"Brother Ye, I want to go home…"
With Ye Cangtian's comfort, Shangguan Yanran soon calmed down a lot, saying weakly to Ye Cangtian.
"Okay, I'll take you home now."
"However, we might have to separate later, so you need to cooperate fully and try to stay awake!"
"The most important thing is, no matter what happens, you must believe me. I swear I will not abandon you…"
Ye Cangtian nodded slowly, his expression becoming extremely solemn.
Seeing this, Shangguan Yanran nodded heavily and said firmly, "Brother Ye, I have never doubted you!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian nodded and said nothing more, directly leading Shangguan Yanran away from the detached courtyard.
…
North City area.
Xuan Sanwu led the guards, fighting fiercely with people from major forces.
When he saw the red signal in the sky, his expression suddenly became tense.
The signal in the sky could only mean one thing: Xuan Si, who was guarding the detached courtyard, had encountered an irresistible attack and was requesting support from everyone.
As the supervisor of the Ghost City's Public Security Department, he should have been the first to provide support.
But the major forces in front of him were like mad dogs, biting at him and making it difficult to break free.
Damn it! So these people's goal was Shangguan Yanran.
Muttering in his heart, Xuan Sanwu was filled with anger. Obviously, the one who went to rescue Shangguan Yanran was the big fish, and the ones here were just small fry.
And his current action was like picking up sesame seeds while losing a watermelon, failing to distinguish the priorities.
In his anger, Xuan Sanwu had no choice but to send a subordinate to inform Lord Chenghai.
Although he was very unwilling to let Chenghai take credit for this, he had no choice.
He was spread too thin! If Shangguan Yanran was rescued, both he and Chenghai would be severely punished.
"Everyone, focus all your efforts on eliminating the rebels and supporting the detached courtyard."
Making simple arrangements, Xuan Sanwu roared and charged forward. If he could finish faster, he might still have time to provide support…
…
In the mountain forest outside Ghost City.
A carriage was parked here. Besides the coachman, there was also a tall and sturdy man in front of the carriage.
This person was Badak.
According to the agreement with Ye Cangtian, he would arrange for people to tie down the Dark Association's forces in Ghost City, and then Ye Cangtian would leave with Shangguan Yanran from here.
His ultimate mission was to cover their retreat.
At this moment, his face was full of anxiety. The defenses in Ghost City were tight, so how could it be easy to rescue Shangguan Yanran?
If they failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After all, the people currently delaying the Dark Association's main forces were all from the major forces, whom he had painstakingly organized.
Failure meant annihilation; he had no ability to organize them again.
If that happened, he wouldn't even be able to kill Xuan Qi, and he would always be at risk of exposure.
After all, not everyone could withstand torture. Once he was exposed, he would face endless pursuit by the Dark Association.
To be precise, even if he evaded the pursuit and left the ruins.
However, due to the failure of the mission, it was likely to draw dissatisfaction from above, and it would be difficult to be reused again.
Therefore, he was extremely anxious, even starting to pray in his heart.
…
Rustle, rustle…
At some point, the dense woods around the carriage stirred, and then three figures slowly appeared.
Seeing the three people, Badak's eyes lit up. He had seen two of them before; they were Ye Cangtian and Xiao Feng from the Hidden Group.
The remaining one was a thin woman, Shangguan Yanran.
His worried heart finally relaxed. With Shangguan Yanran here, even if he failed to kill Xuan Qi, his future would not be affected.
"Haha, you're finally here."
"Mr. Ye, was everything smooth?"
Badak stepped forward, his face full of smiles, and inquired.
"It was alright."
Ye Cangtian nodded, then said, "Badak, the rest is up to you. After I send Yanran to a safe place, I will definitely return to rendezvous with you to kill Xuan Qi."
Ye Cangtian was not in the mood to bicker with Badak. The signal issued by Xuan Si before his death meant that the Dark Association was surely conducting a full-scale search.
It was possible they would find this place at any moment, so it was not advisable to stay here for long.
"No rush."
"Before you leave, I want to discuss something with Mr. Ye. I wonder if Mr. Ye agrees?"
Badak did not move aside, but smiled teasingly.
Huh?
Looking at the man's sly smile, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed. His worries had come true.
Needless to say, there must have been a twist, otherwise, if everything had gone smoothly, the other party wouldn't have made a demand at this time.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian looked at the other party in confusion and said, "What is it, just say it!"
"It's like this, the road back is full of dangers, and I'm worried that Mr. Ye and you might be in danger."
"Therefore, I have decided that we will escort Shangguan Yanran away and hand her back to you when we reach the exit of the ruins!"
Badak said with a slight smile.
If he had said this before, he might have had some reservations.
But now, seeing only Ye Cangtian and Xiao Feng, his reservations vanished.
There were too few of them, and they still had to consider Shangguan Yanran's safety. When it came to fighting, they were no match for them.
"You mean, you'll take Shangguan Yanran as a hostage, and then release her after killing Xuan Qi?"
Ye Cangtian said, frowning.
Just as he had expected, the Guangming Hall's easy concession and agreement to cooperate indeed hid a plot. They had also set their sights on the Heart of the Ruins in Shangguan Yanran's possession.
Now the fox's tail had finally been revealed.
On the other side, Xiao Feng instantly drew his weapon, his expression cold, ready to strike at any moment.
"Don't be so tense!"
Badak glanced at Xiao Feng, then looked at Ye Cangtian and said with a smile, "You're right, I'm just guarding against you. After all, we don't truly trust each other."
Badak seized the opportunity to concede, no matter what the other party said, he could admit it, as long as he got Shangguan Yanran.
Once they were out of the other party's sight, it would be difficult for them to find him again, and Shangguan Yanran would inevitably become the possession of the Guangming Hall.
"Haha, talk is cheap."
"Badak, do you think with you and the surrounding riffraff, you can deal with us?"
Ye Cangtian glanced at Badak and let out a dismissive laugh.
"Mr. Ye, how can you look down on people like that?"
Badak said teasingly and waved his hand.
The next moment, a hundred figures slowly appeared from the surrounding dense woods, all looking fierce and exuding powerful auras.
As the crowd appeared, a triumphant look flashed across Badak's face, and he continued, "Let me introduce you, these are all elites of the Guangming Hall, not just some riffraff."
After speaking, Badak paused and continued, "If we join forces, we might not be able to stop the two of you, but it's no problem to keep Shangguan Yanran."
"You're right."
Ye Cangtian nodded and continued, "You can keep Shangguan Yanran.
But the problem is, if we fight here, it will quickly attract the Dark Association, and then the Guangming Hall will suffer heavy losses."
"Mr. Ye, I believe you won't make such a foolish choice."
"If you push us too hard and do something harmful to Miss Yanran, then you can't blame me."
Badak said with a smile, completely unconcerned.
In his opinion, if Shangguan Yanran could not be used by the Guangming Hall, then she should be eliminated, at least so that she would not fall into the hands of the Hidden Group or the Dark Association.
At this point, Ye Cangtian hesitated.
After a long period of contemplation, Ye Cangtian finally sighed and gritted his teeth, "Alright, Badak, you win this time.
I hope you keep your promise, otherwise, if you don't see her in the future, you might die by my hand."
"Hahaha, happy cooperation."
Badak laughed triumphantly. He didn't take the other party's threat seriously at all, and felt incredibly elated.
Who was Ye Cangtian?
He was a key figure being cultivated by the Hidden Group, and even Nancy was infatuated with him, so he must be powerful.
And now that he had surpassed Ye Cangtian, it proved his ability, and he believed Nancy would look at him in a new light.