"Mr. Kawai, if you want to go to the Dragon King's Pool, there's no problem at all."

Although Xia Liang was a bit impatient inside, he still maintained his usual composure on the surface.

"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Xia Liang. We'll prepare and head out shortly."

After saying this, Kawai Matsutake left Xia Liang's room, and the smile on Xia Liang's face vanished.

"Are they about to take action? What exactly are these guys planning to do in the Qinling Mountains?"

Standing by the table, Xia Liang gazed out the window, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the surface.

"Whatever they plan to do, since they dare to cause trouble on Dragon Country's turf, they shouldn't expect success."

Xia Liang snapped back to focus, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, as he took out his phone and made a call.

Half an hour later, Xia Liang boarded the bus, where Kawai Matsutake and his companions were already prepared.

"Everyone, please fasten your seat belts. We are setting off now."

With that, Xia Liang drove the vehicle towards the Dragon King's Pool.

Dragon King's Pool is about eighty kilometers away, near Jiu Valley. It takes roughly an hour and a half to get there by bus.

"Mr. Kawai, we've arrived..."

Just as Xia Liang stopped the vehicle and began to speak, he found Kawai Matsutake already at his side, with a blade gleaming sinisterly before him.

"Mr. Kawai, what are you planning to do?"

Xia Liang feigned surprise as he asked.

In his mind, however, there was little disturbance; if he wanted to, Xia Liang could turn the tables and kill them all right now.

"Mr. Xia Liang, thank you for guiding us these past few days. Rest assured, just as long as you behave, I will ensure your safety. Now, get off the bus."

With a face that carried a trace of coldness, Kawai Matsutake spoke.

"And don't think about escaping; otherwise, we'll take your life at any moment."

"Alright, alright, Mr. Ueno, I'll listen to you."

Uttering these words, Xia Liang hurriedly got off the bus, though his heart was full of amazement.

"These guys turned out to be ninjas!"

He wasn't unfamiliar with ninjas from Sakura Country. As a Guardian, although he hadn't interacted with them before, he had read up on them.

When one mentions ninjas, most ordinary people think of them as mysterious beings that appear and disappear without a trace.

But in reality, ninjas have no chakra, nor can they fly or burrow. They are simply well-trained warriors.

However, ninjas are indeed troublesome, with their expertise in assassination, mastery of hidden weapons, and fondness for poison.

It's indeed unfortunate to be targeted by a hidden ninja.

But all the ninjas present were exposed to Xia Liang, possibly thinking he was an ordinary person, thus lowering their guard.

Trained individuals often have many opportunities to escape, but eluding capture from these people isn't easy.

With any sudden movements, countless hidden weapons and poisoned arrows would be aimed at him, ready to take his life in an instant.

Of course, this doesn't apply to Xia Liang.

"Mr. Kawai, what exactly are you planning to do? Is it because my work as a tour guide was unsatisfactory?"

After getting off the bus and seeing Kawai Matsutake approach, Xia Liang continued to feign panic.

"Mr. Xia Liang, your work as a tour guide has been satisfactory to us. In fact, we need you for the time to come as well."

Kawai Matsutake said with a smile.

"We need to go deep into the Qinling Mountains. Going deep into the Qinling Mountains? What are you doing there? That place is crawling with wild beasts and very dangerous. It's completely different from the tourist areas we've visited before."

"All you need to do is come along with us. You don't have to worry about anything else. If the trip is to our satisfaction, we might even let you go."

Said Kawai Matsutake, with a glint of murderous intent in his eyes, his earlier genteel demeanor nowhere to be seen.

"But if you're disobedient, I'll kill you right now."

"Mr. Kawai, I'll go. I'll go, isn't that enough? Please don't kill me."

Xia Liang trembled as if intimidated by his adversary's murderous aura.

Seeing Xia Liang's demeanor, Kawai Matsutake nodded in satisfaction. Under normal circumstances, he would control Xia Liang with poison.

However, the urgency of the situation and his certainty that Xia Liang was just an ordinary person over the past few days meant he paid it no mind. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

After all, with their skills, killing an ordinary person would be a trivial task.

"Kawai, how did it go?"

At this point, a voice sounded. Following the sound, Xia Liang saw an older man seated in a wheelchair being pushed over by Kurokawa Motoishi.

"Mr. Nakamura, Mr. Xia Liang has agreed to accompany us into the Qinling Mountains."

Seeing the elder approach, Kawai Matsutake spoke with respect.

"Hmm, then let's go. Over the past few days, we've basically pinpointed the approximate location."

Nakamura Komachi gave Xia Liang a faint glance. He brought Xia Liang along because he knew the depths of the Qinling Mountains were treacherous, and someone would need to blaze the path. Thus, everyone gathered their belongings, carrying their backpacks, and headed into the Qinling Mountains, with Xia Liang amongst them, walking beside Kawai Matsutake.

What exactly are these guys looking for in the Qinling Mountains that took them several days to pinpoint the location through a high-altitude approach?

Walking amongst the group, Xia Liang thought silently, glancing into the distance, those guys should arrive soon. Hmm~

Otherwise, dealing with these people and taking them out alone would be quite troublesome.

Not even two hours after Xia Liang and the others left, another modified military truck arrived. Several well-equipped special forces soldiers jumped off the vehicle.

"Captain, we're still late; there's no one on the bus anymore. But according to satellite tracking, the Guardian should've entered the Qinling Mountains with them."

The leader nodded as he listened to the report, and his gaze turned towards the Qinling Mountains.

"Everyone prepare to enter the Qinling Mountains. These Sakura Country people are bold enough to stir trouble on our Dragon Country's land."

The leader snorted coldly, glancing at his team members.

"Continue tracking the Guardian's location. Once we arrive, take orders from the Guardian."

With that, everyone began organizing, temporarily leaving unnecessary equipment on the vehicle. Then, they set off lightly into the Qinling Mountains.

By now, Xia Liang and his group had already ventured deep into the Qinling Mountains. Xia Liang wasn't sure how far they'd gone.

This was actually his first time here.

"Mr. Kawai, what exactly are you guys doing in this godforsaken place? It's too dangerous here. I think we should leave as soon as possible."

Xia Liang said, putting on an appearance of fear, alertly scanning the surroundings.

"Mr. Xia Liang, rest assured. As long as you obediently follow us, we will ensure your safety."

Kawai Matsutake chuckled.

"But now that we've entered the Qinling Mountains, there's no harm in telling you our objective."