Chapter 234: Returning the Black Talisman
Evil Spirits are divided into two types: one evolves by devouring other ghosts, and the other forms from the coalescence of a soul after death.
The former needs no elaboration; even the most ordinary Spirit can become a powerful existence like an Evil Spirit, provided it has enough ghosts to devour.
The latter, however, is different. The conditions for its formation are excessively harsh. Without towering resentment before death, it's virtually impossible for a soul to directly transform into an Evil Spirit.
Under normal circumstances, when a person dies, their coalesced soul becomes a Spirit. Even if there's some resentment before death, if it's not intense, it absolutely won't exceed the scope of a Spirit. At most, it will only be slightly stronger than an ordinary Spirit.
If a deceased person dies with extremely deep resentment, then they might transform into an Evil Spirit, becoming an existence that transcends ordinary Spirits.
As for the formation of Evil Spirits, the resentment required before death is quite astonishing; it needs to reach several times the powerful resentment required to become an Evil Spirit.
This kind of intense resentment cannot be strengthened at will. It requires prolonged, passive exposure to inhumane torment and suffering for such resentment to accumulate day by day and grow deeper, only then is there a possibility of transforming into an Evil Spirit after death.
It's not a guaranteed transformation into an Evil Spirit, but merely a possibility.
Once a soul becomes an Evil Spirit, it will possess terrifying power, but the process of this power's formation is too cruel and bloody.
Her adorable smile transformed into a terrifying, sinister grin. Her blood-red eyes constantly revealed a bloodthirsty glint, and the fresh blood continuously dripping from her blood-red clothing was both her own blood and the blood of others.
She became manic and brutal, surpassing her former father in every way.
This is a complete story, the story of how Zhong Siyu transformed from an innocent, adorable girl into a Blood-Clad Evil Spirit.
In this story, there is no joy, only betrayal, cruelty, madness, depravity, and humanity.
Yang Haoran, however, did not know this complete story in its entirety. What he was able to see was only a part of it.
Yang Haoran gently shook his head. The images in his mind vanished, and as they did, the Ghost Building returned to its normal state, reduced to a pile of ruins.
What he had seen that night through his Ghost Eye, from Zhong Siyu's perspective, was merely a fragment.
He could see what Zhong Siyu saw and experience what she experienced. Scenes where Zhong Siyu was not present, he could neither see nor ascertain.
Although what he saw was not a complete story, he could, through everything his Ghost Eye revealed, roughly piece together a mental reconstruction.
Moreover, whether he saw a complete story or not was actually no longer important to him, because merely what he witnessed from Zhong Siyu's perspective alone had already caused him extreme discomfort.
He felt deep sympathy for Zhong Siyu's plight. As for the grievances between the middle-aged man and the woman, he didn't want to judge who was right or wrong, but that ultimately a child like Zhong Siyu had to pay the price was something he could not accept.
Even though Zhong Siyu now possessed immense power, in Yang Haoran's view, if given a choice, she would absolutely not wish to relive the despair and suffering of her past.
The Ghost Building was gradually razed, and the onlookers around slowly dispersed.
Yang Haoran remained rooted to the spot, unmoving. He stood there like a bystander, watching the Ghost Building being cleared bit by bit.
While his gaze was fixed on the Ghost Building ruins, his mind was occupied with other matters.
The sudden ring of his phone interrupted Yang Haoran's thoughts. Pulling out his phone, he saw that the call was from none other than Wang Yiming.
"Yang-ge, where are you? Are you free at noon? Let's have lunch together."
Wang Yiming's voice sounded somewhat excited, and a smile appeared on Yang Haoran's face. He, of course, knew the source of Wang Yiming's excitement.
Du Da's corpse was a magnificent gift. The Spirit Police must have been overjoyed to acquire it, and Wang Yiming would naturally be well-rewarded.
Yang Haoran had originally intended to refuse, but remembering that he still needed to return the Black Talisman to Wang Yiming, he smiled and agreed.
As noon approached, the Ghost Building had been mostly cleared, and there were few people left watching the spectacle. Zhong Siyu hadn't appeared. Only then did Yang Haoran leave the Ghost Building and drive to the location Wang Yiming had chosen for their meal.
At the dining table, Yang Haoran not only saw Wang Yiming but also Chen Ying, and Child Tong, the Array Master who had helped them deal with the Skin-Borrowing Ghost back then.
None of them had changed much, but Yang Haoran had undergone a tremendous transformation. Chen Ying was just an ordinary person, so she didn't sense anything amiss.
However, Wang Yiming and Child Tong were not ordinary people, and both of them noticed Yang Haoran's changes.
The Yin Qi coiling around Yang Haoran's body had become much heavier, and the power fluctuations faintly emanating from within him had also grown stronger.
Both knew that Yang Haoran's strength must have increased significantly; otherwise, he wouldn't exhibit such changes. What they didn't realize, however, was that the Yin Qi and power fluctuations they currently sensed from Yang Haoran were merely the tip of the iceberg. If Yang Haoran were to unleash all the power within him, it would undoubtedly give them a huge fright.
Of course, given Yang Haoran's character, he wouldn't be bored enough to do such a thing.
Good news lifts the spirits. Yang Haoran had survived a great calamity, successfully opened his Heaven Soul, and become the Emissary of Death for Lecheng. This was undoubtedly a joyous occasion of immense magnitude for him, but Wang Yiming and Child Tong were unaware of it.
If Wang Yiming and Child Tong were unaware, then Chen Ying, being an ordinary police officer, was naturally even less aware.
Yang Haoran didn't actively bring up the matter. He chatted cheerfully as usual, his words and actions showing no discernible change.
After lunch, Yang Haoran found an opportune moment to return the Black Talisman to Wang Yiming.
Looking at the Black Talisman, which had lost more than half of its power, Yang Haoran couldn't help but reveal an embarrassed expression.
"This. . . this thing helped me a lot, but its power was quite depleted," Yang Haoran said with an awkward laugh.
"I thought you were going to tell me something serious. Turns out it's just this," Wang Yiming chuckled, then continued, "I lent it to you precisely to help you. It's only natural for its power to sustain some loss. Since I was willing to lend it, I naturally don't care about the loss, as long as it truly helped you."
The more Wang Yiming spoke like this, the more embarrassed Yang Haoran became.
"Are your Underworld Office matters resolved so quickly? If not, you can keep this Black Talisman with you," Wang Yiming said, putting away his smile and adopting a serious expression.
Yang Haoran hurriedly waved his hand. "No need, no need. If you were to lend it to me for a few more days, this Black Talisman would probably turn to ash."
"If it's gone, it's gone. It's no big deal. If it comes to it, I'll just ask my master for another one," Wang Yiming said.
Though Wang Yiming spoke lightly, Yang Haoran knew very well that if such a Black Talisman could be easily obtained, Wang Yiming wouldn't only possess this one, nor would he store it within his body for safekeeping.
"Our Underworld Office matters are mostly resolved. If you were to keep this Black Talisman with me, the chances of it being useful are small," Yang Haoran said with a polite smile, declining.
Seeing that Yang Haoran truly had no intention of taking the Black Talisman back, Wang Yiming didn't insist and simply put the Black Talisman away.
"I see you're quite interested in formations. Next time we get together, I'll call Child Tong, and you can exchange ideas with him then," Wang Yiming said to Yang Haoran with a smile after putting away the Black Talisman.
Yang Haoran did not refuse Wang Yiming's suggestion. He was indeed quite interested in formations, and during lunch, he and Child Tong had chatted happily, with their topics revolving around formations.
Of course, Yang Haoran didn't understand formations at all; his conversation with Child Tong was merely him constantly asking for his guidance.
However, for now, he was only interested in formations. He temporarily had no thoughts of studying formations to become an Array Master. Don't bite off more than you can chew; he wasn't even a Talisman Master yet, so how could he still have the energy to study formations?
The reason he chose to talk to Child Tong about formations during lunch was actually just a setup. His ultimate goal was to ask Wang Yiming some questions about talismans.
If he asked Wang Yiming directly, Wang Yiming would certainly resolve his doubts, but doing so might reveal some flaws. By setting up the conversation and appearing curious about all new things, when he then asked Wang Yiming, the other party wouldn't find it strange.
Although this approach wasn't ideal to use on a friend, to keep his secrets, Yang Haoran had no choice but to do so.
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