Chapter 164: Killing Wang Shian

September 25th fell on the twelfth day of the eighth lunar month, just a few days away from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

During these nights, the moon was a waxing gibbous, casting an exceptionally bright moonlight that illuminated the late night as if it were day.

At midnight, Li Wensheng got up from his pallet on the floor and began to dress.

Once dressed, he sat before the vanity, adjusted his makeup in the moonlight streaming through the window, and walked toward the bedroom door.

"Be careful."

Having taken only two steps, Li Wensheng felt a warmth in his heart. He turned back toward Chen Wenqi, who had propped herself up in bed, and smiled, "I will."

Stepping out of the bedroom, he pulled out the note Chen Moqun had given him earlier, glanced at it, and hurried downstairs.

Although he had decided not to meet with Chen Moqun again, Li Wensheng felt he still needed to fulfill the task Chen Moqun had entrusted to him.

The moonlight was so resplendent that many people with too much time on their hands were still wandering the streets late at night.

With so many wanderers about, Li Wensheng enjoyed a natural cover; his presence on the street attracted no attention whatsoever.

Wang Shi'an outwardly lived near the Huaxing Foreign Firm, but in reality, his residence was directly behind the French Concession Municipal Council.

Pétain Road was somewhat far from the Municipal Council, and it was past one in the morning by the time Li Wensheng arrived.

Following the house number, he came to a Western-style villa, peered through the iron fence at the grounds, and checked his surroundings. Then, he stepped up to a courtyard wall, gave a light leap, grabbed the top, and vaulted inside.

Upon landing, he drew his dagger and walked briskly toward the house.

The windows were tightly shut and bolted from the inside, rendering even expert lock-picking skills useless.

Li Wensheng circled the house once and finally stopped beside a window at the back.

Glancing upward, he bit the handle of his dagger, grabbed the drainpipe running alongside the window, and climbed rapidly.

While the first-floor windows were firmly secured, the second floor offered no such barrier because it featured a balcony.

Reaching the height of the second floor, Li Wensheng shifted his body slightly, launched himself a meter across the open air, caught the edge of the balcony railing, and swung himself over, landing silently on the balcony.

The balcony felt distinctly modern, furnished with a small table, two chairs, and several potted plants.

Li Wensheng glanced around, removed the dagger from his teeth, put it away, and produced a piece of wire to pick the lock of the small balcony door. Suddenly, a sharp ringing shattered the quiet: *ding, ding, ding*—the telephone was ringing.

Li Wensheng instantly squatted down and pressed his back against the wall.

The moment he crouched, the lights inside flickered on, followed by a voice.

"Wang-san."

The surrounding silence allowed Li Wensheng's acute hearing to function at its absolute limit, enabling him to catch every word from the telephone clearly.

*Wang-san*—the other party was Japanese. Li Wensheng instantly knitted his brows.

"I told you not to contact me by phone. If there is something to discuss, we meet in person," Wang Shi'an's tone betrayed both tension and annoyance.

"Wang-san, you needn't worry. I have arranged for someone at the telephone exchange; no one will ever know we spoke."

"Speak, what is it?" Wang Shi'an demanded impatiently.

"Wang-san, we need you to find out the whereabouts of Li Wensheng."

"Even you people can't track him down, so how am I supposed to? He doesn't even contact the Military Statistics Bureau."

"Wang-san, don't you suspect that the relationship between Chen Moqun and Li Wensheng is more complicated than it appears on the surface? Investigating Chen Moqun might just lead you to Li Wensheng."

"How am I supposed to investigate Chen Moqun? I don't even have any men under my command. It's impossible for me to pull someone from the Military Statistics Bureau to tail him."

Wang Shi'an's tone was frantic. On the other end of the line, silence hung for several seconds before the voice resumed.

"Wang-san, if you cannot investigate him, then so be it.

"There is something else, however, with which you must assist. According to our intelligence, some time ago, the Military Statistics Bureau headquarters dispatched a team to Shanghai to execute a plan code-named 'Bat.' The team leader is none other than Wang Tianfeng, Li Wensheng's former instructor at the Fuxing Society.

"Wang-san, has this team made contact with your Shanghai Station?"

"No, we have received no such orders whatsoever. We had no idea such a team existed," Wang Shi'an replied, his tone laden with astonishment.

"Wang-san, Military Statistics Bureau personnel understand their own people better than we do. Please help us track down Wang Tianfeng's movements."

"I'll do my best."

"Wang-san, the moment you locate Wang Tianfeng, I will wire ten thousand US dollars into your account at the Mei Feng Bank as a token of our appreciation for your hard work."

"Very well."

Wang Shi'an's acceptance was dripping with excitement.

Then, with a sharp click, the line went dead.

As soon as the call ended, Li Wensheng crept toward the balcony door and pulled out the wire to work the lock.

With two gentle twists, the latch gave way. Li Wensheng pocketed the wire, stood up, and then—*bang!*

With a soft kick, he flung the door open and instantly leaped back behind the wall.

Although the sound of the door opening was faint, Li Wensheng knew Wang Shi'an would have noticed.

While Wang Shi'an lacked exceptional abilities, he would have been dead a hundred times over if he possessed no such basic vigilance.

As the door swung open—*bang, bang!*

Two gunshots rang out, bullets piercing through the empty doorway.

Seeing no target, Wang Shi'an immediately ceased firing and shouted nervously, "Which hero honors me with a visit?"

No reply came. Wang Shi'an grew even more tense. Clutching his pistol, he cautiously stepped down from the bed, calling out, "I have always enjoyed making friends from all walks of life.

"My friend, how about we talk? If you are short on funds, I am quite willing to offer some financial assistance."

So saying, he padded barefoot across the floor and walked slowly toward the balcony.

Noticing that the balcony remained silent, Wang Shi'an quickened his pace.

Pressing his side against the open doorway with his pistol raised, he stepped out onto the balcony. Finding it completely empty, he froze in bewilderment.

He then strode to the edge of the balcony and looked down, whereupon terror seized him.

Just below the balcony, Li Wensheng was hanging by one hand, pressing his entire body flat against the exterior wall while looking up.

The spot where Li Wensheng hung happened to be directly behind a potted plant—the very plant standing right in front of where Wang Shi'an now stood.

As Wang Shi'an looked down, his gaze collided directly with Li Wensheng's eyes.

Though Li Wensheng's appearance had changed significantly, seeing someone hanging from the wall by one hand instantly made Wang Shi'an realize who it was.

"Li Wensheng!"

Wang Shi'an screamed in sheer terror and immediately raised his gun to shoot.

*Bang!*

The shot rang out, but the bullet only struck the balcony ceiling.

Before Wang Shi'an could fire a second time, Li Wensheng engaged his core strength, vaulted upward, grabbed Wang Shi'an's wrist, forced the barrel toward the sky, and tackled him onto the balcony floor.

With Li Wensheng subduing his right hand, any further shots Wang Shi'an fired would only hit the ceiling.

Realizing he could no longer shoot his assailant, Wang Shi'an panicked and began to plead, "Section Chief Li, Section Chief Li, spare me—"

Before he could finish, *thud!* Li Wensheng delivered a restrained blow to Wang Shi'an's temple, sending him reeling into dizziness and plunging his consciousness into darkness.

Crouching over Wang Shi'an's body, Li Wensheng sat up, forced open his right hand to take the pistol, and then grabbed one of the small stools from the side, smashing it down onto Wang Shi'an's head.

Killing Wang Shi'an could neither expose his own involvement nor raise suspicions that an operative had done it. Li Wensheng had already planned to stage the scene as a robbery-homicide.

The small stool was flimsy and shattered upon impact.

*Crack!*

He picked up the second small stool and smashed it down; it broke just as easily. Finally, he grabbed a heavy potted plant from the balcony and slammed it repeatedly.

Once the pottery shards of the broken pots littered the floor, Li Wensheng checked Wang Shi'an's pulse. Finding a faint trace of life remaining, he scanned the ground, picked up a sharp ceramic shard, and drove it neatly into Wang Shi'an's neck.

After waiting a few seconds, he checked the pulse again. Satisfied that Wang Shi'an was dead, Li Wensheng stood up and walked back into the room.

Wang Shi'an lived alone in this small villa. Li Wensheng searched both the bedroom and the study, unearthing one thousand US dollars, ten large gold bars, and a stash of fiat currency.

After depositing the cash and gold into his system inventory, he hurried downstairs, pulled back the front door bolt, used his dagger to carve a few deliberate scratch marks around the latch, manipulated the lock with his wire, and finally stepped out into the night.