"No need to force yourself," Xiao Ran said.
The corner of the Patriarch's mouth twitched as he glared at the Beryl Lotus Brilliance Sword indignantly. You're not leaving, is it? Then I'll leave, all right?!
He vanished in a whirlwind of demonic wind.
Xiao Ran put away the Beryl Lotus Brilliance Sword and descended to the ground.
"Why are you still here?"
Xia Luoran opened and closed her mouth, not sure whether to ask him.
"What are you trying to say?" Xiao Ran asked.
"S-Sir, how did you know the Phoenix Essence Sword Technique?"
Xiao Ran ignored her and turned around to leave.
Xia Luoran gritted her teeth and followed him. "This sword technique is my elder's exclusive secret technique that is not passed to anyone. No one else in the whole capital city knows it."
Seeing that he was unmoved and continued to walk away, she voiced out the speculation in her heart. "Sir, you are not the master of that elder of mine, are you?"
Xiao Ran stopped in his tracks and gave her a knock on the head. "How dare you!"
He grabbed her and shot up to the ninth heaven. He injected a stream of spirit energy into her body to shut her up.
After traveling about 100 miles out of the Mount Flaming Inferno territory,
he found a suitable place to throw her down and disappeared in a flash.
"Sir, please save my elder from her suffering…"
A crow flew across the empty sky and cawed a few times.
Xia Luoran clasped her fair hands tightly and said with determination in her eyes, "I must locate him somehow. Only he can save my aunt from the Purgatory."
In the Nine Heavens above,
Xiao Ran shrugged his shoulders. "Only a fool would interfere in the matters of the Imperial Family."
After deactivating the Transformation Technique, he reverted to his usual appearance.
Invoking the Traversing the Heavens in Twelve Steps skill at its maximum strength, he strode out in twelve steps. There was no longer any trace of him in the world as he rushed towards the capital city.
In the capital city,
it was already the next morning.
He hurried back to the Celestial Dungeon, where the lieutenant was conducting the attendance roll call.
"Xiao Ran!"
No one answered for a long time. The lieutenant looked at Little Zhou. "He didn't come?"
Just as Little Zhou was about to speak up and find an excuse for him, Xiao Ran showed up. "I'm here."
"Why are you late this time?" asked the lieutenant.
"I've been too busy recently and accidentally overslept," Xiao Ran said.
The lieutenant waved his hand and dismissed the matter.
"The rewards from the higher-ups have arrived. This time, you and Little Zhou have made a big contribution and solved this case. Even though the Dragon Lake Institute didn't reclaim the lost precious treasure, the credit that is due to you both can't be erased."
Little Zhou asked excitedly, "My Lord, what did the higher-ups reward us with?"
The lieutenant did not answer directly. "You both have been working in the Celestial Dungeon for three years now. Today your three-year terms are up. Together with the contribution this time, the higher-ups have made an exception to transfer the two of you into the Divine Sword Guards."
Gulp!
Little Zhou swallowed hard, stunned by this unexpected stroke of good luck. "My Lord, is this true?"
"Of course! This is your appointment document." The lieutenant rolled his eyes at him.
He took out two documents and handed them over.
After accepting the document,
Xiao Ran took one look at the seal of the Ministry of Justice and the Divine Sword Guards. From now on, he was a part of the Divine Sword Guards as an ordinary member.
"Xiao Ran, your situation is rather special. After some consideration, the higher-ups have decided to let you work as a dungeon guard concurrently but taking charge of the Purgatory only. You don't have to care about anything else and you'll receive two salaries. What do you think?"
"I have no objection," Xiao Ran said.
This saved him a lot of trouble.
His status had risen, he could still manage the Purgatory and continue to farm rewards.
"Good." The lieutenant nodded in satisfaction.
Following that was the transfer of Elder Zheng and his partner. Elder Zheng was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and the other guy was transferred to the county office to serve as deputy constable.
After enduring for three years, he had finally achieved something.
"This is White Lotus Cake. Pass it to the Eldest Princess and then report to the Divine Sword Guards with Little Zhou later." The lieutenant handed over a food container.
Xiao Ran took the food container and entered the Purgatory.
He opened the cell, placed the food container on the table and laid out the two white lotus cakes inside.
"Have you been promoted?" The Eldest Princess asked, revealing mixed emotions in her eyes.
Looking at the black robe of the Divine Sword Guard he was wearing, as well as the Black Light Sword and the Divine Sword Guard crest, she did not move for a long time.
"The three-year term is up. By coincidence, we also solved a major case," Xiao Ran said.
He took a piece of white lotus cake and started eating.
The Eldest Princess stood up from the soft ground and stopped in front of him.
Her beautiful eyes were fixed on him.
"What?" Xiao Ran asked.
"What will happen to me if you leave?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't do anything to you."
"When the demonic aura erupts, without your help to suppress it, I will go crazy," the Eldest Princess said.
Xiao Ran glared at her angrily and said, "Next time when you speak, give the whole picture, otherwise other people will misunderstand me."
"Although I've been transferred to the Divine Sword Guards, I'm still in charge of the Purgatory."
"Part-time?" The Eldest Princess' eyes lit up.
"Yes," Xiao Ran answered.
When she heard that,
the Eldest Princess finally relaxed. She smiled slightly, revealing her infinite charm as she sat opposite him. "Congratulations!"
She took a piece of white lotus cake and started nibbling elegantly.
After finishing the meal,
Xiao Ran locked the cell door and walked to the Deluge Dragon's cell.
"Why are you here again?" The Deluge Dragon asked with trepidation.
During this period of time when Xiao Ran wasn't around, he was quite at ease, using the spirit energy of the heaven and earth to nurture the missing dragon tendon. His progress was slow, but he saw hope.
Now his good mood was shattered.
The Deluge Dragon's body trembled nervously.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He noticed the robe of the Divine Sword Guards that Xiao Ran was wearing and asked excitedly, "You have been transferred to the Divine Sword Guards?"
"Are you very happy?"
"I'm not happy at all. You have to believe me. With your contributions, you should have been transferred to a better department long ago."
"Is that so?" Xiao Ran smiled playfully.
"I swear in the name of the Dragon God that everything I say is from the bottom of my heart."
"You are going to be disappointed. I may have been transferred to the Divine Sword Guards, but I'm still working part-time as a dungeon guard. I have been put in charge of the Purgatory only."
Pooh!
The Deluge Dragon couldn't catch his breath and spat out a mouthful of blood. He swore angrily, "Are those people from the Imperial Court blind?"
"Are you very unhappy?" Xiao Ran asked.
The Deluge Dragon smiled obsequiously, like a sniveling groveling dog. "You're absolutely mistaken. I'm very happy."
"Since you're so happy, it is not asking too much to let you bleed a little, right?"
"Not at all!" The Deluge Dragon said in humiliation.
He took the initiative to stretch out his right limb and closed his eyes with resentment. He roared furiously in his heart. Could it be that I would never be able to escape from his demonic clutches for the rest of my life?
Xiao Ran cut the dragon's limb with his finger.
He took out three jade bottles and collected three full bottles of dragon blood.
Only when the dragon became weak did he stop.
A beam of golden light was directed on the wound, healing it.
"Rest well. I'll visit you again after some time," Xiao Ran instructed.
"Thank you so much!" The Deluge Dragon forced himself to smile.
After Xiao Ran left, he could no longer suppress his anger. "We're mortal enemies for eternity!"
Just as he was about to leave the Purgatory with the food container in hand, a woman dressed in palace attire walked over with two palace maids.
"She returned so fast?" Xiao Ran was surprised.
On second thought, he understood. As the Elder Princess, it was not strange for her to have the means to rush back early.