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A Prophet - Chapter 8 (Part 6)

Chapter 6 - Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao

Jiang Feiyan swayed her graceful figure and walked out. Being a person as fair and radiant as a peach blossom, she now wore mourning garments and had tears lingering in her eyes, adding a few more strokes of mournful beauty to her appearance.

Facing the more than two hundred hoodlums gathered at the entrance, Jiang Feiyan asked, "Which one of you is in charge?"

A young punk holding a pistol walked forward and said, "Sister Feiyan, what are your orders?"

Jiang Feiyan said, "Step forward and speak."

The fellow used the barrel of his gun to nudge the brim of his cap and glanced back at his surrounding brothers, feeling somewhat out of his depth. Jiang Feiyan possessed a tremendously imposing aura; noble, elegant, and completely poised. As the "Book of Physiognomy" states: "The base and ignoble struggle to gaze upon noble and elegant persons, feeling instantly ashamed of their own inferiority and overcome with cringing wretchedness."

This means that people are fundamentally different. Noble individuals radiate an aura of absolute command, whereas base individuals expose their shabbiness completely. Confronting an air of great elegance with a spirit of shabbiness results in an instant sense of self-deprecation and humiliation. Therefore, the ancients warned the world that if one's personal aura was lacking, one should avoid entering wealthy and prestigious circles to meet distinguished people, as it would only make one appear even shabbier and more insecure.

Standing before Jiang Feiyan, that fellow appeared utterly wretched.

Jiang Feiyan said in a low voice, "Get lost with your brothers right this instant! Otherwise, Second Sister Tian's head will be detached from her shoulders immediately!"

The fellow was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter. Blinking his lecherous little eyes, he said, "Sister Feiyan, did I hear wrong, or did you speak wrong? Today, the one who won't make it out alive is probably you!"

Jiang Feiyan smiled coldly and said, "Take a look at what this is." With that, she handed the letter and the jade jue pendant to the fellow.

Upon taking them and casting a glance, the fellow recoiled two steps in terror, his face turning completely green. The jade jue pendant was precisely the one Second Sister Tian wore on her wrist every single day. Carved from Hotan mutton-fat jade with paired dragons and phoenixes dancing together, its luster was brilliantly bright, and all the brothers recognized it!

"How did this end up in her hands? Could Second Sister's hand have been chopped off?" A drumbeat of anxiety hammered inside the fellow's chest. The mindset of underworld figures differed entirely from that of normal people. Glancing back at the sheet of paper, it clearly displayed Second Sister Tian's handwriting: Do not act rashly! "This is bad, Second Sister has been kidnapped!" the fellow thought.

With this realization, terror flooded the fellow's face: "You..."

Jiang Feiyan said, "We are about to hold the funeral. If you dare to cause trouble, Second Sister Tian is guaranteed to die without a burial site!"

The fellow had no idea what to do. Without receiving orders, he did not dare to withdraw either. He hurriedly summoned a hoodlum and told him to rush back to the hall to check whether Second Sister Tian was still there, while he himself stayed behind with the brothers, daring neither to advance nor retreat.

Jiang Feiyan issued the order to the hall: Begin the funeral!

Jiang Feiyan and several gang leaders walked at the front holding mourning banners, while the foot-bound disciples slowly carried the coffin out through the main entrance. The two hundred or so underworld thugs divided into two rows, watching coldly without daring to act presumptuously.

The funeral procession traversed several streets, arriving at the graveyard where Qiao Wumei was laid to rest amidst a grand and stirring ceremony. A generation of heroine overlords thus slumbered for eternity.

During this period, the leading fellow also received confirmation that Second Sister Tian was indeed absent from the hall. Consequently, he could only watch helplessly as Qiao Wumei was buried.

Once the funeral rites concluded, Jiang Feiyan said to the leading fellow, "Take your things and go back. Second Sister Tian has also arrived home safely."

The fellow, completely disoriented by the whole ordeal, led his subordinates away while hurling curses. Upon arriving back at the hall and seeing that Second Sister Tian had indeed returned, he hurriedly asked what had happened.

Second Sister Tian put on a troubled expression and said, "People from Wang Yazhiqiao's side made a move, setting up a Hongmen Banquet under the pretext of inviting me for tea to discuss major matters, but it was merely a ploy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. Qiao Wumei and Wang Yazhiqiao do not share an ordinary relationship; this matter must be deliberated over the long term. Without my command, no one is to act rashly!" In truth, Second Sister Tian understood clearly in her heart that she had her own agenda.

While drinking tea at the teahouse, Second Sister Tian had repeatedly probed Grandfather for information regarding Wang Yazhiqiao, saying, "Ninth Master possesses a chivalrous heart and righteous soul. I have long heard of his legendary name, yet we have never met. I hope Grandfather will introduce us."

Grandfather nodded and consented: "The wind and tide are far too tense during this period. After some time passes, I will take Second Sister to pay a visit at Ninth Master's residence!"

How could Second Sister Tian know that Grandfather was just spinning falsehoods? Grandfather had no idea where Wang Yazhiqiao even was. Back then, after bombing and killing Shirakawa Yoshinori, Wang Yazhiqiao had gone into deep hiding. Encountering such circumstances, the routine protocol was simply to wait until the surveillance eased up, at which point Wang Yazhiqiao would maintain single-line contact with Grandfather, who merely sat and awaited word. Grandfather only wanted to stall Second Sister Tian; once Qiao Wumei was buried, everything else would be easy to handle.

Shortly thereafter, the Kuomintang "Fuxing Society" established the "Lixing Society" internally. The secret agents of the Lixing Society intercepted radio signals transmitted by Japanese spies in Guangzhou and promptly raided the spies' stronghold. Once newspapers publicized the news, the entire world was in an uproar: it turned out that this so-called Second Sister Tian was actually a Japanese military spy lurking in Guangzhou, whose real name was Nishida Yoshiko, directly subordinate to the Japanese right-wing leader Kodama Yonosuke.

Kodama Yonosuke was the founding patriarch of Japanese espionage during World War II. In his early years, he joined the Japanese right-wing organization "State-Building Society," later sneaking into China. During his activities in Manchuria, he meticulously cultivated a large batch of secret agents who infiltrated Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other regions, establishing a triangular espionage liaison network. Nishida Yoshiko was merely a single chess piece he had deployed. The newspapers reported that after her identity was exposed, Nishida Yoshiko had shot herself.

Only then did a sudden realization dawn upon Grandfather. No wonder that when Ninth Master's name was first invoked, the opposing party immediately halted their assault on the "Yuehaitang" and repeatedly inquired about Ninth Master's whereabouts. Following the assassination of Shirakawa Yoshinori, the Japanese had frantically hunted down Wang Yazhiqiao, and Nishida Yoshiko, serving as a core intelligence operative, naturally bore an unshirkable duty in that search. Yet Wang Yazhiqiao had simply vanished from the mortal realm like a phantom. Unexpectedly, a "Grandfather" had suddenly materialized, complete with a folding fan inscribed in Wang Yazhiqiao's own handwriting. This had driven Nishida Yoshiko wild with ecstasy; compared to tracking down Wang Yazhiqiao, Qiao Wumei's affair was a matter of negligible consequence.

Reflecting upon these events, cold sweat drenched Grandfather's body! What Grandfather found even more unimaginable was that from this moment onward, he had officially entered the crosshairs of the Japanese...

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