Chapter 4: Hibiscus in Winter Nights

  At two o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Xiaotang took two people and quietly left the Jiangjin Wharf. As they walked away, there were already sporadic boats docking on the north bank of the river. Although not many, it brought infinite hope to the military and civilians on the wharf. However, according to the boatmen from the north bank, the Japanese devils' warships had begun to appear on the surface of the river, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty for the subsequent evacuation action.

  Lei Zhenpai assigned two men to Lin Xiaotang. One was a veteran surnamed Quan from Handan, Hebei Province, who had participated in dozens of battles including the defense of Beiping and was said to have rich experience and an extremely sensitive "dog nose" that could sniff out Japanese devils tens of meters away, earning him the nickname "Xi Tian Quan". The other was named He Chong, from Xingyi, Guizhou Province, who had studied at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, held the rank of captain, spoke fluent Japanese and was a rising star in the instructional corps.

  It's clear that Lao Quan is not enthusiastic about this task. Ever since he met Lin Xiaotang, he has been sulking and muttering to himself, it's unknown what he's saying. Probably he's dissatisfied with Lin Xiaotang. As for He Chong, his face is expressionless, whatever the superior says goes, without any hesitation, others can't tell what he's thinking in his heart.

  All three of them changed into casual clothes and hid their personal weapons and ammunition. Just before departure, He Chong stood in front of Lin Xiaotang and said in a cold tone: "I have the highest rank, I will lead this operation, after we arrive, you will complete your task and return immediately, understood?"

  Lin Xiaotang glanced at him sideways, didn't say a word, just slightly nodded. ??Rebel Agent 4 of the Republic of China

  Snowflakes had begun to fall from the sky. Although not very big, they covered up the thick smell of gunpowder and blood in the air. Lin Xiaotang took a deep breath and walked at the front, unintentionally seeing He Chong, but his face was somewhat pale, Lao Quan was much more relaxed at this time, a pair of eyes vigilantly searched around, the huge red nose sniffed constantly.

  Everywhere is ruins, almost can't see the original street's trace, in the ruins occasionally appears fallen bodies, most of them are ordinary people, old and young, fresh blood on the dark-colored rubble is particularly eye-catching, there is also a woman, stripped naked, her belly was cut open, intestines accompanied by already darkened blood stains flowed all over the ground.

  Unexpectedly, He Chong, who was full of energy when he set out, turned out to be a rookie who had never been on the battlefield. After witnessing the bloodiness of the battlefield, he immediately felt unwell, his face pale and legs trembling uncontrollably, and vomited several times along the way. His previous arrogance and pride had vanished without a trace.

  The three of them finally made it through the road without incident, thanks to Laoquan's vigilance and keen sense of smell. They managed to evade several batches of Japanese troops, but it seemed that the Japanese army was indeed overstretched, with many areas left unguarded. The sound of gunfire within Nanjing City had also become much less frequent, and the National Army's resistance had almost disappeared - all three of them could feel this.

  After sneaking into Taihe Bridge, Lin Xiaotang and the other two searched for a while before finding their original residence. Lin Xiaotang had Lao Quan and He Chong observe from the outside, and alone began searching through the ruins for her relatives.

  But it's not that easy. Lin Xiaotang dug out blood with her palm, but still couldn't find any trace of her brother and sister-in-law. Finally, Lao Quan really couldn't bear to watch anymore, helped search together, and finally found Lin Xiaotang's brother's body under a few stone slabs.

  The big brother in front of him had already stopped breathing with his eyes tightly closed.

  Lin Xiaotang tightly hugged his brother's body, his shoulders shaking. He didn't dare to cry out loud, and could only bury his face in his brother's chest, sobbing silently.

  Lao Quan and He Chong looked at each other, wanting to persuade him, but not knowing where to start, so they just stood by silently accompanying Lin Xiaotang.

  Lin Xiaotang found a crescent-shaped jade pendant from her elder brother's tightly clenched right hand, which was the token of affection between him and his wife.

  A long time ago, he had heard his elder brother mention that his sister-in-law was a talented woman from a good family. She fell in love with his elder brother, who was poor at the time, but her family opposed their relationship, so she eloped with him to Nanjing. The couple's feelings for each other were deep. Although they lived a simple life, they were happy together with Lin Xiaotang and their three-person household. This jade pendant was given by his sister-in-law to his elder brother, who always wore it on his body, saying that when Lin Xiaotang got married, he would give this jade pendant to his wife.

  The jade pendant is still crystal clear, but elder brother and sister-in-law...

  Lin Xiaotang solemnly hung the jade pendant around her neck, helped her big brother clean up all the dirt on his body, turned back and continued digging. After a while, except for finding a few clothes that her sister-in-law wore every day and some small clothes prepared for the flesh and blood in her belly, nothing was found.

  Helpless, he could only put his sister-in-law's clothes into his brother's arms and personally bury his brother.

  Watching his brother being slowly buried by the mud, Lin Xiaotang felt as if something was stuck in his chest. He just wanted to cry out loud, but at this moment, he couldn't even do that.

  The sky had already darkened, and the three of them were just about to leave after finishing their collection. However, out of nowhere, a black figure suddenly emerged. The figure was clearly not expecting to run into anyone either, let out a sharp cry, turned around, and ran off - it was a woman. Just as Lin Xiaotang and the others were about to catch up to her, they saw a beam of light flash by on the road, and the three of them hastily hid themselves.

  That black shadow ran straight onto the main road and was startled by a beam of light, letting out an "ah" as it fell to the ground in the middle of the road.

  A Japanese Type 97 military sidecar motorcycle was approaching, driven by a Japanese soldier wearing a leather hat and goggles, with a young Japanese officer sitting in the sidecar.

  The two were attracted by the unexpected prey, got off the car, and under the light of the car lights, they saw the face of the woman in front of them, and suddenly burst out laughing. ??Rebel Agent 4 of the Republic of China

  Two men dragged the woman towards the side of the road, she waved her hands and feet, constantly resisting, but did not shout.

  Lin Xiaotang didn't have time to greet Lao Quan and He Chong, looked around and saw no one, then jumped out from the hiding place. Under the cover of night, he sneaked up behind the two Japanese men, his dagger flashing in the moonlight as it sliced through their throats.

  Lao Quan and He Chong rushed out immediately, the three of them working together to move the motorcycle and two corpses to the side of the road. When Lao Quan turned around to help the woman, he couldn't help but exclaim "hmm?"

  It cannot be denied that although the woman was wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket and had some coal dust on her face, she still could not hide her delicate and pretty face. Especially after being frightened by what happened earlier, her lovely face was tear-stained, full of weak and pitiful expressions, which added to her lovable appearance.

  When He Chong first saw that woman, his mouth was wide open, and his originally pale face turned bright red in an instant.

  Lao Quan saw He Chong's expression and chuckled, then leaned in close to Lin Xiaotang and whispered a few words.

  Lin Xiaotang, who was searching through the Japanese military officer's briefcase, merely responded with a "Really?"

  Lao Quan chuckled: "Chu Yuanyan, the top courtesan of Qingfeng Pavilion, which is famous throughout both banks of Qinhuai River. Who in Nanjing doesn't know her? I followed my superior there before, but didn't even get to enter the door, just stood guard outside and drank a night's worth of northwest wind!"

  These obviously did not arouse Lin Xiaotang's interest, his attention was all on the stack of files he had just flipped out in his hand.

  These documents were issued by the 3rd Division of the Japanese Army to the Taka Forest Regiment, and relevant orders are estimated to have been given to combat units earlier. These are specific action plans, and the Japanese military officer who was killed should be the division headquarters staff officer Nishino Sato, who was ordered to deliver the documents.

  The order clearly stated that the Japanese army was currently short of troops and intended to quickly control Nanjing. Therefore, the requirements for the front-line combat units were not to accept any prisoners of war, while strictly controlling the spread of news, all massacres had to be carried out in secret, and military officers and soldiers were forbidden from accepting interviews and photographs with foreign journalists.

  He Chong had studied in Japan and was fluent in Japanese. He scanned the document with a glance, and when he saw the note attached to the back of the file, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his face also turning solemn.

  "Eagle Forest Alliance has hundreds of National Army prisoners in their hands, and all these National Armies are our Training General Headquarters' brothers!" He Chong said word by word: "This order is their death warrant. The Japanese are preparing to take action tonight to kill them all!"

  Lao Quan took a deep breath, while Lin Xiaotang remained unmoved, using the dagger still stained with fresh blood to vigorously whittle a piece of wood, thinking only of his brother's appearance, his eyes revealing intense hatred.

  "It's simple!" Lin Xiaotang stabbed the dagger into the body of the Japanese officer beside him, this action made He Chong's body tremble inexplicably, Lao Quan didn't react much, while the woman showed a hint of curiosity. "You and Lao Quan take the people and this document back to Wanjiamen first, I'll go to the Eagle Forest Regiment to gather some information, feel out the situation, if it's possible, we'll rescue the person, if not, I'll come back and report."

  "How can that be?" He Chong almost stood up: "This time it's me leading the team!"

  "Alright," Lin Xiaotang waved her hand, "This matter was caused by me, you two don't need to take risks. Besides, the military uniform and identity are ready-made, and my Japanese is not bad either, there shouldn't be any danger."

  He Qiong pointed at the corpse of the Japanese officer: "What if someone over there recognizes him?"

  Lin Xiaotang spread her hands: "Then I'm out of luck!"

  He Chong glanced at Chu Yuyan beside him and puffed out his chest: "I'm the chief officer, everyone follows my orders."

  Lin Xiaotang smiled: "Suit yourself, just don't drag me down."

  The two quickly changed into Japanese soldiers' clothes. He Chong had originally wanted to wear an officer's uniform, but unfortunately the officer's size was too large and He Chong's figure didn't fit, so Lin Xiaotang had to play the role instead. Fortunately, both of their Japanese language skills were good enough to mix into the enemy camp and deceive them. Counterattack Republic's Special Agent 4

  Now they just pray that there is no acquaintance of Nishino in the Eagles' squad.

  Sitting in the corner, Chu Yuyan quietly watched as Lao Quan helped the two people get dressed, and suddenly asked: "Are you National Army?"

  Lin Xiaotang pointed at Lao Quan and He Chong: "Who are they? I am not!"

  "Where are you going to let him take me? I don't want to be alone with him!" The woman asked in a suspicious tone, her voice full of extreme distrust towards Laoquan.

  Lin Xiaotang suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

  "Go where you can survive," Lao Quan suddenly said in a very cold tone, "Miss Chu, don't put on airs. Those officials and nobles who usually flatter you and praise you, spending thousands of gold coins for you. In the end, aren't we, these common soldiers whom you usually wouldn't even give a proper look, the ones who saved you?"

  "You, you recognize me?" The woman seemed somewhat surprised.

  Lin Xiaotang pressed down on the somewhat puffed-up old man, laughing and saying: "At this time, don't be so particular, even if she's a beggar, she's still our compatriot, we can't just sit back and watch her being bullied by the Japanese."

  Lin Xiaotang paused, looked at Lao Quan and He Chong, and continued: "I heard that Miss Chu's chat time is calculated in dollars and gold bars. I hope you can see that we're helping you out of kindness, so don't ask us poor devils for money again!"

  Lao Quan burst into a strange and eerie laughter, but He Chong's expression was somewhat unusual.

  Chu Yuyan's eyes widened immediately, her slender fingers clenched together, and the joints of her fingers turned white as she stared at Lin Xiaotang: "I remember you!"