Realm of the Night God

The sloppy looking man was named Ye Zhiqiu. He appeared to be around 37 or 38 years old, looking quite a bit older than Yang Haoran. Though he looked like a beggar, his name had a certain flair to it.

At this moment, Ye Zhiqiu followed behind the bodyguard, passing through the gap in the barrier and successfully entering the interior of Cloud Mist Manor. However, his expression did not improve because of this, his face remaining sullen.

Since the seal on his own power had been completely released, Ye Zhiqiu no longer worried that opening his independent space would allow others to sense his power fluctuations. He casually took out a can of beer from his independent space and drank it by himself.

Ye Zhiqiu releasing the seal on his power was not his idea, but part of Yang Haoran's plan. Yang Haoran had already considered that entering Cloud Mist Manor would not be easy, so he had Ye Zhiqiu release his power fluctuations to draw the other party's attention and let them know such a guest had arrived.

According to Yang Haoran's estimation, as long as Ye Zhiqiu released his power fluctuations, barring any accidents, the other party should not reject them at the door.

And indeed, after Ye Zhiqiu released his power fluctuations, the other party sensed it. That's why the bodyguard inquired about their identities. If he didn't do that, the other party might still have asked about their identities, but would not have given it so much importance, even possibly having no interest in asking at all and simply dismissing them as ordinary people.

However, there was one thing Yang Haoran did not expect. He had thought that after Ye Zhiqiu released his power fluctuations, the other party would show up in person. After all, Ye Zhiqiu's strength was considerable, and the power fluctuations he released were potent. Whether out of safety concerns or courtesy, the other party would likely have appeared to welcome them.

But to Yang Haoran's surprise, the other party did not show up, instead having the bodyguard lead them into the manor.

From this point, it seemed the other party either looked down on Ye Zhiqiu's strength, looked down on Ye Zhiqiu himself, or had something important preventing them from being able to appear.

Following behind Ye Zhiqiu, though Yang Haoran had a smile on his face, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally swept over everything inside the manor, including the buildings and vegetation.

Besides that, he was also sensing the power fluctuations within the manor.

Through his sensing, he detected three power fluctuations - one very strong, while the other two were slightly weaker. These three power fluctuations were distributed in different areas. MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(MVLEMPYR)appreciatesyourreadershipatthesource.

And currently, the area the bodyguard was leading them towards was the one with the strongest power fluctuation.

Both Yang Haoran and Bai Xue had not released the seals on their own power, but they could both clearly sense the existence of these three power fluctuations.

According to what Ye Zhiqiu said, there should be five demon hunters here. Two were slightly stronger than him in strength, while three were slightly weaker. But now they only sensed three power fluctuations. If Ye Zhiqiu wasn't lying, or if the information he gathered wasn't wrong, then the other two were likely not at the manor currently.

For Yang Haoran and the other two, having two fewer opponents was definitely a good thing.

Of course, it's also possible the other two were at the manor, and the reason their presence couldn't be sensed was because they had also sealed their power fluctuations.

However, completely sealing one's power fluctuations on one's own territory, without any special reason or peculiar hobby, is not something anyone would normally do. There's no need for it, and doing so would constantly cause a certain level of expenditure, although not a large one.

So Yang Haoran felt it was very likely the other two demon hunters were not at the manor. If the facts were as he guessed, then this operation would be much simpler.

A moment later, a lake appeared in Yang Haoran's line of sight.

The lake wasn't large, but judging from the color of the water, it was probably quite deep. In the middle of the lake was a pavilion, with a man outside it.

From his appearance, the man looked to be around 33 or 34 years old. He had an ordinary look without any distinguishing features. If one had to say he had a distinguishing feature, it would be the goatee he had.

The man was lying sideways on a chair with his eyes closed, enjoying the warm afternoon sun of winter. Next to him was a pot of hot tea, and in front of him was a fishing rod.

The arrival of Yang Haoran and the others was clearly sensed by Goatee Man, but he didn't get up, nor did he even look in their direction, as if he had really fallen asleep.

The bodyguard's steps did not stop, as he led Yang Haoran and the other two onto the wooden walkway that led directly to the pavilion in the center of the lake.

It took about the time to smoke a cigarette before the bodyguard finally stopped, having brought Yang Haoran and the others to where Goatee Man was.

"Second Boss, the guests you brought are here," the bodyguard respectfully bowed, his attitude more respectful than when previously dealing with Yang Haoran's group, to whom he had only slightly bowed.

Meanwhile, he faced Goatee Man and greeted him with a ninety-degree bow.

Goatee Man didn't open his eyes; he merely waved his hand, signaling the bodyguard to withdraw.

Without saying a word, the bodyguard respectfully withdrew, leaving Yang Haoran and the other two.

After the bodyguard's departure, Goatee Man finally opened his eyes slowly. He sat up slightly in the chair, adjusting himself into the most comfortable position before turning his gaze towards Yang Haoran and the other two, scrutinizing them.

While Goatee Man observed Yang Haoran and the others, Yang Haoran and Bai Xue were also studying this man.

However, Ye Zhiqiu's reaction was different from Yang Haoran and Bai Xue's. He seemed oblivious to Goatee Man's presence, sipping his beer and admiring the surroundings.

Goatee Man's gaze swept over Yang Haoran briefly before turning to Bai Xue.

His gaze lingered a little longer on Bai Xue, giving her a cursory once-over before shifting his attention to Ye Zhiqiu.

Seeing Ye Zhiqiu nonchalantly drinking beer and admiring the scenery, Goatee Man's brow furrowed slightly, his displeasure evident on his face.

"Heh, I was trying to remember who Ye Zhiqiu was for a while, but now I finally recall," Goatee Man said with a hint of reluctance, addressing Ye Zhiqiu.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu took a sip of his beer, redirecting his gaze towards Goatee Man.

"You, sir, are forgetful; it's normal for you not to remember me," Ye Zhiqiu said calmly, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

"It's not that I'm forgetful; it's just that you and I never really had any dealings, so I only remember your face, but I don't have much recollection of your name," Goatee Man replied with a chuckle.

From their conversation and Goatee Man's attitude toward Ye Zhiqiu, Yang Haoran felt that calling them acquaintances was an overstatement; Goatee Man clearly didn't consider Ye Zhiqiu worth his attention.

"I remember you've never been active in our New Yang City; what brings you here today?" Goatee Man asked.

Instead of immediately answering Goatee Man's question, Ye Zhiqiu casually tossed his beer can into the lake before retrieving another from his independent space.

"It's the new year, so I came to pay my respects to a fellow practitioner," Ye Zhiqiu said as he opened the new beer and took a long swig.

Goatee Man glanced at the floating beer can in the lake, his brow furrowing again. He turned his gaze back to Ye Zhiqiu.

"Although we're in the same line of work, we're not on the same path. It's quite unusual for you to come and pay your respects to me. Moreover, your words and actions don't seem like those of someone paying respects; instead, you strike me as someone looking for trouble," Goatee Man said, his tone carrying a hint of coldness.

Yang Haoran observed the situation and inwardly sighed. Letting Ye Zhiqiu act was a disaster; the performance was about to end before it even began. If this play didn't require Ye Zhiqiu's involvement, Yang Haoran would never have cast such an actor—not only was he expressionless, but he also lacked any acting skills. To prevent this play from ending prematurely, Yang Haoran felt compelled to step in and save the scene.