Taifang Mountain was a range that stretched from north to south across the land—not particularly large, but not small either.
This range had once been a place of natural beauty, its slopes covered with shimmering trees in lush profusion, birdsong filling the air and flowers blooming everywhere. But now, the entire mountain chain had become a battlefield.
The south side of the mountain was where the forces of the Cangyun Evil Ground had gathered, while the north side was where the coalition arrayed against them had taken up position.
The two sides faced each other across the ridge, turning the entire range into a theater of war. After months of fighting, Taifang Mountain had been devastated—bloodstains and fallen bodies were everywhere, and countless martial artists had perished on its slopes.
Standoffs like this were nothing unusual elsewhere either.
Taifang Mountain was merely one point along the entire front line!
Ever since leaving the Cangyun Evil Ground, the Hu sisters had rushed straight here, because their Blood Battle Gang's forces had been dispatched to this front.
It was here that they had originally been cornered by powerful pursuers, unable to return, and forced to flee into the Cangyun Evil Ground.
Along the way, Yang Kai had learned a great deal of useful information from their conversations.
The fighting at Taifang Mountain wasn't considered particularly important, so the number of experts gathered here was relatively small. Besides their Blood Battle Gang, the Wind and Rain Tower also had people stationed here, along with elites from several second-rank forces—all operating under the command of a single first-rank family.
The Xiang family was the name of that first-rank clan!
Because the people here came from every corner of the land and most belonged to second- or third-rank forces, the Xiang family wielded absolute leadership.
Even those who were dissatisfied had no choice but to obey orders from the Xiang family. After all, their foundations were considerably more robust.
At the foot of Taifang Mountain, in a position that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, numerous crude shelters had been erected. This was where the martial artists besieging the Cangyun Evil Ground rested.
On this day, one man and two women approached from the outside road, travel-worn and covered in dust.
Before they had even gotten close, they were stopped by several men in bright, clean clothing, who demanded to know their identities.
Seeing that Yang Kai and the Hu sisters didn't appear particularly strong, the guards hadn't taken them seriously. Stopping and questioning them was simply routine procedure.
But those pairs of eyes kept darting over the Hu sisters' attractive figures—until they got a look at their faces, at which point the men immediately lost interest, disgust flickering in their eyes.
Yang Kai remained impassive, saying nothing.
Hu Jiao'er and Hu Meier, however, quickly wiped the disguises from their faces, revealing their true appearances.
Though their skin was still somewhat darkened, they at least showed traces of their beauty.
The guards stared blankly for a moment. Then one of them suddenly spoke: "Are you the Hu sisters from the Blood Battle Gang?"
"That's right," Hu Jiao'er replied coolly.
"So it's you!" The leader broke into a grin, his voice brimming with excitement. "Thank goodness the two of you are safe! Please, come right in."
Stepping aside, his manner became deferential. "We were only doing our duty. Please don't take it to heart."
Hu Jiao'er frowned slightly, her expression neither warm nor cold, and led her sister and Yang Kai forward to pass through.
But the guards eyed Yang Kai with suspicion, and the leader asked cautiously, "May I ask, ladies—who might this be?"
"A friend of mine."
"Oh. If he's your friend, then there's no issue." The man smiled and waved them through without further interrogation.
Once the three of them had passed inside and disappeared from view, the leader's expression turned serious. "Go tell the Young Master that the Hu sisters have returned safely. Quickly!"
"Right away!" One of the men took the order and dashed off at full speed.
Yang Kai followed the Hu sisters through the area, winding between structures. Before long they had reached the inner section.
"Over there!" Hu Meier suddenly cried out with delight, pointing in a specific direction.
Looking where she pointed, Yang Kai saw a group of people gathered together, apparently deep in discussion.
"Uncle Le!" Hu Jiao'er's face brightened with a smile as she quickened her pace toward them.
The group noticed someone approaching and turned to look.
In the next moment, a half-elderly man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties stood up with red-rimmed eyes, trembling slightly. He stared at the Hu sisters, his aged eyes brimming with joy.
Guan Chile. A fourth-layer Shenyou Realm expert and a formidable member of the Blood Battle Gang. He had participated in the great battle against Meng Wuya years ago.
Unlike Long Zaitian, Guan Chile had been utterly loyal to the Blood Battle Gang and to the Hu family. He had watched the sisters grow up from childhood, so back at the Blood Battle Gang, the Hu sisters had always been on excellent terms with him.
"Young Mistresses? Is that really you?" Guan Chile asked, his voice hesitant with disbelief.
"It's us, Uncle Le!" Hu Jiao'er's smile bloomed across her face.
"You've really come back safely!" In that instant, tears streamed down the old man's weathered cheeks.
The people around him stared at the Hu sisters with a mixture of astonishment and elation. The two women had been missing for two or three months. The last anyone had seen them, they were being chased down on Taifang Mountain. Everyone had assumed they were surely dead—yet here they were, two months later, returning completely unharmed.
The people gathered here were naturally those with close ties to one another, so of course they were overjoyed to see the Hu sisters' return.