Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well (Part 1)

After leaving the imperial palace and walking through the streets, Huangfu Ji was still thinking about what Xue Ye had said.

Clearly, he had escaped the wolf's jaws only to enter the tiger's mouth. From Xue Ye's words, he could vaguely tell that the other man no longer wanted him to govern the Qingyang Duchy—or rather, that the imperial family no longer wanted the Huangfu Family to rule Qingyang.

However, replacing them would not be so simple. The Huangfu Family's four-hundred-year foundation was not something that could be easily shaken. Even though there were few members of the Huangfu Family left now, as long as he remained, the Huangfu Family remained.

And the Qingyang Duchy would still belong to the Huangfu Family.

Although Xue Ye had not stated it outright, Huangfu Ji had picked up on something else. Xue Ye certainly wanted to nurture him, then make great use of him in the future—perhaps bestowing upon him the title of Guardian Douluo several decades from now.

Anyone called a Guardian Douluo possessed an incomparably lofty status. It could be said that they stood above all but one, even higher than a prince.

But that was not what he wanted.

The Huangfu Family's four-hundred-year legacy could not be ruined in his hands.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped.

Turning back, he saw nothing but the bustling crowd behind him, and heard only the cries of vendors and passersby.

Yet he could sense that someone had been following him in secret. Ever since he had left the imperial palace, someone had been trailing him.

He turned around and continued toward the hotel.

Within the crowd, several plainly dressed men watched Huangfu Ji's retreating back.

"Sir, have we been discovered?"

A stern-faced middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth nodded.

"We've definitely been discovered. This Grand Duke is quite vigilant."

These men were the Soul Masters who had ambushed Huangfu Ji after he left the Qingyang Duchy. Having failed their mission, they had followed Huangfu Ji all the way to Heaven Dou City.

"Should we make a move?" one of them asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head. "This is Heaven Dou City, the imperial capital. Killing someone here—and killing the Grand Duke of Qingyang, at that—do you think the Empire would allow it?"

"Besides, if we can't kill him in one strike, dragging things out will attract the Empire's Soul Masters. That would be extremely disadvantageous for us."

"Then when should we act? If we fail to complete the mission given to us from above, we won't be able to go back either," another man said worriedly.

The middle-aged man furrowed his brow.

"Wait. Isn't he here to study? Sooner or later, he'll leave Heaven Dou City."

"Then we'll kill him outside the city."

"What about now?" his subordinate asked.

The middle-aged man said flatly, "Keep an eye on him."

With that, he waved his hand, and the men dispersed.

After returning to the hotel, Huangfu Ji took out paper and brush and wrote a letter. This letter was for Liu Erlong. After sealing it, he went to the hotel's front desk.

"Can you send letters from here?"

The waiter at the counter glanced up at Huangfu Ji, then immediately replied respectfully.

"Yes. May I ask whom you wish to send it to?"

Huangfu Ji took out the letter, wrote down the address, and handed the waiter several Gold Soul Coins.

At the sight of the Gold Soul Coins, the waiter's eyes immediately lit up.

"Rest assured, sir. I'll arrange for someone to deliver the letter as quickly as possible."

For no other reason than the Gold Soul Coins. Those few coins were worth two months of his wages. And this hotel was one of the finest in Heaven Dou City.

"As soon as possible." With that, Huangfu Ji left.

After returning to his room, he stood by the balcony and watched the crowd below. After watching for a while, he turned around and went back to cultivate.

It was not until evening that Huangfu Ji emerged from cultivation. Glancing at the setting sun outside, he changed into a set of coarse clothes and disguised himself, doing his best to look utterly ordinary.

Then he summoned a waiter with a build similar to his own.

"Sit cross-legged here and pretend to be cultivating until I return."

After giving the instruction, he handed the man ten Gold Soul Coins.

"Rest assured, sir. Before you return, even if I die, I'll die in this room." The waiter respectfully accepted the Gold Soul Coins with both hands, then took the clothes Huangfu Ji gave him.

Huangfu Ji slipped out through the back door alongside the people delivering food, then directly blended into the crowd. Those secretly monitoring him noticed nothing; they still believed Huangfu Ji was inside the hotel.

Although they could not see Huangfu Ji from outside, they could bribe the hotel staff and obtain news about him from them.

According to the latest information, Huangfu Ji was still cultivating in the hotel.

Before the city gates closed, Huangfu Ji slipped out of the city.

After leaving the city, he looked around and, after confirming that no one was following him, hurried toward Sunset Forest.

By the time he arrived outside Sunset Forest, night had fallen.

Moonlight spilled across the earth, illuminating the road ahead. Though the forest was pitch-black, Huangfu Ji did not fear it. He entered the forest and raced toward its depths.

For others, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was not easy to find. Along the way, he had climbed nearly every mountain he came across.

As he ventured deeper, he gradually became more cautious. The farther in he searched, the more soul beasts there were. In just this short time, he had already encountered seven Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and one Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Still, he became increasingly certain that he was not far from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

He sniffed the air, but the sulfur smell he had expected was nowhere to be found.

"Looks like it isn't here."

He continued deeper. To find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well faster, Huangfu Ji simply used Martial Soul Possession and flew through the air. As long as he could find rising heat or catch the scent of sulfur, he could basically determine where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was.

He searched until deep into the night, yet still failed to find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Why is Sunset Forest so huge?"

Huangfu Ji was thoroughly depressed. He had known Sunset Forest was large, but he had never imagined it would be this large. He had searched until midnight and still had not found the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

He could no longer see the road ahead. Even though he was a soul master, he was only a Soul Elder. If he encountered a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast now, death would be his only outcome.

"I'll keep looking tomorrow."

Left with no choice, he found a relatively safe place to rest for the night and decided to wait until daylight. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would not run away, after all.

At present, across the entire Douluo Continent, aside from him, there was probably no second person who knew of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's existence. No one had even heard this name before. Tang San had not reincarnated yet.

Leaning against a tree and gazing at the stars overhead, a feeling of loneliness suddenly rose within him. Perhaps because it was night, he actually felt lonely—a feeling absent during the day.

"If this were my previous life, I'd probably be firing up NetEase Cloud Music to wallow."

Muttering to himself, Huangfu Ji laughed self-mockingly.

He did not sleep all night.

The next day arrived.

When the morning sunlight shone into the forest, Huangfu Ji once again set out in search of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

He searched for another entire morning. Only when he arrived at the foot of a mountain did he catch a faint scent of sulfur in the air.

"Great, I finally found it!" Huangfu Ji was overjoyed, stamping his feet excitedly on the spot.