I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

On the train back to Yudu, Mancang and the others had been on the train for a day and a night. Everyone says that traveling by train is tiring, and it was no easy task. The group was feeling dizzy, lightheaded, and their heads were throbbing. Only by constantly drinking water could they get some relief.

Just as the group was dozing off, a girl with long hair and a smart little suit passed by their seats. She accidentally stepped on the carrying pole under the seat with her little leather shoe, and her body swayed and she fell into the old man's arms!

In the blink of an eye, Manxiang quickly reached out and supported the girl's shoulder, barely managing to keep her upright.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the girl quickly apologized awkwardly, her long, silky hair slipping from her shoulders and obscuring most of her face.

"..." Full of emotion, the old man blushed and helped the girl up, saying, "Are you... alright?"

"I...I twisted my ankle...ouch..." The girl gasped for breath in pain.

"Well... why don't you sit here and rest for a bit?" Manxiang felt bad about leaving her alone, so he stood up and let the girl sit in his seat.

The girl didn't stand on ceremony. She plopped down, took off her shoes, and started kneading her ankle, groaning in pain.

"It will feel better if you cool it down with cold water," the old man said, looking at Mancang and handing him a water glass.

The meaning is clear: the old man, in a fit of kindness, wanted Mancang to help him get a glass of water to chill for the girl.

“How can you get the water chilled through with a cup? The restroom isn’t far from here, so why don’t you help the young lady over? That way, you won’t get the floor wet.” Mancang didn’t take the cup of water the old man offered. He stood up and helped the young lady toward the restroom.

"...Thank you so much, young man!" Seeing how enthusiastic the man was, the girl felt embarrassed to linger in his seat, so she got up and, with Man Cang's help, limped over.

The old man behind me smiled and put his water glass away, looking like he was enjoying his youth!

"Alright, stop acting! Who are you? What's your purpose in deliberately approaching us?" Mancang, having entered the bathroom, let go of her hand and stared warily at the long-haired girl in front of him.

That's right. He hadn't said a word, observing the other person's performance coldly from beginning to end, remaining wary the entire time. In later generations, there were far too many similar tactics. The other person's performance, from stepping onto the carrying pole to sitting on the seat full of boxes, was too obvious. How could he, a transmigrator, not see it?

"Huh?... What do you mean by this, young man?" The woman was suddenly released and nearly fell over!

"You won't admit it? How could you twist your right ankle when you stepped on the carrying pole with your left foot?" Mancang put one hand in his pocket, holding a box of Mauser pistols.

"..." The woman stared blankly at Mancang's embarrassment at not being exposed, straightened up, reached out and brushed her long hair behind her back, appearing very calm and composed.

"I'm here to collect what's rightfully mine!" the girl said sternly.

"Your things? Did someone else have your things in their pockets? So you're a female thief!" Man Cang stared at the other person and asked coldly.

"Stop talking nonsense! I put it in that little boy's pocket at the train station!" the girl said with an unfriendly expression.

"Huh?..." Man Cang stared wide-eyed in disbelief. The Japanese soldiers had clearly spotted her in the waiting room and were already chasing after her. How could a weak woman like her have escaped their capture?

No! The one dressed like them was clearly a man; I saw him go into the men's restroom with my own eyes!

"It wasn't you! I saw that driver go into the men's restroom with my own eyes..." Mancang said, not even sure himself!

If a man enters the women's restroom, he'll definitely get a severe scolding and flee in a panic. But if a woman enters the men's restroom, who would bear to scold her? They might even be hoping she doesn't leave!

"Ahem, don't be surprised, that was just a temporary measure to fool the Japanese! ...Can you give me my things back now?" the girl said shyly, her face flushed.

"Uh!..." This girl is really going all out! But we can't return the item to her yet. The Japanese were clearly chasing that person for this manuscript, which means it must be extremely important. To disregard one's own safety and get something that even the Japanese would fight over—calling her a hero wouldn't be an exaggeration!

How could a hero hand over something he was entrusted with based on just a few words from a young girl? What if the other party was a female traitor? Wouldn't that be letting down that hero?

"No! Words are no proof; this is all your side of the story. Anything that the Japanese devils are interested in must be of great importance. Do you understand what I mean?" Mancang said solemnly.

"Huh?... You know this is important! Who else but the boy himself would know about something as secret as hiding it in his pocket? Give it back! Do you want to take this to the Japanese to collect a reward?" The girl was getting anxious, feeling like a scholar trying to reason with a soldier.

"...Then tell me what it was?" Mancang was speechless. Indeed, the person had hidden the thing very cleverly; no outsider would know.

"You!... I might as well tell you, it's a roll of film, film from a camera!" The girl's expression was full of disdain, as if to say, "You're such a high-class thing, you've never even heard of it, have you? That thing is useless to you, give it back to me!"

“…Okay! I believe you!” Mancang was indeed convinced by the other party, and took out the exam paper from his pocket and threw it to the other party.

"That's more like it!" The girl took the roll of film, stuffed it into her pocket, glared at him irritably, and then pushed him aside as she walked up to him.

"Get off!"

Then they disappeared into the vast crowd!

"..." Mancang was speechless! Not even a thank you?

……

Before they knew it, dusk had fallen again. As the train arrived at Yudu Railway Station around dinner time, the group couldn't help but feel tense once more.

The train came to a stop, and passengers disembarked from the station. The brothers were relieved to find that the Japanese soldiers who had worried about them hadn't appeared. After successfully exiting the station, the brothers ran into an acquaintance in the square!

"Brother, brother, look over there! It's Reporter Zhang! Is she here to pick us up?" Manxiang suddenly became excited. He hadn't seen her since he slipped the love letter along with information about the base into her email inbox last time. Now that they were seeing each other again, the young man couldn't help but get excited.

"You're overthinking it..." Mancang had barely seen his brother before he ran off to take care of the old man and his family alone. Mancang could only shake his head helplessly.

"Little girl! Did you come to pick me up? How thoughtful of you! I'm so touched!" Manxiang said excitedly as he approached Zhang Jingya.

"You... are you that helpful bystander?..." Zhang Jingya looked at the tall boy who suddenly appeared in front of her and thought for a long time before recognizing him.

"Huh?...Yes, yes!..." Manxiang was interrupted by a familiar voice from behind before he could finish speaking.