Chapter 115: The Strange He Guan

Cheng Qianfan struck a match, lit Imai Futoshi’s letter, and dropped it into the brazier.

Although the original letter appeared completely normal and was merely reminiscing about old times, it could not be kept.

The matter of Miyazaki Kentaro required careful planning.

There was no need to rush.

He was thinking about the undercover cell.

As for this Special Service Office undercover cell that he personally led, Cheng Qianfan had never considered recruiting large numbers of people.

He believed in the principle that troops should be elite rather than numerous.

At the same time, this was also a matter of security.

Haozai came from the streets. He was cautious in his work and sufficiently clever.

Cheng Qianfan planned to arrange for Haozai to work in the Shanghai Municipal Police Bureau.

The Shanghai Communists had always attached great importance to conducting activities within the National Government’s Shanghai police system.

However, from the twenty-third year of the Republic to the twenty-fifth year of the Republic, the entire Shanghai Red organization had suffered repeated destruction, with its leadership organs almost completely wiped out.

The Red organizations within the Shanghai police agencies had become key targets of National Government suppression. They had either been destroyed, exposed, or lost contact.

Haozai was a Special Service Office agent. Arranging for him to enter the Shanghai Municipal Police Bureau would not arouse suspicion.

Through Haozai, Cheng Qianfan could extend his reach into the Shanghai police system.

As for the second member of the undercover cell, after much consideration, he decided to bring Li Hao into it.

Haozi had always worked for him.

There were things Haozi never asked about, but he surely suspected that Cheng Qianfan possessed another identity.

Bringing Li Hao into the undercover cell could, to some extent, explain his “hidden identity.”

At the same time, Li Hao was utterly loyal to him and would serve as a pair of eyes within the undercover cell.

There was another extremely important reason.

Li Hao was loyal to Cheng Qianfan the person. That loyalty would not change in the slightest whether Cheng Qianfan was a Communist or a Special Service Office agent.

In the future, the undercover cell might become involved with intelligence concerning the Communists.

At critical moments, Li Hao would be the most trustworthy person.

Furthermore, before leaving Hangzhou, Yu Ping’an had secretly met with him again.

He stated that an operator from the communications section at Xiongzhen Tower would be sent to Shanghai carrying a radio set and would join Cheng Qianfan’s undercover cell.

The communications section was not part of the special training class Cheng Qianfan had attended.

It belonged to a separate secret professional training program established by Xiongzhen Tower.

After graduation, the trainees would be assigned to Special Service Office organizations throughout the country.

In Cheng Qianfan’s view, these communications personnel were actually the eyes through which the upper echelons of the Special Service Office monitored local branches.

By assigning a communications operator to him, Yu Ping’an would be able to remotely direct Cheng Qianfan’s undercover cell even from faraway Hangzhou.

However, judging by Yu Ping’an’s style of doing things, Cheng Qianfan guessed that he would basically refrain from interfering in the cell’s operations.

This person’s most important role was to ensure smooth communication between the undercover cell and Hangzhou, as well as Nanjing, while also serving a monitoring function.

Including Cheng Qianfan himself, that made four people.

The framework of an undercover cell had already taken shape.

Cheng Qianfan planned to gradually recruit another three or four reliable field operatives.

For the time being, he intended to keep the cell’s membership at around seven or eight people.

Any larger and it would become unwieldy and unsafe.

Seven or eight people, with field operatives, intelligence personnel, and administrative staff, would make for a lean and capable team.

He Guan walked quickly, his expression filled with panic.

His first experience of killing someone had left a powerful impact on him.

He had no experience.

Even when facing a drunkard, he had nearly ruined everything.

The first stab from behind had struck the Japanese rōnin’s shoulder.

Instead of incapacitating him, it had provoked his ferocity.

The two men had struggled with one another.

In the chaos, He Guan did not even know how he had managed to stab the Japanese rōnin in the neck.

The spurting blood had stained his clothes.

Watching the Japanese rōnin lying on the ground, desperately trying to cover the wound in his neck with both hands to stop the blood from pouring out, making hoarse choking sounds from his mouth like a duck with its throat gripped shut.

His mind had gone completely blank.

Afterward, he frantically removed his bloodstained clothes and wiped the blood from his hands and body.

Then he changed into the clean clothes he had prepared in advance and casually wrapped the bloody clothes around a stone before throwing them into the cesspit of a latrine.

After walking a few steps, he ran back and threw the knife into the cesspit as well.

Completing all of this cleanup work had been the unconscious result of a policeman’s professional instincts.

In reality, his mind had been completely blank.

“Officer He, you’ve come looking for Brother Fan?”

A voice startled the silently smoking He Guan so badly that he nearly jumped.

It was a resident of Yande Lane, a hunchbacked old man.

“That’s right, I’m looking for Qianfan.”

He Guan answered reflexively, glancing around before realizing that he had unknowingly arrived at Yande Lane.

The hunchbacked old man muttered things like “What good brothers they are” and “He came looking for Brother Fan the moment he got back.”

Cheng Qianfan had returned?

For some reason, learning that Cheng Qianfan had returned immediately calmed He Guan’s panicked heart.

His chaotic thoughts also became clearer as his panic subsided.

Bang, bang, bang.

The door on the first floor was pounded so hard that it seemed ready to shake apart.

“That brat He Guan.”

Cheng Qianfan cursed.

He went downstairs and opened the door.

Sure enough, he was greeted by He Guan’s grinning face.

“You came back without even telling me in advance.”

As He Guan spoke, he took a cigarette case from his pocket, put a cigarette in his mouth, and tossed the case onto the table.

“A light.”

He Guan held out his hand toward Cheng Qianfan.

Cheng Qianfan took out a box of matches and handed it to him.

He Guan accepted it, struck a match, lowered his head, and lit his cigarette.

He did not notice Cheng Qianfan glance at his fingernails, his expression changing slightly.

Cheng Qianfan felt mildly surprised.

There was blood beneath the thumbnail of He Guan’s right hand and the index fingernail of his left hand.

Judging by the degree of drying, the blood should have been deposited somewhere between half an hour and an hour ago.

Had this fellow gotten into a fight?

After taking a few puffs of his cigarette.

“Got any water? This damned weather is ridiculously hot for May.”

He Guan picked up the large teapot and was about to pour himself a drink.

After shaking it, he discovered it was empty.

“I just got back and haven’t even lit the stove yet.”

Cheng Qianfan curled his lip in disdain.

“If you want water, boil it yourself.”

Despite what he said, Cheng Qianfan still went out personally to borrow a coal briquette from Zhao Laonian’s house and started a fire to boil water.

“What does this mean?”

Looking at the banknotes He Guan handed over, Cheng Qianfan asked.

“It’s the money I owed you. If you don’t want it, forget it.”

“A debt repaid is only natural. Why wouldn’t I want it?”

Cheng Qianfan snatched the money away.

His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he found the situation increasingly strange.

He Guan was not the type to refuse repayment of a debt.

However, given his personality, he rarely repaid money in such a blunt and straightforward manner.

More often than not, he would choose to treat Cheng Qianfan to a meal.

After they finished eating and wiped their mouths, he would declare that the cost of the meal had settled the debt.

And He Guan would never take advantage of anyone.

If he owed you two yuan, he would treat you to a meal worth five or even ten yuan.

Ten yuan meant he genuinely had money in hand.

Five yuan meant he truly did not have much money at the moment.

Even so, he would still repay his debts promptly.