Chapter Thirty-One: The Mysterious Phoenix

  After Mieko got married, the radio was left in the care of Kawano Ryoko. According to Kawachi's instructions, Mizusagi could skip training but couldn't leave the radio for a single step. Therefore, since she rushed over hastily, it meant that the silent wireless had finally spoken up.

  Kanata thought that, if he wasn't mistaken, the Crow Team had received orders to carry out a mission. Everything starts with difficulty, and as the leader of this team for less than a week, they were already going to execute a mission. Therefore, he felt a lack of necessary confidence.

  Kawano Ryouko took a step forward, and Kawari felt as if he was being pushed towards the edge of a cliff. However, he pretended to be nonchalant and rushed towards Kawano Ryouko, wanting to know what the task was as soon as possible.

  After the two of them bumped into each other at the riverbank where they used to do push-ups, he took the page from her hand. As he took the paper, he touched her fingertips, feeling how delicate they were. He was a bit surprised that these hands, which had been crawling and scrambling all day, could still be so well-protected?!

  Although Kawaki's action was done unintentionally, the sharp-eyed Kawanishi Ryoko still noticed it. She gave him a sly smile and then leaned in close to him, reading the 5 words on the telegram together with him:

  Braised Pork Belly with Chestnuts.

  Kawaki thought the telegram was incomprehensible, so he looked up at Kawano Ryoko with a questioning gaze, saw the enticing cleavage under her low-cut top, and immediately withdrew his gaze.

  "Pan chestnut braised pork." Chuan Qi read it again.

  Kawano Ryoko saw Kawaki's furrowed brow and had no choice but to tell him that it was an intercepted and deciphered enemy telegram. As she spoke, she handed him another telegram from the Mukden Special Agency. Like Kawaki, she also stroked his fingers, feeling as delicate as a woman's skin.

  He took over the telegram and looked at it again, still being four inexplicable words:

  "A phoenix is born from a crow's nest."

  Holding two telegrams in contemplation, Chuan Qi really couldn't understand their meaning. But after all, he was the leader of this team and couldn't appear incompetent in front of the Crow Team members, especially not in front of Shui Ya, that beautiful woman. Therefore, he racked his brains to figure out the meaning of the telegrams.

  Kawano Ryoko knew that Kawaki was well-versed in this area, so she took the initiative to explain it to him. This was her first time being so proactive in showcasing her intelligence.

  "It's 'board', as in General Board Fence." Kawano Ryoko held Kawahara's hand, explaining to him like a kindergarten teacher: "'Chestnut' means to leave, while 'red' and 'burn' are related to war or firepower. As for 'meat', that means food. Isn't there an old saying in China about meat being...?"

  "The meat-eater is vile."

  "That's right. This can also be interpreted as dry." Kawano Ryoko glanced at Kawa and said, "White team, put the words you just said together and say them again, and the meaning of these five characters will be clear."

  "Plank... fence... leave... open, war... fire... dry... him..." The river cavalry hastily connected her explanation together.

  Kawano Ryoko burst out laughing and corrected Kawachi's words: "Let Ping leave Manchuria, concentrate firepower to take him down."

  "Wow, I see! It's really like that. Kawano-san is too clever!"

  "It's too much, it's too much." Kawano Ryoko humbly said with a smile, "As for our telegram, it's simply too straightforward. It even clearly states who will be sent to protect Itagaki."

  Kawaki could also tell that this telegram was an order for the Crow Corps to dispatch someone to guard General Itagaki, but who would be sent? He thought silently in his heart. The character "Feng" referred to a woman. There were only two women in the Crow Corps: Mochizuki and Kawano Ryōko. Now that Mochizuki was married, this "Feng" should be Kawano Ryōko.

  Although he had figured out the result, Kawachi was afraid of misunderstanding and said it in a critical tone to tease Kawanokouji, trying to get her words out. So, he said: "Kawano, you can't say that the telegram of the Great Japanese Empire is simple, this is to boost others' morale and destroy one's own prestige."

  Kawano Ryoko didn't know what to say, so she reluctantly added: "The Black Team is right, one telegram, only four words, the Crow Team will be dispatched to defend, whoever defends has made it clear, this wisdom is beyond the enemy's reach."

  Kawaki was still unsure who the telegram was referring to, but didn't want to appear ignorant in front of Kawano Ryoko, so he muttered: "Is it suitable to send this person?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "Fire Phoenix is a reliable member of Crow Team, they will definitely complete the task."

  "Who is Huo Fenghuang?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "This Fire Phoenix is composed of two people, a man and a woman. The man is our Huo Ya, and the woman is Bai Dui, you have met her once."

  Kawara asked, "Besides you and Mochizuki, is there another female member in Crow's team?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "There is also a female member of the team, but she serves on an even more hidden front line."

  "An even more hidden battlefield? Has our team seen it before?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "It was that day when she rode a horse up to Old Crow Mountain and conveyed the secret order to the Black Troop."

  Chuan Qi finally understood why the red-robed birdman was so mysterious, mysterious to the point where he wanted to thoroughly understand this woman who called herself Feng Huang. So, he asked: "A more hidden battlefield? To what extent is it hidden?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "Black team, didn't I tell you?"

  The cavalry shook his head in response.

  Kawano Ryoko was taken aback, thinking to herself, "Why didn't Michiko brief Kawaki?" Was she unable to brief him in time? Or did she intentionally leave something out? Meanwhile, Kawaki was staring at her with a fiery gaze, looking like he wouldn't rest until he got what he wanted.

  Kawaki saw Kawano Ryouko not speaking, presumably the other party wanted to conceal this secret. Since she was the captain of the Crow team, why did she still treat herself like that? No matter how you put it, this Crow team was still Mochizuki's, and the upper echelons didn't think she could lead the Crow team well, or were they still testing her?

  Kawano Ryoko saw Kawa riding a horse, and for a moment didn't know how to solve this problem, so she had to vaguely tell him about Feng Huang's situation, letting him think it over.

  "What's your impression of Inspector Mōri?" asked Yukiko Kawano suddenly.

  Kawaki saw Kawanokouji Ryouko change the subject, but he didn't let it go and instead said sarcastically: "Does Mr. Kawanokouji like Mako?"

  Kawano Ryoko sighed and said: "What's the use of liking? The other person's wife is much more beautiful than me. Even if compared with Kuroki, each has its own merits."

  "Is it just me or is that disgusting lowlife actually prettier than Kawano-kun? Did our team really not hear that wrong?"

  Kawano Ryoko said: "The White Team is in Datong, have you heard a nursery rhyme?"

  Chuan Qi shook his head.

  "Flax is flax, with a life of its own, and a beautiful aunt like a flower. Old is old, with good fortune, and an aunt who is twenty-six years young." Kawano Ryoko said the nursery rhyme and turned to leave.

  The river knight silently recited the ballad, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he understood it all at once.