Chapter 38

The eternal tunnel.

The moon was at the zenith, the soldier rubbed his frozen face and looked up at the beacon tower in the distance. The night was dark, but the beacon tower still stood in the distance like a warrior.

It looks like tonight will be safe.

The soldier yawned and felt sleepy. He forced himself to stand up straight.

Suddenly, thick smoke rose from the beacon tower in the distance. Oh no, the enemy is attacking.

He immediately lit the grass at the beacon tower, and the grass quickly burned up, and thick smoke rose into the air.

The chicory is produced in the northwest. It is made of the common Stipa sphenanthera in the northwest. It is about ten feet long, very flammable, and the flame it ignites is extremely bright. Therefore, it is often used to light beacons at night.

When the beacon towers in the distance saw that there was an enemy attack, they immediately lit up the grass, and the sky was filled with flames.

When the soldiers in the camp saw the smoke rising into the sky, they immediately sounded the alarm.

"Enemy attack."

Xie Chen rushed out of the tent immediately after hearing the noise. In the past few days, spies had reported that the Huns were ready to make a move, so all the soldiers in the camp were on high alert and did not dare to be careless.

Xie Chen had been sleeping with his clothes on for the past few days and was quick to react.

"What's going on?"

"Captain Tunnel, the fifth beacon has been lit, it must be the Xiongnu's unusual movements."

The fifth beacon? Isn’t it less than a hundred miles away from here?

"Pass my order, everyone get ready, if the situation is urgent, follow me to fight the enemy."

"yes."

Xie Chen stood on a high place and looked out. Dust was rising in the distance. It seemed that there were quite a lot of people coming this time.

He waved his hand, and the soldiers checked the "Tiger Falls" and pushed them to the rear.

Hu Luo is a defensive fortification built near Tiantian, similar to modern barbed wire, used to stop galloping cavalry.

The Hun cavalry was gradually approaching. The cavalry in front was tripped by several layers of tiger traps and fell into the trap set earlier with his horse.

The soldiers of Dayan picked up bows and arrows and shot down arrows like rain. The Xiongnu soldiers wailed and suffered countless casualties.

Seeing that the attack had failed, the leading general waved his hand to temporarily stop the attack.

The Huns were extremely ferocious. The setback was only temporary. They immediately reorganized their troops and rushed over to fight.

Xie Chen led the soldiers to charge forward. He rode on a horse and held a lance in hand-to-hand combat with the Hun soldiers. With tremendous force, he stabbed a Hun soldier, who was stabbed and fell off his horse. Everyone was stunned by his bravery.

The battlefield was filled with deafening cries of killing. The Hun soldiers rushed over with a hideous grin. Some soldiers had their black armor chopped off by a Hun soldier's sword, and they fell to the ground with blood splattering. Some saw the death of their comrades and their eyes were bloodshot. They fought with the Hun soldiers with hatred in their eyes.

The entire battlefield was filled with swords and sabers, flags waving, the blood and the yellow earth all over the sky complemented each other, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Every time Xie Chen swung his spear, a head fell. The soldiers around him fell one by one, but he still waved his spear, stabbing at the Hun cavalry tirelessly.

Finally, under the powerful attack of the soldiers of Dayan, the momentum of the Hun cavalry weakened and they gradually fell into a disadvantage. Xie Chen acted decisively and took the remaining soldiers to pursue the victory and wiped out the remaining Hun soldiers.

Xie Chen had bloodstains on his face, and he was breathing slightly while leaning against the spear. The ground was littered with corpses, and the blood was everywhere. These were the bodies of the Xiongnu and Dayan soldiers. This battle could only be described as a tragic victory.

The Hun cavalry came too hastily and we were unable to prepare in advance.

Xie Chen arranged for the remaining soldiers to clean up the battlefield. He had to report today's battle situation to the Duwei Mansion and ask about the progress of the stirrup.

The Xiongnu's small-scale attack on Dayan failed this time, and they will definitely make a comeback.

…

Ganzhou County.

Lin Shuge followed the messenger to the post station. Magistrate Li was already there. He was so anxious that he was pacing back and forth. When he saw Lin Shuge, he immediately asked, "When did you send the little prince back today?"

Lin Shuge thought for a moment, "About 15:00. Sir, when did the post station officials discover that the little prince was missing?"

"At the hour of Xu, County Magistrate Wu and the Left Commandant of Xiye State have already led people to look for him separately. Please don't let anything happen to him." County Magistrate Li clasped his hands together and prayed to God.

"What did the post station official say? Where is Ale? Ale is missing too?"

"An officer said that the little prince was in his room when he came back, and that meals were delivered to him. He heard noises later, but didn't see the little prince come out. An officer knocked on the door to ask if the little prince needed water, but didn't hear any noises from inside, so he got suspicious."

"As for this Ale, he disappeared with the little prince."

"Where are the guards who serve the little prince?"

Magistrate Li clenched his fist and said, "We just interrogated one of the guards and found that he is missing. The other guards went to rest because the little prince told them not to do anything else. So they don't know where the little prince went and they are all very anxious now."

Is he going to meet someone with his guards?

"Sir, Captain Wu sent someone to report that he has found the little prince's whereabouts?" A runner came to report.

Magistrate Li asked quickly, "Where is it?"

"It's ten miles west of the city."

Ten miles west of the city, there is mostly Gobi Desert. Why would the little prince go there?

Without thinking too much, County Magistrate Li immediately led everyone over there, and Lin Shuge had no choice but to follow.

The darkness was filled with murderous intent. Ale pulled Taran and ran desperately towards Ganzhou County. Just now, Taran's guards came to report that the king is seriously ill, and the eldest prince has rebelled and put the king under house arrest. The king sent someone to risk his life to bring a token to the young prince, and Taran must go in person.

However, Ganzhou County was heavily guarded and we could not enter rashly, so we could only meet outside the city.

When Ale heard this, he found it too strange. When they came to Dayan, the king was in good health and it seemed that he could live for another few decades. How could he suddenly become seriously ill?

As for the token, why didn't the messenger come to the post station in person with the token to see the little prince? Why would he let the little prince go there so late at night?

However, Taran and King Xiye had a deep father-son relationship. When he heard that his father was seriously ill, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and his mind became confused. He was not going to listen to anything he said and insisted on going regardless.

Ale had no choice but to go along.

The servant threw a stone, attracting the guards at the door to check. Ale took Taran and left the inn, avoiding the guards.

They dodged patrolling soldiers all the way and arrived outside the city, but unexpectedly they were met with an assassination.

Sure enough, I fell into the trap.

The token is fake, but the real purpose is to take their lives. I'm afraid that the guard has been bribed long ago.

He didn't have time to think about who would go to such great lengths to kill him in Dayan.

Ale pulled Taran and ran all the way. A taste of rust rose in his throat and all he could hear was the harsh sound of the wind in his ears.

The warriors sent by Xiya Kingdom to protect Taran fought with these killers for a long time before giving them time to escape, but judging from the situation, those warriors are probably in great danger.

The killer was following like a shadow. A long arrow shot over and just grazed A'er's cheek. A'er didn't dare to look back and could only run forward desperately.

The two came to an elm tree, and Taran gasped, "Ale, I can't do it anymore, you go first and find someone to save me."

How could A'er abandon him? He gritted his teeth and said: I will go to distract the pursuers, you stay here first and run when the time is right.

"No, no..." Taran shook his head desperately.

"Prince, I can die, but you must live." He changed his usual heartless attitude and his voice was full of determination.

He took off his outer robe and exchanged it with Taran, looked at Taran deeply, took a breath, and ran directly in the opposite direction of Taran.

The sky was obscured by dark clouds, and the killer could not see anyone clearly. He only vaguely saw a figure flash by, and then he chased after it.

Taran held his breath and listened to the killer's footsteps gradually moving away from here. He wiped away his tears and ran towards Ganzhou without stopping.

He didn't know how long he had been running, but his feet felt like they were filled with lead. Every time he lifted a foot it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. His breathing became more and more rapid, like a broken bellows.

Finally, he saw a group of people riding horses and holding torches, coming towards this side. When they got closer, he saw that these people were wearing Dayan's clothes, and he felt relieved.

He finally relaxed his breath, his legs softened and he fell to the ground, and he could only shout in a hoarse voice: "Hurry, hurry up..."

Lin Shuge got off his horse and shouted to everyone, "It's the little prince. Quickly call the doctor to send the little prince back to the post station."

There was a sudden weight beneath him, and Taran grabbed the corner of his clothes tightly, "Go save Ale, go quickly...save Ale."

Aleh?

Lin Shuge then realized that Ale had not come back. Could it be?

"Ale led the pursuers away for me, so I escaped. County Magistrate Lin... please save him." Taran burst into tears.

"I'll go right away."

He then said to the remaining officers, "Send someone to escort the prince back, and inform Magistrate Li and Lieutenant Wu at the same time. The others should follow me."

The officers helped Taran up.

Without saying a word, Lin Shuge led a team in the direction pointed by Taran.

A'er was hiding behind a tree. He failed to dodge the assassin's arrow and was shot in the arm. An owl cry came from the woods. He smiled bitterly. It seemed that he could not escape today. He wondered if the prince had escaped.

Fortunately, he ran into a forest, otherwise, if he had been in the vast Gobi Desert, he would have lost his life.

The forest suddenly became silent, but Ale knew that despite the seemingly quietness, there was actually a murderous intention lurking.

He really couldn't run anymore, and had given up on himself. Now he could only leave everything to fate.

But he also thought of his mother who was far away in his hometown and was still waiting for him to return. His mother was born a dancer and was not favored by the master of the house. Fortunately, he had the prince's own eyes, so he and his mother did not have to live in darkness.

This time he saved the prince. Even if he unfortunately died in a foreign land, the prince would definitely treat his mother well for his sake.

But when he thought of his mother's tearful eyes, he felt a little unwilling.

Give it your all, this is the only life you have left.

He rushed out with his last breath. The sound of feet trampling leaves came from the woods. The killer was waiting not far away. It was obvious that he was teasing him and was not waiting for him to come out and then kill him with one blow.

Ale could only run forward. The sharp arrow passed by with a whistling sound, and then pierced into the tree trunk with a "ding" sound. An arrow broke through the air, but Ale was not so lucky this time. He was shot through the calf by the arrow and fell to the ground, bleeding all over the floor. Ale's eyes went black and a faint surge of blood surged in his throat.

He moved forward while lying on the ground. The killer grinned and shot another arrow at his other leg.

Sure enough, the killer never intended to take his life at all. Who on earth had such a deep hatred for the prince?

The killer walked up to him. He was wearing black clothes, but A'er saw that he accidentally revealed a piece of jade when he lowered his head. It was the Moon-ming Jade produced in the Xiye Kingdom, and it emitted a bright glow in the dark.

"Are you... from Xiye?"

The killer was stunned for a moment, then his eyes changed, no longer playful as before, but became cold and cruel.

"Prince, it's time to get going."

He raised the knife in his hand, and the blade flashed, illuminating A'er with bloodstains on his face. A'er closed his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking air in the woods. Ale opened his eyes suddenly, but the death he imagined did not come. Instead, he saw the killer fall in front of him with a "bang".