The First Volume: The Hollow Spirit Chapter 1: Midnight Blood Rain

  In 1930 Shanghai, it was raining lightly that evening. Although the weather was no longer as sweltering, it wasn't very comfortable either. Fortunately, summer was about to pass. The soldiers of the Songhu Garrison Command were still wearing their summer uniforms, fully armed and heading to their destination under someone's command.

  Seeing the soldiers in yellow uniforms, the ordinary people who were chatting and cooling off by the roadside quickly gathered their belongings and rushed back home with their children. In these times, it's best not to provoke the authorities or soldiers, just stay in bed and cover your head, that's the way to peace. From the warlord era to the Central Plains War, Shanghai has changed hands several times, each time resulting in unintended casualties.

  The soldiers of the Garrison Command of Shanghai began to move at 6 pm, but it wasn't until 10 pm that everything was in place. At this remote dock on the Huangpu River, Shi Anguo, the head of the Investigation Division of the Central Organization Department of the Kuomintang and the head of the Shanghai Investigation Section, finally ordered his agents to make two phone calls after learning that all the guests had arrived.

  After messing around with a little demon on the bed for two hours, Wang Yaowu was very tired and didn't fall asleep until 9 o'clock. At 10:10, the phone on the bed rang. No matter how much Wang Yaowu didn't want to get up, he had to answer this call, after all, it's his job.

  He pushed away the quilt that was pressing on his body, and the quilt slipped off the woman's body, revealing her seductive flesh. This was a red card in a certain brothel, and even the most beautiful prostitute would be tired of playing with Wang Yaowu after a few times. These women were all coming for his identity, they couldn't afford to offend him, but also wanted to find him as a backer, and wanted to make some money by hooking up with Wang Yaowu. Among the clients, Wang Yaowu was always very generous with his money.

  "Hello? It's me. You're the only ones who'd call at this hour. So, where does Old Stone want me to go? I'll ride my bike there myself. Dammit, every time it's like this, can't you even give me a heads up?"

  Wang Yaoyu directly complained on the phone, after figuring out the address, he got up from bed, put on his clothes, took his gun and bicycle key, and went downstairs. The woman lying in bed was still asleep, Wang Yaoyu, no matter how much of a scoundrel he was, would not send the prostitute back at such a late hour. At least she had to stay overnight.

  "Master, are you going out now?" After the phone rang upstairs, Wu Ma, who was sleeping downstairs, woke up. 51-year-old Wu Ma had always been a light sleeper and was also Wang Ya Zu's nanny. As soon as she heard Wang Ya Zu go downstairs, she quickly got dressed and came out.

  "No way, that old stone is a madman, always likes to make trouble at night. I won't be back until morning, after the woman upstairs wakes up, you help me get rid of her, I've already given the money."

  As for Wang Yaowu's various behaviors, Wu Ma had long been accustomed to them. She was not only Wang Yaowu's wet nurse, but also the person who brought him up and watched him grow up, and she was also the natal family member of Wang Yaowu's mother when she got married. Only she could make Wang Yaowu's parents in Fujian feel at ease.

  Bicycles are not something that only rich people can afford, even the Little Emperor who was overthrown at first liked to play with them. Wang Yaowu, who couldn't afford a bike for work convenience, directly asked Shi Ankang for expenses and bought a bicycle.

  The gunfire in the dark of night finally rang out, and 100 soldiers quickly surrounded the dock, under the command of the agent, began to massacre the Shanghai underground party organization. Shi Anguo's order was clear: "Shoot all resisters, it is better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one go!"

  Pistols against rifles, seventeen men against one hundred men, the outcome was already very clear. The ones who rushed out were shot down after firing only a few rounds. Those who hid on the dock and resisted to the end were also killed by random gunfire. Not one of those who tried to escape could get away, even if they hid underwater, they would be met with another round of gunfire, and in the end, blood and bodies floated up together. The remaining few people helped each other shoot themselves to avoid being captured.

  When Wang Yaowu arrived on his bicycle, the battle had already ended. The fresh blood on the ground was slowly flowing into the Huangpu River with the rainwater. Among the 100 soldiers, three were killed and seven were injured. None of the Shanghai Investigation Bureau's agents were hurt. Le Yunxin, who was also a member of the same organization as Wang Yaowu, arrived at this time. Wang Yaowu greeted Le, who he had a good relationship with, but when he saw Shi Anguo walking towards them, he immediately became enraged!

  "Old Stone, what do you mean? You didn't notify me beforehand, and only called after everything was done. What's the point of calling me over then?! Next time when you're hugging a woman, I'll call to disturb you too! Damn it!"

  As for Wang Yaoyu's anger, Shi Anguo wiped the rain from his face and said coldly: "Yaoyu, you and Lao Le are both deputy stockholders. You must attend to this matter. As for why we didn't notify you in advance, you know that yourself, Yaoyu. And Lao Le, why can't you be a bit more ruthless? If you were a bit more ruthless, you would definitely be able to help me out a lot."

  At this time, Yue Yu Xin was reciting the Buddhist rosary in his hand to help the deceased cross over. As for Yue Yu Xin's reaction, Shi An Guo had long been accustomed to it. It was precisely because of this that Shi An Guo could not reuse Yue Yu Xin, who also came from the Northern Expedition Army.

  "Rice can feed a hundred people, but each person's temperament is different. I am the loyal follower of the national father, but I also loathe this kind of slaughter. Because being in the mortal world, it cannot be avoided. Old Stone, why must you insist? The dreams we pursued back then, have you forgotten?"

  Shi An nodded, which was also an answer. As for what dreams existed between these two people, Wang Yaoyu didn't care. Power corrupts, and the heroes of the Northern Expedition now occupied high positions, grasping enormous power in their hands; many things had already changed.

  "Don't change the subject! Old habits die hard, I'm not easy to get rid of, next time something like this happens, at least give me a few hours' notice, so I don't bring the woman back home and hold her in my arms when you call again! Get out of the way!"

  Just as Wang Yaowu was about to say something, he suddenly fell silent and pulled out a gun, pushing Shi Ankui away! He fired a shot at a not-too-distant place, and immediately, an agent shone a flashlight over, hitting the head of an escaped prisoner who had been seriously injured. The escaped prisoner had originally planned to shoot Shi Ankui in the back and kill him, the executioner.

  "Old Stone! You're really old, can't even finish off the enemy, and now you want me to save your life? And you few, can't even protect our squad leader properly. I'll go take a look if there are any survivors left." Wang Ya Zu said, gripping his gun as he walked towards the corpses that hadn't been cleared yet. Due to a moment of negligence, Shi An Guo had encountered danger, and all the members of the Shanghai Investigation Squad were very tense, hastily ordering nearby soldiers to protect Shi An Guo.

  If Wang Yaowu was a good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, complaining all the time without any sense of responsibility, he would never be able to stay in the Shanghai Survey Bureau as deputy director. But precisely because of Wang Yaowu's character, Shi Ankang had always been unable to trust or reuse him, letting Wang Yaowu help him assist the party and state together.

  Wang Ya Zu slowly approached the gun, and the place with the most corpses was a ordinary fishing boat on the water. Five bodies fell on it, including three young women and two middle-aged women. Judging from the wounds, the middle-aged woman resisted with a gun and was shot dead. The three young women were afraid of being caught and chose to help each other commit suicide.

  There is no more danger. Wang Ya-zu put away his gun and helped the three young women close their eyes one by one. Wang Ya-zu didn't understand, from the time he studied in France and came into contact with communism, why so many people in China were willing to die for it. Why, after finally overthrowing the Qing dynasty's big queue, China was still in a state of chaos, and this chaos had continued until now without any signs of change.

  But anyway, Wang Ya Zu is still Wang Ya Zu, he's a selfish person, what he wants to do is to live a comfortable life for himself, stepping on others is always better than being stepped on by others.

  "I'm telling you, Old Stone, I saved your life, so you should at least show some gratitude. Your people woke me up, and now I don't have any sleepiness left, I was going to go gamble a couple of rounds, but I didn't bring much money on me? You know what that means, right?"

  Wang Yaozu directly extended his hand to Shi Anguo, who was very helpless but still beckoned to the people around him. He took out a hundred-dollar bill from the Bank of China from his briefcase and handed it to Wang Yaozu, who didn't count it and put it in his pocket as soon as he received it. He roughly knew how much money would be enough. Although that hundred-dollar bill from the Bank of China was not silver dollars, in this era where nothing could be relied upon, it had full credit and even carried a 5% interest rate.

  "Thanks, Old Stone. Hey, Brother Le, why don't we go have some fun together? That casino is run by a Russian big shot, so if we lose too much, the Green Gang will have to give us some face. Let's gamble all night. We can go to work late tomorrow anyway, right, Old Stone?"

  Le Youxin smiled and shook his head, replying: "I'm going home, Ya Zheng is waiting for me. Xiao Chen might not be asleep yet? Yao Zu, when you gamble, you must calm your mind. The Green Gang's people are not dogs, they're wolves! They're the most ferocious and numerous wolves on Shanghai Beach!"

  Wang Yaozu walked away, waving his hand at the two of them. It was clear that Wang Yaozu hadn't listened to Le Yu's words at all. If even gambling required a calm and peaceful heart, then why would Wang Yaozu bother going to gamble? He'd lose nine out of ten times!

  As Wang Yaoyu walked away, Shi Ankou suddenly turned to Le Yuheng and asked: "Many people say that I am too indulgent towards Yaoyu and should restrain this prodigal son. What do you think, old Le?"

  Le Youxin put the Buddhist beads back on his wrist and replied face to face: "Because Yaozu is the most unlikely person. Lao Shi, you are suspicious of many people, including me!" Gunsmoke Silent Volume 1 Empty Spirit Chapter 1 Midnight Blood Rain