293 Face It Calmly

“A fire?”

Lin Ran looked at the thick smoke rising from the city in surprise.

However, the Iron City was made of metal. What could possibly catch fire?

At this moment, Ye Jin also came back to her senses from the shock. When she saw the direction where the thick smoke was billowing, her expression instantly turned extremely ugly. “It seems to be my house!”

“What?!”

Lin Ran exclaimed. He wasn’t familiar with the layout of the Iron City, but after hearing Ye Jin’s words, he felt that the smoke was indeed from her house.

Before Lin Ran could react, Ye Jin had already started running to the gate. Seeing this, Lin Ran no longer dawdled. He activated his internal energy and caught up to Ye Jin. He hugged her and rushed towards the city gate!

At this moment, the men in black guarding near the city gate were pointing at the thick smoke rising in the distance and saying something. Suddenly, a strong wind blew past. The few people nearby were immediately blown away by the wind. Even those who were far away could only see a black shadow flash past their eyes.

“What was that just now?”

The leader of the men in black got up and said angrily. He unsheathed his saber and shouted, “Don’t just stand there! Chase after it!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the men in black immediately chased in the direction where the black figure disappeared.

At the same time, Lin Ran had already brought Ye Jin to the vicinity of the fire. He could see thick smoke billowing out from the second floor of Ye Jin’s house, but fortunately, there was no obvious fire for the time being.

The surroundings were filled with commoners who came out to check, but these people only looked from afar. Not a single one of them went forward to help.

“Wait here. I’ll go in and take a look!”

Lin Ran put down Ye Jin and was about to rush in when he was grabbed by Ye Jin.

Without Ye Jin needing to speak, Lin Ran understood what she meant. He said seriously, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely save your father!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ran shook off Ye Jin and flew over the heads of the crowd. When he landed, he bent his knees slightly to reduce the impact. Then, he jumped into an open window on the second floor.

As soon as he entered the second floor, Lin Ran’s vision was blocked by thick smoke. However, strangely, he couldn’t feel any warmth. Even the metal wall was cold.

However, life was at stake. Lin Ran didn’t have time to think too much about it. He rolled up his sleeve and covered his mouth and nose with a cloth. At the same time, he spread out his divine sense.

In an instant, the layout of the entire second floor appeared in Lin Ran’s mind—

On the east side was a staircase that led to the first floor. After coming up, there was a long corridor. On the left side of the corridor was the window Lin Ran entered through. On the right, there were a total of three rooms, two of which were empty. Only the third room seemed to have something that was preventing his divine sense from probing further.

Lin Ran paused for a moment to get his bearings before rushing towards the third room!

When he arrived at the third door, Lin Ran pushed it and realized that it was locked. However, there was no smoke coming out of the crack, which meant that the situation inside should be safe.

“Is anyone there? Is anyone there?”

Lin Ran knocked twice on the door, but as expected, there was no response.

Lin Ran raised his hand and summoned the Yin-Yang Sword. Just as he was about to break in, he heard a man’s voice coming from the stairs. “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”

Lin Ran subconsciously turned around and saw thick smoke in front of him. He quickly replied, “You’re Ye Jin’s father, right? Don’t be afraid. I’m here to save you!”

As he spoke, Lin Ran ran towards the stairs. After passing through the thick smoke, he could vaguely see a hunched figure standing by the stairs. He reached out to take the person away, but the person took a step back.

“What’s going on? Do you want to die?”

Lin Ran was stunned for a moment before he recalled Ye Jin’s father’s strange temper. He could only persuade him patiently, “I’m really your daughter’s friend! I was the one who came to look for you to reforge a sword yesterday! Come out with me. When you see Ye Jin, ask her to explain to you!”

As he spoke, Lin Ran took another step forward, but the person retreated to the stairs and said coldly, “Who in the world are you? There’s nothing dangerous at my house. Do I need you to save me?”

Looking at the thick smoke around him, Lin Ran thought to himself, “Is this nothing dangerous?”

Just as Lin Ran was about to take him away forcefully, a figure suddenly rushed up the stairs. “Father!”

“Ye Jin?”

Lin Ran recognized the voice and looked angry. “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t I ask you to wait for me outside?!”

“Don’t be angry. My house is not on fire!”

As Ye Jin spoke, she waved her hand to disperse the thick smoke. “This is smoke from the furnace. You’ll understand when you go down and take a look.”

“Furnace?”

Lin Ran was suspicious, but on second thought, Ye Jin wouldn’t lie to him about such a thing.

After instructing the two of them to stand still, Lin Ran swung his sword and slashed out a large amount of sword energy. In an instant, a violent wind swept through the entire corridor.

As the thick smoke was swept away, Lin Ran saw Ye Jin’s father, Ye Shixiao, for the first time.

It was a middle-aged man with gray hair. He was bare-chested and only wore a black and shiny leather apron. His muscular arms were shiny. It was really difficult to associate him with the word “patient.”

However, when he saw that person’s face, even Lin Ran couldn’t help but frown.

Ye Shixiao’s facial features were similar to Ye Jin’s. The left half of his face was well-defined. Even in his old age, he still looked handsome.

However, the right half of his face was unrecognizable. The corners of his eyes were droopy and the corners of his mouth were torn. At first glance, it looked like a pool of melted wax was stuck to his face. Many parts of his face were covered in scars. Even his skin had been burned away!

“Who the hell are you?”

Ye Shixiao frowned and asked coldly. As he spoke, he turned his body slightly and hid the disfigured half of his face away from Lin Ran.

Lin Ran quickly apologized. “I’m really sorry. I thought that there was a fire here just now, so…”

Before he could finish, Ye Shixiao interrupted coldly, “I asked you who you are!”

“Father!”

Ye Jin hurriedly went upstairs and stopped in front of Lin Ran. “Father, don’t be angry. He’s…”

“My name is Lin Ran.”

Lin Ran interrupted Ye Jin and replied truthfully, his expression turning serious. “It’s the Lin Ran your emperor wants to deal with.”

“It’s you?”

Ye Shixiao’s expression instantly darkened. He took out a hammer from somewhere and swung it at Lin Ran’s head!