Mu Xi’s eyes widened slightly.
Seventy percent was already the majority share for Nan Qiao, yet she still wanted ninety percent.
She probably thought that I, as an outsider military advisor, should be grateful just to get a share, and shouldn’t ask for more.
“In the command room, strategizing—but who led the escort team charging at the front? Who blocked that fatal ambush for her?” A cold smirk curled at the corner of Ye Lan’s lips. “Has she forgotten who was the one who…”
Her tone remained calm, but Mu Xi could hear the undercurrent of suppressed turbulence beneath that calm.
The argument must have been intense and unpleasant.
“So, you had a falling out?” Mu Xi asked.
“It’s not quite a rift.”
Ye Lan withdrew her gaze and looked back at Mu Xi. Her deep eyes held a knowing clarity. “She needs my mind and my fighting strength. I need Stone City as a temporary foothold and a springboard. We need each other, and we restrain each other. This relationship is both solid and fragile.”
She paused, then added, “At least until each of us achieves our final goal, no one will easily tear it apart.”
Mu Xi fell silent.
Ye Lan’s words gave her a glimpse into the complex and cold reality between these factions.
There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.
Beneath Nan Qiao’s warmth and boldness lay the cunning and greed of a city lord.
And behind Ye Lan’s arrogance and dominance was a deep, calculated scheming that took one step at a time.
She suddenly found it somewhat laughable.
Carried along by their ambition and desire, she had no choice. Caught among these people like an insignificant pawn, she felt even more powerless.
Hatred surged again—sharper, yet more helpless. She hated Ye Lan for destroying everything she had, and she hated her own weakness and incompetence.
She turned her head, once again showing Ye Lan the back of her head, and fixed her gaze out the window.
The armored vehicle left a straight trail of dust across the desert.
On the distant horizon, a huge, rugged outline gradually became clear.
Stone City.
It was less a city and more a fortress forged from steel and rock.
It stood abruptly at the end of the yellow desert. Its enormous walls were built of black rock and rust-tinged steel, the surface covered with wind-eroded marks and scars from past battles, silently exuding a suffocating sense of oppression. Above the high walls, cannon muzzles bristled, watchtowers stood stern, reflecting the cold, hard metallic luster. Even from a distance, one could feel the intense atmosphere of tight security.
As the vehicle drew closer, a massive black steel gate came into view.
Multiple checkpoints were set up before the gate. Soldiers in uniform, heavily armed with live ammunition, patrolled the inspection stations. Their movements were brisk, their expressions stern.
The armored vehicle stopped at the first checkpoint.
The unique purple emblem of the Nightfall Guards on the vehicle’s side made the inspecting soldiers dare not show negligence, but the routine check procedure was not omitted.
The driver conducted a brief communication verification with the sentry.
A moment later, the heavy steel gate let out a harsh grinding sound and slowly rose, revealing the road leading into the city.
‘Could it be that the enemy deliberately let me out?’
At that thought, a chill ran up her spine.
The armored vehicle drove into the city gate. Under Nan Qiao’s governance, Stone City clearly had its own order.
The armored vehicle did not stop on the main road. Instead, it turned onto a relatively secluded side path and finally stopped before a three-story building that looked exceptionally sturdy. The building was made entirely of reinforced concrete, with alloy plates added to the outer layer.
Silent Language Building.
Mu Xi’s heart contracted sharply.
It was from here that she had escaped not long ago.
And now, she was brought back.
Like a runaway child, eventually caught and returned to the cage.
The door opened, and Ye Lan stepped out first.
She stood by the door, not turning to urge, but that silent waiting itself was an order that brooked no refusal.
Mu Xi sat in the car, unmoving.
She stared at the cold metal door, as if she could feel the chill emanating from it.
Humiliation, anger, resentment, exhaustion—all kinds of emotions churned and intertwined in her heart, nearly swallowing her.
She had escaped, yet she had returned.
It felt like a cruel joke, mocking her overestimation of her own abilities.
Ye Lan seemed to sense her hesitation. She finally turned her head and fixed her gaze on Mu Xi.
That gaze was calm and flat, but it carried an invisible pressure. “Get out.”
Two simple words, no threat, no coaxing. Just stating an established fact.
Mu Xi bit her lower lip.
Resistance was futile.
Here, on Ye Lan’s turf, she had no chance of winning.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and forced herself to calm down.
She couldn’t let emotions control her, couldn’t let Ye Lan see her weakness and collapse.
She pushed the door open and stepped out with a somewhat stiff movement. The ground beneath her feet was hard and cold, seeping through the thin soles of her shoes. She lowered her head, avoiding Ye Lan’s gaze, and also avoiding the building that symbolized imprisonment.
Ye Lan said nothing more. She turned and walked toward the metal door. A team member who had been waiting there stepped forward, verified Ye Lan’s identity, and the heavy door silently slid inward.
Ye Lan walked in.
Mu Xi stood still, like a statue that had lost its soul.
Sunlight shone on her silver hair, reflecting a blinding light, but it couldn’t dispel the chill in her heart.
She had to follow.
Running away wouldn’t solve anything.
She needed to face it, to endure, to gather strength, and wait for the next opportunity.
She lifted her foot, step by step, slowly and heavily, walking toward that dark, gaping entrance.
The metal door closed slowly behind her, emitting a dull sound, cutting off the outside world and completely extinguishing the faint glimmer of hope that had just flickered within her.
She stood in the foyer. The familiar surroundings made her feel suffocated.
Simple and hard-edged furniture, reinforced tables and chairs, a metal staircase leading to the second floor—everything was exactly as it was when she left, cold and solid.
Ye Lan had already reached the staircase. She stopped, turned back to look at Mu Xi, her voice still hoarse but carrying an unassailable command: “Go to your room and rest.”
With that, she no longer looked at Mu Xi and walked straight up the metal stairs. Her footsteps echoed in the empty space, clear and cold.
Mu Xi stood alone in the empty foyer, surrounded by deathly silence.
She lifted her head, watching Ye Lan’s back disappear around the corner of the stairs, and clenched her fists tightly.
She slowly turned around, looked at the tightly shut metal door, and then, step by step, walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
The second-floor corridor was silent, with only the sound of Mu Xi’s own footsteps. Her room, her cage, awaited her.
Step by step, she trod on the cold metal floor.
The second-floor corridor was silent, with only the sound of Mu Xi’s own footsteps. Her room door was slightly ajar, letting out a faint sliver of light.
She pushed the door open. The familiar yet unfamiliar furnishings came into view.
The master bedroom: a large bed with clean, soft sheets, and a small vanity table.
Everything here remained as it was when she left, but because of her return, it was now tinged with the shadow of imprisonment.
Ye Lan stood with her back to the door, in front of the window.
She too was wearing a dark civilian outfit, her long black hair casually draped over her shoulders, covering the wounds on the back of her neck and back.
Even just a silhouette exuded a heavy, oppressive pressure.
Mu Xi stopped at the door, not entering.
The places on her arms and thighs wrapped in bandages throbbed with faint pain, reminding her of her recent humiliation and her current situation.
“Come in.” Ye Lan’s voice rang out, without turning around, calm and unruffled.