[Marco Polo] Where is Homecoming?

A month later.

The strong wind blows from the depths of the desert and covers the ancient city of Dunhuang generously.

The Shadu Inn was full of people, it was already dusk, and there was an endless stream of business travelers coming to stay at the Inn.

A man walked down the steps, only to see him with curly hair, dressed in a Han costume, who seemed out of place with the surrounding Hu people dressed in Western Regions, and was suddenly stopped when he was about to walk out of the inn.

"It's going to be night soon, it's windy and sandy here in the evening, Your Highness..."

"I'll just go for a walk."

The real gold said, and the man retreated humbly.

Outside the ancient city is the desert. At dusk, as far as the eye can see, there is a vast and thick desert. Changsha rises in the wind and dances straight up under the sky.

Those who are Dun are big; those who are brilliant are Sheng.Since the opening of the Silk Road, countless camel caravans and business travelers pass by this road every year. Yangguan and Yumenguan have become two important gateways from the Central Plains to the Western Regions, and Dunhuang has become an important one on this pale yellow desert ancient road. Guancheng, while guarding the throat of the Silk Road, also controls the lifeline of the Western Regions and the Central Plains.

During their westward tour, they never took off their clothes and kept their swords in their hands.Since the war between the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the imperial court had no time to take care of the stability of the border trade. Some people in Tubo and Uyghur made troubles from time to time. Thieves and thieves ran amok on the ancient silk road. Most of the caravans were looted. , this journey is fairly safe and sound.

In the past month, the western tour team has traveled all over the area ruled by the Chincha Khanate, as close as the Kunlun Qilian area, as far as the Yueshi Wusun, visited various tribes, and found out that the situation in the entire Western Region is similar. It's time to return to Dadu.

He looked up and saw the man who was sketching on a high rock, the sunset was slowly setting behind him, and he was sitting there like a statue.

When he was concentrating on painting, he suddenly heard footsteps. Marco turned his head and saw the prince behind him, and stood up quickly.

"I've seen landscape paintings in the Central Plains, but this is the first time you've seen this kind of painting."

Zhen Jin picked up the drawing paper in his hand and flipped through it casually, only to see that the picture was completely outlined by charcoal, not to mention the beauty, but it was simple and clear.

"It can be recorded very quickly, and I draw a lot of these on the way."

Seeing that Zhenjin didn't show any particular dislike, Ma Ke continued.

"...The scenery here is very different from what we have seen in Dadu. I guess we will return to Dadu soon, so I want to draw them all."

The prince wanted to say that your painting is useless anyway, Khan didn’t want to see it anyway, and finally he had to rely on his mouth to say it, but just as he was about to exit, he suddenly saw a fast horse driving from the depths of the desert to the inn, and his expression tightened.

"It's a secret decree from Dadu."

After speaking, he walked down, and Marco packed up his things and followed.

After entering the inn, Ba Jun was already waiting in the room, and when he saw him coming, he stood up.Zhen Jin took the secret decree, put it aside after reading it, and said lightly:

"I reported the situation in various places to the Khan, and the Khan was very satisfied, allowing us to return to Dadu someday."

Ba Jun immediately cheered up, and the prince saw that everyone was still standing, so he greeted:

"Sit down and drink tea."

His words can't escape the majesty of the emperor's aristocrats, and even a polite sentence is like the emperor's order. The eight people immediately drink tea and drink, and Marco can't help but support him behind. forehead.

During this trip, the prince and his party pretended to be a business traveler in order to avoid people's eyes and ears, but even so, they still couldn't change the rules they had cultivated in the Khan Palace.The eight horses are Ulantu, and Hongjida, Amur, Qinggele, Bayar, Daiqin, Zana and Yihan are left. Among them, Ulantu, the eldest brother, is approaching his age, and Qinggele, the youngest, has just passed his double birthday. Ten years.

Ma Ke picked up the teacup, and suddenly heard a yell, but it was Ulantu, the eldest brother of the eight horses, who suddenly asked:

"Zana, why don't you drink tea?"

The man sitting at the back was taken aback, and said:

"I'm not thirsty right now."

Ma Ke's eyes changed, and he suddenly reached out and knocked out the teacup in the prince's hand!

"There is poison in the tea!"

All of a sudden, they heard the second elder brother Hong Jida yelling, everyone raised their heads in surprise, and saw that three of the eight horses had already fallen down!

"Zana, you...!"

Amur, who was sitting closest to the prince, immediately swayed, stood in front of the prince, and shouted:

"Zana, poisoning the prince is a serious crime of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors. From now on, there will be no place for you in most of the Middle Earth!"

"To be able to accomplish a great event for 'that person' is to have made a great contribution, and it doesn't matter what bullying the master and destroying the ancestors!"

After finishing speaking, he suddenly drew out his long sword and rushed towards Amur, but at that moment, a person who had fallen on the ground suddenly jumped up and stabbed Zana's leg with a sword, Zana screamed and fell, it turned out that it was the little brother Qing Gele just now The tea had just touched his lips and he drank it in time for the second brother. Seeing that the two classmates were poisoned, he also pretended to be poisoned and fell to the ground. In an instant, they were all placed on the traitor's neck.

Zhen Jin was startled and angry, but still deeply restrained, he stepped forward.

"Who sent you to do this? Are you from the South?"

"What are the southerners? The one who wants to kill you is a big shot!"

Zana said contemptuously, the prince was startled, he was waiting to be questioned when he saw the man suddenly foaming, and died in an instant.It turned out that he had hidden drugs in his teeth before his trip, and once he was arrested to avoid leaking the news, he immediately swallowed the poison and committed suicide.

Just when I was wondering, I suddenly heard the ear-piercing sound of breaking wind, and it turned out that several arrows broke through the window!

The remaining five people immediately drew their swords to block, suddenly there was a bang, and the courtyard door was knocked to the ground and flew far away, and dozens of people in yellow clothes rushed in!

"It's Mingjiao!"

Wulantu let out a low shout and went to fight.The unexpected happened, and the sword light was rising and falling in the room instantly, and the sound of weapons clashing could be heard endlessly.

Two of Bajun have already fallen, besides the rebellious Zana, there are recklessly Ulantu and Daiqin.

Wulantu glanced around the rest of the people and said:

"Leave this to me and Dai Qin, you take the prince and go first!"

"What are you afraid of? At worst, I will fight with them!"

"Since they dare to be arrogant here, most of them don't know what happened."

One sentence shocked Zhenjin's heart, and the moment he was distracted, he was taken away by Amur and Yihan, and escorted by Qing Gele's queen, he exited the hotel.

Amur and Yihan opened the way ahead, and when they exited the alley, they suddenly saw a figure flashing in front of them, and Qing Gele hurriedly stopped the prince and the Latin man who were following behind.

"Where are you from?" "What did you run away just now?"

The three of them hid in the dark and saw that the two who were rushing forward were stopped. They only heard that the interrogation became more and more detailed, but it was harsher than the government. Zhen Jin was so annoyed that he couldn't help pressing his sword and wanted to rush out, but was caught. After holding it down, he turned his head, and the Latin man shook his head silently at him, somehow he felt a little more stable.

At this moment, several shouts suddenly sounded outside:

"This thief!" "Do you want to work hard! Come on——"

It turned out that the two were poor at asking about geography, and they attacked unexpectedly and injured them.There was a continuous sound of weapons clashing. It was obvious that the people who were fighting against the two of them were not weak. He suddenly heard a few reprimands

"The thief wants to run!" "Stop them both!"

The sound gradually faded away, apparently the two men led the enemy away deliberately to give them a chance to escape.

"Right now, let's go!"

Marco and Zhenjin followed Qing Gele and escaped from the inn. They didn't see the Mingjiao believers along the way, apparently they had been lured away by Amur and the others.

The Shadu Inn is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Dunhuang, and there are abandoned streets and back alleys everywhere. The three of them shuttled through the maze-like ancient alleys. The fear of Dadu's safety and real gold, like the endless darkness in this alley, weighed heavily on them. .

Unexpectedly, after running a few steps, a string of shining flames bumped into the head, but it was three or four men in yellow clothes rushing with torches, and there was nowhere to hide in the narrow alley, Qing Gele gritted his teeth and had to bow his head to meet them.

"What are you running around in the dark!"

The leading man shoved him face to face, and the expression of the prince who was following behind changed.Knowing that he couldn't speak because his mouth was muffled, Qing Gele hurried forward and said with a smile:

"Gentlemen, we are doing business outside the customs. We accidentally passed by the small shop and watched the battle inside. Do you know what happened?"

But he spoke the Central Plains language as smoothly as Mongolian, the prince couldn't help but look at him.

The man turned his face to look at the prince.

"Then where do you come from, boy, and what business do you do?"

Qing Gele hastened to block him intentionally or unintentionally, and said:

"This guy was hired from outside, and he can't speak Chinese, so please forgive him."

But hearing the two men say "Hey", Zhen Jin thought he had seen the clue and couldn't help but tense up, but saw the torch moved away from his head, and moved to the face of Marco who was still silent at the side.

"Where are you from? You don't look like someone from around here."

Marco swallowed.

"Look how white the face is, and the eyes are still blue. This is the first time I've seen it!"

The man in yellow became interested, and reached out to touch that curly hair.

"stop!"

The prince felt a burst of anger rushing up, he split his palm and knocked down the man's hand, he studied under Boyan in his early years and practiced kung fu for several years, the strength of this palm knocked the man back a few steps.

"It turned out to be a Mongolian!"

The men were all startled, but before they could finish speaking, they saw a flash of knife light in the alley, as fast as lightning, the two men only had time to let out two muffled groans before falling down.

Qing Gele withdrew his sword and said in a low voice.

"Come on!"

Zhen Jin gritted his teeth.

"Heretics dare to be so arrogant. If I were Khan in his year, I would kill them all!"

"There must be a master instigated by a heretical sect to cause chaos, and I am afraid that most of them will change drastically!"

The three of them took advantage of the chaos and seized the horses, and galloped into the night.

It was already dawn when the three of them arrived at the city gate. When they looked up at the height of the city gate, Zhenjin suddenly stopped.

The four heads hanging above the city gate are surprisingly the elder brothers Ulantu, Daiqin, Hongjida and Amur among the Eight Horses!

Seeing the head of the same family in the past, Qing Gele was the most distressed, but he knew that this was not the time to linger.

"Your Highness, don't get excited, it's very bad if you see the clue."

Zhen Jin had no choice but to endure his anger. The three of them came to the city gate, and the city guards were investigating one by one. When they found Marco, the man stared at his face for a long time, and whispered to the people around him for a while, and one of them went upstairs. .

Seeing that the situation was wrong, Qing Gele hurriedly grabbed the prince and Marco, and said in a low voice:

"It's not safe here anymore, go back!"

The three hurriedly retreated and hid in a narrow alley nearby. Sure enough, it didn't take long before they saw an army enter the city and start checking every house.

"It's impossible to leave the city now."

Looking at the sudden commotion ahead, Qing Gele couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

"What are they thinking?! I am Khan's son, the current prince! How dare they?!"

Zhen Jin raised his long eyebrows angrily, the crown prince's domineering temper suddenly flared up, he just wanted to fight with these rebellious officials and rebels, and pressed his sword to get out.

When Ma Ke saw that it was not good, he hurriedly grabbed him, and shouted:

"At this time, do you still think of yourself as the prince!"

Hearing these words, Zhen Jin was shocked at first, and then furious.

"It's a big deal to die with them, and it's better than hiding all day long and being caught in the end!"

Suddenly he drew his sword and pointed at him, his eyes were dark.

"Latin, if you dare to stop me, I will kill you now!"

Marco took a step forward, with the cold blade pressed against his throat, but the Latin man's eyes were determined.

"Wake up, real gold! Do you still want to go back to Dadu to meet your father and mother, and find out who is behind this scene?!"

Hearing the sound, Zhen Jin lost his mind for a moment, and at this moment he could only hear Gele clearly:

"Your Highness, please calm down. I have a solution here. When I was traveling in the Western Regions, I met a man called Manta. He is a close friend of my servant. I have done him a great favor. This person is trustworthy."

Zhen Jin and Marco looked at each other, anyway, there is no way now, so it is better to give it a go.

The three of them avoided the flow of people and galloped on horses. The Western Regions are vast and sparsely populated. They rode for a whole day before arriving in front of a spacious Huihe-style house at dusk. When they entered the inner hall, they saw a person waiting. Once there, the pagoda was full, and Qing Gele stepped forward.

"Brother, I have caused you trouble this time..."

"Little brother, did you meet your enemy? Don't worry, when you come to my brother's place, even if the king of heaven is here, my brother will be able to support you for a while!"

His voice was resonant, with the boldness unique to people from the Western Regions, and what he said made Zhenjin and Marco have confidence in their hearts. Qing Gele looked behind him and said:

"...This is my distant relative and elder. According to his seniority, he should be called Master...My master has offended the Mingjiao people. Right now, I just hope that my elder brother can send him out of Dunhuang. The sooner the better!"

Manta turned to look at Zhenjin.

"Since they are Qing Gele's relatives, they are my relatives. I will personally escort you this trip. Tell me, when are we going to leave?"

The prince's always tense face finally relaxed a bit.

"It's better to go early, if you can't go tonight, then tomorrow."

Manta nodded, "You are also tired tonight, let's eat and rest for now, let's leave tomorrow morning, take the waterway!"

They arranged for someone to live in the West Wing Room that night.There were too many experiences in the past two days, and Marco fell asleep, but the nightmares followed one after another. First, he dreamed that Kuo Kuo Zhen gave birth to a child, and the child had the same blue eyes and curly hair as him, and then he and Kuo Kuo was really exposed, and the vicious Yuan soldiers were going to tie him up in a blanket. He just watched Wan Ma stepping over him, and he could even hear the sound of his spine breaking...was trapped in a nightmare If he couldn't struggle, he suddenly felt a pain in his shoulder, and he was pulled up by life. He sat up in surprise, but saw a person standing on the bedside.

"It's about this time, thanks to you fool who can still sleep."

This harsh voice sounded familiar, Marco rubbed his eyes, and couldn't help but shouted:

"Real gold! Why are you in my room?!"

"That Manta hooked up with Mingjiao long ago, and I didn't even know it was sold to someone in my dream!"

After speaking, he couldn't help but pull him up and walked towards the door. As soon as he left the room, he saw two men in hard clothes fell outside the door. Ma Ke's heart sank, and the prince's voice came from beside him.

"If it wasn't for being uneasy and kind, why did you send someone to monitor us?"

Turning around and seeing that he was still hesitating, he couldn't help raising his long eyebrows.

"You don't believe me? Come with me!"

Marco followed him to the main room, but saw that the lights inside were bright, and he could faintly hear the conversation between the two.

"Why, Mingjiao's Dharma protector came to ask for someone?"

It was the sound of the full tower.

"I can't give this person. I heard that they caught a few people, but they were all small characters. The real master has fallen into my hands? I won't give this big fish until I see Ri Shengzi! "

Ma Ke was terrified, the tower was full of treachery and cunning, it was far superior to those of the Ming Cultists, he was furious in his heart, when suddenly he heard the sound of the wind around him, the prince broke into the door like an arrow, there was a scream in the room, and the window edge The lamp on the door dimmed and then brightened. When Marco was surprised, the door slammed open, and the real gold rushed out. His long sword was stained with blood, and there were two bloody heads in his hands.

"You...you killed them?!"

"What I hate the most in my life are these traitors who seek glory."

The prince's voice was cold, his eyes were dark, he suddenly turned to look at him, and said in a low voice:

"Come on!"

"What about Qing Gele?"

"It's not believable that he led us here."

As soon as he walked out of the front yard, he saw bright lights and shouts of killing everywhere. It turned out that the servants in the mansion immediately drew their swords to fight when they heard the noise, and Zhen Jin also rushed towards him while yelling, but after all, he was outnumbered. , Facing more and more enemies, I just feel overwhelmed.The weapons collided with each other, and it was unknown how many hidden weapons were fired.In front of him, he suddenly slashed the real gold with a volley, and quickly swung his sword to block it, but the opponent's strength was so great that the green steel sword, which was not even a foot wide, was suddenly sent flying. A strand of sword energy has arrived like lightning!

There was a sudden air flow around the ears, and there was only a clear clang, and sparks flew everywhere when the two swords collided.

He turned his head and saw Qing Gele, the man's horizontal sword helped him to block it, and he wiped out the encircling two or three enemy troops with just three or two strokes, and suddenly looked back at him with a trace of pain in his eyes.

"Qing Gele's misbehavior caused His Highness to suffer, and I hope you will forgive me!"

Suddenly, a sword cut open the person who rushed forward, and shouted:

"Your Highness, go, leave me alone!"

Zhen Jin turned his head and saw Marco who was struggling not far away, and when he turned his head again, he saw that Qing Gele had already entered the siege. Seeing more and more servants rushing up, he jumped to the side of the Latin man, grabbed him and ran away .

Qing Gele swung his sword to smooth out a wave of pursuers who were about to pounce on him, and his figure was buried in a sea of ​​blood.

tbc

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