Calm in the Face of Danger

Because the Five Elements Imperial Guards had different responsibilities, other than large-scale operations, they rarely interacted.

Of course, this was not absolute. For example, there was often interaction between the Golden Guards and the Water Guards to exchange information. However, the Earth Guards’ main duty was to guard the periphery. There was no reason for them to appear here.

Therefore, after the initial shock, Shen Rulin inevitably felt suspicious. “Father, why do you suspect it’s him?”

“My intuition.”

Shen Qingquan said with uncertainty, “At that time, when I heard that you were missing in the mountain, I barged in in a hurry and found the cave you dug at the top.”

“After coming down from the cave, I discovered the five-colored smoke you left behind. I knew that you had just left, so I chased after you…”

Hearing this, Shen Rulin couldn’t help but interrupt. “Father, there were a total of three cave entrances in that stone room. How did you determine where I went?”

“Three cave entrances?”

When Shen Qingquan heard this, he was stunned for a moment, his eyes clearly filled with confusion. “But when I got down, there was only one cave entrance!”

“One?!”

This time, it was Shen Rulin’s turn to be stunned. He clearly saw three cave entrances in the stone room. His father was far above him in terms of cultivation and experience. How could he fail to see the other two?

“Could the mechanism in the mountain move the cave entrances away?”

Shen Rulin thought to himself.

He remembered that Lin Ran had said that the main peak of Mount Sword was a huge mechanism. Moreover, after he returned from the canyon, the cave entrance that they had sealed previously was restored. This was enough to show that the mechanism really existed.

If someone hid two of the cave entrances after he and Lin Ran left, it would be normal for his father to only see one cave entrance when he arrived.

Shen Rulin figured this out, but he did not say it out loud. This was because compared to what his father suspected, the change in the number of cave entrances was simply insignificant.

Shen Qingquan did not know that his son was absent-minded. He continued, “But after entering the cave, I realized that something was wrong. There’s no sign of anyone having passed by in the cave, but because that’s the only cave I could take, I continued forward.”

At this point, Shen Qingquan paused for a moment, and he looked pensive. “When I walked for nearly five kilometers, I suddenly sensed a strong internal energy fluctuation.”

“Then, the stone walls on both sides began to close quickly. My carriage was squeezed, so I had no choice but to abandon it and rush back. However, when I returned the way I came, I realized that the cave entrance I took had disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

Shen Rulin was stunned when he heard this. He remembered that Lin Ran had destroyed the cave entrance to the south, but his father entered the cave entrance to the north. Could it be that he remembered wrongly?

Before Shen Rulin could recall carefully, what Shen Qingquan said next proved that his memory served him right.

“The original cave entrance turned into a stone wall. The rut I left on the ground appeared on the stone wall.”

Shen Qingquan frowned slightly and said in a low voice, as if he still did not understand. “I originally thought that it was a stone door, but when I used my divine sense to investigate, I realized that it was an ordinary rock.”

Hearing this, Shen Rulin immediately looked puzzled. Even though he knew that this mountain was a huge mechanism, he still felt that the power of this mechanism was too unbelievable.

“What happened after that?”

Shen Rulin hurriedly asked, “Since your path of retreat has been blocked, how did you leave?”

“At that time, the stone walls on both sides were still closing in. I didn’t have time to think too much about it. When I realized that my way out was blocked, I walked back.”

“When I walked back, the carriage was already crushed by the closing stone wall. Qin Xue and the other horses were also nowhere to be seen. However, I couldn’t even protect myself at that time, so I didn’t look for them and could only continue forward.”

“Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to find a hole that can barely accommodate me. This arm was injured when the stone walls pressed together.”

Shen Qingquan raised his injured arm and said calmly, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter. However, Shen Rulin knew his father’s personality too well. The situation at that time must have been extremely dangerous.

After a pause to calm himself down, Shen Rulin continued to ask, “Father, did you suspect that Uncle Tu attacked you because of the closing stone walls?”

Shen Qingquan nodded. “Controlling the earth and stones is that old guy’s forte. I just can’t figure out why he attacked me.”

“Father, I think… you might have misunderstood Uncle Tu.”

Shen Rulin smiled bitterly and told him everything he had heard from Lin Ran in detail.

When he heard that the main peak of Mount Sword was a huge mechanism, even the experienced Shen Qingquan couldn’t help but reveal a strange expression.

It had to be known that the Five Elements Imperial Guards was quite high-ranking in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. As the commander of the Golden Guards, Shen Qingquan knew a lot of secrets, but he had never heard of this!

“How many more secrets does the Heavenly Saint Dynasty have…”

Shen Qingquan suddenly thought of something and looked at Shen Rulin. “Rulin, did you just say that… Lin Ran can also control the mechanism here?”

“Yes.”

Shen Rulin nodded, but his tone was a little uncertain. “But I only heard him mention it. I’ve never seen him do it with my own eyes.”

Shen Qingquan continued to ask, “You also said that he shook you off in a canyon outside the mountain?”

“Yes.”

Shen Rulin nodded again. “Father, did you ask me these because you thought of something?”

historical

Shen Qingquan didn’t answer. He just looked at Shen Rulin with a burning gaze. “Think about it carefully. Along the way, did Lin Ran do anything suspicious?”

Just as Shen Rulin was about to say no, a terrifying thought suddenly came to his mind when he opened his mouth.

“Father…”

Shen Rulin subconsciously gulped. “I think I know what’s going on.”