Chapter 40: Contempt, Something Went Wrong

As soon as he entered, Li Wensheng, parched with thirst, didn’t even pause for a drink before turning urgently to Xiao Mao. “Hurry and notify Deputy Captain Yu. Have him send men to keep watch on the warehouse at 25 Yongning Street, Pukou, around the clock.”

Last night’s gunfire had already alerted the Japanese. If they were cautious, even if they hadn’t caught anyone, they would likely move the warehouse. If they waited too long, the Japanese might have relocated all their supplies by then.

Xiao Mao immediately understood—Li Wensheng had found the warehouse where the Japanese kept their supplies. Without delay, he rushed out to find Yu Jiarong.

“Captain, you found the warehouse?” Bai Yan’s eyes were filled with disbelief. Li Wensheng had only been out for a day and already uncovered the warehouse’s location. Was Li Wensheng truly that resourceful, or had the previous Intelligence Section at Nanjing Station simply been too incompetent?

Li Wensheng picked up the teacup and teapot on the table, took a sip, and finally replied, “Yes, I was lucky. I found it. Don’t call me for lunch; I need to catch up on sleep.”

Seeing Li Wensheng heading upstairs as he spoke, Bai Yan pursed her lips and turned away to prepare lunch.

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

Knock, knock!

The rapping at the door snapped Li Wensheng awake from the bed.

“Who is it?”

“Wensheng, it’s me.” Yu Jiarong’s voice came from outside.

“Hold on, let me get dressed.”

After putting on his clothes, Li Wensheng opened the door and let Yu Jiarong in. Closing the door behind him, Yu Jiarong immediately asked, “Wensheng, I’ve assigned men to keep watch on the warehouse. As for the explosives, I’m making arrangements. If all goes well, we’ll have them by tomorrow night. When do we move?”

“No rush. We wait a few more days. We’re short-handed. We can’t do as before, bombing every time we find something as Chief Rao did, then coming back to bomb again after the Japanese restocked. We have only one chance. We must wait until the Japanese have amassed a large quantity of supplies before we strike.”

“But what if the Japanese suddenly ship the supplies to the front by train? If that happens, we won’t have time to blow it up,” Yu Jiarong said, frowning.

“They won’t. The war at the front has only just started a few days ago. The Japanese won’t transport their supplies that quickly.” Li Wensheng’s tone was firm, and since his reasoning was sound, Yu Jiarong said no more.

He glanced toward the door, then lowered his voice. “Wensheng, just now I received a radio message, sent with the Nanjing Station cipherbook. The message said, if we discover Western medicine among the supplies, leave it behind. He’s willing to pay a high price for it.”

Li Wensheng gazed deeply at Yu Jiarong, a faint, ambiguous smile crossing his face. “Jiarong, is your radio team on twenty-four hours?”

Yu Jiarong’s expression stiffened, then he sighed in resignation. “I knew I couldn’t fool you. I’ll be direct: the brothers have families to feed. Western medicine is in high demand. One crate of it fetches at least twenty taels of gold. Wensheng, we risk our lives for Military Intelligence. If you want to put it nobly, it’s for the country; more plainly, it’s so we can live better lives. If there’s money to be made, why shouldn’t we earn it? Don’t you agree?”

Li Wensheng nodded slightly; he understood well enough.

Everyone wanted a better life, but the meager salary from Military Intelligence was barely enough to keep hunger at bay, let alone live well. He himself had traded goods before; when he was in Shanghai, he’d sometimes sold off seized items on the black market.

“That’s fine. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the mission, keep any Western medicine you can. But let’s be clear—I want half.”

Yu Jiarong’s face fell instantly. “Wensheng, half is too much. You’re in charge of Nanjing Station now, so you don’t need to grease any palms above, but the brothers below still need their share. If you take half, there’s not much left for them. If they get too little, they might blow the whistle on our side business.”

Li Wensheng’s eyes flashed with disdain. “Don’t worry. The supplies sent to the front are always the same: canned goods, medicine, and firearms. There’s bound to be plenty of Western medicine, and with such quantity, half will be more than enough for everyone.”

Yu Jiarong thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, but if the quantity isn’t so great, you can’t take half—four-tenths at most.”

“Fine. But, Jiarong, let’s focus on the main task first. We haven’t even blown up the warehouse yet, and here we are already dividing the spoils. If we can’t even get inside, that would be a real disgrace.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll get the explosives ready right away,” Yu Jiarong agreed hastily.

“Jiarong, once you have the explosives, contact the four team leaders and have them head to Pukou discreetly. And you’ll need to prepare a boat. Once the warehouse is blown, the Japanese will swarm in from all sides. Our only escape will be down the Yangtze from behind the warehouse.”

“No problem; I’ll start preparing right away.”

With their business concluded, Yu Jiarong took his leave, having mainly come to discuss the matter of the Western medicine.

After he left, Li Wensheng went downstairs and out to buy something to eat.

Three days later, after staying at home, Yu Jiarong arrived again, a little after two in the afternoon.

“Wensheng, the men I sent to watch the Japanese warehouse report that every night until yesterday, the Japanese were sending in three truckloads of goods. But last night, not only did they not deliver anything, they also increased security. Now there are Japanese patrols outside the warehouse, and the roads are blocked—no one and no vehicles allowed through.”

Li Wensheng immediately put down his book and paced a few steps. “Looks like the supplies are all in place; the Japanese aren’t hiding it anymore. Jiarong, take your men to Pukou in advance. In three days, we’ll act.”

“Alright. I’ll take the men over. When the time comes, meet me at the very end of Lane Eight, Yongning Street—I’ve already arranged a house there.”

“Understood.”

After Yu Jiarong left, Li Wensheng took a key from under his pillow and went out to find Xiao Mao. He instructed him to go to the newspaper office and place a missing persons notice using the contact information he’d left with Wen Jing. Then, Xiao Mao was to go to the second floor of a hostel diagonally opposite Jingfu Embroidery Shop, open Room 203, and place a flowerpot on the balcony.

With the key in hand, Xiao Mao departed, and Li Wensheng told Bai Yan and the others to pack up their things.

The next morning, Li Wensheng had Bai Yan call over Shi Xiaozhen and the others.

“Group Leader Shi, take your people to the very end of Lane Eight, Yongning Street in Pukou to find Deputy Captain Yu. Bai Yan, you come with me to see Group Leader Wen.”

Shi Xiaozhen nodded, gathered Shusheng and the others, and left first.

Then Li Wensheng and Bai Yan set out. They bought a newspaper and had breakfast at a roadside stall, reading as they ate.

Once he confirmed the missing persons notice had been published, Li Wensheng set the newspaper aside. After breakfast, he headed toward the street where Jingfu Embroidery Shop was located.

As they neared the shop, Li Wensheng slowed his pace and murmured, “Don’t look around. Just keep walking as if nothing’s unusual.”

Bai Yan’s heart tightened—only now did she notice how many young men there were on the street.

She dared not look more closely and quickly took Li Wensheng’s arm, walking nonchalantly onward.

As they passed the hostel under the watchful eyes of dozens of plainclothes agents, Li Wensheng quietly exhaled in relief.

But in the next instant, “Stop!”

The awkward Chinese shouted from behind made Bai Yan freeze.

Li Wensheng stopped, using his arm to turn the stiff Bai Yan around.

“Mister—” Before Li Wensheng could finish, a loud shout came from the side, “That’s him!”

The voice was unmistakably Wen Jing’s.

“Damn!” Li Wensheng cursed inwardly, then drew his pistol from his waist and fired at the plainclothes agent who’d called out.

Bang!

Before the other agents could react, Li Wensheng swung his gun toward another agent and fired, at the same time pulling Bai Yan quickly into a nearby alley.

Bang—a second agent fell. The rest, regaining their wits, drew their guns and fired at Li Wensheng through the panicking, fleeing crowd.

Bai Yan drew her pistol as well, but before she could shoot, a powerful force slammed her three meters into the alley.

Li Wensheng had thrown himself into the alley with her, then sprang up and fired two quick shots.

Taking down two agents approaching the mouth of the alley, Li Wensheng grabbed the rising Bai Yan and hurried toward the far end.

With Bai Yan in tow, their pace was slower. Midway, Li Wensheng heard the pounding footsteps closing in behind. He spun and fired rapidly at the agents just reaching the alley.

Bang, bang, bang—three shots dropped two agents and forced the others to take cover behind the wall, not daring to advance.

As Bai Yan turned to shoot, Li Wensheng stopped her. “Keep running. I’ll catch up.”

Even as he spoke, he fired another shot, dropping an agent who’d tried to peer around the corner.

In a moment like this, Bai Yan didn’t hesitate. She turned and ran.

Li Wensheng felt a wave of relief—he’d been worried she might slow him down.

Bang—another agent went down as Li Wensheng reloaded.

Suddenly, Bai Yan’s urgent voice sounded behind him. “Captain!”

Bang, bang—Li Wensheng fired toward the corner as he retreated several meters, then turned and dashed forward.

In a flash, he caught up to Bai Yan, moving so quickly she was stunned.

“Go!” he said, grabbing her hand and running into a side alley.

The maze of lanes twisted left and right. Soon, Li Wensheng had left the agents far behind.

He and Bai Yan then hurried toward Pukou.