Chapter Fifty-Four: I'm Really Not a Stingy Person
“I can tell that everything you’ve told me is the truth,” Yang Haoran said with a beaming smile.
“It’s all the truth, all the truth! Even if I had the guts of a thousand men, I wouldn’t dare deceive you, Brother Underworld Official! ” High Liang hastily promised.
Although High Liang had just been bristling with murderous intent, the moment he faced Yang Haoran, he instantly wilted.
“You don’t need to promise. I know you haven’t lied to me,” Yang Haoran said with a smile, “it’s just. . . have you forgotten that Guan Hai is my friend? ”
High Liang froze. Yang Haoran’s words made his mangled flesh-face tremble instantly, and terror flashed in his eyes.
The mere mention of Guan Hai had filled him with rage, and focused solely on venting his anger, he had indeed forgotten that Guan Hai was this Underworld Official’s friend.
Now that Yang Haoran had brought it up himself, he instantly panicked.
Seeing High Liang’s face filled with panic, Yang Haoran said with a smile, “Don’t be nervous. I’m not one to haggle over every little thing. Besides, I completely understand how you feel. If it were me, my reaction might even be stronger than yours, so I certainly won’t hold your natural emotions against you. ”
High Liang was deeply moved and quickly began to thank him, acting as if Yang Haoran had done him an immense favor.
Yang Haoran slapped his forehead, saying, “Look at my memory, I actually went off-topic. My apologies. ”
“No worries, no worries, Brother Underworld Official,” High Liang hastily asked, “can you tell me what I should do now? ”
“I am an Underworld Official. I can’t do anything to living people, but for ghosts, hehe, I still have some methods. You want to be with her forever, but she’s a living person, so I can’t make that happen. . . unless. . . ” Yang Haoran smiled mysteriously, not revealing his full meaning.
“Unless what? ” High Liang grew anxious, apparently not grasping Yang Haoran’s implication.
“Unless what, hehe, you figure it out yourself. I’ll give you the time it takes to smoke one cigarette. Once I extinguish it, I’ll need your affirmative answer. ”
As he spoke, Yang Haoran pulled a cigarette from its pack, ignored High Liang, lit it for himself, and took a deep drag.
After only a few puffs, High Liang reacted, seemingly comprehending the meaning behind Yang Haoran’s recent words. His spirit body immediately began to tremble and distort.
“Brother Underworld Official. . . you mean for me to kill Wang Qing? ” High Liang’s tone was uncertain.
The smile on Yang Haoran’s face deepened. After taking another deep drag from his cigarette, he spoke, against his true feelings, “You’re very clever. ”
Upon receiving Yang Haoran’s confirmation, High Liang’s emotions instantly surged
“No, no, no! How could I kill her? She’s the love of my life! I only want to protect her, not harm her! ”
Yang Haoran seemed utterly unsurprised by High Liang’s reaction. He flicked off some ash, and said with a smile, “Well, then there’s nothing to be done. From now on, you’ll just have to watch her as she continues to eat, drink, bathe, and sleep with other men, just as before. But, calm down and ask yourself, is that truly what you want? ”
High Liang’s emotions didn’t settle down because of Yang Haoran’s words, but Yang Haoran didn’t seem to be in any hurry.
“Since Wang Qing is the love of your life, can you truly bear to watch her become another’s plaything, to watch her continue to debase herself like this? ”
These words seemed to strike a deep chord with High Liang. Yang Haoran watched High Liang’s reaction, took another puff of his cigarette, and struck while the iron was hot.
“Ask yourself, is what you truly want merely to protect her? ”
These words seemed to provoke High Liang. Without even thinking, he immediately burst out, “Of course! I love her, so I must protect her! ”
“Wrong! ” Yang Haoran directly refuted him, and without giving High Liang a chance to retort, continued, “What you truly want is to possess her, not merely protect her, isn’t that right? ”
The moment these words left his lips, High Liang clearly froze, and then a struggle appeared in his eyes.
“Perhaps I’m being a bit too direct,” Yang Haoran said, flicking off some ash with a casual air, “but you have to admit, what I’m saying is the true thought in your heart. ”
“No, no, that’s not it! ” High Liang wanted to refute Yang Haoran’s statement, but he couldn't find any words to do so.
“There’s no need to deny it. Though I can’t see your experiences after becoming a spirit, I can see your past life. As an observer, I see things far more clearly than you do. Whether you truly want to protect Wang Qing, or to possess Wang Qing, do you think I can’t tell? ”
This time, High Liang fell silent.
Seeing this, Yang Haoran’s smile deepened. “The reason you’re powerless to refute me is precisely because I hit the nail on the head. Though you’re unwilling to admit it, you have no choice but to acknowledge it. Don’t worry, death isn’t as terrifying as you imagine. Aren’t you still living perfectly fine now? Death is an end, but it is also a beginning. ”
At this point, Yang Haoran stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray.
“The time for one cigarette is over. Tell me your choice. And a friendly reminder for you: you only get one chance. Miss it, and it’s gone. ”
Yang Haoran gazed at High Liang with a smiling face, looking as if he didn’t care what choice High Liang made.
“Your true goal. . . is to use my hand to kill Wang Qing, isn’t it? ” High Liang asked in a deep voice.
Yang Haoran’s expression remained unchanged, calm and composed. He looked at High Liang and said with a smile, “Kill her? Why would I kill her? ”
“Because you have a grudge against her. I saw everything clearly at the bar tonight,” High Liang replied in a deep voice.
Yang Haoran chuckled. “I do have a small disagreement with her, but to kill her over such a minor conflict? Wouldn’t that make me far too petty? Do you think I’m that kind of stingy person? ”
High Liang desperately wanted to say yes, but he didn’t dare. After several seconds of internal struggle, he made his decision—
“I agree, but you must not go back on your word! ”
Yang Haoran was right. High Liang’s fervent pursuit of Wang Qing was only ever about possessing her. All talk about protecting her for a lifetime was utter nonsense, merely a fig leaf High Liang had used to cover his own desires.
His obsession was to possess Wang Qing, regardless of life or death!
Since he couldn’t obtain her in life, then he must obtain her in death. Otherwise, he would never have another chance!
Yang Haoran’s words had completely unlocked the desires in High Liang’s heart. He never truly had feelings for Wang Qing; he simply wanted to possess her. Now that an opportunity had arisen, he genuinely didn’t want to miss it!
That fig leaf of desire, at this moment, High Liang didn’t know where he had discarded it.
Yang Haoran’s expression didn’t change simply because High Liang agreed. With a smiling face, he wagged his index finger from side to side, saying, “Your words are incorrect. What do you mean ‘agree to me’? You should know that I am helping you, not the other way around. This is very important, understand? ”
High Liang wanted to argue, but remembering Yang Haoran’s identity, he held back. He still needed the help of this Underworld Official, Yang Haoran, and he certainly didn’t want to displease him at this moment.
“How you do it is your business, but I’m only giving you until tomorrow morning. If you succeed, I’ll help you. If you fail, there’s nothing more I can do. However, before dawn tomorrow, whether you succeed or not, I expect to see you here. If you dare to run away. . . ”
At this point, Yang Haoran’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. “Hehe, you have a mark I’ve planted on you. No matter where you run, I’ll find you. If you don’t believe me, feel free to try. ”
Yang Haoran hadn’t planted any ridiculous mark on High Liang’s body at all. He didn’t possess such a technique yet. But how could High Liang know this? He was just a youngling who hadn’t experienced society, and he immediately believed it.
High Liang’s mangled flesh-face twitched, a look of terror flashed in his eyes, and he hastily promised, “Brother Underworld Official, rest assured, I absolutely will not run away, absolutely not! ”
Yang Haoran waved his hand. “Go on. You don’t have much time. Good luck. ”
With Yang Haoran’s permission, High Liang’s spirit body transformed into a wisp of Yin Qi and vanished through the rolling shutter door.
After High Liang left, Yang Haoran deactivated his Ghost Eye, then took another cigarette from his pack and lit it.
He took a deep puff, then leaned back in his chair, and sighed with a smile, “Ah, people. . . what’s so bad about being a bit more low-key, causing fewer problems for yourself? If you don’t have much ability to begin with, don’t think you’re so great and go around stirring up trouble everywhere. That way, you’re definitely the one who loses out in the end. ”
He shook his head as he spoke, then picked up the mirror he’d used earlier, and examined the scar on his face. He inspected it carefully, muttering to himself as if nothing were amiss.
“If High Liang proves incapable, and you survive tonight, then our grievances will be settled. But if you don’t survive tonight, it just means you and High Liang truly have a strong fate together. I’ll bless you two. I’ve even prepared a house for you. ”
As he spoke, Yang Haoran put down the mirror, and picked up the Soul-Gathering Bead nearby.
The ‘house’ he mentioned was this very Soul-Gathering Bead.
“I originally didn’t want to use such methods against a young girl like you, but of all things you shouldn’t have done, you shouldn’t have harbored murderous intent towards me, and you especially shouldn’t have scratched my face. ”
Although Yang Haoran didn’t know what had transpired between Wang Qing and Fatty Qu in the KTV, he had sensed the murderous intent that erupted from Wang Qing when she left the bar.
The murderous intent was so strong that even if he hadn’t activated his Death God Seal and enhanced his sensory abilities, he would still have been able to feel it.
Furthermore, Guan Hai’s words when they left the bar had clued him in that Wang Qing was a woman with connections. If someone like her wasn’t eliminated, trouble was sure to follow ceaselessly in the future.
Yang Haoran didn’t want to stir up any trouble. He merely wanted to steadily approach his ideal life. He was too lazy to bother with minor issues, letting them pass if they could. But if someone dared to ride on his head and urinate on him, he wouldn’t just keep silent; he would let the devil within him erupt.
This was true now, and it would remain true in the future.
“Honestly, I’m really not a stingy person. ”
As his words fell, Yang Haoran put away the Soul-Gathering Bead, then took out the book Master Jiang had lent him, and began to read it carefully.
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