Chapter 999: Ill Intentions
Xiao Kang, understanding Yang Haoran's meaning, once again showed a surge of excitement on his face. This left his mother, Xiujuan, somewhat at a loss, as she didn't quite grasp Yang Haoran's intention.
"Uncle Yang, I understand what you mean. Thank you, Uncle Yang! "
Xiao Kang, with an excited expression, thanked Yang Haoran once more.
"Heh heh, what's there to thank? My heart isn't made of stone. After spending so much time together, I've long since come to regard you as family. I would never do anything that would harm you. Both of you, mother and son, can rest assured. As long as I, Yang Haoran, am alive for even one day, I will ensure your safety. Even if you land yourselves in the gravest of predicaments, I, Yang Haoran, will be the first to bear the brunt of it. You don't need to worry about this matter anymore; just focus on doing your own tasks. I've got everything covered. "
Yang Haoran's words deeply moved both mother and son, especially Xiao Kang, who felt a fervent zeal stirring within him.
"Thank you, Emissary of Death! "
"Thank you, Uncle Yang! "
Yang Haoran didn't dwell on the matter. After a moment of thought, he spoke to the mother and son.
"Xiujuan, tonight I'm planning a gathering for all of us here, so please prepare some good wine and dishes in advance. It shouldn't be meager; it must be grand. Xiao Kang, go assist your mother. "
The mother and son asked no further questions. They withdrew and immediately began preparing for the evening's gathering, as per Yang Haoran's instructions.
After Xiujuan and Xiao Kang left, Yang Haoran's cheerful expression faded. He leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.
At this moment, he was processing everything that had happened since Luo Yao's appearance, as well as all the information he had obtained.
Luo Yao had sought him out because someone had recommended him to Luo Yao. As for who this recommender was, Luo Yao hadn't told him. The first question on his mind was precisely who this recommender was and what their true intentions were.
Blindly guessing would certainly make it difficult to make heads or tails of it, so Yang Haoran opted for the process of elimination.
Luo Yao had come to him this time partly because of his abilities and partly because of his strength. Luo Yao certainly hadn't been very clear on these two points before; it must have been the recommender who informed Luo Yao, which was why Luo Yao had come looking for him.
Based on Yang Haoran's previous analysis, his abilities didn't need to be considered for the moment, as this was no secret. Even if outsiders had varied opinions on his capabilities, it was a fact that they knew something, so this point could be skipped entirely, as no useful insights could be gleaned from it.
What concerned him was that this recommender seemed to have some understanding of his strength. At the very least, this recommender knew that his strength was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. He had thought about this problem before: there were only two types of people who could know that his strength was not as simple as it seemed—his own people or his enemies.
The latter were already dead, so the recommender was most likely the former. However, after further analysis, Yang Haoran felt that the possibility of it being the former was also small.
The reason was simple: no one around him knew Luo Yao, so it would naturally be impossible for them to recommend him to Luo Yao. The only person who could possibly have contact with Luo Yao was Xu Meijing, who was an Emissary of Death just like him.
But based on his understanding of Xu Meijing, he believed she would never do such a thing unless she wanted to harm him. Because only he and Xu Meijing knew why their strengths had increased so rapidly. If Xu Meijing recommended him to Luo Yao, it would be akin to throwing him into the lion's den. If this deception wasn't managed well, it wouldn't just be Yang Haoran who would die; Xu Meijing would also suffer.
As long as Xu Meijing wasn't out of her mind, she would never do such a foolish thing. Moreover, Xu Meijing didn't seem to be very familiar with Luo Yao; at least, he had never heard her mention it. Therefore, he felt the possibility of the recommender being Xu Meijing was almost zero.
Thinking of this, Yang Haoran couldn't help but grow troubled. If it wasn't his enemy, and it wasn't someone close to him, then who could this recommender be?
Yang Haoran lit a cigarette for himself, then straightened out his thinking in his mind. A moment later, his eyes narrowed, and he suddenly thought of someone!
"Could this recommender be him? ! "
The person Yang Haoran suddenly thought of was Huo Feihong, who had disappeared and was very likely taken away by Luo Yao.
Yang Haoran's belief that the recommender was Huo Feihong was not wild speculation; there was a logical basis for it.
First, Huo Feihong had access to Luo Yao, the Guardian, which meant he had the opportunity to recommend others to Luo Yao.
Second, although he had never truly fought Huo Feihong, and Huo Feihong didn't know his true strength, Xia Yu not only failed in her assassination attempt but also ended up with her soul utterly annihilated. This indicated that his strength was likely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Third, after he killed Xia Yu, Huo Feihong would surely first suspect him as the culprit. Thus, Huo Feihong would inevitably investigate him. The matter of him keeping ghosts was not a secret. Huo Feihong would only need to conduct a slight investigation to know of Xiujuan's existence. If he recommended him to Luo Yao, Luo Yao would certainly come looking for him, and might even try to understand his abilities. In that case, Luo Yao would easily discover the ghost-keeping matter, which inherently violated the laws of the Underworld Office. Luo Yao naturally wouldn't turn a blind eye, and he would inevitably be punished.
It was precisely because of these three points that he speculated the person who recommended him to Luo Yao was Huo Feihong. If his conjecture proved true, then Huo Feihong's recommendation of him to Luo Yao certainly had no good intentions whatsoever. Whether it was to let Luo Yao know of Xiujuan's existence, or to recommend him to Gu Mo City, the ultimate goal would be just one: to cause his demise.
It was unlikely that merely the matter of Xiujuan would lead to him losing his life. He believed that with Huo Feihong's intelligence, he couldn't possibly fail to consider this. Therefore, he felt that Huo Feihong recommending him to Luo Yao for the Gu Mo City assignment was the crucial point, the true killing blow.
"Heh heh, it seems this Gu Mo City is even more dangerous than I imagined. "
Yang Haoran took a puff from his cigarette, then chuckled softly. He didn't look troubled by this; instead, a look of keen interest appeared on his face.
This was naturally because his confidence stemmed from his superior abilities. Regardless of whether his conjecture was true, in his opinion, Huo Feihong didn't know his true strength, and Luo Yao naturally didn't either. If they misjudged his strength, how much harm could their petty conspiracies cause him from behind the scenes?
Perhaps for an Emissary of Death who had only opened their Heaven Soul, Gu Mo City was a dragon's lair and a tiger's den, a situation of near-certain death. But for him, who had opened both his Heaven and Earth Souls, it was naturally a different matter. While not entirely without danger, the peril was significantly reduced.
It was precisely for this reason that no trace of worry could be seen on his face, as he simply found no reason to be troubled.
As for why he agreed to Luo Yao's transfer to Gu Mo City, on one hand, Luo Yao was his direct superior. While their relative strengths were debatable, the fact remained that Luo Yao was a Guardian and he was an Emissary of Death under Luo Yao. As long as he wanted to continue to operate under Luo Yao and do so effectively, he naturally had to comply with Luo Yao's directives, at least on the surface.
On the other hand, Lecheng's resources were indeed quite limited. As his strength grew, his ambitions also soared. Paltry resources scarcely deemed worthy of attention, and given that others in his team also required a large amount of resources, he had to find a way to acquire more. Only then could he rapidly improve the strength of everyone in his team.
Although Tang Shi was also collecting resources for him, the resources collected by Tang Shi alone were far from enough and simply could not satisfy his ambition. He wanted to obtain even more resources, after all, for an ambitious person, they never feel they have too many resources.
Therefore, he needed a larger platform to fulfill his ambitions, and Gu Mo City was one of the few large cities under Luo Yao, perfect for him to display his full capabilities.
If he had to abandon Lecheng to go to Gu Mo City, he would naturally have many regrets. But if he could go to Gu Mo City while still preserving Lecheng, then he naturally wouldn't refuse.
Aside from these reasons, he agreed to go to Gu Mo City for one more purpose!
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