Chapter 693

Wang Manchun was dead, and when she died, her eyes were full of unwillingness. For a person like her, knowing before she died that the man she had slept with for over two years was actually the Red Party's Pei Min, she really couldn't die in peace; how could she be willing?

Wang Yan chose to strangle her to death just to let her feel the intertwined pain and fear before she died. Compared to the fighters she had harmed who were struggling for the nation, the little suffering she endured before death was nothing.

However, Wang Yan was actually quite decent to Wang Manchun. He drove out of the city overnight, dug a very deep pit on a hillside with a river bend, and buried her in it. Of course, he didn't build a grave mound; that would be too easy for people to discover. He hoped that after death, this woman's soul would linger at this grave, quietly watching the scenery...

Wang Manchun escaped from prison and even killed Liang Zhongchun's mistress. If one were to ask who was the most nervous, it would be Ming Lou and Ming Cheng, because everyone was not a fool. They had designed the plan to send Wang Manchun in, so Wang Manchun would inevitably be able to figure it out. Not to mention that Wang Manchun had called Ming Lou after escaping from prison last night. Having failed to find Wang Manchun all night, they were like ants on a hot pan; after all, one slip-up would mean the death of their entire family.

The remaining people were actually not much more relaxed; they were equally on pins and needles. Liang Zhongchun worried that Wang Manchun would assassinate him; after all, he had participated quite a bit in the plot against Wang Manchun. Although it seemed like he was passive, he wasn't a fool; how could he not understand what Ming Lou was planning? It was just that for the sake of advancement, he chose to selectively ignore it.

And the one feeling even worse had to be Fujita Yoshimasa. He was living day by day, counting his remaining time on his fingers. As a result, at such a time, Wang Manchun, who had already been convicted and arrested and was waiting for the normal processing procedures to end before being directly executed, had run away—run away from a heavily guarded underground prison. For him, who was already in a bad situation, this was an even heavier blow.

So, in a state of panic, the next day, he called Wang Yan to the Special Higher Section's office. Ming Lou and the others were also there, studying how to capture Wang Manchun.

"Wang-sang, please sit."

After Wang Yan sat down and tea was served, Fujita Yoshimasa asked: "Wang-sang, I believe you also know the purpose of calling you here. Wang Manchun has escaped from prison. We sent a large number of people to search for a whole night but found nothing. She even killed Liang Zhongchun's wife. We must capture her back as soon as possible. You have known her for over two years and have a close relationship. I want to know, has Wang Manchun contacted you? Or do you know where she is now?"

Wang Yan shook his head: "She did call me, wanting me to help her, but when I asked her where she was, she hung up the phone immediately. She doesn't trust me. You should be clear that the close relationship between the two of us had a purpose; these were all arrangements made by the former Section Chief Nantian. My character is known to everyone in the Shanghai Bund. She probably called me out of desperation, wanting to see my attitude. Hearing me ask for her address, she thought I was going to do something against her. When I called back, I couldn't find her anymore."

When I came this morning, I also went to her former house. I saw traces of people moving around and rummaging upstairs and downstairs; I imagine you must have sent people to search it already. Other than that, there are no other secret meeting places. I really don't know where she went."

I also understand the ins and outs of this matter; Wang Manchun will definitely be executed. So, General Fujita, let's put ourselves in her shoes. Everyone present, facing such a situation, having finally succeeded in escaping from prison, how could she possibly stay behind and wait for others to catch her? She must have run away at the first opportunity, running as far as she could. She worked under Section Chief Nantian for many years and served as the Intelligence Section Chief of the 76th for over a year; no one knows what methods she has. The 76th also controls the channels in and out of the Shanghai Bund; it is not difficult for her to leave Shanghai."

After so much time has passed, I'm afraid she has long since left Shanghai. Even if she hasn't left the city, trying to find her among the millions of people in this Shanghai Bund is like looking for a needle in a haystack; it's as difficult as ascending to heaven. Basically, there is no possibility of catching her."

The haggard Liang Zhongchun nodded hurriedly: "That's right, Mr. Wang is correct. And yesterday, after Wang Manchun escaped from prison, not only did she run to my house to kill someone, she also took the twenty thousand US dollars I kept in the safe, as well as a handgun. With this money and weapons for self-defense, she can go anywhere."

It wasn't that he didn't want to catch Wang Manchun, but the pressure Fujita Yoshimasa was putting on him was too great, and he also wanted to catch his breath.

Wang Yan nodded to indicate he understood, and then continued: "I think that instead of thinking about how to look for a needle in a haystack to capture Wang Manchun, it is more urgent to properly investigate how Wang Manchun escaped from the heavily guarded underground prison. If no one helped, relying on herself alone, it would be absolutely impossible to escape. I think that once you find the person who helped her, General Fujita, you can also have an explanation. As for Wang Manchun's matter, I will definitely pay attention to it. If she contacts me, I will definitely capture her at the first opportunity and hand her over to you."

"Good, Mr. Wang, sorry to have troubled you to make this trip."

"Then I'll be leaving first, General Fujita. You all carry on with your work."

Wang Yan stood up with a smile, and amidst the polite exchanges of the crowd, he left the Special Higher Section's office, leaving them to study countermeasures.

Want to find Wang Manchun? In the next life, perhaps; it's not happening in this one.

He just wanted to guide Fujita Yoshimasa to believe that Wang Manchun had already fled for her life and that continuing the pursuit would yield no results, so they should hurry up and study other ways to make up for it. After all, no matter what, things cannot withstand detailed scrutiny. He could guarantee that he had no problems, but he couldn't guarantee that Wang Manchun's actions really had no flaws; if things went wrong, she might really come looking for him.

Fortunately, however, there wasn't much time left for Fujita Yoshimasa. He had to make a decision early to save his life and didn't have time to continue digging deeper.

In the afternoon, Wang Yan, who was watching a play and drinking tea at the Pear Garden, once again saw Ming Lou and Ming Cheng, who had come uninvited.

Since they were sitting at an open table and not in a private box, Ming Lou and Ming Cheng sat on the two sides of the square table next to Wang Yan. Ming Lou diligently poured tea for Wang Yan: "Apologies for coming uninvited, Mr. Wang."

"Then you have a lot to apologize for." Wang Yan drank his tea, not even looking at the Ming brothers, his eyes fixed on the stage, "I know your intention, but I really don't know where Wang Manchun is."

"Mr. Wang, Wang Manchun called me earlier and said some things. She already knows that we plotted against her, leading her to this state. You know best what kind of woman she is; once she makes a comeback, not only us, but you will also be implicated."

"When you suspect me, anything I say is fake. Ming Lou, do you think I have any need to lie to you for a woman? What benefit do I get? I said it already, she did call me, but hung up immediately when I asked for her address. Up to now, I don't know what her situation is, so how would I know where she is? I understand your worry, but I don't think it matters."

Wang Manchun is not a fool. Even if she found evidence against you and had you all arrested, so what? What would be the final result? It would be that just as she had performed a meritorious service and hadn't even received her reward, your ace assassin would cut off her head. After all, your position is very important; how could there be no countermeasure after such an accident? Also, whether you two brothers are as tough as Ming Tai remains to be seen before you've experienced torture. If you happen to open your mouths and confess, given your rank, the destructive power to your organization would be very great. This would also require 'weeding out traitors' to warn others who might have ulterior motives.

And if she returns but cannot find evidence against you, then Fujita Yoshimasa, Liang Zhongchun, and the person who let her go will not let her off either. So, no matter what, she cannot escape death. You say, in such a situation, why would she come back? Just to gamble her own life on a useless fit of anger? Isn't living better?"

Ming Lou stared fixedly at Wang Yan, wanting to see clearly whether Wang Yan was lying. Although no matter how one looked at it, Wang Yan had no reason to shield Wang Manchun—after all, although Wang Yan had a good reputation, he was, in the end, a generation of gangster leaders who rose to power through killing, so he probably wouldn't value women too much. To a person like Wang Yan, 'woman' was never a noun, but had to be paired with 'play' to make it a verb. But there are always exceptions to everything; Wang Manchun had quite a bit of charm, and coupled with the affection developed over time, who knew if Wang Yan's brain might have short-circuited and he suddenly started playing with emotions?

But unfortunately, he didn't see anything on Wang Yan's face. He sighed: "You are right. One can only hope she ran far away; otherwise, this trouble is not small."

After drinking some tea, seeing that Wang Yan had no reaction, he continued: "In the morning, not long after you left, Fujita Yoshimasa found the person who let Wang Manchun go—it was Takagi Hideo. After Fujita Yoshimasa understood the ins and outs, he was furious and shot Takagi Hideo dead on the spot. And his woman, who worked under me, was also killed by the furious Fujita Yoshimasa. If nothing else goes wrong with Wang Manchun, this matter can be considered completely over."

"Isn't that great? Don't think about so many useless things. Honestly, that you two brothers have lived until now without being exposed is already a blessing; living one more day is a profit. Don't worry about things that haven't happened. People are not gods; they cannot be foolproof. I've lived until today and only learned to 'meet soldiers with soldiers, and water with earth.' Perhaps on the day I die, I will learn what 'leaving it to fate' means. Nothing else, right? I won't see you out."

Wang Yan waved his hand as if shooing away flies, picked up his cup to sip tea, and swayed his head to the rhythm of the opera on stage, enjoying himself very much...

After leaving the Pear Garden, the Ming brothers got into their car and drove toward home.

"Big Brother, do you think Wang Yan really doesn't know Wang Manchun's whereabouts?"

"Hard to say." Ming Lou leaned back in the rear seat, took off his glasses, and squeezed his acupoints, "Although Wang Manchun is vicious, she is, after all, someone who remembers old affections. Otherwise, when I was flirting with her before, she wouldn't have been so easily tricked. Of course, it's also possible she was just playing along with me, but in the end, she utilized our past feelings. She has known Wang Yan for over two years, and Wang Yan is famously strong and robust; she should have some trust in Wang Yan."

Wang Yan himself admitted that Wang Manchun had contacted him, but he didn't go into detail about how she contacted him. In the morning, Fujita Yoshimasa, Liang Zhongchun, and we analyzed it together; Wang Yan might really not know Wang Manchun's whereabouts, and it might even have been him who actively hung up the phone. However, just now he spoke so confidently, and I'm not sure again. But he is right—'meet soldiers with soldiers, and water with earth.' No one knows what tomorrow will bring for us."

Wang Yan said so much just to put Ming Lou's mind at ease. After all, Ming Lou didn't know that Wang Manchun had already been killed and buried by him, and was still worrying about this bomb that could explode at any time, unable to sleep well. But he couldn't tell him explicitly, so he could only adopt an attitude of watching the show, standing by and talking without feeling the pain, to reveal some clues. Anyway, he had said his piece; whether Ming Lou took it to heart was Ming Lou's business.

Regarding this 'Dead Man's Plan,' from the moment Wang Tianfeng appeared in the Shanghai Bund, Ming Lou hadn't participated much. And what would have originally happened—Wang Manchun recording the conversation with a tape recorder, the tape recorder being found by Gu Lang later and given to Fujita Yoshimasa, and finally threatening Ming Jing—none of that existed now. Wang Manchun had been killed by him, and Gu Lang had long since been fed to the fish, so naturally, there wouldn't be so many issues.

Up to this point, Ming Lou was very clean. And before this, Fujita Yoshimasa had also tested Ming Lou in every possible way; although Ming Lou was inevitably still suspected, it absolutely hadn't reached the level in the original story. It was all within the normal range of Japanese suspicion, so there were no problems, and it was basically over.

As for the final settlement, it still depended on Fujita Yoshimasa's fate and what attitude the new Special Higher Section chief would have toward Ming Lou. However, by now, Ming Jing's death trap could be considered passed; it just remained to be seen how things would develop next...

At dinner time, Yu Manli, who had found her goal in life and had been busy working all day, found Wang Yan eating at a restaurant. As soon as she sat down, the first thing she did was to care about Wang Manchun: "How is it? It's been a day and two nights; is there any news of Wang Manchun? Is she dead or alive?"

Looking at the expectation in her eyes, Wang Yan shook his head with a smile: "I don't know the specifics, but anyway, she hasn't been caught yet."

"You two have an affection of over two years; she doesn't even trust you? She didn't contact you?"

"How could she not? But as soon as I asked for her address, she hung up the phone, and there's been no movement since. I heard she killed the mistress of Liang Zhongchun, the Action Section Chief of the 76th, and took Liang Zhongchun's money and a handgun. If you were her, what would you do?"

"I'd definitely run; otherwise, staying in the Shanghai Bund would be a dead end."

Wang Yan nodded: "I think so too. She should have already run out of Shanghai. Taking the money and finding a place to live under an assumed name is quite good. Anyway, once out of the Shanghai Bund, no one knows what she used to do."

"What? It's only been a few days since you've seen her, and you're already starting to miss her?"

Looking at Yu Manli's pouting expression, Wang Yan laughed: "You don't say, I do miss her a little. She and you are two different feelings. After all, she was the Intelligence Section Chief of the 76th with hundreds of subordinates, a woman with power, who let go of her status to submit under me; that's different from ordinary people."

"I have thousands of subordinates."

"A bunch of kids who haven't grown up yet, and you consider them your subordinates?"

"Just tell me, am I the one in charge?" Yu Manli rolled her eyes and changed the subject, "Now that Wang Manchun is gone, can I move into the Wang Mansion?"

"You could have before; it was just you who were afraid of being overly noticed. Now that Wang Manchun is gone, it's the same if you move in. The significance of you moving in is different; maybe some enemy will make an issue out of you in the future. You need to think this through; it's still up to you. If you want to go, go; if you don't want to, don't."

"Then I'll go. I'll move in tomorrow. I'm not afraid of those enemies. Right now, I just want to enjoy the thrill of being Mrs. Wang..."

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Then let's eat, Mrs. Wang..."