Chen Xiuqi shone his flashlight over and saw Tang Yan and Zhang Yin escorting the man back. Soaking wet, his hands and feet tied with rope and his mouth gagged, he was slung over a wooden pole and carried back between the two of them like a trussed pig.
The man had his eyes shut tight, looking as though he had lost all will to live.
"Stop the bleeding, quick," Chen Xiuqi ordered.
The fellow had taken two bullets from young Fourth Fang, and the wounds were still bleeding.
"Flashlight," Fang Jibai said suddenly.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xiuqi handed the flashlight over to him.
Fang Jibai crouched down, grabbed the captive's hair, and yanked it back. The man let out a muffled scream of pain, his neck twisting to one side.
"It's Ji Mingshuo!" Chen Xiuqi cried out in shock, pointing at the ground. "This guy is the real Ji Mingshuo!"
On the back of the man's neck was a medium-sized wart, a physical trait Feng Hanliang had provided when describing Ji Mingshuo.
"When you caught the other guy, didn't you check his neck?" Fang Jibai glanced at Chen Xiuqi.
"Fuck!" Chen Xiuqi marched over in a few strides and unleashed a furious barrage of kicks and punches on the man who had laid down his weapon and surrendered earlier claiming to be Ji Mingshuo.
Tied hand and foot with his mouth also gagged, the man could only let out muffled wails of agony.
His fury still unappeased, Chen Xiuqi grabbed the man by the collar and slapped him across the face several times.
Just moments ago, this man had surrendered his weapons; when they rushed into the house, he had thrown up both hands, shouting, "I'm Ji Mingshuo, don't shoot!"
Chen Xiuqi had been so overjoyed at the time that he hadn't even thought to verify whether the man really was Ji Mingshuo, never imagining the enemy would pull off a switcheroo.
"Fourth Brother," Chen Xiuqi said after venting his rage, coming over and clapping Fang Jibai heavily on the shoulder. "Good work. Catching Ji Mingshuo this time was all thanks to you."
...
Ji Mingshuo opened his eyes, glaring fiercely at Fang Jibai, muffled grunts coming from his mouth as if he wanted to speak.
"Let him talk," Fang Jibai said.
Chen Xiuqi waved his hand.
"Wait," Fang Jibai added. "Take that other fellow outside first. Keep him far away."
Chen Xiuqi waved to his men to haul the decoy out, giving Fang Jibai a thumbs-up. As expected of young Fourth Fang, always thorough and meticulous.
Tang Yan stepped forward and yanked the rag from Ji Mingshuo's mouth.
"I don't understand," Ji Mingshuo grated out through clenched teeth. "How did you know I was swimming across the river to escape from the back door? I was extremely careful when I left. I didn't make a sound."
"Your partner," Fang Jibai said. "Even though he claimed to be Ji Mingshuo after being caught, he glanced toward the back door when he thought we weren't looking. That was more than enough to catch our attention."
Among the officers present, a few looked startled, and someone almost spoke up, but Chen Xiuqi cut in immediately, "You're smart, but your accomplice was far too clumsy."
Even the dullest officer caught on then. Everyone kept their mouths shut, their expressions steady.
Tang Yan and Zhang Yin maintained neutral faces; at this point, even if Fourth Brother claimed this Jap was a beast reincarnated from swine and dogs, they would believe him without question.
Flicking the ash from his cigarette, Fang Jibai said nonchalantly, "Back then, we only suspected an accomplice of Ji Mingshuo had escaped. We had no idea you were the real Ji Mingshuo."
Ji Mingshuo gave a cold snort.
"State your real identity," Fang Jibai said. "Do that, and you can spare yourself some physical agony."
"We are merchants from Wenzhou! You're making wrongful arrests! I want to see your commanding officer—Aaaaargh!" Ji Mingshuo's words dissolved into a shriek of agony.
Fang Jibai pressed his right hand directly over the bullet wound on Ji Mingshuo's left shoulder, squeezing down hard. Ji Mingshuo screamed wretchedly in pain.
"Feng Hanliang already confessed everything," Fang Jibai said. "Or do you really think a ruffian like Feng Hanliang would keep your secrets?"
Ji Mingshuo panted heavily, then simply closed his eyes.
"A tough nut to crack." Fang Jibai wiped the blood off his palm against Ji Mingshuo's soaked clothes, then stepped aside with Chen Xiuqi. As they puffed on their cigarettes, he said in a low voice, "Looks like breaking him will take some work."
"Don't worry," Chen Xiuqi sneered, grinding his teeth. "I'll make this Japanese bastard regret ever being born."
Fang Jibai nodded. He glanced over to see Wu Chengyu's men shining flashlights around the room, tearing through cupboards and chests in a thorough search.
"Found anything yet?" he asked.
"Don't know yet," Chen Xiuqi took a satisfying drag from his cigarette and flicked the ash. "Whether we turn up anything else or not, bagging two Japanese spies is already a major triumph."
...
"Team Leader, I found something!" An officer tapping around while crouching on the floor suddenly looked up at the roof beam and pointed to a manure basket tied there.
Under the flashlight beam, the manure basket appeared to be filled with straw, but through gaps as thick as a finger, the distinct sight of a mahogany-colored box peeked out.
"Bring it down!" Chen Xiuqi commanded, overjoyed.
"Careful," Fang Jibai cautioned at once, his own heart pounding with excitement. He had a faint guess as to what was hidden inside that wooden box up on the roof beam.
Right at that moment, he turned to look at Ji Mingshuo.
Chen Xiuqi, sharing an unspoken understanding with him, subconsciously looked over at Ji Mingshuo as well.
Ji Mingshuo's eyes bulged, his gaze vicious, and he thrashed violently against his bonds. "Bakayaro! You Chinks all deserve to die! You all deserve to die!"
Instead of getting angry, Chen Xiuqi beamed with delight. He knew that whatever was in that box had stripped Ji Mingshuo of any chance to deny or conceal his identity; realizing the jig was up, the Japanese brute had dropped his act completely.
Once the manure basket was lowered, Chen Xiuqi wouldn't let anyone else touch it. He carefully lifted the box out himself.
Just as he was about to open it, Fang Jibai's voice rang out, "Careful! Watch out for bombs."
"What?" Chen Xiuqi started.
He turned his head, only to see that Fang Jibai had already slipped out of the house. Not only that, young Fourth Fang had also told Tang Yan and Zhang Yin to carry Ji Mingshuo outside with them.
Hearing Fourth Brother Fang's warning, the other officers blanched as well, scrambling back out of the room in a rush.
"Disloyal bastards," Chen Xiuqi cursed under his breath.
"Team Leader, let me open it!" Wu Chengyu gritted his teeth and called out.
"Forget it, I'll do it myself." Chen Xiuqi ground his teeth and raised his hands.
Right at that moment, Fang Jibai walked back in. Bending down, he examined the manure basket carefully with his flashlight, then studied the rope hanging down from the roof beam that had held the basket. He even ran his hand over it before breaking into a sudden smile.
He backed out of the house once more, and only then did he call out to Chen Xiuqi, "Team Leader Chen, don't worry. There shouldn't be any bombs in the box."
Chen Xiuqi looked up at Fang Jibai standing outside the doorway. What did he mean, "there shouldn't be any bombs"?
What if there was one?
And if you said "there shouldn't be any bombs," why the hell were you hiding so far away?
"F-Fourth Cousin-Uncle," Chen Xiuqi swallowed hard, "are you sure there's no bomb?"
"There shouldn't be," Fang Jibai nodded.
"Then why are you hiding so far away?" Chen Xiuqi cried, blurting it out in exasperation.
"Better safe than sorry," Fang Jibai said. "One's life comes first."
Chapter 20