On the flat ground halfway up the mountain, Yue Xi, He Zao and He Miao, Shen Tu, and the others — already on edge from the Ghost Ancestor's bouts of manic laughter — suddenly froze, their faces white as paper.
The Ghost Ancestor's voice echoed in their ears.
"What happened?" Lü Guichen asked urgently.
"The Ghost Ancestor is summoning us..." Yue Xi couldn't help but swallow hard.
Lü Guichen was stunned. The look in his eyes as he regarded Yue Xi shifted immediately — carrying a hint of schadenfreude, a pang of the fox mourning the hare, and a measure of relief. He said nothing more.
"I've been summoned too!" Shen Tu's face turned ashen, and a deep sense of helplessness surged from the depths of his heart.
"I... me too!" Bi Ya twisted her hands together, her slender body trembling.
"Master, what do we do?" He Zao asked anxiously, looking at Yue Xi.
Yue Xi's heart was in turmoil as well. She had no idea what to do. The lessons of the past should serve as warnings for the future. More than a hundred people had been brought here by the Ghost Ancestor, and only they had survived. Now the Ghost Ancestor had summoned so many of them at once again — Heaven only knew what he intended.
"If it's a blessing, it won't be a curse..." Yue Xi managed a bitter smile, abandoning any thought of fleeing. Before a Void King Realm powerhouse, there was simply no escape. "Come with me. If today really... really is the day we die, then at least stay by your master's side."
She gazed tenderly at He Zao and He Miao, secretly resolving to protect her two disciples to the death.
Even if it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
The three of them headed into the mountain first. Shen Tu and Bi Ya exchanged a glance and had no choice but to follow.
Watching their retreating figures, a Purple Star martial artist walked up to Lü Guichen and said, "My lord, they..."
"They probably won't be coming back..." Lü Guichen let out a soft sigh and smiled bitterly. "I don't know whether I should feel glad for myself or sorry for them, but we've at least escaped for now. Next time... next time, I'm afraid it'll be us."
Three or four subordinates who had gathered around him all wore somber expressions.
They all believed those who had been summoned this time were as good as dead.
Yang Kai was waiting in the mountain tunnel. Before long, he saw Shen Tu and the others approaching together. He gave a slight nod in greeting, then frowned in puzzlement. "What's wrong with all of you? You look like the world is ending."
Shen Tu's mouth twitched. "We've been summoned by the Ghost Ancestor," he said reluctantly.
As he spoke, he gently patted Yang Kai on the shoulder and whispered, "Brother, I'm probably not going to make it out of this one alive. If you ever get the chance to escape this place, pass a message to the people at the Hengluo Trading Company for me. Tell them I let my old man down. If I'd known things would turn out like this, I'd never have been so wild and undisciplined."
He spoke as though delivering his last words, his expression solemn.
"Hengluo Trading Company?" Yue Xi studied him thoughtfully, a hint of curiosity flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"Remember — you have to deliver that message. Of course, if you can't get out either, then forget it." Shen Tu patted Yang Kai's shoulder, his tone earnest and heavy with sighs.
Yang Kai's expression turned odd.
After a moment's thought, he realized why these people all looked so downcast, as though catastrophe was imminent, and couldn't help but laugh in surprise. "What exactly did you think the Ghost Ancestor summoned you for?"
"We have no idea. It can't be anything good, that's for sure." Shen Tu stared at Yang Kai, astonished. "Do you know something? Tell me — what's he going to do to us?"
All of them turned their gazes toward him.
"I asked the Ghost Ancestor to summon you here," Yang Kai said plainly.
Their expressions shifted to confusion.
"I'm going to take you all out of here," Yang Kai continued.
Shen Tu was thunderstruck. Yue Xi, He Zao and He Miao, and Bi Ya — all of their beautiful eyes blazed with an extraordinary light as they stared at Yang Kai in utter disbelief.
"I've found a way out. I mentioned it to the Ghost Ancestor, and he agreed to let you come along."
"No way... I'm not hearing things, am I? We can actually leave this place?" Shen Tu was stunned, kept exclaiming over and over, looking utterly dumbfounded.
The He sisters' pretty faces lit up with elation, their eyes shining with gratitude. He Miao asked eagerly, "Yang Kai, is it really true? You're not tricking us, are you?"
Yang Kai shook his head.
She immediately began to beam with joy, clapping a hand over her small mouth, her beautiful eyes brimming with a misty sheen. "That's wonderful, that's wonderful..."
She was so overcome that she choked up with tears. On one hand, she had been certain the Ghost Ancestor's summons meant certain death — but now things were nothing like what she had feared. On the other hand, she had just learned they could escape this cage. The rush of emotions was more than she could contain.
He Zao put her arm around her sister's shoulders, and the two shared a look before breaking into laughter.
Bi Ya seemed equally stunned by the news, standing there blankly, unable to snap back to reality. She stared at Yang Kai, unable to fathom why he had suddenly changed his mind.
Only a short while ago, Bi Ya had sought Yang Kai out and laid everything bare. At the time, his attitude had clearly been dismissive. Yet now he was actually willing to bring her along too? No matter how she thought about it, it seemed too unreal — like she was caught in a dream.
Of them all, the one who found it hardest to understand was Yue Xi.
She gazed at Yang Kai, her expression complex and ever-shifting. No one could tell what was going through her mind.