comeback
Three narrow, towering buildings housed the legendary Songhu Command Prison. From a distance, the stark white exterior walls resembled Western-style tombstones, and stepping into the courtyard only amplified the sense of decay. The crumbling walls revealed moss-covered bricks, and the bluestone floor was stained with dark grime, some of which was unclear whether it was blood or something else.
Although it was already summer, a slight breeze still brought a chill to the air, and it felt as if a pair of eyes were watching you from the dark corners. Chen Yao frowned in disgust, picked up his thermos, and quickened his pace. He never wanted to come to this eerie, ghostly place again.
The prison cell was perpetually dark, and even the air was murky. Chen Yao was familiar with this smell; it was the stench of blood mixed with the smell of death. But he didn't like it. He showed the guard his military officer's ID and slipped him a few silver dollars.
He entered the prison area with almost no hindrance, passing through several iron gates along a narrow corridor that could only accommodate one person at a time. Almost all the prisoners here were members of the Communist Party. Although the prisoners inside were ragged and unkempt, the more serious offenders were, the more energetic they seemed, as you went further in.
Chen Yao felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at, and felt inexplicably distressed. They were just people with slightly different political ideologies, all working for the sake of their families and the people's livelihood, yet they were being persecuted like this. However, his position did not allow him to express sympathy; he had already chosen his side.
At the end of the corridor were several single cells, one of which Gao Junxiao was imprisoned in. The single cell was much cleaner than the others, but it was still damp and smelled musty.
There was a table in the solitary confinement cell, and the flickering candlelight outlined his profile as he read. Gao Junxiao was so engrossed in his book that he didn't notice Chen Yao's visit.
"Stop looking, you'll ruin your eyes," Chen Yao warned, clinging to the iron bars. The light gray paper was covered with dense letters, probably a book he'd asked Li Sheng for as entertainment.
Gao Junxiao only came to his senses when he heard the sound. He quickly closed the book in his hand and threw it on the bed. When he turned his head and saw the yellow chopsticks and stainless steel lunch box in Chen Yao's hand, his eyes twitched slightly.
"Come on, while it's hot." Seeing that he was a beat slow to react, Chen Yao unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and a fragrant aroma of food immediately filled the cell.
It was just a few simple stir-fries, nothing special, but Gao Junxiao stared at the lunchbox for a good ten seconds before looking up at Chen Yao and asking uncertainly, "Is she back? It's cooked well."
"What? Who do you think cooked this? I cooked it. Just eat some." Chen Yao waved his hand to indicate that it wasn't true, but turned his back and rubbed his heart.
"Tch, you don't have that kind of skill," Gao Junxiao said without pressing further, and quietly began to enjoy his lunch. Seeing him start eating, Chen Yao, that chatterbox, started talking about today's big news—Commander Xiong is back.
Gao Junxiao was not surprised by this. Just as Chen Yao was talking about other news, another sound of chains hitting metal doors came from behind.
The two looked in the direction of the sound at the same time. The person was wearing a military uniform and was covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. The crossed bamboo collar insignia revealed that he was from the General Staff Department. He was Staff Officer Lin, who had been framed and forced to confess last time.
Before the two could respond, Staff Officer Lin walked straight towards Gao Junxiao's direction. He glanced at Gao Junxiao somewhat reluctantly and said, "Commander Gao, we're eating. Eat more, or you might not have another chance."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Chen Yao grabbed Staff Officer Lin by the collar, ready to punch him. Gao Junxiao helplessly put down his chopsticks and called out "Chen Yao" to calm him down.
Ugh! It's impossible to even eat in peace.
"Let me finish what I have to say. I'm here to offer Inspector Gao a way out." Staff Officer Lin pushed Chen Yao aside, straightened his shirt, and said solemnly, "The key is that the witness is insisting that you are a member of the Communist Party, but I have a way to make that witness and his testimony disappear. How about we make a deal?"
Gao Junxiao sized up Staff Officer Lin in front of him, secretly wondering why he was trying to get him out of the country when the two had no personal relationship.
"Tell me about it, what kind of deal?" Chen Yao asked first, but a cold smile still lingered on his lips.
"My people at the military law department mentioned it to you. It's the same thing, one person for another." Staff Officer Lin's words puzzled Gao Junxiao slightly. Staff Officer Lin was probably the one who most wanted to kill Xu Xun.
"If you really care, why don't you go and get him out yourself? The Lin family still has a lot of influence in Shanghai, right?" Gao Junxiao retorted directly. After all, the Lin family is above the Song family. He saw that Staff Officer Lin's expression froze for a moment, but then immediately returned to normal.
"You don't need to worry about it. This is your last chance to save yourself. Agree or disagree, hurry up, it's just a matter of saying one word." Staff Officer Lin was very impatient and seemed very unwilling.
Gao Junxiao suddenly understood something and smiled slightly, "Why does Staff Officer Lin have to be so hypocritical? He clearly wishes Xu Xun would die sooner so he wouldn't bother your sister. I happen to need someone to take the fall for him. Before your sister gets married, let her find another good match."
"You..." Staff Officer Lin's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, looking both embarrassed and furious.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I'll give you the same answer. Please go back." Gao Junxiao ignored Staff Officer Lin and began to savor her cooking. He never expected that the first time he ate her cooking would be in prison. Today was quite memorable.
After Staff Officer Lin left, Chen Yao sighed and asked, "This matter is a bit beyond your expectations. Should we ask Old Tan to put in a good word for you and smooth things over?"
"I'm not a member of the Communist Party, why should I plead for him? Don't trouble him. There's something else you need to do for me." Gao Junxiao still acted as if it was none of his business, deliberately changing the subject. Chen Yao had no choice but to lean in and listen.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yao's worried expression immediately lessened by half. If it weren't for the iron fence blocking the way, Chen Yao would have rushed in to give him a big hug. This guy is too wicked.
After Chen Yao left, the person sleeping next door suddenly sat up and stretched. The person was wearing a dark blue long robe, with messy hair covering his eyes and a few straws stuck to his head, making him look like a warm bird's nest.
"Young man, have you finished reading the book?" The man turned around and asked Gao Junxiao. His voice was a little hoarse, with a northern accent, and he seemed to be quite old.
"There are still a few pages left. Let me finish reading them before I return them to you," Gao Junxiao said to the man with extreme politeness.
"Then you'd better hurry, the patrol will be passing by in 5 minutes." The man got off the ground and twisted his waist a few times.
"Don't worry, I promise to return it intact." The man didn't say anything more after Gao Junxiao's assurance, and instead began doing calisthenics as if no one else was around. Gao Junxiao, used to this, picked up his book again and began reading earnestly.
The dim candlelight illuminated the exposed corner of the book, and the golden sickle and hammer gleamed faintly.
Several thick, cotton-like clouds slowly gathered in the sky, turning the once clear blue sky into an inky black. The air seemed to freeze, the leaves remained motionless, and even the cicadas' chirping disappeared.
The summer afternoons were even more sultry, making people drowsy. But Commander Xiong was wide awake, with piles of documents stacked high like small mountains and a constant stream of phone calls asking for favors.
After finally finishing everything, before he even had a chance to drink some water, his adjutant jogged up to him, whispered some news in his ear, and handed him a brown paper bag.
There was only a brown notebook in the paper bag. Commander Xiong opened the notebook, his brow furrowed slightly, and a look of delight appeared on his face. He closed the notebook and ordered his adjutant, Shen, to immediately re-interrogate Gao Junxiao, and he would take charge.
Rumble! Thunder and lightning flashed across the inky black sky.
The news that Commander Xiong was personally reviewing Inspector Gao's case spread like wildfire throughout the office building, and everyone was finally able to recover from their slump in the afternoon. After all, gossip is human nature.
There were noticeably fewer people in the audience this time than last time, but this time Commander Xiong was personally conducting the interrogation. With such a high-ranking leader present, it was impossible for everyone to skip work to attend the interrogation. This only fueled everyone's curiosity about what would happen next.
As a result, more than twice as many people "accidentally" passed by the auditorium as usual. Commander Xiong sat in the main seat, flipping through the previous interrogation records, with Section Chief Li and Staff Officer Lin sitting on either side of him, barely daring to breathe.
Finally, after a long silence, Commander Xiong first ordered his adjutant, Shen, to retrieve the first piece of evidence, a recording, and then had the guards summon the witness. Everyone whispered among themselves, wondering what he was up to.
The black cassette tape slowly turned, and that crackling sound started playing again.
"Have you received the item yet?"
"Got it."
"Then we can proceed."
"good."
The recording abruptly ended there.
"Liu Wukui, right? Can you tell who these two people are?" Commander Xiong asked first.
"Reporting to the Commander, I only recognize the person who answered as Gao Junxiao; the other one was too blurry to hear," Liu Wukui replied affirmatively.
"Then let me ask you, does the other one sound like Zhou's voice?" Commander Xiong asked pointedly.
Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that made Liu Wu-kui's legs go weak. Perhaps feeling guilty, Liu Wu-kui stammered, "I really don't know. I've barely spoken to Zhou."
"Zhou made you go to the gas station and park at the designated spot because he didn't intend to hide anything from you. Is there anything else you haven't told me?" Commander Xiong suddenly raised his voice and asked sternly.
"I...I...I really discovered this by accident. I've told you everything I can. Even if Sister Deng came, she wouldn't be able to recognize the voice in that recording." After Liu Wu Kui finished speaking, there were many sneers from the audience. Let alone his wife, even his mother probably wouldn't be able to recognize who it was.
The General Staff had warned Commander Xiong about his deliberate obstruction, so he calmed himself down and replied, "I really don't know the details of this recording. All I can say is that Zhou Tong and Gao Junxiao took over."
"How many times have you received it in total?" Commander Xiong asked, not dwelling on the previous question.
“I’ve only seen him twice. Once was last summer at a transportation station where I only saw his back. Zhou shook hands with him. The other time was after the Spring Festival this year when he drove Zhou’s car away.” Liu Wukui accurately stated the location and time of the incident, a stark contrast to his previous incoherent speech.
“But Gao Junxiao was only transferred to Shanghai in September. I asked his former superior, and he said that he had been staying in Nanjing for a while before that,” Commander Xiong said to Liu Wukui.
"I don't know how he managed to slip out unnoticed. It was only after seeing him with my own eyes for the second time that I remembered that the figure from behind was Gao Junxiao." Liu Wukui was convinced that the person was Gao Junxiao.
"Are you sure it was after the Spring Festival that Inspector Gao met with Zhou?" Commander Xiong tapped the table, and a torrential downpour began outside the window. The person sitting by the window quickly closed it.
"Yes, I was wearing a thick cotton coat when I was little. It was at the gas station on Kangke Road. I can't be wrong," Liu Wu-kui said respectfully, bowing.
"Do you remember which month it was? Was it the beginning, middle, or end of the month?" Commander Xiong pressed.
"Well, let me think... It's after the fifteenth of the first lunar month, which is roughly late February or early March in the Gregorian calendar." Liu Wu-kui and the staff reviewed this period for a long time. After that, Gao Jun-xiao was no longer in Shanghai, so it was impossible for them to make contact. But he had to pretend to think before answering.
"Alright, Gao Junxiao, tell me yourself, what were you doing in late February or early March?" Commander Xiong pointed at the brown notebook and gave Gao Junxiao a wink.
In the dock, Gao Junxiao, holding the chain on his handcuffs, stood up, gave Commander Xiong a standard military salute, and said in a loud voice that everyone present could hear, "I—went to suppress the bandits."
The audience erupted in cheers, and even passersby who happened to be passing by stopped in surprise and began to discuss it heatedly. Bandit suppression? Wasn't Liu Shengqi still alive? Could it be two other people? Not a single word had leaked out.
"Quiet, quiet, everyone quiet." Li Sheng hadn't expected it to be a bandit suppression operation, but he quickly regained his composure and took charge of the meeting, though with little effect. Commander Xiong coughed loudly at the sight, and the meeting room instantly fell silent, with only the sound of raindrops pattering against the windows audible.
"Go on, tell everyone your action plan." Commander Xiong looked around the room, then turned to Gao Junxiao and encouraged him.
"I received intelligence around the time of the Spring Festival that Du Hanbin had fled to a small fishing village in Jinshan, where he was preying on the villagers. So our anti-bandit team went to Jinshan to set up surveillance starting from the Spring Festival," Gao Junxiao said calmly.
"But everyone can still see you at headquarters, right?" Staff Officer Lin asked, despite Commander Xiong's displeased gaze.
“The commander doesn’t just command battles. Jinshan is adjacent to the East China Sea and is much colder than the city. I was unprepared at first, and when I arrived, I found it was too cold. In order to avoid non-combat casualties, I could only let the soldiers wear their civilian clothes first. I came back to ask Director Zhao for thick cotton-padded clothes.” Gao Junxiao explained patiently.
"Director Zhao, can you tell me what happened?" Commander Xiong suddenly called on Director Zhao.
"Commander, that's the situation, but it just so happens to be the Spring Festival, and all the clothing factories are closed for the holiday. There's a serious shortage of personnel, and I've been trying to find them everywhere. Director Gao accompanied me to several clothing factories, and we also urgently transferred several sets of cotton-padded clothes from other places, which barely made up enough." Director Zhao had a premonition that he would be called out, so he had prepared his explanation in his mind in advance.
"Staff Officer Lin, keep asking. Chief of Staff Tang sent you here to find out the answers," Li Sheng said sarcastically to Staff Officer Lin.
Embarrassed by what he was being said, Staff Officer Lin forced a smile and continued, "Gao Junxiao, was Du Hanbin finally wiped out? When did he return?"
Gao Junxiao did not answer the question immediately, but looked at Commander Xiong with a troubled expression. His adjutant, Shen, behind him also worriedly pulled Commander Xiong aside, telling him not to speak.
Commander Xiong sighed and said slowly, "Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to say it. This concerns the innocence and future of a young officer. Even if Mr. Du blames me, there's nothing I can do."
"...They wiped them out. It was around the end of March. I was there when they killed the bandit leader, Du Hanbin." Commander Xiong said after a moment's thought. Staff Officer Lin didn't expect Commander Xiong to answer. His face turned red and then pale, and he looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
These words were like a heavy stone thrown into a pond, creating ripples everywhere. People around the audience whispered about the truth; this was big news.
"No, he's in charge of suppressing bandits, can't he find time to meet with the enemy?" Liu Wu-kui didn't know what had happened, but Chief of Staff Tang had told him to keep pinning Gao Jun-xiao down.
"Did I ask you to speak?" Li Sheng retorted rudely. "Do you think marching and fighting is like flirting with a dancer and taking time out of your busy schedule?"
Li Sheng cursed inwardly, wondering who had developed this idiot's business. He was blind and didn't know how far Jinshan Fishing Village was from the Longhua Command Headquarters.
Commander Xiong slowly explained to everyone that Gao Junxiao led his soldiers to Jinshan to suppress bandits in the bitter cold. After a hard day's work, they captured the man, but he was Mr. Du's cousin. Mr. Du felt that family scandals should not be aired in public, so he sent a clan elder to execute all people with the character "Du" in front of the bandit suppression team in front of the Du Clan Ancestral Hall.
The bandit leader is dead, and Commander Xiong has promised Mr. Du that he will not pursue the matter any further. It's just a pity for Gao Zexiu, who can't get military merit for him, but he hasn't complained at all.
Afterwards, the bandit suppression team received intelligence that the military pay issued by Nanjing had been intercepted. After a brief reorganization, the team rushed to Jiangsu to suppress bandits again.
"It is a great blessing for the country to have such young people." Commander Xiong said, his eyes reddening as if he were about to burst into tears.
From his seat, Gao Junxiao watched Commander Xiong's skillful solo performance and really wanted to applaud. No wonder Commander Xiong was able to thrive in the officialdom; it turns out that a leader who can't perform isn't a good leader. Compared to Commander Xiong, he still had a lot of room for improvement.
This is pretty much what Commander Xiong said, but Mr. Du is a big businessman, so how could he not pay a small amount to keep quiet? Each of his ordinary soldiers would get 30 silver dollars.
To be honest, Gao Junxiao didn't really care about the likes of Du Hanbin. He didn't treat this as a formal military operation, but rather as a live-fire exercise at most. Moreover, the cold river water in winter was a good deterrent to river pirates, and with the villagers' tip-off, they caught the guy without much effort.
What really gave him a headache were Liu Shengqi and the clueless Mr. Hai.
"Detain him!" Commander Xiong's expression suddenly changed, and he fiercely ordered his guards to arrest Liu Wu Kui. Liu Wu Kui struggled frantically, begging for mercy repeatedly.
“You keep saying that Zexiu and Zhou met, but you didn’t mention it at all in your own interrogation records. It seems you’re hiding something.” Commander Xiong picked up the interrogation records in his hand and showed them to him. There was a bright red fingerprint on them. It turned out that he had been looking at Liu Wukui’s historical interrogation records.
The pace of the interrogation left everyone present bewildered. Shouldn't the next part be a scathing rebuke of Liu Wu-kui for framing Kuomintang officers, followed by the exoneration of Gao Jun-xiao? Why has it shifted to Liu Wu-kui still having information to reveal, requiring further questioning?
"Commander Xiong, I really told you everything, really!!" Liu Wu Kui was so excited that his eyes were bloodshot.
"Didn't you say you have a bad memory? Take him away and help him sort out his thoughts." Commander Xiong waved his hand, signaling the guards to take him away.
"Ah—I'm not going! I'm not going! I was just making things up. I've never met Gao Junxiao. They forced me to say it." Liu Wukui shouted hoarsely, startling everyone present. He had actually revealed his true colors.
“But what you’re saying sounds so plausible. You couldn’t possibly make up these things out of thin air.” Commander Xiong gestured for the guards to stop.
“Zhou did ask me to fill up the gas tank, but I went with someone else. He drove off and didn’t come back until very late, with Zhou still in the car. I just guessed that he took Zhou to meet someone, but I really don’t know who he met with,” Liu Wu-kui replied, his voice trembling with tears.
"Oh, I see. But you also said before that you 'accidentally' saw Gao Junxiao's back. That was nonsense too?" Commander Xiong pretended to suddenly realize something.
"Of course that's nonsense. How could I possibly see Zhou making contact? The people Zhou meets are all top-secret envoys!" Liu Wu Kui was devastated. If the guards hadn't been holding him back, he probably would have collapsed to the ground.
Lin, the staff officer beside Commander Xiong, was in no better shape. His face turned deathly pale, and he resignedly closed his eyes.
"One last question, who instructed you to frame officials of the Party and the State?" Commander Xiong asked in a low voice, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
“It was the General Staff who forced me to say this. They said if they could frame me, they would give me 50 silver dollars. If I refused, they threatened to send me back to prison,” Liu Wu-kui replied, crying.
"Staff Officer Lin, is this true? Explain yourself," Commander Xiong asked with an unfriendly expression.
Staff Officer Lin, whose name was called by Commander Xiong, trembled and stammered that he didn't know. At this moment, Chen Yao and Lu Xian sneaked in through the back door, and Chen Yao gave Gao Junxiao an OK sign with a happy expression.
"Then let me tell you what happened. Someone in our staff is colluding with bandits." Commander Xiong's resounding words sent a chill down the spines of the onlookers.
"While everyone's here, I'll take this opportunity to resolve the issue of collusion between officials and bandits within our organization." After saying this, Commander Xiong stepped down from the interrogation table and had a guard bring the key to personally unlock Gao Junxiao's handcuffs.
Commander Xiong released Gao Junxiao on the spot and announced the restoration of all his positions. After Commander Xiong removed his handcuffs, Gao Junxiao saluted his superior again. His upright posture was like a sharp sword, with his unique sharpness and edge.
According to Commander Xiong, the next step is to invite Chief of Staff Tang to conduct an interrogation?
The audience members secretly glanced at Gao Junxiao. It was truly a case of fortunes changing; what goes around comes around. Inspector Gao was already seated in the audience, patiently waiting with everyone for Chief of Staff Tang to enter.
This was just the beginning of the real show. Soon, the guards "invited" Chief of Staff Tang over. Looking down at Commander Xiong and the smug Gao Junxiao, Tang Jizu felt suffocated by the oppressive heat. He now understood: Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was a ploy to ambush Liu Bang; these two were putting on a charade.
The best way to overthrow the powerful second-in-command is to join forces with the boss. The prerequisite is that you can find a reason enough to persuade the boss, and it seems that Gao Junxiao has found that stepping stone.
Good, very good, Gao Junxiao, you're ruthless enough to yourself! You're even willing to use a self-inflicted injury to seize power.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
