In the following few days, because of the embarrassing scene that Liu Zhiyuan had caught her in, it was clear that there was nothing between the two of them and they were just applying medicine, but Alan Yue was thin-skinned and her earlobes would turn red every time she noticed the look in Liu Zhiyuan's eyes.
Following the caravan these days, Zhao Litang had the opportunity to recuperate and rest. With Alanyue's careful care, his injuries have mostly recovered.
After arriving at the barbarian capital, the two wanted to leave quietly, but were stopped by Liu Zhiyuan in advance.
"You are not barbarians, are you?"
Liu Zhiyuan leaned in front of the two and whispered, he looked at Zhao Litang, "You are from the Celestial Empire."
A Lanyue's whole body suddenly tensed up, and she looked at Liu Zhiyuan with her eyes slightly widened.
Oh no, have their identities been exposed
Liu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, I haven't told anyone else."
Zhao Litang pursed his lips and stared at Liu Zhiyuan with a somewhat cold look until he explained the whole story.
Liu Zhiyuan had previously studied in the Celestial Empire, but was captured by his father when a war broke out between the two countries. While in the Celestial Empire, Liu Zhiyuan had the opportunity to visit a frontier military camp, and thus met Zhao Litang from afar.
That's why he kept staring at Zhao Litang along the way, always feeling that this person looked familiar.
"The military camp is a key military location. How can you get in?"
Liu Zhiyuan stammered, "Um... yes, I asked a friend of mine for help."
"Tell me your name, and I will punish you severely when I get back."
Liu Zhiyuan smiled again, "You must know him, his name is Wu Quan."
A Lanyue looked up at Zhao Litang, and she didn't expect that it would be Deputy General Wu.
Zhao Litang's expression obviously relaxed a little.
Afterwards, Liu Zhiyuan did not ask the two what had happened or why they came to the barbarian capital. He found a hidden place for them to live in the capital and said that they could ask him for help if they had any trouble.
At the beginning, Zhao Litang was very suspicious of Liu Zhiyuan, but after several contacts, he found that he was helping them sincerely. He asked him some questions about Wuquan, and Liu Zhiyuan was able to answer them all fluently, which shows that the two of them are indeed familiar with each other.
"But why would Mr. Liu take the risk to help us? The two countries are at war now, aren't you afraid of causing trouble?" Zhao Litang asked.
Liu Zhiyuan stood up and took a deep look at the two people in front of him.
"Actually, I have something I want to ask you two for help."
Zhao Litang said, "Just say it."
"I have also tried to send a message to the Celestial Empire, but it has never worked. You are right. The two countries are at war and all communications are cut off. So, if you can really return safely, I would like to ask you two to help me pass on a message to the Celestial Empire."
Liu Zhiyuan's eyes were red. "Just ask him if he is willing to go home with me if there is no war. No matter what his answer is, tell him that I will always be here waiting for him."
"Who is that person?"
When Liu Zhiyuan said that name, Zhao Litang didn't show any surprise, but A Lanyue was surprised.
Later, Zhao Litang's injuries were completely healed, and the two prepared to start their journey back to the Celestial Empire.
Liu Zhiyuan told them about a small path that his father used to conduct secret trade with foreign tribes, and it was usually not checked by soldiers or officials.
Zhao Litang and A Lanyue rode on two horses and hurried along the path. They soon arrived at the area near the desert.
Originally, the trip was going smoothly, but when the two were shopping, they suddenly encountered a small barbarian army.
More than half of the troops were wounded, which showed that they had just retreated from the battlefield. They might have fled after being defeated and had no choice but to end up in this rarely traveled path in a panic.
A Lanyue couldn't help but get nervous when she saw these officers and soldiers, her clenched hands were full of sweat.
Zhao Litang patted his shoulder comfortingly, then rode past the army with a normal expression.
"stop!"
A soldier shouted at the two men's backs, "Leave your horses behind!"
There were wounded soldiers in the army who had difficulty walking, so they probably wanted to requisition their horses to carry the wounded.
Zhao Litang stopped his horse but did not move again.
Unexpectedly, two more soldiers came over, looked at the two men and said, "The battlefield is just ahead. You two are not allowed to go any further. Leave the horses behind and return home as soon as possible!"
As he spoke, several soldiers around were about to come forward to snatch the horses. Alan Yue was pulled under the horse by a soldier, and his body tilted and he was about to fall off the horse. Zhao Litang reached out and pulled him onto his horse's back, then waved his hand and whipped the horse. The horse neighed and rushed out, running straight into the desert.
Those soldiers wanted to catch up, but when they saw the direction the two were heading, they took a few steps back.
"By entering the death zone, you are courting death!"
Then the soldiers led a horse and walked away cursing.
A Lanyue was held in Zhao Litang's arms again. This time, their chests were pressed against each other's backs, and there was no need to leave any space between them.
Zhao Litang didn't notice anything wrong and just concentrated on riding the horse. However, A Lanyue carefully moved forward a little bit, and then a little bit more.
Zhao Litang suddenly reached out and pushed his body back, saying in a cold and hard tone, "If you move forward, you will fall."
Only then did Alan Yue stop moving obediently.
After riding for most of the day, the endless sand dunes in front of us seemed to have all grown the same shape, making it difficult to tell the direction. Behind us were the same sand dunes.
Looking from a high place, all you can see is desert, and above your head is the scorching sun, which makes people dizzy, dizzy and have dry throats.
"General..." A Lanyue licked his dry lips. Half of their water was on the other horse and was snatched away by the group of soldiers. Now the two of them only had half of the water left. It would take at least three or four days to get out of the desert, so they had to drink sparingly.
"We seem to have been here before..."
Zhao Litang jumped off his horse and said, "I know."
They had indeed been here before, more than once; in fact, they seemed to have been circling these dunes for most of the day.
The further we turned, the deeper we got into the desert, as if we were trapped in a whirlpool and there was no way out.
Zhao Litang pondered for a moment. They couldn't go on like this. They couldn't passively accept this deadlock. They had to take the initiative to break it.
"Wait for me here. I'll walk along these sand dunes. If it's getting dark and I haven't come back yet, you can follow my footprints. If the footprints are interrupted or there's something wrong, you can ride back on horseback."
Zhao Litang's expression was very serious. "Do you understand?"
A Lanyue held the reins tightly and nodded.
Zhao Litang turned and left. When his figure was about to disappear from sight, he heard a call from someone behind him.
"General! Be careful! I'll wait for you here!"
Zhao Litang's figure was covered by the yellow sand.
The wind suddenly started to blow around, making Alan Yue unable to open her eyes.
The world was desolate, without any vegetation or life, as if he was the only one left in this sandstorm.
The General will come back, he will come back...
A Lan Yue silently recited in her heart and closed her eyes to resist the evil wind and sand.
The wind and sand behind them began to blow stronger and stronger, and Alanyue was thrown off the horse. He grabbed the reins tightly and lay down beside the horse.
The only sound in my ears was the whistling of the wind and the pounding of my heart.
I don't know how long it took, but the surroundings finally returned to silence.
A Lan Yue shook off the sand on her body, stood up, but was dumbfounded.
The surrounding sand dune scenery had changed again, and all the footprints that Zhao Litang had just stepped on the sand were wiped away.
He was panicked for a moment, not knowing what to do, so he got on his horse again and shouted to the deserted desert, "General!"
No one answered, and the shout was like being thrown into a pool of stagnant water, without causing any ripples.
An uncontrollable feeling of desolation and despair welled up in my heart. Being alone in this desert, it felt like the experience of being repeatedly abandoned in the past decade or so.
A Lanyue looked at the sand dunes ahead, gritted his teeth and waited, but until dark, no one came back. He became worried and rushed out on horseback.
The horse kept running on the sand. As the night deepened, the surrounding scenery could no longer be seen clearly, but Alanyue was unwilling to stop, and even more unwilling to listen to Zhao Litang's request to go back by herself.
He had a secret premonition in his heart that the general might be in some danger.
As they were running, the horse suddenly braked and stopped. Alan Yue was unable to react and was thrown off the horse. Fortunately, she fell on the sand and was not injured.
The horse seemed to be frightened by something, and it neighed at the night sky and turned around to run back.
A Lanyue wanted to pull the reins but failed. She watched the horse running like crazy. Then it was suddenly knocked down by a black shadow that leaped into the air. After screaming in pain a few times, the horse became motionless.
A Lanyue was frightened and stood there in a daze, not daring to move for a while. He stared closely at the dark place where the horse fell. It seemed that there was some giant snake or ferocious beast hidden in there, which could rush out and tear him into pieces at any time.
A few pairs of green eyes did light up in the darkness. After circling around the dead horse and sharing a few bites, they looked towards Alan Yue.
They are desert wolves, and a pack of them!
A Lanyue breathed in his throat and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, soaking his already thin clothes. He stared at the beasts opposite with his eyes wide open, then slowly took two steps back.
When he turned around, he saw that there was a wolf with green eyes not far behind him. It was much bigger than the ones on the opposite side. No wonder the horse panicked and ran back.
Now he was basically surrounded by wolves. Alan Yue was trying hard to keep himself steady. In fact, he was so scared that he almost bit his lower lip until it bled.
If all else fails, you can only give it a try and run in both directions. Maybe you can get out of the wolf pack, but the greater probability is that you will be pounced on by the wolves, and then watch your limbs being torn apart and eaten before you die.
No, he hasn’t found the general yet, he must not be eaten!
There were bloody marks on the palms of Alanyue's hands from his fingernails. He counted to himself in his mind, and after three, he ran to the side desperately.
"call-"
No