320 Appearing and Disappearing Mysteriously

He had been swapped and had lived in a dark dungeon for more than ten years. Now, he was calmly accepting death. Such a reaction could no longer be described as “abnormal.”

The more Lin Ran thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. Lin Ran narrowed his eyes and sized up Xuan Wushang. He probed in an emotionless tone, “What exactly are you plotting?”

“Plotting?”

Xuan Wushang smiled indifferently and waved his hand to show off his ragged clothes. “I’m already like this. What can I plot?”

“You’re lying.”

Without thinking, Lin Ran said firmly, “If you really have nothing to live for, why did you persist here for so long? Besides, you’re the emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty. Even without Cloud Fluttering, this cell won’t be able to confine you, right?”

Xuan Wushang did not speak, but he frowned slightly, as if he was puzzled by Lin Ran’s words.

Seeing that Xuan Wushang was determined to play dumb, Lin Ran couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore. He went straight to the point. “You’ve been trapped here for 13 years. If you wanted to die, you could have died long ago. You can choose to hit the wall or go on a hunger strike.”

“But you didn’t choose to commit suicide. Instead, you chose to be a prisoner here for 13 years. Now, you’re facing death calmly. It’s a very strange behavior.”

Xuan Wushang looked at Lin Ran with a faint smile and didn’t say anything, as if waiting for him to continue.

Lin Ran took a deep breath and continued, “Also, as the emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty, you should be a martial artist yourself, right? Although the array formation at the entrance of this dungeon is complicated, the surrounding walls don’t have any special protection. Even without Fluttering Cloud, with your ability, you should be able to escape.”

“All of this together, I can only think of one explanation—”

At this point, a white light flashed in Lin Ran’s hand, and the Yin Yang Sword was put back into the Divine Sword Scroll. “You are staying here voluntarily.”

Xuan Wushang suddenly chuckled and clapped, his eyes filled with admiration. “I haven’t said anything yet, but you can analyze so many things from minor details. As expected of a person trusted by the Heavenly Saint Emperor.”

Hearing this, Lin Ran’s eyes widened. He clearly remembered that he had never mentioned his relationship with Emperor Sheng Yuan. He had only said that he was the deputy general of the Northern Garrison. How could Xuan Wushang know that he was trusted by Emperor Sheng Yuan?

Seeing Lin Ran’s reaction, the smile on Xuan Wushang’s face deepened. He waved his hand and said calmly, “Don’t be so surprised. You’re right. I did stay here voluntarily, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on outside.”

With that, Xuan Wushang slowly raised his left hand. A wisp of milk-white mist flowed out from his sleeve and spiraled up his arm, finally forming a pearl-like ball on his fingertip.

“This is—”

Lin Ran narrowed his eyes and asked softly in disbelief, “Fluttering Cloud?”

“Yes and no.”

Xuan Wushang nodded and then shook his head. His eyes locked onto the ball that was spinning slowly on his fingertip, and a faint look of intoxication appeared in his eyes. “This is a part of Fluttering Cloud. As long as it’s still in my hands, I can experience everything Chen Tianqi has experienced.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the ball suddenly spread out. Ethereal mist poured down along Xuan Wushang’s slender palm and formed something that looked like a glove again.

“In addition, it’s also my self-defense weapon.”

As Xuan Wushang spoke, he raised his left hand and gently waved it. A few metal bars that were as thick as a wrist beside him quietly broke.

Throughout the entire process, Lin Ran did not even sense a trace of internal energy fluctuation. This meant that this was either Fluttering Cloud’s magical ability or Xuan Wushang’s cultivation was very profound, so much so that he could already use extremely light internal energy to cut the metal bars.

However, no matter what the reason was, Fluttering Cloud’s appearance made Xuan Wushang more dangerous. The reason why he could remain calm in the face of Lin Ran’s threat was probably because he had Fluttering Cloud!

Thinking of this, Lin Ran was secretly vigilant, but he still looked calm. “So Chen Tianqi and Sun Ge’s plan has always been under your control?”

Xuan Wushang smiled in agreement. Lin Ran’s eyes narrowed as he continued to ask, “But your plan actually has nothing to do with them.”

“Oh?”

Xuan Wushang raised his eyebrows and looked at Lin Ran with interest. “Why do you say that?”

“Because of Fluttering Cloud.”

Lin Ran locked his gaze on Xuan Wushang’s hand. “Chen Tianqi and Sun Ge aren’t your match. If you hadn’t done it on purpose, they wouldn’t have been able to snatch Fluttering Cloud from you with their abilities.”

“You learned Chen Tianqi’s plan through a part of Fluttering Cloud. In other words, when they took action to swap you thirteen years ago, you didn’t know what they were up to, but you still handed over Fluttering Cloud to them…”

At this point, Lin Ran rolled his eyes and locked his gaze on Xuan Wushang’s face. “You don’t care about their plan at all. You just need a chance to disappear without alerting anyone.”

Looking at Lin Ran’s bright eyes, the smile on Xuan Wushang’s face slowly disappeared. He rubbed his white fingertips gently, as if he was hesitating or suppressing something.

A moment later, Xuan Wushang suddenly turned to look at the window at the side.

Lin Ran found it strange and subconsciously turned around to look. He realized that it was already late at night. Through the narrow window, he could see a crescent moon hanging among the stars, as if a ferocious mouth had opened in the night.

“It’s time. I have something to do first.”

Xuan Wushang suddenly spoke. Lin Ran’s expression changed as he thought of something. When he turned his gaze back, Xuan Wushang was nowhere to be seen.

“I’ve had a good chat with you. I look forward to meeting you next time—if there’s still a next time.”

Xuan Wushang’s voice sounded in the darkness. Lin Ran immediately rushed in the direction of the voice, but even when he reached the end of the dungeon, he still couldn’t find any traces of the other party.

There was no time to think. A white light flashed in Lin Ran’s palm, and the black and white Yin-Yang Sword appeared out of thin air. Then, thousands of fire sword energy surged out, instantly illuminating the entire dungeon!

As far as the eye could see, countless bars formed a pitch-black net. Apart from Lin Ran, there was no one else in the huge dungeon.

“Damn it!”

Lin Ran stomped his foot heavily. Xuan Wushang looked out of the window just to distract him!

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Lin Ran noticed another strange phenomenon.

This dungeon was completely intact. Even those windows were only a foot square. How did Xuan Wushang leave in an instant? Could it be that there was a secret passage here that he had yet to discover?