Chapter 675: The Fox's Tail
"Is Envoy Yang perhaps worried that I can't produce what you're looking for? " the pale-skinned man asked in a deep voice.
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood. I'm not worried you can't produce what I want; it's that I can't produce what you want," Yang Haoran replied with a smile.
"How can that be? The items are in Envoy Yang's hands, so how could you not be able to produce them? " the pale-skinned man pressed.
Just now, seeing the pale-skinned man's smiling face and rather polite demeanor, Yang Haoran had thought this guy might be clever. But now, it seemed he had overestimated him.
"This time, two powerful demons came to my residence to cause trouble. Officer Bai greatly assisted me, so I gave the corpses of both powerful demons to her. After all, she is a demon, and the corpses of powerful demons are very beneficial to her," Yang Haoran responded.
Upon hearing this, the pale-skinned man couldn't help but frown deeply.
Yang Haoran observed the pale-skinned man's reaction. He remained silent, merely smiling as he waited for him to continue.
After only a brief hesitation, the pale-skinned man spoke again.
The pale-skinned man's question struck Yang Haoran as somewhat inexplicable.
"Heh heh, it's pretty good. We in the Underworld Office often collaborate with the Spirit Police, and our cooperation has always been quite pleasant. Over time, we naturally became friends. If our relationship were merely average, she wouldn't have rushed to my aid this time, and of course, I wouldn't have gifted her the corpses of both powerful demons afterward," Yang Haoran said, half-truth, half-lie.
Hearing this, the pale-skinned man laughed, but the smile on his face carried a clear hint of mockery.
"Heh heh, Officer Bai's willingness to help Envoy Yang eliminate demons, I'm afraid, isn't solely due to your friendship, is it?"
The smile on Yang Haoran's face stiffened slightly, then a look of confusion appeared.
"What. . . what do you mean by that?"
The pale-skinned man chuckled, then began his reply.
"Envoy Yang also knows that Officer Bai is a demon. The Demon Pills within other demons are a great tonic for her. When two powerful demons appeared here, she immediately rushed over with great enthusiasm. In my opinion, it wasn't necessarily because of the friendship between the two of you; more likely, she was after the Demon Pills inside those two powerful demons. If the ones causing you trouble today weren't two powerful demons, but two ghostly entities, I doubt she would have been so quick to respond. 'No profit, no early start'—how much friendship can there really be in this world? What does friendship count for in the face of absolute self-interest?"
With the conversation at this point, Yang Haoran secretly sneered. The pale-skinned man's fox's tail was finally about to be revealed. He didn't show his disdain but instead went with the flow, furrowing his brows, the confusion on his face growing even more pronounced.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to 'open the skylight and speak plainly'? Why are you beating around the bush again? What exactly do you want to say? " Yang Haoran asked, frowning.
"When I said 'open the skylight and speak plainly' before, I was merely referring to exchanging for the corpses of those two powerful demons from Envoy Yang. Since those two powerful demons' corpses have already been gifted to Officer Bai, that matter naturally concludes. Now, what I wish to discuss with Envoy Yang is another matter entirely, one that involves different considerations, so I had to beat around the bush a little," the pale-skinned man explained.
"Please speak, I'm all ears," Yang Haoran replied.
"Very well, but before that, I must ask Envoy Yang a question: Do you wish to become stronger? " the pale-skinned man asked.
Yang Haoran nodded immediately, without a moment's thought.
"Since you wish to become stronger, then we speak the same language, for I too desire to grow stronger. However, 'a general's success is built on ten thousand bones. ' To succeed, one must not only possess courage and strategy but also be ruthless enough. Often, one must understand how to make sacrifices; only then can one become truly powerful. Do you think what I'm saying makes sense?"
Yang Haoran looked directly at the pale-skinned man, deliberately showing surprise in his eyes, as if telling him that his words had deeply moved him.
"I never thought someone so young could possess such a mature mind. No wonder you became a two-star Demon Hunter at such a tender age. I truly underestimated you before."
Yang Haoran's words greatly pleased the pale-skinned man. He couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh, appearing quite delighted, even showing a hint of smugness on his face. The vigilance in his heart also relaxed considerably at that moment.
Because, in his view, Yang Haoran's current words indicated that he agreed with his perspective. Furthermore, having learned a bit about Yang Haoran from Ye Zhiqiu on the way here, he combined the two and felt that the chances of a successful collaboration were high.
"Since Envoy Yang agrees with my viewpoint, then I can now speak plainly about a few matters."
The pale-skinned man spoke with a smile, an air of complete confidence about him.
"Young man, please speak freely."
Yang Haoran's expression was serious. He nodded slightly, then responded, even changing his address for the pale-skinned man.
"My original intention in coming here today was to help Envoy Yang eliminate demons. However, the demons we are to eliminate are not merely the two that you and Officer Bai slew," the pale-skinned man stated.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran's expression shifted in surprise, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Besides these two powerful demons, are there other powerful demons hiding nearby?"
The pale-skinned man secretly scorned Yang Haoran in his heart. He had thought Yang Haoran was intelligent, but unexpectedly, he had overestimated him. Yang Haoran was far more obtuse than he had imagined.
"I don't know if there are any other powerful demons nearby, but I know there's one right here, right now!"
With this reminder from the pale-skinned man, Yang Haoran immediately reacted, a look of incredulity appearing on his face.
"Young man, do you mean. . . Officer Bai?"
To Yang Haoran's uncertainty, the pale-skinned man immediately gave a definite reply.
"Precisely, I'm referring to her."
Receiving the pale-skinned man's affirmative answer, Yang Haoran's expression changed once more, becoming extremely serious.
Seeing that Yang Haoran showed no anger or signs of losing control, the pale-skinned man struck while the iron was hot and continued speaking.
"Before we arrived here, we sensed the power fluctuations of three powerful demons. At that time, we had already marked all three as targets for elimination on this trip. It was only unexpected that one of these powerful demons was a friend of Envoy Yang. That's why, upon our arrival, we didn't attack her; instead, we treated her with courtesy. This was all thanks to your prestige, Envoy Yang. Otherwise, following our Demon Hunters' usual modus operandi, we would have moved against her the moment we arrived."
The "she" in the pale-skinned man's words, of course, referred to Bai Xue.
"Officer Bai is a Spirit Police officer. If you were to attack her, you'd offend the entire Spirit Police! " Yang Haoran reminded him in a deep voice.
The pale-skinned man scoffed, a look of disdain in his eyes.
"Spirit Police? Heh heh, if the Supreme Administrative Council hadn't disbanded, and the New Beginning Realm hadn't fragmented, we might have given the Spirit Police some meager respect. However, in the current situation, the Spirit Police are nothing but 'farts'."
The pale-skinned man's words made Yang Haoran chuckle inwardly. Before the New Beginning Realm's fragmentation, which sect or organization dared to disrespect the Spirit Police? In fact, in some regards, they even had to heed the Spirit Police's whims, as the Spirit Police, after all, represented the official authority.
Although the Demon Hunter Association, to which the pale-skinned man belonged, was not weak, it was far inferior to major sects like the Underworld Office and the Talisman Order. Even the Underworld Office and the Talisman Order treated the Spirit Police with courtesy, yet the Demon Hunter Association claimed it would only give them "meager respect. " This was clearly an attempt to forcefully show off.
However, the pale-skinned man was correct about one thing: after the New Beginning Realm's fragmentation, the so-called official authorities were limited to their respective cities, no longer representing the entire realm as before. It was certain that the Spirit Police's prestige was not what it once was.
"We Demon Hunters have always been mortal enemies with demons. In our eyes, a demon is just a demon; there is no other identity. Eliminating demons is our duty. Don't even mention that the current Lecheng authorities aren't even acknowledged by our Demon Hunter Association; even in the past, the Spirit Police couldn't protect a demon!"
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