Chapter 34: Discovery

Jinling. Outside, a fine drizzle was falling, and pedestrians hurried along the street.

Li Wensheng was reading in the inner hall when suddenly his assistant, Xiao Mao, walked in.

"Boss, just now one of Boss Yu's men came over and said that Boss Yu has acquired some especially remarkable embroidery and would like you to take a look."

Especially remarkable!

Li Wensheng raised an eyebrow, stood up, and said, "Very well, I’ll go and have a look. Xiao Mao, keep an eye on the shop."

"Yes, boss."

Yu Jiarong’s current public identity was the owner of a pawnshop, not far from the Jingfu shop—just on the next street.

Upon entering the pawnshop, Li Wensheng closed his umbrella and called out to the assistant behind the high counter, "Where is your boss?"

"Boss Li, our boss is waiting for you in the inner hall," the assistant replied, opening a small door to one side.

Li Wensheng nodded slightly and stepped through the door into the inner hall.

The moment he entered, his pupils contracted slightly.

Inside, besides Yu Jiarong, there were five others.

He had seen three of them before—he had even followed them once on Fengyou Street.

"Wensheng, these five are from Chongqing, a special operations team sent to cooperate with the action unit in destroying supply materials," Yu Jiarong introduced.

As he finished speaking, the young woman leading the group raised her hand in salute. "Lieutenant Shi Xiaozhen, group leader!"

Li Wensheng fixed Shi Xiaozhen with a look of feigned puzzlement. "Group Leader Shi, you seem familiar. I think I’ve seen you all before, perhaps a while ago. Did you arrive in Jinling some time back?"

"Yes, Captain Li, headquarters sent us to Jinling half a month ago to investigate. Not long ago, we ran into you in an alley off Fengyou Street," Shi Xiaozhen replied, prepared with an excuse, knowing Li Wensheng would surely recognize them.

"Ah, now that you mention it, I remember. We did bump into each other back then. No wonder you all looked familiar to me. By the way, you’ve been here for quite some time now—have you uncovered anything?"

"Captain Li, I’m afraid we haven’t discovered anything," Shi Xiaozhen said apologetically.

Li Wensheng’s eyes flashed.

"These people are definitely up to something. If they haven’t found anything, it means they're not here to connect with headquarters’ agents within the Japanese ranks.

But since they’ve already contacted the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, they shouldn’t be traitors. They must have another mission," Li Wensheng thought to himself, casting a quick glance at Yu Jiarong. He smiled and said, "It's all right. The supply information is certainly top secret with the Japanese. It’s normal not to uncover anything. In any case, settle in for now, and we’ll contact you when the action unit is ready.

For our Jinling station action unit, all arrangements and contacts are handled by Deputy Team Leader Yu. This applies to you as well—he will be your point of contact."

No matter what other tasks they might have, Li Wensheng had no intention of getting involved. He would let Yu Jiarong handle them.

The official approval for Yu Jiarong's promotion to deputy team leader had arrived two days ago—headquarters had agreed, and now, with his new rank, it was only proper for him to take charge of these matters.

Shi Xiaozhen frowned slightly and replied, "Understood. We’ll follow your arrangements, Captain Li."

With that, she shot Yu Jiarong a look.

The secret contact Dai Yunong had given Shi Xiaozhen was Yu Jiarong himself. Previously, Yu Jiarong had arranged for Shi Xiaozhen’s group to enter the city and settle in, but because Dai Yunong had strictly forbidden anyone to reveal the investigation into that person, Shi Xiaozhen hadn’t interacted much with Yu Jiarong. After the portrait was completed, she returned directly to Chongqing without seeking Yu Jiarong’s help.

This time, however, Yu Jiarong had received Dai Yunong’s orders to fully cooperate with Shi Xiaozhen’s team. She had already told Yu Jiarong they must be placed near Li Wensheng.

Though Yu Jiarong found this odd, he dared not question Dai Yunong’s command and simply complied.

Catching Shi Xiaozhen’s signal, Yu Jiarong immediately smiled. "No problem, I’ll handle the arrangements. Tonight, I'll have someone put you up at a guesthouse, and tomorrow I’ll see that you’re provided with new identities."

With that, Yu Jiarong summoned an assistant to escort Shi Xiaozhen’s group out the back door. Li Wensheng prepared to leave as well.

But just as he was about to go, Yu Jiarong stopped him. "Wensheng, don’t be in such a hurry."

"Oh? Is there something else?"

"Nothing urgent, just about those people’s arrangements. Wensheng, as the leader of the action unit, you only have a single bodyguard at your side. That’s too few. If your whereabouts were ever leaked, there wouldn’t be time to rescue you. So I thought, why not assign them to your side for your protection? What do you think?"

Li Wensheng’s expression stiffened, and a storm surged in his heart.

Assigned to my side? Something’s not right!

Normally, an action unit leader is entitled to assign a security detail, but only with trusted confidants. Moreover, this is something I should arrange myself, not something for Jiarong to suggest. For him to bring it up—he’s overstepping. Wouldn’t he worry I’d read too much into it? Jiarong isn’t that foolish!

This definitely isn't Jiarong’s idea—it must be Dai Yunong’s.

Dai Yunong is putting people by my side—he’s discovered my identity!

That must be it. Shi Xiaozhen’s earlier mission was probably to investigate the assassination of Yoshihide Yoshitome. When they followed me in the alley, they had already identified me. Now, having confirmed it was me, they’re sending people to keep a close watch!

Li Wensheng’s thoughts raced. Realizing Dai Yunong had uncovered his secret, he immediately considered fleeing—he had no intention of sacrificing himself for Dai Yunong!

Seeing Li Wensheng lost in thought, Yu Jiarong hurried to add, "Wensheng, I mean nothing by it. It’s just that you really are short-handed. The previous action unit leader had no one at his side, and when the Japanese discovered him, we had no time to rescue him."

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Li Wensheng looked deeply at Yu Jiarong. "Jiarong, given our relationship, I know you’d never harm me. That’s not what I was thinking. I’m just concerned—they’re a special operations team appointed by headquarters to help destroy supply materials. Assigning them to my personal security is against protocol. If headquarters found out, I’d be in serious trouble."

Relieved that Li Wensheng’s only concern was procedure, Yu Jiarong smiled. "Don’t worry about it, Wensheng. Headquarters is already quite dissatisfied with this special team—they haven’t uncovered anything in Jinling. When I went to the station chief to collect them, he said their cooperation is really just a way to redeem themselves. So, there’s no need for us to treat them as anything special."

Since Yu Jiarong put it that way, Li Wensheng couldn’t argue further. He smiled. "All right, let them protect me. I’ll get a taste of what it’s like to be an official for once."

"Wensheng, you’re already a team leader in command of dozens—you’re an official through and through," Yu Jiarong laughed.

After a few more words, Li Wensheng took his leave and returned.