Meanwhile, seeing Ye Cangtian shake his head, Mandolora pondered for a moment and said, "That's strange. Aren't the people from Kongling responsible for tracking the Bright Squad in the western region? Why would they appear here?"
"That's a good question!"
Ye Cangtian glanced at Mandolora, bestowing an appreciative look upon him.
This question was the most crucial.
Before they arrived, they hadn't heard of Kongling sending anyone, and not only them, but even Xuan Sijiu hadn't heard of it. Otherwise, Xuan Sijiu wouldn't have come to find him today.
But after they arrived and had just made contact with Xuan Sijiu, people from Kongling suddenly appeared.
Why such a coincidence?
The answer was simple: the other party had likely just arrived here, just like them, and was also observing the situation in secret.
If that were not the case, the other party would have been aware of the city's movements and would not have allowed the Xue family and the Shadow Tower to attack the branch and Xuan Sijiu.
Then, let's consider why the other party didn't contact Xuan Sijiu after arriving here.
They didn't even show themselves after Xuan Sijiu's house and branch were attacked, but instead chose to appear several hours later when Xuan Sijiu came to visit.
What was the reason for this?
Ye Cangtian had a bold guess: the other party was likely targeting him, and had even been tailing them all along!
Only this answer could reasonably explain everything.
The other party didn't want to reveal themselves, fearing he would discover them.
And their appearance after Xuan Sijiu's visit was to prevent Xuan Sijiu from cooperating with him.
At the same time, this person was clearly not a spy from the Bright Hall and could not be helping the Bright Hall. Therefore, combining previous thoughts.
The other party was likely worried that he would destroy the Bright Hall first and steal their credit.
"It's possible."
Lan Yue nodded slowly to Ye Cangtian's conjecture, agreeing and also casting an admiring glance.
Being able to deduce so much from mere clues was not something ordinary people could do.
She truly admired Ye Cangtian's imagination.
Mandolora glanced at Ye Cangtian and said, "Sir, since the other party is here to steal credit, are we just going to watch?"
"Of course not. Pack up and follow me to the branch."
Ye Cangtian glanced at Mandolora, a faint smile appearing on his face.
To be honest, if the other party wanted this little credit, he could give it to them; he wouldn't care.
But if the other party wanted to snatch it through deceit, Ye Cangtian would never let them succeed easily!
...
Dongjiang City, Dark Association Branch.
When Ye Cangtian and his group arrived, all the bloodstains had been cleaned up, leaving only some irreparable combat traces.
Upon seeing the golden masks symbolizing Earth-level Stewards, the two guards at the entrance immediately dispatched one person to report ahead.
In the main hall at this moment, Xuan Sijiu was wearing a fawning smile, bowing and scraping as he said something to Gu Hai.
But just then, he suddenly heard that Po Xiao had arrived, and his expression changed drastically.
He had actually deceived them to leave, and now if the other party came to the door and saw everything, he would be exposed immediately. Wouldn't that offend Po Xiao?
Although Po Xiao was currently following Xing Yuan and belonged to the suppressed faction, with her status, he couldn't afford to offend her!
Thinking about this, he quickly looked at Gu Hai beside him and asked, "Lord Gu Hai, what do you think should be done about this matter?"
In his utter helplessness, Xuan Sijiu could only seek help from Gu Hai. After all, Gu Hai's status was no lower than Ye Cangtian's, so only Gu Hai could help him.
Hmph!
Upon hearing this, Gu Hai snorted and said sternly, "What are you afraid of? With this lord here, do you think he would dare to eat you!"
Hearing this, Xuan Sijiu immediately felt reassured and quickly ordered a guard to bring Ye Cangtian and his group to the main hall.
A few minutes later, three women and one man, four figures, appeared in the hall again.
Seeing Gu Hai and Po Xiao make eye contact, Xuan Sijiu's forehead began to sweat cold.
Their gazes flickered incessantly, as if they were fighting with their eyes, a silent battle.
If the two sides were to fight, he wouldn't know who to help.
"Po Xiao, allow me to introduce myself. I am Gu Hai, from under Lord Kongling!"
After a long time, the eye contact between the two stopped, and Gu Hai was the first to break the silence.
"Heh, so you're Gu Hai!"
"It's a pleasure. I believe this is our second meeting!"
Ye Cangtian chuckled and said calmly.
Sensing the aura emanating from the other party, Ye Cangtian was very sure that this was one of the four powerful auras he had seen that day.
The reason he said this was to put some pressure on the other party, so they wouldn't be arrogant and condescending.
"Po Xiao, have you seen me elsewhere?"
Gu Hai glanced at Ye Cangtian and asked curiously.
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and said softly, "I think you were hiding in the dark in the main hall of the Ghost City headquarters, weren't you?"
"What!"
At this remark, Gu Hai's eyes widened.
He had thought that he and Xue He had been tailing him and had been discovered by Ye Cangtian, which made him worried.
But hearing this result now made him feel even worse.
He was quite confident in his ability to conceal his aura, but the other party still found him, indicating how terrifying his perception ability was.
Thinking about this, he roughly guessed Ye Cangtian's intention. It was probably to give him a warning and make him apprehensive.
The next moment, he glanced at Ye Cangtian and said, "Po Xiao, stop with the nonsense. What business do you have here?"
"A joke. This is the Dark Association, and I am an Earth-level Steward of the Dark Association. Do I need any special business to come here?"
Feeling Gu Hai's somewhat sharp gaze, Ye Cangtian sneered and continued, "Or has Lord Kongling expelled me from the Dark Association?"
"You!"
With that sentence, Gu Hai was instantly rendered speechless.
Although if they stood before Kongling, Kongling would surely favor him, Gu Hai also understood that Kongling would never issue such an order.
Thinking about it, he glanced over and said grimly, "I haven't said anything of the sort, but since you have no other business, you can rest. Don't delay my discussion with Xuan Sijiu about dealing with the Bright Hall!"
"No need to rest. I'm also very interested in dealing with the Bright Hall."
"Let me stay and discuss it with you!"
Ye Cangtian heard this, smiled slightly, and then walked to the side and sat down.
Since he had already guessed the other party's purpose, he naturally had to get involved in this matter.
"You..."
Upon hearing this, anger flashed in Gu Hai's eyes.
He could tell that Po Xiao had come here specifically to oppose him, doing everything contrary to him.
Thinking about this, his gaze became sharp, and he said, "Po Xiao, you need to understand that you are merely an Earth-level Steward. You are not qualified to be arrogant in front of me!"
As he spoke, Gu Hai tapped his mask, signaling the other party to see the gap between them clearly.
Heh heh.
Looking at the other party's actions, Ye Cangtian burst into laughter.
He could see that the dark gold mask was different from the golden mask he was wearing, but he didn't care.
He said lightly, "Gu Hai, the mask is not important. You need to know that in the Dark Association, it's strength that speaks! How about we spar, to see if I'm qualified to participate in this matter?"
"..."
Xuan Sijiu, who was standing by the side, was sweating even faster.
If these two actually fought and something unexpected happened, he wouldn't be able to explain.
So he quickly came between the two and said with a stiff upper lip, "Two Lords, harmony brings wealth. Why fight among yourselves..."
"Get lost!"
Gu Hai roared, directly pushing Xuan Sijiu away.
He slowly stood up from the main seat. Facing Po Xiao's aggressive stance, he could no longer tolerate it.
If he were to be afraid of fighting, who would follow him in the future?
The next moment, he walked down the steps step by step. With each step, the spiritual energy around his body increased, and simultaneously, a dark gold bone claw appeared in his hand.
He had decided to teach Po Xiao a lesson today, at least to let him know who was who.