Old Ximen residents
"Sharpen the knife, sharpen the scissors—"
Shouts and calls came from the alleyway not far away, adding a touch of liveliness to the quiet afternoon. A young couple wearing white armbands were busy in front of the public stove. The man was tending the fire and fanning it, while the woman deftly filled thermos bottles for nearby residents.
Glug glug, another kettle of water boiled. The man took down the scalding kettle, lifted the lid, and fanned away the excess steam. Huang Gui and the others had been waiting impatiently for a long time, and they banged on the table, urging the man to pour water quickly.
Picking up a rag, the man wiped the table while explaining with an embarrassed smile that the water was too hot and he would pour it in after it cooled down a bit.
"Don't you have any cold water in your shop? How can I drink something this hot?" Huang Gui angrily slammed his fist on the table, causing the dilapidated little wooden table to wobble a few times.
"Huh? You come here to buy hot food..." the man stammered.
Before the man could finish speaking, his wife pushed him aside. The proprietress picked up the kettle and poured water, her movements as efficient as before. She then chimed in, "Yes, yes, I'll go get it from inside. Please wait a moment."
Taking the bowl, Huang Gui blew on it with satisfaction, praising the proprietress for being clever, saying that one should be flexible when running a business.
"Sharpen the knife, sharpen the scissors—"
The shouts grew louder as they approached. Li Sheng, a cigarette dangling from his lips, pulled out his gold pocket watch. The minute hand landed exactly on 12, the time was perfect. Satisfied, he closed the watch. The smooth back reflected the scenery of the alleyway. A bicycle with a small stool on it slowly appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.
The moment Li Sheng put the pocket watch back, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Huang Gui, who was next to him, opened his eyes wide and carefully examined the gold pocket watch, clicking his tongue in amazement. "How much gold must such a big pocket watch have? And what kind of carvings are they?"
With a furrowed brow, Li Sheng feigned impatience as he put the gold chain back into his shirt pocket, leaving only the thin gold chain visible, shimmering brightly in the sunlight.
Zhang Chong, leaning against a pillar across from him, seized the opportunity to tease, "Section Chief Li, don't be so stingy. He just wanted to broaden his horizons."
“I’m not afraid Huang Gui will see it, I’m afraid you, Section Chief Zhang, will see it. How could those gold and silver things possibly offend the eyes of an upright official like you?” Li Sheng turned to Huang Gui with a forced smile and said, “After you join the Party and the State, you’ll have more than just a gold pocket watch. If you perform well, you can buy a gold pocket watch every month.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Gui's eyes lit up, but after glancing at Zhang Chong's gloomy face, his expression turned sour, and he dared not utter another sound, silently blowing on the steam in his bowl.
Just then, the proprietress brought over a blue-and-white porcelain kettle and added half a bowl of cold water to each person's bowl. Huang Gui disliked the woman's clumsy hands and feet, and waved for the proprietress to go about her business, saying they would pour the water themselves.
"Section Chief Li is exaggerating. I only have a higher salary and bonus than those Communists. It's all hard-earned money, but I can't compare to your many ways of making money. You can swallow both black and white in one gulp." Zhang Chong stopped Huang Gui from pouring water for him, his tone full of disdain.
"Heh, are they jealous that he can have connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles?" Li Sheng stubbed out his cigarette, took a sip of warm water, and glanced at the other end of the alley. His men were questioning five young female workers and a tricycle full of gas cylinders.
The afternoon clouds, like lazy orange cats, clung to the horizon, slowly drifting over everyone's heads. Apart from the gurgling sound of a kettle, there was almost no other noise in the alley, until...
"Sharpen the knife, sharpen the scissors—"
At that moment, the shouts came clearly from behind, and suddenly an old woman's face appeared at the second-floor window: "Master, stop for a moment, I have a pair of scissors that need sharpening."
"Alright." The knife sharpener parked his bicycle and had just taken off his small stool when two secret agents pinned him against the wall and questioned him. They asked routine questions, and since they didn't find anything suspicious during the body search, they released him.
After gaining his freedom, the first thing the knife sharpener did was to take a small red bucket and ask the couple who ran the public stove for half a bucket of cold water to sharpen his knives.
Compared to Li Sheng and the others' composure, Huang Gui appeared extremely nervous. He lightly kicked Li Sheng under the table and whispered in his ear, "When the Communist Party is eliminating traitors, they like to pretend to be ordinary people and suddenly deliver a fatal blow. Finish your water and go back to the safe house quickly."
The two looked at the stairwell behind them at the same time. The knife sharpener calmly took the scissors from the old woman, set up the wheel-shaped whetstone, and sprinkled some water on it.
Huang Gui was behaving normally, but he seemed to be struggling with something for about a second. Li Sheng patted Huang Gui on the shoulder to reassure him. There were so many of them; if the Communist Party sent someone to eliminate them now, they would be walking into a trap.
Whew~~
A strange gust of wind brushed past his ear. Before he could see what it was, Li Sheng felt a chill on his neck and suddenly kicked Huang Gui away.
when!
A gleaming throwing knife was stuck straight into the wooden post. Caught off guard, Huang Gui took the kick and fell to the ground, cursing in pain.
"Damn it!" Zhang Chong on the other side almost got stabbed. Before he could even confront Li Sheng, bang! A junior agent fired a shot in a moment of panic. Instantly, the female workers screamed. The young man delivering the gas cylinders was so startled that he loosened his grip, and two pine-green gas cylinders rolled towards them.
"Don't shoot!" As soon as Zhang Chong finished speaking, another change occurred in the alley.
With a whooshing sound, a dagger flew out and instantly got stuck at the valve of the gas cylinder. As the gas cylinder rolled, everyone smelled a foul rotten egg odor.
Oh no, there's a gas leak!
Without time to say more, Li Sheng quickly stepped forward to help the dazed man extinguish the flames. *Pfft! Pfft!* The proprietress understood his intention and directly used a water ladle to put out the flames in the stove.
After smelling the burnt smell mixed with the smell of rotten eggs for too long, Li Sheng felt dizzy and nauseous. He forced himself to endure the discomfort and shouted, "Don't shoot, don't smoke, don't light any open flames, retreat slowly!"
Gas cylinders are no joke. The young spies around were so frightened that their hair stood on end. Almost instinctively, they turned 180 degrees and ran away as fast as they could.
"Ah, ah~ they're here, the Red Team is here!" Huang Gui cried as he crawled toward the exit behind him.
Zhang Chong, who was on the other side, quickly ran forward, lifted the nearly collapsing Huang Gui, and forcefully dragged him into the tiger stove: "Go in quickly, the Communist Party won't kill civilians."
Li Sheng was furious that Zhang Chong knew this, but before he could make any further moves, Zhang Chong tripped over a small stool and accidentally knocked over the sharpening master's red water bucket.
Thump! The two of them fell heavily onto the bluestone slab, where the moistened moss was even more slippery than oil.
Severely injured, Zhang Chong groaned and tried to stand up again. Before he could shout a second time, another whirlwind-like throwing knife flew towards his face. Li Sheng timely threw the blue and white porcelain pot on the table. Clang! The throwing knife missed by half an inch, grazed Zhang Chong's hair, and deeply embedded itself in the stone slab.
When Huang Gui's gaze fell on the flying knife with the red tassel, he frantically broke free from Zhang Chong's grip, muttering incomprehensible words: "Hey, Da Tianzi... Waaah... Don't look for me, don't look for me, it wasn't me who killed you."
Li Sheng knew in his heart that something was wrong; this kid was going to get into trouble by running around like that. He immediately rushed forward, ripped off Huang Gui's coat, and used the sleeve to tie him up.
On the other side, the first thing Zhang Chong did after getting up was to stabilize the gas cylinder and stealthily pull out the throwing knife. If even a spark were to ignite, everyone would be finished. Sweating profusely, Zhang Chong turned off the valve and then loudly called for his men.
Unfortunately, those little bastards from CC had already disappeared, leaving Zhang Chong with nowhere to vent his anger. Li Shenggang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, wiping his brow with his elbow. He thought to himself, "It's because you're always too 'good' to people." Helpless, he called over his men.
The people at headquarters were quite loyal; they all assembled as soon as they heard the order. However, they were wary of the elusive throwing knives and moved slowly along the wall.
Just as Li Sheng was about to have his men move the gas cylinders, he heard a low shout from inside the high walls: "Go!"
Suddenly, several blades flew out from the wall. Li Sheng instinctively bent down to dodge, but poor Huang Gui beside him didn't even have time to dodge. He closed his eyes and swayed to one side.
A bloody blade protruded from behind Huang Gui's neck. Li Sheng rushed over and covered Huang Gui's wound, pointing to a gate with his other hand: "There's a bald man in the yard, hurry and chase after him."
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Chong took the lead, smashing open the black wooden door and leading a group of men into the courtyard. The rest of the men, under Li Sheng's command, either called for an ambulance or stood guard with guns drawn.
With a snap, the wheel-shaped whetstone suddenly broke off. No one noticed it silently rolling toward the gas cylinder beside it. By the time Li Sheng noticed, it was too late to stop it. He grabbed Huang Gui and yelled, "Get down!"
Almost simultaneously, a loud bang rang out, sending stones flying everywhere. When the dust settled, a large crater was clearly visible in the middle of the alley, and a sharp pair of scissors was stuck diagonally into the broken bearing of the whetstone.
Shaking his head, which was still dazed from the blast, Li Sheng coughed and spat out the dirt in his mouth. Unexpectedly, a sweet and fishy smell followed, staining the front of his clothes red.
"Section Chief, Section Chief, you're injured!" His subordinates rushed to his side. They touched Li Sheng's back and immediately got their hands sticky with grime. Everyone looked even more anxious, and their noisy chatter was giving everyone a headache.
"What's the rush? Everyone gets injured on missions. When the ambulance arrives, save Huang Gui first." As Li Sheng spoke, more blood gushed out. He simply looked away, his hand covering Huang Gui's wound trembling slightly, inadvertently plunging the knife a little deeper.
The unique damping sensation in his carotid artery satisfied his impatience. "Huang Gui, the organization has been good to you. You've had your last meal. Have a safe journey."
In the distance, the sound of a car approaching could be heard—Li Sheng's vision gradually blurred, and he felt a tremor throughout his body, as if someone had lifted him onto a stretcher...
In a daze, his eyelids were pulled open, and the white light seemed veiled by a thin mist, making it somewhat unreal. Li Sheng let out a wail, his head throbbing as if it were splitting open.
"Brother Li, wake up."
A familiar voice called him. With great willpower, Li Sheng opened his eyes and saw a worried Qingcheng, whose face was mostly covered by a mask.
"Take off your bulletproof vest quickly. Your subordinates might come in soon, and it won't be good if they see the blood packs." Kiyosumi was wearing a white coat, looking like a professional.
Li Sheng then remembered that he wasn't injured at all; he had just bitten open a small blood sac hidden in his mouth. He sat up abruptly and changed out of his bulletproof vest, which was soaked with blood. "Xiao He, did you put too much in me? Why am I still so dizzy?"
“It’s normal. You weren’t wearing a helmet, so you might have a mild concussion. As for the medicine, just drink more water and it will be metabolized after a good night’s sleep. That medicine doesn’t have a significant effect on normal people.” Qingcheng explained as she stuffed the blood-stained clothes she had changed out of into a large leather suitcase.
Forget it, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Li Sheng didn't care that Xiao He was too ruthless; as long as Huang Gui was dead, that was all that mattered.
Suddenly remembering something, Li Sheng pulled Qingcheng aside and reported, "By the way, I just wanted to tell you, Huang Gui couldn't have been sent here with me. Zhang Chong will definitely take him to a hospital they trust. What if he survives?"
"It's alright, I expected it. Huang Gui going to that hospital is really courting death. Just wait and see." Qingcheng sneered, looking like an iron-faced judge holding a calligraphy brush, confident in his judgment of right and wrong.
The next day, Li Sheng lay on his bed reading the newspaper. Yesterday's alleyway explosion had been packaged as a case of a temporary worker at the gas company violating regulations. The responsible company had already dismissed the temporary worker and funded the repair of the damaged area.
"Knock knock," someone knocked on the door. Li Sheng suppressed a laugh and invited the person in.
After his subordinate entered the room, he quietly reported that Huang Gui had been saved by a highly skilled doctor and was even able to open his eyes. But something happened last night, and the guy was scared to death.
Huh? Li Sheng naturally didn't believe it. Huang Gui either died from hemorrhagic shock or from complications. How could he have been scared to death?
However, his subordinates patted their chests and assured them that what they said was true. Zhang Chong had even obtained an autopsy report. He died suddenly from cardiac arrest. They said he had seen a ghost.
Haha, what nonsense! It's all just a bunch of superstitious tricks. Materialists don't believe in this stuff. But hearing that Huang Gui is really dead, Li Sheng couldn't be happier. He'll order a couple more dishes for lunch to celebrate. He'll ask Xiao He later what exactly happened at the hospital.
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