308 Upholding Principles

Facing Sun Ge’s warning again, Lin Ran’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. For some reason, he felt that this matter was not that simple.

According to the men in black, Chen Tianqi and the others were Guyue Dao’s accompanying guards. Logically speaking, a master at the seventh level of the Grandmaster Realm did not need guards, but he was representing the emperor after all, so he had to show his status. Now that something had happened to Guyue Dao, they were supposed to go to the scene to investigate.

Secondly, when Sun Ge warned him again, his tone was clearly filled with helplessness and anger.

This was not the emotion he should be feeling at this moment unless someone stopped him from doing what he wanted to do—like finding out the truth.

Thinking of this, Lin Ran looked at Sun Ge and asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “Someone doesn’t want you to investigate?”

Sun Ge’s expression changed slightly when he heard this. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Lin Ran for a long time, but he didn’t say anything. He held the hilt of his saber and walked forward silently.

Seeing this, Lin Ran did not ask further and follow suit.

Soon, the group arrived near the shadow where Chen Tianqi and the others were standing. Strangely, even at this distance, Lin Ran still couldn’t see the faces of those people clearly. He could only see a dozen blurry figures.

“Is it necessary for the guards of the emperor’s advisor to hide in the city like this?”

Lin Ran was suspicious. He silently spread out a wisp of divine sense, but he didn’t find anything.

If it were in the past, this outcome would have been enough to surprise Lin Ran. However, now that he knew that it was most likely because of the Heavenly Iron, he was not surprised. He was just curious why these people had the Heavenly Iron on them.

While he was thinking, Lin Ran had already followed Sun Ge and the others far away. When he came back to his senses and turned around, there was nothing there.

“Stop looking. They’ve already left.”

Sun Ge walked over and spoke softly. Lin Ran turned around and realized that Sun Ge was staring at the spot where Chen Tianqi and the others had appeared just now with a hint of hostility in his eyes.

Lin Ran found it strange, but he knew that now was not the time to ask questions. He pretended not to notice anything and teased, “Didn’t you ask me to be quiet just now? Why did you take the initiative to talk to me?”

“It’s not that I wanted you to be quiet. It’s inconvenient for me to talk just now.”

Sun Ge replied casually and raised his chin in that direction. “Do you want to know what we just said?”

Lin Ran was about to nod when he suddenly thought of something and chuckled. “Don’t try to test me. I know. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”

“But this has something to do with you.”

As Sun Ge spoke, he turned his head slightly and looked at Lin Ran with a complicated gaze. “He asked me to kill you and bring your head back to report.”

“Then you should listen to him.”

Lin Ran sneered casually, but he realized that Sun Ge had no intention of laughing at all. After hesitating for a moment, he probed, “You weren’t joking just now… right?”

Sun Ge shook his head silently, and Lin Ran’s expression instantly became strange.

Then, he pulled out a black rope from his waist and handed it to his subordinate. “Tie him up. Then you can all go back.”

“Brother Sun, we’re about to reach the government office. Don’t you want us to help you take him there?”

That person looked at the rope with a puzzled expression. The others nodded in agreement.

Sun Ge frowned. “Why? Are you afraid that I’ll steal your credit?”

Hearing this, everyone hurriedly shook their heads. Sun Ge threw the rope over and said, “Don’t worry! When I see His Excellency, I’ll definitely mention your contributions. Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Anyway, the rest of the journey is not far. Go home and rest first.”

The men in black looked at each other and could only nod helplessly in agreement.

Although Lin Ran didn’t know why, he could tell that Sun Ge was trying to create a chance to be alone with him. Then, he obediently reached out and let them tie him up with the black rope.

After making sure that it would not loosen, the men in black bade left.

It wasn’t until those people disappeared around the corner that Sun Ge looked at Lin Ran with a puzzled frown. “Who are you?”

Lin Ran hesitated for a moment. “My name is Huo Qiyun. I do business at the border…”

“Nonsense!”

Sun Ge stared at Lin Ran as he shouted in a low voice, “Do you know what Chen Tianqi told me? He asked me to bring your head back and said that this was His Majesty’s order!”

“His Majesty? Xuan Wushang?!”

Lin Ran was stunned. It was not strange for Xuan Wushang to want to kill him, but how did he know that he was here?

Sun Ge didn’t know what Lin Ran was thinking. He unsheathed his saber and pressed it against Lin Ran’s neck. “His Majesty is waiting in the government office. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll kill you now and bring your head back to report!”

Feeling the chill on his neck, Lin Ran hesitated for a moment before insisting, “My name is Huo Qiyun. I do business at the border.”

Sun Ge’s expression instantly darkened as he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth. “Do you think I’m a fool? If you’re just a businessman, why would His Majesty go to such an extent to kill you?”

Lin Ran asked in surprise, “You mean that all of this is set up by Xuan… Ah, no, His Majesty just to frame me?”

Sun Ge nodded. “Most likely.”

Then, Sun Ge repeated his conversation with Chen Tianqi. The gist of it was that His Majesty came to the Iron City in person and confirmed that Lin Ran was the murderer of Guyue Dao. His Majesty asked him to kill Lin Ran on the spot and bring Lin Ran’s head back to report.

Of course, Chen Tianqi didn’t say the name “Lin Ran” directly, and there was no need for him to fake an imperial edict. However, Sun Ge still found all this questionable.

For example, why did His Majesty suddenly come to the Iron City? Why did he investigate the murder that happened a few minutes ago as soon as he entered the city? Moreover, Chen Tianqi kept saying that Lin Ran was the murderer of Guyue Dao. Why didn’t he mention Guyue Dao’s situation at all?

Sun Ge knew that his statue was not high, so there was indeed no need for Chen Tianqi to explain to him in detail. However, since His Majesty had entrusted him with this important task, he should at least show some evidence or explain the whole story.

However, the reality was that Sun Ge did not see any evidence. All the explanations from Chen TIanqi were ambiguous, so it was difficult for him not to suspect.