Chapter 27: Return Gift

  Seeing the miserable state of Liu Er, all the officers and soldiers in the camp could not hold back their anger. Even Liu Yu-jie showed great indignation, saying: "Damn it! This bastard Jia Shu-wen is too cruel, we must avenge this!"

  Liu Yuqie suddenly had the confidence because he met Takahashi Makoto when looking for Wei Xiangdong. Although Takahashi Makoto's reaction to anything was always a beat slow, this couldn't hide his wisdom and magnanimity. At that time, he calmly said to Liu Yuqie: "Hmm, I know, you go back first, tell your brothers not to make trouble, Matsumoto Ichiro is a coward who doesn't have the guts to kill Ye Tufei."

  Dare to openly call a regimental commander a coward, this courage, this momentum, thoroughly convinced Liu Yu-jie that the winner of this struggle must be Yamashita Kōgorō. As for Matsumoto Ichirō's translator, Liu Yu-jie thought he was just a running dog.

  Liu Yu-jie's attitude was recognized by all the officers and soldiers, and Liu Yu-jie also felt a sense of joy and happiness for the first time after being recognized by everyone. He climbed up the pole again and said: "After Sixth Master recovers from his injury, let Sixth Master make plans, and we brothers will execute them. We must make that turtle grandson meet King Yan!" This sentence was very much in line with the rules of the Zhongyi Hall, and once again gained everyone's respect.

  However, on his sickbed, Ye Tufei rejected Liu Yujie and Zhang Luohui's proposal. He said: "Jia Shuwen avenging his father is righteous and justifiable. This time, not killing me is already being lenient. Once I recover from my injuries, I will go to Jia Shuwen to apologize and get to the bottom of this matter."

  After Ye Tu Fei's opinion spread, everyone was very puzzled. Some people thought that Liu Ye had been fooled and would change his mind when he came to his senses.

  The claim that he was confused is purely self-consolation. Tsuruga Kei has always been clear-headed, and when he barely managed to get down the mountain, he made a request to Yamashita Kōji, hoping that Yamashita could accompany him on a visit to Matsumoto Yamaga FC, where he wanted to apologize in person to Jia Shuwen.

  Yamashita Keigo was deeply moved, because Matsubara Tsubasa's approach would make Matsumoto Ichirou think that he had worked on it, which played a crucial role in easing the relationship between the two.

  The next day, Ye Tu Fei came to the Matsumoto United with Shan Xia Wu, and Ye Tu Fei bowed deeply to Jia Shu Wen, saying: "Brother Jia, whether you accept it or not, I still want to apologize to you. Considering we are now both working for the Imperial Army, I hope you can forgive me."

  Jia Shuwen didn't know what to say, after all Ye Tufei had brought up the Imperial Army. Matsumoto Ichiro was indeed guessed by Yamashita Keigo, and he happily hugged Yamashita's shoulders, saying: "This is it, you Chinese have a good saying, 'the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it', Ye Sang being able to come apologize in person shows his sincerity, Jia, I think you two can make amends now, and put your energy into work, striving for the prosperity of Greater East Asia."

  Ye Tufei's actions deceived the vast majority of people, including Yamashita Keigo and Matsumoto Ichiro. However, the Thirteen Taibei of Zhongyitang were aware of Ye Tufei's true nature and did not believe that this matter could be settled so easily. Nevertheless, they would absolutely not inform others of their understanding, lest it interfere with Ye Tufei's next plan.

  There is another person who has this awareness, and this person does not have much intersection with Ye Tufei, is an outsider, and can even be said to be Ye Tufei's enemy, he is Jia Men's eldest disciple Zhan Jinbiao.

  The next day, Zhang Jinbiao went to the hospital and found Ye Tufei. As soon as he saw him, Zhang Jinbiao knelt down in front of Ye Tufei: "Sixth Master, Jia Shuwen was ignorant and offended you, I don't dare ask for your forgiveness, I can only take the blame on behalf of Shuwen, hoping that Sixth Master will be magnanimous and spare Shuwen's life, please!"

  Ye Tufei gestured to Zhang Jinbiao to stand up and speak, but Zhang Jinbiao refused. Ye Tufei had no choice but to let him be. Ye Tufei said: "Jia Shuwen avenged his father, it's a matter of course, what crime did he commit? How can you take the blame for Jia Shuwen?"

  Zhan Jinbiao heard this and shed tears, saying: "Sixth Master, I am willing to die in place of Shu Wen, just please spare his life. If you don't agree, I'd rather... rather take a step ahead first, so as not to see the heartbreaking scene." After finishing speaking, he drew out a knife from his waist and pressed it against his own heart.

  "Alright, alright, I'll agree to it!" Ye Tu Fei sighed and said.

  Three days later, Ye Tu Fei began his action.

  The only one who initially participated in Ye Tufei's action plan was Xiao Zhonghe. Although the ultimate goal of the action was Jia Shuwen and Matsumoto Ichiro, Ye Tufei's action plan started from a lowest-level soldier.

  Several Japanese soldiers who were drinking in a tavern and staggering around lost one of their own on the way back to their barracks. The next morning, his body was found with only one wound, which pierced his heart.

  In the following week, three similar cases occurred.

  Yamashita Kengo began to take it seriously, and after consulting with the team leader, he added a patrol team and ordered the Tokko department to organize plainclothesmen to set up multiple secret sentries in the city to catch the culprit.

  However, the perpetrator seemed to have sensed danger and there were no similar cases for the next half month. Half a month later, a similar case suddenly appeared again, but this time the perpetrator did not succeed, and the knife inserted into the heart seemed to be slightly off, causing the victim to narrowly survive.

  Yamashita Kengo received a case report from his subordinate, and when the subordinate reported the victim's name, his heart suddenly shook violently, muttering to himself "So that's how it is".

  The victim was Jia Shuwen.

  As instructed by Liu Ye, Xiao Zhonghe's knife was inserted into Jia Shuwen's heart, the result of which could have left Jia Shuwen alive but would also ensure that his life would not be very comfortable and he might even lose the ability to take care of himself.

  Yatou Fei's trickery couldn't deceive Shandao Jingwu. He immediately launched an investigation into Yatou Fei, but the results were reassuring: for all the murders, Yatou Fei had solid alibis.

  Why is Yamashita Kengo relieved? Because he was worried that these murders were committed by Yatou Fei, and if so, out of a sense of responsibility to the Emperor, he would have to bring Yatou Fei to justice. As for the ancient tomb on Mount Niura, it could only be said to be regrettable. So when he confirmed that these murders were not committed by Yatou Fei, he was relieved, as long as they weren't done by Yatou Fei's own hands, it would be easier to handle.

  With a goal in mind, the investigation became much simpler. Yamashita Kengo secretly launched an investigation into everyone at Chūgi-dō, especially several members of the Thirteen Ronin. Gradually, Yamashita discovered some clues and then followed them up, locking his target onto Xiao Zhonghe. Yamashita found that in all five assassination cases, at least three times, Xiao Zhonghe was unable to provide a clear and reliable alibi.

  Arrest and retry.

  Ye Tufei's conjecture about Yamashita Keigo was clearly wrong. He thought that Yamashita would focus his attention on himself, and in the five assassinations, he made the evidence of his alibi slightly ambiguous, such as going to bed a little earlier that night and instructing the nurse not to disturb him. This kind of alibi should have been easy to arouse suspicion from someone like Yamashita, but Ye Tufei did not take into account Yamashita's emotional factors, who was unwilling to focus his suspicious gaze on Ye Tufei for the sake of the ancient tomb of Er Lang Shan.

  But things have not yet developed to the point of no return, Ye Tu Fei believes in Xiao Zhong He's ability to withstand interrogation, as for severe punishment, it is not a big deal for Xiao Zhong He.

  Yamashita Kengo also saw the characteristics of Xiao Zhonghe, he did not use torture on Xiao Zhonghe, nor was he in a hurry to interrogate him. Instead, he arranged for Xiao Zhonghe to be taken to a suite at the Huayuan Hotel and had two sexy and fashionable Japanese girls take turns serving Xiao Zhonghe.

  A gentleman can sit quietly and remain unruffled!

  Yamashita Keigo thinks that if he can't do something with his own determination, it's hard for others to do it. Someone like Xiao Zhonghe will eventually fall into a life of luxury and indulgence. Once he becomes infatuated with this extravagant lifestyle, he'll cherish his life even more, and the result is that he'll confess in order to survive.

  Yamashita Keigo firmly believed in this. The fact was also as he expected, Xiao Zhonghe began to enjoy the warmth after resisting for a day.

  A week later, Yamashita Keigo interrogated Xiao Zhonghe.

  Xiao Zhonghe didn't wait for Shan Xiajingwu to ask questions, and directly expressed his attitude: "Thank you, Ta Jun! I, Xiao Zhonghe, can have this enjoyment before I die, haha, dying without regret. Alright, no matter what you say, I'll admit my guilt, even if you say I slept with your wife, I'll admit it!"

  The good mood that had been prepared for a week was shattered by Xiao Zhonghe's one sentence. Yamashita Kōgo got angry and ordered his subordinates to start using torture.

  Is punishment useful? Obviously not.

  On the third day, Yamashita Keigo invited Takahashi Makoto. He believed in Takahashi's abilities and thought that if Takahashi were to make a move, he would definitely be able to pry open Xiao Zhonghe's mouth.

  When Takahashi arrived at the Kempeitai, he was brought news that was neither good nor bad: Shokyu Kawa was definitely not the killer, because just now, in broad daylight, two similar cases had occurred within the city.

  In less than a minute, someone from the Special High Course came with case records and found Yamashita Keigo. The locations of these two cases were not far apart, forming an isosceles triangle with the address of the hospital where Yotsuba Tofu was recovering.

  "Is it Ye Tuofei who did it? It must be Ye Tuofei who did it!"

  Yamashita Kengo almost shouted.

  Takahashi Shingo shook his head and said, "It wasn't him! At the time of the incident, he was at my house playing Go with me. Unless... there's another person in this world who looks exactly like Yotsuba Tofu."

  Upon hearing this, Yamashita Keigo plopped down onto the floor of the interrogation room, whipping a nearby chair with his leather whip and muttering to himself: "As long as it's not him, that Xiao Zhonghe is also pretty good. Takahashi-kun, what do you think Ye Tufei really is? Can he be used by us?"

  Takahashi Shin replied, "I don't know. All I know is that without Ye Tufei, we wouldn't have any way to get close to Erlang Mountain. You and I are both inconvenient to show up in person, and none of our subordinates are suitable for this task."

  Yamashita Kengo struggled to get up and said: "Takahashi-kun, what are you going to do?"

  "Win over, buy off, intimidate and monitor." - Gao Qiang

  Yamashita Kengo patted the dust off his buttocks and said, "You take care of this, I'm going to investigate the murder case."

  Takahashi stopped Yamashita and said, "Please release Xiao Zhonghe yourself and return him to Ye Tufei. You know what to say when you see Ye Tufei, I've already made some arrangements for you, and he's also expressed understanding of your responsibilities. This shouldn't be a difficult task for you, should it?"

  Yamashita Kengo thought for a moment and said, "I promise you."

  The conversation between Yamashita Keigo and Takahashi Makoto was all in Japanese, which Xiao Zhonghe couldn't understand at all. He had already made up his mind to die, but after the two of them chattered on for a while, Yamashita Keigo actually untied him personally and bowed to apologize.

  Xiao Zhonghe did not understand why this was happening.

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