Chapter 984: It's Her!
Based on the information Tang Shi had gathered, among Huo Laoban's subordinates was a Pharmacist who specialized in concocting various poisons. The potent poison that Wu Junior had once been afflicted with came from this very person.
The certainty stemmed from the fact that the Pharmacist used specially made bottles for all his concoctions. No one else used these types of bottles, making them, in a sense, a unique identifier for him.
Aside from identifying the source of the poison, Tang Shi also investigated other details about this Pharmacist, such as his personality, hobbies, and strength.
As for whether the Black-Robed Person, who intended to kill Yang Haoran, was this Pharmacist, the information Tang Shi collected indicated they were entirely different individuals. The Pharmacist was male, while the Black-Robed Person was female. Since their genders differed, they naturally couldn't be the same person.
Although the Black-Robed Person was not this particular Pharmacist under Huo Laoban, it was highly probable that she was one of Huo Laoban's people. This was because if she, like the Pharmacist, served Huo Laoban, it would be much easier for her to acquire the drugs from him. Moreover, the power the Black-Robed Person used was Spirit Power.
Of course, it was also possible that the Black-Robed Person had little to no connection with Huo Laoban. If she obtained the poison through special channels, and it just happened to be concocted by Huo Laoban's subordinate Pharmacist, and she wasn't from the New Sun City Underworld Office, then perhaps she truly had no relation to Huo Laoban.
However, Yang Haoran found this possibility unlikely. The information Xiang Chuan provided that day, combined with his own analysis and the current information gathered by Tang Shi, all suggested that the Black-Robed Person was, nine times out of ten, Huo Laoban's subordinate.
If the Black-Robed Person truly belonged to Huo Laoban, then Huo Laoban was likely deeply involved in her attempts to assassinate him. After all, prior to this incident, Yang Haoran had no contact with the Black-Robed Person, and there were no prior conflicts between them. Therefore, she logically had no reason to repeatedly try to kill him.
Although he felt a certain aversion towards Huo Laoban, they had never openly clashed or developed any enmity. His aversion to Huo Laoban was kept to himself, so why would Huo Laoban want to kill him?
For a moment, Yang Haoran's mind raced with many possibilities, but these were merely his conjectures. To determine if his guesses were correct, he first needed to clarify one thing: whether the Black-Robed Person was indeed one of Huo Laoban's people.
Once this was confirmed, many questions would be easily answered.
“Go investigate if he has a female subordinate who has successfully opened her Heaven Soul. If there is such a person, also check her recent movements,” Yang Haoran said with a smile to Tang Shi.
“Yes, Master! ” Tang Shi replied respectfully.
“Be careful. This Huo Laoban is not an easy opponent. Make sure our people act cautiously. Compared to getting this matter thoroughly investigated, I care more about the safety of our people,” Yang Haoran reminded him with a smile.
Tang Shi deeply understood what Yang Haoran was saying. This time, he had taken significant risks to successfully gather this information, almost costing several of his subordinates their lives.
However, to prevent Yang Haoran from worrying, he hadn't told him about these details.
“Don't worry, Master. I will ensure our people are careful. ”
Tang Shi replied respectfully, his answer concise, neither complaining to Yang Haoran nor boasting in front of him.
Although Tang Shi didn't say anything, Yang Haoran clearly understood that this mission must be far more difficult than he imagined. He had interacted with Huo Laoban and knew he was not someone easy to deal with. Even if this mission didn't involve directly attacking Huo Laoban, merely investigating those around him was still not simple.
Knowing the difficulty of the task, Yang Haoran did not set a deadline for Tang Shi, so as not to put too much pressure on him.
Though Yang Haoran didn't set a deadline, Tang Shi did not slow down the mission's progress. On the contrary, his efficiency was remarkable. In just a few days, another set of documents was laid before Yang Haoran.
“Master, you were right. Among Huo Laoban's Night Watchers, there is indeed a woman who has opened her Heaven Soul. She hasn't had her Heaven Soul open for very long, and she rarely displays her strength in front of outsiders, so not many people know she successfully opened her Heaven Soul. ”
Tang Shi simply stated this, then fell silent. Yang Haoran picked up the documents in front of him and began to read them carefully.
This process lasted for about half an hour, during which Tang Shi stood respectfully before Yang Haoran, making no sound, quietly waiting.
These documents contained not only information about this woman but also details about Huo Laoban's other subordinates. Although Yang Haoran had only asked Tang Shi a few days ago to investigate whether Huo Laoban had such a female Night Watcher who had opened her Heaven Soul, and if so, to also check her recent movements, Tang Shi had not only accomplished this but had also investigated information about Huo Laoban's other subordinates, effectively exceeding the requirements of the mission.
To achieve this in just a few days would be impossible without absolute capability in this area. While Yang Haoran was surprised by Tang Shi's abilities, he was also extremely pleased, as the stronger Tang Shi's abilities were in this regard, the more beneficial it would be for him.
This female Night Watcher, who had opened her Heaven Soul, was named Xia Yu. She was one of Huo Laoban's most capable Night Watchers. Due to Huo Laoban's extreme regard for her, he had invested considerable effort into her. His cultivation had played a decisive role in her ability to successfully open her Heaven Soul and stand out among the many Night Watchers.
As she was responsible for managing some affairs of the New Sun City Underworld Office for Huo Laoban, she frequently appeared in New Sun City. While few outsiders knew her true strength, many were aware of her existence, so her whereabouts in New Sun City were not exactly a secret.
However, for some unknown reason, she hadn't made an appearance in New Sun City for some time. As for why she hadn't shown up, no one knew, and even Tang Shi hadn't been able to uncover the reason.
Among the information Tang Shi had gathered, in addition to her interests and hobbies, there were also some of her physical characteristics.
Yang Haoran naturally had no interest in her hobbies, but he was indeed interested in her physical characteristics, as he could use them to further determine if she was the Black-Robed Person.
Because the Black-Robed Person had been entirely shrouded in a black robe at the time, and her body had rapidly decomposed after death, Yang Haoran's understanding of her physical features was very limited. Besides her hoarse voice, all he knew was her height.
The information Tang Shi collected did not mention that this woman's voice was hoarse. Logically, if her voice was naturally like that, Tang Shi's people would not have overlooked it, as it would be one of her distinguishing features.
Since it wasn't recorded, it could only mean one thing: her voice was normal, not worth noting.
Of course, this alone couldn't prove anything, as there were simply too many ways to make one's voice hoarse.
Therefore, Yang Haoran's attempt to use her voice to further confirm the Black-Robed Person's identity was naturally futile, so he shifted his attention to her height.
According to the information Tang Shi collected, the Night Watcher named Xia Yu had almost no difference in height compared to the Black-Robed Person. The reason for using "almost" was that Yang Haoran had not actually measured the Black-Robed Person's height; he could only make a rough estimate based on his memory.
Besides her height, another detail caught Yang Haoran's attention: the Soul Armament that appeared after this woman opened her Heaven Soul was a slender soft sword. The Soul Armament summoned by the Black-Robed Person after she opened her Heaven Soul was also a slender soft sword. This point was more concrete than any physical characteristic, as physical characteristics could be altered by other means, but a Soul Armament could not!
No significant difference in height, no recent appearances in New Sun City, combined with the Spirit Power within her body, the poison concocted by Huo Laoban's Pharmacist, and most importantly, the Soul Armament — all this information, taken together, proved that the Black-Robed Person was indeed the Night Watcher named Xia Yu.
When Yang Haoran put down the documents, he already had his answer.
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