128 There Will Be a Way Out
Hearing Lin Ran’s request, the empress was stunned for a moment before asking with a smile, “How about I lend you the throne for a few days?”
“The throne?”
Lin Ran thought for a moment and waved his hand. “How can I do that? Besides, I don’t need it.”
“Oh, you actually know you are not supposed to do that?”
The empress shouted sternly, and the smile on her face instantly disappeared. “The Sacred Abyss Sword is more important than the imperial jade seal of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty! Even if I want to use the Sacred Abyss Sword, I have to hold a sacrificial ceremony to inform the previous emperors. How can I lend it just like that?”
Lin Ran was shocked by the empress’s reaction. He quickly waved his hand and said, “It’s my fault for not making it clear. I want you to make a fake Sacred Abyss Sword and pretend to have lost the real Sacred Abyss Sword.”
The empress blinked. “What do you mean? Tell me clearly!”
“Can you just do as I said and I’ll explain it to you later?”
Lin Ran said helplessly, “It’s really a long story. A fake sword can’t be made in a short time. I’ll explain it to you when I have the time.”
The empress still stood rooted to the ground. “Explain first. I have a way to make a fake sword.”
Lin Ran didn’t know what the empress could do to make a fake Sacred Abyss Sword in a short period of time, but he could tell that the empress was very determined.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran turned around and gave Huo Qiyun a look, asking him to take Xiao Huai away first. Then, he invited the empress to sit down and began to tell her what he had seen tonight and his guess about the Dragon Elephant Divine Master, Liu Hongshan.
In order to make the empress trust him, Lin Ran explained everything in detail.
This was the first time he was so honest with the empress. He only hid the part about the death of the Sword God and lied that the Sword God was seriously injured.
By the time Lin Ran explained the cause and effect, it was already more than an hour later.
“Do you believe me now?”
Lin Ran heaved a sigh of relief and took a few more sips of tea before continuing to ask, “Can you get someone to make the fake Sacred Abyss Sword?”
The empress did not answer. Instead, she changed the topic and said, “Your plan is to let Xiao Huai bring the fake sword back. Then, you will follow her all the way.”
“If you see Liu Hongshan, it means that Xiao Huai is not lying. If you don’t see him, it means that this is another trap set up by Xiao Huai, and you kill her on the spot, right?”
Lin Ran nodded. “That’s basically right. Is there a problem?”
“There’s a small problem.”
The empress nodded slightly, her clear eyes filled with seriousness and worry. “If your guess is confirmed, how do you want to deal with Liu Hongshan? Are you confident in defeating him?”
“No.”
Lin Ran shook his head calmly. Before the empress could speak, he continued, “There’s always a way out. What I have to do now is to confirm if this person exists and what he did. As for how to deal with him, that’s the next step.”
Looking at the indifferent Lin Ran, the empress felt inexplicably uncertain.
However, on second thought, Lin Ran seemed to have always been like this. On the surface, he looked carefree, but he knew what to do.
The empress was not an indecisive person to begin with. After thinking it through, she no longer hesitated.
After a pause, the empress said seriously, “The body of the Sacred Abyss Sword is made of meteoric iron. It can cut iron like mud without leaving a trace, not to mention the emperor’s sword intent contained in it.”
“Liu Hongshan once served as a general of the Western Garrison. He must have seen the Sacred Abyss Sword at a certain sacrificial ceremony. If he’s really still alive, ordinary fake swords can’t fool him.”
Lin Ran’s heart sank when he heard this. He really didn’t expect the Sacred Abyss Sword to have so much story behind it. Was his plan going to be ruined before it even started?
Seeing Lin Ran’s disappointed expression, the empress smiled and continued, “However, there’s always a way out. If you get the Sacred Abyss Sword of Mount Sword, you might be able to fool him.”
“Sacred Abyss Sword of Mount Sword? Isn’t that sword in the secret room of the Hidden Sword Pavilion?”
Lin Ran asked subconsciously. After saying that, he suddenly thought of something and frowned. “I remember you saying that the Heavenly Saint Dynasty only has one Sacred Abyss Sword.”
“That’s right. There’s indeed only one real Sacred Abyss Sword.”
The empress smiled playfully and explained, “However, there’s another replica of the Sacred Abyss Sword in Mount Sword. It’s a pure sacrificial artifact. The real Sacred Abyss Sword will only be used during large-scale celebrations. As for the other small-scale sacrificial offerings, that sacrificial artifact will be used instead.”
“That sacrificial artifact was forged by the previous emperors. Although the material is not as good as the Sacred Abyss Sword, its appearance is almost the same. Moreover, it has been used by the emperors, so there is also some emperor’s sword intent.”
Lin Ran asked, “Where is that sacrificial artifact?”
“In Sacred Sword Hall.”
The empress replied casually. Seeing Lin Ran’s confused expression, she added, “It’s the place where the Sacred Abyss Sword is said to be buried.”
Hearing the empress’s explanation, Lin Ran was still confused. “Is there such a place on Mount Sword?”
This time, it was the empress’s turn to be confused. “You’ve been guarding Mount Sword for six years, but you actually don’t know about the Sacred Sword Hall?”
Before Lin Ran could speak, the empress thought of something and said, “It’s strange. I go to Mount Sword more than ten times a year, but I’ve only seen you a few times… You’ve been in Mount Sword for six years. What have you been doing all this time? Why didn’t I see you?”
“Um… I went to wipe the swords!”
Lin Ran scratched his head and replied awkwardly, “There are so many swords on Mount Sword, and Daoist Li didn’t help. I was busy every day!”
The empress smiled and did not ask further. After thinking for a moment, she replied seriously, “Since you want to create the rumor that the Sacred Abyss Sword is missing, I can’t get people to bring it over. You have to steal it yourself. Moreover, only the few of us know about this… Do you know what this means?”
Lin Ran nodded, his expression gradually turning solemn. “It means that we can’t be discovered. Otherwise, we’ll become traitors of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty.”
“In the eyes of the world, that sacrificial artifact is the real Sacred Abyss Sword.”
The empress’s tone suddenly became heavy. “The crime of stealing Sacred Abyss Sword is the same as killing the emperor. Once you’re exposed, I’ll have to mobilize the entire army to hunt you down. All the prefectures, counties, and towns will put up arrest warrants to arrest you. Even those martial artists will chase after you.”
“In short, for a long time, you will never have peace… Have you really thought it through?”
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