Chapter 143 - 143 Passing Through the Clouds
Hong Liquan smiled awkwardly. When he saw Shen Rulin’s expression, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.
It was true that he wanted to make a name for himself, but the matter of someone of that level was not something an insignificant figure like him could interfere in.
Lin Ran didn’t think there was anything wrong with Shen Rulin’s expression. After all, Shen Rulin had always been a little cold.
Putting down the teacup and tidying his clothes, Lin Ran walked up to Shen Rulin and extended his right hand. “Return my sword to me. I’ll ride the sword with you.”
“I’ll take you there.”
As Shen Rulin spoke, he took out a white handkerchief from his pocket.
“Is that necessary?”
Lin Ran was speechless. “I know the way to the palace better than you!”
Shen Rulin didn’t say anything. He just quietly raised the white handkerchief.
Lin Ran had no choice but to take the white handkerchief and blindfolded himself. Then, his arm was grabbed by someone, and the wind immediately howled in his ears!
With Lin Ran’s speed on his sword, it would take at most fifteen minutes to reach the palace from Lotus Town. However, Shen Rulin didn’t have such a high cultivation level, so his speed would definitely be slower.
After half an hour, the wind still did not stop howling. Lin Ran began to feel that something was wrong.
“Deputy Commander Shen, aren’t we there yet?”
Lin Ran asked in confusion with his eyes closed.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ran felt the grip on his arm loosen. Almost instantly, he lost his balance and the feeling of falling from the sky rushed to his brain!
“Oh no!”
Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly tore off the white handkerchief covering his eyes and saw that he was falling rapidly through the clouds!
When a martial artist reached a certain realm, they could fly on their swords.
However, Lin Ran didn’t have a sword in his hand. He could only fall straight to the ground!
Although he didn’t know why Shen Rulin did this, he clearly wanted Lin Ran to fall to his death.
“I’ll settle the score with you one day!”
Lin Ran cursed in his heart. Just as he was about to summon the divine sword to fly, the clouds below suddenly surged and Shen Rulin rushed out!
Before Lin Ran could flare up, Shen Rulin said in a low voice, “It’s not safe here. Let’s talk later!”
With that, Shen Rulin turned around and rushed into the thick cloud with Lin Ran.
The moment his vision was blocked by the clouds, Lin Ran vaguely saw a few masked men in black flash past the place where they were.
Lin Ran didn’t summon the divine sword and let Shen Rulin bring him through the clouds. A moment later, his vision suddenly darkened, and a steep cliff suddenly appeared in front of the two of them!
“Be careful!”
Lin Ran subconsciously called out. At the same time, Shen Rulin reacted. He jumped off the cloud and landed steadily on the top of a peak.
After putting Lin Ran on the ground, Shen Rulin said in a low voice with a cold expression, “This peak is called Hidden Cloud. It’s so tall that it reaches into the clouds. It can be our hiding place for the time being.”
Lin Ran nodded to show that he understood. He pointed in the direction where the two of them came from and asked curiously, “Who were those people just now? Why did they want to kill you?”
“They’re here to kill you.”
Shen Rulin replied casually. Before Lin Ran could express his confusion, Shen Rulin asked, “Let me ask you, do you have any grudge with the Grand Secretary, Zhang Yueheng?”
“Zhang Yueheng?”
Lin Ran recalled for a moment before remembering who it was. Then, he shook his head and replied honestly, “I’ve seen him a few times in the palace, but we didn’t interact much. Why are you asking?”
Shen Rulin didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Lin Ran with a scrutinizing gaze. “Is there really no grudge between the two of you?”
Lin Ran rolled his eyes and suddenly thought of something. He looked at Shen Rulin. “Are you saying that those people were sent by Zhang Yueheng? Why did he want to kill you?”
“They’re here to kill you.”
Shen Rulin repeated, his cold face filled with confusion. “When I went to deliver the urgent report, Zhang Yueheng asked me to get rid of you on the way to the palace. As for those people…”
At this point, Shen Rulin glanced in the direction where they came from. After making sure that no one was following him, he continued, “He must be afraid that I won’t follow the order, or he just sent people to kill me as well.”
Lin Ran looked at the clouds around him and was confused. “But why? I don’t think I’ve offended him.”
“I don’t know either.”
Shen Rulin shook his head. “Those people suddenly appeared and started attacking without saying anything. I had no choice but to let go of you first and shake them off before coming to pick you up. There’s something wrong with this matter. I have to find out.”
Lin Ran thought to himself that that was what was going on. He paused for a moment and asked with a smile, “Then how are you going to find out? He is the Grand Secretary.”
Shen Rulin did not speak for a long time. It was obvious that he had not thought about it.
Lin Ran chuckled and patted Shen Rulin’s shoulder. “Don’t think about it. Bring me into the palace to confront him. Wouldn’t that solve everything?”
Shen Rulin let out a long sigh. “That’s easy for you to say! Those assassins are stronger than me. Once we leave this peak, we’ll…”
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Rulin saw Lin Ran lean backward on the edge and fall off it.
Shen Rulin’s expression changed drastically. He knew that Lin Ran was also a martial artist, but the drug in his body had yet to be removed. His body was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person’s. If he fell from here, he would definitely die!
Without hesitation, Shen Rulin hurriedly flew down from the top of the peak on his sword. After instantly passing through the cloud, he realized that Lin Ran was nowhere to be seen.
“Could it be that he has already landed? He can’t be so fast, right?”
Shen Rulin was puzzled. Just as he was about to search for any corpses on the ground, he was suddenly shocked. An extremely powerful sword intent erupted above his head!
In the seventeen years he had joined the imperial guards, he had only felt such a terrifying pressure from five people. They were the five grandmaster-level generals of the Five Elements Imperial Guards. However, at this moment, this sword intent seemed to be above the general!
At this moment, a black shadow fell out of the clouds.
Shen Rulin thought that Zhang Yueheng’s men were chasing after him and quickly became vigilant.
However, when he took a closer look, Shen Rulin was shocked. The black shadow was indeed the assassin sent by Zhang Yueheng, but it had already become a corpse.
Most importantly, there were no wounds on the corpse. There was only a red mark on his neck. He looked like he was second-killed.