Ye Qiao also understood that time was now a matter of life; he had little room for deliberation.
"Fine, we head for the valley!" Ye Qiao decided without hesitation.
This time, the group abandoned any thought of pursuing Ye Rong. In their view, Ye Rong's party had certainly been swallowed by the rat tide. After all, the tide was encircling them from the direction they had taken. Anyone fleeing that way would be the first to be engulfed—survival was impossible!
Though he himself was fleeing, beyond the tension, Ye Qiao felt a faint thrill. Ye Rong dying like this was more perfect than sending assassins. Everyone perishing under the rat tide meant Ye Qiao would remain spotless, without a single blemish. This outcome couldn't be more ideal.
Ye Qiao's group ran swiftly and soon arrived in the vicinity of the valley.
Ling Xuan analyzed the terrain: "Second Prince, in this area, there are two paths that can bypass the valley. Once we go around it, we should reach open ground. Then, the rat tide's power will be greatly reduced. They cannot cover the entire Labyrinth world."
"You decide which path is better. We must not delay any longer." Ye Qiao was still cautious.
Ling Xuan and the others conferred briefly and quickly selected a route.
"Your Highness, based on our analysis, taking the left path should let us bypass the valley area faster. We..."
Suddenly, Ling Xuan's voice cut off. An extremely strange expression, as if he had seen a ghost, surfaced on his face. His eyes stared fixedly at a certain area ahead, his look exactly that of someone encountering a spirit.
"Ling Xuan, what is it?" Ye Qiao asked, noting his bizarre reaction, and followed his gaze.
"Jiang Chen?"
Ye Qiao's whole body shuddered, and he too showed an expression of disbelief. How could Jiang Chen be here? Hadn't he already left? And he had gone in the opposite direction! Could he teleport through space? That was absurd!
In truth, Jiang Chen naturally couldn't teleport. He had simply exploited the time difference, taken a slight detour—the distance between them wasn't great, and circling back to the valley was only about a hundred li. With Jiang Chen going all out, it wouldn't take long.
Moreover, with the Gold-Munching Mouse King controlling the rat tide, the timing of their movement was perfectly coordinated. They had waited until they fully occupied the valley area before herding Ye Qiao's group towards it.
Thus, Ye Qiao had become a turtle in a jar.
"Second Prince, what's the rush?" Jiang Chen wore a calm smile on his face.
At that moment, Ye Qiao had no mood for banter: "Jiang Chen, I have no time to spar with you verbally. Where's the Fourth Prince? Didn't you both head that way? How did you circle back here?"
Jiang Chen chuckled: "The Fourth Prince? They naturally continued on their journey. I had some matters to settle, so I detoured back here. As soon as I'm done, I'll immediately catch up with them."
"Continued on? Catch up?" Ye Qiao laughed. "Jiang Chen, so you're saying it really is just you who came back here alone?"
Seeing Jiang Chen initially made Ye Qiao a bit worried, fearing the Fourth Prince's group might have also circled back, escaping the rat tide. Hearing Jiang Chen say it was only him, Ye Qiao's heart settled back into his chest.
"Just me. Second Prince, you still haven't answered my question. How did you end up here?"
Ye Qiao gave a meaningful smile: "Nothing. We heard there was a Spirit Beast in this area and thought we'd try our luck. Jiang Chen, you go about your business, finish up and meet the Fourth Prince. I'm off to hunt a Spirit Beast, so I won't chat further. We'll each go our own way."
Ye Qiao was secretly delighted. You think you're tough, Jiang Chen? If you've got the guts, stay here! You want to meet Ye Rong's group? They're probably already gnawed to the bone by now!
He naturally wouldn't have the kindness to warn Jiang Chen about the approaching rat tide.
Jiang Chen laughed: "Hunting a Spirit Beast? Second Prince, your urgency seems excessive for just that. Could there be some unspeakable secret?"
Ye Qiao's expression stiffened: "Jiang Chen, watch your tone. How I act is none of your business to slander!"
If it weren't for the time pressure, Ye Qiao would have unhesitatingly ordered his personal guards to attack and chop Jiang Chen down. But right now, he couldn't afford the distraction.
The rat tide would arrive any second. Wasting even a little more time with Jiang Chen increased his own danger.
"Second Prince, I'm just being helpful. I know a place with many Spirit Beasts. More than you could ever kill. If you're hunting, I guarantee you'll like it."
"Hmph, no need for your charity. Go tell your master that. Let's go!" Ye Qiao sneered, completely ignoring Jiang Chen.
"Second Prince, do you think you can still leave?" Jiang Chen chuckled.
"What do you mean?" Ye Qiao halted, killing intent surging as he whirled to glare at Jiang Chen.
"What do I mean?" Jiang Chen strolled a few steps closer, leisurely. "Second Prince, you must be feeling very smug right now? Thinking yourself clever, using a borrowed knife to kill plan to eliminate Ye Dai and Ye Zheng, those two fools, and conveniently trap the Fourth Prince as well. With all four top contenders for the Crown Prince position out of the way, only you remain. Once you exit this time, you'll be rightfully named Crown Prince without any doubt, right?"
"You... what did you say? Borrowed knife to kill? What nonsense! Jiang Chen, if you keep spouting such garbage, I will kill you!"
"You won't dare." Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "You don't even have the courage to stay here for a single moment. I'm standing right here for you to kill—do you dare?"
"Jiang Chen, what exactly do you want?" A chill ran down Ye Qiao's spine.
"What do I want? You still can't guess? Someone as clever as you—can't you see it now? You triggered the rat tide to wipe out Ye Dai and Ye Zheng. Did you really think you'd escape?"
"You... you're slandering me!" Ye Qiao naturally denied it, thinking Jiang Chen was merely guessing without any proof.
"Whether it's slander doesn't matter. Either way, you're not leaving."
"Your Highness, it's bad! The rat tide has sealed off all routes! We're surrounded!" Ling Xuan suddenly realized that even the two paths bypassing the valley were now completely blocked.
They had truly become turtles trapped in a jar.