Chapter 210: Reply Telegram from the Central Committee

Number Three Baliqiao Road was not a private residence.

It was a sesame flatbread shop.

The lard-crackling flatbreads at Baliqiao were quite famous in the area.

The owner had come to Shanghai from Shandong years ago to make a living, and the shop had been operating for more than ten years.

Despite it already being nighttime, business was still good.

Cheng Qianfan bought two flatbreads.

He ate one while walking and wrapped the other in oiled paper.

He walked along Baliqiao Road.

After covering some distance, he turned into an alley and continued onward.

After weaving through streets and lanes for roughly twenty minutes, he stopped in front of a residence.

He circled the courtyard once.

Holding a flashlight in his hand, he discovered dozens of cigarette butts in a corner.

Cheng Qianfan frowned deeply.

He took out the oiled paper left over from the flatbread he had eaten earlier and used it to collect and wrap up the cigarette butts.

After finishing all this, he returned to the front gate.

A wooden plaque was attached to the iron gate.

Under the moonlight, several characters could vaguely be seen upon it:

Accumulate Virtue and Do Good.

He sniffed.

It smelled of fresh paint.

Cheng Qianfan knocked on the door.

A voice came from inside.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Madam Luo asked me to come tutor the young master in French.”

The door opened, revealing a head full of white hair.

“Get in quickly.”

Cheng Qianfan slipped inside.

The iron gate behind him immediately shut with a loud Bang!

“Go straight.”

The old man did not accompany him and instead remained guarding the gate.

The courtyard was neither large nor small.

Cheng Qianfan followed the path forward for more than twenty metres.

It was too dark to clearly make out the scenery in the courtyard, but he could smell flowers.

The main hall door was already open.

Cheng Qianfan walked in casually and saw his elder sister waiting for him in a chair.

“Sis.”

A sweet smile appeared on Cheng Qianfan’s face as he called out.

“You must be tired. Have some water.”

Cheng Min picked up a teacup and handed it to her younger brother.

“Sis, flatbreads from Baliqiao. Your favourite.”

At the same time, Cheng Qianfan handed over the flatbread wrapped in oiled paper.

One accepted the teacup.

The other accepted the flatbread.

The brother and sister smiled at each other.

“This place isn’t safe,” Cheng Qianfan said.

He took a small bite of the flatbread.

His sister had insisted on sharing half of hers with him.

Cheng Min’s expression immediately turned serious.

Her Party membership and revolutionary service both predated Cheng Qianfan’s.

However, Cheng Min understood that every field had its specialists.

When it came to experience in undercover work, her younger brother surpassed her by far.

“The scent of flowers in the courtyard,” Cheng Qianfan said.

“I walked all the way here. This is the only place with a floral fragrance. It provides an extremely clear directional marker.”

“The wooden plaque on the iron gate should originally have been the house number.”

“Now it has been replaced with the words ‘Accumulate Virtue and Do Good.’ It smells of fresh paint. Removing the house number only draws more attention to it.”

Then he took out the cigarette butts wrapped in oiled paper.

“I found these in a corner by the wall. Trash must be cleaned up completely. So many cigarette butts are practically announcing to anyone paying attention that a large gathering was held here at some point.”

With every sentence Cheng Qianfan spoke, the concern in Cheng Min’s eyes deepened.

This residence had been rented by the organization.

Cheng Min herself had only arrived here that afternoon.

She vaguely knew that the Shanghai Municipal Committee had recently held a meeting.

From this, it could be inferred that the residence had originally been rented specifically for meetings.

Because the lease was only for half a month and still had several days remaining, the organization had allowed Cheng Min to use the residence as a contact point when she needed a concealed location.

She had been fairly satisfied with the place.

It was relatively secluded.

The residence had both front and rear exits, as well as a side gate, making escape convenient.

Yet she had never expected that her brother, arriving here for the first time, would immediately point out several security vulnerabilities.

Especially when she looked at those cigarette butts wrapped in oiled paper, Cheng Min felt a chill run through her heart.

At this moment, her feelings as an elder sister were both pride and heartache.

Pride because her younger brother was outstanding.

Her younger brother was an extraordinarily capable Red agent.

Heartache because this caution had become part of his very bones.

That could mean only one thing.

Her brother worked in an environment so brutal that one wrong step, one overlooked detail, could send a person plunging into an abyss beyond redemption.

Hongkou District.

Yingzuo Teiaki looked sorrowfully at his nephew’s body.

The corpse bore seven gunshot wounds, and the head had been completely blown apart.

Hua Mingxian, Deputy Director of the Hongkou District Police Bureau of the Shanghai Special Municipality under the Nationalist Government, stood nearby with an appearance of extreme caution.

Inside, however, he was secretly delighted.

When he learned that the dead man was Yingzuo Teiaki’s nephew, Hua Mingxian had nearly laughed aloud.

Although maintaining public order was indeed the police bureau’s responsibility, it was obvious at first glance that this case had been carried out by Nationalist agents.

The pressure on Hua Mingxian’s shoulders was therefore not especially great.

Even if he were held accountable because of the case, his superiors would understand his difficulties and compensate him accordingly.

Furthermore, Hongkou had a very large Japanese population.

Japanese influence and power in the district were enormous.

As deputy police chief, Hua Mingxian had suffered no shortage of humiliation at Japanese hands.

Now that the nephew of that old spy Yingzuo Teiaki had been killed, it truly called for a celebratory drink.

“Your Excellency Yingzuo, I will certainly order my subordinates to investigate as quickly as possible and strive to solve the case at the earliest opportunity,” Hua Mingxian said with utmost seriousness.

“Director Hua, three days. Within three days I want news that the criminals have been captured. Otherwise...” Yingzuo Teiaki said with a dark expression, “I will lodge a solemn protest with your government.”

“I’ll do my best. I will certainly do my best.”

Seemingly not hearing the threat at all, Hua Mingxian nodded.

However, in the end he still could not resist taking a veiled jab at Yingzuo Teiaki.

“The deceased died a terrible death. His head was blown apart. The methods were exceedingly cruel. Such vicious criminals must naturally be pursued with every effort by our side.”

Yingzuo Teiaki’s eyes narrowed.

He glared viciously at Hua Mingxian and let out an angry snort.

“Deputy Director Hua, take care of yourself.”

Back in the automobile, Yingzuo Teiaki removed his gloves.

His face was filled with anger and grief.

“What have you found?” Yingzuo Teiaki asked in a low voice.

Among his entourage was a forensic expert from the Special Higher Police Section.

This man was not merely a forensic examiner.

He was exceptionally skilled at analysing details.

“Eiichi was probably first shot in the wrist by the assailants. His pistol fell, and he lost the ability to resist. He was then shot repeatedly at close range and killed.”

The forensic examiner paused.

His expression filled with fury.

“After Eiichi was killed, the murderer shot him in the head again.”

At this point, another Japanese man beside them spoke.

“Sir, is it possible Eiichi was kidnapped and the shot to the head was meant to conceal that fact?”

“The victim was indeed Eiichi.”

Yingzuo Teiaki shook his head.

He had personally examined the body.

Certain characteristics unknown to outsiders were sufficient to prove the deceased was truly Yingzuo Eiichi.

“Kouji was probably the first victim. He was attacked with lime powder, rendering him unable to open his eyes. He was then shot repeatedly at close range.”

The forensic examiner continued.

“There was lime powder on the ground near the doorway. The attackers likely used it when the door was opened and launched a surprise attack on Kouji.”

“How are Eguchi Hideya’s injuries?” Yingzuo Teiaki asked.

“Eguchi-kun lost a great deal of blood and is currently undergoing emergency treatment,” the forensic examiner replied.

“What do you think?” Yingzuo Teiaki asked.

“Eguchi-kun was struck by two bullets. One hit his shoulder during an exchange of gunfire with the attackers. The second struck his shoulder from behind while he was attempting to evade them. The injuries match the conditions at the scene.”

The forensic examiner continued.

“The attackers’ target was Eiichi. After killing Kouji, they immediately moved against Eiichi. This gave Eguchi Hideya a chance to recover and resist. The attackers did not dare prolong the fight, which is why Eguchi-kun was merely wounded and narrowly survived.”

Yingzuo Teiaki fell silent.

He did not suspect Eguchi Hideya.

In truth, he had no reason to suspect a hero who had just been commended by the Imperial Japanese military.

He had merely asked out of the instinctive thinking of a veteran intelligence officer:

Two were dead.

One survived.

The first thing to determine was whether the survivor could be ruled out as a suspect.

Yingzuo Teiaki clenched his fists.

Almost grinding his teeth, he spat out a name:

The Special Service Office!

There was no evidence.

There was no need for evidence.

He knew where the killers had come from.

The foremost opponent currently facing Japanese intelligence in China:

The Nationalist Government’s Special Service Office!

“Comrade Flame.”

Cheng Min took a sheet of paper from her clothing.

This was a record she had made of a telegram from the Red heartland in the northwest.

She had not carried the original on her person.

For security reasons, Cheng Min had memorised every word of the telegram.

Only half an hour earlier, she had written it out from memory so she could read it aloud to her younger brother.

“’In order to ensure the purity of Red Party members and revolutionary work, and to safeguard the great Red cause, and in accordance with our responsibility toward comrades within the Party, the Central Committee instructed the relevant departments and Party organisations in Shanghai and Hangzhou to investigate the circumstances surrounding Comrade Flame’s period of lost contact.’

“’The investigation has confirmed that every statement made by Comrade Flame is entirely true. Comrade Flame is a good comrade who has withstood the organisation’s scrutiny and trust.’”

“’Welcome back to the ranks, Comrade Flame.’”

“’Xiangwu, Wangyong, and Comrade Nongfu, June 29th, Year Twenty-Five of the Republic.’”

Cheng Qianfan froze.

This was a telegram that shocked him and moved him beyond words.

It was not merely a telegram announcing that he had passed the organisation’s investigation and was permitted to return.

It could even be said that Comrade Xiangwu, Comrade Wangyong, and Comrade Nongfu, three veteran leaders of the Special Branch, had jointly issued a formal certificate on his behalf.

Seeing her brother’s astonishment and emotion, Cheng Min was equally moved and delighted.

With this telegram jointly signed by Comrades Xiangwu, Wangyong, and Nongfu, everything that had happened during her brother’s period of lost contact could now be fully explained.

It could withstand any scrutiny.

At the same time, this telegram was both recognition and immense affirmation of her brother’s outstanding work, as well as protection for him.

Neither Cheng Min nor Cheng Qianfan could possibly know that while the telegram sent to Shanghai bore three signatures, the archived copy retained in the northwest contained one additional signature.

Cheng Min struck a match and lit the handwritten copy of the telegram.

Amid the firelight, the elder sister extended her hand.

The younger brother extended his hand.

Their two hands clasped tightly together.

Tears glistened in Cheng Min’s eyes.

“Welcome officially back to the ranks, Comrade Flame.”