Chapter Twelve: False Intelligence
Chen Kan huddled behind a pillar at the entrance of the train station, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, the smoke dissipating slowly in the morning mist.
He watched as Ah Chen, dressed in a dark blue cloth shirt, supported the pregnant Ah Xiu with one hand and lifted Chen Nian onto the train's footboard with the other.
Xiao Nian pressed her face against the car window, her nose against the glass, her eyes sparkling as if she were looking for him.
Chen Kan quickly shrank into the shadows, stubbed out his cigarette, and rubbed his fingertips against the corner of his eye, afraid that if he stayed any longer he would be reluctant to leave.
The sound of the train whistle hurt his ears.
Chen Kan watched the train slowly start moving, the steam billowing from its rear obscuring Xiao Nian's face more and more. Only when the train completely disappeared at the end of the tracks did he take a step forward.
Chen Kan went directly to Sato's residence.
Since Ishimura came to Jiangcheng, Sato has kept a much lower profile there.
Sato smiled when he saw Chen Kan: "Director Chen, you are a rare guest."
Chen Kan closed the door behind him and sat down at the low table: "Mr. Sato, I'll be frank, I need your help to save Lin Tang."
Sato paused, the tea steam swirling around his nose. The smile still lingered on his lips, but his eyes were devoid of warmth. "Director Chen, Miss Lin's matter is under Colonel Ishimura's jurisdiction. I'm just an idle person and I'm afraid I can't get involved."
Chen Kan, however, seemed to have anticipated this response. He immediately pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and said, “Mr. Sato, you are too modest. Who doesn’t know that you have been scheming in Jiangcheng for many years? Ishimura is merely from a family of meritorious officials, and he stole your credit the moment he arrived. This is the Chongqing government’s list of agents in Jiangcheng. I am willing to use this as a condition to exchange for the safety of myself and my wife. Mr. Sato, you have been operating in Jiangcheng for three years, are you really willing to watch Ishimura steal your credit?”
Sato picked up his teacup, took a sip, and laughed, "Director Chen, are you setting a trap for me?"
Chen Kan leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, but didn't light it. "Mr. Sato, we're both smart men. If Ishimura continues to grow powerful in Jiangcheng, he'll devour you sooner or later. As for me..." He pointed to his chest, "I just want to save my wife." He paused, then added, "Besides, if you can capture everyone on this list, even if the military is biased towards Ishimura, they'll know who's truly valuable."
Sato laughed, took a dagger from his drawer, and stabbed it into the paper. "Director Chen, you certainly know how to make a deal. But how do I know this list is real?"
Chen Kan placed the cigarette case on the table and stood up. "Mr. Sato, you can check. Chairman Wang met with people from Chongqing last week." He turned and walked towards the door, then stopped and turned back. "I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of No. 76 at 10 a.m. tomorrow. If you don't come..." He pointed to the paper on the table, "...I'll give this list to Ishimura."
Sato stared at his retreating figure, his fingers crushing the teacup. A shard cut his palm, and drops of blood dripped onto the tatami mat like blooming cherry blossoms. He picked up the list on the table, a sinister smile creeping across his lips: "Director Chen, you'd better not disappoint me."
Chen Kan stopped and looked at Sato. "Mr. Sato, you understand me better than Ishimura. All I've ever wanted is for Lin Tang and me to have a peaceful life so I can focus on my studies. I've ended up like this because the Chen family forced me into this situation. But the Chen family has already run away, so why should I stay and work for them?"
Sato stared at the list on the table, his eyes growing colder. He took a pistol from the drawer and wiped the dust off the barrel: "Ishimura, this time, it's my turn."
He stood up, put away his pistol, turned and walked to the phone. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the receiver, he paused, turned back to Chen Kan and said, "Director Chen, you'd better make sure this list can shut Shi Cun up."
Chen Kan leaned against the doorframe, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "Mr. Sato, I'm more afraid of him not shutting up than you are." Sato snorted, dialed a number, and quickly ordered in Japanese: "Prepare the car, go to No. 76."
...
When the car stopped in front of No. 76, Shicun was smashing a cup in his office.
The sound of shattering glass came through the door. Sato raised an eyebrow, pushed the door open, and went in, with Chen Kan following behind.
Ishimura looked up and saw them; his face immediately darkened. "Sato-kun, isn't it incredibly rude of you to enter my office without permission?"
Sato said, "Ishimura-kun, I heard that you arrested Director Chen's wife?"
Ishimura looked at Sato suspiciously for a moment before saying, "Yes, I originally had Ouyang Qing deliberately lure and arrest relevant people under the pretense of transporting weapons. Someone confessed that Lin Tang was their contact person in Jiangcheng!"
"Oh? Where is that person?" Sato asked casually.
Ishimura said angrily, "That person bit his tongue!"
"So there are no witnesses? You actually dared to hold Director Chen's wife hostage and make such ridiculous claims about producing evidence in three days! If the military finds out about this, won't we become a laughing stock!"
Ishimura's face flushed red as he stared at Sato: "Sato-kun, what do you want?"
"Release Lin Tang." Sato sat on the sofa, picked up the tea on Ishimura's table, and took a sip. "Otherwise, I'll report to the military that your operation failed and that you even convicted our pro-Japanese partner because of personal grudges!"
Shi Cun stared intently at Chen Kan, veins bulging, before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Fine, I'll let her go."
When Lin Tang was brought in, her hair was a little messy and the hem of her cheongsam was stained with dust, but her eyes remained firm.
She paused when she saw Chen Kan, and before she could speak, Chen Kan stepped forward and took her hand: "It's alright, let's go."
Lin Tang was taken aback, but he still let her hold his hand.
The two left No. 76 with Sato, only to run into Cheng Qing and Qiao Yuan.
Cheng Qing held a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. Seeing Chen Kan helping Lin Tang out, the embers of the cigarette flickered in the wind. A cold smile appeared on his lips: "Director Chen, you really have some tricks up your sleeve. You even managed to persuade Colonel Sato. What did you give in exchange?"
Qiao Yuan stood beside him, his suit collar open, his eyes filled with a mixture of jealousy. He sneered, "Chen Kan, I never thought you'd risk your life for a woman?"
Lin Tang gripped Chen Kan's hand tightly, her nails digging into his palm.
Chen Kan didn't move, but glanced at Cheng Qing and Qiao Yuan, "If you two are so free, you might as well get to work! I'll settle accounts with you later for arresting my wife!"
Cheng Qing was about to speak when she saw Sato walking up behind Chen Kan, and she lowered her head guiltily.
Sato walked over, put a hand on her shoulder, and laughed, "As expected of the poppy I cultivated! It knows best which tree a good bird chooses to perch on."
Chen Kan ignored them, only looking down at Lin Tang, reaching out to tidy her messy hair, his tone softening: "Let's go."
...
Chen Kan's car was outside No. 76.
Even after getting into the car, Lin Tang was still uneasy: "Why did Sato help us? What deal did you make with him?"
Chen Kan took a train ticket out of his pocket and stuffed it into her hand: "Don't ask anymore. I've already sent Achen to Beiping with Nian'er. You can go to Beiping or Yan'an, just leave Jiangcheng."
Lin Tang was taken aback.
"What about you?" Lin Tang grabbed his wrist. "Aren't you coming with me?"
Chen Kan didn't look at her, but said, "Jintang, for the past five years, I've never asked you what you've been doing. Now it's time to be honest! You joined the Communist Party, while I've been working for the Nationalist government. Now that you've been exposed, you should leave quickly! I still have something I promised Chen Ping that I haven't finished."
"What is it?" Lin Tang's hands clenched tighter and tighter. "Chen Kan, at a time like this, what do you still care about the Chen family? Come with me, come with me to Yan'an! Didn't we promise each other in college that we would travel all over the country together and record all the architectural relics? Now that the country is in trouble, neither of us can stay out of it, so let's work together to save the country!"
Chen Kan looked at her and said, "Jintang, you are doing this to save the country, and so am I. You must believe that in the face of national hatred, we are all Chinese, and we are all doing the same thing. I promise you, you go first, and I will come to find you later."
"You're not lying to me?" Lin Tang's tears fell onto the back of his hand.
Chen Kan smiled and wiped away her tears: "Silly girl, when have I ever lied to you?"
...
Chen Kan took Lin Tang to the train station.
He parked the car there, looking at her, but then a picture of her from over a decade ago appeared before his eyes. Back then, her face didn't bear the marks of war, only a deep-seated scholarly air. She saw him, smiled, her eyes forming crescent shapes, and said, "Amu, you've come?"
At this moment, he looked at Lin Tang, who was nearly thirty years old.
In the blink of an eye, they had all reached middle age.
Perhaps, he was still grateful for the favor of fate that allowed him to escape the calamity ten years ago and have spent the last five years with Lin Tang.
This life has been enough.
It's just a pity that I may not live to see her when she's older, or when Anian grows up.
But where in life is there ever a perfect ending?
We're already lucky enough as we are now!
...
When Chen Kan returned to his residence, the basement light was still on. He turned on the telegraph machine, his fingers flying across the keyboard, the radio signals on the screen flashing rapidly, transmitting the location of the armory, troop deployment, and transportation routes.
After sending the last message, he disassembled the telegraph machine, throwing the parts into the brazier. Amidst the sound of flames devouring metal, he remembered Lin Tang's words from earlier: "Aren't you coming with me?"
He chuckled. "Jintang, you're such a dog."
The door was suddenly kicked open, and Cheng Qing appeared with a gun in hand, followed by a row of agents from the 76th Division.
Cheng Qing pressed the muzzle of her gun against Chen Kan's temple, and she smiled sinisterly: "Director Chen, you used false intelligence to get Lin Jintang to leave No. 76? And you even sent arms intelligence to the Chongqing government! Let me tell you, we already seized your radio station before, and you haven't made a move in the past two years. If it weren't for this latest intelligence transmission, you would have really gotten away! It's a pity that Colonel Sato saw through your tricks long ago, and your intelligence can't be transmitted!"
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