Chapter 97: The Plan Succeeds

The man was brought over.

Wan Delong took a look.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a long gown with grease stains on the cuffs. The cloth shoes on his feet were split open. He looked utterly down and out.

Being stared at by everyone, the man was so frightened that his legs trembled. Instinctively, he was about to drop to his knees and beg for mercy.

“Stand up straight,” Cheng Qianfan said coldly.

The man swallowed hard. Haozai grabbed him and barely managed to keep him standing upright.

“What’s your name?” Wan Delong asked.

“My name, my name is Ma Xiwen.” Ma Xiwen’s voice trembled.

Wan Delong frowned slightly and looked at Cheng Qianfan, silently asking whether a man this frightened could actually do the job.

“Gu Changyou is inside that teahouse. In a moment, you’re going in there to make trouble.” Cheng Qianfan pointed toward the teahouse.

“I don’t dare. I really don’t dare anymore.” Ma Xiwen waved his hands frantically.

“If you’re told to go, then go. Why so much nonsense?” Wan Delong rebuked him.

“We’re not on Gu Changyou’s side. We’re here to arrest him.” Cheng Qianfan patted the man’s shoulder. “Understand?”

“Y-yes, understand.” Ma Xiwen nodded furiously, his face miserable. “Officer, I don’t dare.”

He wasn’t stupid.

From the way things looked, he could tell there was danger involved.

A miserable life was still better than a good death. He did not want to die.

“Ten silver dollars.”

Grabbing Ma Xiwen by the collar, Cheng Qianfan said, “Go make trouble. If it succeeds, you’ll get ten silver dollars. Refuse, and we’ll kill you.”

Those words seemed to possess some strange magic.

After hearing them, Ma Xiwen’s legs stopped shaking, and some life returned to his eyes.

Swallowing hard, he asked, “Officer, can you add a little more?”

He truly didn’t know what was good for him.

Wan Delong and He Qichen both cursed inwardly.

“Fine. Fifteen silver dollars,” Cheng Qianfan said.

Seeing that the man seemed about to continue bargaining, he grabbed a fistful of his hair.

“One more word and I’ll kill you!”

“Fifteen silver dollars? You’ll really pay?” Ma Xiwen asked quietly, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Cheng Qianfan held out a hand toward Wan Delong.

“Team Leader Wan.”

Wan Delong extended a hand toward He Qichen.

Grumbling curses, He Qichen reached into his pocket.

Several subordinates pooled together fifteen silver dollars and handed them over.

Cheng Qianfan placed the fifteen silver dollars into Ma Xiwen’s hand.

The man’s eyes immediately lit up.

After stuffing the money into his pocket, he seemed to come back to life entirely.

“Officer, just watch.”

“Mule, you go too. Stay with him.”

Wan Delong pointed at one of his men.

Cheng Qianfan glanced at him.

The agent had a pointed face and monkey-like features, skinny and wiry. At first glance he looked like a street hoodlum.

Team Leader Wan certainly had a good eye for choosing people.

Hengrun Teahouse.

Private room.

Endo Hiroshi was reviewing the materials Gu Changyou had brought. A delighted smile hung on his face.

Just as he had guessed, for money, Gu Changyou would do anything.

Copies of military conference records, hydrographic data concerning Hangzhou Bay, Gu Changyou had obtained all of it for him.

“Mr. Liu, I’ve brought the medicine. Where’s the payment?” Gu Changyou asked.

“Doctor Gu, don’t worry. This isn’t our first cooperation. Please trust my sincerity and reputation,” Endo Hiroshi said with a smile.

Gu Changyou smiled but said nothing.

Sincerity? Reputation?

Only a ghost would believe that.

He would only feel secure after seeing the money.

Foolish and greedy Chinese!

Endo Hiroshi cursed inwardly.

He took out two bank drafts.

“One is a draft worth two thousand five hundred silver dollars.”

“And this one is a one-thousand-silver-dollar gold redemption voucher. Sumitomo Bank. Payment upon presentation.”

Gu Changyou accepted the drafts and examined them carefully.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“Boss Liu is straightforward.”

“Gu Changyou, you bastard! Get out here! Bastard! Don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding in here!”

At that moment, the two men heard angry shouting from outside, along with sounds of pushing and pulling.

“What’s going on?”

Endo Hiroshi’s expression changed.

“Over there! That room!”

A man’s voice rang out.

Then came the sound of someone running toward the private room, followed by people in pursuit.

Endo Hiroshi pulled a Mauser pistol from beneath the table and started to stand.

“Gu Changyou, you killed my brother! You think a little dirty money can make this go away? No chance!”

Already frightened enough, Gu Changyou calmed down when he heard those words.

“That damn pest just won’t go away,” he cursed.

“You know him?” Endo Hiroshi looked at Gu Changyou.

“That incident last year. A poor schoolteacher. The patient who died.” Gu Changyou sounded impatient.

Endo Hiroshi relaxed and returned the pistol to the drawer.

Naturally, he knew about the case in which Gu Changyou had caused a death through malpractice.

They had been watching Gu Changyou for quite some time and had thoroughly investigated his affairs.

“How did he track you here?” Endo Hiroshi asked irritably.

“How should I know? He’s been blocking my way these past few days. Who knew he’d find this place?” Gu Changyou replied unhappily.

At that moment, the private room door was pushed open.

Ma Xiwen’s long gown had been torn apart.

He rushed straight in and pointed at Gu Changyou.

“So, Gu, you’re really hiding here!”

Endo Hiroshi glanced at the subordinate who hurried in after him and shot him a glare.

The subordinate felt somewhat wronged himself.

These two weren’t Chinese agents. They were merely here to seek revenge against Gu Changyou.

The men had only dared block them and had not used serious force.

Who would have thought the pair would prove surprisingly formidable and actually break in?

The subordinate looked to Endo Hiroshi for instructions.

Endo Hiroshi shook his head.

As long as they weren’t Chinese agents, there was no need to create additional complications.

If they attracted the police, things would become troublesome.

“Gu, pay up!” Ma Xiwen lunged toward Gu Changyou.

Endo Hiroshi grabbed him.

“Sir, whatever grievances you have with Doctor Gu are none of my concern. But do not cause trouble in my teahouse.”

“Oh, so Gu has helpers now, does he?” Ma Xiwen spat a thick glob of phlegm directly onto Endo Hiroshi’s face.

The act disgusted Endo Hiroshi immensely.

“Bastard!”

He frantically tried to wipe it off.

Just then, the agent who had entered alongside Ma Xiwen suddenly exploded into action.

Charging forward, he slammed both Endo Hiroshi and Ma Xiwen to the floor while shouting, “Pay up!”

Seeing this, Endo Hiroshi’s subordinates rushed in and kicked Mule.

Despite taking two kicks, Mule stubbornly clung to Endo Hiroshi.

Then, suddenly vicious, he bit down hard on Endo Hiroshi’s ear.

“Ahhh!”

“Bastard!”

Wracked with pain, Endo Hiroshi grabbed the man’s hair and pulled desperately.

The room descended into chaos.

At that very moment, the Japanese agents attempting to rescue Endo Hiroshi let out several muffled groans and collapsed one after another.

Startled, Endo Hiroshi twisted his head around.

He saw a group of men surrounding him, some holding pistols, others gripping daggers.

I’ve been tricked!

Endo Hiroshi was filled with regret and fury.

He could not understand how Chinese agents had gotten onto his trail.

With all his strength, he shoved away the man pinning him down and tried to scramble toward the table.

His target was the pistol inside the drawer.

Cheng Qianfan lunged forward in a single stride and kicked Endo Hiroshi back to the ground.

Before the man could react, Cheng Qianfan stepped forward again, bent down, and drove an elbow into Endo Hiroshi’s neck.

That single blow robbed Endo Hiroshi of the ability to resist.

Cheng Qianfan pried open his mouth.

Working with practiced coordination, Haozai immediately reached inside and checked for concealed poison.

After confirming there was none, he skillfully pulled out a filthy rag from his pocket and stuffed it into Endo Hiroshi’s mouth.