Chapter 184: Find a Way to Escape!
Several cars parked outside the Ghost Building, allowing Yang Haoran to sense the presence of several power fluctuations. He was very familiar with these power fluctuations; they were Spirit Power.
Yang Haoran's brows furrowed slightly. He hadn't expected so many people to suddenly arrive; this deviated from the agreed-upon plan.
Quickly approaching the window, Yang Haoran looked down to see several cars parked outside the Ghost Building, and several figures emerging from within them.
"Master Jiang!"
Yang Haoran's expression shifted. Without exception, he knew all these people, for they were all Night Watchers, including the Master Jiang he was most familiar with!
"Why are they here? Where's Deng Feng?"
Yang Haoran's gaze swept around, but he didn't find any trace of Deng Feng. What puzzled him was why Master Jiang and the others were here.
His agreed-upon plan with Deng Feng hadn't included Master Jiang or the other Night Watchers. With all of them present now, they clearly weren't there as spectators; Deng Feng must have made other arrangements.
However, Deng Feng hadn't mentioned these arrangements to Yang Haoran, not a single word. From this alone, it was clear that Deng Feng's guard against Yang Haoran was exceptionally strong.
Yang Haoran's expression was grim. He didn't know why Deng Feng had summoned Master Jiang and the others, but he had a vague premonition that it was certainly not good news for them.
He himself didn't care; after tonight, he would, in all likelihood, undergo Soul Transformation anyway. Whatever Deng Feng chose to do was fine, as long as Yang Haoran could drag one or two others down with him before he died.
However, he had never intended to drag Master Jiang and other innocent Night Watchers down with him. Aside from Yang Haoran, the main actors in tonight's drama were all big shots. Deng Feng forcibly inserting Master Jiang and the others into the scene—wasn't that just sending them to their deaths?
Watching Master Jiang and the others exit their cars, Yang Haoran couldn't help but think this to himself. At that moment, his presence was noticed by Master Jiang and his companions.
An ordinary person, seeing a human face in a second-story window of the Ghost Building, would likely be terrified. But Master Jiang and the others were Night Watchers; they dealt with ghosts every day, so they naturally weren't frightened by the sight. Moreover, they instantly recognized Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran's presence here brought expressions of surprise to the faces of Master Jiang and his group. Judging by their reactions, they seemed unaware that Yang Haoran would be here.
Master Jiang waved at Yang Haoran, his face still showing confusion; the gesture was an invitation for Yang Haoran to come down.
Yang Haoran hesitated for a moment. Looking at Master Jiang's smiling, questioning face, he finally nodded with a smile.
He glanced at the staircase leading to the third floor. Black Yin Qi was visible to the naked eye, a thick, dense energy engulfing the entire stairwell. Passing through there would lead to the most dangerous part of the Ghost Building: the third floor!
Yang Haoran had originally intended to go up to the third floor, but Master Jiang's appearance forced him to change his mind.
He had quickly scanned the group. The Night Watchers who had come with Master Jiang were all veterans; none of the newly recruited Night Watchers were present.
These veteran Night Watchers were all quite strong, but tonight's Ghost Building would undoubtedly be fraught with peril. Neither Deng Feng, nor Du Da, nor the entity on the third floor was someone these Night Watchers could compare to. In the presence of those three, Night Watchers were, at best, merely larger ants.
Master Jiang was Yang Haoran's introducer; without him, Yang Haoran would never have had the chance to become a Night Watcher. Therefore, Yang Haoran had always held Master Jiang in great respect.
He didn't want to see Master Jiang come here to die tonight. He chose to go down and meet with them, hoping to find an opportunity to talk to Master Jiang, to urge him to find a way to leave this place quickly, lest he lose his life here.
The wánglíng on the first floor, seeing Yang Haoran retreat back down after just reaching the second floor, quickly hid again, not daring to cause trouble. Yang Haoran, ignoring them, swiftly exited the Ghost Building.
From beginning to end, the powerful entity in the Ghost Building did not stop Yang Haoran, neither when he entered the Ghost Building nor when he went from the first floor to the second.
Even when Yang Haoran left the Ghost Building, descending from the second floor to the first, the entity within the Ghost Building neither stopped him nor appeared, as if it had simply ignored his presence.
This might seem insignificant, but a closer look reveals something amiss.
The Ghost Building wasn't a bus you could hop on and off as you pleased, entering and exiting at will. From the scattered white bones and tattered clothes on the first floor, it was clear that the entity within the Ghost Building was no benevolent spirit. Yet, Yang Haoran was unharmed, which was naturally abnormal.
Stepping out of the Ghost Building, Yang Haoran reunited with the other Night Watchers. Upon seeing Yang Haoran appear, some Night Watchers greeted him with smiles, others gave him a nonchalant nod as a form of acknowledgment, while some feigned ignorance, completely disregarding his presence.
By now, all the Night Watchers knew that Yang Haoran was Deng Feng's favored subordinate. During this period, to deal with the Spirit Mediums, these Night Watchers had been constantly bustling about, without a moment's rest, accumulating deep resentment in their hearts.
Conversely, Yang Haoran had been nowhere to be seen from beginning to end. In the eyes of these Night Watchers, Yang Haoran had, in all likelihood, received special favoritism from Deng Feng, the Emissary of Death, who deliberately kept this promising talent from risking himself.
Some people are just like that: they never strive for more, nor do they want to work hard to achieve more, yet they simply cannot stand to see others doing better or being more outstanding than themselves.
They never stop to consider what others have truly sacrificed to gain more or enjoy better treatment than them.
Nor do they ever examine their own shortcomings, wondering if they haven't done enough, if their methods are flawed, or if there's anything else they haven't done well.
They won't think about these things. Like a boss, they only look at the results.
If others gain more or receive better treatment than them, then they feel discontent.
They believe they've done and sacrificed a great deal, while the other party hasn't given or done anything at all, so why should they reap more benefits?
They haven't considered that when others were putting in effort and striving, they didn't see it, perhaps because they themselves were too busy eating, drinking, and having fun.
When they feel discontent, they naturally express it. Thus, these people will start to point fingers and gossip behind others' backs.
Such imbalance is contagious. People of a similar mindset will resonate with each other in this situation, and this resonance will make them feel that their own thoughts are correct, and that everything is the other person's fault.
Every circle has such people, and once they gather, they are sure to isolate their target, who will thereafter be branded with a special label and become the object of their exclusion.
The situation Yang Haoran witnessed at present was precisely this: the more tactful Night Watchers still greeted him with smiles, the slightly less polite ones merely nodded faintly, while the truly malicious ones completely ignored him, acting as if they hadn't even noticed his presence.
Yang Haoran observed the reactions of these Night Watchers, feeling a pang of emotion. Wherever there were people, there were cliques, conflicts, and such occurrences. This was true in the world of ordinary people, and it was equally true in the world of the extraordinary.
Recalling when he first became a Night Watcher, these people had been quite friendly to him, the newcomer, even eagerly exchanging contact information.
However, after a few months, Yang Haoran had acquired more Pure Yin Qi than many of them had in years, which naturally created a sense of imbalance in many people's hearts.
They had never considered how much effort Yang Haoran had put into guiding so many wánglíng, nor the immense dangers he had faced when subjugating Half-step Evil Spirits twice. They only saw Yang Haoran's gains, and Deng Feng's apparent favor—that feigned favor.
At this moment, Yang Haoran couldn't help but think of Xu Meijing. He had once believed Xu Meijing's aloofness was due to her personality, but now it seemed it might not have been merely a matter of personality.
More likely, it was because of Xu Meijing's outstanding abilities, which had gradually led to her isolation by the other Night Watchers.
Yang Haoran greeted the other Night Watchers one by one, a smile on his face. He seemed like a clueless rookie, but his mind was as clear as a mirror.
Perhaps some would think, "They're giving me the cold shoulder, so why should I greet them with a smile? Not punching them is already being polite."
But Yang Haoran wasn't such a person. In his view, no matter how skillful one's sword-fighting routines were, they were just performances. True killing often required only a single strike.
He didn't want to draw his sword until absolutely necessary. Once it was drawn, he would have to take the opponent's life!
Furthermore, his unassuming demeanor would serve as a certain auxiliary effect, causing some arrogant individuals to drop their guard. Against such people, Yang Haoran was confident that one strike of his sword would send them to their demise.
As fellow Night Watchers, Yang Haoran didn't want to dwell on these things. As long as they didn't relentlessly press him or target him at every turn, he could completely pretend not to notice.
After all, his thoughts and ambitions were beyond the comprehension of these people.
Fortunately, Master Jiang had always been good to Yang Haoran. Whether in the past or now, Master Jiang remained Master Jiang, which brought a measure of comfort to Yang Haoran's heart.
After smiling and greeting the other Night Watchers, Yang Haoran approached Master Jiang and quietly asked, "Why are you all here?"
"The Emissary of Death issued an order," Master Jiang replied in a low voice. "Tonight, all Night Watchers, except for the recently joined newcomers, must gather here before midnight."
Yang Haoran frowned and asked, "Did he say what we're gathering here for?"
Master Jiang shook his head. "I don't know. The Emissary of Death didn't say."
"By the way, why are you here? And you entered the Ghost Building alone. When I saw you come out just now, you looked quite relaxed. Did the entity inside the Ghost Building not trouble you? That's not like her usual style," Master Jiang said, looking strangely at Yang Haoran, his eyes showing confusion.
Yang Haoran didn't explain the situation. Instead, he took out his phone and sent a text message to Master Jiang.
After a quick shake, Yang Haoran put his phone away, then gave Master Jiang a meaningful glance. Master Jiang seemed puzzled, then felt his phone vibrate and heard the message notification sound.
At the same time, a spatial fluctuation emanated from not far away. The space was torn open, and several figures emerged from the rift. The one who appeared was none other than Deng Feng.
Besides Deng Feng, there were also several other veteran Night Watchers.
Seeing Deng Feng appear, Yang Haoran gave Master Jiang another meaningful glance before smiling and jogging towards Deng Feng.
Yang Haoran's reaction naturally drew disdain from the other Night Watchers. Master Jiang, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to pull out his phone and open the message. It contained only four words.
"Find a way to escape."
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