Great Sage

Zhang Jiaju narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering now and then on someone for several seconds. Such surveillance was tedious, yet he never grew tired of it. He loved the thrill of picking out a target from a sea of faces. A peddler carrying shoulder poles. A woman cradling a child. A refined schoolteacher clutching a book. A group of young students walking together, conversing animatedly. Any one of them could be the Red bandit he was so desperately hunting. Searching for answers among the bustling masses was a unique sensation in itself. "Team Leader, it's been more than half a month. If a fish was going to bite, it would've taken the hook long ago," Cao Anmin said, a toothpick dangling from his mouth. "If you ask me, that Communist they want to contact was probably rounded up and executed by us who knows when, or else got scared and ran off." "What the hell do you know!" Zhang Jiaju lowered his binoculars and glared at Cao Anmin. "Mister Liu is a special envoy sent from Yanzhou. If Yanzhou dispatched him to re-establish contact with the lost Communists and rebuild the Nanjing underground organization, it means they're certain there are still people left in Nanjing." "At the very least, that Communist codenamed 'Great Sage'—since Yanzhou singled him out, it proves he exists," Zhang Jiaju added. Cao Anmin gave an awkward grin, then shot a glare at the middle-aged man standing off to the side. "Hey, talking to you, Mister Liu. Do you think this 'Great Sage' will show up?" "He should," Liu Antai said cautiously. "Today is the rendezvous day. As long as Great Sage is still alive, once he sees the contact signal in the newspaper, he'll definitely come." "Isn't that just stating the obvious?" Cao Anmin rapped his knuckles against the straw hat on Liu Antai's head, cursing. "Show Mister Liu some respect," Zhang Jiaju frowned and reprimanded him. "Mister Liu has turned away from the darkness and come over to our side. He is one of us now." Liu Antai cast a grateful look at Zhang Jiaju. *** Cao Anmin looked Liu Antai up and down with a cold sneer. "Time's almost up." Zhang Jiaju looked at Liu Antai. "Go on." "Did Great Sage show up?" Cao Anmin immediately asked. Zhang Jiaju shook his head. "Who knows?" Pausing in thought, he added, "Though perhaps he got here long ago." Then he looked toward Liu Antai. "Off you go, Mister Liu. Keep your composure natural. Remember, you are a special envoy sent from Yanzhou to make contact with Great Sage." With that, Zhang Jiaju offered a slight smile. "My mistake—that was your identity all along, wasn't it?" "Yes, yes, of course," Liu Antai answered hurriedly. He bowed to Zhang Jiaju, and only after Zhang Jiaju waved him off did he head downstairs to leave. Watching Liu Antai's retreating figure as he walked down the stairs, Cao Anmin lowered his voice. "Team Leader, could this fellow turn on us?" "He won't," Zhang Jiaju mused. "Even though we haven't caught anyone yet, the moment Liu Antai gave up the codename 'Great Sage,' he had no way back." For top-tier undercover operatives, a codename was an absolute secret. Cao Anmin nodded vaguely, though the blank, innocent look in his eyes revealed that he hardly understood. Seeing his subordinate's clueless expression, Zhang Jiaju felt like snapping at him, but thought better of it and let the matter drop. *** Heading downstairs and stepping out the door, Liu Antai reached the street. He took off his straw hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. *Liu Antai, oh Liu Antai, you're walking on thin ice. Can you truly make it to the other side?* With a bitter smile, he straightened his clothes, put his straw hat back on, tucked the copy of *Jinling Daily Anniversary Special Edition* under his arm, and walked toward Boyun Teahouse. In truth, Liu Antai was equally curious about this "Great Sage" he was about to meet. As the capital of the Nationalist government, Nanjing presented a brutally harsh environment for undercover work. The local Communist organization had been destroyed and rebuilt several times, until a year and a half ago, when the Party Affairs Investigation Department crushed it completely, leading to the arrest and execution of countless Communists. He could not help feeling intrigued by this "Great Sage" who had slipped through the Nationalists' countless manhunts. At the same time, a deeper dread weighed on his mind. A person like Great Sage was bound to be extraordinarily experienced and cunning; Liu Antai had to handle this rendezvous with twice the caution. "Welcome, sir." "I have a private room reserved," Liu Antai said with a nod and a polite smile to the waiter, pointing toward the second floor. "Right this way upstairs, sir." Liu Antai gave a slight nod. Sweeping his gaze across the main hall, he took the magazine out from under his arm and held it with the cover facing outward, making his way upstairs at an unhurried pace. *** A dark blue checkered long gown. A straw hat. A copy of *Jinling Daily Anniversary Special Edition*. Behind his newspaper, Fang Jibai's gaze was locked tightly onto this newly arrived teahouse guest. A wave of excitement surged within him. No doubt about it—this gentleman was the comrade sent to make contact. Even so, Fang Jibai did not get up to head upstairs; he kept sipping his tea and cracking melon seeds. Having chosen to order tea and melon seeds in the first-floor hall, he had no intention of going upstairs at midday to make contact. Such a sudden move would draw far too much attention. His sole objective for this visit was reconnaissance; he had never intended to complete the rendezvous this morning anyway. Committing the appearance of the comrade heading upstairs firmly to memory, Fang Jibai continued enjoying his tea. About five or six minutes later, Fang Jibai finished the tea, even reaching his hand into the teapot to pinch out the tea leaves and chew them in his mouth. A contented smile surfaced on his sallow face. Next, he carefully pocketed the remaining melon seeds from the small dish, returned the newspaper to the teahouse attendant with courteous thanks, and then lowered his head, sighed, and departed. Once the customer had left, the teahouse waiter walked over and saw that not a single tea leaf remained inside the pot—it was picked cleaner than a bone gnawed by a dog. He let out a scoff and spat noisily onto the floor. *** Second floor, Private Room Ding-Three. The waiter had already brought a pot of tea, a plate of pastries, and a dish of melon seeds and peanuts. Liu Antai poured himself a cup of hot tea, yet had no heart to drink it. He paced back and forth, repeatedly pulling out his pocket watch to check the time. It was already eleven twenty, five minutes past the appointed meeting time, yet Great Sage had still not shown up. This left Liu Antai fraught with anxiety. Why hadn't Great Sage appeared as scheduled? At the same time, the memory of Zhang Jiaju's cold, piercing gaze flashed across his mind, sending an involuntary shiver through him. The dull ache of his physical injuries served as an ever-present reminder that there was no way back. Liu Antai walked to the window and instinctively looked in Zhang Jiaju's direction. "Idiot!" Zhang Jiaju held up his binoculars with both hands, letting out a cold scoff and cursing. Cao Anmin, who had been squatting to the side gloomily smoking, looked up at his team leader. "Team Leader, I didn't do anything." "I'm not talking about you," Zhang Jiaju snapped crossly. "Oh!" Zhang Jiaju kept his eyes fixed on the second floor of Boyun Teahouse. Seeing Liu Antai step away from the window, he finally gave a soft snort and let out a sigh of relief. More than ten minutes went by. Liu Antai reappeared at the window. This time, he flicked a cigarette butt out onto the street.