138 Lin Ran Was Drugged
When their eyes met, Lin Ran and the young man in black exclaimed in unison, “It’s you?!”
This black-robed young man was none other than the younger brother of the burly man with the huge sword, the winner of the Martial Arts Examination who had been teased twice by Lin Ran with the Ten Miles Dragon Roar!
The worst thing was that when Lin Ran teased him, he had already taken off the human skin mask of the Ten Miles Sword God. He wondered if this guy had recognized him yet. Would he take the opportunity to take revenge on him?
Thinking of this, Lin Ran immediately felt a little nervous, but he still forced a smile. “Aren’t you the winner of the Martial Arts Examination? What a coincidence. So you’re working here?”
“That’s right. I didn’t expect to see you here!”
The black-robed young man smiled, but his tone was not filled with hostility. “I thought you were a young talent from some sect. I didn’t expect you to be the commander of the guards in the palace… Sorry for being rude!”
“No, no! Please don’t say that.”
Lin Ran took the tray from him and placed it on the table. “May I ask who you are?”
“My name is Hong Liquan. I’m now a member of the Five Elements Imperial Guards.”
Hong Liquan cupped his hands and replied with a very respectful attitude. It was unknown if he did not care about being teased or if he did not realize that he was being teased back then at all.
However, no matter what, when Lin Ran saw the other party’s attitude, he relaxed a lot.
Lin Ran picked up the teapot and poured some water into the inkstone. As he ground the ink, he said, “When I saw you in Lotus Town, I was curious why the winner of the Martial Arts Examination was in such a small place… It turns out you are working here, right?”
“Lord Lin is indeed insightful.”
As Hong Liquan spoke, he poured a cup of tea and handed it to Lin Ran. At the same time, he took the ink ingot and said as he ground it, “I heard that Lord Lin was also the winner of the Martial Arts Examination back then?”
“Yes, but I’m not as lucky as you. On the day I entered the capital to meet the emperor, I was sent to guard Mount Sword!”
Lin Ran forced a smile. He raised the teacup to his lips and suddenly frowned. There was a strange fragrance that did not smell like tea.
On guard, Lin Ran stole a glance at Hong Liquan and saw that although he was grinding ink, his attention was not on the ink ingot at all. Instead, he was glancing at the teacup in Lin Ran’s hand, as if waiting for him to drink it.
“Sigh… These people are really getting worse at playing tricks!”
Lin Ran let out a long sigh in his heart, but he didn’t show it on his face. He raised his head and finished the tea in his cup. Then, he specially placed the empty cup beside Hong Liquan’s hand.
Almost at the same time, the corners of Hong Liquan’s mouth curled up slightly. “Lord Lin, you must be joking. Actually, working in Five Elements Imperial Guards is no different from working in Mount Sword!”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
Lin Ran asked casually. His words were clear and his expression was normal. It seemed that he had really swallowed the cup of tea.
Hong Liquan finally smiled in relief and complained absent-mindedly, “Lord Lin, I guess you don’t know this, but apart from being the shadow army of the Imperial Court, the Five Elements Imperial Guards also have the responsibility of guarding Mount Sword. It’s just that compared to the mountain guardian, one is in the open and the other is in the dark.”
“Among the Five Elements Imperial Guards, the Metal Guards specialize in movement techniques and sword control. They are mainly in charge of investigating and gathering information when the situation is unknown.”
“The Wood Guards specialize in medicine, but they’re relatively weak, so when they are mobilized, they usually stay at the back.”
“The Fire Guards mainly cultivate combat techniques and are powerful. They often sweep through the enemy camp like lightning.”
“The Earth Guard mainly cultivates physical techniques and uses heavy shields and swords as weapons. They’re usually in charge of guarding the periphery, but once they attack, they are even more destructive than the fire guards!”
“So the Five Elements Imperial Guards have so many divisions?”
Lin Ran nodded in realization, as if his interest had been piqued by Hong Liquan’s words. “What about the Water Guards? I don’t think I heard you mention them just now.”
“I’m from the Water Guards.”
Hong Liquan smiled. “I’m ashamed to say this, but the water guards specialize in poison and punishment. To put it simply, we use all kinds of methods to make the target tell us the information we want… To put it simply, we interrogate prisoners.”
Lin Ran nodded and patted Hong Liquan’s shoulder to comfort him. “Don’t be discouraged. If you work hard, you can make yourself shine in every walk of life.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Hong Liquan smiled, but his eyes gradually turned cold. “Since you think so highly of me, can I trouble you to be my stepping stone?”
“What do you mean?”
When Lin Ran heard this, his expression changed drastically. He subconsciously wanted to retreat, but he suddenly staggered and fell to the ground. His face was filled with fear. “What’s going on? Why suddenly I can’t exert my strength?”
As he spoke, Lin Ran wanted to get up from the ground, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only raise his body a few inches from the ground before falling back down!
Seeing that Lin Ran was so weak, Hong Liquan finally tore off his hypocritical mask and laughed arrogantly. “Hahaha! I’ve long heard that the palace guards are abnormally vigilant. Seeing you today… I’m really disappointed.”
“It’s you?!”
Lin Ran looked at Hong Liquan with widened eyes. “What did you do to me?!”
“Nothing. I just gave you some drugs.”
As Hong Liquan spoke, he picked up the teacup and looked at it with a smug expression. “I developed this drug. It can make a martial artist feel weak for a few hours and even make them unable to circulate their internal energy. Although it’s not effective against people above the Grandmaster Realm, it’s more than enough to deal with a Senior Martial Master like you!”
Lin Ran lay on the ground and glared at Hong Liquan angrily. “Why are you doing this?! Do you know who I am? I’m here to cooperate with the investigation. What right do you have to treat me like a criminal?!”
“I have no choice. This is His Majesty’s order.”
Hong Liquan shrugged. He sneered. “His Majesty gave the order that anyone involved in the crime of stealing the Sacred Abyss Sword will be investigated strictly… Originally, I just wanted to finish the job as soon as possible and go back to sleep. I didn’t expect to meet you!”
Lin Ran looked at Hong Liquan in “fear”. “What are you doing? I’m warning you, I’m His Majesty’s personal guard!”
“Don’t worry, you’re not anymore.”
Hong Liquan smiled mysteriously. Suddenly, he squatted down and grabbed Lin Ran’s neck with one hand. He lowered his voice and asked coldly, “Answer me a question first. How are my brother and the others?”
“How did you know…”
Lin Ran was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on. “No wonder they knew about the time when the mountain-protecting array formation stops. So it was you who revealed it to them!”
“So what?”
Hong Liquan smiled slightly, his eyes filled with arrogance. “Let me tell you, I’m the only one in charge of interrogating you now. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll kill you first before reporting to the higher-ups that you tried to flee and were killed on the spot by me.”
“Oh?” A smile gradually appeared on Lin Ran’s face. “Is that so?”
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