Chapter 54: Im Really Not a Petty Person
"I can feel it, everything you've told me is the truth," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
"It's all true! It's all true! Even if I had the guts of a giant, I wouldn't dare deceive you, Big Brother Underworld Envoy!" Gao Liang quickly assured.
Although Gao Liang had just been full of murderous intent, when facing Yang Haoran now, he suddenly became timid.
"You don't need to assure me. I know you haven't lied to me. But, have you forgotten that Guanhai is my friend?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
Gao Liang was stunned. Yang Haoran's words made his fierce expression tremble, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.
Just mentioning Guanhai ignited his anger. Lost in venting his rage, he had indeed forgotten that Guanhai was a friend of the Underworld Envoy in front of him.
Now that Yang Haoran brought it up, he panicked.
Seeing Gao Liang in a fluster, Yang Haoran chuckled and said, "No need to be nervous. I'm not someone who nitpicks. Besides, I can understand your feelings very well. If it were me, my reaction might be even stronger than yours. So, I won't hold it against you for your normal emotions."
Gao Liang was touched and quickly thanked him, as if Yang Haoran had done him a great favor.
"Brother Underworld Envoy, Qingqing and I..." Gao Liang hesitated.
Yang Haoran slapped his forehead, saying, "Look at me, getting off track. I apologize."
"It's okay, it's okay, Brother Underworld Envoy, can you tell me what to do now?" Gao Liang quickly asked.
"I am Underworld Envoy, I can't do anything to humans, but when it comes to ghosts, hehe, I have some methods. If you want to be with her forever, I can't do anything about her being alive unless..." Yang Haoran smiled mysteriously, leaving it unsaid.
"Unless what?" Gao Liang became anxious, apparently not understanding Yang Haoran's implication.
"Unless what? Well, you think about it yourself. I'll give you the duration of a cigarette. When I put it out, I need your definite answer."
Saying this, Yang Haoran took out a cigarette from the pack, ignoring Gao Liang, and lit it, taking a deep drag.
After only a few puffs, Gao Liang realized. He seemed to understand the meaning behind Yang Haoran's words just now, and his soul began to tremble and twist.
"Brother Underworld Envoy, are you suggesting... I should kill Qingqing?" Gao Liang's tone carried uncertainty.
A hint of a smile deepened on Yang Haoran's face. After taking another drag of the cigarette, he reluctantly said, "You're very clever."
With Yang Haoran's confirmation, Gao Liang's emotions suddenly became excited!
"No! No, I can't do that! How could I kill her! She's the love of my life! I just want to protect her! I don't want to harm her!"
Yang Haoran didn't seem surprised by Gao Liang's reaction at all. He flicked the ash off his cigarette, smiled, and said, "Then there's no way. From now on, you can only watch her dine, drink, bathe, and sleep with other men as before. But, ask yourself calmly, is that really what you want?"
Gao Liang's emotions didn't stabilize because of Yang Haoran's words, but Yang Haoran didn't seem rushed either.
"Since Wang Qing is your true love, can you really bear to watch her become someone else's plaything, to see her continue to degrade herself like this?" This seemed to have a significant impact on Gao Liang. Yang Haoran noticed Gao Liang's reaction and took another drag of his cigarette, striking while the iron was hot.
"Ask yourself, do you really just want to protect her?"
This seemed to provoke Gao Liang. Without hesitation, he immediately exclaimed, "Of course, I love her, so I must protect her!"
"Wrong!" Yang Haoran directly negated, not giving Gao Liang a chance to retort, and continued, "What you truly want is to possess her, not to protect her, isn't that right?"
This statement momentarily stunned Gao Liang, then his eyes became conflicted.
"Perhaps I'm being too direct, but you can't deny that what I said is your true inner desire." Yang Haoran flicked the cigarette ash casually and continued, "You don't have to deny it. Although I can't see your experiences after becoming undead, I can see your past life. As an observer, I see much clearer than you. Do you really want to protect Wang Qing, or do you want to possess her? Can't I see through that?"
This time, Gao Liang fell silent.
Seeing this, Yang Haoran's smile grew even broader. "The reason you can't argue with me is that I hit the mark. Although you're reluctant to admit it, you have to. Don't worry, death isn't as terrifying as you imagine. Look at you now, living quite well, right? Death is the end, but also the beginning."
With that, Yang Haoran pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray.
"The time for one cigarette is up. Tell me your choice. Oh, a friendly reminder, you only get one chance. Once you miss it, it's gone."
Yang Haoran looked at Gao Liang with a smile, seemingly indifferent to whatever choice Gao Liang would make.
"Your real intention is to use me to kill Qingqing, isn't it?" Gao Liang asked in a deep voice.
Yang Haoran remained unchanged in demeanor, appearing nonchalant. He looked at Gao Liang and replied with a smile, "Kill her? Why would I want to kill her?"
"Because you have some grudges with her. I saw clearly what happened at the bar tonight," Gao Liang answered solemnly.
Yang Haoran chuckled and said, "Indeed, I do have some grievances with her, but would I kill her over such trivial conflicts? Wouldn't that make me petty? Do you think I'm such a petty person?"
Gao Liang wanted to answer yes, but he dared not. After a few seconds of struggle, he made a decision!
"I agree, but you mustn't break your promise!"
Yang Haoran was right; Gao Liang had been relentlessly pursuing Wang Qing, desiring only to possess her. All talk of protecting her for a lifetime was nonsense, just a veil to cover his desires.
His obsession was to have Wang Qing, regardless of life or death!
Since he couldn't have her while alive, he must have her after death. Otherwise, he would have no chance!
Yang Haoran's words completely opened up Gao Liang's desires. He didn't have any feelings for Wang Qing; he just wanted to possess her. Now that he had the opportunity, he really didn't want to miss it!
At this moment, the veil covering his desires seemed to have been thrown away.
Yang Haoran's expression didn't change because of Gao Liang's agreement. With a smile on his face, he waved his index finger from side to side and said, "You're wrong. What do you mean by 'agreeing with me'? You should know I'm helping you, not the other way around. This is important, understand?"
Gao Liang wanted to argue, but considering Yang Haoran's identity, he held back. He still needed the Underworld Envoy's help, and he didn't want to upset him at this time.
"Brother Underworld Envoy is right. Thank you for your help, Brother Underworld Envoy. But, I'm just undead, with no attack power. Even if I want to take Qingqing away, I don't have the ability. If I slowly infiltrate her body with Yin Qi, it will take a long time to achieve the goal," Gao Liang looked troubled.
"It's up to you how to do it, but I'll give you only tonight. If you succeed, I'll help you. If you fail, there's nothing I can do. However, before dawn tomorrow, regardless of success or failure, I want to see you here. If you dare to run away..."
At this point, Yang Haoran's eyes narrowed into slits. "Hehe, there's a mark on you that I planted. Wherever you run, I can find you. If you don't believe it, you can try."
Gao Liang didn't have any mark planted by Yang Haoran on him. He had no idea about such methods, but being a naive young lad who had never stepped into society, he believed it instantly.
Gao Liang's face trembled, showing a fearful expression. He quickly assured, "Brother Underworld Envoy, rest assured, I definitely won't run away, absolutely not!"
Yang Haoran waved his hand and said, "Go, you don't have much time left. Good luck."
With Yang Haoran's permission, Gao Liang's soul turned into a mass of Yin Qi and disappeared through the curtain door.
After Gao Liang left, Yang Haoran put away the Ghost Eye and lit another cigarette from the pack.
Taking a deep drag, he leaned back in his chair, smiling, and sighed, "People should keep a low profile. What's wrong with causing less trouble for oneself? With limited abilities, don't think you're great and stir up trouble everywhere. In the end, you'll only end up losing."
He shook his head and picked up the mirror he had used earlier, inspecting the scar on his face while muttering to himself as if nothing had happened.
"If Gao Liang is incompetent and you can survive tonight, then our grievances will be settled. If you can't survive tonight, it means you and Gao Liang are truly destined. I will bless you. I've prepared a house for you both."
With that, Yang Haoran put down the mirror and picked up the Soul Gathering Bead.
The house he mentioned referred to this Soul Gathering Bead.
"I didn't want to resort to such methods against a little girl like you, but you shouldn't have harbored murderous intentions towards me, let alone scar my face."
Although Yang Haoran didn't know about the incident between Wang Qing and Fatty Qu in the KTV, he sensed the killing intent emanating from Wang Qing when she left the bar.
That killing intent was so strong that even if he hadn't activated the Death Mark Seal, he could still feel it.
Coupled with Guanhai's words when he left the bar, he knew that Wang Qing had some connections. If he didn't get rid of such a person, trouble would surely ensue in the future.
Yang Haoran didn't want to stir up trouble. He just wanted to move towards his ideals step by step. Letting go of minor matters and not being bothered, he didn't want to bother, but if someone tried to mess with him, he wouldn't keep silent. His inner demon would erupt.
This is true now and will be true in the future!
"In fact, I'm really not a petty person."
With that, Yang Haoran put away the Soul Gathering Bead and took out the book Master Jiang had lent him, carefully flipping through its pages.