Chapter 77: Killing Three Birds with One Stone
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Those people originally thought that they were definitely going to die. When they heard this, their hopes were immediately reignited. They hurriedly kowtowed and shouted, “We want to live! We want to live!”
“In that case, I’ll give you a chance.”
Lin Ran nodded and pointed at the corpses that had just been killed. “It’s impossible for such a small fry to mobilize so many people. I’ll give you three days to find out who’s behind this…”
Before he could finish speaking, a young girl suddenly stood up and said, “Sword God! I’m Zhou Zhiqing, a disciple of the Goddess Peak. I know who the mastermind is.”
“Oh?”
Lin Ran was a little surprised, but Zhou Zhiqing pointed at Liu Yuntao, who was beheaded. “These people today were all bewitched by Master Liu of the Eight Directional Mountain.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the remaining traitors nodded repeatedly, indicating that Zhou Zhiqing was right.
Lin Ran’s expression under the mask instantly froze. He killed Liu Yuntao just to intimidate everyone, but he did not expect to have killed the mastermind!
But on second thought, Lin Ran felt that something was wrong.
Before King Zhao rebelled, he had eavesdropped on the secret meeting and knew that the Dao-Seeking Sect participated as the representative of the martial world. Why did it become the Eight Directional Mountain?
Lin Ran was puzzled, but he couldn’t ask directly. Logically speaking, the Ten Miles Sword God had just come out of seclusion and shouldn’t know so much.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran could only choose to interrogate them in private. Then, he waved at Huo Qiyun, indicating for him to take these people away first.
Huo Qiyun nodded and brought people to take the traitors away. Then the guards went forward to carry the corpses away, but no one cleaned up the blood. Large pools of blood coagulated on the ground, as if it was a silent warning to the people.
Lin Ran finally sat back down. The empress raised her glass and said a few words before indicating that the dishes could be served.
Hundreds of palace maids served delicacies on the table. Even the empty seats were not left out. The fragrance of the delicacies mixed with the pungent smell of blood made the atmosphere of the banquet especially strange.
The empress stood up again and raised her wine glass. “Everyone! There’s something I didn’t mention just now. Today’s banquet is held to express my gratitude to you all as well as to announce that Sword God is back. In fact, there’s a third thing.”
When everyone heard this, they looked confused. Lin Ran stood up and said, “King Zhao has been executed for his rebellion, but during his rebellion, he received the help of many in the martial world. The people I killed just now are among them!”
“However, the Heavenly Saint Dynasty is vast and there are still many traitors who have yet to be caught. On the invitation, it was written that those who can’t make it in time to the state banquet must hang a yellow flag outside the gate to show respect to the emperor.’
“Today, I’ll ask all of you to bear witness. Anyone who doesn’t have a yellow flag outside their gates will be treated as a traitor and killed without mercy!”
With that, Lin Ran’s figure shot into the sky from the ground with the sword intent and instantly turned into a stream of light that disappeared into the horizon!
“Sword God, I wish you a triumphant return!”
The empress shouted loudly. Then, she raised her wine glass and drank it in one gulp.
“Sword God, I wish you a triumphant return!”
The sect masters and elders present also raised their cups to express their good wishes. At the same time, they were secretly shocked.
Even though they did not participate in the rebellion, they had heard about it. The new emperor killed King Zhao and a group of important ministers in one day, but he did not punish those martial artists who had participated.
At first, everyone thought that the new emperor was being lenient. They did not expect that the emperor was just waiting for the Ten Miles Sword God to come out of seclusion.
For a moment, apart from being terrified by the Ten Miles Sword God, everyone present was also a little afraid of the new emperor who had just ascended the throne. To be able to rope in people, intimidate people, and eliminate people concurrently at a state banquet, this new emperor was indeed not simple!
At the same time, outside Mingzhao Hall.
Huo Qiyun had already taken off his mask and was pacing back and forth in the courtyard. Suddenly, he heard a whoosh. He turned around and saw Lin Ran quietly landing behind him.
“You really dare to come back?”
Huo Qiyun had a smile on his face, but his voice was extremely cold. “Why didn’t you act according to plan just now?! You even called me your disciple… Who said I wanted to be your disciple?!”
Lin Ran smiled calmly. “Who said you’re my disciple? You’re clearly the disciple of the Ten Miles Sword God! Let’s not talk about this first. Hurry up and take off my mask. I’m suffocating!”
“I can’t!”
Huo Qiyun rolled his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you that once you put on this mask, it will take at least three days to take it off?”
“Three days?!”
Lin Ran was shocked. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?! Am I going to wear this mask for three days?!”
“Oh, then maybe I forgot!”
Huo Qiyun slapped his forehead and looked at Lin Ran with a faint smile. “Three days is the minimum. If this adhesive is good, it might take more than half a month!”
Lin Ran instantly understood. “It’s pure retaliation!”
“I learned it from you! Shifu.”
Huo Qiyun teased and waved his hand impatiently. “Now, let’s get down to business. I interrogated those people just now, but the situation was a little strange. You should come and take a look yourself!”
With that, Huo Qiyun entered Mingzhao Hall. Although Lin Ran was angry, he could only follow him in.
The traitors were knocked out and tied up in a corner. Huo Qiyun picked up a few pieces of paper from the table and handed them to Lin Ran with a frown. “These are their confessions. Take a look.”
Lin Ran took it. The confessions of the traitors were basically about how Liu Yuntao incited them to rebel and how they refused. In the end, they were forced to agree because of being threatened.
Only Zhou Zhiqing’s confession mentioned that she had once overheard Liu Yuntao talking to someone in the Eight Directional Mountain. She did not see who the person was, but she heard that Liu Yuntao called him “Supreme Mo.”
Lin Ran asked casually, “Who is this ‘Supreme Mo’? You’ve been traveling around for so many years, so you should know a little about him, right?”
The Eight Directional Mountain was the second largest sect in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. For Liu Yuntao to receive someone alone, this person was definitely not ordinary. It was impossible for Huo Qiyun not to know.
However, to Lin Ran’s surprise, Huo Qiyun shook his head.
Lin Ran was stunned. “What do you mean? You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
Huo Qiyun said with a solemn expression, “I’ve been traveling in the martial world for so many years and have even visited those hidden sects that haven’t been listed on the Sacred Martial Roll, but I’ve never heard of the name ‘Supreme Mo’.”
Lin Ran’s expression changed slightly. “Could he be someone from the Great Yong Dynasty?”
Huo Qiyun shook his head again and subconsciously looked at the unconscious Zhou Zhiqing. He muttered with a complicated expression, “According to her description, I feel that this ‘Supreme Mo’ might not be human…”
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