Ma's Conspiracy

  The villagers were leaving one after another, and Luo Yi brought Zhou Xiying to the grave of her family members with three captured Japanese soldiers. Zhou Xiying knelt on the ground, crying bitterly and kowtowing to her parents. Luo Yi pushed the three Japanese soldiers to the grave as well, kicking each of them in the knee, making them kneel down too.

  "Little brother, don't you want to avenge your parents?" Luo Yi asked.

  Zhou Xiǎo Niáng said: "Think!"

  "Alright, your parents were killed by the Japanese bombs. Now there are three Japanese devils in front of you. Do you dare to kill them and use their bodies as a sacrifice for your parents?"

  Zhou Xi'ao stood up, looking at the three Japanese soldiers kneeling in front of the grave, his eyes filled with hatred. Luo Yi handed Zhou Xi'ao a rifle, which he took and pointed at Matsumoto's head, his hand trembling as he hesitated to pull the trigger for a long time.

  "Brother Luo......" He looked at Luo Yi with a pleading gaze, "I don't dare."

  Luo Yi sighed, when he first killed someone, wasn't it the same? At that time, he had just crossed over and hadn't fully entered his role. Just now, killing two Japanese soldiers was his second time taking a life, and thinking about it now, there was still a faint feeling of nausea. After all, Zhou Xi was only a 13-year-old child, letting him take someone's life with his own hands was indeed somewhat cruel.

  "Never mind, give me the gun and let Ninth Uncle execute it," Luo Yi said.

  Zhou Xi looked at the gun in his hand and then glanced at his parents' tombstone. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger with both hands.

  "Bang!"

  The gun went off, and Zhou Xi opened his eyes, looking at everything in front of him with an incredulous gaze. The shotgun in his hand was emitting a faint wisp of smoke, while Matsumoto lay on the ground, his head blown open, blood splattered onto Zhou Xi's hands and body.

  "Older brother Luo!" Zhou Xi'ao shouted with a voice mixed with fear and pride, "I killed a devil! I avenged my parents!"

  Luo Yi took the gun from Zhou Xi's hand and stroked his head, saying: "Tell your parents a word, let them rest in peace."

  Zhou Xi'er knelt down again, facing her parents' grave and shouted: "Dad, Mom, I killed a devil with my own hands. You watch, I'll kill more devils in the future. I'll take the devils' lives to avenge you."

  Tu Jiu and Cao Xianjin walked over, two shots rang out, and the other two Japanese soldiers were taken care of. Luo Yi asked Lin Xiangxin to find a few villagers, put all the bodies of the killed Japanese soldiers into burlap sacks, secretly transported them away, and instructed them to sink the sacks into the Yangtze River at night. Su Xiaofeng loaded all the captured Arisaka rifles and equipment onto Luo Yi's small car, leaving only two short guns for Lin Xiangxin for self-defense. Hong Kunsheng was also tied up like a big rice dumpling and stuffed into the trunk of the car, whether he would suffocate or not depended on his luck.

  After handling various matters and seeing that all the villagers had been relocated, Luo Yi ordered the fire to be set. Most of the houses in the south were made of brick and wood, and there was also a stockpile of flammable materials such as straw inside. Lin Xiangxin led several villagers with tears in their eyes to personally ignite the big fire, which was a helpless move to confuse the Japanese army and avoid revenge.

  The Japanese troops in Liu Fang Town saw the fire in Zhou Pu Village and indeed sent another squad to investigate. They saw a raging fire, but couldn't find any trace of Matsumoto's group. They believed that whoever set the village on fire must have been Matsumoto's group, and the villagers must have already been driven away by them. But where did Matsumoto go after setting the fire? The squad leader of the Japanese reinforcements was at a loss.

  Luo Yi drove away with the assault team after setting the fire, and on the way, he saw police rushing to Zhoupu Village to put out the fire and some villagers from surrounding villages, but he didn't stop and drove back to the city.

  Luo Yi drove the car directly into Du Gongguan, and the doorman knew he was a guest of Mr. Du, so he didn't stop him. Luo Yi stopped the car and let the doorman go to inform Mr. Du. Mr. Du came out of the house, surprised, and said to Luo Yi: "Mr. Luo, how can you spare time to visit my humble abode today? I was thinking of inviting you to a banquet in two days."

  Luo Yi walked forward, speaking in a low voice: "Boss Du, I'm not here to visit. Today I went to Zhabei and happened upon something, so I rushed over to report it to you."

  "Oh? Speak up inside." Old Du said cautiously.

  Two people entered the house, took their seats as host and guest, and Mr. Du said: "There are no outsiders here, please speak freely, Mr. Luo."

  Luo Yi said: "I just got the news, Ma Boss is colluding with the Japanese."

  "Old Horse?" Old Du frowned, "Are you certain?"

  Luo Yi didn't answer immediately, he walked to the door and made a gesture to Su Xiaofeng. Su Xiaofeng brought Cao Xianjin to open the trunk of the car, pulled out a bulging sack, carried it into the house, and then left.

  "What is this?" asked Old Du.

  Luo Yi untied the sack and pulled out Hong Kunsheng, whose hands and feet were bound and who was wearing a blindfold over his eyes.

  "This person? Why does he look a bit familiar?" said Old Du.

  He nodded: "He is Ma's man, called Hong Kunsheng. Today he led a team of devils to Zhoupu Village to forcibly requisition houses and even planned to shoot people."

  "Hong Kunsheng?" said Old Du, "I seem to recall him. He's one of Ma's trusted subordinates."

  Luo Yi pulled down Hong Kunsheng's eye mask and said: "Hong Kunsheng, take a look at who is in front of you, then think about what you want to say."

  Hong Kunsheng squinted for a moment, adapting to the light, then looked around. When he saw Old Du, Hong Kunsheng was shocked and pale, kowtowing repeatedly: "Old Du, spare my life!"

  Du Lao Ban stepped forward, nudged Hong Kun Sheng with his toes and asked: "What are you afraid of? Can I still eat you? You tied up my daughter, didn't I also not settle accounts with Ma Lao Ban?"

  Luo Yi saved Du Xinyu on the Yangtze River and caught several kidnappers, including Li Laosi under Ma Lao's command. Luo Yi handed over these kidnappers to Du Lao, who personally interrogated them for two days and obtained some information, confirming that it was indeed Ma Lao who ordered the kidnapping, but Li Laosi did not know the specific motive.

  "Boss Du, I'm innocent! It wasn't me who kidnapped Miss Du, it was all arranged by Boss Ma. And...Miss Du is now being hidden on a boat in the Yangtze River..." Hong Kunsheng heard Boss Du mention the kidnapping of Du Xinyu and knew that he had already fallen out with Boss Ma. Hong Kunsheng was eager to clear his name, so he quickly spilled all the information he knew. However, he didn't know that Du Xinyu had already been rescued by Luo Yi, a piece of news that even Boss Ma hadn't received yet.

  "You say Ma Lao Ban kidnapped Xin Yu, what for? Is he trying to extort money from me?" Du Lao Ban asked.

  "I don't know..." Hong Kunsheng said.

  Luo Yi had been observing from the side, and now seeing Hong Kunsheng's hesitant expression, he knew that his words were not true. He lightly told Du Boss: "Boss Du, it seems that Hong Kunsheng really doesn't know. Since he doesn't know anything, let's not ask him anymore, just throw him into the river."

  "Stop! Great hero, spare my life. This... this is all the Japanese's idea, kidnapping Miss Du!"

  "Japanese?" Luo Yi and Du Boss were both somewhat surprised. The information they had was different, but the judgment they made was roughly the same. They both thought that Ma Boss's kidnapping of Du Xinyu was aimed at undermining Du Boss's power, purely a struggle between underworld factions. Now it seems that this matter was actually instructed by the Japanese.

  "What's the point of Japanese people tying up their hearts?" asked Old Du.

  "The Japanese said that Boss Du was very capable in Shanghai, but had one shortcoming - he was unwilling to cooperate with the Imperial Army. So, they asked Boss Ma to kidnap Miss Du and extort 1 million yuan from Boss Du. If Boss Du refused to pay, then he would have to agree to cooperate with the Japanese. As long as Boss Du agreed to the Japanese conditions, Boss Ma would immediately release Miss Du."

  "You, with the surname Ma, have gone too far!" Old Master Du heard this and became uncontrollably angry. "The traitor who sells out his country for personal gain has actually dared to lay hands on my daughter! If I don't destroy you, I swear I won't be human."

  "Hong Kunsheng, what benefits did Old Master Ma get from cooperating with the Japanese?" Luo Yi asked.

  Hong Kunsheng had already collapsed at this time. He knew Du's character very well, knowing that he looked gentle and elegant on the surface but was actually ruthless and cruel in reality. Falling into Du's hands, he was really in a precarious situation.

  "Boss Ma had always wanted to unify the Shanghai underworld, then the Japanese came and promised that as long as Boss Ma helped them with their affairs, they would support him. So Boss Ma cooperated with the Japanese."

  "A traitor to his own people!" Old Du cursed, and then he said to Luo Yi: "Mr. Luo, hand over Hong Kunsheng to me, I want to interrogate him thoroughly. As for that guy with the surname Ma, I'll settle scores with him sooner or later."

  Luo Yi said: "Boss Du, I came back from Zhabei and didn't even go to the hotel, I came straight here. Actually, I just wanted to hand over Hong Kunsheng to you. Now that he's here, I'll take my leave first. If there's anything else you need me to help with, just let me know."

  Old Du chuckled and said, "A mere Mr. Ma is not worthy of Mr. Luo's mighty blade. You've come to Shanghai, go take care of your own business first. Another day I'll have to specially ask for your guidance. If there's a place where Old Du can be of use, please don't hesitate to speak up, Mr. Luo."

  Luo Yi said, "Then thank you, Mr. Du. My brothers are still outside, so I won't stay long. We may need to trouble the Shihao Hotel for a few more days. Besides, we have some things to take care of in Shanghai, and it's likely that we'll need to bother Mr. Du again."

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  (Strongly recommended during this period, seeking recommendations, seeking collections)