He Lan Tianxia

At this moment, inside the prison cell, Murong Junlan and the woman were tied up and sitting together back to back. Murong Junlan was looking down, deep in thought, while the woman was looking up at the ceiling.

The woman suddenly asked, "Your Highness, who are we waiting for to rescue us?"

"Yes, who's coming to rescue us?" Murong Junlan asked gravely. The operation had been too rushed; failing to rescue the person and being captured by Luo Xie was truly unexpected.

"It seems not," Murong Junlan answered truthfully.

"What should we do?" the woman asked anxiously.

"Let's play it by ear." Murong Junlan wasn't sure either. He quickly went through the list of people who could rescue them in his mind, but it seemed there weren't any. Jiang He had also been captured, and he didn't know what had happened to Ling Yi, who was the most capable of them. It seemed that they could only save themselves.

Just then, the gates of the imperial prison opened, and Luo Xie entered carrying a pot of wine. He ordered a table to be set up in the cell, cooked a few dishes, and began to drink by himself.

"Prince Murong, today was supposed to be my wedding day, but I never expected you to ruin it." Luo Xie took a sip of wine and said, "Your Highness, what do you suggest we do?"

Murong Junlan ignored him and simply closed her eyes to rest.

"Since it's my wedding, I can't be left alone in this empty room." Luo Xie took another sip of wine and turned to the woman, saying, "Empress, come, let's have a drink together." Luo Xie took the wine cup and walked towards the two of them.

Murong Junlan suddenly stood up, and because they were tied together, the woman also stood up. Murong Junlan turned to Luo Xie, glaring at him fiercely with a dark face, and warned, "Don't you dare try anything with her again."

"Prince Murong, you underestimate me, Luo Xie." Luo Xie handed a wine cup to Murong Junlan. "What if I insist on making a move on her?"

"Then prepare yourself for the destruction of your kingdom," Murong Junlan said decisively.

"Destroy a country? How? Ha... Prince Murong, I know you don't even care about an army of 100,000, so what? Today, you still ended up in my hands, didn't you?" Luo Xie took another sip of wine and continued to ramble, "I've got your kingdom, and I've got your beauty. What more could I ask for in life? How wonderful! Bring me wine."

A guard stepped forward, and Luo Xie patted the guard on the shoulder, "Go, call a few people over and take this little beauty back to my bedroom."

"Yes." The guard quickly brought over a pot of wine, but dared not approach Murong Junlan.

“They’re all tied up, yet they still don’t dare to come forward. A bunch of useless cowards.” Luo Xie grabbed a wine cup and downed the wine that the guard had just brought him in one gulp. “Watch me.” Luo Xie wiped the wine from his lips and walked towards Murong Junlan.

"Stand firm," Murong Junlan whispered to the woman, then suddenly swept his right foot forward, kicking at Luo Xie. Luo Xie jumped to the ground, simultaneously extending a leg to kick Murong Junlan in the face. Murong Junlan was about to dodge when he heard Luo Xie fall to the ground with a thud.

"Damn it, who would dare to drug the wine?" Luo Xie shook his head violently, feeling dizzy. He opened his blurry eyes and shouted, "Someone, don't let Murong Junlan get away!"

At this moment, a guard clasped his hands in a fist salute to Murong Junlan and gave him a wink: "Your Highness." Then he used a short knife to cut the ropes binding Murong Junlan and whispered, "Come with me."

Murong Junlan discerned that the man didn't seem to want to harm them, so he rescued Jiang He as well. The three of them then followed the guards towards a side gate. Passing through a grove of small pine trees, they arrived at a secluded cave. The guards stepped aside and bowed, saying, "Crown Prince Qin Nan of Wubei Kingdom pays his respects to Prince Murong."

"Are you the crown prince of the Wubei Kingdom?"

"Yes. The Wubei Kingdom and your country are friendly neighbors. Unfortunately, in recent years, the nomadic Xiongnu Luoye have invaded our country and expanded wantonly, killing people everywhere. The people are suffering. We have heard that Prince Murong is a brilliant military strategist, brave and skilled in battle, and loves his soldiers like brothers. We hope that Prince Murong will help the Wubei Kingdom to restore its great cause. The Wubei Kingdom is willing to be a vassal for generations."

"I see. No wonder so many soldiers attacked my capital, Yan, last time." Murong Junlan stepped forward and returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for saving me today, Your Highness. I will remember this forever. Prince Qin Nan, would you like to leave with us?"

"I can't leave yet; my colleagues still need me."

"You've already been exposed today, and staying here could be life-threatening."

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have a plan." Qin Nan looked around and urged, "The Xiongnu haven't discovered this secret passage yet. You'll have to make do here tonight, and you can leave tomorrow morning. I won't see you off any further. Your Highness, please be careful on your journey, and I hope we'll meet again."

"Alright, until we meet again." Murong Junlan and the other two bid farewell to the Crown Prince of Wubei and turned to enter the secret passage. Qin Nan left behind a few torches and two swords, then covered the entrance to the secret passage with tree branches. He then slashed himself on the shoulder, clutched the wound, and turned back to the Imperial Prison. Qin Nan was the chief steward of the Imperial Prison, and this slash was necessary; otherwise, Luo Xie would become suspicious.

Chaos still raged in the imperial prison. Luo Xie had already sent him back to the Chanyu's residence. Most of the people in the prison were Qin Nan's men, and when they saw that Qin Nan was injured, they all rushed to help bandage him. The Chanyu slept for a full night and a half because the medicine was working.

Meanwhile, Murong Junlan and his companions entered the secret passage. As dawn broke, they continued forward. The passage was overgrown with weeds, indicating it hadn't been used for a long time. Jiang He led the way with his sword, while Murong Junlan and the woman followed. Fortunately, Qin Nan had given them two swords for self-defense; otherwise, navigating this thorny path would have been difficult. After a stretch of dirt road, they reached a stone path. After walking about half a mile, they suddenly saw a wall covered in wild privet vines. The vines were covered in brightly colored, vibrant wild privet flowers, but strangely, one black flower bloomed among them, giving it an eerie appearance.

"The black 'Queen of the Night' flower is so beautiful." The woman reached out to pick it.

"Be careful, it might be poisonous." Murong Junlan stopped her with lightning speed. The woman stuck out her tongue, relieved that she hadn't touched it.

"Your Highness, what should we do?" Jiang He looked at Murong Junlan as he saw the tyrant blocking his way.

Murong Junlan tapped the stone walls on either side of the Wild Overlord with his sword; they were indestructible. Then he thrust his sword into the stone with a clang, creating a flash of lightning. He seemed to be talking to himself, then turned to Jiang He and said, "Qin Nan couldn't possibly not know there's a Wild Overlord wall here. This kind of fortification didn't grow overnight."

"Your Highness, could this secret passage be just a hidden cave?" Jiang He probed left and right with his sword, but found nothing.

The two were still puzzled when the woman suddenly said, "They say that when you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up. Your Highness, do you think there might be some kind of illusion?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Junlan thought it made sense, so he sheathed his sword, put his palms together, and pushed them towards the Wild Overlord, but there was no reaction. Murong Junlan was unconvinced, so he pushed a few more times to the left and right, but still no reaction.

"Your Highness, don't you think these flowers are strange? Look, there's not enough sunlight here, the plants can't photosynthesize at all, it's already abnormal for flowers to bloom, but here, they're blooming in all sorts of colors, there must be something mysterious about this. Besides, the Queen of the Night flower is usually white with yellow stamens, I've never seen it in all sorts of colors before, don't you think that's very eerie?" The woman rattled off a bunch of words, making Murong Junlan and Jiang He stare at her intently, making the woman think she had said something wrong.

"Then where do you think its mechanism should be hidden?" Murong Junlan asked.

"I don't know. Your Highness, do you think this flower is poisonous?"

"I can't say for sure, but I'd rather believe it's true."

Just then, voices suddenly came from outside the secret passage. Murong Junlan quickly pulled the woman and Jiang He to hide in a recessed area.

"There seems to be a hole here," Jia said.

"Could it be a place inhabited by jackals?" Yi asked.

"Who cares? Come on, leave her here and we'll get out of here. This is the middle of nowhere, what if some wild animal runs out of the cave? Our lives will be in danger," said A.

“That’s true. The higher-ups said that Luo Xie would never guess it was us. At most, he’d guess it was Murong Junlan and his group,” A said. Then they heard the sound of something being thrown. “Good luck to you.”

After a while, they could no longer hear any sound. Murong Junlan guessed that they had left, so the three of them went back to the cave entrance to take a look.

"Luo's mother?" Murong Junlan was surprised. "It seems there are quite a few people who don't respect Luo Xie and even want to frame me."

Jiang He stepped forward and checked her breathing. "She's still breathing. She's probably just passed out."

"Jiang He, take her back to the gate of Luo Xie Mansion."

"Send it back?" Jiang He didn't know why the prince was suddenly so enthusiastic.

"Yes. Go quickly and come back quickly."

"Yes." Since he had to deliver it, Jiang He had no choice but to carry Luo's mother straight to Luo Xie's residence.

After Jiang He left, Murong Junlan led the woman back to study the Wild Tyrant. Whether intentionally or unconsciously, Murong Junlan suddenly took out a purple bamboo flute from his pocket and began to play it softly. The woman sat on the rock, thinking that if they weren't being chased, this scene would be quite romantic.

"Yan'er, I now truly believe you are not a Hun."

"What..." The woman sighed and rubbed her forehead. Was this guy out of his mind? Trapped in a bandit's den, he not only had the mood to play the flute, but also to figure out if she was a Hun.

"Yan'er, I don't know why I didn't remember you, but when I learned that you were sent to the Wubei Kingdom for a political marriage, my heart ached." Murong Junlan put down his flute, placed his hands on the woman's shoulders, and looked into her eyes earnestly, saying, "My life cannot be without you. How about you become my queen?" Seeing that the woman did not answer, Murong Junlan quickly added, "Xia Muyao and Jin Chuchu have nothing to do with me. I have never touched them. I promise to marry only you in this life." Murong Junlan remembered that the woman had talked in her sleep last time, and knew that she cared about this.

Caught off guard by the sudden confession, the woman opened her mouth to speak when Jiang He returned. Murong Junlan glared fiercely at Jiang He.

Jiang He felt a chill. He didn't know what he had done to offend the prince, but he thought it was because he was late in returning. So he reported, "Your Highness, I have delivered Mother Luo as you instructed, and I dared not delay on the way."

"How could I not dare to delay?" Murong Junlan blurted out angrily.

"Huh?" Jiang He didn't understand.

"Go, figure out the secrets of the Overlord Wall." Murong Junlan forcefully assigned Jiang He a task. Upon hearing this, the woman chuckled.