Chapter 450: Mr. Chen

A sudden turn of events.

Shanben Shiba's complexion also darkened; he hadn't expected someone to cause trouble at the critical moment.

He glanced at the doorway at Gaoqiao Xinyi, then turned to Chen Jiageng, his tone tinged with impatience yet suppressing his anger: "Mr. Chen, it seems our conversation must be temporarily halted. However, let me reiterate—we mean no harm; we simply wish to ask you to come with us to discuss a 'big matter.'"

Chen Jiageng sneered, his eyes full of contempt and resolve: "Discuss a big matter? You Executioners with hands soaked in Chinese blood have no right to talk big matters with me. Even if I, Chen Jiageng, were to die, I would never go with you, let alone do anything that betrays Huaxia or the Nanyang Chinese!"

In the courtyard, Zhuang Mingli stared at Gaoqiao Xinyi, his tone fierce: "Little Devil, release Mr. Chen at once! Otherwise, today you will pay blood debt with blood!"

Zhuang Mingli knew time was tight, no delay could be afforded; the Japanese Army could receive reinforcements at any moment, so they had to rescue Chen Jiageng quickly and withdraw from here.

Gaoqiao Xinyi's mouth curled into a cruel smile, his gaze icy: "You ragtag mob think you can rescue Chen Jiageng? Pure fantasy! If you have any sense, drop your weapons and surrender; perhaps we'll spare you a whole corpse!"

Zhuang Wen could not help but shout, "Bullshit! You Little Devils, slaughtering my Chinese compatriots, hands drenched in blood—today we will avenge the dead and rescue Mr. Chen!" Having said that, he reached for the trigger, but Zhuang Mingli grabbed him and stopped him.

Zhuang Mingli's eyes were sharp, fixed on Gaoqiao Xinyi, whispering, "Don't act rashly! We don't know how many Little Devils remain inside; firing indiscriminately could hurt Mr. Chen! First, hold them steady, find out the situation inside, then look for a chance to rescue."

Inside, Shanben Shiba heard the confrontation outside, his complexion worsening; he realized they could not delay any longer and had to take Chen Jiageng away quickly.

Shanben Shiba looked at Chen Jiageng, his tone bearing some sincerity: "Mr. Chen, we are not enemies."

"I, Chen Jiageng, this life's greatest hatred is the Little Devils," Chen Jiageng shouted angrily.

Shanben Shiba shook his head, saying, "Mr. Chen, we are acting on a deceased person's request; we hope you will go to Myanmar for a discussion of a big matter."

What ancient person's request? What big matter to discuss?

If you want to kill or maim me, do as you wish! There is no way you can make me compromise!

Chen Jiageng didn't believe a bit; the Japanese in front of him only wanted to take him away and then exploit his status and influence among the Nanyang Chinese to make the Nanyang Chinese do his bidding.

In the courtyard, Zhuang Mingli gripped his pistol tightly, his mind racing, while vigilantly watching Gaoqiao Xinyi and scanning the doors and windows of the house, trying to find a breakthrough. Guo Yinglin stood nearby, his expression anxious, whispering, "Mr. Zhuang, what should we do? We don't know how many Little Devils are inside; dragging this out is disadvantageous to us!"

Zhuang Mingli inhaled deeply, his gaze firm: "No matter how many Little Devils are inside, we must rescue Mr. Chen! He is the backbone of our Nanyang Chinese and cannot fall into the Little Devils' hands! Zhuang Wen, Zhuang Wu, you two circle around to the back of the house from both sides, see if there's a back door, and slip in to protect Mr. Chen; everyone else, hold them at the front with me, drawing their attention!"

"Yes!" Zhuang Wen and Zhuang Wu replied in unison, slipping around the courtyard's two sides, their bodies agile as they crept toward the back of the house. The other confidants also tightened their grip on their weapons, eyes fierce on Gaoqiao Xinyi, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Gaoqiao Xinyi sensed Zhuang Mingli's and the others' movements, his complexion turning cold, and barked sharply, "What are you trying to do? If you move again, I'll fire!"

Having said that, his finger rested on the trigger, and the atmosphere instantly became tense, a life‑or‑death clash on the brink of erupting.

Shanben Shiba watched the situation outside grow increasingly tense, and he stopped wasting words: "Mr. Chen, your fourth son Chen Boji—does his wife have the surname Jiang?"

Chen Jiageng watched Shanben Shiba warily; any move from him would have Chen ready to crash into a wall and kill himself.

"His wife Jiang Anping is the Commander's sister," Shanben Shiba paused briefly.

"Our Commander is Jiang Anguo, currently the Regiment Commander of the Independent Regiment of the th Division of the Expeditionary Force," Shanben Shiba announced his affiliation.

Chen Jiageng was suddenly at a loss; it wasn't hard for the Japanese to inquire about his family, yet the Little Devil spy across from him brought up his fourth son specifically.

"What do you mean? I don't know any Jiang Anguo," Chen Jiageng immediately rejected.

"Um, Mr. Chen, please calm down. Although I'm not sure whether you've met our Commander, he should have attended his sister's wedding. If you think carefully, you should be able to recall," Shanben Shiba said calmly.

Chen Jiageng's mind slipped into a brief recollection; it had been so long, and due to domestic and overseas circumstances, the only elder of the Jiang family had also died in Xi'an, so the two families indeed had little contact.

Finally he remembered: at his fourth son's wedding, that boy with eyes reddened from crying.

At that time, to cheer the boy, Chen Jiageng told all the guests that his youngest daughter had just been born and he was willing to betroth her to the boy.

Chen Jiageng's youngest daughter was Chen Baoyi.

Jiang Anguo had once met Chen Baoyi on the Dian-Mian Highway.

Chen Jiageng shook his head, still not believing, "Impossible. Since he is an officer of the Expeditionary Force, how could he surrender to you Little Japan?"

Chen Jiageng, hearing Shanben Shiba's words, mistakenly thought Jiang Anguo had surrendered to the Japanese.

Shanben Shiba was momentarily at a loss for explanation: "Mr. Chen, our Commander has not defected to the Japanese; he is now returning home to fight the Little Devils. At the same time, we also serve the Commander—that is, we are under Jiang Anguo, carrying out his orders."

Shanben Shiba pulled a letter from his coat and continued, "Mr. Chen, this is what our Commander gave me before returning home; once you read its contents, you will understand."

Chen Jiageng took the letter from Shanben Shiba; it bore a red seal, yet he still didn't believe.

He knew that his daughter‑in‑law Jiang Anping's background was that of the Principal in Chongqing.

When he opened the letter, Chen Jiageng's pupils dilated infinitely; he could not believe the words inside: "Nanyang Chinese need a place to stand!"

There were no extra characters—just these twelve crookedly written characters.

"This really was written by Jiang Anguo," Chen Jiageng said in disbelief.

"Absolutely certain, Mr. Chen. Either we all lay down our weapons, or else the Little Devils will see us, and that would be bad."

Shanben Shiba waved at Xiao Chuan Qingzhi and Gaoqiao Xinyi, releasing everyone inside the house, and Gaoqiao Xinyi also lowered his pistol.

The sudden turn of events left Zhuang Mingli momentarily bewildered; he even thought a large Japanese force was coming, and even if they did, he would throw himself for Mr. Chen.

"Mr. Chen, are you alright?" Zhuang Mingli was the first to rush into the house.

Chen Jiageng, present there, was a bit stunned; he hadn't yet recovered from the words in the letter.