I became a prince in a martial arts world.

"The treasure is indeed in the ancient city of Loulan," Li Yunxiu said.

By this time, everyone had left the beef noodle shop and was walking back. Li Yunxiu was the first to make a judgment, "I asked him if he had handed over the treasure in the ancient city to the Shuntian Army, and he just subconsciously denied that he had never seen the Shuntian Army."

Ma Bojun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! You set a trap in your questioning!"

During the questioning, Li Yunxiu implicitly acknowledged that the treasure was located in the ancient city of Loulan. Song Chengyue focused on refuting the main point of the questioning, namely the Shuntian Army, but did not refute the implicit statement.

"If I'm not mistaken, he should be going to find the Shuntian Army today," Wang Yu said thoughtfully. "If we follow them, we might be able to find the location of the real treasure."

Li Yunxiu added, "He thought we didn't know he had made contact with the Shuntian Army, let alone that we already knew where the Shuntian Army was."

Ma Bojun looked at Li Yunxiu, then at Wang Yu, and said with admiration, "You two are really thorough in your thinking. You each have a hidden meaning in every word you say. I've completely been tricked by you!"

Qianqian couldn't help but glance at the two of them. "Thinking too much and having too many distractions will make it difficult to master martial arts."

Ma Bojun immediately nodded in agreement, "Exactly!"

The four returned to the inn and happened to run into Zhao Shan and Zhao He, who were also returning. They learned that the Iron Eagle Cavalry had discovered scouts from the Qishan bandits and the Shuntian Army outside the ancient city of Loulan, but had not yet found their main forces.

At the same time, they also encountered the cavalry of the Loulan Kingdom. They were so frightened by a volley of arrows fired by the Iron Eagle Cavalry that they fled in panic and never dared to linger near the ancient city of Loulan again.

"By the way, before the Loulan cavalry left, their leader asked me to give them my regards," Zhao Shan said. "Please, Your Highness, escort the valuables back to the Central Plains as soon as you have achieved your goal."

"What does that mean?" Wang Yu was a little confused.

Zhao Hedao said, "It is said that after the Qishan bandits appeared, the Loulan Kingdom raised its vigilance several levels, and there were far fewer cavalrymen lingering outside the ancient city of Loulan."

Li Yunxiu smiled knowingly and said, "The Loulan Kingdom has few soldiers and generals, but it possesses hundreds of miles of land and is a vital passage on the northwest trade route. The King of Loulan is not short of money, nor does he care about the treasures of the previous King of Loulan."

Rather than coveting the Loulan treasure, they were more wary of the Qishan bandits and Western Region brigands joining forces to conquer key towns within their territory. They desperately wanted us to seize the treasure as soon as possible and lure the Qishan bandits away as well.

The thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions are small and their armies are exhausted. The Cheshi Kingdom is stronger than Loulan, and they have captured important towns and plundered them at will. Shouldn't the Loulan Kingdom be careful and on guard?

Compared to unexpected wealth, the King of Loulan was naturally more concerned with his rule.

"I see." Wang Yu understood, and then told Zhao Shan and Zhao He about today's gains. "Notify the Iron Eagle Cavalry to be ready at any time."

"Yes!" The two accepted the order and left.

……

The nights in the Northwest are always cloudless and filled with starlight.

Two dark figures climbed into the backyard of the Yuelai Inn and arrived outside the north wing.

"Brother Song, what brings you here?" Duan Rui was startled to see Song Chengyue. "Didn't the strategist tell you to continue hiding in that shop?"

Song Chengyue shook his head. "The Prince of Zhenxi has arrived in person."

"I know, we saw them yesterday." Song Yuanjing ushered the two into the room. "But they didn't recognize us; instead, they were distracted by the Qishan bandits."

"But they recognized me!" Song Chengyue said.

"What?" Niu Zilian flashed to the window and pulled the two into the room. "How did he recognize you?"

"It was also by accident that I met him once in Longshan Prefecture."

Pulling his sister down to sit, Song Chengyue recounted his encounter with Wang Yu in Longshan Prefecture, their unexpected meeting today, and Wang Yu's suggestion that the Shuntian Army should not plunder the Loulan treasure, thus ending up sitting at the same table as the Qishan bandits.

"It's easy for you to talk when you're not in the same boat!" Song Yuanjing retorted. "The imperial court has money, and the Prince of Zhenxi's mansion has money too, but our Shuntian Army doesn't have much money. If we don't plunder treasures, how will we fight?"

Niu Zilian also laughed and said, "It's impressive that this spoiled brat can come up with some twisted logic, but it also shows that the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion is indeed not of one mind with the imperial court, which is a good thing."

Unfortunately, we are completely different from the Qishan bandits. The Qishan bandits returned to Qishan to enjoy themselves after looting the money, but we will use this wealth to overthrow the tyrannical Jin Dynasty and establish a new dynasty.

Besides, in this world, only the victors are remembered. How many people in the world actually know that we seized the Loulan treasure? Even if they did, this wealth is ownerless; what does it have to do with anyone else?

Song Chengyue remained silent, neither mentioning Wang Yu's suggestion that he join the Northwest Army. Instead, he asked, "In that case, how do you plan to bring the treasure back?"

Niu Zilian's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked Zhao Lu, "Have Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu returned?"

Zhao Lu shook his head. "He hasn't come back."

"Some of the Qishan bandits have already entered the ancient city, and we must act as soon as possible." Niu Zilian's eyes flickered, and he looked up at the sky. "In that case, let's set off now."

Zhao Lu asked, "What about Ma Bojun and Zhao Yu?"

"As long as the Qishan bandits leave their mark in the ancient city, the Iron Eagle Cavalry will definitely notify them," Niu Zilian said, rising to his feet. "How's the fake treasure setup going?"

Duan Rui said, "It's all arranged. We can lure the Qishan bandits and horse bandits over at any time."

"Okay, let's set off right away!"

……

Several dark figures slipped out of the Yuelai Inn under cover of night.

On a rooftop not far away, Han Dingyuan's eyes were sharp as an eagle's. He could see clearly in the moonlight, "It's Niu Zilian and his three companions, with a man and a woman by their side."

Shi Yinyu chuckled and said, "It's the Song sisters. I didn't expect they just met them. They're so slow. Our people have been searching the ancient city for three or four days."

"The Shuntian Army has also entered the ancient city and has met us several times, but they haven't made a move yet," Han Dingyuan said.

"But they're about to make their move." Shi Yinyu's eyes flickered. "Follow them; they're definitely going to find the treasure."

"What about Ma Bojun and Zhao Yu?" Han Dingyuan looked towards the south wing, only to find the room completely dark, and he didn't know if the people inside were already asleep.

"The Iron Eagle Cavalry will inform them. It's good that they're slow, so we can have the Shuntian Army set up traps." Shi Yinyu pulled Han Dingyuan and followed behind Niu Zilian and the others.

"It's Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu!"

Under the moonlight not far away, Wang Yu and the others also saw the two figures.

"I thought they had already escaped, but I didn't expect them to still be hiding in the city." Ma Bojun raised the long spear in his hand, his eyes revealing a cold glint.

Wang Yu nodded. "They're useless now. Follow them and take them down."

Several more figures flew after them.

……

As the moon sets in the west, the ancient city of Loulan resembles a ghost town, with its ruins and the whistling wind conveying a sense of desolation and bleakness.

But even in this ancient city, some people are still making quiet, unseen movements.

The moonlight was clear, and even without torches, the sky was not very dark. Martial arts masters were not even greatly affected, and dozens or even hundreds of people moved about in this ancient city that covered an area of ​​several miles.

"Did they follow those people from the Shuntian Army?"

"They divided it up very loosely; I wonder if they found something."

"There's a lot of commotion over at Ximen."

"Found it! Found it! I found a gold necklace on the ground, and there's a piece of Hetian jade on it!"

"The treasure has been found!"

The news that the treasure had been found spread like wildfire, almost like a network, and soon reached Niu Zilian, who had just arrived at the edge of the ancient city and was making contact with a minor leader of the Shuntian Army.

"Has the plan already begun?" Niu Zilian asked.

"Yes, our men have already left scattered jewels in the city, leading the Qishan bandits towards the ruins of the Northwest Palace, and have sent men to hold the line there," the junior leader replied.

"How's the loading of the treasure onto the truck going?"

"Reporting to the strategist, most of the treasure has been loaded onto carts and is parked in the ruins of the market inside the East Gate. The people are gagged and the horses are covered in mud, so it has not been discovered yet."

The plan went even more smoothly than expected, and Niu Zilian was overjoyed. "Good! Where is Iron Eagle Rider?"

"Dust is rising several miles from the west gate. The Iron Eagle Cavalry has likely assembled. Our men have already set traps on the main road of the west gate. If they dare to enter the city, we will reduce their numbers by at least fifty!"

"Not bad!" Niu Zilian nodded. "The Northwest Imperial Palace is located on the main road. The terrain is not complicated, which is enough to allow the main force of the Iron Eagle Cavalry to arrive and confront the Qishan bandits."

Han Dingyuan and Shi Yinyu, who had just arrived in the ancient city with Niu Zilian's group, also heard the news that the treasure had been found.

"The treasure has been found by the Shuntian Army!"

"The Shuntian Army was the first to find it, located underground in the old palace in the northwest. They were loading it onto carts to leave through the north gate, and the treasures were scattered all over the ground. We discovered them and intercepted them!"

Han Dingyuan was taken aback. "Didn't they just make contact with the Song siblings? They've already found the treasure?"

Shi Yinyu said bitterly, "We all overlooked this! Back then, during the Loulan mutiny, how much time did the old king have to move the treasure? He must have just sent the national treasury treasure into the ancient city and buried it hastily."

Previously, no one discovered it because no one came to explore the ancient city carefully. Even if someone did come, it was difficult to find because the ancient city was too big.

Now we've guessed that the treasure is in the ancient city. In fact, if we search carefully, we're sure to find traces of their treasure, even without a treasure map.

"Hurry to the Northwest Palace. Smoke and dust are rising outside the West Gate. The Iron Eagle Cavalry has arrived. The main force of the Shuntian Army must be fighting at the West Gate. There aren't many people in the Northwest Palace. Let's hurry and seize the treasure. Don't let Li Wuchang and Feng Laoguai get there first." Shi Yinyu pulled Han Dingyuan and was about to leave.

But as soon as they took two steps, they felt the moonlight dim, and a light that seemed brighter than the moonlight suddenly flashed, dazzling and sharp.

At the same time, murderous intent descended!

"Ma Bojun!" Han Dingyuan roared hoarsely, drawing his long sword from its sheath and twirling it in a flurry of motion, like a peony in bloom, with a fierce and chilling wind.

But Ma Bojun's silver spear swirled around, and like a green dragon reaching out its claws to shred the clouds, it instantly shattered Han Dingyuan's longsword. Then, the spear shot out like a dragon, heading straight for Han Dingyuan's heart.

The next moment, a black whip swept in from the side, instantly wrapping around the silver spear. While trying to hold the spear back, the whip tip transformed into a sword, pointing directly at Ma Bojun's brow.

Ma Bojun snorted coldly, and with a flick of his wrist, the silver spear trembled violently. The black whip couldn't wrap around the spear at all, and instead of holding it back, it was pulled away by Ma Bojun.

Shi Yinyu's expression changed drastically. He loosened his grip on the black whip and floated to the nearby ruins. He flicked his wrist and fired two snake darts, blocking Ma Bojun's pursuit.

Just then, Han Dingyuan also increased the distance slightly. Although his heart was pounding and he was still in shock, he quickly took down the longbow from his back, and with three arrows in one hand, he nocked and drew the bow.

But before he could fully draw his bow, two dark figures attacked from the left and right. One of them formed a tiger claw and grabbed at Han Dingyuan's ribs, while the other raised his hand and threw three flying knives in a triangular formation.

"How dare you!"

Han Dingyuan snorted coldly, released the bowstring, and flicked it to the right. An arrow flew out and collided with three throwing knives in mid-air, blocking all the throwing knives thrown by Zhao Shan.

At the same time, the other two short arrows were flung to the left, making a hissing sound as they pierced the air.

Zhao He's pupils contracted, and he flipped over like a steel bridge, only to see two short arrows fly past his cheeks, the strong wind making his cheeks sting.

"Is everyone in the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion a piece of trash like you?" Han Dingyuan sneered, reaching for another arrow to support Shi Yinyu.

The next moment, a sword light suddenly burst forth beside him.

Han Dingyuan suddenly turned around and felt a golden glow suddenly appear in the dark night, dense and thick under the moonlight, rushing towards him.

Amidst the endless golden glow, a lone wild goose dances gracefully, catching the eye.

Although the scene was beautiful, Han Dingyuan felt an overwhelming killing intent. However, he had exhausted his old strength and had not yet generated new strength. His sword had also been shredded by Ma Bojun in the first moment, leaving him with only a bow in his hand.

"open!"

Han Dingyuan didn't have time to retrieve another arrow, so he could only throw the longbow at Jinxia. Then, with a quick movement of his two palms, he advanced instead of retreating, seeking survival in the face of death, and crashed head-on into Jinxia.

The sword light flashed and disappeared in an instant, and Han Dingyuan suddenly froze.

Wang Yu swept past him, landing lightly behind him. Holding a long sword, he stood on the ruins, his clothes fluttering in the wind, the moonlight shining brightly in the sky.