Chapter 1: The Wanderer Returns (Part 1)

  A fine misty rain fluttered down, casting a layer of thin fog like silk or cotton over the sky above the dock.

  In February of the 19th year of the Republic of China, Tianjin was still lingering with the chill of late winter.

  The Tokyo-Tianjin cruise ship lazily slid along its route and slowly entered the port.

  The ten-thousand-ton luxury liner had just docked and hadn't even come to a complete stop when the passengers, who had long since packed up their belongings, eagerly swarmed onto the deck. The younger men waved their hats wildly and shouted loudly at those below, while the more attractive women ceaselessly fluttered the silk scarves in their hands as they jumped up and down and shrieked at the top of their lungs.

  On the dock, people of all shapes and sizes who came to meet the ship were packed tightly together, pushing and shoving each other. Everyone had the same movement, straining their necks to look up at the ship, eagerly searching for their loved ones.

  As the noisy and crowded stream of people came down from the gangway, Li Ruofeng tightened the collar of his exquisite black leather trench coat, trying to hide his face in the collar, with his right hand carrying a brown leather suitcase, he walked hastily towards the customs passage of the dock.

  Just as he had walked up a few steps, a middle-aged man wearing a kimono and gold-rimmed glasses led two short and sturdy Shosa military officers in Japanese Kwantung Army uniforms out of the crowd. The three men timed it perfectly, blocking Li Ruofeng's path.

  "Li Sang, I heard you're back in the country. Mr. Ito has been waiting especially for your arrival." The middle-aged man wearing a kimono smiled and bowed to Li Ruofeng while speaking Japanese.

  To these three sudden uninvited guests, Li Ruofeng apparently didn't feel surprised or strange. He sized them up with a glance, bent down to gently put down his suitcase, and looked at the black-clad man in front of him who was about the same age as him, smiling calmly: "You people from the Black Dragon Society really are like ghosts that won't disperse." His Japanese was obviously very fluent.

  "Li Sang, it's precisely because of this that we can better demonstrate the sincerity of our great Japanese Empire in seeking talent." Ito Masao smiled and said: "A talented person like Li Sang, if we can't make use of him, would be a loss for the empire."

  "Ito, I told you two years ago that I'm not interested in doing things for you." Li Ruofeng seemed to glance around casually and said lightly: "What one would not wish for oneself, do not impose on others. Such a difficult thing to force upon someone, I hope you won't mention it again in the future."

  "Ri Sang, I'm deeply sorry to see you insist on returning home despite my unwillingness to let you go. With your exceptional talent, I believe you would have achieved great things in our Great Japanese Empire."

  "Can't I make a difference when I return home?"

  "Hehe, I certainly don't dare to condone your Nationalist government's corruption and incompetence."

  "Whether our government is incompetent or not, it's not for a humble commoner like me to worry about. What I say doesn't count, and what you say counts even less, Mr. Ito. It's great to see you in China. If there's nothing else, let's just part ways here, shall we?"

  "Hehe, I believe we will meet again, Li San, please!" Ito Masao bowed to Li Ruofeng once more, then stepped aside to let him pass.

  Ito Masao's move was a bit unexpected for Li Ruofeng, who thought that since the other side had openly used Japanese military personnel, they would likely take tough measures against him.

  Li Ruofeng took a deep look at Ito Masao, bent down to pick up the suitcase, smiled and nodded, walking calmly out of the customs passage, hailed a rickshaw casually, and soon disappeared from Ito Masao's sight.

  "Ito-san, since you've caught him, why are you letting him go so easily?" An officer behind Ito Masao asked in puzzlement.

  "Today I just want to see with my own eyes that Li Ruofeng has returned to Zhina." said Itō Masao, as if implying something deeper.

  "Mr. Ito, since this person cannot be used by the Empire, why not get rid of him? To avoid future threats!" Another lieutenant with a professional military aura asked coldly.

  "You, who can't even win against Senya in a sword fight, think you can take me down that easily?" Ito Masao asked with a cold smile, his eyes slanted as he gazed at the Eagle Faction officer.

  "No matter how fast your hands are, they can't be faster than bullets!" The lieutenant colonel replied with a dismissive curl of his lip.

  "Bullets? Lieutenant Ono, I'm afraid he understands bullets more deeply and thoroughly than you do." Ito Masao said with a profound gaze: "Li Ruofeng not only studied at Waseda University, but also was an unknown military genius of the Imperial Army Officer School."

  Captain Ono was taken aback for a moment before saying harshly, "Then this person cannot be left alive! The stronger his abilities are, the greater the harm to the Empire."

  "This is a crucial relationship, I'm well aware of it, but the military department's directive to our special high-level course is that as long as Li Ruofeng doesn't serve the Shina government for one day, we must try our best to get him to work for the Empire at all costs." Ito Masao smiled with a deep plan: "What we need to do now is to mobilize the Empire's forces embedded in the Shina government to prevent Li Ruofeng from entering the Shina government army, especially the Northeast Army."

  The three of them walked out of the dock passage while talking and got into a black Dodge sedan parked on the side of the road, heading in the direction of the Asahi rented area.

  One minute later, the black Ford sedan parked on the opposite side of the road from the black Dodge sedan slowly started up.

  The Ford didn't follow the Dodge ahead of it but instead cruised along the street at a moderate pace.

  The driver was a beautiful woman wearing a brown tight hunting suit and a duck tongue cap on her head. She drove while muttering to herself: "Ito Masao ran from Shanghai to Tianjin, just to meet that person for a moment? He dressed so solemnly and even brought two lieutenant-level officers with him. This arrangement should be to pick up some important figure, but the situation earlier was clearly not what he had expected..."

  "The person who can make Ito Masao come out in person is definitely not a simple character." The middle-aged man with a horse face and sunglasses, sitting in the passenger seat, played with the camera in his hand. "The Japanese have been very active recently, maybe we've caught a big fish this time."

  "Maybe, hopefully Ma Jun and his team won't lose anyone."

  "It shouldn't be, Ma Jun is no good at anything else, but when it comes to tracking, he's absolutely a master."

  "First go back and develop the photos, we must investigate the details of the person who just met with Ito Masao as soon as possible."

  The beautiful driver finished speaking, stepped on the accelerator and the Ford car sped up immediately.

  Li Ruofeng sat in the rickshaw and had just turned a corner when he discovered someone was following him. When he passed two more intersections, the number of people tailing him increased from one group to two groups with different numbers of people.

  In Li Ruofeng's view, having a tail hanging behind him was normal, otherwise he really couldn't figure out what kind of medicine Ito Masao was selling in his gourd.

  As for what the other person who was following him was up to, he wasn't interested in knowing at the moment. Tianjin wasn't his destination on this trip, and from Tianjin Wei to Beiping City there was still a long way to go. If he wanted to shake off the person behind him, there would be plenty of opportunities along the way.

  The fastest and most comfortable way from Tianjin to Beijing is by train.

  Li Ruofeng was clearly not the kind of poor person who was short of money, he didn't squeeze into an ordinary carriage with all sorts of passengers, but instead chose a quiet and undisturbed sleeper compartment specially designed for wealthy and dignified people.

  But this so-called non-interference is by no means absolute, let alone the fact that he is still a special figure being closely watched by people with ulterior motives.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, it wasn't long after the train started that the knocking sound from outside the compartment door broke Li Ruofeng's peaceful and serene meditation.

  "Sorry sir, now checking tickets, routine inspection, please cooperate."

  Li Ruofeng slightly furrowed his brow. The train had just started, how did the ticket inspector end up checking him? There was obviously something more to it.

  He got up and pulled open the compartment door, outside of which stood a train conductor and two young men wearing black Zhongshan suits with slicked-back hair and cold expressions.

  Li Ruofeng handed the ticket to the conductor, who carefully checked its authenticity. Meanwhile, two young men wearing black Zhongshan suits entered the sleeping car without permission and began observing everything around them.

  "You shouldn't be here just for ticket checking, right?" Li Ruofeng seemed very calm and smiled lightly.

  "I'm Ma Jun, from the Central Organization Investigation Department." The young man with a hawk-like nose on the left forced a smile and produced a blue ID card with a blue sky and white sun emblem, "I've been ordered by my superiors to apprehend Communist Party members. If I've caused any inconvenience, please forgive me."

  "Am I right in assuming that I am the one you are looking for?" Li Ruofeng couldn't help but feel extremely amused, and now he understood that the other person being stared at was actually someone from the National Government.

  "Everyone on this train is a suspect until proven otherwise." Ma Jun circled Li Ruofeng twice, sizing him up from head to toe.

  "There's no need to beat around the bush, everyone is a discerning person. You've been following me from the dock all the way onto the train, aren't you just trying to figure out who I am?!" Li Ruofeng exposed their intentions with one sentence, and smiled slightly mockingly: "Why not go ask the Japanese directly? You don't dare, so you're using the excuse of searching for Communist Party members to investigate my background, right?"

  Li Ruofeng's blunt words were apparently beyond Ma Jun's expectations, and for a moment he was speechless.