Chapter 152: Moving House

Shortly after eight in the evening, moonlight illuminated the neon-lit yet eerie foreign concessions of Shanghai. Pedestrians crowded the streets, and looking down from above, the bustling concession stood in stark, unsettling contrast to the pitch-dark and lifeless surrounding areas.

It was past eight, and everyone was famished. Li Wensheng asked Bai Yan and the others about their physical condition, and upon hearing that they could manage to walk, the three of them helped the four wounded individuals out of bed and made their way toward Zheng Gong's office.

Passing through the secret passage back into the safe house, they emerged to find Wang Tianfeng eating by the table.

Li Wensheng had no desire to let Bai Yan and her companions become entangled with Wang Tianfeng, so he had intended to ignore him completely.

Yet, even as Li Wensheng remained silent, Wang Tianfeng spoke up.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Join me. I've stewed some soup, just right to help you recover your strength."

Instantly, Li Wensheng was filled with vigilance. Wang Tianfeng going out of his way to stew soup and invite them to eat definitely had an ulterior motive.

Though he did not know what that motive was, it was surely aimed at Bai Yan and the others, especially since he had previously promised Wang Tianfeng to help him commit murder.

Li Wensheng certainly did not want Bai Yan and the others to be manipulated by Wang Tianfeng. Wang Tianfeng's actions were so utterly unhinged that getting even slightly involved with him was exceedingly dangerous.

He wanted to refuse, but just as the words reached his lips—*rumble, rumble*.

Hearing the sounds of hunger coming from the stomachs of the people around him, Li Wensheng hesitated for a few seconds and changed his reply.

"Instructor, then we won't stand on ceremony."

The expressions of Shi Xiaozhen and the other four shifted dramatically. An instructor to Li Wensheng could only mean an instructor from the military intelligence training camp.

The Military Statistics Bureau—to think there was still someone who knew Li Wensheng's true identity, and whom Li Wensheng trusted enough to even lend him this secret passage hideout for temporary shelter. What on earth was going on here?

They pulled up chairs and sat close together, while Wang Tianfeng enthusiastically went to the kitchen to fetch bowls.

As soon as Wang Tianfeng left, Li Wensheng immediately lowered his voice and warned them, "His actions are extremely reckless and unhinged. If he asks you to do anything, whatever you do, don't agree."

The five of them stared at him in unison, dumbfounded. *Reckless? You actually have the nerve to call someone else reckless? Back in Nanjing, in order to complete your mission, you used an entire operational team as bait! Could he possibly be even crazier than you?*

"Section Chief, he's your instructor. Is your own madness perhaps a result of his influence?" Bai Yan looked weak, forced to lean against Shi Xiaozhen even while sitting, otherwise she would collapse. Yet, her intense curiosity had not diminished in the slightest due to her weakness.

"In your eyes, am I really considered reckless?"

Faced with Li Wensheng's genuine confusion, the five of them desperately wanted to retort: *Aren't you?*

At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside, and they instantly cut off their conversation.

Perhaps because Li Wensheng was present, or perhaps because Wang Tianfeng intended to wait until Bai Yan and the others had recovered their health before discussing anything, using this meal merely to build rapport, he brought up no business whatsoever while they ate.

Once the meal was finished, the group slowly filed out of the safe house.

***

Chen Wenqi had driven over, sparing them the need to take rickshaws.

Returning to the room behind the hotel opposite the Stare Newspaper office, Li Wensheng retrieved a brazier from the corner, set fire to the surgical waste he had brought from the clinic, and then walked into the bedroom. Dragging two burlap sacks out from under the bed, he hauled them out of the bedroom and said to the five of them, "Stay here to recover from your injuries for the time being, and try to go out as little as possible. While you're healing, you can also discuss which country you plan to move to."

Hearing the mention of foreign countries, Bai Yan immediately wanted to say she had no intention of leaving, but before she could speak, Shi Xiaozhen chimed in first.

"Section Chief, all our families have already gone to America. Once our wounds heal, we'll head to America as well."

"Very well. Focus on your recovery then."

After Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi left, Bai Yan immediately turned to the other four and asked, "Are you really planning on just leaving the country like this?"

"What else can we do if we don't leave? Don't you understand the Section Chief's intentions? He doesn't want us staying behind to work for him," Shi Xiaozhen countered.

Bai Yan found it hard to accept. After a daze, her expression turned deeply dejected.

"Bai Yan, don't overthink it. Our families are all abroad. Going abroad to be with our families is the right choice. Surely you aren't willing to abandon your family just for the Section Chief?" the Scholar said in a low voice.

Bai Yan lowered her head and remained silent for a moment before murmuring, "No wonder she managed to get close to the Section Chief. It turns out it's because she was able to abandon her family."

"Bai Yan, matters of the heart aren't calculated like that. Whether Section Chief Chen has family or not, we don't know—for all we know, she might be an orphan. Besides, it's entirely possible that Section Chief Chen and our Section Chief got together first, and only after that did she leave her family behind."

Having said this, seeing that Bai Yan was still sitting with her head down and refusing to speak, Shi Xiaozhen said no more. She signaled to the Scholar, and together they helped Bai Yan back to her room to rest.

******

A little past nine in the evening, the pedestrians on the street had thinned out somewhat. The car pulled into the secluded corner near the apartment building.

Once the car came to a smooth halt, Li Wensheng opened the small box inside, changed his clothes, used the dirty garments to vigorously wipe off the makeup on his face, and then hoisted the two sacks and walked home with Chen Wenqi.

"Mr. Li, what is the current production output of your factory?"

As ill luck would have it, just as they reached the fourth floor, they ran right into that foreign devil Thomson. Thomson was deeply invested in the burlap sack business and inquired about the production volume the moment he laid eyes on them.

"Mr. Thomson, I apologize. I've just recently acquired a factory, but it was previously a textile mill. Converting it to manufacture burlap sacks is going to take a little time."

Thomson looked somewhat disappointed, and then his gaze drifted to the two sacks in Li Wensheng's hands.

"Mr. Li, didn't you already test the sacks? Why are you testing them again? By the way, what kind of material did you use for this test to make them look so light when you carry them?"

"Nothing much, just some rice husks, which is why they appear so light."

"You tested them with rice husks?"

Seeing Thomson's suspicion growing heavier by the second, the smile on Li Wensheng's face vanished instantly. He gave Thomson a deep, chilling look and said in a low voice, "Mr. Thomson, sometimes, being overly curious is not a good thing."

Thomson's expression changed dramatically, and he said in panic, "I don't know anything, I know nothing at all! Mr. Li, I'll take my leave now."

Watching Thomson panic and turn to scurry upstairs, Li Wensheng called out, "Mr. Thomson, please stop."

Thomson froze instantly, turning his head back to look at Li Wensheng with terror in his eyes.

"M-Mr. Li, I, I..."

Thomson was so frightened he was stuttering. Li Wensheng interrupted him, "Mr. Thomson, you are supposed to be going out, not heading back in."

"Right, right, I'm going out." Thomson hurriedly turned and scrambled back down the stairs.

Passing right beside Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi, seeing that neither of them made any hostile move, Thomson let out a long sigh of immense relief, picked up his pace, and bolted out the door at a dead run.

Back inside their apartment, Chen Wenqi immediately said, "We have to change places. He's definitely going to report this to the police."

"Mmm."

Li Wensheng knew very well that Thomson would go to the police. For a foreigner to be threatened and intimidated by a Chinese person was a humiliation; Thomson would certainly report it.

As for not killing Thomson, it was simply because killing him would solve nothing. If Thomson vanished or died, his family would undoubtedly raise the alarm. Given that it involved a foreigner, no matter how busy the police station was, they would immediately dispatch investigators. As someone who had just met Thomson and lived in the same apartment building, he would undoubtedly be subjected to a rigorous investigation.

Wiping out an entire family was a line Li Wensheng was not yet willing to cross.

Packing up their belongings, they made several trips to haul their luggage and all six sacks into the car, and under the cover of night, the two of them drove off toward the small courtyard rented behind the New People Newspaper office.