Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips carrying a faint, ambiguous smile as he looked at Kang Jingchen with a smile that was not quite a smile.
"Oh? Cooperation? I am rather interested. Little Prince, why not speak plainly? What sort of cooperation do you have in mind?"
Kang Jingchen's heart abruptly tightened, and fine beads of sweat had already seeped into his palms. The matter of cooperation had been entirely his own idea, and he had rehearsed it in his mind several times beforehand.
He hurriedly took a deep breath in secret, forcibly suppressing the tide-like nervousness churning in his heart. He squeezed out a somewhat strained smile and cleared his throat.
"Sect Master Zhao, there have been many rumors lately. I wonder if you have heard that a city in our Dagan has mysteriously vanished?"
Zhao Yun nodded slightly, his expression calm. "I have naturally heard some rumors. But this matter is simply too bizarre. A whole city vanished into thin air—anyone who heard it would click their tongues and doubt whether it was true.
"Little Prince, are you bringing this up now to tell me that this rumor is not groundless?"
The news of Longqing City's disappearance had spread through the Dagan Dynasty like wildfire, to the point where nearly everyone knew of it.
Zhao Yun naturally would not pretend ignorance. That would have been far too clumsy, something anyone could see through at a glance.
Kang Jingchen's expression instantly turned solemn, and he nodded silently. "To be honest with Sect Master Zhao, the rumor is indeed true.
"Moreover, the city's disappearance was not a natural disaster, but the work of man.
"Whoever stood behind it must have been plotting something enormous. Yet despite our investigations from every direction, we have not found the