Chapter 397: Surveillance |
In less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Yang Haoran's mobile phone rang.
The person calling him was none other than Captain Luo.
"Envoy Yang, I've pinpointed the location of the target. She's currently in Liangshui Township."
"Okay, got it. I'll head over right away. Thank you Captain Luo," Yang Haoran responded with a smile.
"No need to thank me. Be careful, and remember to notify me immediately if anything unexpected happens," Captain Luo said.
"I understand. Let's leave it at that for now."
Hanging up the phone, the smile on Yang Haoran's face deepened. What he had been most worried about was not being able to confirm Zhao Hong's location. If that were the case, it would be much more difficult to find the target.
If the target really had gone back to her hometown as the gatekeeper claimed, it wouldn't be too bad. But if she hadn't actually gone home, where would they look for her?
Fortunately, the outcome he feared most did not occur. Since the target's location had been pinpointed accurately, it would naturally save a lot of unnecessary trouble.
However, according to the records, Zhao Hong's hometown was indeed in Liangshui Township.
Yang Haoran had thought that Zhao Hong's return to Liangshui might just be an excuse for taking leave, but he didn't expect that she had actually gone back to her hometown.
The only thing Yang Haoran couldn't be sure of was whether something had happened in Zhao Hong's family.
Based on the information, it seemed that Zhao Hong was the only one left in her family now. If there were no relatives left, what could have happened in her family?
Yang Haoran didn't quite understand the reason, but he felt it would be better to head to Liangshui first. Perhaps many questions would be answered then.
It was not only a long journey from Lecheng to Liangshui, but the road conditions were also poor. By the time Yang Haoran and Bai Xue drove over the mountains to get to Liangshui, night had completely fallen.
"What should we do now?" Bai Xue asked Yang Haoran in the car.
Just as her words fell, the sound of gong beating drifted into their ears.
"That sound is..."
Bai Xue was unfamiliar with the sound and didn't know what it meant. However, for Yang Haoran who had grown up in the countryside, he was very familiar with it.
"Someone is holding a funeral. Let's go take a look," Yang Haoran said.
"What's there to see at a funeral?" Bai Xue asked, puzzled.
"I learned from the old gatekeeper that this Zhao Hong is a kind-hearted person. Since there's a funeral being held here, we might run into her."
Whether Zhao Hong was truly kind-hearted or if there was another motive behind her apparent kindness, Yang Haoran couldn't say for sure.
However, since everyone regarded her as a kind person, she should enjoy helping others, at least outwardly. Otherwise, how could she have earned such a good reputation?
If she liked to help people, then with someone holding a funeral in town, how could she possibly miss it? Perhaps this was the very reason Zhao Hong had returned to Liangshui.
Bai Xue was somewhat skeptical, but Yang Haoran didn't explain further and drove towards the sound.
After a moment, the car stopped. Up ahead, sure enough, a family was holding a funeral. A yin-yang master was chanting scriptures and performing rites, while others beat gongs and recited something.
The spot where Yang Haoran parked was not the only vehicle there - there were several other cars as well, likely belonging to the deceased's relatives or friends.
The addition of another car went unnoticed, as the noisy scene of gong-beating and chanting drowned out the sound of the engine. Thus, no one paid any attention to the extra car under the cover of night.
Looking at the funeral taking place, neither Yang Haoran nor Bai Xue got out of the car.
"Do you sense anything?" Yang Haoran asked Bai Xue.
"There's a faint wave of power," Bai Xue said after sensing for a moment.
Yang Haoran nodded. He had also sensed this faint oscillation of power, as well as the presence of yin energy.
"If nothing unexpected happens, this wave of power should be emanating from Zhao Hong's body," Yang Haoran said.
"But the force is too weak. It's very difficult to gauge her actual strength from such a faint reading," Bai Xue remarked.
This was indeed a concern for Yang Haoran as well. Setting aside whether the force really came from Zhao Hong, even if it did, it would be hard to judge her true abilities based on such a feeble reading.
"Let's not rush for now. Let's see how things unfold before deciding," Yang Haoran said.
As his words fell, a middle-aged woman emerged from the house across the way. This woman had an ordinary appearance and simple peasant clothing - nothing out of the ordinary in any way.
Yet her appearance caused Yang Haoran and Bai Xue's expressions to change slightly.
For this woman was none other than the target of their trip - the spirit master Zhao Hong!
In the file sent by Captain Luo, there were naturally photos of Zhao Hong. Yang Haoran and Bai Xue had carefully studied Zhao Hong's information, so they recognized her appearance.
The faint power fluctuation they had sensed earlier did indeed emanate from Zhao Hong. Initially, they weren't sure because they hadn't seen Zhao Hong in person. But now that she had appeared, it was easy to discern that the feeble force came from her.
After coming out, Zhao Hong said something to the yin-yang master, then went back inside. Shortly after, she brought out a few stools from the house and handed them to the master.
In that short period, Zhao Hong kept going in and out of the house, appearing very busy. From her actions, she seemed to be helping out at the deceased's family home.
If not for sensing the faint power emanating from Zhao Hong and knowing her identity as a spirit master, Yang Haoran and Bai Xue would have likely just seen her as an ordinary peasant woman.
"Should I test her strength?" Bai Xue asked Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran shook his head, disagreeing with Bai Xue's approach.
"That could easily alert her. Let's not do that for now. We should observe for a while longer. If I can't think of a better way during that time, then we can look for an opportunity to probe, but not recklessly in a way that exposes us."
After locking onto the target, the two didn't go anywhere else, staying in the car and closely monitoring Zhao Hong's every move, not missing any details.
As night fell, many of the people who had come to help the deceased's family began to leave one by one. Zhao Hong was no exception, exiting the house.
However, compared to the other helpers, Zhao Hong didn't leave until midnight, much later.
Seeing Zhao Hong leave, Bai Xue turned her gaze to Yang Haoran.
"Underworld Envoy, what should we do? Should we follow her?" Bai Xue asked.
"Following her could easily get us discovered. Do you have a better idea?" Yang Haoran asked.
"A better idea?" Bai Xue frowned slightly in thought, then asked Yang Haoran, "As long as we can monitor her, is that enough?"
Yang Haoran nodded. "If we can monitor her without being discovered, that would be best."
Receiving Yang Haoran's affirmative response, Bai Xue smiled mischievously with a hint of smugness.
"If it's just about monitoring her, I do have a good method. But this method can only monitor her, not discern her strength."
"This Liangshui Township isn't big. If she unleashes all her power, I can sense it even if I'm not by her side and make a rough assessment of her abilities. So for now, just use your methods to keep surveillance on her," Yang Haoran said.
"Alright, let me show you my tricks." Bai Xue grinned and closed her eyes.
As Bai Xue's eyes closed, various snakes around Liangshui Township emerged from inconspicuous corners, as if answering some mysterious summons.
Yang Haoran didn't know what Bai Xue was doing, nor could he sense the change in the local snake population. Seeing Bai Xue close her eyes with such focus, he couldn't help but ask,
"What are you doing?"
"Controlling the local snakes to monitor the target. Don't worry, I'm being very careful. She won't notice," Bai Xue confidently assured.
[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]