifted from Tang Shi and moved to Shui Ling.
"Shui Ling, from today onwards, you have only one task: to lead your people and ferret out all the spies from other factions embedded within our Great Night Empire, as well as any infiltrated personnel. This mission, while extremely difficult, is crucially important, and therefore, it must be resolved no matter the hardship. I'm entrusting this vital task to you; do you have any objections?"
Yang Haoran's words were grave, yet a light, unburdened smile still graced his face.
"Your subordinate has no objections whatsoever. Since Emperor has entrusted this task to your subordinate, I shall complete it even if it means being torn to pieces!"
Just like Tang Shi, Shui Ling gave her assurance without the slightest hesitation regarding the task Yang Haoran had assigned.
"Very good. You may go now to attend to your duties. Make the handover that needs to be made, and go get the list from Old Master Wu that needs to be gotten. I still have other matters to attend to."
The two bowed and departed. Yang Haoran then vanished from the study as well, reappearing to seek out Ma Ling, who was currently at home, engrossed in researching formations.
Yang Haoran's sudden arrival took Ma Ling by surprise, as it had been a long time since he had sought her out so unexpectedly. Following her surprise, a guess formed in her mind: Yang Haoran must be about to assign her a special task, and it would undoubtedly be a troublesome one. This was always the case whenever Yang Haoran appeared so abruptly, so she knew that for a long time to come, she probably wouldn't be able to leisurely research formations as she was now.
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