Osprey carrying two fish
Night always falls quietly in silence. The howling of the wolfhounds echoed in the forest. The tall tree canopy was like an iron pot, pressing down on their heads. This made the two people fleeing for their lives in the forest feel stuffy and hot, as if their blood was about to evaporate.
But they dared not linger for a moment. From the moment they escaped the den of iniquity in Xuzhou, they kept running, running, running... Several blinding white lights pierced through the thick fog and flickered back and forth. The rustling sound of trousers brushing against the grass, accompanied by the cracking sound of tree branches breaking, grew closer and closer.
A flash of lightning and a thunderclap slightly slowed the pursuers' pace. Another intense bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating two young men hidden in the giant stone cave. One wore broken glasses, and the other had a messy, stubble beard.
Despite the frenzied attacks of buzzing mosquitoes, the two could only clench their fists and hold their breath, not daring to even wave their hands to shoo them away.
Just now, a small boundary marker almost tripped up the guy with the mustache. The boundary marker had the words "Qingpu" written on it, which meant that they had already set foot on Shanghai's territory and were only one step away from headquarters. They absolutely could not give up now.
A deafening clap of thunder shook the heavens and the earth. Torrential rain dug small craters into the grass, and the howling wind swept through the stone cave, from which they heard a few indistinct curses.
This meant that the Grim Reaper was nearby. The man took off his glasses, calmly broke off the already shattered lens, and another chilling wolf howl followed. Only the trembling mustache remained in the cave. With a soft "plop," splattered blood instantly covered the grass in front of him.
He covered his mouth in fear, his eyes wide with disbelief. His comrade, who had just been fleeing with him, was now dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, a secret agent's uniform. There were still traces of red on his hands, which were gradually washed away by the heavy rain.
The comrade gestured for him to shush, then pulled him by the arm and quietly went around the boulder. There was another spy looking around, and the comrade used the same trick again, slitting his throat with a single blow. The spy didn't even have time to scream before he became a corpse in the forest.
The man with the mustache struggled to steady his trembling hands as he stripped off the spy's uniform and put it on. The blood still lingered on his collar, and he touched his neck uncomfortably, as if he were the one whose throat had been slit.
Taking advantage of the heavy rain and having changed into spy clothes, the two immediately began a new round of escape. Finally, after the rain stopped, they found a farmhouse. In the yard, there were only a few half-dry summer clothes and a pile of unfinished bamboo strips. A cold glint flashed in the pile of bamboo strips.
They quietly changed into farmers' clothes and walked along the railway, intending to get into the city as soon as possible. In the darkness, the man with the mustache complained breathlessly, "Brother Rentang, how much longer do we have to walk? I really can't walk anymore."
"Yamei, hang in there a little longer. We need to get into the city as soon as possible to report to the organization," another person in the darkness replied.
Under the night sky, Yamei suddenly stopped, standing motionless like an iron statue. He saw that Comrade Rentang was still walking forward on his own. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes but quickly disappeared. He then hurried after him.
After walking for a while, he shamelessly put his arm around Comrade Rentang's shoulder, leaning half of his body against him. Rentang's body was tilted by the weight, and he sighed and said, "Alright, alright, just like when we were kids. Stop acting like this and go sit for a while."
"I need to find a place with a backrest, let's go." Ya Mei happily put her arm around Comrade Rentang and found a big tree to sit down.
Waaaaah—
The whistle of a steam train grew louder as it approached; it was probably the earliest freight train. The two men exchanged a smile upon hearing the sound. Amei whispered her thoughts in Rentang's ear. Rentang gave her a thumbs-up in agreement.
A huge obstacle ahead forced the high-speed train to a stop. The train slid for several kilometers due to inertia before finally coming to a stop. Taking advantage of the train driver getting off to check, the two quietly boarded a coal car.
A short while later, the train conductor resolved the malfunction, and the train slowly started moving again. Rentang was about to praise Yamei's resourcefulness.
"Pfft," the sharp blade had already pierced his chest. He vomited a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed onto the coal. Judging from his mouth movements, he seemed to want to ask why.
However, Yamei gripped the knife tightly in her hand and resolutely stabbed Rentang in the chest again and again. Warm blood splattered all over his head, face, and body, and the bright red blood dripped into the black coal. Rentang would never move again.
Intense emotions crashed down on Ami like a mountain pressing down on him. He buried his head like a frightened hedgehog, curled up into a ball, and let out suppressed sobs, like the mournful cries of an animal.
After a while, Ami wiped his face, sobbing, and rested for a bit. As he threw the body off the train, a red glow appeared on the horizon, illuminating his silvery-white stubble...
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Shanghai, the French Concession.
"Extra! Extra! The Northeast Army is about to enter the pass."
"Breaking news! Breaking news! The outcome of the Central Plains War is decided!"
"Breaking news! Breaking news! The young marshal has defected! He calls on both sides to cease hostilities and await the central government's decision (in Nanjing)."
The newsboys' clear cries, accompanied by breaking news, attracted many customers to stop and buy newspapers. Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the church was much more solemn and peaceful, where Father Tong was leading the choir children in practicing hymns.
There were only two audience members, a man and a woman, in the audience. They were Wang Renyong and Qingcheng, and today was their regular meeting time.
"Boss, have you noticed that there are a lot more spies in the concession lately? Some of them are even carrying portraits. I don't think they're from the CC Clique. Their style of doing things is more like the people I saw at the Xuzhou hospital. I had to go around in circles before I dared to come here," Qingcheng asked worriedly.
"Remove the 'more like' part; you're just an agent under the ten-man group. Be extra careful when you go out lately. Apart from your regular meeting times, try to avoid meeting with me and Li Sheng. But you and Mr. Xia should stay in touch. Going to see each other more often won't arouse suspicion," Wang Renyong earnestly advised.
"Hehe, I've been learning how to make soup with my master every day lately. His Cantonese soup is so delicious!" Qingcheng deliberately made a tempting expression in front of Wang Renyong.
After Hu Yukun's sacrifice, Old Wang was depressed for several days. Now that she has finally recovered, she wants to cheer him up.
"Tsk tsk, I made you Mr. Xia's liaison, not a chef. Look at your face, it's gotten so round." Wang Renyong swallowed and said, "When did you graduate? Cook a meal and let me, the culinary master, be your judge and give you my feedback."
"Hmph! What excuse are you making? Just say you want to eat. I'll decide based on my mood. After all, your face is already round enough, you don't even need a compass." Qingcheng retorted irritably. "Besides, I've officially become Mr. Xia's apprentice. I'm learning the tricks and techniques from her, and I'm also learning to cook from her. What's wrong with that?"
Wang Renyong replied earnestly, “Yes, there are very few women who can be addressed as ‘Mr.’, and Ms. Xia is one of the best among them. She has been involved in the revolution to save China for longer than you are. You should hurry up and learn Ms. Xia’s way of thinking and political strategies. Then, through her introduction, I guarantee you will be able to get along with both the legitimate and illegitimate worlds.”
"I'm learning. Making soup is an elective, but writing random current affairs commentaries every week is a mandatory course. My teacher is so strict, much stricter than our editor-in-chief," Qingcheng said with a bitter face.
“A strict teacher produces outstanding students! How about I test you on how well you’ve learned?” Wang Renyong pointed to the news in the newspaper about the “Northeast Army entering the pass” and asked Qingcheng for his opinion.
"What thoughts could I possibly have? The people suffer when the dynasty prospers, and they suffer when the dynasty falls. Once Zhang Xiaoliu defectes, the balance of power will completely tip in Nanjing's favor. Some opportunistic warlords will follow suit. I bet the headlines in a few days will all be about which army has defected. In the end, the losers will step down, and the winners will nominally unify the country," Qingcheng predicted with her media professional intuition.
"I think about the same thing as you. The question is, what do you think Nanjing will do next after winning?" Wang Renyong asked meaningfully as he folded the newspaper.
"They're going to deal with us. With Zhang Xiaoliu's entry into North China serving as a deterrent, Nanjing's defenses there will be much easier. Perhaps President Chiang has already amassed a large number of troops and moved them towards the Soviet area." She had heard about President Chiang's anti-revolutionary activities in Paris.
"Hey, you know what, it's really possible." Wang Renyong slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Well done, Qingcheng, you didn't waste your time becoming a disciple."
"You flatter me. There's no end to learning, and I still have much to learn," Kiyosumi said modestly.
The two were chatting happily when the rousing hymn reached its final verse. With a final tap of the conductor's baton, the hymn came to an end.
The children happily bid farewell to Father Tong. After the children had all left, Father Tong walked up to the two men and asked with his usual cold expression, "Which of you would like to make your confession first?"
Wang Renyong smiled and said that ladies should go first, and Qingcheng nodded politely in response, as if the two had just met. In fact, this was the real purpose of this meeting, and Qingcheng silently followed Father Tong to the confessional.
In the confessional, Qingcheng took out a brown paper bag and passed it to Father Tong through the sliding window of the confessional, solemnly saying, "This time there are 26 applications for Party membership. Please approve them."
"Okay, also, all 12 comrades from last time have passed the review. You will receive instructions from Wang Renyong regarding the specific work arrangements." Father Tong needed to file the documents and then report them to the organization for final review. He would then pass on the detailed information of the new comrades sent back by the organization to Wang Renyong, so that he could assign specific tasks and designate code names, pseudonyms, and new contact methods.
After submitting the documents, Qingcheng's work was finished, and the rest was Wang Renyong's job. When Qingcheng returned to the main hall of the church, she didn't see Wang Renyong. He was just here a moment ago. Oh well, he always appears and disappears mysteriously. He probably had something urgent to attend to.
However, as soon as she stepped out of the church, she saw Wang Renyong squatting on the ground with his back to her, chatting with a bald-headed beggar. The beggar looked very old, with tangled hair and a sparse, white beard. His face was so swollen that his features were not visible, and his mouth was sunken with all his front teeth missing.
Hearing her footsteps, Wang Renyong turned around, and Qingcheng then noticed that his eyes were red and something was wrong.
Thinking that there might be spies around, Qingcheng pretended to be concerned about the beggar and walked up to the two of them, but actually blocked Wang Renyong: "Sir, do you need help? I am very familiar with the father here and can provide some food for this poor homeless man."
"Thank you so much. This poor person hasn't eaten or drunk anything for three days. It would be wonderful if you could help. Beautiful lady, may God bless you, Amen." Wang Renyong tried his best to control his emotions and pretended to make the sign of the cross.
"Please bring this poor man in with me. I'll get him a cup of hot water first." Qingcheng winked at Wang Renyong, who immediately helped the bald-headed beggar back into the hall and locked the door behind him.
"Old Tong, come out quickly and find a clean room. Hurry, the ospreys are here." After confirming that there was no one else, Wang Renyong stopped pretending and said impatiently.
After Old Wang called out, Father Tong came out of the confessional. It was the first time Kiyosumi had seen a worried expression on his face. He hesitated and asked, "Is it... Ami? What happened to her?"
“Yes, he hasn’t eaten for several days. Qingcheng, go and get some milk or liquid food for Comrade Yuying to eat first, quick, quick, quick.” Wang Renyong said as he helped Comrade Yuying to a chair.
Everyone was infected by Wang Renyong's nervousness; their feet seemed to have wings, and in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the room and food were ready.
Even more anxious than Wang Renyong was Comrade Yu Ying, his veins bulging red. He didn't even glance at the food, his mouth agape as he mumbled a few syllables. After gesturing for a long time, it was finally understood that he wanted paper and pen. Father Tong immediately fetched paper and pen for him, and Yu Ying wrote down several large characters in a flowing style:
"Chiang Kai-shek has mobilized 100,000 troops to launch a large-scale encirclement and suppression campaign against the Soviet areas before the end of the year."
This news was far more significant than Zhang Xiaoliu's defection, causing a stir among everyone. Wang Renyong couldn't help but joke with Qingcheng, "Is your mouth blessed?"
"Amy, could you be more specific? For example, the unit numbers of the assembled troops, the direction of attack, and the time of attack," Father Tong asked anxiously.
Comrade Osprey's swollen face showed a seemingly ashamed expression as he silently wrote: "They are going to cross the river, expected in December, the 18th Army, the others unknown." Even knowing only the approximate time of the attack and the number of one of the corps, Kiyosumi felt it was extremely valuable; how many comrades would have to sacrifice to obtain this information!
Father Tong sighed in disappointment, but still thanked him sincerely: "Thank you. I will send a telegram back home now so that I can prepare accordingly if I know when the attack will take place."
Even after Father Tong left the room, Wang Renyong remained silent, lost in thought. Qingcheng coughed twice, hoping that Old Wang would be sensible and leave quickly so that Comrade Yu Ying could get some rest.
Hearing the cough, Wang Renyong finally came to his senses, but instead of going out, he pulled Comrade Yu Ying aside and asked, "What exactly happened after we left Xuzhou?"
“Nine Ears has betrayed us. I killed him.” After writing this sentence, Comrade Osprey glanced warily at Kiyosumi without saying a word or moving his pen.
Upon hearing that they were comrades from Xuzhou, Qingcheng lowered his head in shame, not daring to look at them, and was about to leave to let the two of them talk in detail.
To everyone's surprise, Old Wang introduced himself to Comrade Yu Ying: "This is my core intelligence officer, Shaoyao. She and Hu Yukun went to the mining area to scout ahead of the mission to Xuzhou."
When Qingcheng heard Lao Wang introduce himself like that, he felt his face burning red. If he hadn't been so stubborn, he wouldn't have attracted a group of ten. Wang Renyong then introduced Comrade Yu Ying.
"Osprey" is a code name; this comrade's real name is Li Yamei, and he is the Party Secretary of Xuzhou City. Furthermore, he is the same age as Qingcheng, both born in the Year of the Sheep.
What? Qingcheng stared wide-eyed at her peer. She had always thought that Comrade Yu Ying was an old man the same age as Uncle Qin. Who knows what kind of dangerous things he had gone through that caused his hair to turn white overnight and his face to be disfigured.
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