The party entered Loulan City without incident. Its buildings were all made of earth, looking gray and drab, without the slightest sense of a national capital's grandeur.
Never mind comparing it to great cities like Chang'an and Luoyang; even among county seats, this city amounted to little.
Still, after traveling so long without seeing so much as a ghost's shadow, the sudden appearance of so many people lifted everyone's spirits somewhat.
Luo Zhongkan was doing well enough. After all, he was a Luo Clan Scion, with the Sacred Mark constantly keeping him in check. But the others were ordinary people, and this prolonged way of life had long since piled up countless frustrations.
However, both Luo Mo and the Dare-to-Fight Warriors ranked among the most disciplined in the world. Following Luo Zhongkan's arrangements, everyone stayed at a travelers' inn catering specifically to travelers and merchants, then began trying to gather information on every aspect of Loulan State.
Luo Zhongkan had not come to the Western Regions for pleasure. He had come to collect information on its local customs, draw maps of the Western Regions, record its specialties, and see what the Central Plains could obtain here.
These were all extremely important political tasks. There was also one that mattered most: he had to find a base somewhere in the vast Western Regions where the Luo Clan could live. Luo Ling had explicitly told him in his letter to establish bases in the Western Regions similar to Luo Village.
The Western Regions would certainly come under the central dynasty's rule in the future. In every generation thereafter, a Luo Clan Scion would have to be dispatched to oversee the Western Regions and assist the central dynasty's administrative institutions of the time.
The first thing to do upon entering the Western Regions