Chapter 54: The Wandering Poet

Chapter 54: The Wandering Poet

It was a young man dressed in a Zhongshan suit.

A plain dark-gray cloth bag was slung diagonally across his body.

In his other hand he held a naval-style student cap popular among young students, its brim concealing the gun, leaving only a short section of the barrel exposed.

A flash of panic crossed Cheng Qianfan’s eyes.

Then he regained some composure.

“Who are you?”

“A Chinese man seeking revenge for the countless compatriots your Japanese have slaughtered.”

“I am merely an ordinary Japanese tourist. I have never done anything to harm Chinese friends.”

Cheng Qianfan said coldly,

“Please remain calm and do not bring trouble upon your country and government.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am merely an ordinary Japanese citizen who loves peace. However, if I suffer even the slightest harm, the soldiers and warships of the Empire of Japan will seek justice on my behalf.”

The sound of a staff member’s leather shoes striking the floor, Tap tap, drew closer.

The young man put away his gun and revealed a smile.

In Japanese, he said quietly,

“Miyazaki-kun, Kawada-kun invites you to sample some hometown liquor.”

“Kawada-kun?”

The surprise on Cheng Qianfan’s face turned into delight.

The young man nodded, took out a bottle of liquor and a note from his cloth bag, and respectfully placed them on the table.

The bottle happened to pin down the note.

“Miyazaki-kun, please enjoy.”

He bowed slightly.

Then turned and departed quickly.

Cheng Qianfan inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

This Japanese agent was too young.

His choice of words had been inaccurate.

His tone had not conveyed the bone-deep hatred a Chinese man should have toward Japanese people.

Even his facial acting was superficial.

Recently he had frequently crossed swords with masters such as his teacher Xiu Gongshen, the old fox Qin Detai, and even team leader Song Fuguo.

Suddenly encountering someone of such comparatively poor caliber, he had nearly found it difficult to cooperate convincingly.

“Sir, your newspaper.”

The staff member glanced at the young man hurrying away.

However, since Cheng Qianfan had said nothing, he had no intention of involving himself.

“Thank you. Just put it on the table.”

“Very well.”

After the staff member left, Cheng Qianfan picked up the old newspaper covering his waist.

While the newspaper made a faint rustling sound, there came a soft Click.

He switched the Mauser pistol at his waist back to the safety position.

With a casual movement, he adjusted the brightness of the lamp.

He picked up the bottle.

The seal was intact.

Then he picked up the note and read it.

“Miyazaki-kun, thank you.

Please forgive my discourtesy. I offer this hometown liquor as an apology and hope it may ease your homesickness a little.

Kawada Eikichi.”

Cheng Qianfan knew exactly what Kawada Eikichi meant by “thank you.”

He carefully folded the note.

Then he picked up the bottle and unscrewed the cap.

Bringing his nose close to the opening, he took a deep breath.

“Daiginjo, the taste of home. How nostalgic.”

Closing his eyes, he murmured softly.

He took a small sip.

The corners of his eyes seemed slightly moist.

In the corridor diagonally across from Cheng Qianfan’s berth, a young man pretended to admire the night scenery outside the window.

From his position, he could see the reflection in the train window.

Because Cheng Qianfan had turned on the lamp, every one of his movements was clearly visible in the glass.

He saw Cheng Qianfan wipe the corner of his eye.

Then, seemingly embarrassed, Cheng Qianfan smiled and shook his head before carefully screwing the cap back onto the bottle.

Afterward he picked up the newspaper and hid his face behind it.

Only then did the young man silently withdraw.

A faint smile appeared on Cheng Qianfan’s lips.

He lowered the newspaper and adopted the look of someone unable to resist temptation.

Unscrewing the bottle once more, he took another small sip.

Comfortably narrowing his eyes, he noticed that the shadow on the corridor floor had indeed disappeared.

There were ceiling lamps in the corridor.

Anyone standing beneath them would cast a shadow, just like a shadow beneath a streetlamp.

The young man had remembered to use the train window’s reflection to observe Cheng Qianfan.

Yet he had forgotten his own shadow.

Cheng Qianfan’s performance after turning on the lamp had nothing to do with discovering the shadow.

Even if nobody had been secretly watching him, he would have acted the same way.

At this moment, he was playing the role of Miyazaki Kentaro, a Japanese man with a story, one who missed his homeland and had unexpectedly encountered a fellow countryman.

He constantly reminded himself that he was like a precisely operating machine loaded with explosives.

There could not be the slightest error or carelessness.

Because one never knew which small mistake would bring complete destruction.

The young man returned to Kawada Eikichi’s side and reported quietly while covering his mouth.

Kawada Eikichi revealed a pleased smile.

Quickly pulling out a fountain pen, he scribbled a line in a notebook, tore off the slip of paper, and prepared to put it into his pocket.

After a moment’s thought, however, he stuffed the note into his mouth and swallowed it.

“Miyazaki-kun, I have duties to attend to. My apologies. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”

Kawada Eikichi sighed inwardly.

Meeting a fellow townsman was extremely rare.

He was delighted.

Having not returned to his hometown for many years, Kawada Eikichi longed to drink and chat with Miyazaki Kentaro.

Unfortunately, he was currently carrying out a mission.

He absolutely could not afford even the slightest lapse.

Cheng Qianfan was thinking.

Where had Kawada Eikichi’s group come from?

Where were they headed?

What was the purpose of their journey?

All of these remained mysteries.

Despite the many unanswered questions in his mind, Cheng Qianfan decided that unless Kawada Eikichi initiated contact again, he would have no further dealings with these people.

Kawada Eikichi’s vigilance and caution made Cheng Qianfan even more cautious.

This was a Japanese spy with extraordinarily rich experience in clandestine struggle.

Cheng Qianfan did not dare relax in the slightest.

He would strictly conduct himself according to the behavior expected of the “wandering poet” Miyazaki Kentaro.

Earlier, Kawada Eikichi had emphasized one point above all else:

Do not disturb them.

Kawada Eikichi believed Miyazaki Kentaro would understand.

And indeed, the wandering poet Miyazaki Kentaro understood and cooperated.

Kawada Eikichi appreciated this and expressed his thanks in the note.

Given that, Cheng Qianfan could not and should not disturb Kawada Eikichi again.

“Wandering poet,” “archaeological expert,” “historian,” and similar identities were all pieces of insider information he had learned at the East Asia Common Culture Academy.

The school arranged for Japanese students, or encouraged Japanese teachers and social scholars, to conduct research excursions, using public and legitimate identities such as these to carry out “investigations” and gather “local color” throughout China.

These people truly were not spies.

They absolutely did not participate in espionage activities.

They conducted normal research and wrote reports.

This was legitimate cultural exchange.

As a result, the National Government not only could not arrest them, it was obliged to protect their safety to prevent the Japanese from using any incident as a pretext to expand the war.

The humiliation of it was beyond words.

These studies and reports meticulously recorded everything they observed along their journeys.

Most importantly, they contained precise records of mountains, rivers, waterways, roads, and settlements.

These research materials would be compiled by institutions such as the East Asia Common Culture Academy and other Japanese schools, business associations, and even universities in Japan, becoming valuable and legitimate historical materials for educational and organizational use.

At the same time, these materials would secretly be submitted to the Japanese military and Foreign Ministry.

Special departments would analyze them and ultimately produce the most accurate military maps possible.

Cheng Qianfan analyzed his own choice.

He felt that selecting the identity of Miyazaki Kentaro as a “wandering poet” had been a relatively reasonable decision.

Not a spy, yet someone engaged in work that bore a subtle connection to espionage.

It was a highly flexible identity, one that allowed him to approach Kawada Eikichi without provoking excessive suspicion while still giving him freedom to control the degree of contact and involvement.

Cheng Qianfan rose and closed the compartment door.

Drawing the curtain shut, he lowered the lamp’s brightness and began writing rapidly in his notebook.

Afterward, he carefully tore the written pages into many strips.

After some thought, he tore out several blank pages behind them as well, stuffed them into his mouth, and swallowed them.

He had been writing with a fountain pen.

Pressure marks would remain on the paper.

After considering for a moment, he wrote a sentence in Chinese on a blank page:

“Alone in a foreign land, a stranger among strangers. Mr. Kawada has sent me a flask of sake from home. I am deeply grateful. The taste of home is intoxicating.”

Having finished all this, Cheng Qianfan pretended to be heading to the lavatory.

As he passed the neighboring compartment, his eyes met those of one of the bodyguards.

He nodded slightly.

The other man said nothing.

Only after Cheng Qianfan had walked more than ten meters away did he stand up, stretch lazily, and tell his companion that he was going to the lavatory and that the latter should stay alert.