Chapter 13: The Evil Intent of Yagawa no Jirō After Drinking
"Peace, was the roast duck delicious just now?" Zhao He Ping leaned into his father's arms, still holding a string of sugar gourd that he had bought earlier under the Tianqiao Bridge. Ishii Kyoko stood beside them with a smile, watching the father and son duo. Zhao Zhibang, who had been pestered by his son for several days, finally managed to take his wife and son out for some fun today. They had left early in the morning, first visiting the Summer Palace, then strolling around the streets all day. Just now, they had just finished eating the famous roast duck at Quanjude.
"It's delicious, I want to eat it every day. 'Nai' 'nai' and mom's cooking are not good...". After licking the sugar gourd in his hand, he turned around and looked at that old sign again.
"You heartless thing, from now on Mom and Grandma won't cook for you anymore!" On the side, Xingzi heard her son's words, walked up, pinched his little ear and said lovingly.
"Okay, then I'll let Dad bring me here to eat roast duck every day."
"Hehe, okay, from now on we won't eat 'nai nai' and mom's cooking anymore, we'll eat roast duck every day!" Looking at his son's adorable face, Zhao Zhibang happily kissed him on the cheek and said.
"Mom, look at Uncle Ito over there..." Little He Ping used his forehead to push away his father who was trying to kiss him again, and pointed with the hand that was holding the sugar gourd at two young men wearing suits not far away.
"Where is it.................."
"Little Heping, hello!" The speaker had already walked up to their side and was looking at Little Heping in Zhao Zhibang's arms.
"Oh, it's Inoue-kun, I almost didn't recognize you!" Anzu said with a slight bow towards the approaching pair.
"Haha, okay, let me introduce you. This is Ishii Kyoko-san, she's the niece of my teacher Ishii Shirō-sensei. And this is her husband Zhao Zhibang-san, he's also a senior student of Teacher Ishii. Ah, and these two are my friends Yanagawa Tsuguo"
"I am the son of my father, my name is Zhao He Ping." Hearing that Takashi Masuo didn't introduce himself, Zhao He Ping who was a bit shy and hiding in his father's arms, poked out his little head and said seriously, causing several people to burst into laughter.
"Miss Anzi, hello... Mr. Zhao, hello..." Yagawa Jihiro saw that both of them were greeting each other in Chinese, and he could only follow suit with his clumsy Chinese, speaking one word at a time.
"Is Ryukawa-san doing well? Is Ryukawa-san also a military doctor?" Anzu also bowed to Ryukawa, while Zhao Zhibang didn't say anything and just nodded at Inoue and the others as a greeting.
"Yes..." Lieutenant Ryūkawa Ji'ū hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Although the 1855 unit was outwardly known as the "Epidemic Prevention Water Supply Unit", they were well aware of their true activities, and therefore kept everything extremely confidential. The surrounding area within several hundred meters had already been designated as a restricted zone, and personnel inside were strictly prohibited from leaving without permission. All external personnel had to be approved by either Lieutenant Colonel Sai Ten'ei or Lieutenant Ryūkawa Ji'ū himself. Even though Lieutenant Ryūkawa was not subject to these restrictions, he too was extremely cautious whenever he went out. It was precisely because of this that the secret bacterial unit had remained unknown to outsiders for many years.
After chatting for a while, Inoue Masao and Yanagawa Tsuguo excused themselves to leave. All the way, Inoue Masao remained silent, and Yanagawa Tsuguo also realized that this Anzu was the 'woman' who had captivated his heart.
"Inoue-san, Anzu-chan is indeed beautiful. No wonder Inoue-kun still can't forget about her until now!" said Yanagawa Jihiro walking behind Inoue with a smile.
"Yanagawa-kun, don't say such things, I...I..." Iguchi Masao stopped in his tracks and said with a somewhat flustered expression.
"Inoue, don't hide it anymore, we're in the same boat now. Alas, that beautiful Anzu-san ended up marrying a Chinese person!" said Yanagawa Jihiro shaking his head as if talking to himself, Inoue Masao didn't respond and instead quickened his pace.
Back at their quarters, the two men with different thoughts in mind brought out the limited amount of sake they had left. This sake was specially brought from Japan by Xī Tiān Yīng's orders, as he knew that apart from this, the two men had no other hobbies, and since they still needed the two men's help here.
"Inoue, you've been pining for Anzu-san all these years, that's truly a deep and passionate love! Unfortunately, Anzu-san doesn't understand your feelings, it's really a waste for someone like you. After three rounds of drinks, the two of them were slightly drunk again. Every time he saw Anzu with Zhao Zhibang, Inoue's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. He deeply resented Zhao Zhibang and sometimes blamed himself for not being able to get Anzu's affection."
"Hehe, there's no such thing as worth or not worth it. I love Anko, as long as she's happy, I'm happy...". Inoue Masao took a sip of his drink and put down the cup, then waved his hand in front of Yanagawa Tsuguo without stopping.
"Are you kidding yourself? Are you really happy now? I think this is a sign of your weakness!" Yukawa Jihiro said with anger, his eyes red as he looked at the cup of liquor and then gulped it down.
"Drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking, drinking..."
"Are you just going to give up and lose to a Chinese person like that?" Ryu Choji grasped the hand of Inui, shaking it vigorously as he spoke.
"Strive for? Haha... how to strive for? Anzi doesn't like me at all! I know that even if I killed the Zhao surname, he wouldn't like me and would only hate me more! Tell me, how can I strive for it?" Inoue Masao shook his head violently, took a big gulp of wine, and muttered with his head down. The speaker was unintentional, but the listener had intentions. Although Inoue Masao's words at the time were just a momentary outburst, Liu Chuan Ji, who heard this, was stunned for a few seconds before revealing a sinister glint in his eyes, and an evil thought suddenly emerged in his mind.
Yanagawa no Jiro had such an idea because he was taking revenge for Ushii Masao, but the main reason is that he has a fervent militaristic ideology and looks down on Chinese people from the bottom of his heart. He cannot tolerate that a Japanese person was defeated by a Chinese person, and what's more, thoroughly defeated. Moreover, in his innermost thoughts, he also looked down on Ishii Kyoko, thinking how could a Japanese woman marry a Chinese man.
His blood was born with the blood of despising the weak, and he believed that these inferior Chinese should be ruled by their great nation, even to the point of complete annihilation. This despicable thought ran through his entire life until death. On the other hand, Inoue Masao was a gentle and just person who yearned for justice, fairness, and sympathy for the weak. Although his actions later caused immense harm to the Chinese people, his heart also suffered from pangs of conscience. He hated war but at the same time could not escape it.
