Severing Ties with the Past

The sudden summer downpour came abruptly and vanished just as fast.

At a little past noon, when the two of them arrived at No. 8 Xiangshan Road, the rain had stopped and the sun was out again.

Sister Fang and the other two servants were quite surprised to see Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi return so suddenly right after finishing their meal.

"Sir, Miss Chen," Sister Fang hurriedly stood up from the sofa.

"Sister Fang, I am going to the northern region for business soon. You should take your daughter back home. This is your severance pay. Thank you for your hard work during this time." Li Wensheng drew a thick stack of fiat currency from his breast pocket and handed it over.

The stack of bills in Li Wensheng's hand was quite thick. With a single glance, Sister Fang estimated it to be around two thousand dollars.

Two thousand dollars in severance pay—Sister Fang froze for a moment, then hesitated a few seconds before taking the money.

"Sir, thank you. I'll go pack my things right away," Sister Fang said, bowing in gratitude. She then pulled her two daughters, who were still bewildered by the sudden dismissal, back to their room to pack.

"Mom, does this mean we don't have jobs anymore?" Once inside the back room, the eldest daughter asked with a disappointed expression on her face.

"Don't speak, just pack quickly," Sister Fang replied without looking back, already busy gathering their belongings.

After the three of them finished packing, Sister Fang instructed her two daughters, "Remember, never tell anyone that we worked as servants here."

Sister Fang was very perceptive. Li Wensheng's sudden dismissal coupled with the gift of several thousand fiat dollars indicated that he had run into trouble and wanted to avoid implicating them.

Both daughters were quite bewildered, but seeing Sister Fang's stern expression, they did not dare ask questions and hastily nodded in agreement.

After Sister Fang and her daughters left with their suitcases, Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi went upstairs to pack up anything that could prove Li Wensheng's identity. Afterward, Li Wensheng applied disguises to both himself and Chen Wenqi.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, a completely transformed Li Wensheng and Chen Wenqi walked out of the villa carrying their suitcases.

Li Wensheng's facial features remained unchanged, but his attire and demeanor had shifted dramatically. Wearing glasses, a pasted-on mustache, a meticulously slicked-back hairstyle, and a neat Western suit, he looked precisely like a young man who had just returned from studying abroad.

As for Chen Wenqi, Li Wensheng simply styled her to look like a mature married woman, with her hair swept up, dressed in a black gown and wearing a Western-style veiled beret. This gave her an entirely different aura compared to before.

Perhaps because this outfit accentuated her cold and striking temperament, it drew the gazes of many passersby on the street.

Carrying their luggage, the two found a modest inn and checked in.

Then, Li Wensheng went out alone, bought a handbag at a general store, and set off to find Bai Yan and the others.

"Knock, knock!"

He tapped on the door, and it was opened shortly after.

Li Wensheng's dramatic transformation prevented the student-like operative who opened the door from recognizing him instantly, and his eyes were filled with vigilance.

"Hello, who are you looking for..."

Before the student could finish, Li Wensheng lowered his voice and said, "It's me."

"Section Chief," the student said, stunned and surprised.

"Let's go inside to talk."

Still struggling to accept that he hadn't recognized Li Wensheng, the student closed the door behind Li Wensheng and continued to eye him curiously.

After a period of recuperation, even Bai Yan, who had been the most severely injured, was now able to get out of bed. As Li Wensheng entered the main parlor, hearing the commotion, they all walked over.

"Section Chief, what's with the look?" Bai Yan asked, rolling her dark, nimble eyes as she curiously sized him up.

"My identity has been exposed by the Japanese."

The expressions of Bai Yan and the others changed drastically. Shi Xiaozhen hurriedly spoke up, "Section Chief, come abroad with us."

"I still have matters to attend to, and besides, the exposure doesn't affect me much. Since you couldn't recognize me like this, outsiders certainly won't."

As he spoke, Li Wensheng placed the handbag on a nearby table.

"The Japanese have thoroughly investigated my background. I must sever all ties to my past. I won't be able to meet with you from now on, and you should also leave the country as soon as possible—the Japanese may have investigated you as well. Living abroad requires money; please accept this humble token of my regard."

"Section Chief, we've already bought our boat tickets and leave in a week."

Just as Shi Xiaozhen finished speaking, Bai Yan, who had picked up the handbag and unzipped it, gasped, "Section Chief, there must be at least ten thousand U.S. dollars in here!"

The other four immediately turned their gazes to the handbag Bai Yan had opened.

Seeing several thick stacks of U.S. dollars inside, all four were momentarily stunned.

"Section Chief, this is simply too much. You should take it back. We've managed to save a bit of money ourselves; it will be enough to settle down in America," Shi Xiaozhen urged anxiously.

"Keep it. Life for Chinese people in America is filled with hardships, and you will need money at every turn, otherwise, you simply cannot survive."

Shi Xiaozhen fell silent in thought for a few seconds. "Section Chief, thank you."

"Take care of yourselves. I must go."

Seeing Li Wensheng turn and walk away, Bai Yan quickly set down the handbag and called out, "Wait, Section Chief!"

Li Wensheng acted as though he didn't hear Bai Yan's voice and kept walking forward.

Seeing this, Bai Yan wanted to call out again, but before she could utter a word, Shi Xiaozhen stopped her.

Bai Yan could only watch as Li Wensheng's figure rapidly disappeared into the distance.

Noticing Bai Yan's dejected expression, Shi Xiaozhen wrapped an arm around her shoulder and comforted her in a low voice, "At a time like this, saying anything more is useless. Since it was never meant to be, don't dwell on it. Better to focus on your life ahead."

Bai Yan said nothing, merely letting out a quiet sigh.

As Bai Yan sighed softly in that room, far away in Chongqing, Li Wensheng's distant uncle by marriage was fiercely chewing out the head of the Military Statistics Bureau.

"Incompetent! Utterly incompetent! To actually let the Japanese find out his identity—it is beyond incompetent! If you can't even keep one person's identity secure, I might as well disband the Military Statistics Bureau altogether."

The head of the Military Statistics Bureau kept his head down, not daring to utter a word. As for the bureau being disbanded, he wasn't worried; it was merely a fit of anger from his superior and would never actually happen.

After venting his fury, the uncle's face turned dark and gloomy. "Where did the leak come from?"

"This subordinate has not yet ascertained the source, but I can guarantee it did not leak from the Military Statistics Bureau."

"Are you implying that the leak came from my Secretariat?" the uncle roared furiously.

"This subordinate has never thought such a thing. My view is that his identity was compromised either because he was careless and allowed the Japanese to track and discover him, or else..."

Seeing that he had suddenly trailed off, the uncle snapped, "Stopping halfway in front of me? Do you expect me to guess what's on your mind?"

"This subordinate wouldn't dare. I was merely wondering whether it was appropriate to speak."

"Out with it," the uncle commanded angrily.

"In this subordinate's view, either he was careless himself, or there is a Japanese spy within the Political Department. His identity within the Military Statistics Bureau was known to only a handful of people, including myself. Aside from me, those individuals were formerly his subordinates; if they were going to leak it, they would have done so long ago. The people in the Secretariat are all loyal to the Party and the State; they certainly wouldn't leak it. It can only be either the Political Department, which was tasked with hunting him down, or his own carelessness."

In an instant, fury flooded the uncle's face once more.

He knew it was impossible for Li Wensheng to have been carelessly tracked down by the Japanese. If the Japanese had possessed the ability to track Li Wensheng's movements, they would not have been utterly helpless when Li Wensheng attempted to assassinate Emperor Shōwa, leaving them with no recourse. The problem lay squarely within the Political Department.

The uncle cast a deep, piercing look at the head of the Military Statistics Bureau, picked up his teacup, and said slowly, "Speak. What problems have you discovered within the Political Department? You certainly wouldn't be saying this if you hadn't found something."

"A month ago, a subordinate of mine reported that Minister Xiang of the Political Department had been investigating Li Wensheng. He was investigated a month ago, and a month later, the Japanese knew his true identity. Therefore, this subordinate believes there is a Japanese spy in the Political Department."

Just as the tea reached his lips, the uncle froze mid-motion. Then—*crash!*

He hurled the teacup to the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" the uncle demanded, springing to his feet in rage.

"This subordinate... this subordinate... at the time, the people from the Political Department were actively hunting down Li Wensheng, and I mistakenly thought you had given the order, which is why I didn't report it."

The head of the Military Statistics Bureau wore a look of terror, though inwardly he was overjoyed.

He had known full well that the investigation into Li Wensheng by the Political Department could not have been ordered by the uncle; Li Wensheng's true identity was something the uncle would never allow anyone else to know.

Yet he had deliberately withheld the information, waiting for a crisis to erupt so that Xiang Zhanhua of the Political Department would be forced to take the blame.

The uncle reined in his anger, cast another deep look at the head of the Bureau, sat back down, and said slowly, "If I recall correctly, you and Xiang Zhanhua have bad blood between you, don't you? Back when the Military Statistics Bureau and the Political Department simultaneously discovered that a divisional commander in the East China Theater was compromised, the man was ultimately taken away by the Political Department. You intervened, but Xiang Zhanhua refused to give you face and wouldn't hand the man over."

Panic truly gripped the head of the Military Statistics Bureau this time, and he hurriedly replied, "This subordinate does indeed have a grievance with Minister Xiang, but in a matter of such magnitude, this subordinate would never dare to let personal vendettas override public duty."

The uncle did not believe these words, but he did not expose the lie, nor did he dwell on the matter.

At this point, whether there was a Japanese spy in the Political Department was no longer important.

What mattered was that he needed a scapegoat. Xiang Zhanhua's position carried just enough weight, and since it was indeed the Political Department personnel who had pursued Li Wensheng, Xiang Zhanhua was the absolute, tailor-made candidate to shoulder the blame.

"You may withdraw."

Hearing this, the head of the Military Statistics Bureau felt a great weight lift from his heart. "Yes, this subordinate takes his leave."

"The plan submitted earlier regarding how to deal with the Wang Jingwei puppet government—implement it as quickly as possible. If there are no results, you will need to find another seat for your position as Deputy Director of the Military Statistics Bureau."

Having taken only two steps toward the door, the bureau head heard those final words and felt panic seize him once more.

That remark made it instantly clear to him that his superior saw right through the affair concerning Xiang Zhanhua. He was not being punished simply because he was still useful; if he botched the operation against the puppet government, his superior would genuinely strip him of his post.

"Yes, this subordinate will ensure it is successfully executed."