Chapter 591: Unwilling to Bear the Blame
Huo Laoban appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was quite vexed.
The reason was simple: he was in charge of this operation. It would be fine if Shi Kai was merely delayed by something, as the old woman claimed, but if anything unexpected happened to Shi Kai, then Huo Laoban, as the one in charge, would certainly be held accountable. If Luo Yao blamed him, he would definitely be in for a scalding reprimand.
The reason he was willing to become the person in charge of this operation was to successfully complete the mission through his own capabilities. He wanted Luo Yao to see what he was capable of. Even if Luo Yao didn't give him an extra reward after the mission, simply leaving a deeper impression on Luo Yao would be a rare and fortunate outcome for him.
What he hadn't expected was for Shi Kai to go missing on the very first night!
Shi Kai was an Emissary of Death, not a Night Watcher, and he had been an Emissary of Death for some years already; his strength was far from weak. Before last night's operation, Huo Laoban had considered many possibilities, but he had never imagined that Shi Kai, an Emissary of Death, would disappear.
Cloud River City had fallen into its current chaotic state precisely because its Emissary of Death had disappeared. And now, just one night later, one of the Emissaries of Death who had come to provide support had also mysteriously vanished. As the person in charge, it would be strange if Huo Laoban wasn't upset.
"Emissary Yang, what do you think? " Huo Laoban asked, looking at Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran naturally had his own conjectures about this matter. Based on the information he had received from the female ghost last night, it seemed to him that the missing Shi Kai was likely connected to the Spirit Masters. Perhaps Shi Kai had been forcibly captured or even directly killed by Spirit Masters, just like the Cloud River City Emissary of Death a few days prior.
Once spoken, if the facts aligned with his conjecture, it would be fine. But if they didn't, and instead led to numerous other complications, then the blame for those complications would undoubtedly fall upon Yang Haoran's head.
So, he decided to warn Huo Laoban in a different way.
"Have you interrogated the souls of the Spirit Masters you killed last night, and their Guardian Spirits?"
Yang Haoran's answer didn't directly address the question, but Huo Laoban understood his meaning.
"I haven't had time yet, but it seems we do need to start there. Please wait for me here for a moment," Huo Laoban said, then turned and left by himself.
Yang Haoran knew that Huo Laoban's decision to leave at that moment was surely to find a quiet place to interrogate the Spirit Masters' souls. As for why he wouldn't do it in front of Yang Haoran and the old woman, Yang Haoran could somewhat guess the reasons.
Yang Haoran, of course, couldn't dictate how Huo Laoban chose to act. After all, he wasn't qualified to interfere with how others conducted themselves, nor would he concern himself with such matters.
He turned his gaze to the old woman and inquired about their situation last night.
While Huo Laoban was still present, Yang Haoran felt it inappropriate to ask, as it implicated Huo Laoban. But now that Huo Laoban had left, Yang Haoran had no such reservations.
Although the old woman was an acting Emissary, she was still ultimately just a Night Watcher. Her status and position were vastly different from a true Emissary of Death. Therefore, when faced with Yang Haoran's questions, she didn't conceal anything; she answered whatever he asked.
Although the matters Yang Haoran inquired about were not secrets, he still gained some information from the old woman's replies.
He learned from the old woman that Huo Laoban had successively killed two Spirit Masters last night. These two Spirit Masters were quite powerful—at least, they seemed so in the old woman's eyes—but they appeared somewhat vulnerable when facing Huo Laoban.
Besides the two powerful Spirit Masters killed by Huo Laoban, the old woman, leading other Night Watchers, had also slain one Spirit Master. However, this Spirit Master was very weak, exhibiting a world of difference in strength compared to the two killed by Huo Laoban.
Yang Haoran couldn't be certain whether these three slain Spirit Masters had participated in the operation to capture the Cloud River City Emissary of Death that day. It was possible they were part of the same group as the Spirit Master who captured the Cloud River City Emissary of Death, and thus had taken part in that action. It was also possible they weren't part of the same group but had instead emerged to seize advantages after witnessing the chaos in Cloud River City.
As for whether it was the former or the latter, there would be an answer once Huo Laoban returned. If it was the former, then Huo Laoban might gain some surprising information. But if it was the latter, the information Huo Laoban could obtain would be quite limited.
Huo Laoban didn't make Yang Haoran and the old woman wait too long. After about an hour, Huo Laoban returned, though his expression was even more solemn than before.
Yang Haoran's gaze fell upon Huo Laoban's face. Although Huo Laoban's expression was more serious than before, a hint of excitement and agitation seemed to gleam in the depths of his eyes. He concealed it well, but Yang Haoran, through careful observation, still noticed it.
Yang Haoran knew that Huo Laoban must have made some discovery, which was why his emotions had shifted so noticeably.
"My apologies. My methods for interrogating souls just now were a bit. . . unseemly, so I didn't conduct it in front of either of you. I hope you don't mind," Huo Laoban said to them.
Both Yang Haoran and the old woman indicated that they didn't mind. When it came to the seemliness of interrogation methods, it was likely no one's methods were truly seemly. Huo Laoban's reluctance to let them witness it probably wasn't just about seemliness, but rather about cruelty.
"I wonder if Emissary Huo has made any significant discoveries? " the old woman asked Huo Laoban.
Hearing this, Huo Laoban's expression remained serious, and he nodded slightly.
"I forcibly roused the souls of the Spirit Masters killed last night from their slumber, and indeed obtained some astonishing information from them," Huo Laoban stated.
Yang Haoran had somewhat guessed what it was, but he remained silent. The old woman, not wishing to be tactless at such a moment, also said nothing more. Both waited for Huo Laoban to continue.
Huo Laoban, however, turned his gaze to the old woman at this point and continued, "The information I obtained through interrogation is that your Emissary didn't just disappear; he was captured alive by the Spirit Mediums. Their aim was to devour the Spirit Power within your Emissary's body to enhance their own strength."
As soon as these words left his mouth, expressions of shock simultaneously appeared on the faces of the old woman and Yang Haoran. The old woman's shock was genuine, but Yang Haoran's was entirely feigned.
Yang Haoran had learned about this from the female ghost last night, so he wasn't surprised by the news now. However, the fact that Huo Laoban was now aware of it indicated that the Spirit Masters he had killed had participated in the operation to capture the Cloud River City Emissary of Death. Either all of them had participated, or at least some had, which allowed him to obtain this information.
The old woman's face was still filled with shock. She was just about to speak and reconfirm with Huo Laoban, but Yang Haoran interjected before her.
"Is this true? " Yang Haoran asked, his expression incredulous, his tone filled with disbelief.
Seeing that Yang Haoran had voiced the question she had been thinking, the old woman closed her mouth. She wasn't foolish enough to interrupt, and instead listened quietly, her heart still reeling with surprise.
Huo Laoban nodded at Yang Haoran with a serious expression, then responded with a confident tone, "It should be correct. I have a certain degree of confidence in my interrogation methods."
Yang Haoran furrowed his brows and, after a moment of hesitation, asked Huo Laoban, "Could Emissary Shi's disappearance also be due to him being captured alive by Spirit Mediums?"
Yang Haoran hadn't originally intended to ask this, but not asking might make him seem suspicious. After all, under normal circumstances, many people would likely pose such a question, so he decided to speak up.
Huo Laoban shook his head, then said, "While I can't be certain, I don't think that possibility is out of the question. Emissary Shi's disappearance might indeed be a result of him being captured alive by Spirit Mediums, just as you suggested."
Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he was highly vigilant. Huo Laoban's words seemed fine on the surface, but a careful analysis of the phrase "just as you suggested" revealed a potential problem.
If Yang Haoran were to tacitly agree to Huo Laoban's assertion, and the facts indeed proved it true, then all would be well. But if the facts were otherwise, and problems arose later, Yang Haoran might very well end up shouldering the blame.
"I was only guessing; I have no basis for it. Whether that's truly the case, I can't be certain. This matter is no trivial affair, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions so easily," Yang Haoran quickly interjected, making sure to clear himself first.
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