Kou Wu had only escaped because he'd been out handling affairs with Bian Yuqing at the time. Otherwise, given Wu Mengchuan's state of mind back then, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd simply killed them all.
"Looks like… you've figured something out!" Bian Yuqing suddenly let out a cold laugh, then said through gritted teeth: "You brat — if it weren't for you, this Protector wouldn't have ended up in such a wretched state, with my life and death now in someone else's hands!"
Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly. Playing dumb, he said, "What's the Protector talking about? I don't understand."
Kou Wu sighed and said, "Junior Brother Yang… the Sect Master — you were the one who set him free, weren't you?"
Hearing the question, Yang Kai couldn't very well deny it. He nodded. "That's right!"
Immediately after, he added, "But I had no choice at the time. Both you and Protector Bian were away from the Sect. I'd been thrown into the Bone Prison, caught between life and death. Desperate, I struck a deal with Wu Mengchuan."
Bian Yuqing snorted. "And after the Sect Master came out, he went on a rampage. The entire Biyu Sect was practically slaughtered — only a handful of people who saw the writing on the wall quickly swore loyalty to him, and they were the ones who survived."
Yang Kai chuckled. "The Protector was one of them, I take it?"
"Me?" Bian Yuqing snorted coldly. "I simply got lucky. It was a full month after the incident that Kou Wu and I returned to the Sect, only to find it had already undergone massive upheaval. By the time we realized what had happened, it was too late to flee. However… the Sect Master didn't kill me. Perhaps even he felt that slaughtering every last person and being left all alone wouldn't be ideal. In any case, he spared my life. The only thing is…" At this, her face twisted with resentment. "He placed a restriction on me. From now on, I must follow his every command."
"So that's how it is!" Yang Kai put on an expression of understanding.
"You're the one who caused this whole mess," Bian Yuqing said, fixing Yang Kai with a sinister gaze. "So tell me — what punishment would satisfy my anger?"
Yang Kai replied, "Protector Bian, when you and the others chose to act against Wu Mengchuan all those years ago, you must have known something about him — understood what kind of person he was. With someone like that, you either cut him down root and stem, or you don't provoke him at all. Not only did you provoke him, you even imprisoned and tormented him. Did you never stop to consider there might be consequences?"
Bian Yuqing's delicate brows knitted together as she stared at Yang Kai. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm simply saying that even without me, Wu Mengchuan would have broken free eventually. So your situation has very little to do with me."
"Utter nonsense!" Bian Yuqing's face flushed with anger.
Yang Kai spread his hands. "Besides, aren't you doing just fine, Protector Bian? True, you've been placed under a restriction, but he's a descendant of that person. Once he rises to prominence in the future, are you going to worry about lacking wealth and glory? It's just temporary hardship — can the Protector not endure it?"
Bian Yuqing regarded him with icy eyes and snorted. "The way you make it sound, as though I've gotten an incredible bargain… Should I thank you, then?"
"That won't be necessary." Yang Kai waved a hand.
Bian Yuqing sighed in resignation. "Whatever the case, it's all too late now. Kou Wu and I can only take things one step at a time."
Seeing that she didn't actually intend to take revenge, Yang Kai finally relaxed.
Kou Wu smiled and said, "The reason Protector Bian and I came to the Land of Four Seasons is also on the Sect Master's orders — representing the Biyu Sect. We spotted you over by the Qingyang Divine Temple, so we called you over to ask a few questions."
The Biyu Sect was a small sect. Although it had no Emperor Realm powerhouse presiding over it, it had originally boasted several Dao Origin Third Stage cultivators, so it was entitled to a couple of entry slots for the Land of Four Seasons.
Wu Mengchuan's rampage last time had left the Biyu Sect in a sorry state, short on both senior and junior members. Now only Bian Yuqing and Kou Wu had come.
"Intelligence on the Land of Four Seasons?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
"That's right." Bian Yuqing nodded. "Don't tell me you know nothing. If you managed to mingle your way into the Qingyang Divine Temple's group, you must know more than we do."
Yang Kai frowned and pondered for a moment. "I do have some intelligence… but it belongs to another sect. I can't exactly go around sharing their secrets."
Bian Yuqing smiled faintly. "If you don't tell, and I don't tell, who's going to know?"
Yang Kai shook his head.
Just as Bian Yuqing's expression darkened and she was about to press further, Yang Kai said, "The only thing I can tell you is… this time, Star Seals will appear inside the Land of Four Seasons."
"Star Seals?" Kou Wu furrowed his brow, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
Bian Yuqing, however, seemed to recall something. After a moment's thought, she exclaimed: "You mean — the tokens of entry into the Shattered Star Sea?"
"Exactly." Yang Kai nodded.
"The Shattered Star Sea?" Kou Wu finally caught on, letting out a low gasp, his face filled with shock.
Yang Kai smiled. "You two should put in your best efforts. If we happen to run into each other inside the Land of Four Seasons, perhaps there'll be an opportunity for us to join forces!"
With that, without waiting for a response from either of them, he turned and headed back the way he'd come.
To him, neither Bian Yuqing nor Kou Wu were particularly close acquaintances. The small measure of care he'd received during his time at the Biyu Sect had been more than repaid by the intelligence he'd just shared.
From here on, he had no further entanglements with either of them. If they harbored no ill will toward him, then all was well. But if they truly intended to make a move against him, then he wouldn't hesitate to strike ruthlessly — after all, they were technically Wu Mengchuan's people now.
Yang Kai was deeply wary of this descendant of the Devouring Emperor.
Back then, Wu Mengchuan had actually taught him a complete set of the Devouring Art — a technique inherited from the Devouring Emperor himself, the very technique by which the Devouring Emperor had risen to become the foremost being in the Star Boundary.
If Yang Kai believed Wu Mengchuan had no ulterior motive behind it, he would be a fool. He simply couldn't fathom what the man actually wanted — to the point of even parting with the Devouring Art.