Chapter 567: Cloud River City
After careful consideration, Yang Haoran made a decision. First, he called Old Master Wu and gave some instructions, then he prepared some items, and afterwards, he left the villa, tearing open space to travel to Cloud River City, which Ye Zhiqiu had mentioned.
Cloud River City is a medium-sized city. Both its area and population are much larger than Lecheng, and precisely because of this, Cloud River City is a place where "hidden dragons and crouching tigers" reside, making it far more complex than Lecheng.
After tearing open space repeatedly, Yang Haoran successfully arrived in Cloud River City.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he found a very secluded spot within the city before stepping out of the spatial rift.
Under his perception, he didn't sense the presence of any ghosts, nor did he sense any Communication Power emanating from Spirit Mediums. The situation in Cloud River City was completely different from what Ye Zhiqiu had described; not only was it not in chaos, but it was also calm and peaceful.
Of course, Yang Haoran wouldn't conclude that nothing major had happened in Cloud River City based solely on this. The current perceived calm in Cloud River City was due to it being broad daylight, and it was perfectly normal for ghosts and Spirit Mediums not to appear. After all, weaker ghosts would suffer some damage to their spirit bodies when exposed to sunlight, powerful ghosts would be suppressed by the presence of sunlight, and even Spirit Mediums and Underworld Office agents would have their strength somewhat affected during the day.
However, once night fell, the situation would reverse.
At night, Yin flourishes and Yang wanes. For groups like theirs, their strength would not only not be suppressed, but would actually be boosted to a certain extent. Therefore, though Cloud River City seemed calm and peaceful now, it didn't mean Cloud River City was truly as tranquil as it appeared. This was very likely just the calm before the storm.
Moreover, to avoid unnecessary trouble, whether it was the Underworld Office, the Spirit Police, or other organizations, they would almost always set up restrictions before taking action. Only a very small number of individuals or organizations acted recklessly, not caring about such things, but their opponents likely wouldn't ignore them.
Especially the Spirit Police, to prevent public panic, whether they were carrying out a mission or discovering others fighting, they would find a way to conceal the commotion caused by hidden battles. If it was truly impossible to conceal, the authorities would later provide a seemingly reasonable explanation to the public.
Although Cloud River City currently seemed calm and peaceful, perhaps many places were, at this very moment, undergoing bloody and cruel slaughter, simply because the existence of restrictive barriers made them undetectable.
Yang Haoran understood this principle, so he didn't dismiss the information Ye Zhiqiu had given him just because he hadn't sensed anything for the time being, nor would he naively believe that Cloud River City was actually quite safe.
He had a plan in mind. If this plan succeeded, the benefits it would bring him would be immeasurable. However, for this plan to be implemented, he needed to confirm the situation of Cloud River City's Underworld Office one hundred percent.
Especially whether Cloud River City's Emissary of Death had truly gone missing, as rumored!
To determine if Cloud River City's Emissary of Death had indeed disappeared, he only needed to find a Night Watcher to confirm the veracity of the rumors.
As for how to find a Night Watcher, the best approach was, naturally, to go to a Death God Temple.
Stepping out of the secluded path, Yang Haoran casually found a civilian to inquire, and learned the location of the nearest Death God Temple.
After learning the location of the nearest Death God Temple, he didn't hesitate. He immediately hailed a car and headed directly to that Death God Temple.
A moment later, Yang Haoran arrived at the nearest Death God Temple.
This Death God Temple was not large in scale; in fact, one could even say it was quite small. Given the size of Cloud River City, this Death God Temple was certainly not the largest in Cloud River City; it was likely just an ordinary, small temple.
At the entrance of the Death God Temple, no worshipers were seen entering or exiting. Instead, there were some workers doing repairs on the dilapidated temple gate.
Looking at the dilapidated Death God Temple gate, Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged, but he had some conjectures in his heart. The gate wasn't dilapidated due to years of disrepair, but rather because it had been deliberately damaged by people, which indicated that a battle had very likely occurred at this Death God Temple recently.
Thinking this to himself, Yang Haoran's steps didn't halt; instead, he walked towards the dilapidated Death God Temple gate.
Along the way, the laughter and chatter of several workers drifted into his ears.
The workers were chatting and laughing as they worked. This seemed to be their hobby, or perhaps their habit. Their voices were quite loud; Yang Haoran could hear their laughter and chatter clearly even before he got close to them.
"You guys, isn't this really strange? " one worker remarked. "What's going on with the Death God Temples in our Cloud River City these past two days? It seems like they're all undergoing construction and repairs. If it's not broken here, it's rotten there. It's really hard to understand."
"Heh heh! I didn't realize," another chuckled. "Your information is quite well-informed. You even know the situation of other Death God Temples in the city."
"Why do I feel like your words are insulting? " the first worker retorted. "I've been in this line of work for half my life, at least! I have countless fellow workers in Cloud River City. I wouldn't dare boast about other things, but when it comes to this, my information is very well-informed!"
"Haha, you're boasting a bit too much now," another worker scoffed. "If you're so amazing, how come you don't understand what's going on with all this?"
"I only know that this is happening," the first worker countered. "But how could I know what exactly is going on? Looking at how smugly you're laughing, could it be that *you* know what's going on?"
"Heh heh, don't disbelieve me," the second worker boasted. "I actually do know some inside information. I heard that all of this was done by followers of other religions. Because their beliefs and doctrines are different, they can't stand each other, and that's why they caused all this trouble. But I think all that doctrine and belief stuff is bullshit. It's definitely still about their own interests that led to them fighting so fiercely!"
"Heh heh, you certainly tell a convincing story," another worker chimed in. "I just don't know which 'other religion' you're talking about."
"How would I know! I'm not a deity, how could I know everything!"
"Haha, I thought you knew everything," the first worker laughed. "We're all just guessing, so let's not pretend, okay?"
"Mine isn't just a wild guess," the second worker insisted. "Mine is based on something. You guys think about it carefully, does what I'm saying make sense. . . ?"
Amidst the workers' laughter and chatter, Yang Haoran arrived outside the Death God Temple gate. The workers, still engaged in repairs, continued to chat and laugh. They completely ignored Yang Haoran, chattering and giggling as they worked, though one of them did cast his gaze upon Yang Haoran.
"Young man, you should watch out. Don't let a brick fall on you," a dust-covered uncle among the workers spoke up, reminding Yang Haoran. "This gate isn't repaired yet, it's quite dangerous."
Yang Haoran smiled and nodded at him. He responded, "Thank you for the warning, I'll be careful. By the way, I wonder if I can go inside? I'd like to pay respects to the Death God."
"If you want to go in, just go in, nobody's stopping you," another worker replied while continuing his work. He didn't even look at Yang Haoran, and his tone seemed to carry a hint of disdain.
Compared to the previous worker, this worker's attitude was somewhat rude.
However, Yang Haoran didn't take the other party's attitude to heart, because he felt there was no need to fuss over a civilian.
Besides, he didn't have the spare time to argue with a civilian.
"Heh heh, thank you. " Not only did Yang Haoran not argue, but he also smiled and thanked him. Then he stepped into the Death God Temple.
The worker who had spoken earlier glanced at Yang Haoran's retreating figure and muttered quietly, "Young and not learning good things, following others into religion—I reckon this life is completely ruined."
After his words fell, this person resumed chatting and laughing with his fellow workers. And his muttering, of course, also reached Yang Haoran's ears.
However, Yang Haoran acted as if he hadn't heard the man's words. He slowly took his steps, without the slightest pause, and his expression showed no change whatsoever.
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