Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 262 Eliminating Traitors, Follow-up Plans, Crossing to Japan
Yu Zhihao saw that there was chaos outside and the Japanese were conducting a thorough search, so it seemed that Chen Zhan had escaped again.

He was horrified. The Japanese had suffered heavy casualties last time, and they would surely try every means to deal with a martial arts master like Chen Zhan. Their plans were meticulous, yet Chen Zhan had still managed to escape.
He didn't know where Chen Zhan was, but he remembered what Chen Zhan had said, and that the matter still needed to be investigated.

However, he has only been in Fengtian for two years and doesn't know many things. There is too much information, and it would take forever to find it by going through it all.

Yu Zhihao looked at the few remaining people in the police station. They were good people, loyal and hardworking, and worked diligently under him.

The problem is, they barely know any characters; most of them are uneducated and rough.
He thought of Cheng Shen, who had resigned some time ago. Cheng Shen was a veteran of the police station. Over the past twenty years, he knew almost everything that happened on the streets of Fengtian. He had also had a lot of contact with Chen Zhan.

With his pocket watch tucked in his pocket, Yu Zhihao got into his car and drove towards Cheng Shen's house. The two had been working together for quite some time, so he naturally knew the address.

The streets of Fengtian had long lost their former vibrancy. The sound of Japanese soldiers' boots clicked on the stone pavement. Every time you passed an alley, you could see figures in yellow uniforms, their rifles sweeping across passersby, and if they hesitated even slightly, they would strike with the hilt of their bayonets.

He changed his police uniform into a gray cloth short jacket, pulled his hat brim down low, and hid his police pass in his pocket. This thing might not be useful now, but because of his special status, the Japanese wouldn't touch him for the time being.

The other people were different. The Japanese checked them very carefully. They would search the luggage of any Chinese people they saw, and if they didn't like something, they would drag it into the truck.

Cheng Shen's home was in an old alley in the west of the city. It was a single-story house with a small courtyard. The copper ring on the gate was rusty, and withered morning glories were climbing the base of the wall.

Yu Zhihao knocked on the door three times, paused, and then knocked twice more. This was a code he had agreed upon with his colleagues at the police station.

After a long while, the door opened a crack, and Cheng Shen's face peeked out. His hair was gray, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were much deeper than before he left the police station.

"Director, what brings you here?"

Cheng Shen recognized Yu Zhihao, paused for a moment, then quickly pulled him into the yard and bolted the door shut behind him: "What are you doing here at this hour, Director? There was another big mess last night, what happened?"

The two already had a good relationship, and when Cheng Shen saw that Yu Zhihao had come at a risk, he knew something was wrong and didn't turn him away.

“It wasn’t me, it was Chen Zhan.” Yu Zhihao gasped for breath, leaning against the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard. “Chen Zhan is back. He had a good time killing people in the consular district last night. Now he’s hiding and asked me to investigate Ding Lianshan. Mr. Ding and Old Master Gong are gone. They were chased and killed by the Japanese. There must be a mole.”

Yu Zhihao explained briefly that Cheng Shen also knew about this, but he had already resigned at the time and was not deeply involved.

Yu Zhihao's few words contained a wealth of information.

Cheng Shen paused for a moment before replying, "Wait, Director, speak slowly. You're saying Chen Zhan is back? He was the one who did what happened last night?"

"He also approached you, asking you to investigate matters within the Northeast Army?"

Yu Zhihao nodded.

Cheng Shen looked at him with admiration: "You actually dared to take on this job?"

Yu Zhihao shook his head helplessly, looking at him with an expression that said, "Don't you understand? How can you survive if you don't answer?"

Although Cheng Shen said it, he actually admired Chen Zhan very much. He knew he didn't have Chen Zhan's courage and strength, and even if he did, he wouldn't dare to do what Chen Zhan did, almost single-handedly massacring Japanese people like that.

Cheng Shen and Yu Zhihao are the same kind of people. They have their country and family in their hearts, but they also know that they are insignificant. They will not sit idly by, but they are also very difficult to sacrifice themselves for others.

"Tell me, how do you want me to help?" Cheng Shen didn't waste any more words.

"We'll talk on the way back to the police station." Yu Zhihao led Cheng Shen through the alley and into the car, heading towards the police station. Fortunately, he had this identity, and he wasn't harassed by the several groups of Japanese people he encountered.

On the way, he told Cheng Shen what they were looking for, and the two headed straight for the archives room.

The archives room was in a small building in the backyard of the police station. It was covered in dust, and sunlight shone through the torn window paper, with fluffy particles floating in the beams of light. The file boxes on the shelves were piled higher than a person, and the words on the labels had faded.

"Eighteen years ago, Ding Lianshan killed the Japanese ronin Uzumaki in the street. I had just joined the police station and was still a greenhorn. Back then, the old marshal was still alive, and the Japanese didn't dare to be so arrogant. Sigh, now..." Cheng Shen sighed.

"Stop lamenting. Eighteen years have passed. Can we still find any information about Ding Lianshan?" Yu Zhihao didn't have time to listen to his complaints.

"Yes, Ding Lianshan was very famous in Fengtian back then. Ding and Gong Baotian were both grandmasters of the Bagua School. Ding Lianshan contributed a lot to the Gong family's later growth."

As he spoke, Cheng Shen climbed up the ladder, pulled out a dusty wooden box, opened it, and found yellowed files inside, the pages of which were brittle.

The box was labeled "The Suppression of Bandits in the Fourteenth Year of the Republic of China".

“I remember this very clearly. In 11, Ding Lianshan and the Northeast Army Headquarters worked together to suppress bandits and wiped out the bandit den in Horqin. At that time, a victory celebration banquet was held in Fengtian City.”

Open the file, and you'll find a faded old photograph inside.

"This is Ding Lianshan, and the one next to him is Zhang Haipeng, the battalion commander of the Fengtian Army's Inspectorate at the time."

Yu Zhihao leaned closer to look. In the photo, Ding Lianshan was wearing shorts and had a sharp look in his eyes. Zhang Haipeng next to him was wearing a military uniform with a military knife at his waist and a hearty smile on his face.

He knows Zhang Haipeng.

He is now the commander of the 32nd Cavalry Division of the Northeast Army, holding a very high rank, and he is also a sworn brother of Marshal Zhang.
"So, Mr. Ding might have gone to see Zhang Haipeng during his trip back to Fengtian?"

"Anything else? Check the files of other people. Are there any others who were once very close and are currently in Fengtian?" Yu Zhihao asked.

Cheng Shen searched again and found a few more people, but although these people had been in contact with Ding Lianshan in his early years, it had been almost twenty years. Some were dead, some were old, and two of them were in the capital and not in Fengtian at all.

There was absolutely no chance of betraying Ding Lianshan.

"And this one?" Cheng Shen pulled out another file.

Yu Zhihao took it and saw that it read "Aisin Gioro Xiqia".

He glanced at the file, frowned, and said, "This person... doesn't seem to have any connection with Ding Lianshan, does he?"

Cheng Shen nodded and said, "He's not very familiar with Ding Lianshan, but he's very close to Zhang Haipeng. The two have been friends for over ten years."

Yu Zhihao pondered for a while.

He returned to the police station office and rummaged through it, finding a "Book of Appointment and Removal of Generals of Fengtian Army". He pointed to the name "Zhang Haipeng" and said, "Look, last year he asked the Young Marshal for a high-ranking position in Heilongjiang Province, but the Young Marshal did not approve it and sent Wan Fulin instead."

Before he could finish speaking, Yu Zhihao suddenly remembered something and pulled out another file, "Secret Letters Between the Military and Political Authorities of Fengtian".

Tucked inside was a note handed to them by a police informant, which read, "Xi Qia and Zhang Haipeng met secretly at the Six Nations Hotel, with a Japanese military attaché present."

Yu Zhihao's hand clenched tightly, crumpling the note: "Xi Qia? That Xi Qia who's the deputy commander of the Northeast Border Defense Army? He's also the commander of the 10th Brigade of the Northeast Army, with considerable military power. If he were to defect to the enemy with Zhang Haipeng..."

Cheng Shen nodded, his expression grave: "Zhang Haipeng has a cavalry brigade, and Xi Qia commands an infantry division. If the two of them rebel, the gates of Fengtian will be wide open to the Japanese."

Yu Zhihao wiped the sweat from his forehead: "This is just our guess, you know it and I know it."

Cheng Shen shook his head: "You know it yourself, but I dare not know it. The lousy captain of the Fengtian Police Station can't keep this secret, and besides, I've already resigned."

Yu Zhihao said, "I'll send someone to take you back."

Cheng Shen nodded, tore off a key page from the file, folded it, and stuffed it into Yu Zhihao's arms: "Be careful, Zhang Haipeng and Xi Qia are big shots now, the Japanese are protecting them, don't get targeted."

After the two parted ways, Yu Zhihao packed up the files, tucked the important contents into his pocket, and returned home.

He listened to Chen Zhan's words and knew that someone was watching his residence, so he did not dare to look around.

Chen Zhan had little contact with him in Fengtian, having only met him twice. Their relationship was not close, so the Japanese were just keeping an eye on him routinely.

I had just arrived home when it got dark.

Upon entering the house, Yu Zhihao smelled a delicious aroma. He quickly walked over and saw Chen Zhan eating in the kitchen. The lights were off, but because they were close enough, the moonlight made it clear that Chen Zhan was enjoying his meal.

"."

"Mr. Chen, are you alright?"

Chen Zhan put the last steamed bun into his mouth. The bun seemed to melt in his mouth and was immediately digested and swallowed.

"It's nothing. How's your investigation going?"

Yu Zhihao took out what he was carrying and handed it to Chen Zhan. Chen Zhan could see it clearly. After glancing at it a few times, he exerted a burst of internal force in his hand, and the file was shattered into pieces.

"Hmm, are only these two suspicious?" "Only these two are in Fengtian."

Chen Zhan nodded, noticing Yu Zhihao's rapid heartbeat, and asked, "Are you worried?"

Having come this far, Yu Zhihao had nothing to hide and directly recounted his conversation with Cheng Shen.

His concern was that Xi Qia and Zhang Haipeng might actually defect to Japan, which would be a catastrophic disaster for Fengtian.

Chen Zhan thought for a moment and said softly, "Your concerns are valid. I will handle these two people, but you will have to figure out the military matters yourselves."

Just as Chen Zhan was about to leave, he remembered something else: "The situation is now inevitable. The Japanese will start a war sooner or later. Let's prepare as soon as possible."

The reason he said this to Yu Zhihao was because he was thinking about what would happen in the future. After the Japanese officially started the war, most of the Fengtian army withdrew from Northeast China, and Japan occupied the entire Northeast in just a few months.

But there was one exception in Fengtian.

This was the Fengtian Police Force, the only armed force in Fengtian that refused to implement the "non-resistance policy."

Although they couldn't withstand the Japanese artillery fire, the Fengtian police force didn't go to Beiping to find the main force after withdrawing from Shenyang. Instead, they resigned and formed an anti-Japanese volunteer army.

Many of the core members of the anti-Japanese volunteer armies throughout Northeast China were former police officers from Fengtian.

In his later life, in the era before he traveled back in time, many roads in cities in Northeast China were named after people, specifically heroes from the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army.

After Chen Zhan left, Yu Zhihao thought about it for a long time.

The next day, they opened the police station's armory and equipped the patrol officers with live ammunition, making them fully armed. Then they began to secretly recruit and expand the police force.

After Chen Zhan left, he wandered around and ended up near the Marshal's Mansion.

He felt that the names of those two people were somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that he must have seen them in a book. Because Aisin-Gioro Xiqia was a very special name, he remembered it.

Two major traitors!
There's no need to even verify it.

Aisin-Gioro Xiqia's defection to the enemy and betrayal of the country should be imminent; it won't be long.

Zhang Zuoxiang returned to Jinzhou after his father's death and entrusted him with full control of the military and political power of Jilin Province, making him the acting deputy commander of the Northeast Border Defense Army stationed in Jilin and the chairman of Jilin Province. This was the key moment when he later betrayed his country and defected to the enemy.

Chen Zhan didn't remember when Zhang Haipeng betrayed his country, but it didn't matter anymore.

Let's deal with these two first.

The senior executives of the Fengtian clique all lived in the eastern part of the city, near the Marshal's Mansion.

Chen Zhan's figure was like ink melting into the night. When he passed the back wall of the Marshal's Mansion, he suddenly stopped. In the corner of the wall, in the half-withered rose bush, there was a small figure huddled up. It was the girl he had seen in the Marshal's Mansion kitchen a few days ago.

The girl had two pigtails, the ends of which were covered with bits of grass, and she was tightly clutching an oil paper package in her arms.

She squatted by the dog hole, peeking her little head out every now and then to look at the alley entrance, her eyes full of fear, yet also revealing a stubbornness.

Hearing footsteps, she shrank back abruptly, her hand gripping the steamed bun tighter. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Chen Zhan, but she still didn't dare to speak.

Chen Zhan walked over and glanced at the steamed bun in her arms. The skin was already cold and hard, indicating that she had been holding it for a long time.

He didn't ask anything, but simply reached out and lightly tapped the oil paper package twice with his fingertips.

The girl paused for a moment, then quickly took out two steamed buns and handed them over. Her little hands were red from the cold. Chen Zhan took the buns and touched her hands with his fingertips; they were very cold.

Without saying much, he turned and walked towards the small blue-brick building not far to the west of the Marshal's Mansion.

It was Xiqia's residence. Two lanterns were lit in the darkness, and two guards with guns at their sides stood at the door, their backs ramrod straight. They were unaware that a figure had silently slipped past in the shadows behind them.

Xiqia's residence was a traditional Chinese courtyard house. The main room was lit up, and two swaying shadows were reflected on the window paper.

Chen Zhan pressed himself against the pillars of the corridor, his Bagua steps moving silently, not even disturbing the copper bells on the eaves.

He leaned closer to the window, and the voices inside could be clearly heard; it was two people talking.

"...The Japanese have agreed that as long as I control the military in Jilin, they will support me in becoming a high-ranking official!" A voice smugly proclaimed. "After that old bastard Zhang Zuoxiang returned to Jinzhou, I'll be the one calling the shots in Jilin!"

"Commander Xi, you'd better give your brother a hand!" another man said in a hoarse voice. "I've already spoken to the Japanese, and we want the territory in Heilongjiang. As long as you support us in Jilin, the two of us brothers will be the local tyrants of Northeast China!"

"Don't worry, Brother Zhang!" Xi Qia laughed. "When the Japanese Imperial Army comes in, they don't want this barren land in Northeast China. They will eventually move south. If we consolidate our forces in Northeast China and rise up in rebellion, we might just be able to achieve something great."

He was dreaming of restoration, hoping to restore the glory of the Aisin Gioro clan.

Zhang Haipeng didn't expose them, even though he felt contempt for them, because joining forces was the best option for the two of them now.

Before they could finish speaking, a gust of night wind suddenly blew in through the window, and the window that had just been closed suddenly opened. Before the two could react, Chen Zhan had already entered through the window.

But to the two of them, what entered was not a person, but a shadowy figure.

Chen Zhan was too fast and too light. In a flash, his Beng Quan (a type of fist strike) struck Xi Qia's chest, the force penetrating his bones and the hidden power piercing his heart.

Xiqia's chest caved in, and he fell straight to the ground. A scream tried to escape his mouth, but it was stuffed into his mouth with a steamed bun.

Zhang Haipeng was so frightened that he was about to reach for his gun when Chen Zhan's left foot stepped in front of him. Chen Zhan used Tai Chi sticking force to touch Zhang Haipeng's wrist and twisted it slightly. With a soft "crack" sound, his wrist broke on the spot.

Zhang Haipeng was in so much pain he wanted to scream, but Chen Zhan had already stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth with his right hand, while gently pressing his temple with his left hand. Zhang Haipeng's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

In less than three breaths, the two traitors were dead.

The two fell silently onto the sofa, making less noise than the night breeze.

Chen Zhan looked around the house; it was extremely luxurious. Moreover, there were no women or children with the two of them. Now that everyone knew what the Japanese were up to, who would dare leave their family in Fengtian? Even those who were planning to defect to the enemy dared not gamble.

He picked up the oil lamp from the ground, shone it on the two people's faces, and only after confirming that he hadn't mistaken them for each other did he blow out the lamp and retreat along the same path.

The entire process went unnoticed by any of the guards. There was only the smell of blood in the main room, but because Chen Zhan used internal force to kill, not much blood was drawn. A wisp of blood drifted out of the window and was quickly dispersed by the night wind.

Leaving through the window and turning a corner, I saw the girl still squatting by the rose bushes at the alley entrance, perhaps waiting for her parents.

Chen Zhan didn't go over there again and left directly.

This time, he left Fengtian directly and went straight to the capital.

Despite his injuries, he didn't run wildly. Instead, he borrowed a horse from the bandits and leisurely made his way to the capital.

Chen Zhan kept thinking about one question the whole way.

While the Japanese stirred up war and wanton slaughter on Chinese soil, he was able to lead men to assassinate the emperor and carry out surprise attacks, but he was ultimately on the defensive.

Moreover, after Japan started the war, there were too many people, hundreds of thousands or even millions of soldiers, which he simply couldn't kill.

On the battlefield, the lethality of one person is truly limited.

After traveling for four days, Chen Zhan finally emerged from the pass and arrived in Beiping. Although Beiping was relatively stable, it was shrouded in a gloomy and rainy atmosphere.

People have a feeling that a storm is brewing.

Upon entering the city and sensing the atmosphere, Chen Zhan finally understood what he needed to do.

If it cannot be avoided, then let us exchange pain!
Japan, a small island nation, is actually a better place for him to make his mark!
Chen Zhan was unsure how many pro-war and pro-peace factions existed within Japan; some might be innocent, while others might not have supported the invasion.

But militarism did not spare ordinary people within China's borders either.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, that's the right way.

After Chen Zhan figured everything out, he felt much better and was just waiting to make some preparations before heading to Japan!

(End of this chapter)