Chapter 66: A Job Came In
This time, in his clash with Xu Meijing, Yang Haoran knew he had lost, and lost completely, aggressively put in his place by the other party.
To say he wasn't angry would be impossible, but what could he do with that anger? He could only endure it.
Leaving the hall, it wasn't even noon yet. Jiang Dashi invited Yang Haoran to stay for a meal, but Yang Haoran declined.
His boss had already issued a warning to him, a new, junior employee, and he felt a certain sense of urgency. He certainly didn't want to get fired so soon.
On the way home, Yang Haoran wore a dejected expression, his mood clearly far from pleasant. But this state didn't last long; he soon emerged from it and returned to his usual self.
In life, there were countless dissatisfying things. If he were to dwell for long on every setback he encountered, his entire life would be spent in anxiety. Yang Haoran naturally understood this principle, so he quickly adjusted his mindset.
After returning to his convenience store, he first called his parents back home to inquire about their recent well-being. After talking for over half an hour and learning they were doing reasonably well, he finally hung up, relieved.
Afterward, he uncharacteristically closed the convenience store, didn't go out to do anything, but instead went back to bed for a deep sleep. Judging by his appearance, it seemed he wasn't even planning to eat lunch.
For something like this to happen to Yang Haoran was indeed highly unusual.
Putting aside the matter of seeking spirits for now, even before he became a Night Watcher, Yang Haoran would absolutely never have done something like this, because in his view, it was a waste of time. If he utilized this time well, he could do much more.
But "if only" remained "if only. " The truth was, not only did he close his shop and sleep, but he also slept exceptionally soundly. He slept so deeply that he didn't wake up until nightfall.
After dark, Yang Haoran still didn't open his door. After making himself something simple to eat, he promptly offered a prayer to the Death God statue, then grabbed his yellow Ghost-Hunting Bag and hurried out.
He was out for the entire night and didn't return to his convenience store until dawn the next day.
Inside the convenience store, Yang Haoran looked a bit tired, but when his gaze fell upon the Soul-Gathering Bead in his hand, a faint smile appeared on his weary face.
Inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, aside from High Liang and Wang Qing's souls, there were two more Soul Threads. These two Soul Threads were the fruit of his efforts from the previous night.
The reason he had gone to bed and rested so early yesterday was precisely so he could work tirelessly through the night. Otherwise, how could he dare waste time like this?
Since he had no car, he could only search for traces of spirits on foot. It was precisely because of this that he had walked for an entire night. Even though he was no longer an ordinary person, such a strenuous night still left him utterly exhausted.
Fortunately, he possessed the ability to Sense Yin. Although he lacked means of transportation, the presence of this Sense Yin ability still allowed him to gain some reward.
Both of these souls had only recently formed and possessed no offensive capabilities. After realizing Yang Haoran was an Underworld Official, one chose to willingly leave with Yang Haoran, while the other chose to resist.
Although the two spirits made different choices, the outcome was the same. No surprises occurred, and both entered the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Collecting two spirits in one night was a result Yang Haoran was quite satisfied with. If he could ensure two spirits daily, then by the end of the month, even if his performance couldn't surpass Xu Meijing's, at least he wouldn't be fired by his boss, Deng Feng.
Yang Haoran had originally thought that spirits, if not ubiquitous, were certainly numerous in this world. But to his surprise, he was wrong. He didn't know about other cities, but in Lecheng, the number of ghosts was far less than he had imagined.
In reality, it wasn't that Lecheng had few ghosts, but that Lecheng's Night Watchers were too diligent. Especially Xu Meijing; she was the most diligent among Lecheng's sixteen Night Watchers. It was precisely due to her presence that Lecheng's spirits were pitifully scarce.
Xu Meijing's first encounter with Yang Haoran was outside the hospital morgue. At that time, Xu Meijing told Yang Haoran she was the morgue keeper, but that wasn't the truth of the matter. Like Yang Haoran, she was also targeting spirits.
Their second encounter was at Nine Dragons Slope cemetery. That time, Yang Haoran had gained nothing in the cemetery apart from Wang Qing. He had thought then that perhaps all the spirits in the cemetery had been collected by temple keepers like Jiang Dashi. Yet, he didn't know that the one who had collected all the spirits in the cemetery was none other than Xu Meijing.
Not only in these two places, but also in many hospitals throughout Lecheng and numerous cemeteries, Xu Meijing's figure could often be seen. She had virtually monopolized both types of places in Lecheng that were prolific producers of spirits. Consequently, the number of spirits in Lecheng as a whole had become quite scarce.
It was precisely for this reason that Yang Haoran had searched for an entire night and only managed to collect two spirits, and even those were found outside the city.
Nevertheless, his hard work last night had yielded results, which offered Yang Haoran a glimmer of hope.
For the period that followed, Yang Haoran slept during the day, went out after dark to search for spirits, and desperately worked to improve his performance.
To expand his scope of work, he even leveraged his old profession, having Guan Hai help him drum up business everywhere.
Although Guan Hai was young, in Lecheng, he still had a certain network of connections. Otherwise, this 'Love Saint' of his would probably have been chopped to death countless times already.
When Yang Haoran asked Guan Hai for help, Guan Hai naturally didn't refuse and readily agreed. In fact, even if Yang Haoran hadn't brought it up, Guan Hai would still have drummed up business for him; after all, their friendship was clear. Besides, Guan Hai had always been finding clients for him.
The main reason Yang Haoran called Guan Hai was primarily because his line of business had changed. He no longer offered services like feng shui consultations for homes. The only type of work he would accept now was business related to genuine spirits. To put it bluntly, he only handled supernatural haunting incidents.
The reason for this decision was twofold: first, he was no longer a charlatan but an Underworld Official, so there was no need to continue faking supernatural abilities.
Secondly, he not only urgently needed souls now, but would also require a large quantity in the future. That was why he decided to only accept supernatural haunting cases, not wanting to waste time on other matters.
It wasn't that he didn't want to take on more jobs and earn more money, but the crucial point was he didn't have the energy. Furthermore, he genuinely didn't understand feng shui or house inspections. If he kept acting as a charlatan without being exposed, it would be fine, but if he was exposed, he would only ruin his own reputation.
After some time, Guan Hai hadn't managed to secure a single client for Yang Haoran. Yang Haoran, however, didn't view this as a failure on Guan Hai's part, because he already knew what Xu Meijing was doing in Lecheng. With that woman in Lecheng, let alone Guan Hai, even he, with his Sense Yin ability, would find it incredibly difficult to find a single spirit.
In fact, there were still several famous haunted locations in Lecheng. The Ghost Building, which Yang Haoran had entered, was one of them. Such haunted places indeed contained many spirits, but Yang Haoran didn't dare set his sights on these dangerous locations, because powerful ghostly entities resided in each of them, and they were beyond his current capabilities to handle.
In the blink of an eye, it was almost the end of the month again, and Yang Haoran's Soul-Gathering Bead now contained thirty Soul Threads.
Thirty Soul Threads was not a small number compared to temple keeper Night Watchers. However, temple keeper Night Watchers were only considered part-time in collecting spirits, whereas non-temple keeper Night Watchers like him were full-time. Thus, there was no real basis for comparison between the two.
If a comparison had to be made, it could only be with Xu Meijing, who was also a non-temple keeper Night Watcher. But Yang Haoran knew he simply couldn't compete with Xu Meijing in this regard. Thirty Soul Threads might seem like a lot, but compared to Xu Meijing, there was still a significant gap.
Lecheng had a large population, yet it was poor. It was precisely because of this that many people in Lecheng reached the end of their lives each day for various reasons. This was what provided work for Night Watchers like Yang Haoran.
But what left Yang Haoran speechless was that almost all of this work was monopolized by Xu Meijing alone. The thirty Soul Threads he had collected this month were almost all stragglers found in the desolate wilderness outside the city. If things continued this way, he estimated he would soon be jobless.
However, with a haul of thirty Soul Threads, Yang Haoran believed he shouldn't be fired by his boss. If he couldn't surpass Xu Meijing, then he couldn't. He had no way to change that for now. Not getting fired was his most pressing concern at the moment.
In the final few days, Yang Haoran decided to push himself further, hoping to make another breakthrough on top of his thirty Soul Threads.
However, reality slapped him hard in the face. For three consecutive days, he searched for spirits outdoors all night long, but gained nothing. This inevitably left him somewhat disappointed.
By the fourth morning, Yang Haoran returned to his convenience store, his face etched with fatigue and disappointment. No sooner had he entered the shop than his phone rang.
He pulled out his phone to check, and it was Guan Hai.
Guan Hai loved to drink, getting blackout drunk every night. So, usually, his life had no mornings. He typically woke up from bed around noon or in the afternoon.
For Guan Hai to be awake in the early morning and even call him, it surely meant something important had come up.
Watching the vibrating phone in his hand, Yang Haoran's lips unconsciously curved upwards. He felt that Guan Hai calling him so early most likely meant a job had come in.
Sure enough, as soon as the call connected, Guan Hai's voice, full of yawns, came through. He said, "Brother Yang, a job's come in! Calling me this early in the morning, really. . ."
Guan Hai was complaining on the other end. From the sound of his words, it seemed he had also just received news of a job.
Unlike Guan Hai, Yang Haoran felt a surge of joy. He hadn't had any harvest for three consecutive days, so naturally, he was delighted to hear a job had appeared.
"Stop sleeping, get up quickly. Let's meet and talk."
After hanging up, Yang Haoran washed up, offered his respects to the Death God, then closed his door and went to find Guan Hai.
Comments