TL: Hua
Hu Haibing’s original fierce momentum had to be dwarfed when he saw the rifles in their hands.
Those who go to wars are best at judging weapons. Although he has stocked up on a lot of equipment, he doesn’t have a single one of these Type 38 rifles. Even Commander Zhang, whom he followed before, only got one and hid it like a treasure.
The Type 38 rifle[mfn]I look into it out of curiosity. It’s just a bit of history about this gun; you can skip. This rifle was developed by the Japanese in 1905 and was the main rifle used by the Japanese infantry during the war of aggression against China (the Second Sino-Japanese War 1937-1945). It was used by the Japanese army until its defeat and surrender in 1945, marking the end of World War II.[/mfn] is a very rare item, with long range and precise shooting. Unfortunately, their country cannot produce it. They have to snatch it from prisoners of war or buy it at a high price from overseas. Therefore, there are not many of them in the whole country, but each of these people has one.
He became alert; his eyes flashed fiercely. “Who are you?”
The leading officer sneered, “Adjutant under Commander Xun, Zhang Han.”
Hu Haibing gritted his teeth. “Commander Xun, the Northeast Tiger Xun Shaoyou.”
Zhang Han glanced at him coldly, “Since General Hu knows the name of our commander, you should also know that Shanghai will be under our control in the future, but you still dare to set up private military defense in the city.”
Following Zhang Han’s words, the dozen people behind him immediately raised the Type 38 rifle and aimed it at Hu Haibing.
Hu Haibing’s teeth chattered, “Xun Shaoyou hasn’t officially taken over Shanghai yet.”
“Oh, General Hu probably hasn’t received the news. The takeover document was just issued tonight.” Zhang Han waved to the people behind him, “Come, take this law-breaking General Hu back to the barrack.”
When Hu Haibing heard this, he glared at Zhang Han and put his fingers on his pistol.
But Zhang Han had already raised his hand and was faster than him. He shot through Hu Haibing’s palm with one shot and then hit him on the knee with another shot.
Blood immediately sprayed all over the table.
Hu Haibing knelt on the ground, holding his bleeding right palm with his left hand, shrieking. Two people wearing dark green military uniforms had already rushed forward and kicked him heavily behind his back and on his knees, rendering him useless before dragging him straight out.
Qi Xiaoyu and Gu Zizhen both turned their heads away.
Rong Qing didn’t move but didn’t look in that direction either.
The living room became quiet only after the person was dragged away.
During this time, the other three didn’t speak. Although this group of people didn’t come for them and even helped them a lot, in such a chaotic era, it’s impossible to tell who is the enemy and who is the friend at a glance.
Moreover, this Zhang Han led his troops into the general’s mansion and shot Hu Haibing’s hands and knees directly. Despite his fierce and aggressive demeanor, he was merely an adjutant serving under Commander Xun. Judging by this fact, Commander Xun, who was about to take over Shanghai City, must be a difficult person to provoke.
Compared to these three people who were facing great enemies, Zhang Han’s attitude was obviously much more relaxed.
He watched his men drag Hu Haibing away, casually put the gun back into his belt, and then moved his eyes to Qi Xiaoyu and Gu Zizhen, “Are you two Mr. Qi and Mr. Gu?”
The two nodded cautiously. Rong Qing also showed a defensive expression.
Zhang Han didn’t care and smiled to himself, “Had I known you were here, I wouldn’t have bothered going to the theater.”
Qi Xiaoyu and Gu Zizhen looked at each other and were shocked. Commander Xun’s men were coming for them.
But they didn’t know Commander Xun.
There were many people who came to the theater to watch the show, but they remembered all the well-known and powerful figures. After all, if they wanted to survive in such a circumstance, the first thing was not to offend any big shot.
But they had no impression of this commander surnamed Xun and this adjutant named Zhang Han.
Just escaped from a warlord, and now another warlord was targeting them. Although the latter warlord helped them, they didn’t know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
After all, they have seen too many warlords who coerced and bullied men and women by force over the years. Which one of them is a good person?
Qi Xiaoyu pursed his lips and forced a smile. “I wonder what General wants to see us for.”
Zhang Han smiled and said casually, “It’s nothing serious. Our young commander wants to invite you to sing a song.”
After Zhang Han finished speaking, the three of them didn’t speak, but their faces obviously became grim.
Zhang Han saw it but pretended not to, “It’s getting late now, Mr. Qi, please.”
Gu Zizhen took Qi Xiaoyu’s hand, stepped forward immediately, and said respectfully, “General, it’s really late today. If you want to listen to our singing, why don’t you come to the theater tomorrow? No, tomorrow our troupe will prepare the equipment and go to your house to sing together. You see, we don’t have enough people today; we…”
“No, just today, no one else, only Mr. Qi is enough.”
Zhang Han didn’t even look at Gu Zizhen and interrupted him directly.
He followed their young commander, Xun Qian, southward to Shanghai for seven or eight days. During the journey, they encountered some small incidents, and Xun Qian was forced to stay. The task he was hurriedly given was to find Qi Xiaoyu from the Red Moon Troupe, bring him back to the commander’s mansion, and protect him well.
Zhang Han couldn’t figure out the whole story and didn’t know what the relationship between this actor and their young commander was. He only knew that Qi Xiaoyu was important and had to be kept under close watch.
Now that he had finished speaking, Gu Zizhen’s and Qi Xiaoyu’s faces became even worse.
Rong Qing also spoke up, “General Zhang, right? I’m Rong Qing. I’m afraid you’ve come at a bad time. Mr. Qi has agreed to sing at my house tonight.”
Zhang Han looked at Rong Qing with a smile on his face, but his voice became deeper. “Rong-beile, right? Please give us some face. Our young commander said that we must invite Mr. Qi back today. We, as subordinates, must follow his orders. Rong-beile, I advise you to give way. It’s not good for us to have conflict.”
After Zhang Han finished speaking, he turned to Qi Xiaoyu, and his voice was obviously much gentler than to the other two, “Mr. Qi, don’t worry, our young commander will not treat you badly when you go to the commander’s mansion.”
Qi Xiaoyu lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then turned to Rong Qing, “Thank you, Rong-beile, for what happened tonight. I will definitely report it to you when I have the chance. I won’t bother you for the rest of the matter.”
He then said to Gu Zizhen, “Senior brother, go back to the troupe first and explain the situation to our master so that he won’t worry. From now on, the whole of Shanghai will be under Commander Xun’s control. Even if I don’t go today, I will still have to go tomorrow.”
After that, he pulled his hand out of Gu Zizhen’s hand. “Please kindly lead the way, General Zhang.”
Zhang Han drove a Pontiac car, with armed soldiers standing at the front and rear four doors to guard. He and the driver sat in the front and invited Qi Xiaoyu to sit in the back seat.
The car drove on the quiet road in the middle of the night for about ten minutes and then stopped in front of a luxurious mansion.
The black carved gate opened, the car drove in, finally stopping in front of the white marble steps.
Qi Xiaoyu followed Zhang Han out of the car, went up the steps, entered the gate, and then went down the steps again, walked through a section of granite flat ground, and walked into the living room.
There weren’t many people along the way, only a few scattered maids on the night watch, but there were many armed guards surrounding the fences.
Zhang Han turned back and said to him as he walked, “Actually, I am the adjutant of the young commander. He is still in the Northeast, but he will be stationed in Shanghai in the future.”
After leading Qi Xiaoyu to sit down in the living room, Zhang Han called a maid to bring water and said, “As the young commander has yet to arrive in Shanghai, this place hasn’t been tidied up well. Mr. Qi, please make do with it for now.”
After he said this, seeing that Qi Xiaoyu’s face was still a little bad, he continued, “Although my young commander is a little cold and not easy to get close to, he has absolutely no ill will towards you, Mr. Qi. You don’t have to be nervous.”
Just then, the maid brought the tea over. Qi Xiaoyu took it with his left hand and nodded slightly, “Thank you.”
Zhang Han looked at Qi Xiaoyu’s profile when he thanked someone, like a lotus flower that had just emerged from the water. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. No wonder their young commander must take him home even though he was just an actor. He was indeed a peerless beauty.
Zhang Han thought for a moment and asked, “Mr. Qi, why don’t you go to the guest room to rest first? The young commander has something to do on the way. I don’t know when he’ll arrive.”
It was almost midnight, and it was quiet outside.
Qi Xiaoyu had been tossing and turning all day, and he was already sleepy. His right forearm, which was hit by the butt of a gun today, was also getting a little worse.
But how dare he fall asleep at this time? “Thank you, General Zhang, but the young commander wants to hear me sing, right? I’ll wait here.”
Qi Xiaoyu insisted on waiting, and Zhang Han had no choice but to regret casually saying that the young commander wanted to listen to him sing a song. Since he made the person wait, he also sat on a sofa across from him.
Qi Xiaoyu sat at the edge of the sofa, supporting his forehead with his left hand, and began to wait anxiously. He thought of his senior brother Gu Zizhen and hoped that he would never persuade their master to come look for him.
It’s unknown how long he had been waiting, but the dawn was faintly shining outside, gradually illuminating the tender green leaves and branches of the sycamore tree outside the window.
Qi Xiaoyu was a little confused, and in his daze, he heard a noise outside.
The hurried footsteps and the sound of the door opening mixed together, immediately awakening Qi Xiaoyu.
He stood up from the chair and followed Zhang Han to look in the direction of the gate.
“The young commander is here. I thought it would take a day or two, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” Zhang Han shouted and then rushed out to meet him.
Qi Xiaoyu didn’t dare to move and only followed Zhang Han to the door with his eyes. Then, at the gate, against the morning light, a man in military uniform walked in, and the cloak behind him swayed with his steps.
He was also wearing a dark green tweed military uniform, but the armed belt around his waist made his whole person look more upright and slender than Zhang Han, especially the two legs under the military uniform. Because they were long, his stride was huge, and the person seemed to reach him in just a few steps.
Behind him was a row of soldiers with guns and live ammunition. As he walked in, he untied his cloak and threw it to Zhang Han. The action was very clean and neat, as if there was something very urgent that could not wait for a moment longer.
He quickly went down the stairs, then up the stairs again, walked into the living room, and into the light.
When the lamp light mixed with the morning light, Qi Xiaoyu realized that this young commander was different from other warlords. He had a very beautiful but cold face. His eyebrows and eyes were overly delicate. He didn’t look like a man on the battlefield, but more like a young master from a noble family who never left his house.
He hurriedly walked in with big strides and walked straight towards himself. His icy eyebrows and eyes spread out in an instant, as if ice and snow had melted, like a spring breeze blowing by, reviving living things from the cold winter.
Qi Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, then heard him call out, “Xiaoyu”. The next moment, he was pulled into a tight embrace.
Zhang Han’s face changed. He remembered that he had just told someone that their young commander was cold and difficult to approach, but the way he looked now seemed to have nothing to do with coldness and even a little too enthusiastic.
Qi Xiaoyu quietly clenched his fists, struggled stiffly, and said cautiously with resistance, “Young Commander.”
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