Realm of the Night God

Chapter 93: Appointment

Yang Haoran could sense sincerity in Master Jiang's reminder, and he nodded with a smile in response, saying, "Rest assured, Master Jiang, I'll be careful."

Having interacted with Yang Haoran for some time, Master Jiang knew he was not reckless. Since he had already been reminded, he believed Yang Haoran wouldn't just brush off his words.

"How much has your Yin spirit power improved this time?" Master Jiang asked again.

It was only then that Yang Haoran realized he hadn't checked, as he had been preoccupied with other Night Watch tasks.

Extending his arm, he exerted his Yin spirit power to its fullest, swirling black smoke enveloping his palm. Though it still only covered one hand, the density of the black smoke had doubled since before.

If he wished, he could diffuse his Yin spirit power to cover a wider area, but doing so would dilute it, weakening both defense and offense.

"My Yin spirit power has doubled," Yang Haoran said with a wave of his hand, dispersing the Yin spirit power and smiling at Master Jiang.

"Not bad at all. It took me a whole year to reach your level of Yin spirit power after becoming a Night Watch. You're much stronger than I am," Master Jiang chuckled.

"You're being modest, Master Jiang. I've just been lucky. If it weren't for subduing that evil spirit by chance this time, reaching this level of Yin spirit power within a year would have been difficult," Yang Haoran humbly replied.

Master Jiang didn't dwell on the matter further. He simply smiled and didn't comment on Yang Haoran's words.

After leaving the hall together, the place fell silent. Except for the last day of each month, it remained untouched.

Before leaving, Yang Haoran took several soul gathering beads from the hall. While these beads might seem magical to outsiders, they were common among the Night Watch. However, they were only to be used freely by them. Passing them to anyone outside the Yin Division without authorization would result in punishment if discovered.

Exiting the hall, Yang Haoran continued to assist with various tasks around the temple, joining Master Jiang and other temple priests for lunch at the Death God Temple upon invitation, before returning to the grocery store.

For the next few days, Yang Haoran didn't venture out during the day, focusing on business, recuperating, and reading the books borrowed from Master Jiang.

At night, despite his injuries, he continued his duty of guiding the undead to subdue malevolent spirits. However, in recent days, his harvest had been minimal, finding only a few ordinary undead.

After a few days, his injuries had nearly healed, especially with the infusion of Soul Qi and the enhancement of Yin spirit power, his recovery speed had increased significantly.

Moreover, with the strengthened Yin spirit power, even if he stayed awake all night, he remained energetic during the day. When his body felt weary, a short nap of an hour or two would refresh him completely. This allowed him to continue his business during the day and fulfill his duties at night.

For Yang Haoran, this was indeed a blessing, as it gave him more time to do what he needed.

He had memorized most of the books borrowed from Master Jiang, with only a small portion left to study. However, he was confident he would remember everything before the new year. He felt a bit embarrassed for holding onto the books for so long.

He always cared about returning borrowed items promptly. Even if the lender didn't ask for them back, he felt they might need them and just didn't want to ask. This was something Yang Haoran always paid attention to.

In the afternoon, Yang Haoran received calls from both Wang Yiming and Ma Ling. Since the incident at the Wu Family villa, they had exchanged contact information but hadn't met again.

During this period, both had called to check on Yang Haoran's recovery and to suggest meeting up. Given Yang Haoran's slow recovery, they had postponed the plan.

However, this afternoon, when he received another call, Yang Haoran considered it. Learning that Ma Ling would leave Lecheng soon, he decided to accept the invitation for the evening.

Ma Ling was not from Lecheng but had been brought in by Master Wu from elsewhere. Due to her playful nature, she had stayed in Lecheng after the incident at the Wu Family villa to have some fun before returning home for the holidays. Since her departure was imminent, she didn't want to linger in Lecheng.

In the evening, Yang Haoran closed his grocery store early and dressed neatly for the appointment. Knowing that tonight's rendezvous involved extraordinary individuals, he didn't bring Guanhai along.

While Guanhai knew some of his affairs, Ma Ling and Wang Yiming might not appreciate his presence, especially Wang Yiming, who always seemed stern and difficult to get along with.

Arriving at the designated restaurant, a waiter led Yang Haoran to a private room where Ma Ling and Wang Yiming were already waiting.

Wang Yiming sat with a stern expression, sipping tea, while Ma Ling was absorbed in her mobile phone. They seemed to have little in common and were preoccupied with their own activities.

Yang Haoran didn't expect to be the last one to arrive, nor did he anticipate the awkwardness between Ma Ling and Wang Yiming, who sat there like strangers.

Upon Yang Haoran's arrival, both Ma Ling and Wang Yiming turned their attention to him. Wang Yiming's stern expression softened into a slight smile, while Ma Ling happily stood up, gesturing for Yang Haoran to sit beside her.

The awkward atmosphere dissipated with Yang Haoran's arrival. Wang Yiming and Ma Ling didn't have a good relationship, which Yang Haoran had observed during the incident at the Wu Family villa. However, despite experiencing a life-and-death battle together, their relationship hadn't improved much.

"Bring us the food quickly, I'm starving! And get two bottles of good wine," Ma Ling called out to the waiter as she ushered Yang Haoran to his seat.

"We have a variety of good wines here. May I ask which one you prefer?" the waiter politely inquired.

"The most expensive one," Ma Ling replied without hesitation.

The waiter hesitated for a moment. Ma Ling appeared young, yet she requested the most expensive wine without a second thought. Uncertain if Ma Ling was joking or serious, the waiter looked to Yang Haoran for guidance.

Although Yang Haoran thought a regular wine would suffice, he didn't respond to the waiter. Instead, he smiled and glanced at Ma Ling.

Rolling her eyes, Ma Ling seemed displeased with the waiter's reaction. She reassured, "Don't worry, I'm not joking. I'm serious. Just do as I say."

Recognizing Ma Ling's sincerity, the waiter respectfully acknowledged her request before hurrying out of the room.

The restaurant served the dishes promptly, and soon the table was filled with food and wine. Initially, there were few conversations among the three, but as they drank more and more, their relationships improved, and the topics became more abundant. Even Wang Yiming, who usually wore a stern expression, occasionally laughed heartily.

Tonight's gathering wasn't merely because they possessed abilities beyond ordinary people. It was also because they had faced the red robe evil spirit incident together, forming a bond through shared hardships.

Previously, they found it hard to open up due to unfamiliarity and individual considerations. However, with the assistance of food and alcohol, the situation naturally changed, and they became more relaxed with each other.

While Ma Ling was naturally lively, even Wang Yiming, who typically wore a serious demeanor, became talkative under the influence of alcohol.

It must be said that alcohol could be detrimental, but sometimes, in certain situations, it was indispensable.

"Did you know that day, the reason I could summon so many ghost slaying talismans was because I had drawn almost all ghost slaying talismans in the afternoon? Combined with what I had left from before, I had so many. It's a pity I used them all in one go. Now, thinking back, it still hurts," Wang Yiming, his face flushed with alcohol, spoke loudly enough for the entire room to hear.

Inside the private room, both Yang Haoran and Ma Ling didn't find Wang Yiming's voice too loud. Yang Haoran was accustomed to the noise in such places, while Ma Ling, with her naturally loud voice, didn't find Wang Yiming's voice excessive.

"If it weren't for my Nine-Character Mantra Array injuring the red robe evil spirit first, even if you summoned more ghost slaying talismans, it wouldn't have been effective. Ultimately, it was the might of my Ma family's Nine-Character Mantra Array. If I had been prepared earlier, I wouldn't have fallen into the evil spirit's illusion realm, and I could have taken care of it easily!"

If Ma Ling had said this when they first met, neither Wang Yiming nor Yang Haoran would have believed her. However, after witnessing Ma Ling's Nine-Character Mantra Array, although they still felt her words were exaggerated, they didn't dare to completely refute them.

However, one thing was certain: the Nine-Character Mantra Array was indeed powerful. If Ma Ling had held on for a moment longer, Wang Yiming wouldn't have faced any trouble later.

As they continued chatting, fueled by alcohol, their spirits rose, and the atmosphere grew livelier. However, outside the room, the waiter began to feel uneasy.

"Should I call the police?"

The waiter, holding his mobile phone, looked flustered, unable to decide.