In fact, Menes had many siblings, but since he left the palace at the age of fourteen and became a priest - he could not step out of the temple, and the royal family had many restrictions - the relationship between them and their feelings gradually faded.

Only Qisi, despite the ban, often sneaked out of the palace to visit him. After a long time, their relationship is always better than that of other family members. Now that the country is ruined, and they are captured together in Greece, Du Zhe is sitting in Oakley's house, watching Qisi smiling and busy going in and out, and suddenly has some emotion-

In this world, Oakley is the person he has to kill, and Silky is his most precious family and friend. Now that the two men are together, Du Zhe has a headache, and he doesn't know how to choose the path to save Thucydides from assassination again.

"Look, I made it myself," Qisi interrupted Du Zhe's musings, she smiled and brought a pot of things out of the back kitchen and brought it to Du Zhe, "You taste it?" Like the one we used to eat when we were kids. ”

"This is your own hand, dear?!" Oakley's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it, "What is it?" ”

"It's none of your business!" Kisi knocked Oakley's hand away, "This is what I made for my brother." ”

Oakley blinked aggrievedly, looking at Du Zhe who dared to speak angrily.

Du Zhe was amused by Oakley's aggrieved appearance, but looking at them like this, he was somewhat envious of this "sister": no matter her status, at least, Qisi found someone who really loved her. And although he and the person he loved, although they have a hundred-year covenant, they are now separated from life and death, and there is no possibility of seeing each other again.

Du Zhe lowered his head and took a long sip of wine, and then he barely held back the tears that were about to overflow from the corners of his eyes.

"Sister," Du Zhe raised his glass, "This is Athens, you are not a princess and I am not a sacrifice, let me call you sister again, I wish you happiness, I am very grateful, I can have a good sister like you!" ”

A strange look flashed in Qisi's eyes, she glanced at Oakley, and also picked up her glass to clink glasses with Du Zhe, "Menes, thank you, you will always be my proudest brother." ”

"Oakley, if you dare to bully her...... Du Zhe turned his head and gave Oakley a fierce look, "I will never spare you!" ”

Oakley was apprehensive about Du Zhe, and he hurriedly stood up and drank the wine in his glass, patting his chest and assuring Du Zhe that he would definitely be good to Qisi. After three rounds of drinking, it was getting late, and Du Zhe got up to say goodbye to Qisi.

"Oakley, go and fetch the wine I have stored, and let Menes bring it back." Qisi stood up and pulled Du Zhe to the door.

Du Zhe still wanted to shirk it, but Qisi grabbed Du Zhe's arm, and her nails were pinched into the flesh of Du Zhe's arm, so strong that Du Zhe almost couldn't help screaming.

"Okay, I'll go—"

After Oakley left, Qisi looked into Du Zhe's eyes and whispered, "That's not your truth, I don't believe you can't see why I'm with this Gentile!" ”

Du Zhe was stunned for a moment, frowned, and decided to follow Qisi's words and say, "Of course I'm because of ......"

"I know that you are taboo against him," said Silk, "and now that he has been broken up by me, Menes, you are the only one who knows me best, and I will not forgive these Gentiles who have invaded our homeland!" Never! They killed our parents and brothers, enslaved our people, and I, Qisi, will never forget this hatred! ”

"Hate ......"

"These people who have bullied us, I will make them pay," Qisi sneered, a hint of ruthlessness flashed on her face, "I will find an opportunity to make their lives worse than death-"

Du Zhe didn't expect Qisi to have such a bitter hatred, and he was a little trance-like for a while. Fortunately, Qisi was not suspicious, and talked to him for a while, and when Oakley came, Qisi handed the things to Du Zhe, and then smiled and pulled Oakley into the house.

Looking at the gentle smile on Qisi's face, Du Zhe couldn't help but shudder: Woman, such a terrible woman.

Not long after coming out of Oakley's house, Du Zhe was surprised to find that there was not a single pedestrian on several busy streets and alleys, and every house had its doors and windows closed, as if they were hiding from something. At this time, suddenly there was a roar of a wild beast from a distance, and Du Zhe followed the sound and saw the lion at the end of the street.

Du Zhe was startled, and before he had time to think about it, the lion rushed in his direction. When it was about to run to Du Zhe, it slowed down, stared at Du Zhe from a distance, and finally simply squatted on the ground with a wink, and purred at Du Zhe very meekly, and its tail was still waging from side to side.

If you hadn't seen it eat people with your own eyes......

Du Zhe sighed helplessly, dismounted, walked to the lion's side, and stretched out his hand to smooth the fluffy golden retriever: "Why did you run out again?" ”

The lion tilted his head and glanced at Du Zhe, squinted his eyes and rubbed Du Zhe's palm with his head, Du Zhe scratched its chin helplessly, and let the fierce bird run out This is a big deal, Du Zhe patted the lion's head and said, "Go, come home with me." ”

The lion stood up as if he didn't understand, and after following Du Zhe for two steps, he suddenly stood in front of Du Zhe, lowered his body, and motioned for Du Zhe to ride up. Du Zhe looked at the lion's smooth back, then looked at the Greek robe on his body, hesitated for a moment, and sat down with his arms around the lion's neck.

Du Zhe sat on the back of the lion, and the lion also slowed down and led Du Zhe slowly on the road, it walked extremely gracefully, as if it was patrolling his own territory. For Du Zhe, although this is a good new experience, but looking at it up close, the blood stains on the lion's hair always give him a bad premonition.

This lion is afraid that he will kill people again and cause a great disaster.

◎◎◎

Thucydides came out of the general's palace with the pardon signed by Perikles, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, and he was about to go home to tell Sùmenes the good news. However, he had only mounted his horse and walked a short distance when he saw the defenders of the city hurrying towards this side with a large number of men and horses.

In the distance, Thucydides heard the bitter cry of the butler Kerry: "Miserable! It's miserable! I've lived this life...... I've never seen such a tragedy! He, they've been with me all their lives...... How can this be, how can this be, it must be a calamity! ”

Thucydides' heart tightened, and he hurriedly rushed into the team, "Old butler, what happened......

"General! You're here! When the soldiers saw Thucydides, they became agitated and rushed to say, "The lion of your house has escaped!" Not to mention eating all the slaves in your house, and also hurting the old butler, if we didn't happen to be around, I'm afraid the butler would have died! ”

"How...... How so?! Thucydides hurried to pick up the old butler, and when he saw the wound on Kerry's trouser tube, his eyes were red, "Kerry, tell me what happened!" ”

The old butler was in tears, holding Thucydides' hand trembling, and did not speak for a long time.

"General, the old butler is frightened, and I say—" said one of the soldiers, "and as we were patrolling near your house, we heard a terrible scream from afar, and as we followed, we saw the old butler running out with blood all over his body, and in a short time the lion appeared in the street. ”

"Where's the lion?!"

"We have sounded the horn and told everyone to hide in their homes, the patrols are all gathered to take precautions, the archers are ready at all the posts, the tops of the towers, and the high walls, but we remember that this is your ......"

"Of course it's important to save people, what else do you need to hesitate about?!"

"But......" The soldier stopped talking, but Thucydides died in a hurry.

"But what?!"

"But Master Menes...... With that lion," said the old butler, with his eyebrows lowered and said very carefully, "that Persian priest is you, young master...... I, I don't dare to ask them to hurt people like this. ”

"Menes?!" Thucydides gasped, only to feel that it was dark and the sky was spinning, he barely stabilized his body, took the old butler's hand, and said in a deep voice, "You say, Kerry, you say, I want to know—what happened?!" ”

"Yes, that's the case...... butler Kerry's face was a little pale because of excessive blood loss, and he took a few breaths before he said, "After you and Master Menes left, we cleaned up at home, how did we expect that the lion suddenly went crazy and crashed into the cage as if he had been struck by an evil spirit!" Later, he rushed out and bit many of us, not to mention, but rushed out of the door and ran straight in the direction of Master Oakley's house-"

"Yes, at that time, the old butler was worried that something would happen to Master Oakley's house, and asked us to follow us all the way, but I saw the lion...... The lion ......"

"The lion ran to a very handsome man and coquettished him, and he touched the lion's head, and now he rides the lion through the city!"

When Thucydides heard these words, a chill ran through his heart, and he gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes with an extremely ugly face, and stared at Kerry, "You mean to say that this qiē is Menes...... Did Menes instruct the lion to do it?! ”

The butler bowed his head, silent, and answered Thucydides' question with silence.

"I don't believe it! There was no reason for him to do that—" Thucydides shouted to the old butler for the first time, with some hysterical hysteria, "if he wanted to kill and take revenge, why should he choose such a time, when he could have watched us all die with a lion's bite on that day!" Why did he, why wait until today......"

When the soldiers saw their feared general so out of shape, they did not dare to speak, and bowed their heads and waited for Thucydides to make a decision for himself.

"I'm going to see it, and I don't believe Menes would do such a stupid thing unless I see it with my own eyes!"

With that, Thucydides sped in the direction of Oakley's house, and soon he saw a scene that shocked him: Du Zhe was indeed sitting on the back of a lion, and the lion was indeed carrying Du Zhe forward.

Thucydides couldn't believe his eyes, he looked at Du Zhe from a distance, a million emotions flashed in his heart, and he clenched the pardon in his hand tightly.

Du Zhe heard the sound of horses' hooves, and as soon as he looked up and saw Thucydides, he curled the corners of his mouth slightly, but the smile on his face slowly stiffened—for he saw the black-pressed soldiers following Thucydides, and the archers that gradually appeared on the rooftops.

The most important thing is that Du Zhe saw the old butler limping in that group of people, and saw the expression on the face of the old butler Kerry, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

Thucydides looked at Du Zhe, who tried to straighten his spine as much as he could, forcing himself to calm down, and then slowly descended from the lion's back. He raised his head and smiled at Thucydides in a smile that was worse than crying:

"If I say I didn't do it, you ...... Will you believe it? ”

"You...... How do you want me to believe it? Thucydides' voice trembled, "The lion has killed and wounded so many people, and you, you have walked with it, even riding on the lion, swaggering through the city of Athens. ”

"It's just a coincidence." Du Zhe closed his eyes in despair and gritted his teeth.

"Hmph—" Thucydides shook his head in disappointment, took a few steps back, and said in a hoarse voice, "In Athens, we all know that only you, and only you, Menes, can stop this lion, and the lion only obeys your orders. Your Persian sacrifices can manipulate the creatures of heaven and earth with spiritual magic, Menes - you let me, how can I believe you!! ”

"Both Kisi and Oakley can testify that I wasn't there. And - I'm going to hurt someone, why do I choose this now?! Du Zhe couldn't help but raise his voice, and he looked at the disappointed expression on Thucydides' face, and his heart became dull and painful.

"Good!" Thucydides' eyes were red, and he glared at Du Zhe and said to the soldiers behind him, "Go to Oakley's house and bring Qisi!" Menes, I'd love to believe you, but ...... The qiē in front of me makes me hard to believe you! ”

Du Zhe bit his lip, a cold sweat broke out all over his body, he never bothered to explain anything to people, but this time, knowing that he was framed and couldn't turn over, he still had a glimmer of hope and wanted Thucydides to believe it.

However, when Qisi arrived, he only said one sentence that left Du Zhe speechless, and Qisi said: "Yes, that's right, barbarian Gentiles, this is the retribution you deserve!" Menes did a wonderful job! I'm so proud of him! ”

Du Zhe looked at Qisi, his lips pursed, and for the first time hoped that Qisi, the woman, did not appear here.

"Hahahahaha Good! Good! Thucydides burst into laughter, and he drew his short sword at his waist and pointed it directly at Du Zhe, "Menes, the two choices I gave you at the beginning, now-I'm still the same, either you can be captured now, and I will beg the general to leave you a whole corpse." Or—you fight a fair fight with me, and you win or lose! ”

"No," Du Zhe looked at Thucydides and shook his head with a miserable smile and took a few steps back, "I don't choose either choice, I was wronged, and I can't admit this matter." ”

"Menes ......," Thucydides said the name through gritted teeth, "for the sake of our acquaintance, this is you...... Last Chance ......"

“…… I'm sorry," Du Zhe looked at Thucydides with an ugly face, and resolutely stepped back and jumped onto the lion's back, he bent down, patted the lion's neck, and whispered, "What a brute...... If you...... If it is really as they say - only listen to my commands, then you will take me out of here......"

"Menes—!!"

Thucydides' angry voice came from afar, and with that roar came clusters of arrows that rained down. The lion took Du Zhe and fled out of the city quickly, and Du Zhe showed the lion the way while he had to turn back frequently to avoid the bows and arrows.

It's just that every time he turns around, he can see Thucydides' angry and desperate eyes, which pierce his eyes and make his heart ache very much. The subtle tacit understanding and warmth between them were completely shocked by the current unexplained false accusations.

Du Zhe was good at hiding, and he had already thoroughly explored the terrain around Athens. Seeing that this man was about to flee, Thucydides finally relented, stretched out his hand to the nearest archer, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Give me your bow!" ”

"But—"

"Give it to me!" Thucydides tilted his body and snatched the crossbow directly, he aimed at Du Zhe's back, gritted his teeth, and finally couldn't bear it, closed his eyes and shot at the less lethal place - he didn't want to, he never wanted to hurt Menes, but ......

Du Zhe heard the sound of the wind, the gasping of the lion, and faintly heard the sound of the breaking wind, he didn't have time to turn back, only felt a huge momentum coming from the back of his right shoulder, others leaning forward, and a huge pain came, making him almost fall off the lion. There was a burst of dizziness in front of him, and Du Zhe could only reluctantly put his left hand around the lion's neck, and with the last bit of strength, he approached the lion's ear and said a place - the cave from which he had escaped.

After that, Du Zhe lost consciousness in pain, and could only entrust his entire life to this bloodthirsty beast. And those people he once trusted and relied on abandoned him at the most critical moment, and they were not as good as a beast.

It was getting dark, and the winter Athenian night always came earlier than usual. After sunset, the city of Athens is brightly lit, but there are also sporadic fires outside the city, and it looks like a sea of stars from a distance. It's just that the stars in the sky are shining beautifully, but the torches on the ground are just for pursuit.

Thucydides was the first to find Menes, and he was the only one who could have such a natural understanding with Menes. Thucydides' heart tightened as he looked at the dried blood that had dried up at the entrance of the cave, and he was a little afraid to enter the cave in front of him—not for fear of the lion that might appear inside, but for fear of touching the man's already cold body.

However, hesitating at the entrance of the cave was not an option, and Thucydides finally took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the cave with a torch.

He had only taken two steps when the angry roar of a lion came from inside the cave, and by the light of the torches, Thucydides could barely see that in the innermost part of the cave, Du Zhe still had the arrow on his back, and he fell to the ground and his life and death were unknown. And the lion, who was already wolf, still protected Du Zhe to the death, glaring at Thucydides very angrily, hoping to drive him away.

Thucydides took a deep breath, and it seemed that if he wanted to get the Persian priest away, he would inevitably have to fight the lion. It was inconvenient to hold the torch in his hand, so he stuck the torch in the hollow of the cave wall, but the moment when the firelight illuminated the cave wall.

He saw a kind of writing that he knew and unfamiliar with, though scribbled and carved out of shape on the stone wall.

But

Thucydides saw clearly that it was a handwriting that he had seen before, and which would never have appeared in Greece or Persia. Moreover, the mission object and mission goal clearly written in it made the most heroic general in Greece red-eyed in an instant.

His hands trembled, and he fell to his knees with a thud, and in a choked voice, his voice was hoarse, and he called softly:

“…… Du Zhe"