"Then don't trouble yourself with that. I'll find my own way to avoid it." Fu Tian's voice carried no emotion whatsoever.
"I've gone to such lengths to cover for you—was it just so you could leave like this?" Ye Lanshan's expression gradually turned cold, matching the sudden, fierce gale that swept in without warning.
"I knew you had ulterior motives. Why else would you make a deal with the Sacred Ground?" Fu Tian turned around, his face full of sarcasm.
Ye Lanshan forced down her anger and said coldly, "Think what you will. You can leave if you want, but Fu Feng stays."
"You risked everything to save me, covered our tracks time and again—all to make Fu Feng loyal to you, didn't you?" Fu Tian recalled everything from the moment he met her. It seemed everything she did was for Fu Feng.
He remembered their first meeting; her very first words were about making Fu Feng her subordinate, to work for her.
"My original goal was indeed that, but now I genuinely want to form an alliance with you to fight the Sacred Ground together. But you don't trust me at all, and I can't do anything about that."
Her voice wasn't exactly quiet, but the roaring wind made it hard to hear clearly. Still, Fu Tian understood her meaning.
"I wanted to tell you too, but you're too deep. If you betrayed us, we'd have no way to recover." Fu Tian casually made an excuse for himself.
Ye Lanshan let out a cold laugh. "In short, you just don't trust me."
"I—" Fu Tian started to defend himself but was cut off by Ye Lanshan.
She said, "I don't care whether you trust me or not, and I don't care if you stay or go. But Fu Feng must remain."
"Do you think you and these wounded men can stop me?" Fu Tian's gaze darkened, his resentment toward her reaching its peak.
"To deal with you, I alone am enough." Though Ye Lanshan couldn't beat him in a fight, that didn't mean she had no other way to hold him back.
"Born of the same root, why rush to destroy each other? Since we're on the same side, let's sit down and talk things out. No need to escalate to blows."
Sikong Pang had been listening nearby, and with his recent understanding of the factions here, he could roughly guess their relationship.
He didn't have a great impression of Fu Tian either. After all, Ye Lanshan had helped him repeatedly, yet he showed no gratitude and even wanted to leave at their most critical moment.
"He wants to leave—I'll let him. But Fu Feng must stay." Though the tension between them had eased slightly, Ye Lanshan showed no sign of backing down on this.
"Fu Feng is just a child, inexperienced. Even if he's gifted, he's nowhere near your level. What's your real reason for keeping him?" Fu Tian's suspicious, scrutinizing gaze carried a hint of severity, as if he might strike her at any moment.
"I have my own use for him. Besides, when he begged me to save you, he already promised to be my subordinate for life. Now you want to take him away."
Ye Lanshan's voice carried a trace of cold detachment, like someone who had endured countless betrayals and grown numb to it all.
"Fu Feng, did you really agree to that? Didn't I tell you, no matter when or where, never put yourself in danger? Why did you agree?" Fu Tian turned to look at Fu Feng, demanding an explanation.
Fu Feng explained quietly, "Because I can't lose Grandpa."
"Do you realize how dangerous that is? You're handing your life over to someone else completely, understand?" Fu Tian shook his head in frustration, as if disappointed.
His eyes were filled with regret. If only he hadn't made that wrong decision, exposing their position, his entire team wouldn't have been wiped out.
If not for his own arrogance, thinking he could destroy a Sacred Ground outpost, they wouldn't have fled here in disgrace, forcing Fu Feng to become someone's servant.
"But I don't regret it, Grandpa. You should know how much Sister Ye has done for us during this time. She's not the kind of person you think." Fu Feng had already sided with Ye Lanshan because of her actions.
"She could make a deal with her enemy, the Sacred Ground. How do you know she won't sacrifice your life for some other gain in the future?" Fu Tian hadn't expected his well-taught grandson to speak up for Ye Lanshan.
Great. I made that deal with the Sacred Ground for you, and now it's all my fault. Hah, how utterly stubborn. Ye Lanshan silently cursed Fu Tian in her mind.
"That's not fair. If it weren't for saving you, would Ye Lanshan have dealt with the Sacred Ground? And now you're twisting things, making your departure sound so noble. Hmph, how are you any different from the Sacred Ground?"
Ye Yu, as Ye Lanshan's most loyal subordinate, couldn't stand to hear Fu Tian's words any longer.
Fu Tian's face turned pale, then red. It took him a while to recover, and his voice suddenly sounded years older, tinged with regret. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Fu Feng, if you want to stay, then stay."
"Grandpa, are you going back?" Fu Feng saw his suddenly hunched back and the resolve in his eyes, and an inexplicable panic seized him.
Fu Tian gave a faint smile. "If I don't leave, the Sacred Ground will never let this place go. Ye Lanshan, no matter how brilliant you are, you don't have the power to oppose the Sacred Ground yet."
"So all that talk just now was to go alone and lure Yun Qingfeng and the others away?" Ye Lanshan's tone softened slightly.
"Grandpa, don't leave me alone in this world." Fu Feng's eyes instantly reddened. He had agreed to become Ye Lanshan's subordinate to save his grandfather. If his grandfather died, what meaning would his life have left?
"If sacrificing one person can ensure Fu Feng's safety for life, then death is worth it." Fu Tian gave a helpless smile, knowing Ye Lanshan had seen through his plan.
"But have you considered Fu Feng's feelings? Have you thought about our plans ahead? Do you really think the Sacred Ground can run rampant in the Moon Kingdom? This fight isn't just ours—it's the emperor's battle against the Sacred Ground."
"How could the Sacred Ground and the royal family ever clash?" Fu Tian didn't believe they had any conflict, given their interdependent relationship of mutual prosperity and decline.
"The royal family has been dissatisfied with the Sacred Ground for a long time. Now we just need a reason."