Anyang Town.

The morning sun was splendid.

Not until the sun was high in the sky did Chen Hao and his companions, who had been busy until after one o'clock in the morning, wake up. Besides them, Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping also stayed in the same inn, in the room next door to Chen Hao and Xie Xiaofeng.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping knocked on the door of the room where Chen Hao was staying.

After a while, Xie Xiaofeng, who had just finished brushing his teeth and washing his face, opened the door, still holding a wet towel in his left hand.

"Sister Luo, Brother-in-law, good morning!" Xie Xiaofeng greeted Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping enthusiastically.

Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping laughed heartily, seemingly overjoyed.

"Are you all awake? Did we disturb your sleep?" Luo Luo asked.

"We're all up, you jerk... oh no... Chen Hao is brushing his teeth and washing his face, he'll be right out. Please, come in and take a seat!" Xie Xiaofeng hurriedly ushered Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping into the room as he spoke.

Just as Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping sat down, Chen Hao finished freshening up and came out. Seeing them, he first smiled and then said, "Good morning, Sister Luo and Brother-in-law!"

After returning Chen Hao's smile, Luo Luo said, "Chen Hao, Xiao Feng, it was too late and we were too tired last night to have a proper talk before everyone went to sleep. Now, my husband and I have come to discuss some matters with you."

"Go ahead, Sister Luo!"

"First, I can't help but praise you two. We've heard about how you defeated King Mieji. It's really quite impressive!" said Luo Luo with a smile and a slightly excited tone.

"Sister Luo, that has nothing to do with me. You should just praise Chen Hao! It was he who took on King Mieji alone and defeated him; I didn't even lift a finger!" explained Xie Xiaofeng, shaking his hands.

"What are you talking about!" Luo Luo rolled her eyes at Xie Xiaofeng, her tone containing a hint of reproach, "Whether it was Chen Hao who defeated King Mieji alone or not, you are comrades who have faced life and death together. Of course, the credit should be shared among all of you."

"Exactly, exactly! You're absolutely right, Sister Luo!" Xie Xiaofeng grinned and nodded repeatedly.

"By the way, Sister Luo, what brings you to Anyang Town? It's so close to D City, aren't you afraid of being caught by them?" Chen Hao suddenly asked with curiosity.

After exchanging a glance with Luo Luo, Zhang Chuiping explained with a helpless expression, "Everywhere within East Country, there are spies from the Yin Yang Master Association. We didn't know where else to go! Don't they say the most dangerous places are often the safest? So, after discussing it, we decided to take a gamble and settled on Anyang Town, which borders D City. Fortunately, we haven't run into any trouble these past few days."

"Chen Hao!" Right after Zhang Chuiping finished speaking, Luo Luo quickly took over, "In half a month's time, the national Onmyoji conference will be held. You're almost at D City now, so what's your plan?"

"What else can I do?" Chen Hao chuckled dismissively, "When the time comes, I'll just kick those old fogies off their pedestals in front of all the Onmyoji representatives and strip them of their Yang Energy Power."

Hearing Chen Hao say this, Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping immediately showed shock and disappointment in their eyes. After a sigh, Zhang Chuiping shook his head and said, "Chen Hao, I'm afraid that won't work. To remove those old fogies from power, you need concrete evidence and justifiable cause. You can't just punish people without any reason—it won't convince the masses."

Upon hearing Zhang Chuiping's words, Chen Hao's expression instantly turned extremely ugly. Zhang Chuiping was about to add more, but was interrupted by Luo Luo who noticed Chen Hao's expression and gave Zhang Chuiping a nudge with her elbow.

Then, the room fell into an awkward silence.

"Chen Hao," Luo Luo called out with a serious tone, then looked at Chen Hao and asked softly, "Tell sister what's really on your mind?"

Chen Hao let out a mocking laugh, then said with a grim face, "To be honest, I find it quite amusing. Hasn't the Yin Yang Master Association and the Disciplinary Council been up to no good for years? Which Onmyoji doesn't know about their deeds? These things that are plain for all to see still need evidence? The funniest part is that 'convincing the masses' line. Do they really think that if I kindly get rid of such a scourge for all Onmyoji in the country, they'll turn around and complain to me about it?"

After speaking, Chen Hao didn't forget to look at Zhang Chuiping and let out a sneer, which caused Zhang Chuiping's complexion to turn ashen.

Luo Luo's expression darkened, and her gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Hao and Zhang Chuiping, not knowing what to say.

Another moment of silence followed.

"Sister Luo, to speak frankly," Xie Xiaofeng broke the silence in the room, "Actually, I find it quite amusing that there are still people who think reasoning with the bad guys works. I don't know if it's because you are too old-fashioned or we are too young. Anyway, my view is the same as Chen Hao's. Either we teach those old guys a lesson in front of all the national Onmyoji, or we just skip the national Onmyoji conference and continue on our path of exorcising demons and eliminating evil. They wouldn't dare to provoke us anyway."

When Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping heard Xie Xiaofeng say they wouldn't attend the national Onmyoji conference, utter astonishment was immediately written across their faces. If Chen Hao and the others didn't go to take down the people from the Yin Yang Master Association and the Discipline Management Committee this time, they would likely continue their life on the run, dodging the pursuit of the Discipline Management Committee.

Chen Hao, Xiao Feng, you are our hope, we will listen to whatever you say," Luo Luo said with a distressed face, hurriedly adding, "You're right, we were too old-fashioned, which is why we couldn't fight them off. To deal with them, we have to use the way you said—quick and decisive. However, these past few days, my sister and brother-in-law have contacted many Onmyoji who were oppressed by them, and we could expose their misdeeds in front of all the national Onmyoji!

At that moment, Chen Hao suddenly stood up, slowly walked to the bedside, and gazing out of the window at the sunlit land and streets, he sighed, "With such splendid weather, it's unbelievable that there are still people sympathizing with the dark clouds! Whether to expose or to provide evidence against their actions is up to you, but our fists will definitely land on those old scoundrels' faces, regardless of whether we have a just cause or whether it convinces everyone."

Suddenly, Chen Hao turned his head back, looked at Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping with seriousness and said, "Everything we do is to remain true to our conscience, not to convince the public. We only wish to live up to the three words 'Onmyoji', to live up to the abilities and responsibilities that come with our birthright!"

The sunlight scattered through the window glass onto Chen Hao. In the eyes of an at-loss Luo Luo and Zhang Chuiping at that moment, Chen Hao seemed to be radiating with brilliant light.

"Thump, thump, thump!" At that time, there came another knock on the door.

Xie Xiaofeng quickly got up, saying, "I'll go open the door!"

He had thought it would be Ye Yuqiao and Tang Jing, but when the door opened, what appeared before him was a police officer in uniform.

"Hello!" The police officer smiled and greeted Xie Xiaofeng.

"Oh!" Xie Xiaofeng exclaimed in surprise, recalling that this was the same police officer who had stopped them the night before when they were entering AnYang Town. They were only allowed to go after he showed the work ID of the Y City Onmyoji.

"Officer, what brings you here so early? It's not that we've caused some trouble and you're here to arrest us, is it?"

The police officer immediately shook his head, smilingly explaining, "No, no! The chaos resolved shortly after you entered town last night, and it must have been thanks to you. We haven't even had the chance to thank you, so why would we arrest you? I've come to ask for your help with an urgent matter."

"Then come in and talk."

After taking a seat in the room, the police officer told Chen Hao and the others: After last night's Soul Corpse incident was resolved, firefighters who were in charge of cleanup discovered a cargo truck in front of a warehouse on the north side of town, and later found four bodies on the truck, which were then transported to the police station. However, this morning when the coroner came to perform autopsies, they discovered that the four bodies had mysteriously disappeared.

The staff at the station checked the surveillance footage and found that until 4:45:15 in the morning, the bodies were still in the mortuary. At 4:45:46, the surveillance footage abruptly glitched for three seconds, but when the video resumed at 4:45:49, those bodies had vanished into thin air.

When Chen Hao heard the police's story, he was shocked, thinking that those four bodies must have been the Onmyoji responsible for transporting the Soul Corpses to AnYang Town, killed by Zhao Wuji. The sudden disappearance of the bodies within the police station indicated that Luo Pengfei's people had tampered with the evidence to prevent the police from finding out their identities. With this in mind, it meant there were still people in town sent by Luo Pengfei, and this person must possess profound Mana, otherwise, how could they make four bodies disappear in just three seconds?

Chen Hao couldn't fathom how someone could use a Spell in such a short time to destroy the bodies, leaving no trace.

Chen Hao and the others, of course, pretended to know nothing in response to the police's request for assistance.

Once the police officer had left, Chen Hao immediately called Tang Jing and Ye Yuqiao into the room and said urgently to everyone, "Those bodies must have been destroyed by someone sent by Luo Pengfei. That person might still be in town, we must split up and search. His Yang Energy Power should be very profound; it won't be hard to spot him among the crowd."

Following that, they split into three groups to search for the person sent by Luo Pengfei. Chen Hao with Ye Yuqiao went one way, Xie Xiaofeng with Tang Jing another, and Luo Luo with Zhang Chuiping took a different path.

After forty-five minutes, having made a round in the small processing area on the south side of town, Zhang Chuiping and Luo Luo halted under a willow tree by the bridge to rest.

Luo Luo was wiping the sweat off Zhang Chuiping's brow. Suddenly, they both felt a strong surge of Yang Energy approaching.

Then they looked up to the stone bridge and saw a familiar person with an expressionless face slowly walking towards them.

"Axin!" Zhang Chuiping exclaimed in panic, "So it's you!"

Axin replied with a smirk that was not quite a smile, "Zhang Chuiping, I never expected to see you here!"

"Wife, quickly call Chen Hao," whispered Zhang Chuiping to Luo Luo, his tone urgent.

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