Chapter Six: Nowhere to Go

Ishimura Eisei looked at Chen Kan with a stiff expression, and after a long while, he finally sneered: "Mr. Chen, come with me."

The lights in the corridor were brighter than those in the dungeon, but they still carried a damp and chilly atmosphere.

Turning the corner, they bumped into Cheng Qing, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Upon seeing them, he raised an eyebrow: "Mr. Ishimura, are you showing our distinguished guests around the dungeon?"

Ishimura Eisei coughed and said, "Ouyang Qing, Mr. Chen said we arrested Qiao Yuan."

Cheng Qing's gaze swept over Chen Kan, and a sarcastic smile appeared on her lips: "Mr. Chen, you really have the heart of a bodhisattva. Why weren't you so enthusiastic when Qiao Yuan stole your woman back then?"

Chen Kan remained unfazed: "Miss Cheng, I'm looking for Qiao Yuan, not to dredge up old grievances."

Chen Kan was not angered by her at all, and calmly said, "Mr. Qiao is an old friend of mine. He just returned to Jiangcheng, and I really don't know what happened to him that led to him being arrested by No. 76. Miss Ouyang, I hope you will not break the rules here because of personal grudges."

"Mind your own business?" Cheng Qing laughed. "What happened at No. 76 is my business. Mr. Chen, do you have any evidence that we arrested Qiao Yuan?"

Chen Kan said, "Whether it is or not, we'll know once we go in and take a look!"

Cheng Qingheng blocked his way, saying, "Mr. Chen, No. 76 is not a place you can just come and go as you please!"

Chen Kan looked at Ishimura and smiled faintly: "Mr. Ishimura, I don't know whether it's you or Mr. Sato who's in charge here!"

"Go, get the key to the cell!" Shi Cun shouted to Liang Zuolai, another head of the No. 76 secret service.

Liang Zuo jogged over, turned around and shouted towards the dungeon, "A-Si, go and get all the cell keys!"

As the tasks were distributed layer by layer, Ah Si quickly ran over, holding a bunch of keys in his hands.

Ishimura Eisei glanced at Cheng Qing, then glared at Chen Kan. His Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, he gritted his teeth and roared at Liang Zuo, "What are you all standing there for? Take Mr. Chen to the dungeon!"

Liang Zuo shrank back and quickly took the keychain to lead the way.

“We’re here.” Liang Zuo stopped in front of an iron gate, inserted the key into the lock, and made a jarring “click” sound.

Cheng Qing followed in, glanced at the cell, and was momentarily stunned.

Chen Kan didn't say anything, but squatted down and parted the straw in the corner of the wall.

Beneath the straw, a dark hole was visible, its edges still covered in fresh soil.

"A dog hole?" Liang Zuo leaned closer, his voice tinged with embarrassment.

Cheng Qing squatted down, her fingertips touching the mud at the entrance of the hole. Some brown mud clung to her fingernails. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "Are you all dead? You didn't even find a dog hole!"

Liang Zuo coughed, trying to ease the tension, "Could it be that it's been in disrepair for years?"

"Shut up!" Cheng Qing turned around and glared at him, her eyes blazing with anger. "Mr. Ishimura, if other people knew that No. 76 actually let the prisoners dig a dog hole and escape, what do you think they would think?"

Ishimura Eijiro remained silent with a cold expression.

Chen Kan stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked at Cheng Qing: "Miss Ouyang, you should block up the dog hole, otherwise Mr. Ishimura will blame you if someone escapes again next time."

Cheng Qing stared at him, then suddenly laughed: "Mr. Chen, you certainly know how to kick someone when they're down."

"I'm just reminding you." Chen Kan took the flashlight from Liang Zuo and turned to walk outside. "Mr. Ishimura, since my friend isn't here, I'll head back now."

Ishimura Eijiro quickly followed, and as they passed Ouyang Qing, she whispered, "Ouyang Qing, you need to deal with this quickly..."

"Get out!" Cheng Qing roared, grabbed the whip from the wall, and lashed it into the haystack. "What are you all standing there for? Send men to chase after them!"

...

At this moment, Qiao Yuan was sitting on the steps of the city gate, hugging his knees.

The world is vast, where can he go? The Crescent Moon Gang has disbanded, Uncle Chen is dead, Lin Tang married Chen Kan, where can he go?

He touched the back of his head, where the swelling was still painful.

"These bastards..." he muttered, "Since we should settle scores and avenge our grievances, I'll get my revenge!"

Compared to Liang Kuan and Huang Jinhu back then, Zheng Hao's enmity was of course insignificant to him, but it was also to find a reason for himself to stay.

He smiled, turned and walked towards the Axe Gang's headquarters.

...

The main gate of the Axe Gang headquarters was dilapidated, and half of the three characters "Axe Gang" on the lintel had fallen off and were hanging there, swaying back and forth.

Several gang members were sitting on the ground gambling.

Qiao Yuan raised his eyebrows, turned around, and climbed over the mud wall at the back. He saw a neatly arranged house inside and climbed through the window.

"Boss."

Just as Qiao Yuan climbed over the windowsill, he heard a loud bang of someone slamming a table inside the room.

"Damn it! That old bastard Manager Wang dares to say he was 'robbed'? Last time his son owed me gambling debts, I was the one who helped him settle it!" Zheng Hao's voice was like a broken gong, shaking so much that some dust fell from the roof beams. He sat behind a wooden table with a missing leg, a rusty axe hanging from his waist. His unshaven face was full of ferocity. The teacup in front of him was smashed to pieces, and tea stains flowed down the edge of the table to the ground, mixed with footprints, so dirty that their original color could not be seen.

Standing beside him was a skinny, monkey-like henchman, his neck hunched, his fingers twisting the hem of his clothes: "Boss, the Li family is really in dire straits. Their child has tuberculosis and is lying in bed gasping for breath. His wife cried and kowtowed to me three times, saying she'd pay the rent after selling the house..."

"Fix my ass!" Zheng Hao grabbed the abacus on the table and threw it, scattering the beads all over the floor. "Where will he live after selling the house? On the street? You think living on the street will give me money? My Axe Gang has so many brothers to support, are we supposed to starve?"

Qiao Yuan leaned against the window, watching Zheng Hao's furious outburst, and couldn't help but feel smug and amused.

With a "pfft," he actually burst out laughing without realizing it.

Zheng Hao looked towards the sound.

"Who are you?" He didn't recognize him.

"Chief Zheng," Qiao Yuan said softly, "I'm Qiao Yuan. Long time no see."

Zheng Hao looked up, stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened like copper bells: "Qiao Yuan? You stray dog, you dare to come to my Axe Gang?" He grabbed the axe at his waist and swung it at Qiao Yuan, who dodged to the side. The axe struck the windowsill, sending wood chips flying.

Seeing the fierce fighting inside, the subordinate silently closed the door and left.

Qiao Yuan dodged to the side, avoiding his axe, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it forcefully.

Zheng Hao screamed in pain, and the axe fell to the ground with a clatter.

Qiao Yuan kicked his knee, and Zheng Hao knelt on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.

Zheng Hao, panting heavily, looked up and glared at him: "Qiao Yuan, do whatever you want with me!"

"Kill you?" Qiao Yuan laughed. "We have no grudge against each other, why would I kill you?"

Zheng Hao suddenly felt discouraged. "Shouldn't we gang leaders fight tooth and nail to seize territory?"

Qiao Yuan picked up the axe from the ground, rubbing his fingertips against the rusty blade. "Look at this axe, it's almost rusted into scrap metal. You still want to fight for territory?"

Zheng Hao rubbed his wrist, which was throbbing from being twisted, and glared at him: "So what? I'm a big shot in Jiangcheng now!"

"A resounding success?" Qiao Yuan's smile faded, a hint of pity in his eyes. "Zheng Hao, what era are we living in now? Jiangcheng is under Japanese control. Are you living in a dream world?"

Zheng Hao hung his head, like a defeated rooster, then looked up again and asked unwillingly, "So what exactly do you want from me?"

"I want to stay and be your advisor?"

Zheng Hao froze, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "Qiao Yuan, are you playing me? The leader of the Crescent Moon Gang, you say you want to be my advisor? Why?"

Qiao Yuan looked out the window at the sky, where the clouds hung low as if they were about to fall: "Because I have nowhere to go."

"If you have nowhere else to go, you're going to blame me?" Although Zheng Hao said this, he didn't dare to take it seriously. Besides, when he first started out, he always looked up to Qiao Yuan and admired him quite a bit. Since he wanted to stay, he would stay too.

...

When Chen Kan returned home, Lin Tang was sitting on the sofa knitting, with their little Nian'er sleeping on her lap. Seeing him come in, Lin Tang quickly stood up: "Chen Kan, where's Qiao Yuan?"

“He’s alright.” Chen Kan walked over and patted Xiao Nian’er’s head. “Although we don’t know where he is yet, at least he escaped from No. 76.”

Lin Tang breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the sofa, and dropped the knitting needles in her hand to the ground: "That's good, that's good."

Chen Kan squatted down, picked up the knitting needles, and placed them in her hand: "Lin Tang, don't worry, Qiao Yuan will be fine."

Lin Tang looked at him, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Chen Kan, thank you."

"Do we need to say anything more about gratitude?"

Neither of them spoke, but a slight ripple stirred in their hearts.

A moment later, the room phone rang.

Lin Tang stood up, walked to the phone, and picked up the receiver: "Hello?"

A familiar voice came through the receiver. Lin Tang lowered her voice and asked, "Okay...where...where are you?"

Chen Kan stood silently outside, watching the light from inside cast a large shadow on her face.

Although they were forced into marriage for five years due to circumstances, how could he not wish it were true? Unfortunately, they both carried different secrets. Besides Qiao Yuan, there was also the matter of their own positions. They both knew it, but they could only choose not to expose it.

Lin Tang walked over, looking apologetic. "There's an urgent matter at the factory; I have to go take care of it."

Chen Kan could easily see the fleeting panic in her eyes, but he only said, "Okay, be careful on the road."