The two quickly got up and went to the capital!
Upon arriving in the capital, Ye Cangtian first sent Tang Xinwan back to the villa, and then headed to the family compound himself.
"Heh heh, you're quite early!"
Secretary Liu saw Ye Cangtian arrive, pushed up his glasses, and teased him with a smile.
Who hadn't been young!
He thought Ye Cangtian would spend some time in a gentle embrace, resting well.
He didn't expect that on the second day of his return to China, the other party would already be at his doorstep.
Ye Cangtian chuckled and didn't reply, walking directly into the compound.
Seeing Old Master Xu drinking tea under the grape trellis, he didn't treat himself as an outsider, picked up a cup, and poured himself a cup of tea.
He recounted the events that had happened in the ruins, one after another.
Even though Old Master Xu had heard some of it before, upon hearing Ye Cangtian's complete account, he gave Ye Cangtian a thumbs-up.
"You've done well, kid!"
"You brought everyone back safe and sound, and they even had substantial gains. It seems I didn't choose the wrong person after all..."
Old Master Xu was in high spirits and even praised himself.
Ye Cangtian glanced contemptuously at Old Master Xu, then his expression turned serious as he spoke:
"Old Master, should we not take action against the Eastern Japanese Shinobi and the Rattlesnake mercenary group for their repeated ambushes on us?"
Ye Cangtian was not a man of good temper.
The other party had targeted their Dragon Group both inside and outside the ruins. If they weren't taught a good lesson, he wouldn't be able to let it go!
"Do you have a plan?"
Old Master Xu glanced at Ye Cangtian, his smile vanishing, replaced by extreme seriousness.
He naturally didn't want to suffer such humiliation, but everything required a plan and had to be within controllable limits.
"The plan is not quite mature."
Ye Cangtian glanced at Old Master Xu and voiced his thoughts.
He wanted to expose the collusion between the Shinobi and the Rattlesnake mercenary group within the ruins, using the flames of revenge from various factions to eliminate the two tumors.
Listening, Old Master Xu sipped his tea and pondered.
After a long while, Old Master Xu finally shook his head and said, "No, this method could very likely drag China into it."
The logic was very simple.
The Shinobi and the Rattlesnake's actions were extremely covert. Besides those who were ambushed by them, other factions had not discovered anything.
So the question arose, how did China's Dragon Group know?
And from what perspective did they know?
Apart from this, there was another question.
The Shinobi and the Rattlesnake must have gained a considerable amount of crystals from these actions. So, what about these crystals?
Don't forget that both the Shinobi and the Rattlesnake were annihilated!
Connecting the two issues, it's highly probable that Ye Cangtian was the mantis preying on the cicada, with the oriole behind him. This means the trouble would ultimately be directed at China, making China a target of suspicion for all parties.
It's even possible that other factions, driven by envy, would target China.
Although China, with the Dragon Group and the Hidden Group, did not fear these troubles, they valued peace and did not wish to get involved in disputes.
Moreover, these factions had a bad reputation and would resort to any means to achieve their goals. If they were to target ordinary people, it would be even more unacceptable.
"Uh... I can use the Dark Association to post the news online. It should be done without anyone noticing..."
Ye Cangtian said, somewhat unwillingly.
He believed that the ambitious Dark Association also wanted to stir up a bloody storm and muddy the waters.
"Impossible."
"You've finally managed to infiltrate the Dark Association. Xuan Qi's identity is very important."
"It's not worth the loss..."
Old Master Xu also shook his head.
In Old Master Xu's opinion, while the Shinobi were hateful and deserved punishment, they were relatively easier to deal with. The truly troublesome entity was the Dark Association.
Giving up an ace in the hole against the Dark Association to deal with the Shinobi was clearly not worth it.
Furthermore, if the Dark Association gained nothing from this conflict, they might retaliate against the instigator, Xuan Qi, since Xuan Qi was the one who reported the news.
In that case, Xuan Qi's identity would not be fully utilized, and it would become impossible to gather more intelligence from within the Dark Association.
This...
Listening to Old Master Xu's words, Ye Cangtian hesitated and remained silent for a long time.
"Alas, such matters require long-term consideration!"
"Let's talk about the Heart of the Ruins instead!"
"Was the Heart of the Ruins really not found?"
Seeing Ye Cangtian fall silent, Old Master Xu changed the subject.
The Heart of the Ruins was an item coveted by all factions.
Even if they couldn't obtain it, they had to do their best to ascertain which faction had acquired it and what its purpose was, to prepare for any eventuality.
Of course, the Heart of the Ruins had already been secretly found by someone, and that person had not announced it, deliberately concealing it from all factions.
This action led Old Master Xu to think of only one person: Ye Cangtian.
This was very much in line with Ye Cangtian's modus operandi!
"Uh... This..."
Ye Cangtian suddenly felt a bit awkward.
To be honest, he hadn't intended to report it. Some things were better kept as hidden trump cards rather than being exposed.
However, the other party was the founder of the Dragon Group and treated him well. Since he was asking him, he genuinely didn't want to hide it.
"Alright, I get it. You truly have great fortune..."
Seeing Ye Cangtian's amusing expression, Old Master Xu instantly understood everything and said somewhat exasperatedly.
Since the young man didn't want to say, he wouldn't force him.
"Now that the ruins expedition has concluded, when are you planning to go to the Hidden Group?"
Old Master Xu changed the subject.
Old Master Xu had already contacted the Hidden Group, but Ye Cangtian had been delayed due to the island ruins.
Now that everything had come to a close, it was time for him to go.
"Heh heh, Old Master, are you trying to kick me out? Can you bear to part with me?" Ye Cangtian chuckled.
"This old man can't wait for you to scram. You only cause trouble for me!"
Old Master Xu playfully scolded him.
Though he said so, he truly couldn't bear to part with Ye Cangtian.
However, he also knew that with Ye Cangtian's abilities, he was destined for greater things.
Keeping him in the Dragon Group would not be beneficial, but rather would hinder his progress.
"Haha, alright."
"Since you've said so, Old Master, I'll be sensible and leave."
"Allow me a few days to rest, and then I'll head to the Hidden Group to participate in the assessment."
Ye Cangtian laughed heartily and agreed, though he wanted to spend a couple more days with Tang Xinwan.
Otherwise, once he went to the Hidden Group, he didn't know when he would return!
To this, Old Master Xu nodded and said nothing more.
...
Back at the Kyoto branch company.
Tang Xinwan and Murong Yu were busily working.
Both were workaholics; once they started working, there was no end to it.
Ye Cangtian idly wandered around the company, chatting with the receptionist to pass the time.
Ring!
Just then, a ringtone sounded from an unfamiliar number.
Having nothing better to do, Ye Cangtian answered the call.
"Where are you?"
A trembling voice came through. With just three words, Ye Cangtian recognized the caller as Gu Yue, whom he had been worried about.
"I'm in Kyoto."
"Okay, see you tonight!"
As soon as Ye Cangtian replied, Gu Yue hung up the phone.
...