stirring spring hearts.
It wasn't surprising for Chen Yu that Hei Dou would say this, as Hei Dou had always presented himself as a womanizer since they began interacting in the caves.
However—
From Hei Dou's eyes just now, Chen Yu saw that it wasn't a jest as usual.
He was serious.
There are many ways to hasten a young man's maturity. Perhaps it's through family turmoil or unfair treatment at work, but love is the most empowering force for a youth among these many variables.
Other changes might be pressures, but love is like turbo-charged motivation.
It's not a bad thing.
Regardless, Hei Dou had found his goal, motivating him to grow.
The outcome is not important.
All Chen Yu could do was offer as much support as possible, ensuring that Hei Dou wouldn't fail due to external factors. As for whether he could truly win the heart of his beloved, that would depend on his fate.
Failure, too, is a form of training.
Knowing Hei Dou's feelings for Liu Yue, Chen Yu was no longer surprised by why Hei Dou had called out to him that way. Perhaps he simply wanted to gain more of Liu Yue's attention.
The behavior was childish, but it also proved Hei Dou's sincerity.
Standing before the captives, Liu Yue might not have realized that her appearance had completely changed a young man's life. At this moment, she was still waiting for her subordinates to finish their count.
"Sister Liu Yue, the captives are almost all here."
A beast soldier who was overseeing the operation rushed over. Liu Yue glanced at him indifferently.
"Almost?"
"No, they are all here!" the beast soldier quickly corrected himself. Only then did Liu Yue show a hint of satisfaction and nodded. "Then let's withdraw. The Lord's Mansion's treasury is secured, so there's no need to linger. Go and retrieve the survival watches and spatial artifacts from the captives."
The beast soldiers began confiscating the captives' belongings.
Willingly or unwillingly, the captives had only one path: hand them over. If they refused, they could leave their lives behind.
Faced with life and wealth, who knew how to choose.
"Brother Chen, there's something I don't understand."
Suddenly, Luo Ni pouted and leaned her small head closer.
Did you see?
This is the change!
In just one night, she had started calling him brother.
Chen Yu glanced at her, and Luo Ni softly spoke again.
"Since it's come to this, why didn't you do this from the beginning? Enough time has passed for many to send messages outside. Could it be that she's afraid someone would dare to hide something?"
"Hide something? Do you think anyone would dare to do that with her authority?" Chen Yu whispered.
Luo Ni shook her head slightly, finding it unlikely.
From the moment Liu Yue appeared, the attitude and atmosphere of the Lord's Mansion's beast soldiers had drastically changed. Anyone could tell that these soldiers held absolute respect for Liu Yue, mingled with a deep sense of fear.
Under such circumstances, no one should dare to hoard anything.
"Then isn't the answer obvious?" Chen Yu smiled slightly. Luo Ni didn't immediately grasp his meaning. After a full half-minute of silence, she suddenly realized, "Could it be that she's intentionally waiting for these captives to send word outside, and then plans to annihilate everyone who comes to rescue them?"
"I suspect that's her thinking."
Chen Yu nodded with a smile.
It was highly probable that Liu Yue felt this haul of fish was too small, and was hoping the captives could lure more people, allowing her to earn even more this time.
One had to admit, this suited Chen Yu's style.
This was precisely how he always operated.
When one's strength was overwhelmingly superior, he was quite willing to see others come and bring him "warmth." It was just that no one had come for so long, suggesting a tacit understanding between the Lord's Mansion and this city.
They had all given up on these captives.
In fact, Chen Yu harbored many doubts and confusions regarding the power struggle between the Lord's Mansion and the Batu Federation tonight.
Why would things unfold this way?
The fall of the entire Lord's Mansion should be a disgrace to the kingdom. The resources within the treasury falling into enemy hands would weaken the kingdom and strengthen the enemy's power.
Liu Yue's vanguard force was indeed formidable.
But—
It somehow felt as though the Tatu Kingdom wasn't resisting at all.
The city's defenders hadn't moved.
They allowed the Batu Federation forces to breach the Lord's Mansion without intervention.
Could it be?
Chen Yu inexplicably glanced at Luo Ni. Feeling Chen Yu's gaze, Luo Ni blinked her bright eyes and looked at him with a smile.
If his suspicions were correct, the Tatu royal family was quite ruthless.
"Young Master, Young Master!!!" Suddenly, urgent calls reached his ears. Chen Yu retracted from his thoughts and turned to look in the direction of the voices.
The ones calling him were the guards from before, their eyes filled with anxiety.
"Young Master, when are we leaving? These people have started their plundering. They'll be here soon, we can't just give them our things, can we?"
The guards were very anxious.
Things like spatial bracelets and rings were very convenient to carry. Most people in the caves preferred to carry their wealth and resources with them.
This resulted in a large number of rogue bandits in the caves.
Don't assume rogue bandits only exist in the outer regions; even in the core areas, their numbers are not small, and many powerful individuals also chose to become rogue bandits.
For no other reason than—
It was a quick way to make money.
Rogue bandits of the Cai Realm would rob the wealth of those in the Hei Yao Realm. If they were lucky, their wealth could double directly. Even the slightly poorer Hei Yao Realm cultivators accumulated wealth that many people couldn't possess in a lifetime. As rogue bandits, all they needed was to use force to seize it.
All of it would then be theirs, so why wouldn't they choose such a simple method?
The kingdom would send people to suppress and confiscate them.
But it was futile.
The rogue bandits in the caves were like wild grass that couldn't be burned away by fire; they were impossible to eradicate completely.
The wealth of these guards was all in their wristwatches or spatial artifacts. Years, decades of accumulation were about to be wiped out, and they couldn't accept it.
"What can we do? There's no other way now."
Chen Yu spread his hands. "We are captives, this is the treatment captives deserve. You should all cooperate and hand over your belongings."
"Young Master, what do you mean by that? It seems your foundation isn't lacking much..."
"Then what do you think we should do?"
For a moment, the guards were speechless. Chen Yu, seeing their expressions, grinned.
"I do have a way."
"Young Master, please tell us!" the guards said expectantly. Chen Yu beckoned them closer. "Come closer, don't let others hear."
"Hey!"
The guard craned his neck to lean in. Unexpectedly, the moment he leaned in, Chen Yu slapped him with a big palm, stood up, and said righteously.
"Pah!"
"You shameless wretch."
"As a captive, you should have the attitude of a captive. What's wrong with taking some of your external possessions? You're trying to instigate me to hide wealth with you, and you're thinking of joining forces to cause trouble?"
Chen Yu glared at the guards, then turned to look at Liu Yue and her group.
"My King, I report!"
"These sons of bitches harbor ill intentions, they're trying to rebel!"