Chapter 54: Caught

The knocking on the gate outside the courtyard grew more urgent with each sound.

The woman standing outside the gate had a flat, pancake-like face, wore a thick cotton-padded jacket, and had a dusty woolen scarf wrapped around her neck.

Her Japanese name was Itagaki Kojuan, and she used the alias Ma Dongmei in China; nominally, she was Teacher Ma's younger sister, but in reality, she was a liaison for the Special Higher Police and maintained a cooperative relationship with Iwai Toshizo.

She worked at a rouge shop at the entrance of the hutong, and since the storefront faced the alleyway, no one entering or leaving the hutong could escape her eyes.

Having just caught a glimpse of Iwai Toshizo suddenly returning home midway through the day in a hurried manner, she felt something was amiss and immediately rushed over to investigate.

Seeing no one answer the door, Itagaki Kojuan's eyes sharpened; she quickly drew a Nambu-style small Pistol from her waist, her finger tight against the trigger.

At this moment, He Yuzhu had already neatly finished cleaning up the scene; he jumped out from the back wall, and his figure soon disappeared at the end of the hutong.

Itagaki Kojuan used a small Dagger she carried with her to skillfully slide back the door bolt, then turned sideways and slipped into the courtyard.

She held her breath, stepped closer to the window of the main room, and peered inside through a hole in the window paper.

The room was deathly quiet, seemingly empty.

She let out a slight sigh of relief; it seemed she had been overthinking it. Perhaps Iwai Toshizo hadn't come home after all.

She did not enter the room, quickly exited the courtyard, and gently pulled the door shut.

He Yuzhu turned out of the hutong, found a wind-sheltered corner, took out paper and pen, and hurriedly wrote down a few lines:

"Comrade Zhou Qiang: You have been exposed. Ma Jun at the school is a Japanese spy; your operations have been discovered by the Special Higher Police. Evacuate immediately! Ouyang Feng."

He folded the note and happened to see a ragged, skin-and-bones little girl selling newspapers by the roadside, her small face frozen bright red.

He Yuzhu walked over and said, "Little sister, help uncle deliver a letter to the school gatehouse, for Lao Zhou."

"I'll give you one Big Ocean first," he took out a shiny silver coin, "and after you deliver it, I'll give you another."

The little girl looked at him timidly, her eyes full of suspicion.

Not until that heavy Big Ocean was stuffed into her icy palm did she believe it was real.

She clutched the money and the letter tightly and, like a startled little rabbit, bolted toward the school without looking back, as if afraid that if she were a moment late, this rare stroke of luck would fly away.

Inside the gatehouse, Lao Zhou was gnawing on a corn bun with a small dish of pickled vegetables.

Seeing a little girl poking her head in, he immediately put down his chopsticks and walked out: "Little girl, who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for the gatekeeper, Lao Zhou." The girl's voice was as thin as a mosquito's hum.

Lao Zhou looked around vigilantly, then pulled the girl into the cramped gatehouse: "What do you want with me?"

The girl shoved the letter to him and immediately turned and ran as if she had done something wrong, disappearing in an instant at the end of the cold street.

Lao Zhou unfolded the note in confusion, and after just one glance, a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He hurriedly walked to the door, looked around nervously for a long time, and only after confirming there were no suspicious figures did he retreat back into the room.

He Yuzhu was waiting at the agreed-upon hutong entrance; seeing the little girl running back out of breath, he knew the letter had been delivered.

He took out another Big Ocean and handed it over: "Keep this money safe. Don't come out to sell newspapers for the next half month, otherwise, be careful that the devils don't catch you."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the little girl let out a "waa" and squatted on the ground crying, saying aggrievedly between sobs: "My mother is sick... we have no money for medicine... if I don't come out to sell papers, the two of us will starve to death..."

"You child, isn't two Big Oceans enough for you to eat for a while?" He Yuzhu asked, puzzled.

"My dad... he gambles... if he has money, he snatches it away... my mother and I have been starving for days..." the little girl sobbed.

"Alright, stop crying," He Yuzhu sighed, "take me to your house to see, I'll go have a word with your dad!"

"He hits people... he hits my mother every day..." the little girl shrank back in fear, but still wiped her tears and led the way.

In a dilapidated large compound not far away, a low-ceilinged room facing the entrance was her home.

As soon as they entered the room, they smelled the odor of low-quality burning-knife liquor.

A drunken man was punching and kicking a woman curled up on the kang; the woman's breathing was weak, and she could barely move.

The little girl was trembling with fear.

He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold; he stepped forward and delivered a flying kick, sending the drunkard flying and crashing heavily against the wall.

The woman looked at the newcomer in terror, letting out a faint whimper.

The drunkard climbed up with red eyes; seeing that He Yuzhu's build wasn't particularly large, he was emboldened by malice and pulled a Dagger from behind his waist to stab him!

He Yuzhu dodged to the side, precisely gripped his wrist, and with a twist and a shake—"Crack!"—the man's shoulder instantly dislocated, and he let out a pig-like shriek.

He Yuzhu showed no mercy and delivered a hand-blade strike to the side of his neck, and the world was suddenly quiet.

At the same time, Lao Zhou hurried back to his residence, and the first thing he did was hang a string of shriveled red chili peppers in the most conspicuous spot on the tree in the courtyard.

Afterward, he rushed into the room and began to pack his important items in a swift and orderly manner.

At the rouge shop, the more Itagaki Kojuan thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She decided to return to Iwai Toshizo's courtyard to investigate one more time.

By Shichahai, inside He Ji restaurant.

Shen Wenqing had come again; he took off his wool coat, placed it on the back of the chair, and revealed the half-old sweater underneath.

Shen Guizhi handed over the menu and lowered her voice: "Come often if you're free, we're all familiar now anyway."

Shen Wenqing nodded: "I'm going on a long trip in a while, might be some time before I can come back."

"Is there any danger?" Shen Guizhi asked, full of worry.

"It's fine, I've been doing this for so many years, I know my limits." Shen Wenqing smiled reluctantly.

At this time, He Daqing came out from the back kitchen, looked Shen Wenqing over, and felt he looked familiar: "Are you also a teacher at the primary school?"

Shen Wenqing nodded: "Yes, but I handle logistics, I don't teach."

"Is the food at my place to your liking?"

"The steamed buns you make are peerless." Shen Wenqing smiled.

Meanwhile, inside Iwai Toshizo's room, Itagaki Kojuan finally discovered something wrong—the radio was gone!

She searched the room like a madwoman, saw the traces of the back door being kicked in, and noticed that the water splashed around the water vat had already frozen into ice.

Her heart sank sharply; realizing that something major had happened, she turned and ran outside.

On He Yuzhu's side, once the drunken man woke up, he gave him another solid lesson until he kowtowed and begged for mercy, swearing never to gamble or hit his wife again, before he popped the man's arm back into place.

After settling that pitiful mother and daughter, He Yuzhu hailed a rickshaw and hurried toward the residence of Lao Zhou.

The rickshaw puller ran through the cold wind, exhaling clouds of white mist.

"Stop!" He Yuzhu quickly pulled out a large handful of money and handed it to the rickshaw puller.

After getting off the rickshaw, He Yuzhu did not take the main road, but instead vaulted directly over the courtyards of the residents.

Finally, he climbed onto the roof of a house and looked toward the courtyard of Lao Zhou.

As his gaze swept over, he saw Shen Wenqing being escorted onto a vehicle by several Japanese soldiers, and there were several other people being escorted onto the vehicle as well; He Yuzhu was not familiar with these people.