The carriage was remarkably quiet, with neither side speaking. Yang Chen, who had just arrived, was filled with bewilderment.
"Brother, we're on the same mission, that's fate. Why not introduce yourself?"
"My name is Yang Chen."
After a brief silence, Yang Chen spoke, finding the atmosphere too oppressive to bear.
"Hmph!"
Shuang Chi snorted, his eyes flashing with ferocity. Originally, their sole target was to find an opportunity to eliminate Ye Cangtian.
If Yang Chen hadn't been there, they could have made their move as soon as they left the city gates.
They would then claim Ye Cangtian had died within the secret realm.
However, with Yang Chen's unwelcome presence, they had to proceed with caution.
On the other side, Yuwen Chengji glanced at Yang Chen before slowly closing his eyes.
Since the other party was so loyal, he would send him on his way with Ye Cangtian.
"This..."
Sensing the peculiar expressions on the two men's faces, Yang Chen looked at Ye Cangtian in confusion, having no idea how he had offended them!
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and said, "The two of them, one is Yuwen Chengji, and the other is Shuang Chi. They are here to kill me..."
"What!"
At his words, Yang Chen's eyes widened instantly. He leaped up, drawing his Divine Demon Twin Axes in a flash.
He had never imagined that enemies would be grouped together for a mission.
But none of that mattered; what was important was that Ye Cangtian's enemies were his enemies!
"Ants, cherish your final moments!" Shuang Chi said fiercely.
"Ye Cangtian, you'd best keep your dog on a leash. I don't want to resort to violence here," Yuwen Chengji said calmly without opening his eyes.
Having just left Dragon City, any fight would likely be reported to the Hidden Group. Therefore, Yuwen Chengji had no intention of acting.
"Heh heh..."
Ye Cangtian scoffed, shaking his head. "Yuwen Chengji, you should be the one to leash your dog. If he barks any more, I'm afraid I might accidentally swat him to death!"
"You dare?" Shuang Chi sneered.
They had only traveled a short distance from Dragon City, and engaging in a fight now would likely lead to their discovery. Ye Cangtian would gain no advantage, so Shuang Chi didn't believe he would dare to act.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian said mockingly, "You should ask Yuwen Chengji about that. Ask him how I personally killed his brother in the Yuwen family, in front of everyone, back then."
"..."
His words rendered Shuang Chi speechless.
He only knew the rough details of the incident, but he hadn't realized Ye Cangtian had personally gone to kill him. Truly audacious!
In that case, the other party might indeed dare to act here.
On the other side, Yuwen Chengji eyed Ye Cangtian coldly before stopping Shuang Chi. "Forget it. If we fight here, the Hidden Group could interfere at any moment, rendering our efforts futile."
...
After this brief interlude, silence descended once more, with both sides refraining from provoking each other.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The four traversed a mountain forest and arrived before a lake.
According to the mission briefing, this was the secret realm closest to Dragon City, with its entrance at the bottom of the lake.
They dismounted from the carriage.
The previously quiet atmosphere among the four was broken.
Ye Cangtian turned to Yuwen Chengji and asked, "Do we fight now, or after completing the mission?"
"After the mission," Yuwen Chengji replied, his expression turning cold.
He had pondered this question throughout the journey. The situation had changed; the other party now had a helper, and their combat strength was unknown.
If they fought from the outset, even if he eliminated Ye Cangtian, he might be severely injured, rendering the mission a failure.
Although the mission was trivial compared to killing Ye Cangtian, such a dangerous secret realm would surely yield benefits, and missing them would be a pity.
It would be better to use Ye Cangtian to complete the mission first, let the other party pave the way for him, and then eliminate Ye Cangtian. This would be killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, if an opportunity for a sneak attack arose during the battle, he wouldn't hesitate. Everything depended on the circumstances.
"Alright, then we'll have three rules!"
Ye Cangtian smiled, knowing that Yuwen Chengji would choose cooperation. This would save them some effort within the secret realm.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian proposed the agreement.
First, neither party would harm their teammates within the secret realm.
Second, neither party would refuse to save a teammate in peril within the secret realm.
The final rule: whoever killed a monster would keep the spoils of war, and no one was allowed to snatch them, or it would be considered a declaration of war.
Yuwen Chengji agreed to the three rules without hesitation. To him, these were trivial, but for the sake of profit, he could only agree for the time being.
After the agreement, Ye Cangtian stretched briefly, then nodded to Yang Chen and leaped into the lake first.
The lake water was clear, and the entrance at the bottom was visible at a glance.
Ye Cangtian swam directly into the entrance, and instantly, everything changed before his eyes.
He was facing a circular lake, with a manor in the center.
The manor was quite beautiful, but the vegetation within it seemed like underwater plants rather than those grown on land.
After a short while, Yuwen Chengji and the other two followed.
Without a word, the four walked towards the suspension bridge leading to the manor.
The journey was quiet until they crossed the circular lake and stopped before the manor gates.
All the ground within the manor was submerged, appearing to be at least half a meter deep.
Enragingly, at the manor gates, there were erected steel forks, large fish spears, with human corpses impaled on them.
It went without saying that these were likely members who had explored earlier.
For a moment, all four were filled with indignation. Death was a solemn affair; how could bodies be so desecrated?
The four explored the manor, growing increasingly furious.
Initially, they had only seen a few corpses, but later, they encountered a path of skeletons, their flesh and skin completely gnawed away.
Hiss...
Strange sounds echoed, and then something distinctly moved in the water, approaching them at high speed.
The next moment, figures emerged from the water.
Their appearance was somewhat peculiar, resembling mermaids from fairy tales, but without beautiful faces. Instead, their bodies were covered in scales, they wielded steel forks, and their faces were extremely ferocious.
"Be careful, they are very strong." Yuwen Chengji whispered to Shuang Chi, then moved to shield him.
"Mm, don't worry!" Shuang Chi drew his spear and stood behind Ye Cangtian.
He knew their enemies were not just the mermaids; Ye Cangtian and Yang Chen might use this opportunity to attack them.
"Tch!"
On the other side, Ye Cangtian almost burst out laughing at their actions, letting out a cold chuckle.
"I'm not as sinister as Yuwen Chengji. With a great enemy before us, I won't attack you. You truly judge a noble person by your own base standards!"