He Lan Tianxia

To speed up the descent, Murong Junlan pressed his hands tightly against his body, letting himself fall freely. He blamed himself for not being careful enough; he should have prepared a cotton-padded jacket for Yan'er before coming down. Just then, the wind howled beneath his feet, carrying a strong smell of sand, and then with a "thud," Murong Junlan fell into another sand pit.

What's going on? How did I end up in the desert again? Murong Junlan was filled with frustration. He immediately took a deep breath, and with a whoosh, leaped out of the sand dune, followed by ten consecutive 360-degree turns. He had to get out of there immediately. Before he could even regain his footing, the same eagle from last time swooped down at him. Murong Junlan had no intention of fighting; he didn't plan to entangle with the eagle and immediately unleashed his most powerful moves. However, after dozens of exchanges, the eagle grew stronger with each battle, and he couldn't break free at all. So, the man and the eagle fought from the desert to the desert floor, and then back into the desert depths, battling until dusk, until Murong Junlan was desperately thirsty.

Murong Junlan suddenly looked down and saw a blade of grass at his feet. He was about to check if there was water nearby when the eagle snatched the grass in its beak and flew off. A single blade of grass wouldn't normally mean anything, but for some reason, Murong Junlan became angry and chased after the eagle relentlessly. After a while, Murong Junlan decided to stop and gave up. Seeing that he had stopped, the eagle returned with the grass in its beak, as if to provoke him, and swooped down.

"You scoundrel, don't think I can't do anything to you." Murong Junlan stood on the desert, glaring at the arrogant eagle.

Seeing Murong Junlan standing still, the eagle swooped down in a wide arc. Murong Junlan, already parched and increasingly irritable from fighting for most of the day, couldn't tolerate the eagle's arrogance and gave chase again. The eagle carried Murong Junlan for nearly ten miles across the desert before letting out a screech and dropping the blade of grass. Murong Junlan leaped and caught the grass, but didn't notice the sand beneath his feet had sunk. To avoid sinking, he rolled to a hollow in the sand.

"Water?" Murong Junlan was about to stand up when the sight before him filled him with ecstasy. A small trickle of water flowed gently from beneath a few blades of green grass, disappearing into the desert about three feet down. Murong Junlan immediately bent down, cupped his hands, and drank the clear spring water. Wow, so refreshing! Whether it was because he was so thirsty or because the spring water was genuinely sweet, Murong Junlan was certain that this was the sweetest spring water he had ever tasted. The refreshing sweetness traveled down his throat and into his heart, so cool and comfortable. He suddenly felt all the fatigue from a day of fighting vanish in an instant, replaced by a body full of energy.

"It's the Eye of Treasure Spring." Murong Junlan drank a few more mouthfuls, then did about ten more flips. He discovered that he could not only walk on the sand, but also fly through the air if he had enough speed. It seemed that the eagle wasn't just fighting him. He looked around and saw the eagle standing not far away, wings outstretched, seemingly afraid to approach. He beckoned to the eagle, and it flew over. Murong Junlan patted the eagle gently and amicably. The eagle drank a few mouthfuls of the clear spring water, and then flew away on its own under Murong Junlan's watchful gaze.

Murong Junlan quickly returned to Wubei Kingdom, found Qin Nan and Jiang He, and briefly recounted what had happened. The three of them then rushed to the secret passage. Having learned from their experience, Murong Junlan quickly jumped into the secret passage again, this time making sure to bring a cotton-padded coat for Yan'er.

With a "whoosh," Murong Junlan fell into a sand pit from the secret passage again. When he heard the sound of flying sand and stones, he knew he had fallen into the wrong place again. He complained to himself, "Why does this always happen?"

This time he didn't move; he simply stood quietly in the sand. The eagle came briefly, then stopped fighting, glanced at him, and silently flew away. After a while, the eagle brought Murong Junlan a purple wildflower, then flew away and never returned.

Murong Junlan carefully put away the Purple Overlord Flower and was about to use his lightness skill to return when he saw a camel caravan approaching him. The leader of the caravan was a very individualistic and wild Xiongnu woman.

“Look, it looks like someone has fallen into the sand over there.” The Xiongnu woman had good eyesight. “Batu, go and rescue him.” The Xiongnu woman raised the long whip in her hand.

“Yes, Princess Rina.” Batu, Rina’s guard, walked toward Murong Junlan.

"Meddlesome." Murong Junlan didn't want to owe them a favor, nor did he need to. So, he gathered his strength and burst out of the sand dune with a "whoosh," then performed twenty consecutive 360-degree somersaults, leaving Luo Rina and her companion far behind. He then rode for more than ten miles towards the Wubei Kingdom. Just as he stopped to change course, he heard the sound of hooves behind him. Turning around, he saw that the woman from before had actually caught up with him.

"It seems your lightness skill is quite good." Seeing that Murong Junlan ignored her, Luo Rina smiled slightly and said in her not-so-fluent Central Plains dialect, "I want to make friends with you."

Murong Junlan didn't even glance at her out of the corner of his eye. In order not to arouse Luo Rina's suspicion that he had gone to Wubei Kingdom, he deliberately took a detour along a side road, but Luo Rina stuck to him like a leech.

“It seems you’re not from the Wubei Kingdom, but this is Wubei territory. However, we are hospitable and welcome you to the Wubei Kingdom.” Lorina said, extending her hand. “I am the princess of the Wubei Kingdom, and my name is Lorina.”

"Luo Xie's sister?" Murong Junlan glanced at Luo Rina, who did indeed look somewhat like Luo Xie.

"What? Doesn't it seem like it?" Luo Rina thought Murong Junlan didn't believe her, so she added, "Luo Xie, the leader of Wubei Kingdom, is my brother."

Who your brother is has nothing to do with me. How can I get rid of this person? Murong Junlan was pondering this.

"I love you, and I'm willing to marry you." Luo Rina suddenly declared loudly, looking at Murong Junlan who was pondering something not far away.

"Hehe, you're so adorable! I haven't even said a word to you, and you're already offering yourself to me." Luo Rina's directness left Murong Junlan speechless. He didn't have time to waste here; he needed to hurry and rescue his Yan'er. Thinking this, Murong Junlan glared fiercely at the woman, then ran off again. After running about four or five miles, Murong Junlan realized Luo Rina wasn't following, so he turned into the woods, put on Wubei Kingdom clothes, and prepared to sneak into the Wubei Kingdom city.

"I've been waiting here for quite some time." Just as Murong Junlan stepped through the city gate checkpoint, Luo Rina emerged from behind it. "Young Master, it seems we are indeed destined to meet." Luo Rina gestured an invitation: "Please come into the city."

Since he was going to go in anyway, he might as well not be polite. Murong Junlan strode into the city gate of Wubei Kingdom, then went straight into a restaurant, ordered some stir-fries from the waiter, and started eating by himself.

"Can I share a table?" Before Murong Junlan could speak, Luo Rina sat down and said familiarly, "Waiter, bring another pair of bowls and chopsticks." The waiter brought the bowls and chopsticks, and Luo Rina started eating by herself.

Murong Junlan ignored her, finished his meal quickly, and left.

"Wait for me!" Lorina threw down her chopsticks and chased after him.

It seemed this woman was determined to stick to him today, so Murong Junlan went to the inn across the street, booked a room, and checked in. This was the first time he'd encountered such a unreasonable and shameless woman, and he was at a loss for what to do.

Murong Junlan sat in his room, racking his brains, when someone knocked on the door. Murong Junlan got angry and shoved his right hand towards the door. There was a clatter outside, the sound of a teapot falling and shattering, followed by the waiter's complaining, "Damn it, where did that wind come from?"

A moment later, there was another knock on the door. Murong Junlan assumed it was the person who had brought the tea earlier and went to open it. Luo Rina swaggered in, smiling at him, and then plopped down in the chair he had just been sitting in.

"Get out!" Murong Junlan said angrily.

"I, Lorina, am usually the one who gets flattered. You're the first one I've ever had to flatter." Lorina poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. "Am I really that repulsive to you?"

"Get out!" Murong Junlan absolutely loathed this woman.

“Alright then, I live right next door to you. You can come to me if you need anything.” Lorina stood up and walked towards the door. “I also want to remind you that for your safety, I have already sent people to guard outside the inn.”

Murong Junlan gave a mocking smile, finally finding some peace and quiet. He called out to the waiter at the door, "I'd like to take a bath."

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir." Although the waiter didn't know why Murong Junlan was taking a bath so early, he still quickly brought a large bucket of hot water into the room.

"Prepare a set of clothes for me, I forgot to bring them." After the waiter brought the clothes, Murong Junlan actually took a bath. After bathing, he went to the door and called to the waiter, "Remove the tub and buy me some steamed buns, the tip will be extra."

"Yes, sir." Murong Junlan disguised himself as a waiter and successfully left under the pretense of buying something.

Three people were sitting in Qin Nan's study: Murong Junlan, Qin Nan, and Jiang He. Qin Nan spoke first: "That Luo Rina is quite skilled in martial arts and has a free spirit, but I've never heard of her being so persistent. As for that secret passage, Luo Xie seems to have discovered it, so he should have sent out sentries these past few days."

"You make the arrangements. This is my only chance. Eagle gave this to me." Murong Junlan took out the Purple Overlord Flower from his pocket.

"Hmm." Qin Nan got up from his chair and walked out, followed by Jiang He. Murong Junlan was studying the Purple Overlord Flower. After a while, Qin Nan and Jiang He returned. "Your Highness, I'll go and lure Luo Xie's soldiers away. You and Guard Jiang go into the secret passage."

"Okay, be careful." Murong Junlan patted Qin Nan on the shoulder.

Taking advantage of the soldiers' inattention, Murong Junlan and Jiang He entered the secret passage again. Murong Junlan broke the seal again by dripping his blood. He took out the Purple Overlord Flower and stood at the entrance of the abyss. A cold wind blew, making Murong Junlan's heart tremble. Yes, this was the cold wind he was looking for. The colder it was, the warmer he felt.

"This time we'll probably fall into the snowy region." Murong Junlan suppressed his immense joy as he bid farewell to Jiang He.

"Your Highness, take care." Jiang He turned around and was startled to see Luo Rina looking at everything strangely. As expected of Murong Junlan's right-hand man, Jiang He drew his long sword and blocked Luo Rina's path. "Your Highness, go quickly."

Murong Junlan turned and jumped into the abyss. Luo Rina swiftly thrust her short sword towards Jiang He's face, but Jiang He dodged. Luo Rina abandoned Jiang He and rushed into the abyss, jumping down without a second thought.

Jiang He panicked and rushed to check the abyss, but there was no sign of Luo Rina. Just then, Qin Nan rushed in. He gave Jiang He a wink, and Jiang He understood, instantly placing his longsword against Qin Nan's neck. The instant the overlord's wall of the secret passage disappeared, Luo Xie led his soldiers in.