The man who stepped off the boat was the Envoy Yang Qing had encountered before.
The man who had worn a mask from beginning to end.
He walked slowly toward them, the same mask still covering his face, yet Yang Qing and the others could sense a trace of amusement in his eyes.
"You really have surprised me. To think you found this place so quickly and even made it onto the island."
He repeated what he had said earlier.
Yang Qing looked back at him with the ghost of a smile. "Indeed, we've reached the island safe and sound. But what brings you here?"
The man paid little heed to their attitude. Even the chill in Yang Qing's words did not trouble him in the slightest.
"Naturally, I came to do what can be done."
As he spoke, the Envoy swept his gaze over them again. "If I'm not mistaken, you've already obtained the Rootless Wood?"
At his apparent foreknowledge, Yang Qing's heart remained as still as water. He was not surprised at all.
By now, little that happened around him could astonish him.
Earlier, he had still been uncertain whether he had fallen into an intricately laid trap, unable to settle on an answer.
But now, hearing the Envoy's words, he was certain that whoever had laid this trap knew everything that had happened to them.
Indeed, the man before him might well be the one carrying out every part of the plan—and, naturally, overseeing it too.
Having understood this, Yang Qing harbored no particular feelings toward the man before him, much less displayed any hostility.
He wanted to see what methods this man would use on him and the people behind him this time.
The man took another step forward and looked solemnly at Yang Qing. "Since