Chapter 992: Sudden Disappearance
After bidding farewell to Wang Yiming, Yang Haoran immediately went to South Lake Death God Temple. Besides checking in on his Night Watchers, it was also to reassure them; as long as their boss was alive, they would feel more confident in everything they did.
After completing all this, he didn't linger outside. Instead, he immediately returned to his villa and began drawing talismans.
Now, he had successfully advanced to a Black Talisman Master. The Talisman Spirit Power within him was several times stronger than before. Some talismans that he previously couldn't create successfully were now much easier to draw. This situation arose primarily because of the increase in his Talisman Spirit Power, preventing failures due to insufficient power.
Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the time to draw more advanced talismans and store them. They could be put to good use should any sudden situation arise.
As for the materials for drawing talismans, he naturally didn't procure them himself. Instead, he entrusted Wu Senior with the task. Although Wu Senior hadn't found a large quantity of materials for him in a short time, there was still enough for him to use for a while.
Before drawing talismans, Yang Haoran had specifically observed Xiang Chuan in secret. Xiang Chuan's mood was not as lively as usual; he was holed up in his bedroom, sulking.
Yang Haoran wasn't surprised by this. After all, it was a normal reaction. Except for a very few extraordinary individuals, anyone else encountering such a situation would likely react like Xiang Chuan, or even more intensely than him.
Yang Haoran knew Xiang Chuan needed some time to adjust and transition. So, he didn't disturb him. Leaving him alone to quietly reflect was the best approach at this time.
Although the consumption was considerable, the number of failures wasn't high, so the yield was quite good.
He left his study and returned to his bedroom. He was just about to take a refreshing shower and wash away his fatigue, but precisely at that moment, he received a Communication Talisman from Tang Shi.
The content of the Communication Talisman was simple. Tang Shi asked him to immediately go to the Ghost Cave, stating he had urgent matters to report.
Yang Haoran understood Tang Shi. Tang Shi wouldn't ask him to come to the Ghost Cave unless it was something significant. Furthermore, they had only recently met, so such a situation would naturally be even less likely to occur.
Since Tang Shi had done so, it could only mean one thing: Tang Shi truly had an extremely important matter that needed to be reported to him immediately.
Yang Haoran had originally intended to take a good shower and rest. However, after receiving Tang Shi's Communication Talisman, he had no choice but to abandon that thought. Forget resting; he didn't even have time to shower. He immediately tore open space and headed for the Ghost Cave.
Upon meeting Tang Shi, Yang Haoran had just sat down in the secret chamber. He hadn't even had time to light a cigarette when Tang Shi spoke.
"Master, there's a situation with Huo Feihong, which is why I urgently requested your presence."
Huo Feihong was Huo Laoban. Yang Haoran hadn't known this before, but he naturally knew it now. Upon learning there was a situation with Huo Laoban, his eyebrows twitched slightly. His movement of pulling out a cigarette didn't pause in the slightest. A smile remained on his face, his expression unchanged.
Unhurriedly, he lit a cigarette. Only then did Yang Haoran smile and say to Tang Shi.
"What's the situation? Tell me in detail."
When facing Yang Haoran, Tang Shi rarely showed a smile. Only reverence and solemnity were present. However, at this moment, his expression was far more serious than usual.
"The Emissary of Death for the New Sun City Underworld Office has just been replaced."
Tang Shi's words made the smile on Yang Haoran's face freeze. His smoking motion also paused.
"Heh heh, replaced? Are you sure?"
His momentary daze lasted but an instant. Yang Haoran quickly recovered, and asked Tang Shi with a smile.
At this moment, although Yang Haoran still wore a smile on his face, it was slightly more restrained than before. Such a change in his expression was naturally because Tang Shi's news had genuinely surprised him.
"Your subordinate is certain. The Emissary of Death for New Sun City has indeed been replaced."
Tang Shi's tone was very certain. Yang Haoran knew Tang Shi. Since Tang Shi was so certain, it meant the truth could hardly be false.
Yang Haoran didn't speak. With a wave of his hand, he took out the Underworld Iron Tome from his independent space, and immediately began searching for the information he wanted.
Typically, whether an Underworld Official was transferred, met an unfortunate end, or any other major or minor event occurred within the Underworld Office, the Underworld Iron Tome would issue a notification. And with each notification, the Underworld Iron Tome would react; even if placed in an independent space, its holder could still sense it.
The greater the event, the more intense the Underworld Iron Tome's reaction would be, and the longer it would last. Conversely, a weaker reaction meant a shorter duration.
In the past, whenever the Underworld Iron Tome reacted, Yang Haoran would take it out to see what had happened. However, he rarely did so now. On one hand, he was too busy and didn't have the spare time to concern himself with such matters. On the other hand, with the world in chaos, the Underworld Office had many affairs to handle. Consequently, the Underworld Iron Tome reacted frequently; it was too frequent, and he had naturally grown weary of it. Eventually, he simply stopped bothering to look.
Of course, if the Underworld Iron Tome reacted intensely, he certainly wouldn't ignore it. After all, that would signify a major event had occurred, just like the fall of the Jingling Great Emperor before.
However, for some time recently, although the Underworld Iron Tome had reacted, its reactions weren't intense. Thus, he hadn't bothered to check what information the Underworld Office had relayed.
Now that he had taken out the Underworld Iron Tome, he wanted to know if the Emissary of Death for New Sun City Underworld Office had truly been replaced, who the new Emissary of Death for New Sun City was, and where the former Emissary of Death, Huo Feihong, had gone.
But a moment later, he was stunned. The notifications in the Underworld Iron Tome contained many reports of Emissaries of Death being transferred among themselves, but there was not a single notification regarding Huo Feihong's transfer.
The smile vanished from Yang Haoran's face, replaced by an expression of bewilderment. He withdrew his gaze from the Underworld Iron Tome and then looked at Tang Shi, who stood before him.
Tang Shi naturally noticed the change in Yang Haoran's expression. Seeing the bewildered look on Yang Haoran's face, he seemed to guess something and immediately asked.
"Master, has the Underworld Iron Tome not notified you of this matter?"
Yang Haoran nodded gently, and then replied.
"No notification. Among the recent reports, there isn't a single piece of information about Huo Feihong."
Upon hearing this, Tang Shi's face also showed a puzzled expression.
Although the Underworld Iron Tome had not reported this matter, Yang Haoran didn't doubt the information Tang Shi had received. He suddenly thought of a possibility, and murmured to himself.
"The New Sun City Underworld Office has replaced an Emissary of Death. Could it be that this isn't a simple transfer at all, but rather something happened to Huo Feihong, and that's why they found another Underworld Official to take over his territory?"
Tang Shi's brows furrowed slightly. He thought for a moment before speaking and asking.
"Does Master mean that Huo Feihong might be dead?"
Yang Haoran nodded gently, and then said.
"According to your previous investigations, he hasn't appeared for some time now. And the New Sun City Underworld Office has been able to operate normally because his trusted subordinates were handling all affairs for him. Now that the New Sun City Underworld Office has suddenly changed Emissaries of Death, there indeed exists the possibility that he is dead."
After Tang Shi finished listening to Yang Haoran's words, this time, he surprisingly didn't nod again. Instead, he gently shook his head.
"Your subordinate, however, believes that the change in the New Sun City Underworld Office's Emissary of Death is not because Huo Feihong died. I think Huo Feihong should still be alive."
"Oh? Why do you think so?"
Tang Shi briefly organized his thoughts, and then immediately stated his opinion.
"Huo Feihong is the local kingpin of New Sun City. He has many businesses in New Sun City. These businesses don't just earn him money; they also generate and collect other useful resources for him. According to the reports from our agents, yesterday, all of his trusted subordinates were dispatched. And they did only one thing: they organized all the assets under his name. All resources that could be taken were removed. Resources that couldn't be taken were entrusted to people they trusted to manage. At that time, although his subordinates acted swiftly, they were not panicking. It didn't look like they were fleeing for their lives; it was more like they were moving. Furthermore, none of his trusted subordinates showed any hint of sadness. If he were truly dead, his subordinates would certainly not react this way."
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