Chapter Thirty-Five: Accidentally Entering Hutian Village

  Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night. At the same time, the Shanghai station of the Military Bureau was also deploying troops and generals. Although Station Master Wang Tianmu had received news of Gao Tao's arrival in Shanghai early on, he still felt powerless in the face of pressure from the Japanese and No. 76.

  Under pressure from above, he arranged for the action team's Liu Chengfeng to lead some members to stand by. Unexpectedly, Gao Tao and others came to Shanghai and did not communicate with the Military Intelligence Bureau, but instead contacted Wan Mulin directly, which made Wang Tianmu breathe a sigh of relief. However, he didn't dare to let go of his hands, after all, this was Dai Li's personal order, if something went wrong, he would still be held accountable.

  For this, he ordered Liu Chengfeng to closely monitor Wan Mulin's mansion. Just now, Liu Chengfeng sent someone to report that Wan Mulin and his two followers, Mirror and Young Master, had set out in three directions. Wan Mulin's route had already been intercepted by Zhang Aoling and Li Shiqun, confirming it was a feint, while the other two groups were still entangled with each other, drawing most of the attention from No. 76. Liu Chengfeng indirectly expressed his own opinion, suspecting that these two routes were also decoys.

  Wang Tianmu hesitated, and he was very clear about the current situation of Wan Mulin. In Shanghai, he was isolated and powerless. If Zhang Xiaolin hadn't intervened, Wang could have easily sent Wan out of Shanghai without any effort. But now that Zhang had openly boarded the Japanese ship, who among the three major powers would dare to lend a hand?

  In desperation, Wang Tianmu thought of one person. Perhaps now only he could help himself get through this ordeal safely.

  But this man is an old predecessor of the intelligence department, and it can be said that even if Dai Li and Chen Lifu, Chen Guofu brothers saw him, they would have to respectfully call out "Mr." Moreover, he has been in seclusion for many years, and he himself came to his presence so hastily, would he agree?

  Wang Tianmu hesitated for a moment before dialing a number.

  An aged but slightly sharp voice came from the receiver, "Zeng's residence, who is it?"

  Wang Tianmu hastily replied, "Is it Chang Bo? Hello, I am Zheng Shisong."

  "Oh, it's Mr. Zheng, what brings you to call so late?" Chang Bo's tone was very calm.

  Wang Tianmu gripped the phone tightly, his palms slightly sweaty, and said apologetically: "I'm really sorry, I have an urgent matter here, may I ask, has Old Man Yu retired for the night?"

  The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly disappeared, seemingly inquiring, Wang Tianmu didn't dare to breathe out loudly, and could only wait patiently.

  After a moment, a deep and resonant voice came from the other end of the phone, "Is that Ren Ke? This is Zeng Yijiang."

  Wang Tianmu was overjoyed, "Mr. Ju, you're doing well, you still remember my name?"

  A burst of hearty laughter immediately came from over there.

  Wang Tianmu knew that this host had a straightforward temperament and didn't dare to beat around the bush, so he directly told the host about the things he wanted to entrust him with.

  Yu Gong thought for a moment and nodded in response: "Alright, I understand what you mean. I've heard about this matter before. Since Ren Keng has spoken up, I won't ignore it."

  Wang Tianmu is grateful for your kindness.

  He hung up the phone and walked over to the sofa, where he sat down. Across from him was a person who turned out to be none other than Wan Mulin, who was originally supposed to appear at the International Nightclub.

  The old man pointed at the phone and said, "Chongqing can't sit still."

  Wan Mòlín put down his teacup and raised an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so?"

  "Mr. Guo stroked his beard and asked, 'Was this bold move tonight your doing?'"

  "No, it's purely out of helplessness. Zhang Xiaolin has already torn his face off, and Mr. Du's constant letters and phone calls couldn't change his mind. Tonight, he did something extreme, and I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. Xiao Shen and Xiao Ma have a young man surnamed Lin under their command, it was his idea, and at the time, I didn't have a choice either."

  "Ah," said Lin, his body straightening up immediately, "What's your first name?"

  Wan Mo Lin rubbed his forehead, thinking hard for a while, "Lin Qi, Lin Xiaotang."

  He suddenly had an epiphany, a hint of strange brilliance flashed in his eyes, and he burst out laughing. "Mulin, this doesn't seem like your style at all! You're entrusting such a big matter to someone who can't even remember their own name!"

  Wan Mo Lin said seriously: "The people whom Xiao Shen and Xiao Ma believe in, I absolutely trust!"

  Yu Gong nodded in praise, "No wonder you're a student of Yue Xuan**, you indeed have the demeanor of a great general!"

  Yu Gong was well aware of Wan Mo Lin Qiao's intentions in coming to find him tonight, and he didn't plan on declining. On one hand, it was a matter of Du Yue Shuang's face, and on the other hand, he had already learned that Gao Tao and the others were carrying secret documents that could shake the political situation. Out of justice, he couldn't refuse either. Furthermore, he had just found out that Lin Xiao Tang had also joined in, so he couldn't stay out of it even more.

  Having received Mr. Yu's accurate reply, Wan Mulin felt much more at ease all over his body. The only thing that made him wonder was that Mr. Yu had actually brought up a small request, which was to please take care of this young man with the surname Lin after this matter was over. As for what kind of relationship he and this young man with the surname Lin had, Wan Mulin didn't dare ask. For him, Mr. Yu's willingness to lend a hand was already a huge help, so taking care of a young man would be an easy thing to do.

  Chang Bo sent off Wan Mulin and then reported to Yong Gong, "They have appeared in Hongkou! Liu Chengfeng seems to have received the news and is heading that way to provide support!"

  Yu Gong sank into thought for a moment, "Let Chang Huan go, take them to our dock, get on the ship and set sail directly, then board the Hoover. Also, help me contact Hong Chawei, these foreigners are in a mess, they don't even understand the situation, and yet they allow the Japanese to stir up trouble in the concession!"

  Lin Xiaotang and they didn't go far before discovering that something was amiss. The street suddenly had many suspicious-looking people, constantly searching for something, seemingly looking for a target. Especially when Lin Xiaotang saw Yuan Jianfeng shrinking away in fear among a group of people, his eyes darting around to find an escape route. Lin Xiaotang knew things were going to go terribly wrong.

  Lin Xiaotang had thought of killing Yuan Jianfeng to silence him, but although Yuan Jianfeng and he were inextricably linked, Lin Xiaotang had not expected that the passionate young man from years ago would have fallen so low for the sake of national righteousness. Of course, the main reason was that whenever Lin Xiaotang saw Yuan Jianfeng, he couldn't help but think of Xia Zhiping, and his heart would involuntarily soften.

  Lin Xiaotang gestured for everyone to hide in the dark corner, while his eyes kept scanning around. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and not far away, at the street corner stood a building with a strong Japanese style, on which an ancient lantern hung with three words - "Hutianjin".

  Lin Xiaotang made a subtle gesture to several people, who hastily moved towards that Japanese izakaya.

  Pushing aside the door curtain, Lin Xiaotang only discovered that this izakaya was indeed quite spacious. The interior was decorated in a uniform Japanese style. As soon as she entered, a smiling waitress wearing a kimono came to greet her.

  A middle-aged man with the surname Gao among them seemed to understand Japanese, although he didn't know what Lin Xiaotang meant by coming here, but before leaving, he received Wan Mulin's instructions, letting them all follow Lin Xiaotang's arrangements, so as soon as they entered, under Lin Xiaotang's indication, they asked for a small private room.

  Lin Xiaotang fluently conversed with the waiters in Japanese, which surprised him as they were all authentic Japanese people who could also understand Chinese. Lin Xiaotang carelessly joked with two good-looking waiters while calmly helping a few people order dishes and asking for two bottles of sake.

  After the waiter bowed and retreated, Lin Xiaotang came to the middle-aged man surnamed Gao and instructed them to take their time eating, after all, there were still a large number of 76th special agents searching outside, and the next journey was destined to be very difficult, so they might as well rest here for a while and replenish themselves with some food.

  Hu Yan's eyes narrowed behind his glasses as he gazed at Lin Xiaotang, his heart unable to calm down. He had been staying with Du Yuesheng for over a year now, and although every day was spent in idleness, the flame in his heart had never gone out. He still vividly remembered his unbearable experiences abroad, which were also the greatest motivation for him to return and serve his country. However, after returning home, he discovered that his skills were useless here, and it wasn't until that year and a half that he truly understood the saying "a tree standing tall in the forest will be uprooted by the wind". He came to Shanghai under an assumed name, hoping to start anew, but the cruel reality almost crushed him. Du Yuesheng didn't dare use him, instead keeping him like a pet, but this was not the life he had hoped for.

  Until today, when he met Lin Xiaotang, Huo Yan suddenly felt a kind of inexplicable familiarity, and he strongly sensed that this person had the same aura as him. Huo Yan couldn't help but think that perhaps, he could become someone who would change his fate.

  Lin Xiaotang stepped out of the room and walked straight to the counter of the izakaya. The counter was where customers sat, while behind it was the operating table of the izakaya. A Japanese old man wearing a white chef uniform and sporting a short mustache directed his busy staff as they prepared various dishes for the guests, while he himself expertly flipped and stirred the sizzling seafood ingredients on the iron plate.

  There were not many guests in the evening, it can be seen that this place has just opened for a short time, and there is still a faint smell of decoration in the house. It seems that the main purpose is to serve Japanese people in Shanghai. Those who come here to eat and drink are either soldiers or well-dressed Japanese businessmen.

  Seeing Lin Xiaotang sit down in front of him, the old man bowed slightly and greeted him. Lin Xiaotang hurriedly returned the courtesy, ordering a pot of clear wine, a plate of fried shrimp rolls, a plate of squid sashimi, and a plate of puffer fish sashimi.

  The old man looked at Lin Xiaotang with a surprised expression.

  In no time, the several small dishes Lin Xiaotang had ordered were placed in front of him. He picked up two slices of crystal-clear puffer fish sashimi, dipped them in some seasoning sauce and put them in his mouth. The fragrance and tenderness of the fish immediately filled his mouth.

  The old man quietly placed a small cup of wine beside Lin Xiaotang.

  Lin Xiaotang nodded and said in Japanese: "The seasoning sauce is very special, scallions, vinegar, yuzu juice, and what's the other one?"

  The old man's eyes lit up and he looked at Lin Xiaotang for a while before saying, "Thanks to your praise, there is also a special radish paste made by our small store."

  Lin Xiaotang smiled and raised the cup of wine handed over by the old man, drinking it in one gulp. "With your cup of puffer fish fin wine, it's even more perfect!"

  Note 1: Wang Tianmu, originally named Wang Renkeng, alias Zheng Shisong. One of the four major golden men of the Military Bureau, he was active in the Northeast Army in his early years and later moved to Northwest China, joining the Military Bureau and serving as the director of the Shanghai station.