Passing through two rows of huts, a small courtyard stood not far away.
The courtyard contained seven or eight rooms, appearing at first glance to be that of an ordinary farmer.
But upon closer inspection, it was anything but!
This was because the courtyard was surrounded by guards from the Yulong Villa.
Upon seeing this, Ye Cangtian instantly understood everything.
Perhaps the Yulong Villa was worried about leaked information, and thus had placed Hu Qing and others under house arrest, leaving only those with discreet mouths and a keen sense of self-preservation outside.
This was why Dragon City had not received any news from Frost City thus far.
Lost in thought, Ye Cangtian followed the middle-aged man to a spot not far from the courtyard.
The middle-aged man then spoke, "Hu Qing is within the courtyard. As you can see, he has been placed under house arrest."
After a pause, the middle-aged man continued, "I will give you one last piece of advice: it is easy to enter this courtyard, but difficult to leave!"
After all, the other party was also from the Hidden Group, and he couldn't bear to see Ye Cangtian detained here.
Ye Cangtian nodded upon hearing this and then strode into the courtyard.
Seeing Ye Cangtian walk resolutely into the courtyard, the middle-aged man's eyes flickered. He sighed and finally returned to the branch reluctantly.
On the other side, the guards at the entrance did not stop Ye Cangtian from entering the courtyard, merely a sinister smile appearing on their faces.
Ye Cangtian noticed all of this but paid it no mind. He directly entered the dilapidated hut.
The room was not large, containing only basic living facilities and a bed.
Seated on a chair by the desk was a middle-aged man with white hair, who was Hu Qing.
Upon seeing someone enter the room, Hu Qing glanced over, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
He had expected someone from the Yulong Villa to enter, but instead, it was a stranger.
The next moment, he slowly spoke, "Young man, no matter who you are, you shouldn't have come here."
"If we don't come, who will take you out?" Ye Cangtian said calmly.
"Out?"
Mentioning escape, a flicker of color appeared in Hu Qing's dim eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a self-mocking smile.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of escaping.
In fact, he had not only thought about it, but he had also tried to escape. However, before he could get out of the city or relay a message, he was captured by the Yulong Villa.
Of course, there were also those who tried to help him, but the outcome was the same.
After several attempts, he had come to accept it, to despair.
With that in mind, he glanced at Ye Cangtian and said with a bitter smile, "Don't think about impossible things. Tell me, who are you? Where do you come from?"
Ye Cangtian heard this and slowly said, "Have you heard of Ye Cangtian of the Hidden Group?"
"I apologize, but I am ignorant. I have not heard of any powerful individual in the Hidden Group named Ye Cangtian! Perhaps it's because I've been trapped here for too long!"
After a pause, Hu Qing continued, "Don't tell me you are Ye Cangtian?"
Seeing that Ye Cangtian did not deny it, Hu Qing continued, "So young, a rising star? Then you should not have come here. At least your future is bright!"
"Heh, it seems you really don't believe me!"
"Let me tell you, if I want to take you away, no one can stop me!"
Ye Cangtian immediately understood that the other party still doubted his strength. With no other choice, he released a trace of his aura.
"This is..."
Upon sensing Ye Cangtian's aura, Hu Qing's eyes instantly widened.
He was absolutely certain, because this aura was definitely stronger than any quasi-Heavenly realm expert; it should have reached the legendary Heavenly realm!
To reach the Heavenly realm at such a young age, was he a prodigy?
While his heart was filled with shock, Hu Qing's eyes also brightened. With a Heavenly realm expert arriving, it would be no problem for him to escape this place.
With that thought, he quickly stood up, then knelt on one knee and said, "Your subordinate, Hu Qing, pays respects to Lord Ye!"
Although the other party was young, he was a Heavenly realm expert. Such a person would surely hold a high position in the Hidden Group, so this address of "Lord" was undoubtedly appropriate in his opinion.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian waved his hand, and his powerful aura directly helped him up. He then said, "No need for formalities. My identity must be kept secret; do not reveal it to anyone. As for daily interactions, you may call me Death God!"
"Yes, Lord Death God," Hu Qing replied.
On the other side, Ye Cangtian sat down and slowly began, "First, tell me about the situation here. What exactly happened here? Why has the Hidden Group branch declined to this point!"
"Reporting to Lord, this matter is a long story..."
Hu Qing slowly began to explain. Originally, the relationship between Yulong Villa and the Hidden Group was relatively harmonious.
However, after the disappearance of the Yulong Villa master, the lack of discipline in Yulong Villa gradually led it to deviate from its original path, and the ambitions of some individuals also began to surface.
Until five years ago, these people's ambitions finally swelled to an uncontrollable extent, and they attacked the Hidden Group, forcing them to hand over control of Frost City...
Listening to Hu Qing's explanation, Ye Cangtian frowned and said, "The Yulong Villa's ambition has exploded. Didn't you notice? Why didn't you report it in time?"
"It is my fault."
Hu Qing looked at Ye Cangtian and continued, "I had heard some rumors before, but I didn't pay attention. After all, the rumor was that Elder Zhou was still alive..."
In Hu Qing's opinion, as long as Elder Zhou was alive, everything would be fine. Once Elder Zhou returned, the Yulong Villa would behave.
He also did not want to report it, which would reflect poorly on his capabilities, so he didn't report it!
But he never expected things to escalate to this point!
...
Yulong Villa Office in Frost City.
A group of disheveled guards, supporting each other, returned here, immediately causing a stir.
The Yulong Villa had managed Frost City for many years and had never encountered anyone who dared to act so brazenly here. Today, they had their eyes opened.
"You are truly useless!"
"An entire squad, and you didn't even get their names before being beaten into this state. You truly bring glory to the Yulong Villa!"
In the office, Xu Changfeng, the captain in charge of city defense, glared fiercely at the guards in front of him. Upon learning everything, he was furious.
"Captain, you can't just stand by and watch us get bullied!"
"You must avenge us!"
The burly guard remained silent for a moment. Seeing that Xu Changfeng had no further comment, he quickly spoke.
The beating they received today could not be let go just like that. He was determined to make the perpetrators pay, otherwise, how would he guard the city gates in the future?
Would other factions' experts still respect them?
Therefore, he wanted revenge, and the bigger the incident, the better. That way, everyone would know that he had the backing of the Yulong Villa, and they would naturally show him some respect.
"We must get back at them, otherwise, where would the Yulong Villa's honor lie?"
Saying this, Xu Changfeng looked at the burly guard and asked, "Hongda, do you know where the people who injured you went?"
"No."
The burly guard shook his head. Their entire squad had been beaten black and blue, so who had the time to track and investigate?
The next moment, his eyes darted around, and he quickly said, "Captain, I remember their appearances. I can draw them. Plus, they caused such a big disturbance, it shouldn't be hard to find them!"
"Alright, draw it!"
Xu Changfeng nodded. Hongda, upon hearing this, did not say another word and immediately took out paper and a brush.
After a short while, Hongda had drawn a portrait of Ye Cangtian on the paper. Despite his rough appearance, his drawing skills were quite good.
The portrait bore at least seventy to eighty percent resemblance to the actual person.
On the other side, Xu Changfeng took the portrait and quickly said, "Post the portrait and conduct a city-wide search. Anyone who provides information will be rewarded."
"If anyone knows about this and conceals it, they will have no place in Frost City from now on!"
As his subordinates posted the portrait, within about five minutes, someone provided information.
This person was none other than the guard at the entrance of the office.
He recognized the person in the portrait at a glance and immediately rejoiced.
Ye Cangtian had just given him and his companions two crystals, and now by providing information to Xu Changfeng, he would also receive a reward.
With benefits from both sides, he felt ecstatic.
Upon receiving the information, Xu Changfeng did not hesitate and immediately led his subordinates towards the Hidden Group branch.
...