"I'm not leaving." Back at the Ye residence, Ye Lanshan directly cut off Ye Luotian before he could speak.
Ye Luotian's gaze was complicated as he probed, "You... have you found out something?"
"If no one had told me, were you planning to hide it from me for life?" Ye Lanshan was somewhat bothered by this matter.
"Sigh! I did this for your own good. I know your temperament—if you learned of this, you'd definitely seek revenge from the Holy Land. But how could we possibly stand against the Holy Land?"
"Back then, I gave everything I had and still couldn't save your father, let alone now, with this hollow shell of the Ye residence."
"Hollow shell?" The Ye residence, which commanded the Ye family's three armies, couldn't possibly be a hollow shell. Honestly, Ye Lanshan didn't buy that explanation.
"At its peak, the Ye family stood above the nation. Back then, the Ye family was on the same level as the Three Sects."
"Though by my generation, the Ye family's strength had waned slightly, we still had the power to fight the Demon Sect. Yet even so, we couldn't save your father, let alone now, when the Ye residence has fallen to such a state."
Ye Luotian's eyes held an undeniable melancholy. Heaven knew how much he wanted to rescue Ye Feng, but reality forced him to back down.
"What kind of force is the Holy Land?" Ye Lanshan grew curious about this Holy Land.
Back then, Ye Yutian's poison was the Holy Land's doing, and now her father had died because of them too.
Not only that, but even Yue Jinghong and her grandfather showed nothing but wariness and fear in their eyes when mentioning the Holy Land, along with some deeply hidden resentment.
"The Holy Land is a force that stands above all others, claiming to be the messengers of the gods, with countless followers."
"I once thought that with the Ye family's strength, even if we were weaker than the Holy Land, we could still protect one person."
"But I never expected the Holy Land's power to exceed my estimates—no, not just my estimates, but everyone's."
"Across this entire world, there isn't a single force that can rival the Holy Land." Ye Luotian's mood was heavy.
"This is really troublesome." Listening to Ye Luotian's description, Ye Lanshan's heart sank slightly.
"Even though the Ye family has declined, our ties with the Xuan Sect remain. You need to leave now, before the Holy Land discovers you." Ye Luotian urged Ye Lanshan.
"Grandfather, you know being timid isn't my style. If the Holy Land is an unbeatable myth, then I'll be the first to defeat it." There was no fear in Ye Lanshan's eyes.
"It's useless. Back then, the Ye family was far stronger than it is now, yet we couldn't even protect one person." Ye Luotian gave a bitter smile.
"It may have been a behemoth before, but that doesn't mean it still is one now." At this moment, Ye Lanshan thought of Ye Yutian. Given how the Holy Land had harmed him, he surely wouldn't let them off either.
...
"Where... is this?" Fu Tian finally woke up, looking around. How long had it been since he'd stayed in a room like this?
"Grandfather, you're awake." Fu Feng had been keeping vigil by his bedside, having only just dozed off secretly, never expecting Fu Tian to wake up now.
"Mm, where is this? Who saved us?" Fu Tian didn't believe Fu Feng had the ability to get them a room like this while he was gravely wounded and unconscious.
"This, this is a brothel. Miss Ye saved us." Fu Feng's face flushed bright red as he mentioned the brothel.
"Mm." Fu Tian was calm at first, but once he processed it, he immediately lost his composure. "What did you say? This is a brothel?"
"Yes, Miss Ye said hiding here is absolutely safe—our enemies would never think we're in a brothel." Fu Feng repeated what Ye Lanshan had told him earlier.
"Who is this Miss Ye? Why did she save us?" Fu Tian felt this might be a trap.
"You're awake? Good timing—let's talk." Ye Lanshan arrived here after shaking off Ye Luotian, just in time to see Fu Tian awake.
"Sigh! You know we're being hunted by enemies. If we become your subordinates, we'd only hold you back." Seeing Ye Lanshan enter, Fu Tian guessed her intention.
"That doesn't matter. He's already sold himself to me anyway." Ye Lanshan pointed at Fu Feng, unconcerned by his words.
"What? Cough, cough." Fu Tian got agitated and started coughing again.
"Grandfather, I did it to save you..." Fu Feng quickly patted his grandfather's back.
After a moment, Fu Tian rasped, "Do you know who our enemies are?"
Ye Lanshan answered honestly, "No, but what does it matter?"
"It's the Holy Land. Our enemy is the Holy Land. Are you sure you still want us as your subordinates?" Fu Tian tried to scare her off with their enemy's identity.
Hearing this, Ye Lanshan curled her lips into a smile. "What a coincidence—my enemy is the Holy Land too."
"What? That's not a funny joke." Fu Tian didn't take her seriously.
"It's no joke. The Holy Land killed my father back then—I haven't settled that score yet." As she spoke, fierce anger blazed in Ye Lanshan's eyes.
No matter how strong you are, one day I'll destroy your Holy Land headquarters and make you regret taking my father.
"Your father is?" Fu Tian had been fighting the Holy Land for years and had indeed heard of them capturing a prodigy named Ye for research.
But due to their lack of strength, they'd ultimately failed to rescue that prodigy from the Holy Land's grasp.
Ye Lanshan said calmly, "My father is Ye Feng."
"So you're his daughter. No wonder." Fu Tian no longer found it strange.
"You knew my father?" Ye Lanshan hadn't expected this down-and-out old man to know him.
"Yes, he was one of the five peerless geniuses of his time. It's a pity they never truly grew up before the Holy Land captured them. Now only two survivors remain, but they've long since vanished."
"If you want to fight the Holy Land, I'll fully support you. But Fu Feng has his own mission—I'm afraid he can't be your subordinate." Fu Tian still showed no sign of compromise.
But that no longer mattered, because once Ye Lanshan learned they shared a common enemy, she'd already changed her mind.
"You're not the only ones opposing the Holy Land, are you? Tell me where your forces are." Ye Lanshan wouldn't let slip any chance to bring down the Holy Land. For now, the only way seemed to be uniting those who resented the Holy Land to crusade against it together.