Chapter 269: Black Water Pool

"The Yin Qi doesn't come from the mountaintop, but right here on the mountainside. It's faint and hard to detect. I'm planning to investigate. Do you want to join me?"

Yang Haoran glanced in a direction, then turned to Deputy Captain Zhou. It was evident that the Yin Qi he sensed was coming from that direction.

Deputy Captain Zhou frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. After a few seconds, he spoke to Yang Haoran, "We don't know the enemy's strength yet. It's better if we stick together to avoid being picked off one by one. Since you, divine envoy Yang, sensed the presence of Yin Qi, it means something is amiss in that area. Going there might lead to unexpected discoveries."

Deputy Captain Zhou's words were clear. He intended to accompany Yang Haoran to investigate. As for the other three Spirit Police, they naturally followed Deputy Captain Zhou's command.

"In that case, let's go and take a look."

Yang Haoran smiled and spoke. The five temporarily changed their destination, heading towards the location of the Yin Qi.

After a while, they halted. In front of them, a small water pool appeared.

The pool wasn't large, with a diameter not exceeding fifty meters. In terms of size and shape, it seemed ordinary, except for one detail – the water in the pool was black.

Above the pool, a faint layer of Yin Qi enveloped it. The weak Yin Qi Yang Haoran had sensed earlier originated from here.

"Deputy Captain Zhou, divine envoy Yang, look over there!"

A Spirit Police pointed in a direction of the pool, as if they had discovered something.

Following the Spirit Police's finger, a broken stone monument came into view for Yang Haoran and the others.

The monument was damaged, with three blood-red characters engraved on it: "Black Water Pool."

Kuai Le, the streamer, had been forcibly dragged into this pool by a hand last night.

"Divine envoy Yang, did you notice anything?"

Deputy Captain Zhou withdrew his gaze from the stone monument and looked at Yang Haoran.

Instead of responding, Yang Haoran smiled and looked behind him.

Deputy Captain Zhou was puzzled and followed Yang Haoran's gaze. Apart from weeds and trees, there was nothing.

After a few breaths, Deputy Captain Zhou seemed to sense something. His expression became serious, and he warned the other three Spirit Police, "Two individuals are rapidly approaching us. Stay alert!"

The three Spirit Police didn't sense the approaching figures, but they didn't doubt Deputy Captain Zhou's words. If Deputy Captain Zhou said so, it must be accurate.

"Weren't you two assigned to another mission? Why did you end up here?" another Spirit Police inquired.

"We've completed the other mission. Captain Luo asked us to come support you. He's concerned about your safety," Wang Yiming explained.

"We have divine envoy Yang here; what danger could there be? If divine envoy Yang can't handle it, your arrival would be futile," Deputy Captain Zhou said with a furrowed brow, expressing his apparent displeasure at their presence.

Wang Yiming awkwardly smiled and said, "Well... Brother Yang is indeed powerful, but Xiao Tong and I can contribute in our own ways. My talismans and Xiao Tong's formations can have some impact."

Deputy Captain Zhou erupted in anger at this statement!

"Stop spouting nonsense! Are you two here to harm us?"

Deputy Captain Zhou exploded without warning, startling the three Spirit Police. While they had seen Deputy Captain Zhou angry before, he was not someone who acted irrationally. His outbursts were always justified.

However, at this moment, the respected deputy team leader seemed to have suddenly lost his temper. He shouted and scolded without any apparent reason, leaving the Spirit Police puzzled.

"Deputy Captain Zhou, Yiming and Xiao Tong are here to support us. You..."

The Spirit Police with a good relationship with Wang Yiming and Xiao Tong intended to intervene and calm Deputy Captain Zhou. However, before he could finish his sentence, Deputy Captain Zhou interrupted him with a harsh reprimand.

"Shut up! Do you want to die?"

The Spirit Police was stunned, unable to utter a word in response to Deputy Captain Zhou's unexpected outburst.

Wang Yiming, seeing the situation, forced a smile on his face and quickly tried to defuse the tension, "Deputy team leader, don't be angry. This matter..."

But as before, Deputy Captain Zhou interrupted Wang Yiming's words with a cold voice.

"What are you laughing at?"

Wang Yiming looked bewildered, momentarily unsure of what to say.

"I'm asking why you're laughing. What were you laughing at just now?" Deputy Captain Zhou asked in a cold tone.

"I...," Wang Yiming felt embarrassed. He had barely started speaking when Deputy Captain Zhou approached him, pulled out a dagger from his waist, and thrust it into his chest without a second thought.

Everything happened too quickly. The other three Spirit Police hadn't reacted by the time Deputy Captain Zhou withdrew the dagger. As the dagger came out, blood spurted from Wang Yiming's chest, splashing Deputy Captain Zhou's face. However, Deputy Captain Zhou paid no attention, as if the blood on his face was just air.

Wang Yiming staggered, a look of disbelief on his face. Xiao Tong, standing nearby, turned pale and quickly supported Wang Yiming, whose body seemed on the verge of collapse.