Chapter 18: A Bystander in the World of Espionage during the Republic of China Era

Jiang Yue had also bought her train ticket for the next morning. Instead of returning to her previous hotel, she found a hotel near the train station to stay at.

The next morning, Jiang Yue went to the station after breakfast. Since there was no curfew, the checks were not very strict. Jiang Yue took out her documents, had them checked briefly, and passed through. On the train, apart from having her documents checked several times, everything was generally fine. In the afternoon, the train arrived in Hangzhou. Jiang Yue carried her suitcase and followed the flow of people out of the station.

Instead of rushing on her journey, Jiang Yue found a temporary hotel, removed her makeup, changed back into her original clothes, and put on a little more makeup. She then hired a rickshaw to take her to the vicinity of Leifeng Pagoda. Once there, she found a hotel and checked in. The next morning, Jiang Yue went to Leifeng Pagoda, where she arranged to meet Aunt Fang.

When Jiang Yue arrived, she didn't see Leifeng Pagoda. She was confused. How could it not be there? Had she gone to the wrong place? She asked a passerby, and the place was right. Where was the pagoda?

Thinking she had come to the wrong place, Jiang Yue was still wondering where the tower had gone when she heard, "Miss, is that you?"

Jiang Yue quickly turned around. Aunt Fang and her little apprentice were standing not far behind her. Jiang Yue took a few quick steps and hugged Aunt Fang and her little apprentice. The people around glanced at them and then looked away. They must have been reunited after a long separation. Aunt Fang patted Jiang Yue's back. Jiang Yue let go and smiled shyly. Then she asked Aunt Fang curiously, "Aunt Fang, do you know where Leifeng Pagoda is?"

"Oh, don't even mention it. When my child and I first came here, we thought we had come to the wrong place. We heard that it had been closed down for more than ten years and had never been repaired."

Jiang Yue then realized that when he came to visit in modern times, it seemed that the place had been rebuilt. He had been too stressed these past few days and hadn't remembered it for a moment. Jiang Yue and Aunt Fang held hands with their little apprentice and returned to the place Aunt Fang rented. Aunt Fang had rented a small courtyard for safety, and Jiang Yue looked at it and found it quite elegant.

After arriving home, Aunt Fang boiled some water for Jiang Yue. Jiang Yue took a shower and lay down on the bed to rest for a while before eating. However, when Aunt Fang came over, Jiang Yue was already fast asleep. Aunt Fang touched Jiang Yue's face and lovingly tidied her hair, knowing that she must not have had a good night's sleep. Aunt Fang got up and quietly left the room, gently closing the door, and went downstairs to eat with her little apprentice.

When Jiang Yue woke up, it was already dark. After waking up, she ate the food that Aunt Fang had left for her. Now, the next step was to figure out how to get to Hong Kong. Hangzhou was also occupied, and they wouldn't be able to stay there for long. After dinner, the three of them sat together to discuss how to get to Hong Kong. They could go directly from Shanghai, but none of them could buy ferry tickets. The only remaining option was Guangzhou. They would go to Guangzhou and then take the train to Kowloon.

The next morning, Aunt Fang started buying lunchboxes and preparing meals. Jiang Yue went out to buy train tickets and suitcases, and also called Chen Xin to let her know that they were safe and sound and that they were about to set off for Hong Kong. Chen Xin told Jiang Yue to be careful in Guangzhou, because the person who had contacted Chen's father had disappeared in Guangzhou, and she had lost contact with Chen's father after that. She had written several letters but had not received them, and she did not know whether they had not been received or if something had happened to Chen's father.

The train journey was quite long this time, so it was necessary for Jiang Yue to prepare more things. After buying the suitcase, Jiang Yue put it into her space and took out the food box to restock. During her days in Shanghai, she ate the food from her space to reduce the number of times she went out.

After visiting more than a dozen restaurants and preparing over a hundred meals, I figured that should be enough. I also bought some snacks and fruits, some medicinal herbs from a pharmacy, and some cosmetics to replenish my makeup materials.

After returning home, Aunt Fang cooked a lot of dishes, mainly fruits and vegetables that could be eaten raw. Cooked food doesn't keep for long, and besides, you can buy food on the train.

After resting for another day to recover her strength and energy, Jiang Yue and her family of three set off for the train station. The inspectors noticed that all three of them were women and questioned them further, but Jiang Yue managed to fool them. She had miscalculated; she should have disguised herself as a man. The three of them booked a private room, which they paid in US dollars for. Their story this time was about a prostitute who had returned from studying in the United States and was looking for her family.

Jiang Yue is a young lady who returned from studying in the United States. Her ancestral home is Hangzhou. After returning, she found that her family had all immigrated to Hong Kong. After returning, she sold the house. When she was looking for her family, she found the family's maid, Aunt Fang. It turned out that all of Aunt Fang's relatives had died, leaving only her granddaughter. So she left sadly and went with the young lady who had taken care of her since she was a child.

The train departed shortly after boarding, and soon after, Japanese people knocked on the door. They asked far more detailed questions than those at the station and could speak English. They directly questioned Jiang Yue in English, and Jiang Yue answered fluently. Moreover, this identity had been established for who knows how many years. Unless it was confirmed that there was a problem and a full-scale investigation was launched, a normal investigation would definitely not be a problem.

After all, Jiang Yue started thinking about this kind of thing as soon as she gained a foothold in Shanghai. As an excellent working person in her lifetime, she was well aware of the cruelty of this era. There was no other way out, so Jiang Yue prepared several options. This was just one of them. There were also options such as going to the base area, going abroad, and settling in Xinjiang and Tibet.

The Japanese checked for a while but found nothing wrong, so they went to the next private room. Not long after, gunshots rang out. It seemed that some brave man had been killed. Jiang Yue was too busy to help herself. Everything was peaceful until noon.

At noon, they ate the food that Aunt Fang had brought. Aunt Fang and Jiang Yue took turns resting for a while, then took out a few books and started teaching their little apprentice. Aunt Fang watched them with loving eyes. It wasn't until late afternoon, when the train suddenly stopped. The people on the train were talking about it. Jiang Yue told Aunt Fang and their little apprentice to stay in the carriage and not go out, while she went out to take a look.

"I heard that someone hid on the train and killed several Japanese people. To prevent anyone from escaping, the Japanese forced the train to stop."

As soon as Jiang Yue stepped outside, she overheard two people in the next compartment talking in hushed tones. "How can a moving train stop like that? Aren't they afraid of being hit by another train?" Jiang Yue couldn't understand what the Japanese were thinking. They really were all out of their minds.

Jiang Yue listened for a while before returning to the carriage. She talked to Aunt Fang and the two of them complained together. A few minutes later, someone came to search the carriage and found Jiang Yue. Jiang Yue opened the carriage door and let them see. The people outside went in and looked under the bed. After looking around and finding no one, the leader waved his hand and went to the next person.