Except for that day, Kuromiya Keiko did not appear during Chang Ling’s coffin closing, the burial, or even the seventh day after his death.
She just told Duan Yelin when she left the Buddhist temple that day that on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Japanese army would attack simultaneously from the northeast, central, and southwest. Guangdong had already fallen, and the next prey would be Hezhou.
A week before the attack, viruses will be used extensively in order to throw Chinese soldiers into disarray.
No matter how much information she had, Kuromiya Keiko was not very clear about it. After all, her mission was just to spread the virus.
For Duan Yelin, perhaps this is enough.
Time was urgent, and the medical institute in Lincheng had sent a telegram requiring the formula writer to go and help. Xu Hang packed up at home and took the train directly to Lincheng. Duan Yelin stayed behind to report the matter to the military headquarters and request reinforcements.
It was only three or four days, but Duan Yelin felt uncomfortable for no reason. When Xu Hang stepped on the train, he held his hand tightly and said, “Shaotang, come back soon.”
Xu Hang ran his fingers through Duan Yelin’s slightly overgrown hair, thinking it was about time for a trim. He gave a nod and said, “It won’t take long.”
The wheels rolled away.
Duan Yelin stood on the platform, staring at the ground, and kicked the small stone in front of his shoe, which rolled far away.
Behind him, Qiao Song, who had been on leave for a long time, finally returned to his post and whispered, “Commander…”
“You’re back?” Duan Yelin heard that after Qiao Song returned, he converted most of his property into cash and gave it to his wife, and then they divorced. “What’s going on at home?”
Qiao Song lowered his eyes and pressed his hat down again: “The girl is young. If there is a war in Hezhou in the future, it would be a pity for her to be a widow for me, so…”
In fact, the girl only married Qiao Song to repay his kindness. If they carefully count the feelings between them, there really wasn’t much. It’s just that when Qiao Song went back and mentioned this, the girl felt that she had received Qiao Song’s kindness in vain without giving anything in return. She only said that she would be a maid to take care of Qiao Song’s parents. If Qiao Song really had an accident, she would naturally make arrangements for herself if she fell in love with someone else.
This is the Republic of China, not the Qing Dynasty, so divorce and remarriage are not uncommon.
Under Qiao Song’s insistence, she still received the money and followed the elderly for food and accommodation. The elderly lost a daughter-in-law but gained a daughter.
“What are you talking about? How can you waste your life on something that may not happen?” Duan Yelin was a little confused.
Qiao Song couldn’t tell him the details of the situation, so he just mumbled and hesitated. Then he seemed to remember something and said, “Commander, Fourth Uncle Qiao sent someone from Shucheng to Xiaotong Guan. Do you want to go back and take a look?”
Duan Yelin’s pupils contracted. Qiao Daosang was really quick. Had he figured out everything already?
As soon as Xu Hang left, his information arrived. The destiny is really interesting.
Duan Yelin felt a headache before he decided whether to accept or not. He waved his hand and said, “First… arrange for him to live in Xiaotong Guan. I’ll ask him another day.”
He was not yet ready to accept a Xu Shaotang who was different from what he had imagined.
Wait a little longer.
Maybe later.
At this time, another soldier ran over and saluted: “Commander! A girl named Chan Yi is looking for you, asking you to stop Young Master Xu.”
“She was a step too late, the train had already left. Is there anything?”
“She said that Young Master Xu’s nanny was dying, and she was waiting to see him for the last time.”
Duan Yelin had heard Xu Hang talk about this nanny before, and it was a pity that he didn’t get to see her. It is a good thing for the black-haired to send off the white-haired, so he might as well go for Xu Hang this time—
In Lincheng, Medical Institute.
When Xu Hang got off the shuttle train, he saw a familiar-looking car parked in the distance, with a vague figure wearing a hat in the car.
The man saw Xu Hang through the window, opened the car door, got out slowly, took off his hat, and his increasingly old face appeared in broad daylight.
Looking at him from afar, Xu Hang narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth slid upwards, and he walked forward step by step until he was within earshot of each other.
“Chief of Staff, how are you?”
Zhang Yaochen still felt a dull pain in the place where the hairpin had pierced his chest. When he received the letter from Xu Hang, he struggled to get off the bed and rushed all the way to Lincheng.
The wind started to blow, and Xu Hang said, “It’s cold outside, and your body can’t stand it. Let’s find a warm place to talk.”
The so-called warm place is just a lounge in the medical institute.
He made two cups of coffee without milk and sugar, so it was particularly bitter. Maybe Zhang Yaochen has taken too many medicines recently, so he doesn’t find it bitter. Xu Hang is even more so, he is never afraid of bitterness.
Severely injured, Zhang Yaochen coughed with a handkerchief covering his mouth from time to time. Xu Hang tilted his head and looked at him: “I’m a little glad that I didn’t kill you at that time; otherwise, now, I might lose a little fun.”
“Do you feel relieved when you see me in pain?”
“No, I can’t. I just enjoy seeing you desperate.”
Zhang Yaochen glanced at Xu Hang and shook his head: “I just realized that you are not like your mother. She… she is so kind…”
“That’s why you killed her,” Xu Hang’s face turned cold, and he threw a cup of coffee on Zhang Yaochen’s face. “Didn’t I warn you not to talk about her?”
The coffee was freshly brewed and very hot.
Zhang Yaochen didn’t wipe it off but let it drip down bit by bit and then said, “Forget it, let’s talk business.” He sighed, “What do you want in order to let my Zhang family as well as my two children go?”
When he received Xu Hang’s letter, he almost died of a heart attack.
This was the general’s chess move. According to the content of the Japanese military report in Xu Hang’s hand, he was truly innocent and was truly being used.
Or maybe he was not completely innocent either. As early as several years ago, he had been communicating with the Japanese. Zhang Yaochen even helped in setting up some concentration camps in China.
Once this report was sent up… no, as long as it is made public, it would be considered a light punishment even if he was shot ten times.
That was fine, the most important thing was his two children, one was the sickly Zhang Yinxi, and the other was the disabled Zhang Xiuming. Judging from the people his Zhang family had offended, as long as Zhang Yaochen fell, the two of them would be retaliated against to death.
So, it is no exaggeration to say that Xu Hang was holding on to his weak spot, and he had no choice but to beg him.
Xu Hang poured himself another cup of coffee and smelled the aroma of coffee: “The Chief of Staff is really straightforward and doesn’t beat around the bush. I’m actually very curious, what would happen if the Zhang family went bankrupt? I heard that the old processers in the Bada Fengyan alleys in Shanghai often go to the prison and spend a lot of money to buy some good-looking female prisoners. Heh, Miss Zhang has a reputation, and those who want to have a taste of the rich lady will definitely line up all the way to the dock… as for Young Master Zhang, you don’t have to worry. He happens to be disabled. Give him an extra bowl and let him beg on the street. He should be able to survive.”
Xu Hang was not exaggerating. Since ancient times, many wealthy and powerful people have lost their power or been thrown into prison, and their fates are even worse than this. Zhang Yaochen himself has also ruined many people, so he has naturally seen their fates with his own eyes.
If this fate happened to his own children, he would never be able to rest in peace, even as a ghost.
He gritted his teeth and pulled out a gun from his arms. Xu Hang’s eyes flashed: “Want to kill me? Do you think that if I die, no one will know?”
Zhang Yaochen understood, this principle and Xu Hang would not be so careless either.
He placed the gun in front of Xu Hang, then knelt on his knees, lowered his head, and said, “No, this gun is for you. Direct all the hatred at me. Take my life, but don’t hurt my children.”
The gun looked quite exquisite. Xu Hang picked it up and opened the magazine to see that it was full of live ammunition. He touched the gun and said, “You killed more than a hundred people in my family and beheaded my relatives. You want me to stop with just you alone?”
It’s too cheap.
Zhang Yaochen is naturally an old fox. He came here today with no intention of returning safely. “Child, if there’s any condition, just mention it. I understand that you are informing me because you want to make a deal with me, right? If not, you can just publish the report directly, and I will be doomed. Why bother meeting with me?”
And he was sure that only he could help Xu Hang do this.
