Chapter 796: Successive Surprises
Yang Haoran frowned because he sensed that the Ghost Qi emanating from the ghosts within the Ghost Cave was even more vibrant than he had imagined.
It had been a while since his last visit to the Ghost Cave, and according to his estimates, the ghosts inside should have been dispatched by Tang Shi to carry out missions.
Yet, at this moment, he sensed at least a dozen ghosts within the Ghost Cave, which made him wonder what Tang Shi was up to and why he hadn't sent these ghosts out on various assignments.
He could understand Tang Shi wanting to strengthen the ghosts' ideological education, and he supported various training exercises for them, but they couldn't be kept in the Ghost Cave forever. Soldiers who had never seen blood, no matter how loyal, how strong, or how knowledgeable in certain killing methods, were ultimately just paper tigers.
Only through the baptism of blood could they cultivate a killing aura, integrate their knowledge with combat, and become truly formidable individuals capable of fighting a hundred on their own.
He had always been satisfied with Tang Shi, but this time, he felt a flicker of doubt.
Indeed, it was merely doubt, not disappointment, because based on his understanding of Tang Shi, Tang Shi shouldn't have overlooked this point. Since he had kept these ghosts in the Ghost Cave, there was likely a reason Yang Haoran was unaware of; perhaps Tang Shi had encountered some difficulty, leading to such a decision.
Carrying his doubts, he flashed into the depths of the Ghost Cave, heading towards the area where he sensed the ghosts.
Before he even reached the area where the ghosts were, he heard Tang Shi's stern voice, laced with a killing aura.
"Assemble! ! !"
The sound echoed throughout the Ghost Cave. If not for the large array protecting the entire Ghost Cave, preventing internal sounds from reaching the outside, his loud voice would likely have reverberated through the entire mountain.
At this moment, all the ghosts were gathered in the Ghost Cave's training ground. When Yang Haoran appeared, they were already lined up neatly, their expressions solemn, eyes fixed straight ahead, like troops awaiting inspection.
"Greetings, Master!"
Tang Shi, at the forefront, knelt on one knee, respectfully saluting Yang Haoran.
As Tang Shi's voice fell silent, the dozen or so ghosts behind him also knelt on one knee, their movements swift and synchronized, bowing to Yang Haoran.
"Greetings, Master! ! !"
The dozen ghosts simultaneously roared out those four words. Their voices were much louder and more imposing than Tang Shi's.
However, compared to Tang Shi's voice, their shouts still lacked a certain keen killing aura.
Seeing the imposing presence and high spirits of the ghosts under his command, Yang Haoran should, by all rights, have felt pleased and gratified.
Yet, at this moment, as he looked at the kneeling ghosts before him, his face showed no joy; instead, he grew even more perplexed, his brows furrowing tighter.
The reason for this was that, apart from Tang Shi, all the ghosts before him were actually Spirit Bodies.
He had previously specifically prepared skins for these ghosts under his command, tailor-made to their original appearances. Yet now, where had their skins gone?
Could it be that Tang Shi had new training methods, and these methods required the ghosts to shed their skins?
Although deeply puzzled, he didn't make Tang Shi and the others remain kneeling. What he wanted was for Tang Shi and his subordinates to help him build his empire, not for them to constantly kneel before him so he could revel in a sense of superiority.
"You may rise."
As Yang Haoran spoke, Tang Shi and the others stood up from the ground. None of them lowered their heads like servants; instead, they stood like warriors, their expressions solemn, eyes fixed straight ahead, just as they had been when Yang Haoran first saw them.
Because Yang Haoran harbored doubts, he directly fixed his gaze on Tang Shi, not lingering on the ghosts themselves.
"Where are their skins?"
Despite his internal confusion, Yang Haoran habitually displayed a smile and asked Tang Shi.
He didn't directly question Tang Shi as to why these ghosts hadn't been dispatched for missions, because he felt there might be some unspoken difficulty involved. Questioning him directly in front of his subordinates would not only cause Tang Shi to lose face and undermine his authority, but it might even hurt Tang Shi's feelings.
If Tang Shi had indeed made a mistake, then it would be no big deal; let alone questioning, a direct scolding would be acceptable. But now, accusing Tang Shi without even understanding the situation was Yang Haoran's own problem.
Therefore, he planned to question Tang Shi privately later, at least to clarify the situation first.
If Tang Shi had truly encountered an unsolvable problem, then he, as the master, naturally had to step forward and resolve the trouble.
And at this moment, his question to Tang Shi about where these ghosts' skins had gone was actually to confirm his own guess: whether Tang Shi had implemented new training methods for these ghosts.
However, Tang Shi's reply was beyond his expectations.
"Master, they don't have skins yet."
Yang Haoran froze. How could he, their master, not know whether these ghosts had skins or not? Tang Shi actually telling him these ghosts had no skins, how could that not make him feel perplexed?
Tang Shi observed all of Yang Haoran's facial reactions. He saw Yang Haoran's confusion and understood why he was puzzled. To prevent Yang Haoran from feeling too awkward later, he quickly spoke again.
"Master, take a closer look at them, and you'll understand."
Hearing Tang Shi's words, Yang Haoran shifted his gaze to the ghosts behind Tang Shi. Upon closer inspection, he finally discovered the problem.
The ghosts standing neatly behind Tang Shi, like an array of sharp swords, were all new faces; not a single one was familiar to him.
Although he had spent little time interacting with the ghosts he had cultivated, he still had an impression of their appearances, so he could confirm that all these ghosts were new faces.
Over a dozen new faces had appeared in the Ghost Cave, something he had never expected. This left him both puzzled and shocked.
However, he didn't immediately question Tang Shi. Instead, he temporarily suppressed the doubt and shock in his heart. The perplexed expression vanished from his face, replaced by his usual smile.
"Everyone, you've worked hard in training."
Yang Haoran said with a smile to the ghosts. Although he didn't yet fully understand what was going on, he felt it was still very necessary to express his concern.
"Not at all! ! !"
Their voices remained uniform and loud.
"Very good. Work hard, and I hope you don't disappoint me. Of course, I, Yang Haoran, will not disappoint you either."
For their first meeting, Yang Haoran still stuck to his old habit and first made his stance clear.
"Yes! ! !"
The ghosts' reply was crisp, imposing, and full of determination.
Yang Haoran nodded with satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Tang Shi.
"Make your arrangements first, then come see me in the collection room."
"Yes! " Tang Shi respectfully replied. Yang Haoran, carrying his lingering doubts and shock, headed for the Ghost Cave's collection room, waiting for Tang Shi to enlighten him.
However, upon entering the collection room, Yang Haoran was once again stunned by the sight before him.
In his memory, the collection room within the Ghost Cave had been sparsely populated with not many collectibles. But what he saw now was quite different from his impression. Although the collection items didn't fill the entire room, compared to his last visit, their number had at least multiplied several times over!
After a brief freeze, Yang Haoran snapped out of his shock, muttering to himself with a startled heart.
"Did that fellow Tang Shi recently rob a house and conveniently 'snatch' some people back along with it?"
Yang Haoran looked at the vast number of collectibles in the room, then thought of the dozen new faces he had just seen. He was truly curious about what Tang Shi had been up to lately; one surprising thing after another kept presenting itself.
Although intensely curious, he was also a person capable of keeping his composure at times. He didn't let his inner emotions lead him to lose his decorum. Instead, while waiting for Tang Shi to come see him, he began to wander around the collection room, occasionally picking up an item to examine it, wondering if it was mere trash or a true treasure.
Comments