Chapter 68: The Subtle Beginning of a Plan within a Plan

  "Get in." Yang Jue's expression didn't change, "We're prepared, don't worry. When the time comes, we'll sit in the front car, you deal with the sentry, I'll take care of your safety."

  Yano didn't say anything more.

  Dusk. The setting sun casts a faint glow, stretching the trees' shadows very long, so long that they paint a hazy landscape on the city wall. A few devils stare blankly at the faint tree shadows on the wall, watching them gradually become blurred and merge with the twilight. Beijing, the heart of the army stationed in northern China, although there are occasional resistance activities, no one would dare to attack the city defenses openly.

  The devils have started moving roadblocks, they're going to seal off the doors.

  "Wait a minute." A ghost pointed at the distant smoke and dust, saying, "It seems like someone is coming."

  In the dark twilight, a black sedan drove into the eyes of several people, followed by two cars from the Imperial Army, with heavy machine guns mounted on top, obviously from the first-line combat troops.

  A beautiful woman got out of the car in front, took small steps, and quietly stood before several oni. "Hello. I am a friend of General Fujita Chūson, from Kanto. These are troops sent by General Kōsaka to escort me. Please let us pass. Thank you."

  A Japanese sergeant looked closely and asked, "Is that Lieutenant General Fujita Tadashi of the Defense Command?"

  "Yes. You can call me, my name is Yano Junko." The woman said with confidence.

  "Since he's a friend of General Tōyama, I don't think we need to make a call. Let him go." The sergeant waved his hand lazily, "We still have to go drinking anyway."

  Yang Jie's mouth corner flowed a wisp of smile, nodded at Tang San Shao, and Tang San Shao started the car, driving forward. Watching the departing car, Guizi Jun Cao muttered to himself, "It's still better to make a phone call."

  According to the predetermined route, after entering the city, head east and gather at Sanfu Inn in Shuijing Hutong. However, Tang San didn't go far east before turning onto the road leading to Xicheng.

  "It doesn't seem like the road to Tōjō, did you remember wrong?" Yano Sonoko asked timidly.

  "No. Let's go to Western City." Tang San Shao said with a smile, "The contact point in Eastern City is not too safe."

  But the car stopped in front of a ordinary siheyuan at Liu Mao Hutong near Gou Er Hutong. Yajima Tsuneko was surprised to find that the two cars behind did not follow, and she didn't know when they got lost.

  Tang San politely asked her to go first and step onto the black lacquered threshold. The gate opened silently as soon as they stepped on it, a sprite-like child smiled and invited them in. As for Tang San who was following at the back, the child suddenly rushed into his arms, chattering away about something. It seemed that Tang San's relationship with him wasn't just an ordinary master-servant one.

  Yang Jie took a glance at the child who was less than ten years old, and saw that his hands and feet had some calluses, indicating that he must have practiced iron sand palm or similar martial arts. In his intelligent big eyes, there flowed out a rare maturity.

  As soon as they entered the courtyard, they were met with a cluster of withered branches covered in snow, which had not yet melted, making the courtyard look somewhat desolate. However, a young man who came running from under the eaves, following the sound, made their hearts feel refreshed.

  Ouyang Fengyi was a very neat person, with his tidy and elegant attire making Yang Qian and others suddenly recall the image of a mafia boss in a movie. Even his movements when seeing Tang San were extremely similar, causing the four people to enter a movie-like state.

  Ouyang Feng hastily walked a few steps forward, embracing Tang San tightly and patting his back intimately, "The devils are looking for you everywhere, how did you come back?"

  "I know. Big Brother Zhu has encountered trouble, I must come once." Tang San Shao lightly patted his back, separated his hands, and said to the two middle-aged men behind Ouyang Feng's body, "Feng Sheng, Yu Long, you're well."

  Yang Jie kept looking at the two people behind Ouyang Feng, one with a medium build, thick eyebrows and long eyes, square face; the other with round eyes and wide forehead, thin and pointed chin. But what interested Yang Jie was not their profound martial arts skills, but the flash of light in their eyes when they saw Tang Sanzun, as if Sanzun's appearance ignited something in their hearts. It immediately dimmed down, showing that they could control their emotions well. People who can quickly control their emotions are considered top-notch no matter what.

  Feng Sheng and Yu Long exchanged a brief nod, without saying a word.

  "These few are......" Ou Yang Fengyi looked at Yang Kuang and others and asked.

  "Let's go inside." Tang San led the way to the great hall. Ouyang Feng and others followed closely behind, while Yang Yu and others entered last.

  "Wind robes, Purple robes, where are they?" Tang San asked aloud as he sat down on his special large seat.

  "They've gone to pick you up, they should be back soon." As Ou Yang Feng's words fell, a bright and clear female voice came from outside, "Third Brother, the Japanese are looking all over for you, how did you come back?" But her action of rushing into Tang San's arms betrayed her longing for Third.

  Tang San lightly hugged Purple Dress and said, "Purple Dress, there are friends here."

  Yang Jie looked past Zi Yi's back and found that Zi Yi's attire was almost the same as a boy, even her hairstyle was similar to those of street urchins. Upon hearing this, Zi Yi turned around and discovered that Li Ying was smiling at her with great appreciation. Yang Jie and others shifted their gaze to the mural on the wall, which depicted a giant painting of Yue Fei's victory in Zhu Xian Town, vivid and lifelike.

  "Everyone, please take a seat. I, Tang San, have returned this time for two reasons: first, to rescue Brother Zhu, and second, to lead all of you out of Beiping. During my time outside, I finally found the true anti-Japanese military force, and I spent half a year among them, personally experiencing many things. They belong to the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Some brothers may think that the Eighth Route is not a regular army, but rather a motley crew of bandits. However, from my personal experience, the Eighth Route is not only good at fighting against the Japanese, but also has many excellent qualities. For example, equality - our Iron Executioner Society also advocates for equality, but when you see me, you still have a sense of superiority in your hearts. In the Eighth Route, I am just a squad leader, and my superior is the company commander, but we are all brothers at heart, just like the soldiers. Except during battles when orders must be followed, our daily lives are all the same. This time, I have come to lead you all to join the Eighth Route.

  Tang San looked around at everyone, saw that no one had reacted, and continued: "Hearing is not as good as seeing for oneself. This is Yang Ke, the commander of the Yu County Guerrilla Detachment of the Eighth Route. If anyone has any questions, they can ask him directly. Commander Yang is not only skilled in martial arts but also has great leadership abilities."

  Yang Jie smiled and nodded at everyone, "Third Master is overpraising."

  Ouyang Feng's face changed slightly, "I've heard that the Eighth Route Army has its ways of dealing with the Japanese devils, but aren't your days very difficult? I'm talking about your food and clothing; also, aren't your weapons very poor?"

  "You're not even afraid of death, so why be afraid of hardship?" Yang Guang said straightforwardly. "As for the weapons, wait until the special forces arrive later and you'll see."

  Everyone looked at each other, and Yang Wei continued to say, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have come here with the intention of recruiting. But absolutely not forced, if you are greedy for wealth and afraid of death, I don't want it. The three young masters are the sons of a noble family, but in the special warfare unit, they are famous for their bravery, can eat bitterness, swallow humiliation, and live and die with their brothers, they are men of iron bones. Only such people are the talents that I am eager to find. Please consider carefully, after rescuing Brother Zhu, we will withdraw from Beiping, and when the time comes, those who want to leave, please make preparations."

  The implication is clear, better to be lacking than excessive.

  "Ouyang naturally is willing to follow San Shao, but Captain Yang, can you give your brother some pointers, so that the brothers can see your skills and be convinced when fighting against the devils?" Ouyang Feng's face changed slightly, his eyes secretly glanced at San Shao, seeing that he did not object, he stood up from his chair.

  "Alright. I'll just give you some directions." Yang Wei said bluntly, not even bothering to glance at Ouyang Fengyi as he took a step forward.

  Ouyang Fengyi's face had turned white with rage, and his hands were shaking with hatred.

  Li Ying smiled lightly, "Ouyang has already lost, there's no need to compare."

  Tang San also chimed in, "Ouyang, you've always been arrogant, but Captain Yang is no ordinary person. This move has left you at a loss! A restless heart leads to chaos, and an impatient mind leads to recklessness. Ouyang, this isn't the behavior of a master."

  Ouyang Fengyi's face was cold and stern, not saying a word. With his left hand, he pulled Yang Jue's face door, and with his right hand, he punched straight at Yang Jue's chest. Yang Jue intentionally tried to establish his authority and didn't yield. He withdrew his right leg, shifted his body to the right, and quickly flipped his right hand outward, using the "Golden Thread Wrist Wrap" move to grab Ouyang Fengyi's right hand. Yang Jue's martial arts skills were far superior, and he intentionally tried to establish his authority, so he didn't give Ouyang Fengyi a chance. Before Ouyang Fengyi could finish his move, his old strength had dissipated, and his new strength hadn't been born yet. In the instant he changed moves, Yang Jue's right hand wrapped around him, and then pulled strongly in the direction of Ouyang Fengyi's fist, making a very faint sound that echoed through the quiet hall. Everyone present was skilled in martial arts, so they naturally heard that Ouyang Fengyi's right arm had been dislocated by Yang Jue.

  Yang Jue's left hand patted Ou Yang Fengyi's right shoulder, and almost at the same time, his right hand returned. Ou Yang Fengyi's dislocated right hand was instantly put back in place.

  In a single move, he was so tortured by others that Ouyang Feng had never encountered such a situation since he came out of the Jianghu, and for a moment, he was stunned on the spot, not knowing what to do.

  No one could have imagined that Yang Jiong would show no mercy, and Ou Yang Feng Yi, who was proud of his exceptional skills, would be defeated in just one move, losing to Yang Jiong.

  The hall was quiet to the point of being eerie, with everyone silently staring at the two people standing there. Feng Sheng and Yu Long were already shocked beyond words, Ou Yang's martial arts skills weren't extremely high, but he was still a rare and exceptional expert, yet he couldn't even withstand one move from him? What about themselves, they secretly assessed their own abilities, wondering how many moves from Yang Jue they could withstand.

  Tang San walked over, pulled Ouyang back to his original position, "Captain Yang has already shown mercy. Brothers may not know, the special forces' move is to defeat the enemy with one move, one strike to kill. Their usual training opponents are real devils, either the devil dies or they die themselves. No room for mercy..." Tang San hadn't finished speaking when someone rushed in from outside, "Third Young Master, many devils have arrived outside."

  Tang San glanced at the person who came in, "Roots, it's our own people, let them in."

  One of us? A devil! Is a devil one of us?!

  The root is still unclear, but the sound of footsteps stopped at the door, and a loud voice came: "Third young master, your people are really dare to fight with the imperial army. Sorry." It was spoken in authentic Chinese.

  Hu Yi stood at the door with his voice, behind him were Li's brothers and the Xun Tian War Team. Hu Yi habitually reached out to stroke his signature beard, but suddenly woke up to find that it had been shaved off by Yang Jue himself for dressing up as a ghost, although the beard was gone, the habit remained, and he glared at Yang Jue with great anger, only to discover that Li Ying was smiling with her mouth pursed while watching him stroke his beard, and he awkwardly patted his head instead.

  "Brother Hu, after shaving off that beard, you really look young and handsome!" Tang San Shao laughed loudly as he walked up. Hu Yi had gotten along with Tang San Shao the most in these past few days, because both of them came from the jianghu, so they naturally had a lot to talk about.

  Mr. Li's brother also laughed and said, "If it weren't for Captain Yang, we really wouldn't have known that Brother Hu was actually a handsome man."

  Several people joked that Hu Yi was embarrassed and walked towards Yang Wei. He had already gotten used to following behind Yang Wei, seeing Yang Wei sitting there, just about to walk over, when he suddenly heard a voice saying "Is this really Brother Hu Yi?"

  Hu Yi turned his head and looked, his eyes wide with surprise as if he had seen a ghost. He shouted in shock: "Feng Sheng! Aren't you dead?! You, you, you didn't die? Haha, good brother, it's really great!" The rough Hu Yi actually jumped up like a child, ran over, hugged Feng Sheng and laughed loudly, but tears streamed down his face and he became choked with sobs. "Big brother, you're really not dead?"