Chapter 64: Ren Zuhong

“That night, did any of you see a dog?” Li Wensheng scrutinized the four men as he spoke.

They froze, saying nothing.

“Lao Niu, use force on this one,” Li Wensheng pointed at the third man on the left.

Just a moment earlier, this man’s eyes had flickered.

Before Lao Niu could approach, the man panicked and blurted, “Yes, there was a dog.”

“What time? What did it look like?”

“Around four in the morning, I think. The dog looked odd, its fur was very long, black and white. I’ve never seen a dog like that before. I even looked at it a couple more times.”

Li Wensheng’s eyes lit up. “Did you see which way it ran?”

“I did. It ran toward Baixing Street.”

Li Wensheng immediately got up and strode out.

After leaving the Zhongtong headquarters, Li Wensheng took Da Niu with him and returned to the Second Bureau of the Military Intelligence.

He summoned Shi Xiaozhen to his office, placed the woman’s handbag on the desk, and asked casually, “Are those two people securely detained?”

“Yes, Chief. I have them locked in the interrogation cells of the Second Bureau. I’ve already given orders—no one is to see them without your permission.”

Li Wensheng walked over to a side table, picked up a thermos, and poured himself some water. “Has anyone come asking about those two?”

“Yes. Sixth Brother personally escorted them here—it caused quite a stir. Director Tian and Deputy Director Feng both asked about it. Following your instructions, I told them you were carrying out a classified mission and brushed them off.”

Back at his desk, Li Wensheng took a sip of hot water, put down the cup, and said, “Keep those two locked up. I’ll deal with them once I’m finished with my current tasks.”

That woman had no qualities of a trained agent; she was probably a recruit for the Japanese spies. The Zhongtong man was likely neither a Japanese spy nor a recruit. If he were, he wouldn’t have maintained an open relationship with that woman, nor would the Japanese have been so careless as to give her their contact information—they would only contact her unilaterally. Further investigation would take considerable effort. For now, tracking down the document was more pressing.

“Yes, Chief.”

Li Wensheng turned and fetched a map of the Yuzhong District from the cabinet. Picking up a pencil, he drew a semicircle behind Baixing Street. This arc encompassed half of Baixing Street and three neighboring streets.

“Tomorrow, take the new recruits and canvass this area. The target is a black and white dog with long fur.”

The other half of Baixing Street was already cordoned off by soldiers and had been thoroughly searched. Residents had been evacuated from that area, so there was no need to investigate further.

Shi Xiaozhen studied the marked area carefully and committed it to memory. “Yes, Chief.”

Li Wensheng sat down and opened the woman’s handbag, handing the miniature camera inside to Shi Xiaozhen. “Have someone develop the photos.”

After Shi Xiaozhen left with the camera, Li Wensheng rummaged through the handbag. Aside from some cosmetics, a few banknotes, and a white handkerchief, there was nothing else. He put everything back in the handbag and locked it in the drawer. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Chief!”

“Come in.”

The door opened and Scholar and Gun Nut entered.

“Chief, here are the files on Liu Zukang and Ren Zuhong,” Scholar said, handing over two folders.

Li Wensheng took them. “Good work. Take a break, both of you.”

Scholar set down a set of car keys and left with Gun Nut.

After spending half an hour reading the files on Liu Zukang and Ren Zuhong, Li Wensheng left his office.

“Deputy Chief Shi, go invite Chief Ren of the General Affairs Section to come over. Tell him I need his cooperation with a classified mission,” Li Wensheng called to Shi Xiaozhen, who was assigning tasks to the new recruits for tomorrow’s canvassing.

Shi Xiaozhen quickly replied, “Yes, Chief.”

Ren Zuhong had always been all smiles, like a living Buddha, but when summoned to Li Wensheng’s office, he wore a face as bitter as a gourd.

“Chief Li, you wanted to see me?”

Noticing Ren Zuhong’s nervous expression, Li Wensheng frowned slightly. Only Tian Bin and Feng Shuyan had inquired and knew he was on a secret assignment, yet Ren Zuhong seemed particularly anxious.

“The Second Bureau is really too lax,” Li Wensheng thought to himself, then smiled. “Chief Ren, please have a seat. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Chief Li, go ahead. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Ren Zuhong was visibly tense, barely perched on the edge of his chair.

“Chief Ren, both you and Liu Zukang, the former chief of the Defense and Investigation Section, served in the Forty-Second Division. You were close friends, weren’t you?”

Ren Zuhong’s eyes widened in alarm. “Chief Li, are you investigating Chief Liu?”

He caught himself instantly and amended, “Sorry, Chief Li, I spoke out of turn. Please ignore that.”

“Chief Ren, just tell me about your relationship with Liu Zukang.”

“Yes, yes. Zukang and I were extremely close. Back in the Forty-Second Division, we served in the same platoon—he was the platoon leader, I his deputy. During the 1931 campaign against the Communists, our platoon was ambushed and suffered heavy losses. He was shot several times, and I carried him to the field hospital and saved him. Later, I joined the Rejuvenation Society and saw less of him. Last year, I was transferred here as chief of General Affairs and found he was here too. Given our past, we naturally remained close.”

“No wonder Liu Zukang tried to cover for Ren Zuhong before—it was a debt of gratitude,” Li Wensheng thought. He then cut to the chase. “Chief Ren, was it you who advised him to curry favor with the British?”

Ren Zuhong became flustered. “I did mention it, but it was just in passing. You can’t call that prompting. Chief Li, you can’t suspect me just because of one remark. These days, foreigners are treated like royalty, especially the British economic advisor. Anyone with ambition would try to get on his good side.”

Li Wensheng, who had been watching Ren Zuhong’s eyes, felt a tinge of disappointment. His reaction was entirely normal, which indicated either he was a master manipulator feigning innocence, or he truly had no ulterior motive. Li Wensheng was inclined toward the latter. If Ren Zuhong were truly cunning, he wouldn’t have told Liu Zukang directly, but would have found subtler ways to influence him.

“Chief Ren, Chief Ren, don’t get worked up. I wasn’t suspicious of you. If I were, we wouldn’t be meeting here but in an interrogation cell.”

Some of the anxiety faded from Ren Zuhong’s face.

“Chief Li, you have a keen eye for detail. I, Ren Zuhong, am a loyal old hand in the Military Intelligence. I would never betray my country.”

Li Wensheng smiled, got up, and poured tea for Ren Zuhong as he spoke. “Chief Ren, don’t be upset. I don’t suspect you. This matter is simply too important for any carelessness, so I must clarify everything.”

“I understand, Chief Li. You’re responsible for a crucial mission—it’s right to ask questions.”

“Here, Chief Ren, have some tea.”

“Thank you.” Ren Zuhong accepted the cup.

Just as he lifted the cup to his lips, Li Wensheng asked from the side, “Chief Ren, since you know Liu Zukang so well, do you know if he has any family or friends in the city?”

Ren Zuhong quickly set the cup down. “Chief Li, the Second Bureau’s only just been formed, and I’ve only been back in touch with Zukang for about three months. I really don’t know much about his current situation.”

“That’s fine, Chief Ren. Just tell me what you do know,” Li Wensheng said, walking over with his cup.

“Alright!” Ren Zuhong nodded. “As for family, I know he has a wife and two concubines, all in the city. For friends, besides a sworn brother named Chen Wei in Banan, I’m not aware of any others.”

“Sworn brother? How did Liu Zukang get acquainted with him?” Li Wensheng asked, puzzled.

Ren Zuhong hesitated, then lowered his voice. “Chief Li, you’re new to the city, so you might not know, but the Brotherhood here wields significant influence.” He pointed to the floor. “There are many things you just can’t get done without their people.”

Suddenly, Li Wensheng understood. When Ren Zuhong pointed at the floor, he was referring to the underworld. Certain dealings required manpower, and without the Brotherhood, they simply couldn’t be accomplished. It was like the Green Gang in Shanghai—if you tried to smuggle goods there without their blessing, your cargo would vanish overnight.

“I see. Thank you for clarifying, Chief Ren. That’s all I needed.”

Ren Zuhong visibly relaxed. “You’re too kind, Chief Li. I won’t keep you any longer—I’ll take my leave.”

“Take care, Chief Ren.”

After Ren Zuhong left, Li Wensheng pulled out a sheet of paper and began jotting down the key points he had uncovered that day. He had barely started when there was a knock at the door.

“Chief.”

Li Wensheng covered the paper and called out, “Come in.”

“Chief, these are the photographs developed from the miniature camera,” Shi Xiaozhen said, handing over several prints.

Li Wensheng took them and found that all four photos were of himself.

“Too much attention lately—first the commendation ceremony, then interrogating suspects at Zhongtong. No wonder I’ve attracted the eyes of the Japanese spies,” Li Wensheng muttered internally. He handed the photos back to Shi Xiaozhen. “Burn the photos and negatives—all of them. See to it yourself.”

Since the photos concerned him, Li Wensheng wasn’t about to leave them as evidence. If he weren’t worried about going too far, he would have snuck into the Military Intelligence headquarters and burned his own file.

Shi Xiaozhen hesitated, then took the photos. “Yes, Chief.”

After she left, Li Wensheng continued writing down the day’s findings. Once finished, he considered his next steps for tomorrow. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was already past five. He left his office and called out to Shi Xiaozhen and the others, “If you have nothing else to do, you can all go home.”