136 Imprisoned
After hearing Lin Ran’s description, Shen Rulin nodded slightly. After thinking for a moment, he probed, “Lord Lin, do you still remember the appearance of that thief?”
Lin Ran nodded. “I’ll draw a portrait of him for you when I get back. Please search Mount Sword and see if anything is missing.”
“There’s no need. Someone will do the searching.”
As Shen Rulin spoke, he waved his hand. Two white-armored warriors went forward and sandwiched Lin Ran between them. “Lord Lin, please!”
Lin Ran looked at the white-armored warriors beside him. Although Shen Rulin did not use force, it was obvious that he still did not trust Lin Ran completely.
However, Lin Ran was confident that he wouldn’t expose himself, so he wasn’t afraid of being suspected. He nodded and followed them down.
Soon, the group arrived at the entrance of Mount Sword. There were soldiers everywhere, but they were all gathered far away. There were only five carriages parked at the entrance. They were white, green, black, red, and yellow.
The carriage was covered with curtains, so Lin Ran couldn’t see who was sitting inside. However, Lin Ran narrowed his eyes slightly and knew that almost everyone inside was at the Grandmaster Realm.
Although they were still inferior to Lin Ran, they were definitely top-notch masters in the world!
“When did the Heavenly Saint Dynasty have so many grandmasters? Why haven’t I heard of them before?”
Lin Ran felt that it was strange, but he didn’t show it on his face. Sensing a few gazes on him in the carriage, he quietly suppressed his cultivation to the ninth level of the Senior Martial Master Realm.
After Shen Rulin gestured for Lin Ran to wait for a moment, he quickly walked to the white carriage and spoke to the person in the carriage in a low voice. Then, he returned to Lin Ran’s side. “Lord Lin, I’m very sorry. As an important witness of this incident, you need to follow us somewhere first so that we can protect you.”
“By protecting me, you mean imprisonment and interrogation, right?”
Lin Ran sneered and pointed at his ears. “Remember to lower your voice next time. My ears are very sharp.”
Shen Rulin narrowed his eyes and seemed to be smiling. Then, he took out a white handkerchief from his breastplate and folded it into a long strip. He looked at Lin Ran. “Sorry to offend you.”
Lin Ran sighed and closed his eyes, letting the other party blindfold him. Then, he felt someone grab his arm, and then he heard a violent wind roar!
After about fifteen minutes, the howling wind finally stopped. Lin Ran landed back on the solid ground, and the white handkerchief over his eyes was taken off.
“Lord Lin, you can open your eyes now.”
Hearing Shen Rulin’s voice, Lin Ran slowly opened his eyes.
On the way, Lin Ran had tried to use speed and direction to roughly determine their location, but when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Lotus Town?!”
Lin Ran looked at the familiar street in front of him. This was Lotus Town, where he and Huo Qiyun had stayed for a few days. He even saw the inn where the two of them had stayed!
Shen Rulin asked in surprise, “Lord Lin, have you been to Lotus Town?”
“Ah… I passed by a few times when I was out on a trip.”
Lin Ran replied. After a pause, he asked in confusion, “This is? When did you change your clothes?!”
As Lin Ran spoke, he turned to look at Shen Rulin. Before he could finish, he exclaimed.
At some point, the team of white-armored warriors had all changed into white plain clothes, including the two people holding Lin Ran’s arms.
Seeing this scene, Lin Ran couldn’t help but imagine a group of white-armored warriors flying on swords in the air and suddenly taking off their clothes together…
Shaking this thought off his mind, Lin Ran looked at Shen Rulin again and asked, “Is this the base of the Five Elements Imperial Guards? Why haven’t I heard of it before?”
“It’s considered the base.”
After Shen Rulin changed out of the armor, Lin Ran realized that he was not considered strong. It could even be said that he was a little thin. He was wearing white clothes and did not look like the deputy general of the imperial guards. Instead, he looked like a weak scholar.
Lin Ran knew that the existence of this mysterious army was a huge secret, so he didn’t ask further.
Shen Rulin had no intention of introducing himself either. He waved his hand gently and the other warriors dispersed into the crowd. He led Lin Ran to an inn not far away.
Shen Rulin did not walk into the inn Lin Ran stayed in before. Instead, they turned into an alley.
After walking in the alley for a moment, the two of them arrived at the back door of a large courtyard.
Shen Rulin pushed open the door and entered. After passing through the courtyard, he came to a side door and stood still. He turned around and said, “Lord Lin, please rest here for a while. Someone will send a brush and ink later. Please draw the appearance of that thief.”
Lin Ran agreed and pushed the door open. The room was not big and only had a few simple pieces of furniture. No one had been here for a long time, but it was quite clean.
Shen Rulin bade farewell and closed the door before leaving. Soon, there was silence outside.
Lin Ran listened carefully. Not only was there no sound outside the door, but there was also no sound within a hundred steps. He couldn’t help but find this strange. If Shen Rulin and the others didn’t believe him, shouldn’t they be guarding the door tightly?
However, on second thought, perhaps this was a test, so he didn’t think too much about it. He sat back at the table and waited quietly for someone to deliver the brush and ink.
At the same time, in the imperial study in the palace.
The empress slammed the desk. The ministers in front of the desk immediately knelt down!
“Your Majesty, calm down!”
The Grand Secretary, Zhang Yueheng, who was kneeling at the front, said, “Although the Sacred Abyss Sword and the main culprit are missing, the guards caught a person in Mount Sword. This person was once the mountain guardian. He must have something to do with it.”
“Oh?”
The anger in the empress’s eyes subsided slightly. “Did you get anything out of him?”
Zhang Yueheng said awkwardly, “Your Majesty, this person has a special identity. Without your permission, I don’t dare to interrogate him.”
“Outrageous!”
The empress scolded angrily and slammed the desk again. “Stealing the Sacred Abyss Sword is equivalent to committing treason! Even if he’s just a suspect, he has to be interrogated strictly. Who can have such a special identity that even you, the Grand Secretary, don’t dare to interrogate?”
Zhang Yueheng shivered with fright. He lay on the ground and whispered in a strange tone, “Your Majesty… This person is the commander of the imperial guards. His name is Lin Ran.”
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