Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

Zhou Tianyang's gaze swept over them, but didn't linger for long.

He picked up the bowl, took a sip of noodle soup, and casually glanced towards the main street of the town.

There weren't many people on the street; a few old men pushing carts were walking slowly.

A woman holding a child squatted by the roadside and bought a bunch of green vegetables.

Occasionally, one or two puppet soldiers could be seen wandering by.

But their steps were neither hurried nor slow, as if they had nothing urgent to do.

The whole town exudes a calm and lazy atmosphere.

In places like this, as long as you don't show off or cause trouble, no one will pay special attention to you.

This is exactly the kind of environment they need.

After lunch, the group set off again.

After leaving the town, the road began to narrow.

Occasionally, you can see one or two farmers carrying hoes walking along the ridges of the fields.

When I see them, I'll glance at them a few more times, then lower my head and continue with my own business.

Zhou Tianyang walked in the middle of the group, mentally reviewing the afternoon's journey.

According to the map I looked at last night.

We should be able to reach a place called Majiaji before dark.

It was a small market town at the border of Shanxi and Hebei provinces. It wasn't very big, but there was an old inn where you could rest and spend the night.

There are no decent towns further on.

There will be places to stay all the way into Shandong province.

As he was thinking, Ma Yong turned back from the front, his pace quickening slightly.

"Commander."

Ma Yong lowered his voice and glanced into the distance ahead.

There's a situation at the fork in the road ahead.

Zhou Tianyang followed his gaze.

About a mile ahead.

Sure enough, there was a fork in the road, and a three-wheeled motorcycle was parked at the intersection.

Two Japanese soldiers in military uniforms stood next to the car, one of them holding a gun and looking around.

Several sandbags were piled up next to the intersection, and a makeshift roadblock was placed across the middle of the road.

"The Japanese checkpoint."

Zhou Tianyang's gaze lingered on the two people for a moment, then swept over the surrounding environment.

There weren't many people.

Ma Yong nodded without saying anything, waiting for him to make a decision.

Zhou Tianyang remained silent for a few seconds, quickly going through several possibilities in his mind.

Taking a detour would add at least seven or eight miles to the journey, and he's not familiar with the terrain here; getting lost would waste even more time.

If we go directly there, we'll have to face the questioning of those two Japanese soldiers.

There's no way around it.

He spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on the two Japanese soldiers.

"Let it go."

"Don't be nervous, just proceed normally."

Ma Yong nodded and turned back to the front of the line.

He whispered something to the soldiers at the front, without stopping.

Head straight towards that fork in the road.

Zhou Tianyang quickened his pace and walked to Liu Ping's side, his voice very low.

"There's a Japanese checkpoint ahead."

"When we get there, you don't need to say anything, I'll handle it."

Liu Ping's expression didn't change much.

But he tightened his grip on the handle of the wicker trunk slightly, then loosened it.

He nodded slightly, maintaining his original pace, neither speeding up nor slowing down.

The group continued moving forward.

The figures of the two Japanese soldiers became clearer and clearer.

Ma Yong walked at the very front.

When he reached the fork in the road.

A Japanese soldier looked up and glanced at him.

My gaze lingered on his coarse cloth short jacket for a moment, then moved away.

Ma Yong didn't stop and continued walking towards the left side of the fork in the road.

Following them were a few soldiers, walking by in twos and threes.

The Japanese soldier with the gun on his back glanced in their direction.

Seeing that they were all farmers dressed in tattered clothes, he wasn't interested and turned to look in the other direction.

At this moment, Zhou Tianyang and Liu Ping reached the intersection.

Their clothing was different from the people in front of them; they didn't look like people who worked in the fields all year round.

Liu Ping's long gown was indeed a rare sight in the countryside.

One of the Japanese soldiers lingered on him for a couple more seconds before speaking.

"Wait a minute."

His tone was low, with a casual and nonchalant air, as if he were just casually calling out to a passerby.

He remained leaning back in his motorcycle seat, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his gaze lazily sweeping over Liu Ping.

Liu Ping stopped, lowered his head slightly, and did not look into the Japanese soldier's eyes, nor did he rush to explain anything.

He was slightly hunched over, his posture like someone who works with a bent back all year round.

A subconscious gesture.

Zhou Tianyang stopped half a step behind Liu Ping, his gaze naturally lowered, avoiding eye contact with the Japanese soldier.

He also bowed slightly, his expression showing the kind of restraint that only farmers show when they see soldiers.

The Japanese soldier exhaled a puff of smoke and shifted his gaze from Liu Ping to Zhou Tianyang.

He looked her over for a moment, then spoke.

What are you people doing?

Zhou Tianyang took half a step forward.

He slightly raised his head.

"Your Mightiness."

He spoke, and he spoke in Japanese.

His tone was so natural, as if he had dealt with the Japanese for many years.

"We are under orders from the First Army Headquarters to carry out a secret mission in Shanghai."

The Japanese soldier narrowed his eyes slightly, and the cigarette dangling from his lips swayed, as if he hadn't heard what he just said.

He took the cigarette off his shoulder and sat up a little straighter on the motorcycle seat.

His gaze returned to Zhou Tianyang's face, his tone carrying a hint of surprise and probing.

"Are you with the Imperial Army?"

Zhou Tianyang straightened his back slightly, the smile still on his lips, but with more confidence than before.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small notebook, and handed it over.

That was the identification of a Japanese sergeant he had killed before; he had never thrown it away.

"I belong to the Taiyuan Military Police and was temporarily transferred out to carry out this mission."

The Japanese officer took the document and looked at it.

The person in the photo did indeed resemble the person in front of him somewhat, but he didn't compare them carefully; he just glanced at them and closed the book.

He glanced at Zhou Tianyang again, his gaze carrying a hint of something indescribable.

There was surprise, but also a touch of cautious respect.

"Kobayashi-kun, excuse me."

He handed the documents back, his tone more polite than before.

Where are you going?

"What mission are you undertaking?"

Zhou Tianyang took the documents and put them away, his tone becoming more relaxed.

It carried a casualness that only existed between fellow soldiers of the Empire.

"Shanghai."

"I cannot say more about the specifics."

After hearing this, the Japanese soldier's expression changed from polite to somewhat knowing.

He nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He waved his hand and casually added a sentence.

"Alright, let's go."

Thank you.

Zhou Tianyang nodded slightly and turned to look at Liu Ping.

Liu Ping followed beside him expressionlessly.

The two walked across the fork in the road, one after the other.

Walk out for about several dozen feet.

Liu Ping turned his head slightly, his eyes filled with extremely complex emotions, and whispered a sentence.

"Commander Zhou, who taught you Japanese?"

Zhou Tianyang did not answer immediately. He took several steps before speaking, and his voice was very low.

"There was a Japanese prisoner who taught me for a while."

Liu Ping did not ask any further questions.

He walked on in silence, switching the wicker box from one hand to the other.

It's as if this action is releasing the tension from just now.