Chapter 251: I Promise You
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After a person dies, as long as their soul is intact, resurrection isn't impossible. However, such an act is a great taboo. Yang Haoran didn't want to resort to such means unless absolutely necessary.
He sympathized with the plight of the female ghost and her son, which was why he wanted to help the pair as much as possible. But this help could not exceed his capabilities, nor could it cross his bottom line.
If every person who died was pitiful, had their own untold suffering, and didn't want to die, but wished to be resurrected to stay by their loved ones' sides, then should they all be allowed to revive?
If it were Yang Haoran's own relatives, he would undoubtedly exhaust every possible method to bring them back, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. But for others, he wouldn't do so, because the risk was too great, and he only had one life.
Humans are inherently selfish, and Yang Haoran was no exception. He could help those who truly needed it, to the best of his ability, but he would absolutely not overstep his own capabilities or principles.
Therefore, regarding the female ghost's request, he refused outright without a moment's hesitation, and his refusal was resolute.
Yang Haoran's refusal caused an expression of disappointment to appear on the female ghost's face. Seeing that Yang Haoran had rejected her so decisively, leaving no room for negotiation, she naturally dared not pester him and instead switched to another request.
"Then. . . can you not take me away? I want to stay by my son's side forever. Even in my current state, I wish to remain with him."
Seeing Yang Haoran reject her request yet again, the disappointment on the female ghost's face intensified.
Yang Haoran saw the female ghost's disappointment. He smiled and said, "You possess a heavy Yin Qi. Even if we don't take you away, others will come looking for trouble. Because you are an Evil Spirit, your threat to ordinary people is too great. The Spirit Police will absolutely not permit your existence."
"Besides the Spirit Police, you are also a target for Exorcists. And Spirit Mediums—an Evil Spirit like you is their absolute favorite. I won't even mention the others; just speaking of the Spirit Police, are you their match?"
"This. . . " The female ghost hesitated, then still shook her head.
She had clashed with the Spirit Police tonight. Setting aside the formidable Zhou Fudui, even the other Spirit Police officers, when working together, were more than she could handle.
"Your existence will attract many enemies—that's just one aspect. There's another very important point: your child is just an ordinary person, and the Yin Qi on your body will have a significant impact on him. If you spend a long time with him, it's only a matter of time before you harm him, even kill him. Do you not care, even knowing this?"
Yang Haoran's words caused the female ghost's expression to change drastically. She might not care about herself, but she absolutely could not disregard her child.
"If my existence will bring harm to my child, or even threaten his life, then I would rather disappear from his world forever and never appear again. " The female ghost's expression grew dim as she spoke.
The little boy didn't quite understand what the female ghost's words meant, but he could feel that his mother seemed to be about to leave him again.
"Mama, where are you going? Please take Xiao Kang with you, okay? I don't want to stay here; I just want to leave with Mama."
The little boy's face was filled with pleading and longing, tears continuously streaming down. At that moment, his greatest fear was that the female ghost would abandon him again.
Watching the child weep, the female ghost's own tears welled up and spilled forth. Yang Haoran couldn't help but feel a headache brewing.
"Emissary! Lord Emissary! I am willing to leave with you, and I am willing to obey your arrangements! I. . . I have one last request. I hope, Lord Emissary, you can take good care of Xiao Kang for me. Only by entrusting him to you will my heart be at ease. Please, I beg you! Please!"
Speaking to this point, the female ghost knelt before Yang Haoran once more.
Looking at the female ghost at that very moment, a certain chord deep within Yang Haoran's heart was struck. He remembered when his parents had tragically died and become Corpse Puppets, and how he, back then, had also pleaded with Xu Meijing in the same desperate manner.
Such a hysterical plea was the last flicker of hope transforming within a person's heart when they were on the verge of despair.
And the object of their pleading was the life-saving straw in their eyes, the only person who could bring them hope.
Back then, Xu Meijing had been the life-saving straw in Yang Haoran's eyes. Now, Yang Haoran was the life-saving straw in this female ghost's eyes.
Although the one who had pleaded back then had now become the one being pleaded with, Yang Haoran felt not a shred of happiness. Instead, his heart felt incredibly heavy.
He put away the smile on his face, his expression turning serious. The sudden change in his demeanor not only startled the young woman but also shocked Old Master Wu.
Especially Old Master Wu, who was accustomed to Yang Haoran constantly maintaining a smile. Suddenly seeing the smile vanish from Yang Haoran's face, replaced by seriousness, made his heart involuntarily tremble.
The female ghost also noticed the change in Yang Haoran's facial expression. Her Spirit Body trembled in fright, and her weeping ceased abruptly.
She thought her continuous requests had angered this Lord Emissary, and she was just about to open her mouth to apologize and beg for mercy when Yang Haoran spoke before her.
"I promise you."
Those four simple words, each weighing a thousand jin, were significant not just for Yang Haoran but even more so for the female ghost.
Because these four words signified Yang Haoran's promise to the female ghost. They meant that from now on, he would carry an additional burden; if anything happened to this child, he would bear an inescapable responsibility.
The female ghost smiled, but her tears flowed even more profusely. She quickly reached out to pull the little boy beside her, but her hand passed through him. Without a physical body, she couldn't grasp the little boy.
However, this did not diminish the female ghost's excited emotions. She hurriedly spoke to the little boy, "Xiao Kang, quick, kneel down! Kneel down quickly! Thank the Emissary!"
The little boy obediently knelt before Yang Haoran again. His face full of confusion, he could only thank Yang Haoran as his mother instructed.
"Thank you, Emissary."
His voice carried no gratitude; only a childlike innocence and confusion could be heard.
This time, Yang Haoran did not turn away. Instead, he accepted the female ghost and the little boy's genuflection. However, what he gained from this kneeling was not a sense of psychological superiority, but rather responsibility and pressure.
"Rise, now. Don't just kneel at every turn; it puts a lot of pressure on me. " Yang Haoran waved a hand, and his Spirit Power gently lifted the mother and son again. He looked at the female ghost, forcing a slight smile onto his face, and said, "Since I've promised you, it's equivalent to giving you my word. But this promise, I can only try my best to fulfill; I cannot give you a hundred percent guarantee, because I don't know what will happen tomorrow. Furthermore, I will only look after him until he reaches adulthood."
"Thank you, Emissary! Thank you, Emissary! Thank you, Emissary!"
The female ghost was overwhelmed with emotion. Besides words of thanks, she couldn't utter anything else.
Yang Haoran nodded, accepting the female ghost's gratitude. He then turned his gaze to Song Laoyao, who was embedded in the wall, and with a smile, asked the female ghost,
"How do you plan to deal with your husband?"
At the mention of Song Laoyao, the female ghost slowly wiped away the tears from her face. She looked at Song Laoyao, then at her child, whose head was still bleeding profusely. The earlier excitement on her face had vanished, replaced by icy killing intent.
Sensing the female ghost's intense killing intent, Yang Haoran smiled and said, "I feel it necessary to remind you: your soul has only just coalesced into a Spirit. You haven't taken any human lives, nor have you devoured other departed souls. Therefore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, you can reincarnate. However, if you kill him tonight, you will have a human life on your hands, and you will then very likely lose the chance to reincarnate. Consider this carefully."
Yang Haoran's words made the female ghost's Spirit Body tremble. The killing intent erupting from her had not dissipated, but she did not immediately make a move.
"Why? ! Why would killing a scumbag like him affect my reincarnation? ! He's done so many bad things, yet he's still living well, not receiving the retribution he deserves! This isn't fair! It's utterly unfair!"
The woman's words added a touch of mockery to Yang Haoran's smile.
"Fairness? From the day I became a Night Watcher until now, I've guided countless departed souls. I've never concerned myself with what they experienced before death, whether they were pitiful or glorious. I treat everyone equally, collecting them all into a Soul-Gathering Bead."
"Like you, they had regrets, and unfulfilled wishes. But I didn't give them this opportunity, because I have many things to do. I can't spend all my time on them. Almost every deceased person has unfulfilled wishes, one or more. If I were to fulfill them one by one, would I ever be able to manage?"
"A person's energy in a day is limited. If I spent my entire day fulfilling the last wishes of the deceased, I wouldn't be able to guide more departed souls. Some of these departed souls might disturb the mortal realm, some might become food for other ghostly entities, and some might even be exploited by those with malicious intentions. Would that not count as my dereliction of duty? If every Underworld Official were like me, wouldn't the entire mortal realm descend into chaos?"
"Yet tonight, I've made an exception, an exception for your sake. To those departed souls I've previously guided, do you think this is fair to them?"
"There's no such thing as fairness in this world to begin with. If you have time to dwell on whether the world is fair or not, you'd be better off thinking more about how to strive and change your own situation. If someone helps you, that's your good luck. If no one helps you, that just means your luck is bad. But this is no reason for you to complain to the heavens and blame others; after all, no one owes you anything."
Yang Haoran's words were spoken calmly, but they filled the female ghost with shame.
"Emissary, I'm sorry, I. . . I didn't mean to offend you, I. . ."
Yang Haoran smiled and waved his hand, saying, "There's no need to be nervous. I have no intention of blaming you; I merely wished to give you a reminder. To kill him or not, the decision rests with you. Do you still wish to kill him now?"
Yang Haoran had thought that after his words, the female ghost would change her mind. He never expected that she would, without even a moment's thought, nod heavily at him.
"I still want to kill him!"
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