Chapter Fourteen: Guarding One's Mouth Like a Bottle

  "Hello, sir! How have you been?"

  Although it was a woman who spoke, she sounded as pedantic as those wearing long gowns and waving fans, so she couldn't be a bandit.

  "Not a bandit, why live in a cave?" The river rider thought to himself, and the image of the five Taiwan mountain anti-Japanese nun team faintly appeared in his mind. He tentatively said: "Amitabha, the Buddha's family has always been kind and compassionate, can you let ordinary people see this world where good is rewarded and evil is punished before they die?"

  "The gentleman has fallen into the hands of Datong Public Security Bureau, just like a tiger falling into Pingyang, it's really a pity for the gentleman."

  The woman deliberately avoided talking about the masked man, indicating that she didn't want to let the bandit see everything in front of her. This unscrupulous behavior was far from the bold and fearless style of the anti-Japanese nun squad. If it wasn't the nun squad, could it be the Eighth Route Army? But judging from their style of doing things, they didn't seem like Mao's well-disciplined troops either.

  Since he had fallen into the hands of this mysterious team, Kawara was desperate. Moreover, he had already died once. With a tone that was as hard as his life and death being put aside, he said: "What's the point of abducting me from the execution ground? Is my death related to you?"

  The woman did not get angry, and calmly said: "When we see injustice on the road, we draw our swords to help, this is the creed of our team."

  "Am I the one you should draw your swords for?"

  The woman smiled and said, "I'd like to make friends with you, sir. Perhaps with your help, our weak team can survive in this chaotic world. That's why we rescued you."

  With a resolute determination to die, he naturally felt much more at ease and said with a double meaning: "Am I someone you can rely on?"

  The woman smiled and said, "The big shot next to General Itagaki Seishirō, the commander of the 5th Division of Great Japan, is someone everyone wants to fawn over. But Mr., this mountain is too high and not easy to climb. The pockmarked police chief gave us a rope, allowing me to have the good fortune to climb up."

  Chuan Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself that since this woman already knew his true identity, there was no need to hide anything. He spoke bluntly and set the condition: "Then take off the cloth covering my face, and we can discuss other matters."

  "No, no, no, we have to take responsibility for Mr.'s head injury." The woman said with a guilty conscience.

  "The lieutenant is talking about this piece of cloth on his eyes." Kawahara's attitude became stern.

  "Sir has already escaped the tiger's mouth, why would he want to kill himself again? Is there some secret that forces him to choose death? Then we've really made things worse."

  Chuan Qi felt that this woman was not an ordinary person, she had set up a trap and was luring him into it. Therefore, he chose to remain silent and never mention the masked man again.

  The woman saw the visitor and didn't say a word, immediately changing the subject: "Sir, you've come all the way from Shanxi Datong, surely you're carrying out a sacred mission?"

  Hei Feng coldly smiled and said: "A mere lieutenant, how dare you profane the sacred mission? You're making a simple question complicated."

  "Is that so, sir? Since you're avoiding the question, I won't dare ask more." The woman blew on his face and her voice started to sound coquettish: "However, as a friend, let me advise you, wealth and fame are external things, you should learn from your mistakes, sir."

  He not only couldn't understand what the woman was saying, but also felt that her awkwardness wasn't shallow and natural, instead he sensed her intentions, maybe he was falling into her trap. Thinking this way, he worried about speaking too much and losing control, so he fell silent again.

  The woman said solemnly, "The Chinese speech contest held by the Daito Corporation of Great Japan has a prize that is not small. Mr. Kawaki's Chinese level is first-rate, and he won the championship in one go. That pockmarked police chief plotted to rob and kill, and isn't a good guy!"

  Chuan Qi was startled, feeling that this woman had X-ray eyes, and had already seen through his innermost thoughts, suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat, he could only maintain silence again and again.

  However, the truth is not so. The Chinese speech contest was a Trojan horse, its purpose being to recruit Chinese-speaking talent for the military, to form an elite unit fluent enough in Chinese to infiltrate enemy lines, sabotage Sino-Japanese cooperation and contribute to the Greater East Asia War effort. Seeing that Kawaji remained tight-lipped, she pressed her advantage, intent on completely destroying his mental defenses.

  Chen felt anxious and terrified that he had fallen into the hands of Chinese agents and began to think about biting off his tongue.

  The woman's insight was extremely astonishing. As Kawahori's lips and teeth kept moving, she pried open his mouth and stuffed a handkerchief into it.

  "Since the gentleman has difficulty speaking, let's communicate with nods and headshakes." The woman patted Kawaji's face and said sternly: "Next, I'd like to ask the gentleman three questions. Please enlighten me without reserve. 1. Does your unit belong to Fujiyama Corporation or directly take orders from Lieutenant General Tōyama Kaneji of Fentian Special Affairs Bureau? 2. Who is your superior officer? What position do you hold within it? 3. Where is your training base located? Is it in North Manchuria or Shanxi Datong?"

  Chuan Qi lost his ability to speak and could only respond with silence.

  "Sir, your complexion doesn't look right. Is it due to a sudden chill or hunger? In that case, please cooperate and complete the task at hand. I'll personally brew some ginger soup to dispel the cold for you, and cook a meal myself as a thank you. As we Chinese say, 'Having guests from afar is a joy.' It's my honor to personally make a few dishes to accompany your wine."

  He felt the woman's advantage and disadvantage, didn't know how to respond to her next words, so he chose permanent silence.

  The woman took her three questions in hand and asked them with precision and concision.

  "The Japanese Crow Corps did not belong to any organization and was directly under the command of Tōyama Kagemoto."

  "Nod or shake head?"

  "The master neither nodded nor shook his head, it was just tacit approval."

  The man shouted loudly, but the woman ignored him and went straight on to the second question.

  "Captain Crow is actually Miss Hanae Tsubaki of the Datong Military Club, and you, sir, are just her assistant."

  "Are you nodding or shaking your head? In short, either answer will do."

  Chuan Qi shook his head.

  "Okay, the gentleman has finally given me face. I'll ask one last question." The woman paused for a moment before continuing: "The reason why the Crow Team's training base was chosen to be in Shanxi Datong is that the Imperial Japanese Army is about to take major action against Shanxi."

  Nod or shake?

  "Not clicking is not shaking, it's default."

  The woman finished the interrogation, patted Kawahara's face with her hand, and left with satisfaction. Just as she was about to leave, she turned around and said inexplicably: "Sir, your hearing has a serious obstacle, you should get it treated."