249 Father and Son Reunited in Despair
In the cave.
A white horse ran crazily on the ground. Before the gravel stirred up by the rampaging horse could fall, the white horse had already run dozens of feet away.
Shen Rulin lowered his body on the horseback and looked past Qing Xue’s smooth mane into the darkness in front of him. Apart from anxiety, there was also a hint of vigilance on his face.
Although Qing Xue’s speed was not as fast as him riding the Thunderball Sword, she was still fast. She had been running for nearly fifteen minutes, but there was still no sign of the passage coming to an end.
It still confused Shen Rulin how one could dig such a long underground passage.
As he was thinking, Qing Xue ran for another few thousand feet. Shen Rulin was about to speed up the horse when something flashed by from the corner of his eyes.
Shen Rulin was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly reined in the horse. When he turned around, he saw that the thing had already disappeared into the darkness. Other than Qing Xue’s breathing, there was no other sound in the cave.
If it were anyone else, they might think that they were mistaken, but Shen Rulin believed firmly that he had seen something. He hesitated for a second before getting off the horse. He patted Qing Xue and said softly, “Qing Xue, wait for me here. Don’t run.”
Qing Xue neighed in response. Shen Rulin extinguished the lightning on the Thunderball Sword and walked in that direction in the dark.
Because the thing flashed by, Shen Rulin was not very sure of the exact location of it. He first walked back dozens of steps and pricked up his ears to listen for a moment. After confirming that there was nothing unusual around him, he raised the Thunderball and suddenly activated his internal energy.
The snow-white electric light flickered, instantly illuminating an area of ten steps.
Shen Rulin was about to look around when he realized that there was something white hanging on the stone wall two to three steps in front of him.
When he got closer, Shen Rulin realized that it was a piece of white brocade that was slightly larger than a palm. He recognized it at a glance as the curtain on the roof of his father’s carriage. Now that it appeared here, it was most likely scraped off by a rock when the carriage passed by.
As he thought about this, Shen Rulin reached out to take off the white cloth. As soon as he touched it, he felt that his fingertips were a little sticky. He turned it over and saw a few words written in blood on the back of the white cloth!
“There’s a dead end ahead! Go back!”
The handwriting of these words was very sloppy. It was obvious that they were written in a panic. However, Shen Rulin still recognized that it was his father’s handwriting, and his expression immediately became solemn.
No one in the Five Elements Imperial Guards knew his father’s personality better than him. His father could remain calm even in the face of a landslide, but now, he left behind such sloppy handwriting. It was enough to show that the danger here was far beyond what his father could control!
However, other than the fact that the journey was a little long, Shen Rulin did not find anything unusual. Why did his father leave these words?
After thinking for a long time, Shen Rulin still had no clue. He looked at the white cloth carefully with the help of the electric light, wanting to find some clues. However, other than the blood being dried and dark red, there was nothing else.
Just as Shen Rulin was feeling puzzled, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded and receded into the distance.
“Qing Xue!”
Shen Rulin’s expression changed and he was about to chase when he suddenly felt a grip on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a thin and bloody hand pressing down on his shoulder!
This bloody hand appeared too suddenly. Shen Rulin did not have time to think carefully and instinctively swung his sword.
At the same time, the bloody hand let go of Shen Rulin’s shoulder. With a light pinch of its two thin fingers, the Thunderball was locked in place.
Seeing this, Shen Rulin was shocked. Just as he was about to exert more strength, he heard a low voice behind him. “You even dare to point a sword at me now.”
“Father?”
Shen Rulin instantly recognized the voice. He turned around and saw a withered old man standing behind him. His face was wrinkled and looked tired, but his expression was still serious.
This person was Shen Rulin’s father, the commander of the Five Elements Imperial Guards, Shen Qingquan!
“Father! It’s really you!”
Shen Rulin was overjoyed and pulled Shen Qingquan into his arms. However, before he could say anything, he was suddenly sent flying by a gentle force!
Shen Rulin let out a cry and flew more than 20 feet before landing on the ground.
Before he could get up, he heard Shen Qingquan reprimand him in a displeased tone, “Didn’t ever I teach you it’s appropriate for two men to hug each other?”
Shen Rulin felt helpless. He sighed and knelt on the ground. “Father… Ah no, Commander, you are right. My apologies for being rude.”
“Get up. I don’t want to see that happen again.”
Shen Qingquan frowned and said coldly, but there was a smile on his face that disappeared in an instant. “Why are you here?”
Shen Rulin stood up and carefully explained everything.
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qingquan asked, “In that case, you don’t know where Lin Ran currently is either?”
“Yes.”
Shen Rulin nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he raised his head and asked tentatively, “Father, your injury…”
“I’m fine.”
Shen Qingquan waved his hand to interrupt Shen Rulin and asked, “When you were with Lin Ran, did he say where he was going?”
“Lin Ran only said that he wanted to wait and see. He didn’t tell me his plan.”
Shen Rulin replied honestly with a puzzled expression. “Commander, you keep mentioning Lin Ran. What does it have to do with Lin Ran?”
Shen Qingquan shook his head gently, his calm eyes suddenly revealing a hint of helplessness. “But if we can’t find him, both of us will die here.”
…
Sword Grave.
When Lin Ran heard Huo Qiyun say that this stone platform was strange, his expression changed in an instant. Just as he was thinking about how to comfort him, he heard Huo Qiyun ask curiously, “Why is this stone platform black?”
“Black?”
Lin Ran didn’t understand what he meant at first. It took him a moment to react.
The last time the two of them entered Sword Grave, this stone platform was emitting a halo. At that time, because they were afraid of the black insects, they did not dare to use their internal energy, so they relied on the fluorescent halo of this stone platform to illuminate the area.
However, at this moment, in this absolute darkness, there was not a single trace of light.
“Could it be…”
Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly thought of a possibility that even he found ridiculous.