193 It’s All Nonsense
Even Lin Ran had to admit that he was fooled by the empress.
However, the fact that she was too weak to participate in this operation was unquestionable.
“You’re not allowed to stay here. I’ll send you back to the palace.”
After saying that, Lin Ran held the empress’s hand and was about to set off. Reasoning with unreasonable people was never going to work.
“We can’t go back. At least not now.”
!!
The empress suddenly spoke with a smug smile. “I changed your plan.”
“I asked half of the team to attract the attention of the Great Yong Dynasty’s garrison, while the other half took the opportunity to cross the border. The border of the Great Yong Dynasty is tightly guarded. If you want to return to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty quietly, you have to wait until tomorrow morning at the earliest!”
Lin Ran’s expression changed. Just now, he was wondering why there was no one chasing after the team when they swarmed over in such a big group. It turned out that the border soldiers of the Great Yong Dynasty were lured away.
With this move, the empress had completely cut off their path of retreat—at least until the Great Yong Dynasty let down their guard.
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
Lin Ran suddenly turned to look at the empress. With a dark expression, he said angrily, “This is the Great Yong Dynasty’s territory. Every moment we stay here, we’ll be in greater danger.”
The empress was shocked by Lin Ran’s aura. She was stunned for a few seconds before saying softly, “It’s not that dangerous, right? If no one discovers that we’ve crossed the border, we’ll be fine…”
“What makes you so confident?”
Lin Ran interrupted the empress and looked at the sky in the distance. “If it’s so easy to sneak across the border, will the spies in charge of obtaining information lose their life?”
The empress’s heart skipped a beat. She looked in the direction Lin Ran was looking at and realized that in the distant sky, a few inconspicuous black dots were approaching.
“We’ve been discovered.”
Lin Ran sighed and looked at the empress with a complicated expression. Then, he instructed loudly, “Xiang Tiancong! Get everyone to find a place to hide ten miles away. Gather here after dark!”
Lin Ran held the empress’s hand again. “Come with me and close your eyes.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them disappeared on the spot. At the same time, Xiang Tiancong and the others immediately scattered to find hiding places in groups of two.
When the black dots on the horizon arrived at the forest, it was already empty.
Seven miles south of the forest.
On a banyan tree that had been growing for hundreds of years, Lin Ran used his sword energy to open up a space. Although it was not big, it was more than enough for him and the empress to hide.
He glanced at the empress and said sarcastically, “The conditions here are not comparable to the palace. Your Majesty, please make do with it.”
“It’s fine. I’ve never been pampered since I was young. It’s fine as long as I have a place to rest.”
The empress replied very formally. Then, she lay down and immediately made a comfortable sound.
“Get up!”
Lin Ran reached out and pulled the empress up. He glared at her and said angrily, “I’m being sarcastic. Can’t you tell? Do you think I’m really being nice?”
There was no one else here, so Lin Ran’s attitude was not so good.
The empress knew that she was in the wrong and did not dare to retort. She silently hugged her knees and sat in a corner, her eyes filled with tears.
Lin Ran was dumbfounded. This was the first time he had seen the empress so weak and helpless. He quickly comforted her, “I, I didn’t mean that. It’s just that this place is dangerous. You’re the emperor…”
“Can you stop calling me Emperor?”
The empress suddenly looked up at Lin Ran. Her eyes were filled with tears, but her eyes were sparkling. “Everyone thinks that being an emperor means having supreme status and power, but in my opinion, it’s an invisible shackle!”
“You all think that an emperor can do whatever he wants, but other than bringing peace and stability to the dynasty, do you know how many things I’m not allowed to do?”
Seeing the tears in the empress’s eyes, Lin Ran couldn’t help but be moved. After a moment of silence, he asked softly, “Do you know why the martial artists of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty prefer swords?”
“Sword is straight, representing the righteous path the martial artists take. The blade is sharp, but it’s not as formidable as a machete.”
The empress replied without thinking.
“Well said, but it’s all nonsense.”
Lin Ran sneered and raised his hand to summon the Yin-Yang Sword. He rubbed the sword with his fingertips and said softly, “The sword has two blades. It can hurt the friend and the foe.”
“That’s why the sword reminds the martial artist that when they want something, they’re destined to lose something.”
Before the empress could dwell on what Lin Ran meant, Lin Ran put away the Yin-Yang Sword and shrugged. “But what I said just now was nonsense too. See, what people think is not important, so don’t care about that. Just be yourself.”
The empress didn’t want to argue with him. She changed the topic and asked softly, “Do you want to go back to the forest to take a look first? Aren’t you coming there to look for someone?”
“What a coincidence. As soon as I arrived at the forest, that person appeared.”
Lin Ran smiled with a complicated expression. Then, he roughly explained how he asked Zou Hao to investigate the matter relating to the bones in the villages around Mount Sword.
After a pause, Lin Ran said thoughtfully, “Previously, I thought that Liu Hongshan was the one who wiped out the villages, but now, I suddenly have a feeling that there’s probably more to this matter.”
The empress frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t exactly know.”
Lin Ran shook his head helplessly. “After talking to Xuan Wushang, I suddenly had this feeling.”
“Who did you say?”
The empress suddenly exclaimed.
Lin Ran was stunned for a moment before replying in confusion, “Xuan Wushang, the mysterious person Yuan Yangguo mentioned.”
“How could you possibly have met him?”
The empress’s widened eyes were filled with shock and confusion, as if she had heard something unbelievable. Even her voice was trembling slightly. “Xuan Wushang… is the emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty!!!”
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