Chapter 20: Zhi Bang Sneaks into Zhao's Residence at Night

  The police collectively cleared out 6 bodies from the Zhao family, 3 males and 3 females, including Zhao Chuanfu, Li Yu'e, Zhao Yidi, and 4-year-old Zhao Heping. The other male and female were not Zhao Zhibang and Ishii Kyoko, but due to the charred state of the bodies making them unrecognizable, and no one from the Zhao family came forward to claim the bodies after the incident, the police ultimately determined that all six members of the Zhao family had died in this murder case. For a time, the brutal massacre that occurred in Beiping was widely discussed in the Beijing-Tianjin region, with some saying it was a revenge killing, others claiming it was because Zhao's son married a Japanese woman and became a traitor to Japan, so he was killed by the Nationalist Party's Revival Society as a traitor. Others said that the perpetrator was not the Revival Society, but rather the underground party organization of the Communist Party in Beiping, and some secretly spread rumors that the death of the Zhao family members was actually at the hands of the Japanese. A few days later, the Beiping Police Bureau announced that the case had been solved and it was the doing of the Communist Party's underground organization in Beiping, with the motive being the Japanese daughter-in-law of the Zhao family.

  As no one from the Zhao family came to claim the bodies and handle the aftermath, in the end, the Beiping Chamber of Commerce stepped forward and cremated the six people before burying them together in a desolate area outside Beijing. From then on, many people were discussing how ruthless and poisonous the Communist Party was, but some people also held skeptical attitudes. Only one person did not believe it at all - he was Lei Zhengsheng, who worked at the Puppet Beiping Police Bureau.

  As for the other two who were not members of the Zhao family, a man and a woman, no one knew who they were. In those chaotic times, it was nothing unusual for someone to die or go missing, and it was possible that someone who had been dead or missing for several years would reappear in front of people after some time.

  The woman was actually Li Yu'e's distant cousin, Xu Yunqiao, who had come to Beiping from her hometown in the countryside after a period of peace. As for the young man, he was even more innocent, and no one knew his name except Zhao Yidian, because he was Zhao Yidian's high school classmate, and they also had some mutual affection, but unfortunately, their relationship had not yet been revealed before they were both killed.

  Ishii Kyoko stayed in the Army General Hospital of North China for 7 days, and her body had basically recovered, but the memories of the time before she was injured still hadn't come back. Her memory stopped at around 15 years old, meaning that she couldn't remember anything after that age. So Ishii Shirou decided to take her back to Japan, since the medical conditions and level there were much better than here.

  Because of Ishii Ako's sake, Ishii Shirō also lost the heart to observe the research results of Nishitani Eiji and others, and hastily took Ako back to Tokyo. On the way out of the wharf, Ishii Shirō was still blaming himself for letting her marry alone in China, thinking that Zhao Zhibang's heart was also extremely painful. However, Ishii Ako herself did not feel anything wrong, excitedly sitting in the car like a little girl, looking at the night view of Beijing outside the window.

  Although the sky had already darkened, there were still many pedestrians and vehicles coming and going on the road, so the car wasn't moving very fast. Just as it stopped at an intersection, a young man wearing a black windbreaker hastily walked past in front of the car. The man's slender figure was dressed in a black coat with the collar turned up, his head tucked into the collar, and a black fedora hat covered most of his face. Just as Ishiki Aki thought about what kind of face was hidden under that hat, the man lifted his head, turned his face to the side, and glanced at the stopped car beside him. It was a handsome yet cold and expressionless face.

  "Wow, so handsome... haha, if only I could be his girlfriend and lean on him all the time." Ishii Kyoko thought to herself with a sly smile, her face unconsciously turning red as she did. She had no idea that this man once belonged to her, nor did she expect that years later, he would become her arch-nemesis. When she finally woke up from the nightmare that she couldn't control, she realized that those beautiful memories were now so distant, and that period of happiness had become a painful scar in her heart that she couldn't erase.

  This man with his head down was Zhao Zhibang, who had just rushed back from Tianjin. Although he saw in the newspaper that his family had been killed by the Communist Party, his intuition made him feel that there was still some doubt. He had to come back, although he thought of the danger of appearing here.

  When he finally returned to the Willow Leaf Alley on foot, the night had already deepened. The closer he got to home, the heavier his legs became, so heavy that he could hardly lift them. He had walked this road countless times, but never felt it was so far away. His mind kept flashing back to familiar figures: his father, mother, sister, wife and son. The once joyful Zhao family now lay in ruins, nothing but a pile of rubble. Even the large iron gate at the entrance was gone without a trace.

  He turned around to look at the empty alley, the dark alley couldn't see a single figure, and when he turned back, tears no matter how hard he tried finally fell down. Usually at this time, no matter how late he came back, his mother was always the first one to come out and open the door for him. But now that iron gate which used to guard the Zhao's house had disappeared without a trace, and his mother and he were already separated by heaven and earth.

  Just as he was thinking of going out to take another look, he suddenly saw a flash of light in the living room of the house. His heart skipped a beat: "Who would come here so late?", Zhao Zhibang's mind vaguely felt that this must be related to his family being killed, and he quietly walked over with caution.

  "Who?" Just as he was about to sneak up on the person when they weren't paying attention, his foot stepped on a chair leg that had been burned to half its original size. The person suddenly became alert and let out a cry of surprise, accompanied by a beam of light shining directly onto his face.

  "Ah...! You are...!" The man, upon seeing Zhao Zhibang, was suddenly frightened and let out a light cry before hastily retreating several steps to steady himself.

  "Uncle Lei..." Along with the light, Zhao Zhibang also vaguely saw the figure in front of him in the darkness.

  "Zhī Bāng, you're really Zhī Bāng, you didn't die?" Upon hearing Zhao Zhī Bāng's voice, Léi Zhèng Shēng finally came to his senses. He took a few steps forward and shone the flashlight all over Zhao Zhī Bāng's body, hesitated for a moment, then reached out to touch his face again, before excitedly saying...

  "Uncle Lei, what are you doing here?" Zhao Zhibang looked at Lei Zhengsheng's tearful expression as he saw himself and his heart ached, tears streaming down his face.

  "Heaven has eyes... Heaven has eyes... Let's go, this place doesn't seem very safe, come with me quickly!" He said, turning off the flashlight and pulling Zhao Zhibang out of the door without giving him a chance to speak.

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