Hearing Yang Kai say this, Mao Zhe felt considerably reassured.
Since Yang Kai intended to return to the Twin Islands and bring people back, he clearly had some measure of confidence. He wouldn't risk venturing out without a plan.
"Will the three of you accompany me to the Twin Islands, or stay here and wait for me to return?" Yang Kai asked.
Mao Zhe considered for a moment before replying, "Based on the previous pattern, the Shadowless Gale Winds will resume within ten days. Can you return here within that time, Brother Yang?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "I probably can't."
The return journey alone would take longer than that. There was no way he could make it back within ten days, to say nothing of the additional time he'd inevitably spend at the Twin Islands.
"Then we'll go with you," Mao Zhe decided without hesitation. Staying by Yang Kai's side meant they'd have his protection. If they remained here and the winds picked up again, they'd have no way to withstand them.
With the matter settled, there was no further delay. The four of them set out immediately, streaking toward the Twin Islands.
The journey passed without incident. Roughly ten-odd days later, the Shadowless Gale Winds indeed howled to life once more. Yang Kai raised the towering wall of Evergreen, and Mao Zhe and the others remained completely unscathed. Though they had witnessed this spectacle once before, the three Mountain Masters of Mystic Yang Mountain were still left dumbstruck with amazement.
Several more days passed before they finally arrived back at the Twin Islands.
Yang Kai sent a message ahead, and the dense fog enveloping the Twin Islands rolled apart. He led Mao Zhe and the others straight through, heading directly for the bamboo grove where the proprietress and the others were staying.
The person guarding the grand formation caught sight of Mao Zhe and his companions entering as well, and was so shocked that he immediately relayed the news to Hua Yong.
At the bamboo grove, Yang Kai's arrival with Mao Zhe and the others in tow startled the chef and the accountant, who had been sitting in meditation and cultivation. The two emerged from their seclusion, took one look, and froze.
"Where's the proprietress?" Yang Kai asked.
"Still in seclusion," the chef answered. He quietly pulled Yang Kai aside and jerked his chin toward Mao Zhe and his two companions. "What's going on? How did those three end up with you?"
Yang Kai glanced back at Mao Zhe and the others, then explained, "They were won over by my charm and have abandoned the darkness for the light. From now on, they'll follow my orders."
The chef gave him a sidelong look, clearly not buying it.
"I'm going to see the proprietress," Yang Kai announced, and headed straight for the bamboo building where she was secluded, leaving the chef, the accountant, and the three from Mystic Yang Mountain staring at each other in bewilderment.
Standing outside the bamboo building, Yang Kai gave a light knock. After receiving a response from the proprietress, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Outside the bamboo grove, cold sweat beaded on Hua Yong's forehead as he and Shu Mudan hurried toward the area, both wearing expressions of deep concern.
When his subordinates had reported that Yang Kai had returned to the Twin Islands together with the three Mountain Masters of Mystic Yang Mountain, he could scarcely believe it. After all, Yang Kai had previously burned down Mystic Yang Mountain's headquarters and even killed the Second Mountain Master, Yun Feibai.
That grudge was enormous—practically irreconcilable.
If they met, it would be a miracle if they didn't come to blows. How could they possibly have banded together?
But his subordinate had sworn up and down that he had seen it with his own eyes, and Hua Yong had no choice but to believe it. He rushed over to see what was happening for himself.
"What exactly is Yang Kai after?" Hua Yong wondered, a thousand questions swirling in his mind. Yang Kai had said he was going to find a way out of the Shadowless Grotto-Heaven. He'd been gone barely over a month, and now he'd returned with Mao Zhe and the others in tow.
Was he planning to make a move on the Twin Islands? Had he and Mao Zhe reached some unspeakable deal?
Hua Yong's mind spiraled into increasingly wild speculation.
When he reached the bamboo grove and saw Mao Zhe and the chef's group locked in a stark standoff on opposite sides, his eyes narrowed. He called out in a low voice, "Mountain Master Mao!"
Shu Mudan's expression also turned grave. She quietly circulated her World Power, standing guard.
Mao Zhe turned to look at Hua Yong and offered a slight cupped-fist salute. "Island Master Hua!"
Hua Yong swallowed with some difficulty. Whether what lay before him was a blessing or a curse, there was no dodging it now. Steeling himself, he stepped forward a few paces and said in a strained voice, "Mountain Master Mao honors us with his visit to our Twin Islands. Had we known earlier, my wife and I would have gone out to welcome you properly. Our failure to do so is truly discourteous!"
His words were polite enough, but the implication was clear: coming to my territory without even giving me a heads-up—aren't you being a bit too dismissive? I, Hua Yong, may be cautious, but I'm not someone you can just push around.
Mao Zhe replied evenly, "A stray dog with no home to return to. Mystic Yang Mountain is destroyed—the title of Mountain Master is no longer worth mentioning. As for this visit to the Twin Islands, it was not my idea. The three of us are merely following Lord Yang."
"Lord Yang?" Hua Yong blinked, momentarily confused. Which Lord Yang?
From inside the bamboo building came Yang Kai's voice: "Island Master Hua, just in time. Please, you and your wife, come inside. I have something important to discuss."
Hua Yong glanced toward the bamboo building, then turned to look at Mao Zhe, thoroughly bewildered. Unable to make sense of the situation, he exchanged a glance with Shu Mudan, silently warning her to be on guard, before frowning and making his way toward the bamboo building.
Stepping inside, he saw Yang Kai seated across from Lan Youruo, the two of them apparently in the middle of a conversation. Upon seeing the couple arrive, both rose quickly to their feet.
Exchanging formal courtesies, they all took their seats.