When faced with a question that made one feel utterly unrecognizable, it was truly time to speak of these things and to do them.
Within his heart, countless such matters were unfolding, leaving him utterly worn out, unable to accomplish these tasks. When he could no longer manage these things, his thoughts became fragmented.
"Ye Tiancheng!"
Suddenly, a figure darted out and landed not far from him.
This person was a martial artist from the Luo family.
"Who are you?"
Ye Tiancheng asked in surprise.
"I am a martial artist of the Luo family, Xiang Wentian."
"Xiang Wentian!" At this moment, Si Yiran's eyes widened, looking at him incredulously, her gaze filled with infinite fear and a hint of questioning.
As a powerful martial artist, he naturally needed to display shock and resilience at this moment, but his slightly flustered heart flashed across his eyes.
Ye Tiancheng really wanted to ask him what he wanted.
"I want you to do something for me."
Xiang Wentian, without dwelling on his thoughts, immediately told Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng asked, "What else does your Luo family need me for? I'm very busy, I'm sorry!"
He had refused.
Xiang Wentian was taken aback, then said, "Help me with this, and I will help you obtain what you desire."
It was an exchange.
Ye Tiancheng chuckled, his smile rather awkward.
As an equivalent exchange, the price to pay was not something ordinary people could afford.
Ye Tiancheng then asked, "The price must be very high!"
"You understand, I won't say more."
His meaning was that there was no point in saying more; it was enough that you understood my intentions.
"Alright, looking for Luo Fei, right? He must be in the forest."
"En." Xiang Wentian said, "You're very smart, so I won't state my conditions."
"Then my conditions have additions, otherwise I feel I'm letting myself down." Ye Tiancheng's meaning was that just because you want my help, does it mean I must help you? You are asking me now, so naturally, he needed to set his terms.
This was taking advantage of the situation.
Otherwise, it would be a disservice to this rare opportunity.
This reason was quite sufficient, and Xiang Wentian had no choice but to accept if he didn't object.
"Good!" He smiled, and his smile was filled with displeasure.
Do not reveal your emotions; in front of me, you can only accept my terms.
He understood Ye Tiancheng's intentions but did not wish to accept them so readily.
His expression conveyed: "Ye Tiancheng, you just wait."
His meaning was: "Ye Tiancheng, we are not done."
Ye Tiancheng was very familiar with that forest. Xiang Wentian sending him there was naturally a win-win situation for him. On one hand, he believed Luo Fei would die in that place, and by sending Ye Tiancheng, he would also die there.
Zi Yao was in that place, and this would cause the Song family to lose a fierce general like Ye Tiancheng.
It would also heavily damage the Luo family.
Such a malicious scheme, of course, was not something ordinary people could conceive.
Only someone as extraordinary as Xiang Wentian could devise it. Ye Tiancheng had indeed seen through his intentions but deliberately did not expose him. Unfortunately, he thought too simply of himself; if his mind were sharp enough, he would have investigated.
Ye Tiancheng had encountered great danger in the Dark Forest back then. It took him a tremendous effort to escape.
Ye Tiancheng had obtained firsthand information from that place.
To be unable to retreat safely was truly a laughable matter.
Bringing Su Muxian, Ye Tiancheng headed to the Dark Forest. His five elder sisters were very worried about his safety. Si Yiran quietly followed behind without telling him. Those five troublesome women.
Upon reaching the forest, following the information provided by Xiang Wentian, they began searching in haste. This was to confuse the public and cover their tracks, as they had already sensed someone nearby monitoring their actions.
This person was undoubtedly Xiang Wentian! He had provided the clues, so naturally, he knew everything and would have set up informants along the way to monitor their every move. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng was feigning his actions to deceive him.
This was not because he was not being genuine, but because he had to act this way. Otherwise, the other party would immediately see through him and realize he understood his scheme.
If Xiang Wentian found out, he would not be able to continue playing this game.
After doing this for quite some time, as night fell, Ye Tiancheng quietly slipped into the depths of the Dark Forest.
Why could he move as if on flat ground in the dark, without needing a torch for illumination?
It was because his pet ring contained night-vision goggles.
There were likely many such devices inside. He took one out of his storage ring and gave it to Su Muxian.
"I never expected to find such a thing in this world, it truly amazes me," Su Muxian said, looking at Ye Tiancheng with reverence.
"What's so surprising about this? Who am I? I am Ye Tiancheng. As the saying goes, if you want to survive to the end, never offend someone named Ye, because people named Ye are strong in any world."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's boastful words, Su Muxian couldn't help but chuckle.
Perhaps only someone like Ye Tiancheng would shamelessly utter such grand pronouncements, but she had grown accustomed to it, treating it as a habitual acceptance.
The depths of the forest were extremely dangerous. They could encounter powerful demonic beasts at any moment.
Ye Tiancheng was well-prepared for this. As a strong individual who had traversed worlds, his storage ring contained many magical treasures, including advanced weapons brought from that world, such as rocket launchers, AK47s, and so on.
Just as they were preparing to rest, they suddenly heard a fierce roar from within the forest. The roar made the forest tremble and the ground shake.
Su Muxian instinctively hid behind Ye Tiancheng, her body trembling, her face pale.
"So you're scared!"
Seeing Su Muxian's state, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but laugh. It was the first time he had seen the little woman in such a state, and he burst into laughter.
"Laugh at yourself, you idiot. Fight properly, I feel like this guy is beyond our reach."
"I feel like we can do it, I'm sure I can defeat it."
Ye Tiancheng was full of confidence. He was not afraid at all. In this forest, it was his birthplace, so as a lazy person, he habitually acted nonchalant and dismissive.
At that moment, a huge fiery shadow streaked out, and the air became unusually hot. Instantly, sweat dripped from them, and their clothes were soaked.
Su Muxian was terrified seeing the giant fiery shadow.
"Roar!"
The giant fiery shadow monster roared towards the sky, letting out a deafening cry.
Ye Tiancheng took out an AK47, pulled the trigger, and began firing at it.
The whistling bullets cut through the dark sky, leaving trails of fiery red trajectories.
The bullets struck the giant fiery shadow, disappearing instantly as if the creature had swallowed them.
"Wow, what's going on? It's like it's tickling it."
"It's not even tickling it, it's like it's being swallowed," Ye Tiancheng exclaimed, his mouth agape, finding it impossible to describe the bizarre scene with words.
Seeing how terrifying the creature was, Su Muxian was dumbfounded.
"Roar!"
The creature let out a massive roar, clearly angered.
The creature lunged at Ye Tiancheng with its massive body. The next moment, it seemed he would become its prey. Ye Tiancheng then produced an RPG from somewhere.
The creature spat out a giant fire snake.
Then the fire snake lunged towards the giant fiery shadow.
The two collided, emitting a deafening explosion.
Flames scattered in all directions. The flames fell on the ground or rocks, burning with crackling sounds.
Ye Tiancheng discovered that the fire monster had been eliminated. At the center of the explosion, a fist-sized cylindrical pillar appeared conspicuously. He reached out and picked up the pillar, feeling its extreme heat.
He quickly wrapped the pillar in a cooling cloth and, after it cooled down, placed it in his storage ring.
He searched the surroundings but found nothing unusual, then settled down to sleep. When dawn broke the next day, they could finally see their surroundings clearly. It turned out this place had no vegetation at all, only barrenness.
The ground was scorched earth, and even the rocks had been burned black. Many rocks couldn't withstand the heat and exploded, making them look like blooming stones at first glance.
"How did we end up in such a cursed place? Where is this? It's so scary, oh my god!"
Seeing the eerie place, Su Muxian stuck out her tongue in fear.
"How would I know what this place is? Because it's my first time here too, don't ask me, alright? Because I can't answer your questions either."
Ye Tiancheng replied irritably, as he also had no idea where they were and could only answer Su Muxian's questions with annoyance.
Since they didn't know where they were, they could only walk forward aimlessly. The compass they took out of their storage ring was useless.
The compass spun wildly, unable to indicate any direction.
After walking for a while, they reached a place shrouded in mist, which further instilled terror and fear in the woman. In this strange world, such eerie places were extremely rare, unlike in their civilized era, where finding such a place would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Ye Tiancheng's former world was so civilized that it had spread across the planet, and there were virtually no primeval forests. Even a forest the size of a palm would be called a forest.
Thinking of this, the two of them found it amusing.
Having disappeared from their former world, they wondered if their friends and family missed them or thought of them.
However, these were not the questions they were concerned with, as the immediate issue was how to get out.
The two walked for a long time, and when they were finally exhausted, they no longer wanted to persist and just wanted to rest, recuperate, and then figure things out.
They didn't know how long this feeling had lingered in their hearts, nor how long they could endure. It felt as if there was no hope. At this moment, only a lazy person's mindset could keep Ye Tiancheng going. He began telling jokes to Su Muxian.
The joke wasn't funny at all; it was the kind of strange, dry joke Ye Tiancheng had seen on his phone.
But at this moment, hearing such a story, Su Muxian found it extremely amusing, and she laughed heartily.
"I don't think it's funny at all, why are you laughing so happily?"
"That's because I feel like this might be the last time I hear such a joke, so I must laugh happily."
Su Muxian replied to Ye Tiancheng with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Ye Tiancheng felt disheartened. Why couldn't she say something that would make him happy? She continued to say random things as always, which truly frustrated him.
Just as the two were sinking into despair, a beam of light suddenly appeared in the sky. They excitedly ran towards the light. The light grew brighter and brighter, and gradually they saw before them a world different from the misty one they had just left.