Chapter 29: Reunion at the Rendezvous

The next day dawned bright and clear. The people, stepping outside early, found themselves puzzled. The furious curses that had echoed through the city in the mornings were gone, and the city gates—once strictly closed to entry and exit—were now open. No one could make sense of it. If someone had been caught, the invaders would surely have boasted about it. Yet they had made no such announcement; this meant the fugitive had not been apprehended. So why had the shouting ceased and the gates reopened?

“What do you think happened?” someone asked.

“Who knows? But let’s not dwell on it. The lifting of the lockdown is good news. I had a shipment to deliver but couldn’t send it out as the city was sealed. I’d invested half my fortune in it. If it had dragged on any longer, I’d have lost everything. Now, I had my clerk send it out first thing this morning.”

“Exactly, the reopening is a blessing. If it had lasted a few more days, my business would have collapsed. Jobs are hard to find these days.”

Listening to the conversations of the diners around him, Li Wencheng, eating wontons at a street stall, was equally curious. What were the invaders up to? Were they not worried he would escape?

After pondering for a while and failing to make sense of it, Li Wencheng decided not to trouble himself further. If the invaders were no longer concerned with him, so much the better. He had no intention of clashing head-on with the occupiers in Nanjing; his mission was complete—why take further risks? Now, he needed to contact the Bureau of Military Statistics and arrange for a new identity. Living in an abandoned courtyard day after day, unable even to boil water for a bath, he knew he would soon reek if he stayed much longer.

But contacting the Bureau troubled him. Qin Chi had turned traitor; many from the Bureau had been arrested. The intermediary, Xiao Shan, was likely caught, and even Guo Liang might have been taken—otherwise, it would not have been the covert watcher who had warned him to evacuate. He had no radio to reach headquarters in Chongqing.

“Should I return to Chongqing?” he mused. “No, that won’t do. Going back now might make headquarters suspect I’ve defected. They’d subject me to strict scrutiny, and I’d likely be detained for a while. I don’t want that.”

“Or perhaps I should seize this chance to leave the Bureau entirely, become a true lone assassin.”

“But if Chongqing investigates later, I’d be branded a traitor regardless.”

“Ah, this identity as a Bureau agent is truly vexing.”

Lost in these musings as he ate his wontons, Li Wencheng finally resolved to visit Yu Jiarong’s herbal shop.

When he reached the street in front of the herbal shop, he glanced aside. The shop’s door stood wide open, its interior a mess. Without stopping, he continued on his way.

After leaving the herbal shop, Li Wencheng headed directly for the newspaper office.

“Excuse me, I’d like to place a missing persons notice.”

The clerk nodded, fetched paper and pen. Li Wencheng continued, “Brother Jiafeng, your younger brother Wencheng arrived in Nanjing early today and went to No. 24 Fengyou Street, but found no trace of you. If you see this, please come to Yipinxiang Teahouse before ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”

The clerk set down his pen. “Ten yuan.”

Li Wencheng pulled out two ten-yuan military notes. “Urgent, I want it published tomorrow.”

The invaders waged war for economic gain; wherever they conquered, they enforced the military notes as currency. The clerk’s face brightened, and he pocketed one of the notes right in front of Li Wencheng. “No problem, it’ll be in tomorrow’s paper.”

“Thank you!”

Leaving the newspaper office, Li Wencheng went to Jiangning Tongda Street, found an abandoned courtyard near the Yipinxiang Tavern, and settled in.

The following morning, he went out for noodles, bought a newspaper from a street vendor, and confirmed that his missing persons notice had been published. After breakfast, he observed the vicinity of the Yipinxiang Teahouse, watching until half past nine and seeing nothing suspicious. Only then did he step inside.

“Good morning, sir,” greeted the attendant.

“Window seat on the second floor, a pot of good tea, and a plate of fennel beans.”

“Certainly, sir. Please, upstairs.”

Seated by the window on the second floor, Li Wencheng sipped tea leisurely, all the while keeping an eye on the street outside.

Before long, he spotted Yu Jiarong on the street, scanning his surroundings. Li Wencheng looked behind him—only elderly people and women passed by, which put him at ease.

Soon, Yu Jiarong ascended to the second floor, quickly spotting Li Wencheng.

“Brother Wencheng!” Yu Jiarong called out excitedly, striding over.

“Brother Rong,” Li Wencheng replied with a broad smile, rising to greet him.

Yu Jiarong sat, his smile fading. He spoke in a low voice, “Wencheng, you’re bold—placing a missing persons notice at a time like this.”

Li Wencheng chuckled, “Only you could decipher that notice. Besides, I only came in after checking the situation—my vigilance hasn’t dulled.”

During their time in the training camp, Li Wencheng’s original self and Yu Jiarong had once teased each other. Yu Jiarong had remarked that Li Wencheng’s name was too grand—Wen Ri Cheng, accomplished in a day, much too lofty. Li Wencheng had retorted, “Yu Xian, courtesy name Jiarong—do you have a brother named Yu Tie, courtesy name Jiafeng?” They had met on the 24th of the previous month, so only Yu Jiarong could understand the notice.

“You still remember the joke we made back then—I’d almost forgotten. If not for seeing that notice in the paper, I wouldn’t have recalled it,” Yu Jiarong laughed.

Li Wencheng smiled, then asked quietly, “Jiarong, how are things now?”

Yu Jiarong’s face grew grave. “We’ll talk after we return.”

Li Wencheng nodded.

Shortly thereafter, he followed Yu Jiarong out of Yipinxiang Teahouse, winding through several alleys to a dilapidated building. On the second floor, Yu Jiarong’s first act was to check the window, looking down at the alley below. Seeing no one, he returned to the table.

“The situation at the station is dire. My team is safe, though—the watcher warned me to retreat before the invaders began their arrests. But others were not so fortunate. Qin Chi turned traitor and exposed the Drunken Fragrance Tavern contact. Following that lead, the invaders captured the station chief, Group Leader Ning, and Group Leader Li. Our Nanjing station is utterly crippled now,” Yu Jiarong said gravely.

Li Wencheng’s pupils narrowed slightly. He had long suspected Guo Liang was captured, but Yu Jiarong’s knowledge was astonishing—he even knew about Ning Weixiong and Li Youchi. As his mind raced, Li Wencheng realized a possibility: those monitoring the Nanjing station ostensibly answered to Guo Liang, but in truth, took orders from Yu Jiarong. On his first day in office, Guo Liang had pressed the action team to eliminate Meng Xinqi, clearly wanting to drive him away. This suggested Guo Liang was not aligned with Dai Yunong. Before Nanjing fell, Guo Liang had requested Dai Yunong to assign people to watch the station; Dai Yunong would surely have a contingency in place. Assigning the inconspicuous Yu Jiarong was the perfect choice.

Guo Liang could never have guessed that the people Dai Yunong sent were secretly taking orders from an action team leader. This idea wasn’t quite certain—those monitoring the station were numerous, almost like a second Bureau station in Nanjing, and Yu Jiarong was so young. Would Dai Yunong really entrust him with so many people?

“Jiarong, do you have a radio? The station’s condition demands immediate reporting to headquarters,” Li Wencheng asked quietly.

Yu Jiarong hesitated, then replied in a low voice, “Yes. When the invaders began their arrests, I already had someone send a telegram to headquarters. Now, the station’s situation requires headquarters to send someone to take charge.”

His words confirmed it—Yu Jiarong truly was Dai Yunong’s man. Otherwise, how could a mere team leader possess a radio and contact headquarters?

“A true master spy, thinking in reverse, with such confidence—few would guess Yu Jiarong was Dai Yunong’s choice,” Li Wencheng thought to himself.

“Jiarong, since you’ve sent the telegram, all we can do now is wait for headquarters to arrange someone,” Li Wencheng said.

Yu Jiarong nodded slightly. “We can only wait for headquarters now. By the way, Wencheng—do you have a safe place to stay?”

“No. The identity the station arranged for me as the owner of Li Gong’s Bookstore is no longer viable. I’ve been living in abandoned courtyards.”

“In that case, my team is still safe and has some connections in the city. I’ll have them arrange an identity for you. What do you think?”

“That would be a great help.”

After speaking, Li Wencheng felt a strange sense—how had it come to this? He was no longer Yu Jiarong’s leader, but rather his subordinate.

“Ah, with no men under me, this title of team leader is truly an empty name,” Li Wencheng mused.