The three girls were frustrated too. This was the first time they truly felt the wrath of Zhao Yarou, plus they were surprised by Ye Lang’s ability to respond and fend for himself.
They all thought Ye Lang was a clueless, slow kid and would probably be slow to react to a situation like that and get caught himself.
This wasn’t just them, many people thought that too. The people who were present realised they were quite wrong.
It was at that moment when everyone recalled how Ye Lang, like a madman, brought his family safely out of the empire despite being surrounded by a huge army.
The people who were previously sceptical of the story were now convinced.
“Thank goodness you escaped. As long as you came out of there.” Athena patted her chest as if a weight had lifted. She was getting worried as she listened to his story.
Although she knew that Ye Lang was already here, safe and sound, she couldn’t help but fear for his safety too.
“In this world, I don’t think anyone can trap me. Although I’m not the strongest, most powerful person, I am definitely the best at turning situations to my advantage,” said Ye Lang proudly. If everyone understood what he meant, they would’ve been exasperated at what he just said.
“What?” Athena asked, muddled.
Ye Lang said solemnly, “Turning situations to my advantage. It’s a complex concept involving breaking ranks, retreating…”
“…”
“To put it simply, you mean running away…” huffed Athena when she understood.
“Cough cough…” Ye Lang coughed but did not deny this.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that. The current problem is how shall we get the armour? Li Yue already knows his true identity, taking the armour from her will be very difficult now. Should we change the plan again, should we go to your lab?” asked Athena, furrowing her brows.
“We don’t have to discuss anymore, I have made my decision. I called all of you here today to tell you one thing– from today onwards, I will be working alone. All you need to do is listen for my updates,” said Ye Lang quietly as he looked at the night sky.
He was very calm but the three girls leapt in alarm.
“What? You want to work alone? No, absolutely not! How could we let you go alone while we wait? Absolutely not!” Athena shook her head in objection, her tone filled with resolve.
“At this point, you three can no longer help me. The most important thing is that they should never know about the three of you or Zhao Yarou would definitely guess what our true mission is. If that happens, I will face more obstacles when I ‘turn the situation to my advantage’” Ye Lang said with a smile. “Fox, I knew you would never agree so I had to talk to you in person. Remember this, from today on, you will only be a diplomat sent from the fox tribe. Do not get involved in anything else.”
Athena was stunned for a moment. She’d initially wanted to object but she was stunned by what he said. She did not understand. Did this mean he really cared a lot for her?
No matter what, this meant that Athena was not just a supporting character to Ye Lang. She was important- or at least, he cared about her safety.
This was probably the best thing that came out of the situation, to Athena because there weren’t many people in this world whom this clueless idiot cared about.
Such extra kindness didn’t come from nowhere. She’d been looking after him along the way, helped him with his plans… He knew to repay her after all this too.
“But…” Athena and the other two were still worried.
“Don’t worry, I escaped from what just happened! Now that I’m more prepared, it’ll be easier. Believe me, no place in this world can hold me,” said Ye Lang with a smile.
“What do you plan to do?” asked Athena.
“You’ll know when it happens, you’ll receive updates. When you do, remember this: do not behave any differently,” reminded Ye Lang again. He did not want them to find Coldblood Five and Athena.
“Please be careful, look for me if anything happens. No matter what, I will help you.” With a long look, Athena finally agreed to let him work alone. She didn’t want to but she could feel the resolution in his tone. She could not stop him even if she wanted to.
“Little Five, don’t even think about following me.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. If anything happens, I’ll do my best to save you. If you die, I’ll kill everyone who was involved,” said Coldblood Five coldly with no emotion like it was nothing.
Coldblood Seven and Ye Lang were already used to this. They knew this was her personality, she would speak like that no matter how serious the situation was.
Athena was not used to it at all. She stared at her questioningly.
“Alright, it is settled then. We’ll go our separate ways. Go do your own stuff tomorrow, I’ll deal with this within a few days. I don’t want to drag this matter any longer, I want to treat Tigress’ father as soon as possible,” said Ye Lang, staring up at the sky.
“Alright,” answered the three girls. Then, they disappeared into the darkness back to where they came from. From that moment on, until all of this was over, they would not do anything related to Ye Lang.
Right now, Ye Lang was left alone. This wasn’t a bad thing to him. Instead, he had more freedom this way.
“What will he do? Look for Li Yue? Or return to the Ye Residence?”
These questions would plague Athena over the next few days, she felt like both were equally possible. Both routes were difficult too– though perhaps talking to Li Yue was more challenging.
Yep, Zhao Yarou did not know there was another set of Tianji armour in Ye Lang’s alchemy laboratory or she would’ve sent more men to the Ye Residence, plus plant hidden fighters as strong as the ones around Li Yue at the mansion.
No one knew of this though, all their focus was on Li Yue. Li Yue was the bait to lure Ye Lang into the open, their efforts and eyes were all on her.
That was why taking the Tianji armour from Li Yue would be a lot more troublesome.
