Realm of the Night God

The reason Yang Haoran made a move truly infuriated Elder Zhang. He never expected that Yang Haoran's sudden action would be for such a reason.

"Roar at me and resort to violence at once, is there still any law in this world?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Elder Zhang regretted them. He realized his statement lacked finesse and was bound to be retorted by Yang Haoran.

Sure enough, Yang Haoran chuckled and asked, "You brought people to besiege my villa. Do you have any sense of law in your eyes?"

"You..." Elder Zhang's expression turned ugly. He wanted to retort, but Yang Haoran didn't give him the chance.

"I saved a black talisman master from your Fu Sect. Instead of gratitude, you came here to cause trouble. Do you still have a conscience?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile again.

"I..." Before Elder Zhang could speak, Yang Haoran retorted him again.

"Upholding justice, doing good deeds, aren't these the teachings of your Fu Sect? If you disregard the law and conscience, what's the point of upholding justice or doing good deeds?" Yang Haoran asked again.

Before Elder Zhang could speak, Jiang Die spoke up ahead of him.

"We besieged your villa today because of the serpent demon! We didn't thank you for the same reason! We exorcise demons and evil spirits to uphold justice and accumulate virtue! Yet you, as the prestigious Burial Master of the Yin Division, dare to consort with demons. Aren't you afraid of being held accountable by the Yin Division?"

Jiang Die broke free from Wang Yiming's grasp, speaking angrily as she approached Yang Haoran. When her voice fell, she had returned to her previous seat, but instead of sitting down, she glared fiercely at Yang Haoran.

Behind Yang Haoran, the serpent demon Bai Xue's eyes had turned into snake-like slits, regarding Jiang Die like prey, brimming with cold killing intent.

As she hadn't received permission from Yang Haoran, she refrained from acting. However, she was prepared. If Jiang Die made a move, whether it was against Yang Haoran or herself, she would retaliate immediately.

Elder Zhang remained silent. Jiang Die's rebuttal seemed forceful enough to him, so he didn't need to say anything further, just needed to be wary of Yang Haoran making another move.

At the same time, he wanted to see how Yang Haoran would respond to Jiang Die's questioning because he needed more reasons to act. With more reasons to act, whether it was their superiors in the Fu Sect or the higher-ups in the Yin Division investigating, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage. So, instead of acting immediately, he waited for Yang Haoran's response.

With a smile on his face, Yang Haoran looked at Jiang Die and chuckled, "I thought you were mute, turns out you're not. Quite surprising."

Jiang Die's expression turned angry, about to make a move against Yang Haoran, but was stopped by a glance from Elder Zhang.

Yang Haoran's smile remained unchanged as he took out a box of cigarettes, lit one for himself, then placed the cigarette and lighter on the table, saying, "Help yourself if you want to smoke."

Seeing Yang Haoran completely ignoring Jiang Die's question, Elder Zhang frowned, looking displeased and somewhat impatient.

"Divine envoy Yang, let me be clear. The serpent demon behind you has killed countless people. Not only did she hex Jiang Die into madness years ago, she also harmed a yellow talisman master of our Fu Sect. Both morally and publicly, we in the Fu Sect have no reason to let her go. If you hand her over to me today, I'll leave immediately, and as a token of gratitude, I'll offer you ten black talismans from this talisman bag. If there's a need in the future, our Lecheng Fu Sect will definitely be your best ally!"

Finally laying out his proposition, Yang Haoran smiled faintly and said, "That's quite enticing. But what if I refuse?"

"If you refuse, then I'm sorry, I'll have to offend you. Even if it means resorting to force, I'll take her away today. Or, I'll let her die here directly."

As Elder Zhang said this, he glanced at the serpent demon behind Yang Haoran, his eyes filled with a fierce killing intent.

Yang Haoran's expression remained unchanged by Elder Zhang's words. He still smiled faintly and said, "Alright then, she's right here. Go ahead and try."

With Yang Haoran's words, the atmosphere became tense.

Wang Yiming, seeing this, was as restless as an ant on a hot pan. A confrontation between the two sides was the last thing he wanted to see.

"Master! Brother Yang! Please calm down! Let's talk it out!" Wang Yiming hurriedly interjected.

At his words, Yang Haoran wiped the smile off his face, his brows slightly furrowed. Wang Yiming's presence did indeed complicate matters for him.

Because of Wang Yiming before, he had endured as much as he could. But if he continued to be patient, he would end up in a very passive position. So he had to show his strong side, even though doing so would put Wang Yiming in an awkward position.

Elder Zhang, on the other hand, frowned as well, but his reaction was different from Yang Haoran's.

"Shut up!" Elder Zhang snapped at Wang Yiming, then turned to Yang Haoran, his voice grave as he asked, "Divine envoy Yang, by protecting her now, are you choosing to be enemies with our Fu Sect?"

Originally, it was a grudge between the Fu Sect and the serpent demon Bai Xue, but Elder Zhang's words suddenly elevated it to a clash between the Fu Sect and the Yin Division.

"Can you represent the Fu Sect?" Yang Haoran looked at Elder Zhang, smiling as he asked.

"Since I'm the overall responsible person of the Lecheng Fu Sect, I certainly can represent the Fu Sect," Elder Zhang responded.

Yang Haoran nodded, then continued with a smile, "Alright, since you can represent the Fu Sect, let me tell you, I can also represent the Yin Division."

Elder Zhang's face darkened like water as he asked in a low voice, "By saying this, divine envoy Yang, are you trying to provoke a conflict between the Yin Division and our Fu Sect?"

Taking a drag of his cigarette, Yang Haoran chuckled, leaning back on the sofa as he said, "Zhang, don't speak recklessly. The one provoking the conflict isn't me, but her, the people of your Fu Sect."

With that said, Yang Haoran pointed at Jiang Die.

Seeing Yang Haoran pointing at her, Jiang Die's expression turned furious as she shouted, "You're talking nonsense! When did I do such a thing?"

"Just giving you a friendly reminder. If you keep yelling at me, don't blame me for defending myself again," Yang Haoran said with a threatening tone in his voice.

"Divine envoy Yang, if all you can do is spew blood from your mouth, then I've indeed overestimated you," Elder Zhang said solemnly.

"Spewing blood from my mouth? Haha, it seems like Zhang has some misunderstanding about my character. How could I, a dignified Burial Master of the Yin Division, possibly spew blood from my mouth?" Yang Haoran laughed.

[Tl: The phrase "spew blood from your mouth" is used metaphorically to suggest that Yang Haoran's words are unreliable or nonsensical.]

Elder Zhang frowned, not speaking, but waiting for Yang Haoran to continue.

Yang Haoran had no intention of playing coy and continued speaking.

"Initially, after I saved your black talisman master, I decided to go up the mountain to take care of things. But who would have thought that when your black talisman master woke up, instead of thanking me, she activated the demon suppression talisman and attacked me. I almost died at her hands, saved only by Bai Xue. If not for her, I might have lost my life."

Whether Jiang Die intentionally targeted him with the demon suppression talisman at the time, he wasn't sure. However, the demon suppression talisman did attack him.

At the time, the attack from the demon suppression talisman didn't affect him much, and breaking it didn't require much effort. The idea that his life was in danger and Bai Xue saved him was nonsensical.

However, in this situation, he couldn't tell the truth. Elder Zhang was looking for a reason to act, and he naturally wanted to give himself a noble reason.

Although what he said was a lie, Yang Haoran said it as if it were true, as if such an event had indeed occurred.

With Yang Haoran's words, Jiang Die was once again infuriated. She shouted, "Back then, I activated the demon suppression talisman to kill the serpent demon. What does that have to do with you? Besides, with your strength, could my few demon suppression talismans kill you? You're just talking nonsense!"

Hearing this, Yang Haoran looked at Elder Zhang with a wry smile and said, "You see, she's yelling at me again. I wanted to defend myself, but if I did, you would accuse me of being guilty. It's quite a dilemma for me."

Ignoring Yang Haoran's pretense, Elder Zhang said in a deep voice, "Jiang Die is right. With just a few demon suppression talismans, how could they possibly kill you, divine envoy Yang? Who would believe such a thing?"

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. Before your black talisman master attacked me, I had already fought a malevolent spirit halfway up the mountain. You can ask Deputy Captain Zhou of the Spirit Police if I fought a malevolent spirit in the black water pool. After leaving the black water pool, I encountered another malevolent spirit."

"At that time, I was already seriously injured. But considering that there might be more trouble on the mountain, I dragged my injured body to the top of the mountain, intending to eliminate the threat to prevent more people from dying. But little did I know, after I went up the mountain, I almost died under the demon suppression talisman, and the one who saved me was the very threat I wanted to eliminate."

With that said, Yang Haoran paused, glancing at Jiang Die, who was furious, and then at Elder Zhang, who looked grim. He extinguished the cigarette in his hand with a smile and continued speaking.

"You don't understand the principle of repaying kindness. I do. Even if you disregard my lifesaving grace, it's your way of doing things. But I can't ignore my savior, because I have my principles."

"Moreover, she has now become a devout believer of my god. As a devout believer of my god, as the Underworld Envoy, I have a responsibility to protect her. So, what's wrong with me helping her, both publicly and privately?"