The first time in history

After handing the bamboo tube to Miss Tian, ​​Qian Mingduo did not rush back to the palace. He wanted to experience the life of the market more than 2,000 years ago, so he strolled along the street.

Qian Mingduo went into this store to look around, and then went to that store to look around. He was just leisurely playing around when he suddenly saw Xiao Wuzi walking through the crowd.

He was about to go up and call Xiao Wuzi, but he found that he looked hurriedly, looking around from time to time, and his behavior was extremely suspicious. Qian Mingduo frowned, and a trace of doubt surged in his heart. His intuition told him that something was wrong, so he quietly followed him.

Xiao Wuzi exchanged glances with a man dressed in ordinary people's clothes at the door of a butcher's shop, and the two followed each other to a secluded corner of an alley.

Qian Mingduo pressed himself into a recess at the left corner, holding his breath and listening carefully.

Xiao Wuzi lowered his voice and said nervously, "Recently, the situation in the palace has been tense. Our chief guard was just arrested. It turned out that he was a spy from the Kingdom of Yue. The whole palace is in a state of panic. I feel that it is becoming increasingly difficult to act."

The strange man lowered his voice and responded: "You must be careful and never reveal any flaws. Remember, the king has promised you a great reward. As long as you work hard, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future!"

Xiao Wuzi nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will do my best. So what should I do next? I always feel that I might be discovered at any time, and I am worried every day."

The strange man snorted coldly: "What are you afraid of? As long as you act carefully, you will succeed. You need to collect some information about the Wu army as soon as possible, especially the deployment of their army and the storage of food and grass in the areas adjacent to our Great Chu."

"Recently, there have been some changes in the border defense of the Wu State. It took me some effort to find out some information." Xiao Wuzi said.

The man responded: "Very good, you continue to be careful."

Qian Mingduo, who was hiding nearby and eavesdropping, was shocked at this moment. He never expected that Xiao Wuzi was actually a spy.

At this time, Xiao Wuzi and the strange man seemed to have noticed something strange. They stopped talking and looked around again. Qian Mingduo held his breath and pressed tightly against the wall, not daring to breathe.

After a while, Xiao Wuzi and the strange man relaxed their guard and continued their conversation.

Xiao Wuzi said worriedly: "Recently I always feel that someone is watching me secretly. Could it be that my identity has been exposed?"

The strange man frowned. "Don't scare yourself. Maybe it's just your illusion. But you must be more careful and not slack off."

Xiao Wuzi nodded slightly: "I understand, but the palace is heavily guarded. If I am not careful, I will be doomed."

The strange man glared at him and said, "You can only get rich through risk. Since you have chosen this path, there is no turning back. If you dare to betray the State of Chu, you know the consequences."

Xiao Wuzi gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I will be extra careful. But you also have to help my mother from time to time. I'm not with her, so I can only count on you."

The strange man said, "Don't worry about that. Your mother will be well taken care of by others. You should take advantage of every opportunity to continue collecting information and make sure you don't make any mistakes."

"I understand." There was a hint of helplessness in Xiao Wuzi's tone.

Qian Mingduo stood there, staring at Xiao Wuzi's departing back, with a complex emotion in his heart. From the conversation between the strange man and Xiao Wuzi just now, he could feel that Xiao Wuzi was not a spy for the Chu State voluntarily, but was influenced by some external factors.

Perhaps it was because he was threatened, or because he was tempted by profit, that he embarked on this path of no return. Thinking of this, Qian Mingduo couldn't help but feel regretful and helpless.

The summer night after the rain is hot and humid.

After Jiang Ying and Qian Mingduo inspected all the sentries, they walked slowly across the Xiangshui Creek and entered the Xiangshui Path. The two sides of the path were full of bamboos, and in the night, the lush green bamboos looked dark and black.

"Master Ling." Jiang Ying said softly, "Do you have a wife and children at home?"

"No." Qian Mingduo said, "I say, can we not always call each other adults?"

"Then how do we address each other?"

"I can call you Miss Ying, or Sister Ying." Qian Ming thought for a while, then said, "You can call me Ling Fei, or just call me Brother Fei."

"What did you say?" Jiang Ying opened her eyes wide and said shyly, "You...what did you want me to call you?"

"It's not brother? What else?"

"This...how can I have the nerve to say this?" Jiang Ying said coquettishly.

"Why can't I say that?" Qian Mingduo said seriously, "I call you Sister Ying, and you call me Brother Fei. Isn't this a perfect match?"

"A good match?" Jiang Ying frowned and glared at Qian Mingduo. "Only when you get married can you talk about a good match. But now you say we are a good match..."

"I didn't say we were getting married. What I meant by a good match was that the way we address each other is a good match. What do you think?"

"You're annoying." Jiang Ying stamped her feet shyly. "I didn't say we're married now?"

“Ha, ha, ha” Qian Mingduo laughed softly and said, “Okay, we won’t get married. Let’s be brother and sister! Now you should call me…”

At this moment, Jiang Ying suddenly grabbed Qian Mingduo's arm with one hand and covered his mouth with the other hand, signaling him with her eyes to look not far ahead.

Qian Mingduo's eyes widened, his heartbeat quickened, and he stared nervously ahead. In the darkness, a vague black shadow was moving stealthily.

The dark figure was short and light, and seemed to be avoiding something. His figure looked particularly strange in the moonlight.

Qian Mingduo and Jiang Ying looked at each other, and then they crouched down at the same time, slowly and cautiously approaching the shadow. They watched the surroundings with vigilant eyes.

As the distance gradually shortened, they found that the shadow was moving extremely fast and agile. It seemed to sense someone approaching, but it did not stop or change direction. At this moment, the shadow suddenly accelerated and disappeared behind a big tree in an instant.

Qian Mingduo and Jiang Ying quickly quickened their pace and stopped in front of a big tree. They looked around carefully, trying to find the shadow. However, the mysterious shadow seemed to have evaporated without a trace.

"Plop", at this moment, a muffled sound came from the Xiangshui Creek, as if something heavy had hit the ground.

Qian Mingduo and Jiang Ying hid their figures and moved quickly towards Xiangshui Creek.

Pushing aside some dense grass, Qian Mingduo discovered a secret sentry guard who had fallen to the ground and died.