Qi Shanyu

"It wasn't Zhang Minquan." A bitter smile touched Qi Shanyu's lips as he spoke to Dai Peilin. "The news didn't come from Danyang Station." "Not Danyang Station?" Dai Peilin fixed his gaze on him. "Zhang Minquan didn't catch the man?" Qi Shanyu nodded and was about to speak. Dai Peilin raised his right hand, and Qi Shanyu immediately fell silent. Dai Peilin walked back behind his desk, slid his magnifying glass into a drawer, and placed his pencil into the holder on his desk. Only then did he drop into his chair, saying flatly, "Go on. What happened?" Qi Shanyu delivered his report, recounting what he knew objectively without adding any unnecessary words, keeping his numerous conjectures to himself for the moment. "In other words, a police squad leader from Lücheng Police Station under the Danyang Police Department—a mere squad leader in a small town—has supposedly captured Japanese spies." Looking at Qi Shanyu, Dai Peilin curled his lips in a cold sneer. "They even managed to seize the Japanese radio." Dai Peilin had a narrow face with an unhealthy, pale-yellow complexion from a lack of sunlight, slightly prominent cheekbones, and a sharp jawline. The most unforgettable feature on that face was his deep, sharp eyes, keen as a falcon's. Those eyes seemed capable of piercing through every disguise to discern the deepest, darkest secrets of the human heart. At this moment, under Dai Peilin's piercing gaze, Qi Shanyu could not help showing a flicker of unease—or more accurately, a twinge of guilt, the shame of having made a mistake and fallen short of expectations. Steeling himself, Qi Shanyu nodded. "Based on the intelligence sent by Big Asian Pear, that is essentially confirmed." "So the people the police caught are very likely the Japanese spies our Secret Service was actively tracking." Dai Peilin's thick, dark brows knitted together, angling slightly downward and lending his expression an even gloomier, more inscrutable air. "The police... The police caught the Japanese, and the prisoners have already been escorted to Nanjing. Meanwhile, Danyang Station..." He leaned back against his chair. "Where is Zhang Minquan? What is he doing?" Qi Shanyu offered a wry smile and said nothing. What was Zhang Minquan doing? Right now, whatever Zhang Minquan was doing, unless he managed to produce some other monumental breakthrough, everything he did was wrong. *** "Send a wire to Danyang and tell Zhang Minquan that I'm inviting him to Nanjing to enjoy the show..." Dai Peilin fumed. Qi Shanyu sighed inwardly. Failing to catch Japanese spies was not an unpardonable sin; Zhang Minquan had simply had terrible luck. But for the Japanese spies he had failed to catch to end up seized by local police and escorted straight into the capital—that was something Boss Dai could never tolerate. "Brother Yunong," Qi Shanyu gently persuaded, "Zhang Minquan has always been diligent, and his track record in his post is quite solid. We are short-handed right now. Why not give him a chance to redeem himself through service?" "Yiyan." Dai Peilin stared at Qi Shanyu. "Do you realize that if word of this gets out, where will our Secret Service's face go? Where will your face and mine go?" He sighed and shook his head. "I can already picture Qin Weizhen's hideous, smug face gloating in front of me once he hears about this." "Brother Yunong." Qi Shanyu pondered for a moment before speaking. "At a time like this, all the more reason not to become a laughingstock to Qin Weizhen's people. Punishing one of our own would only confirm the rumors." He knew full well that what Dai Peilin cared about most was losing face to Qin Weizhen of the Party Affairs Investigation Department. Dai Peilin shook his head, pointing a finger at Qi Shanyu. "Only you, Yiyan, would have the nerve to counsel me at a time like this. Anyone listening in would think you took some huge bribe from Zhang Minquan." "Then next time I see Zhang Minquan, I'll definitely insist that he treat me to a grand feast to thank me for putting in a good word for him," Qi Shanyu said with a smile. "Enough." Dai Peilin pondered the matter in silence for a while. "Keep an eye on this personally and get to the bottom of it." "Furthermore, there is something very strange about this affair," he added. "Indeed, it is quite strange," Qi Shanyu agreed, nodding. "According to the intelligence from Big Asian Pear, this squad leader from Lücheng Police Station didn't report to the Danyang Police Department at all. He simply escorted the prisoners and the radio straight to Nanjing." "And once they arrived in Nanjing, they actually went to Jiangjun Temple Police Station," Dai Peilin noted. "If I remember correctly, Jiang Wendao from Jiangjun Temple Police Station is Jiang Xingzhi's brother-in-law, isn't he?" "Precisely." Qi Shanyu nodded in admiration. "Your memory is extraordinary, Brother Yunong." "Three points," Dai Peilin said in a deep voice. "First, Lücheng Police Station captured Japanese spies and seized their radio. We must confirm whether the people they caught are indeed the targets we were tracking." "Understood." "Second, Lücheng's people bypassed Danyang and came straight to Nanjing. There is definitely something unusual behind that. Investigate it thoroughly." "Third, why did they go to Jiangjun Temple Police Station? That violates standard procedure. Find out why." "Understood. In fact, points two and three are likely connected. By regulations, even if Lücheng Police Station bypassed Danyang, they should have gone to the Jiangsu Provincial Police Department in Zhenjiang rather than coming to Nanjing." Qi Shanyu held a metal clipboard in his left hand while writing rapidly with his right. His thoughts were crystal clear, and his words flowed swiftly. Setting his pencil atop the clipboard, he looked up at Dai Peilin. "Section Chief, do you have any other orders?" Although Dai Peilin was already the Director of the Secret Service, Qi Shanyu still occasionally fell into the habit of addressing him as Section Chief. There was good reason for this. That had been Dai Peilin's post during his time at the Nanchang Field Headquarters Investigation Section, which was when he had truly caught the Principal's eye and earned his deep trust—a pivotal milestone for both Dai Peilin and the Lixingshe Secret Service. To this day, the Principal still habitually addressed him as 'Section Chief Dai' in telegrams, an address in which Dai Peilin took immense pride and pleasure. As such, Qi Shanyu would also address him as Section Chief. Across the entire Secret Service, very few people were entitled to call Dai Peilin 'Section Chief.' Qi Shanyu had served as chief of the Third Section within the Nanchang Field Headquarters Investigation Section back then, which gave him the standing to do so. In turn, when Dai Peilin was in a good mood, he would sometimes address Qi Shanyu as 'Section Chief Qi.' *** "The Capital Police Department Special Operations Branch's report should already be on Wu Panshi's desk by now," Dai Peilin said. "It likely is," Qi Shanyu agreed. "Capturing Japanese spies and seizing their radio would count as a tremendous accomplishment even in our Secret Service, let alone in the police department. News of such a triumph would certainly be presented directly to Commissioner Wu Panshi." Dai Peilin could address Wu Panshi by his bare name, but Qi Shanyu had to maintain proper respect, even if it was born of formality rather than genuine deference. "Find a way to get your hands on that report," Dai Peilin ordered. "If No. 32 Yihe Road proves difficult, look into other angles." "Be quick about it," he added, looking at Qi Shanyu. "No problem, right?"