Chapter 820: Broken Head Mountain
Wu Laoyezi's heart was in turmoil. Although he tried his utmost to calm himself, he found it impossible.
This was only human nature; anyone who wasn't stone-hearted couldn't possibly remain calm after something like this.
Thinking back to when Yang Haoran's parents had tragically died by the hands of zombies, his emotional reaction had been countless times more intense than Wu Laoyezi's was now. Compared to Yang Haoran, Wu Laoyezi was already doing well.
Yang Haoran could understand Wu Laoyezi's current emotions; after all, he too had once lost his closest kin.
However, understanding aside, the plan needed to move forward. The other party had only given them two hours. According to Wu Xiaoxiao's description, combined with the time she had spent getting there, roughly half an hour had already passed. This meant they now had only an hour and a half remaining.
The meeting place chosen by the other party was called Broken Head Mountain. This mountain was located on the border of Lecheng, surrounded by other large mountains, devoid of human habitation, though abundant with wild beasts.
There was a legend explaining why the mountain was named Broken Head Mountain. It was said that a long, long time ago, there used to be human settlements near this mountain. But one stormy night, the mountain's peak was severed by some unknown force, and the villages below suffered greatly, with many villagers dying beneath the falling rocks.
From then on, the mountain stood without its peak, appearing as if its head had been severed. Therefore, the villagers gave it a new name based on its original one: Broken Head Mountain.
As years passed, the villages below Broken Head Mountain saw their populations dwindle. Some moved away from the mountains, others died within them. Over time, no villages remained near Broken Head Mountain, and it had now become an uninhabited zone.
Although Broken Head Mountain was situated on the border of Lecheng, with Yang Haoran's current strength, he could reach it simply by tearing open a spatial rift once. It wouldn't take him much time, so for now, he still had time to discuss a countermeasure.
While a plan devised in such a short time might not be perfect, it was certainly better than blindly rushing in.
"Old Man Wu, the departed are gone. What we need to do now is figure out how to rescue Old Senior Wu and Old Junior Wu, to prevent them from also suffering the fate of Soul Transformation."
Although Yang Haoran's words might have sounded a bit detached, given the current circumstances, how else could he console Wu Laoyezi? They couldn't just stand there in silence, staring at each other, letting time tick by amidst the sorrowful, oppressive atmosphere.
Wu Laoyezi took another deep breath, then nodded at Yang Haoran.
"Boss is right," he said. "Now is indeed not the time for sorrow. Old Senior Wu and Old Junior Wu are waiting for us to save them. I've already lost other family members; I can't lose these two sons as well."
Of his two sons, Wu Laoyezi valued Old Senior Wu the most, loving and trusting him deeply.
Although Old Junior Wu had always been a good-for-nothing in his eyes, constantly idle and causing him immense worry and disappointment, he still cherished this son just as much. In some ways, his affection for Old Junior Wu even surpassed that for Old Senior Wu.
It was just that Old Junior Wu was too unpromising, disappointing him time and again. Even with the world in chaos now, that fellow still loved stirring up trouble. If not for his father supporting him, and if not for Yang Haoran supporting his father, it was unclear whether this wayward son would even be alive today.
With both his sons' lives hanging by a thread, he had no mind to dwell on how much Old Junior Wu had disappointed him. Now, he had only one thought: no matter what, he had to rescue his two sons.
But his heart was filled with grief, compounded by worry for his sons' current predicament, so his mind wasn't working as sharply as usual. He simply couldn't come up with a good countermeasure.
Yang Haoran, having been through similar experiences, knew that it would likely be difficult to get any good suggestions from Wu Laoyezi at this moment. Thus, he didn't ask Wu Laoyezi if he had any good countermeasures in mind.
After a moment of thought, he turned his gaze to Bai Xue.
"Bai Xue, you and Xiaoxiao stay here at home. Old Man Wu and I will go for this operation."
Bai Xue's expression immediately changed upon hearing this.
"No, absolutely not! I won't feel at ease with just the two of you going. If I come along, I can definitely help. I'm going with you!"
Bai Xue's refusal was decisive, without a hint of hesitation, and she clearly expressed her desire to accompany them.
"If you come with us, who will look after the house? What if this is a tactic to lure us away from our base? If we all leave, who will protect the girl?"
Yang Haoran shook his head, speaking. The "girl" he referred to was, of course, Feng Xiao.
The main reason he spoke this way was actually to keep Bai Xue behind. He didn't want to take her on this dangerous venture, as even he wasn't sure just how perilous it would be.
Moreover, Feng Xiao truly needed someone to protect her. Xiujuan and Wu Xiaoxiao alone wouldn't be able to adequately safeguard Feng Xiao. If something unexpected truly happened, those two might even be less capable than Feng Xiao herself, as Feng Xiao now possessed a certain level of strength and the medicines she concocted were bizarre and wondrous, each with its own unique effect.
Yang Haoran had thought that saying this would dispel Bai Xue's idea of going with them, but her subsequent counter-question left him momentarily stunned.
"If both of you leave, what if those two Demon Hunters have a change of heart and come back to cause trouble?"
Bai Xue said this primarily to get Yang Haoran to take her along. She didn't actually believe those two Demon Hunters would necessarily return for another attack, but her words did give Yang Haoran a valuable reminder.
"What you're saying is unlikely, but not entirely impossible."
Yang Haoran thought for a moment, then continued.
"Before Old Man Wu and I leave, I'll temporarily move you all to a safe place. That way, it'll be more secure."
Seeing that her objective hadn't been achieved, Bai Xue was about to say more, but Yang Haoran cut her off.
"We don't have much time, so we can't waste any more on this. Next time, if there's an opportunity, I'll definitely take you out for an adventure. For now, this is decided."
Although this wasn't the outcome Bai Xue wanted, Yang Haoran's words left no room for negotiation. Unwilling to argue against him, she could only nod her head reluctantly.
Yang Haoran didn't intend to bring his subordinate Night Watchers with him. On one hand, their strength was limited; if they went, they would only serve as cannon fodder. While he didn't dare cultivate these Night Watchers in the same way he did ghosts, he had still invested considerable effort and resources into them.
Furthermore, as a leader, he couldn't bring himself to knowingly lead his subordinates to their deaths, yet insist on taking them along. He simply couldn't do such a thing.
Another very important point was that if the opponent's ambush truly proved powerful, they might be forced to reveal their full strength. He didn't want too many people to know his true capabilities, as dealing with the aftermath would be very troublesome.
That was why he decided to go with only Old Man Wu.
From a normal perspective, since the opponent didn't dare to directly come knocking on his door, it indicated that their strength couldn't be all that formidable. If they were truly powerful, they wouldn't resort to such schemes; they would just come directly to his residence.
However, for the sake of safety, Yang Haoran felt he couldn't be overconfident. He still needed to prepare a few other measures. What if the opponent didn't directly come for him not because they lacked the strength, but for some other reason? If he were truly pushed into a corner without other preparations, then Jingling Continent would lose another Emissary of Death.
As for what preparations would be most useful, his first thought was the various medicines concocted by Feng Xiao. Medicines for rapid injury treatment were undoubtedly essential. Besides those, this time he also planned to bring some other different types of medicines for contingencies.
With a plan in mind, Yang Haoran wasted no more time. He immediately went to find Feng Xiao, and instructed Wu Laoyezi to see if there was anything else that needed preparing in the meantime.
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