Another beautiful morning.

The golden morning sun slowly rises from the sea level, like a golden apple being placed on a deep blue tray.

The waves of the Mediterranean Sea are far less turbulent than those of the Atlantic Ocean, and the slightly turbulent waters shatter the golden sunlight scattered on the surface of the sea like shimmering scales.

With the cool sea breeze of the summer morning, the huge sailing ships tore off the pieces of golden scale armor and slowly moored into the harbor. As their journey came to an end, the sails slowly lowered from the towering masts, and the anchors were thrown from the ship, rapidly sinking into the water.

Accompanied by loud or dull cheers, the ships ended their journey and finally arrived at the port of Marseille.

This is the largest port in France, and after an unknown number of centuries of development, it has also become a pearl of the entire Mediterranean coast, and a large number of ships depart from all over the world every day to rush to this port; There are also countless people who have set out from here and stepped into the unfathomable ocean, and from then on the heavens are separated.

Among these ships of various sizes, there was a passenger ship that was not as unremarkable as it was slowly moored at the pier in the harbor.

The passenger ship was sailed from Athens, Greece to Marseille, and it was small in size and had a slightly blackened hull from years of use.

When it stopped, two customs officers and several gendarmes also approached the passenger ship in a quarantine boat, boarded the ship and began the routine inspection.

The crew cooperated in gathering the passengers on deck and instructed them to hand over their identification documents to the customs officers for inspection, while some who did not speak French were accompanied by the crew.

The staff of the two customs offices began to walk past one by one in the order in which the passengers were arranged. Their passports were picked up and checked, and those who had completed the formalities were allowed to enter the country. Some travelers with problems with their identification documents were left behind.

When they approached several well-dressed male travelers, they were somewhat surprised to find that they had been given French passports.

They took a closer look at the passports. Then he looked at them with some confusion.

"French?"

"Yes, we traveled in Greece and have just returned home." An old man with a slightly chubby body and white hair and glasses replied fluently in French.

He was well-dressed, behaved quite gently, and had a modest and docile smile on his face, and looked like a university professor or a very respected doctor. All in all, this dress is very convincing.

And judging by the demeanor of several other people. He also seems to be respected in this group.

The customs clerk looked at his passport again, and then at the old man and the others.

"You can get through." After a few moments, he returned his passports to the men. "Welcome home, gentlemen."

"Thank you." The old man smiled humbly at him again.

…………………………

Because they were French passports, they were not spared, and soon left the port area and entered the city of Marseille.

As soon as they entered the city, the group of people looked much more relaxed and began to talk and laugh with each other. It was as if there was a sense of relief.

Only the old man with glasses was still frowning slightly, and walked forward thoughtfully, without accosting anyone else.

"What are you thinking, sir?" A tall, thin middle-aged man next to him leaned over to him and asked.

"I felt that something was wrong. But I can't say why. The old man replied in a low voice, "I just think the people at the customs are acting too strangely." They looked at me a few times...... Could it be that I am wrong about something? ”

"I don't think you're wrong." The tall and thin man smiled.

"That's right?" The old man still felt that something was wrong, "If my words are fine." How could they be so surprised? ”

"I think it's because the French we speak is so standard. There is no western accent, and in the passport we are obviously westerners. The tall and thin man pouted regretfully. In France, few people can speak such standard French words. ”

The old man was stunned for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing.

"I think you're right. I...... I still seem to be too nervous, ha, I just ran out of the country, and this string is still too tight to loosen. ”

Then, as if laughing at himself, as if he had lifted the burden of his heart, he suddenly burst out laughing, which did not correspond to his mannerisms, and attracted the attention of the people on the street.

But no one could figure out what they were talking about, and they were not speaking French, but the language of another country.

"You must be glad to be back in France, where you have lived for many years." A middle-aged man with a beard next to him asked with a smile.

"yes, it feels weird." The old man nodded, then scanned the streets around him with feeling, "When I left, Napoleon had just become emperor, and when I came back, his nephew was about to become emperor again - it felt like nothing had happened here in decades!" It's a strange feeling, my reason tells me that they've been in turmoil for fifty years and shed blood, while my eyes tell me that nothing has happened, it's as prosperous as ever, and I've just been deceived by the newspapers......"

"After all, France has always been here." The tall and thin man replied pointedly, "Napoleon laid a monument for her, and it doesn't matter who stands on the monument after he is gone, the monument itself is immortal." ”

"Yes, the Jacobins and the kings are gone, and France is forever." The old man took a deep breath with feeling.

"So, how do you feel about breathing the air of freedom again after all these years?" There was always some ridicule in the middle-aged man's tone, "Isn't it all more fragrant than Russia?" ”

"Not really." The old man shook his head, not displeased by the other man's joke, "I have seen the most liberal time in France, when the guillotine creaked every day, and the air was full of blood, and it was not fun at all. ”

He is not exaggerating, he was sent to Paris as a child, and he lived there until he became an adult, he saw the most horrific years of France under the Jacobins, and he also saw Napoleon return from Egypt and then staged a coup d'état, and in one fell swoop became the most powerful ruler of Europe.

"Maybe it's because the Russians don't have the guts to pay that price." The bearded middle-aged man replied solemnly, "So there is no freedom in Russia." ”

"You can't be free by blood alone, and I firmly believe that." The old man shook his head again. "Of course, I also know that sometimes it is necessary to shed blood."

Then, before anyone could argue with him, he looked up at the sky and pulled out a gold pocket watch from his pocket.

"It's not early, shall we go for another meal? I'm in for a treat. After this meal, let's go to our respective destinations, and in a month we will meet in Paris, and I hope you can enjoy your trip. ”

"Yes, sir." Others thanked him at the same time.

They didn't wander the streets for long, and soon found a big restaurant, then booked a private room and gathered around the table.

At last they had come to safety after their perilous days in Tibet, so they were in high spirits, and they were drinking and laughing and talking—of course, the first of all to the old man, and thanking him for his great effort in bringing them out of Russia.

"Sir, since you're here this time, why don't you spend some time in Paris." After a glass of wine, the tall and thin middle-aged man asked the old man sitting next to him, "I think you should have left a lot of good memories there, and it is worth revisiting." ”

"I do plan to check it out there, but I won't be in France for long." The old man's expression was still quite calm, and he was not infected by the cheerful atmosphere in the room, "There are still many domestic affairs that I need to deal with, besides, if I don't show up for a long time, there will be a lot of rumors in the outside world, which is not good for everyone." ”

"You've worked so hard." The middle-aged man sighed in admiration, and then raised his glass to him.

Then he poured himself another glass of wine and stood up.

"Gentlemen, let's have a toast for the sake of great Russia!"

"Cheers!" The others echoed him, and then raised their glasses at the same time.

At that moment, the door suddenly made a loud bang, and then it was kicked open.

Everyone stopped their movements and looked at the door in unison.

And standing at the door turned out to be a woman with long chestnut hair, a skirt, and an umbrella in her hand.

She was smiling, as if she were a guest at a banquet.

Before anyone else could react, she paced in step by step with an umbrella, and then bowed slightly to the people inside.

"Gentlemen, why not make a toast to France as well? After all, she has been generous enough to take you in......"

A person sitting next to him reacted at this time, and suddenly stood up, trying to arrest this uninvited guest.

However, he soon let out a scream.

The umbrella swung hard, hit him in the shoulder, and then hit him in the abdomen, and this tall man, like a shrimp, covered his abdomen and sat down bent.

In the midst of his muffled exaltation, several men dressed in black and wearing top hats also walked in, led by a grim-faced young man.

They all had guns in their hands and looked at several people in the room with unkind expressions.

"You've all been arrested, and no one is allowed to resist, otherwise I can't guarantee your lives."

Kong Ze said to the group in his characteristic emotionless tone.

Then he turned his gaze sideways and looked at Agnes disapprovingly, as if to speak. "How can you treat my mission as a game?"

Agnes, on the other hand, ignored it, and just smiled and looked around. (To be continued.) )