Chapter 341: The First Talisman
Within a month, Yang Haoran's injuries had completely healed. The gruesome wounds on his body had vanished without even leaving a scar.
The Soul Pill within him had, naturally, long since been completely refined, and his strength had significantly increased because of it.
Soul Pills were good things, but unfortunately, too rare. Aside from the Soul Pills obtainable by exchanging souls, Yang Haoran, as an Emissary of Death, only received three a year, and of those three, he had to reserve one for his Night Watchers.
Yang Haoran wanted to increase his strength, and Soul Pills were the fastest and most reliable method. However, the number of Soul Pills he could obtain from the Underworld Office was limited, which made him increasingly eager to refine Soul Pills himself.
During this period, Yang Haoran's calls with Xu Meijing were quite frequent. After their last meeting, their relationship seemed to have advanced another step, at least in Yang Haoran's view.
In their daily conversations, Xu Meijing told him that the Soul-Refining Cauldron was already being crafted, but it would still take some time before it was successfully completed. Once finished, she would inform him immediately.
Yang Haoran felt a little excited about this. After all, for them, as Underworld Officials, possessing a Soul-Refining Cauldron was like a game character getting a cheat code. The benefits were self-evident. However, this "cheat" of a Soul-Refining Cauldron had to be used discreetly, otherwise, if any "clues" were revealed, they would definitely be "banned" from their positions.
The snake demon Bai Xue had recovered considerably from her injuries during this time, but was still some distance from full recovery. This was naturally because the snake demon's injuries were far more severe than Yang Haoran's.
She had already been injured before encountering the Demon Hunters, and after encountering them, her injuries were compounded, almost costing her life. This showed just how seriously she was injured, so naturally, a full recovery wouldn't be simple.
Yang Haoran had no choice but to let the snake demon stay. After all, the room was empty anyway. As long as the snake demon didn't go out randomly devouring people, it wouldn't matter if she stayed a bit longer.
Although the snake demon hadn't left, he hadn't focused his attention on her. Instead, he spent his days shut in his study, rarely stepping out. As for the convenience store, he hadn't even set foot outside it.
Now, Yang Haoran's study was different from before. Previously, there were only a few books in the study, but now, the bookshelves were densely packed with them.
These books had all been collected by Old Master Wu through various means. They included all sorts of absurd and bizarre supernatural occurrences, records of various religious sects and figures, legends of demons, monsters, and ghosts from different regions, and even some secret exorcism arts.
Yang Haoran had spent a considerable amount of time reading during this period, but he hadn't even read a tenth of the books here.
Aside from reading, he spent more of his time on talisman drawing.
Today, as usual, Yang Haoran locked himself in his study early in the morning, repeating the two tasks of previous days: reading and drawing talismans.
When he grew tired of drawing talismans, he would read. When he grew tired of reading, he would draw talismans. He endlessly cycled between these two activities.
At this moment, Yang Haoran gazed at a talisman before him, a gratified smile spreading across his face. The desk was littered with drawn talismans, but they were all scrap, utterly useless.
However, the Ghost-Slaying Talisman before Yang Haoran was a completed talisman, and one crafted by his own hand.
Picking up the talisman, Yang Haoran meticulously inspected it. After confirming its perfection once more, the smile on his face deepened considerably.
"Heh heh, it's almost been a year, and I've finally succeeded in drawing my first talisman."
Yang Haoran sighed with a smile. The thing he had done most this year was studying talisman arts. However, the effort he put in was entirely disproportionate to the reward. Aside from successfully cultivating a Talisman Master Power Seed, he hadn't managed to draw a single successful talisman. Even a relatively low-level talisman like the Ghost-Slaying Talisman had never been successful before today.
Nevertheless, his mindset was good; he hadn't been discouraged. On the contrary, whenever he had free time, he would dedicate himself to talisman drawing. Effort truly didn't betray those who put in the work. At this very moment, he had finally drawn the first talisman of his life.
The successful drawing of this Ghost-Slaying Talisman meant he now possessed another identity: that of a Talisman Master.
However, his identity as a Talisman Master had no relation to the Talisman Order. Nor did he worship the Talisman Ancestor, the deity of the Talisman Order.
Let alone the Talisman Ancestor of the Talisman Order, even towards the Death God of the Underworld Office, he, as an Underworld Official, had never been particularly devout. Compared to truly devout believers, he was miles apart.
Devout believers could sacrifice their lives for their faith. How could he ever achieve that? At most, he would offer incense and prayers. Many times, when he got busy, he even skipped his twice-daily offerings.
Compared to devout believers, he, an Underworld Official of the Underworld Office, was not pious in the slightest, and was even becoming less and less like a true believer.
Given his attitude even towards the Death God of the Underworld Office, how could Yang Haoran possibly become a follower of the Talisman Order? Even if he had finally become a Talisman Master now, it wouldn't change the beliefs in his heart.
It wasn't that Yang Haoran had no faith; he did have faith. But the only one he truly believed in was himself.
Having just become a Talisman Master, Yang Haoran was in high spirits. However, before he could fully appreciate the fruit of his efforts, a knock sounded from outside the door.
"Uncle Yang, it's Xiao Kang. " As the knock resonated, Xiao Kang's voice carried into the study.
"Xiao Kang, what do you need Uncle Yang for? " Yang Haoran asked, puzzled.
"An auntie downstairs wants to see you, she says she's your friend. " Xiao Kang replied.
"Auntie? Friend? " Yang Haoran furrowed his brows, the confusion on his face deepening.
He didn't know who the "auntie" Xiao Kang spoke of was, but since the other party had come knocking and claimed to be his friend, it was only natural to meet them.
"Alright, please bring her to the study. " Yang Haoran replied.
Xiao Kang assented, then ran downstairs, a rapid "thump-thump-thump" of footsteps echoing from the stairwell.
The Ghost-Slaying Talisman in his hand vanished, collected by Yang Haoran into his independent spatial dimension. Immediately after, he switched the Talisman Master Power Seed within his body. The runic symbol on his brow suddenly appeared, flashed, then disappeared, replaced by the Death God Seal.
As the Death God Seal manifested on his brow, the Spirit Power within him began to circulate anew. His body was consequently enveloped in a layer of Yin Qi, and the entire study's temperature immediately grew chilling due to the Yin Qi's presence.
The Death God Seal only appeared for a fleeting instant, then concealed itself on his brow once more, no longer visible to the naked eye.
Footsteps, one heavy and one light, echoed from the stairwell. Yang Haoran knew Xiao Kang must be bringing the "auntie" upstairs. Glancing at the messy items on the desk, he waved his hand, simply sweeping everything into his independent spatial dimension, to deal with later.
The knock sounded again. This time, before Xiao Kang could speak, Yang Haoran removed the restrictive barrier within his study, and said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Xiao Kang led a woman inside. Upon seeing the woman, Yang Haoran paused for a moment in surprise, then returned to normal, a signature smile appearing on his face.
The woman Xiao Kang had brought into the study, after stepping inside, first curiously surveyed everything within the room, before finally letting her gaze fall upon Yang Haoran.
Looking at Yang Haoran seated at his desk, the woman smiled, greeting him with a laugh.
"Long time no see, little brother."
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged, and he too smiled as he greeted her.
"Long time no see, Ren Min."
"Indeed, it's been many years since we last met. Are you happy, are you surprised to see me today? " The woman first sighed with emotion, then asked Yang Haoran with a smile.
"Heh heh, guess? " Yang Haoran retorted with a smile.
"I guess—I guess you must be very surprised and very happy, so don't pretend to be so calm in front of me. " The woman, believing she had seen through everything, said with a laugh.
Yang Haoran merely offered a faint smile, his gaze shifting to Xiao Kang. He said, "Xiao Kang, you can go busy yourself with other things."
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