The Hidden Group's branch.
When Ye Cangtian and the others returned here, the middle-aged man who was previously in the courtyard widened his eyes.
Since the Imperial Dragon Villa took control of Frost City, no one who entered that small courtyard had ever come out except Hu Qing.
He had also seen Xu Changfeng lead people there earlier and assumed Ye Cangtian would have the same outcome.
But he never expected Ye Cangtian to actually come out, and to bring Hu Qing with him. This matter greatly surprised him.
However, this surprise lasted only for a moment before disappearing from his face, replaced by a hint of nervousness.
"Kid, you've caused a huge disaster!"
"You brought him out of the small courtyard, and the Imperial Dragon Villa will absolutely not let this go!"
"Listen to my advice, you should quickly take him to the Imperial Dragon Villa's office and surrender. Perhaps then you'll be dealt with leniently!"
The middle-aged man quickly stepped forward to speak. He had seen too many people lose their lives or be taken away by the Imperial Dragon Villa while trying to rescue Hu Qing.
He did not want Ye Cangtian to become another victim.
"Heh."
Ye Cangtian merely smiled at the middle-aged man's words and paid them no mind.
It was Hu Qing, who was beside him, who looked at the man and said faintly, "Hai Quan, you've worked hard during my absence. Let me introduce you, this is Lord Grim Reaper of the Hidden Group. He is very powerful, you don't need to worry too much."
Upon hearing Hu Qing's words, the middle-aged man's expression changed.
He knew that after several failed escape attempts, Hu Qing had abandoned the idea.
Now that Hu Qing could say this, it must be because the other party was extremely powerful and not afraid of retaliation from the Imperial Dragon Villa.
With this thought, he quieted down.
On the other side, Hu Qing looked at Ye Cangtian and explained, "Lord Grim Reaper, this is Hai Quan, my right-hand man. He was acting under my orders, pretending to compromise, just to stabilize the remaining brothers."
"Pretending to compromise?"
"How come I can't see that? If it was truly a pretense, after five years, why hasn't he sent a single letter to headquarters!"
Ye Cangtian's expression darkened upon hearing this.
After all, Hai Quan was not like Hu Qing, who was under house arrest. Although he was monitored, he ultimately had much more freedom.
Five years was neither short nor long. He believed that with Hai Quan's capabilities, he could have found an opportunity to pass on a message.
Yet, the Hidden Group's headquarters had not received a single word of news. In the end, wasn't this still Hai Quan's problem?
"Lord Grim Reaper, I've done my best."
Before Hu Qing could speak, Hai Quan, standing nearby, began to defend himself.
Firstly, he was being watched here, and the opportunities were very few.
Secondly, as the Imperial Dragon Villa took control here, almost everyone in Frost City had severed ties with the Hidden Group's branch.
The reason was simple: the Imperial Dragon Villa was powerful, and they did not want to antagonize them because of the Hidden Group's branch.
This meant that even if he found an opportunity to escape surveillance, it would be difficult to get the message to someone trustworthy.
And if the other party exposed him, he would also be taken to the Imperial Dragon Villa, like most others.
The last point was about the brothers of the Hidden Group.
Once the Imperial Dragon Villa learned of his actions, all those who had compromised would be taken to the Imperial Dragon Villa.
He did not know the ultimate destination of these people. All he knew was that no one who went to the Imperial Dragon Villa ever came out alive.
Listening to Hai Quan's explanation, Ye Cangtian slowly closed his eyes, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided.
It turned out there was another hidden reason. If that was the case, he couldn't entirely blame the other party.
Thinking this, he said, "I was wrong to blame you."
Uh...
Hai Quan was stunned on the spot by his words.
He didn't know Ye Cangtian's exact strength, but in terms of status, even Hu Qing addressed him as "Lord," so his status was naturally above his.
And for such a person to lower himself, it truly surprised him.
On the other side, seeing Hai Quan's stunned expression, Hu Qing quickly stepped forward to smooth things over and said, "It's just a misunderstanding, it's good that it's cleared up. Lord Grim Reaper, why don't you come inside to rest!"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian nodded and walked into the room.
The room was very simple, not much different from the small courtyard where Hu Qing lived. There wasn't even a cup of tea, only a pouch of tobacco leaves and a pipe.
Hu Qing looked at all this with embarrassment and finally, with a helpless sigh, poured a bowl of cold water and handed it to Ye Cangtian and the others.
Then he began to speak, "Lord Grim Reaper, you are going to the Imperial Dragon Villa's office tomorrow. May I ask the reason?"
Ye Cangtian glanced at him and said faintly, "Tomorrow's matter, you'll know when you get there..."
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Hu Qing decisively gave up asking.
He thought about it, Ye Cangtian had traveled a long way to get here and had directly rescued him. Forget resting, he hadn't even had a hot meal!
With that thought, Hu Qing quickly instructed, "Hai Quan, go prepare something to eat."
...
Imperial Dragon Villa Office.
Xu Changfeng returned to his office and sat down on the chair with a gloomy expression.
He was contemplating how to report today's events to his superiors.
After all, he had failed today and needed to find an explanation to save face.
Squeak!
However, before he could even settle into his seat, the office door opened.
The next moment, a middle-aged man walked in. This person was none other than the supervisor and city lord, Fang Deming.
Seeing this, Xu Changfeng quickly stood up from his seat and ushered the other person to the seat.
After doing all this, he stood respectfully before him and asked, "Sir, do you need me for something?"
Judging by Fang Deming's gloomy expression, he guessed that the other party's visit was likely not for anything good, so Xu Changfeng's heart was extremely nervous at this moment.
"Hmph!"
Fang Deming let out a cold snort and glared fiercely at him, saying, "What, you still plan to hide this matter from me?"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Changfeng waved his hands repeatedly.
Needless to say, the other party already knew about his actions.
With that thought, he quickly said, "Sir, your subordinate just returned and was about to look for you to report this matter. Now that you've come, I thought you had other business with me?"
Listening to Xu Changfeng's explanation, Fang Deming snorted and said, "Enough with the nonsense, let's get straight to the point!"
Hearing this, Xu Changfeng dared not hesitate and immediately explained the events of the day's operation in detail.
Bang!
Upon hearing this, the anger on Fang Deming's face escalated. He suppressed his rage and, after listening to the matter, slammed his palm against the table in front of him, shattering it.
Anyone who dared to cause trouble here, he had to teach them a lesson.
Otherwise, if this matter spread, how many people would call him incompetent?
The next moment, Fang Deming coldly questioned, "Do you know the identity of the other party?"
In Fang Deming's opinion, after causing trouble, the other party should have left as soon as possible.
It was probably too late to pursue them now, so he wanted to find out the other party's identity.
Even if the other party escaped, he could bring people from the Imperial Dragon Villa to their territory and cause a stir to regain his face.
"Reporting to you, sir, the other party did not reveal their identity."
"However, the other party did not kill us, and they went to rescue Hu Qing. Based on this, your subordinate infers that the other party should be from the Hidden Group..."
Xu Changfeng stated his inference.
Among the forces in the ruins, only the Hidden Group was on par with the Imperial Dragon Villa and could do such a thing.
Otherwise, if it were any other force, he believed they would have killed them to vent their anger!
"That makes sense."
Fang Deming responded with an affirmation and then said, "You immediately send people to investigate, be sure to find out the other party's identity, and also send some people divided into two groups..."
Fang Deming made arrangements, one group to search for the other party's whereabouts, and another group to pursue them, fearing their escape.
In short, he could not let the other party go like this.
"Sir, there's no need."
Xu Changfeng quickly interrupted Fang Deming and continued, "That kid said he would come to visit you personally tomorrow, so we just need to be prepared..."