Liu Tan's eyes reflected raging flames. For a moment, his expression was almost blank, and it seemed that even his brain had stopped working. He just sat on his horse and stared blankly in one direction, without saying a word or moving for a long time.
The little white horse he was riding seemed to sense the uneasiness and moved its hooves.
Wei Buyi, who was standing beside Liu Tan, was also a little alarmed: "Why... why don't we see anyone coming and going? Have the Xiongnu already succeeded?"
Liu Tan felt even colder when he heard him say that. He also saw the flames but did not see any trace of the Hun army. Generally, although burning, killing and looting happened in the front, they would only do it when the other three were about to leave.
That's why he didn't know how to react for a moment.
Wei Buyi was more perceptive than Li Buyan, so he was the first to notice that Liu Tan was in a bad mood. However, he had no experience in dealing with such matters, so he could only bite the bullet and ask, "Your Highness...what should we do now?"
Liu Tan slowly came back to his senses, his voice drifting as he spoke: "Keep going, put out the fire, if you're alive, I'll find the person, if you're dead, I'll find the body!"
His expression looked calm, but Wei Buyi knew that Liu Tan might be acting on instinct now.
If Wei Buyi knew some psychological knowledge, he would know that Liu Tan's self-protection mechanism was activated and he directly cut off all emotions.
Liu Tan now had only one thought in his mind: to find Lu Xuan.
Whether alive or dead, we must find each other.
Liu Tan led his men all the way to a sea of fire, but Wei Buzhi was almost worried to death.
This fire looks like it will burn for a few days without any problems. How can it be put out? The climate in the Western Regions is dry and water is scarce. Even with sand and gravel, it is difficult to put out these fires. The best way is to wait for the fire to go out on its own.
But...their Fifth Prince may not be able to bear this stimulation.
Wei Buzhi felt a little sad for a moment. He didn't have much contact with Lu Xuan, but he knew that Lu Xuan always tried his best to help them, or rather, to help their Fifth Prince.
It would be a lie to say that it is not a pity to think that such a good person was burned to death.
When Liu Tan and his group were about five miles away from the capital of Xiao Wusun, they could already feel the heat brought by the fire.
If Liu Tan hadn't experienced a lot of ups and downs, he would have really collapsed emotionally at that moment.
The person who was talking and laughing in front of him just two days ago might now become a ghost in the fire.
If possible, he even hoped that the Huns would leave some people alive, at least to give him a chance to rescue them.
Just as Liu Tan was thinking about this, Wei Buyi suddenly said, "Your Highness, there are people ahead!"
Although Liu Tan was immersed in his own emotions, he could still hear what Wei Buzhi said. After hearing it, he quickly looked up with murderous intent in his eyes - he intuitively thought that the people who appeared here should be Huns.
When I looked up, I found that the half face of the person opposite me, illuminated by the fire, looked a little familiar.
The man came galloping over on horseback, shouting, "Ah Tan!"
The voice is familiar, very familiar.
The fluent Chinese has a slight Western accent, which is not obvious but can be heard.
What's more, there is only one person in the Western Regions who would call him that, and that is Lu Xuan.
When Liu Tan heard these two words, he felt a shudder all over his body, and instantly all the emotions of running away from home returned to him. His mind was in a mess for a moment, and he didn't know how to react. He could only control the little white horse to slowly stop, and stopped there in confusion, waiting for Lu Xuan to come over.
When they were close enough, Liu Tan realized that Lu Xuan looked extremely disheveled. A few strands of his hair were scattered and fluttered beside his cheeks. There were several black marks on his face, and his leather armor was also partially damaged.
But... people are complete and alive.
Lu Xuan ran over and quickly said, "It's dangerous here, follow me first."
As he spoke, he turned his horse's head and said, "Excuse me."
Then he put his arm around Liu Tan's waist and carried him onto his horse.
Lu Xuan still didn't have much confidence in Liu Tan's riding skills, or perhaps he felt uneasy about letting Liu Tan ride all alone. After all, Abu was not someone he couldn't carry.
Liu Tan did not refuse. After landing in front of Lu Xuan, he looked up at Lu Xuan, feeling his rapid breathing, the warmth emanating from his skin, and even faintly hearing his heartbeat.
In an instant, all his worries disappeared, leaving only the exhaustion and relief of having survived. He couldn't help but shrink his body and get as close to Lu Xuan as possible, as if only in this way could he feel that the other person was a living person and not just dreaming.
Lu Xuan ran with him in another direction while touching Liu Tan's face with some uneasiness, but he didn't say anything. It was obviously not a good time to talk when running so fast.
At this moment, the people brought by Wei Buzhi and Liu Tan could only run after them with a confused look on their faces.
There is no way but to run. Their fifth prince has been abducted by the other party. Where else can they go if not follow?
This run lasted over half an hour. Lu Xuan slowed down Abu's pace and finally let out a long breath. With a slight gasp, he asked, "Didn't I leave a message saying everything was fine? Why did you come here anyway? What if we encounter the Huns?"
Liu Tan tilted his body slightly and turned to look at him: "The royal city was burned down, and this is what you said is okay?"
If this is considered nothing, then he doesn't know what is a problem!
Lu Xuan sighed, "I had anticipated this. They only burned down an empty city."
Liu Tan was filled with questions and began to wonder if Lu Xuan's Chinese expression was inaccurate. Why was it that he couldn't understand him?
Lu Xuan saw his doubts and explained as they walked, "The Xiongnu have been plotting against us for a long time. They've even been plotting since my father passed away. The previous Xiongnu Chanyu died, which delayed things a bit. But Wu Shilu is different from his father. He's brutal and murderous. If his father were still in power, he might have planned for a while longer, waiting until he was completely confident before taking action. That way, we'd at least have more time to prepare. But after Wu Shilu came to power, he brought things forward. The Xiongnu have been plotting this for a long time. Even if we had known earlier, we would have had a hard time defeating them, not to mention that before this, the Hu Hu, Che Shi, and Jie Kingdom were all aiding the Xiongnu."
Lu Xuan even spoke with a relaxed tone at this point, "Thanks to you, we've reduced a lot of pressure. Otherwise, even if I could lead the troops to launch a surprise attack on Huhu, I might not have the energy left to attack Jieguo. This is what Wusun owes the Han Dynasty. I remember it clearly."
Liu Tan understood and didn't quite understand what he was saying, but he still said, "I'm just avenging myself. You don't need to overthink this."
Lu Xuan didn't continue the conversation. "Actually, whether it's the Huhu, Cheshi, or Jieguo, they couldn't cause us much harm. But the Xiongnu are different. Their cavalry... is unmatched in the Western Grasslands. I ascended the throne at a young age, and there's no way I could make the Wusun powerful overnight. I could only gradually relocate the people in the royal city. Um... in Han Chinese terms, this is called moving the capital. However, all of this was done in secret."
Liu Tan finally understood what was going on and said, "So you had already moved everyone out before this, leaving the Huns with an empty shell. So they burned down this empty city?"
Lu Xuan nodded: "Yes, I made some disguises to deceive them."
When Lu Xuan said this, he couldn't help but look back, with a rare look of melancholy in his eyes. Liu Tan immediately understood what he meant by disguise.
In order to deceive the Xiongnu, they had to make them mistakenly believe that the Wusun were still defending the city. In this case, Lu Xuan had to actually send people to defend the city. However, they were destined to be no match for the Xiongnu, so at this moment, those defending the city...
Liu Tan was silent for a while and then said, "In that case, I'm relieved. Hey, stop, stop, stop. If you're okay, I should go back."
He now understood clearly that the location of Lu Xuan's new city must be very hidden, probably similar to the new city he built.
He didn't tell Lu Xuan the address of the new city, so naturally he couldn't suggest going to see the new royal city.
As if Lu Xuan knew what he was thinking, he smiled and said, "We're already here, let's go over and take a look. Besides, traveling at night isn't safe. What if we run into the Huns?"
Since Lu Xuan said so, Liu Tan did not refuse and followed him all the way to the location of the new royal city.
The new royal city is actually not far from the old royal city. After all, it would be impossible to move in a low-key manner if it is too far away.
But when he saw the new royal city, Liu Tan almost cried - it was not a city at all. All the city walls were made of rammed earth, which was not as good as the royal city that had been burned down before. If the city walls were like this, the houses where the people lived would naturally not be of good quality either.
He also saw that many families even lived in felt houses.
Liu Tan whispered, "This city...isn't it built yet?"
Just as he was thinking about how to help, he heard Lu Xuan say, "That's it. The Huns won't give up until they find us, so this is just a temporary stopover. I haven't figured out where to build the real royal city yet."
He looked down at Liu Tan and suddenly laughed heartily, "Don't worry. Our tribe is nomadic by nature. Besides, our people and property are all well preserved. We only lost a city."
It's just a city that was lost... To put it simply, a tribe without a royal city cannot be considered a country.
From stable housing to displacement, do nomads really like being nomadic? Impossible, otherwise why would they build cities?
Liu Tan couldn't help but feel sad when he thought that Lu Xuan would have to live in the open air in the future. Although he knew that Lu Xuan would definitely not be able to endure any hardship given his status, he still felt sad.
So after dismounting, he took a look at his surroundings and couldn't help but turn to Lu Xuan and say, "Why don't you come back to the Han Dynasty with me?"
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