Chapter 130: Friendship Under the Bayonet

Just the previous night, Liu Bo, He Guan, and Fang Muheng had chatted merrily together.

Their hatred of the Japanese invaders resonated powerfully within the souls of all three men.

Fang Muheng in particular was passionate and eloquent, his words sharp and forceful.

Liu Bo’s impression of the man was that he would be excellent at propaganda work, but if assigned any practical task, he would make a complete mess of it.

The three bought some wine and food and returned to Liu Bo’s residence for a candlelit discussion deep into the night.

Liu Bo felt both pleased and irritated.

He was pleased because he had gained the trust of these anti-Japanese activists.

He was irritated because as he listened to He Guan and Fang Muheng discussing how to kill more Japanese more effectively, he had to add fuel to the fire and offer suggestions, which inevitably irritated him at a deeper level.

However, what delighted Liu Bo was that he casually pretended to bring up the matter of the traitor Old Mo being killed.

This unexpectedly provoked a very enthusiastic response from Fang Muheng.

Fang Muheng proudly declared that he knew who had killed the traitor Old Mo.

Overjoyed, Liu Bo asked which heroic figure it had been and expressed great admiration for the person.

“I admit I underestimated Fang Muheng before.”

Liu Bo shook his head and said.

“The man may have realized he had let something slip. After that, his awareness of secrecy became extremely strong. No matter how He Guan and I questioned him, he refused to say anything further.”

“This Fang Muheng, he says he knows who killed Old Mo. How credible do you think that is?”

After thinking for a moment, Yingzuo Eiichi asked.

“I have always believed that things people accidentally let slip are usually true.”

Liu Bo said.

“Moreover, judging from Fang Muheng’s conduct and behaviour, although he likes to boast, he is not someone who lies.”

“Very good. Keep watching Fang Muheng.”

Yingzuo Eiichi nodded happily.

“We must uncover this entire group of anti-Japanese activists.”

“My instincts tell me we are getting closer and closer to them.”

Liu Bo also appeared quite excited.

With a lead finally appearing in the Old Mo murder case, Yingzuo Eiichi was in a good mood.

“Seto-kun, you have endured much hardship infiltrating China for more than ten years.”

Yingzuo Eiichi stood up and bowed slightly.

“Yes, thirteen years.”

Liu Bo sighed.

“I have almost forgotten that I am Japanese.”

Over thirteen years, he had put down roots in Shanghai, become a police officer, married, and had children.

Sometimes he genuinely and subconsciously felt that he was Chinese.

“Those despicable Chinese, how can they possibly be compared to the great people of the Yamato race?”

Yingzuo Eiichi’s expression was solemn.

“Seto-kun, you have suffered greatly.”

“Yingzuo-kun.”

Liu Bo looked at Yingzuo Eiichi.

“I have a question.”

“Please.”

“If Cheng Qianfan knowingly provided false testimony for He Guan after already knowing that He Guan had killed Miyamoto Saburo, does that necessarily prove that Cheng Qianfan is unfriendly toward the Empire?”

Liu Bo asked in return.

“Isn’t that the case?”

Yingzuo Eiichi countered.

“He is Chinese. No matter how favourable his impression of the Empire may be, that cannot change the fact that he is Chinese. He Guan is his good friend, while Miyamoto is merely an Imperial rōnin he never even knew. Miyamoto’s death would not matter much to him. Is it wrong for him to choose to help his friend He Guan?”

Liu Bo said.

Looking at Yingzuo Eiichi’s increasingly unpleasant expression, he did not stop and instead continued.

“Even some anti-Japanese activists, if they are willing to lay down their weapons and be friendly toward the Empire, should in my opinion be forgiven for their past actions.”

As he spoke, Liu Bo bowed to Yingzuo Eiichi.

“Yingzuo-kun, even friendship beneath the bayonet is still the kind of friendship the Empire needs and recognizes.”

Watching Liu Bo’s departing figure, Yingzuo Eiichi said coldly,

“Seto Ichikawa, Seto-kun, remember this. You are Seto Ichikawa, not Liu Bo. You are an outstanding citizen of the superior Yamato race.”

Liu Bo turned around, bowed slightly once again to Yingzuo Eiichi, and left.

The Fang residence.

Having returned home drunk in the middle of the night, Fang Muheng slept until late the following morning before waking.

He quietly got out of bed, left his bedroom, and cautiously looked around.

“Young Master, you’re awake. Would you like me to prepare something to eat?”

The maid, Mama Jiang, was tidying up the tea set and asked upon seeing him.

“Where are Mother and my sister?”

Fang Muheng asked as he patted his still somewhat groggy head.

“Miss has gone to the girls’ school. The wife of Lawyer Luo next door invited Madam out shopping.”

Fang Muheng let out a long sigh of relief.

Neither his mother nor his sister was home.

Wonderful.

Otherwise, he would certainly have been scolded again.

After brushing his teeth and washing up, Fang Muheng went downstairs.

“Mama Jiang, when Madam returns, tell her I’ve gone to work.”

“Young Master, aren’t you going to eat?”

The maid hurried out from the kitchen and asked.

“No.”

Fang Muheng mounted a bicycle and fled the house as if escaping.

He feared that if he delayed any longer and his father returned early from the factory, he would be trapped at home.

About an hour later, Fang Muheng arrived at the Shen Bao Building at the southwest corner of Shandong Road and Hankou Road in the Central District of the International Settlement.

The Shen Bao Building had been constructed in 1918 and was a modern European-style structure featuring Neoclassical decorative elements.

The building was a five-storey reinforced-concrete structure with more than one hundred rooms.

Decorative patterns adorned the lower portions of the eaves and the pilasters of the exterior walls.

The second floor projected outward to form a balcony, whose railings were elegant, and decorative designs adorned the underside of the balcony as well.

The ground floor housed the printing plant, including typesetting rooms, type-casting rooms, paper-mould workshops, lead-plate workshops, and facilities for producing copper and zinc printing plates.

The second floor contained the business offices.

The third floor housed the manager’s office, boardroom, dining hall, and reception rooms.

The fourth and fifth floors contained the library, proofreading rooms, photographic rooms, while editorial offices occupied portions of the second, third, and fourth floors.

Most noteworthy of all, the building possessed a large freight elevator for transporting goods.

At this time, such a facility was extremely rare anywhere in Asia.

When Fang Muheng had first seen the Shen Bao Building after returning from the United States, he too had been astonished.

Even in America, newspaper facilities this advanced were few in number.

The editorial office of Fang Muheng’s editing group was located on the fourth floor.

“Editor Fang is here.”

Xiao Meng, a young female clerk with braided hair and a short stature, brightened visibly upon seeing Fang Muheng and hurried over carrying the attendance register.

“Good afternoon, Xiao Meng.”

Fang Muheng smiled.

He was a proud man, but his attitude toward colleagues and ordinary citizens was generally quite decent.

“Editor Fang, did your field research go smoothly today?”

Xiao Meng asked with concern.

“Ah, not bad. It went fairly smoothly.”

Fang Muheng laughed awkwardly.

After signing in, he found a young man wearing somewhat worn black-rimmed glasses working busily at a desk in the corner.

“Ah Hai, thanks.”

He had actually skipped work all morning.

Fortunately, Ah Hai had reported that he was out gathering material.

Ah Hai adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“It was nothing.”

Fang Muheng glanced around and, seeing that nobody was paying attention, leaned closer and lowered his voice.

“Ah Hai, I told a friend about your heroic feat of eliminating a traitor.”

Uh...

The smile froze on Ah Hai’s face.

He raised his head and stared blankly at Fang Muheng.

The clock turned back one hour.

Having been “temporarily assigned” by Pete under the authority of the Political Department’s Investigation Unit deputy leader and thus granted a “legal excuse to skip work,” Cheng Qianfan left the police station hall.

After a journey of roughly one hour, he arrived at a riverside dock warehouse in Pete’s automobile.

At the exact moment Ah Hai was staring blankly at Fang Muheng in the editorial office, Pete proudly pulled away the tarpaulin covering a shipment of goods.

Cheng Qianfan was equally stunned.

He stared blankly at the cargo before him.