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Hong Liquan followed him quietly. After confirming that Commander Tong had walked away, he turned around and saw that Lin Ran had already untied the rope and stood up.

“Brother Lin…”

Hong Liquan hesitated for a moment before asking softly, “How long can you hold your breath?”

!!

Lin Ran rolled his eyes. “Why? Do you really want to bury me?”

“No! No!”

Hong Liquan hurriedly waved his hand. “There’s a process to this kind of thing. Not only will someone verify your identity, but there will also be someone watching over you when you’re buried… I won’t even have the chance to swap you!”

Lin Ran gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything. He looked troubled.

If it came to that, he would have no choice but to make a move. However, if that happened, he would definitely be accused of escaping.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ran realized that the main part of this matter was what the empress thought of him.

Commander Tong said that this was what the higher-ups meant, but he did not mention the empress specifically. Perhaps someone else wanted to take the opportunity to kill Lin Ran.

Thinking of this, Lin Ran looked at Hong Liquan. “Call that commander over and tell him that I have important information.”

…

As soon as Commander Tong entered, he realized that Lin Ran, who was tied to the chair, was already awake. However, he looked a little weak, as if the effect of the drug had yet to wear off.

Commander Tong opened his fan to cover his mouth and nose. He narrowed his eyes and asked coldly, “I heard that you have important information to tell me?”

Lin Ran nodded. Although he was weak, he had an arrogant expression on his face. “Who are you?”

“It’s not something you don’t need to know.”

Commander Tong replied coldly, “Killing you is the order of the higher-ups. I have no grudge with Lord Lin, so I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Tell me what you know and I’ll give you a quick death.”

“Forget it if you don’t wanna tell me. Just kill me.”

Lin Ran sneered. “But you’ll definitely regret it.”

Commander Tong pondered for a moment before replying coldly, “My surname is Tong. I’m commander of the Water Guards from the Five Elements Imperial Guards.”

“You are a third-grade official…”

Lin Ran pointed out his official rank and smiled disdainfully. “You’re not qualified to listen to this information. Call your chief over!”

Commander Tong’s eyes turned cold, and his tone was clearly filled with displeasure. “Do you think you can see my chief just because you want to? If you have information, just tell me. Otherwise, you’ll die!”

“Then just kill me.”

Lin Ran leaned back in his chair and said arrogantly, “You’re a third-grade official, and I’m also a third-grade official… You’re not qualified to interrogate me!”

Commander Tong stared at Lin Ran and didn’t say anything else. Lin Ran also sneered at him.

The two sides confronted each other like this. At the side, Hong Liquan was filled with worry. He was really afraid that Commander Tong would kill Lin Ran on impulse, although that was impossible.

After a full fifteen minutes, Commander Tong suddenly sighed, and his cold eyes softened. “The chief is not around. Just wait!”

With that, Commander Tong turned around and left. He stomped, as if he was showing that he was angered.

“That was too dangerous!”

Hong Liquan patted his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. “Brother Lin, what information do you have? Even Commander Tong is not qualified to hear it?”

“He’s not even qualified to hear it. Do you think you are?”

Lin Ran sneered. Before Hong Liquan could speak, he continued, “Write a secret report immediately and say that I’m in danger in the Five Elements Imperial Guards. Send it to His Majesty… The Five Elements Imperial Guards are a shadow army. You should have the right to do it, right?”

“Yes, I do…”

Hong Liquan looked troubled. “But I’m not in the position yet to write a secret report.”

“Then who can do it?”

Hong Liquan thought for a moment. “Other than Commander Tong, there are also Shen Rulin and Vice Commander Shen of the Medal Guards.”

Lin Ran was silent for a moment. “Call him over.”

…

In the imperial study of the palace.

The empress was holding a document in her hand and seemed to be reviewing it. Beside her, Li Tianyi looked worried.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty?”

Li Tianyi called out softly. Seeing that the empress had come back to her senses, he probed, “Your Majesty, you’ve been reading this document for an hour. Is there something on your mind?”

“I’m worried about the Sacred Abyss Sword.”

The empress casually made a reason and asked, “How’s the situation on Lord Lin’s side? Did he say anything?”

Li Tianyi shook his head. “Your Majesty, there’s no news from the Grand Council yet.”

The empress frowned. “How long has Lord Zhang been gone?”

“About two hours.”

The empress thought for a moment and instructed, “Summon him!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

A moment later, Grand Secretary Zhang Yueheng arrived at the imperial study. Just as he was about to kneel, he heard the empress ask coldly, “Is there any progress in finding the thief of the Sacred Abyss Sword?”

“Well…”

Zhang Yueheng was speechless for a moment. He paused for a moment before replying in a low voice, “Your Majesty, please forgive me. According to the news from the Five Elements Imperial Guards, that person is extremely stubborn. They’ve already tried their best, but… but they still couldn’t get anything out of him.”

“What?!”

The empress’s eyes widened as she slapped the desk heavily. “You actually tortured Lord Lin?!”

Zhang Yueheng trembled and knelt on the ground. “Your Majesty, this is your order! ‘No matter who it is, anyone related to this case must be investigated strictly.’ This is what you said.”

The empress had long known that Zhang Yueheng would say this. She sneered and continued to ask, “It’s been two hours. Why is there no progress yet?”

Zhang Yueheng trembled again. He lay on the ground and replied softly, “Your Majesty, the criminal is abnormally stubborn…”

“Good!”

The empress nodded slightly and suddenly changed the topic. “I believe Lord Zhang is aware of the torture methods practiced by the Five Elements Imperial Guards, right?”

Zhang Yueheng did not know why the empress suddenly asked about this. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and admitting, “Among them, the Water Guards are most specialized in torturing. It is said that they can’t even get words out of a stone.”

“In that case, they’re indeed capable.”

The empress smiled, then her tone turned cold. “But they tried for two hours and still couldn’t get anything out of Lord Lin. Is it because they’re not capable enough, or is Lord Lin innocent to begin with?”

Zhang Yueheng was about to reply when he suddenly realized that something was wrong. This was a trap!

If he admitted that they were not capable enough, the Water Guards would definitely be punished.

Zhang Yueheng did not care about the life and death of the Water Guards, but with a word from the empress, he was associated with the Water Guards. If the Water Guards were punished, as the Grand Secretary, he would not be able to escape responsibility!

As for Lin Ran’s innocence, they couldn’t admit it. Once they did, it would be equivalent to them framing a good person.

If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but Lin Ran was still a trusted aide of the empress. If the empress wanted to seek justice for him, all who framed Lin Ran would lose their heads.