Hidden Radiance

"I framed you?" Lu Minghui laughed. "You were the one who didn't file the coded telegram. You were the one who led your men into the French Concession. You were the one who fired the gun. Did I hold a gun to your head?"

Fu Yewen gritted his teeth: "Director Li will be back tomorrow. He won't let you do this to me."

"Li Shiqun can't save you." Lu Minghui leaned closer to him, his voice low. "Only you can save yourself. Tell us who's behind this, or who your accomplices are. Once the gold is recovered, things will be much easier to resolve."

"Do you think the Japanese would believe I could swallow twenty chests of gold?"

Just because you can't swallow it doesn't mean the people behind you can't.

Lu Minghui straightened up and took two steps back.

"You're greedy, everyone in 76 knows that."

He walked to the table and picked up the riding whip.

"There was a high-ranking Kuomintang spy in No. 76, codenamed 'Paper Kite.' Wu Sibao found half a photo, and then he died."

I tapped the whip twice in my palm.

Fu Yewen stopped struggling. The corners of his mouth drooped, and his eyes darted to the left. He quickly tried to recall what he had touched, said, and seen.

Lu Minghui used a horsewhip to lift Fu Yewen's chin.

The whip veered off course by half an inch and touched Fu Yewen's collarbone.

"Now, please present your evidence to prove your innocence, or relevant information."

Fu Yewen's pupils dilated slightly, and his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

Lu Minghui retreated behind the table, sat down, crossed his legs, picked up the riding whip, and tapped the edge of the table repeatedly.

Not urgent.

Gu Yunqiu's trip to the French Concession took at least an hour and a half round trip. Fu Yewen hung from the iron frame, blood dripping down, drop by drop, in sync with the rhythm of the whip striking the table.

Lu Minghui didn't ask anything.

He just kept knocking, and each knock felt like a blow to his heart.

Two hours later.

Gu Yunqiu led his men back to the Mei Agency.

She pushed open the interrogation room door, holding an account book in her hand, her face even more grim than when she left.

Lu Minghui sat behind the table drinking tea. Fu Yewen hung his head, his gaze blank, as if something had been hollowed out from within him. When he saw Gu Yunqiu enter, his lips moved slightly, but he said nothing.

"You found it?" Lu Minghui put down his teacup.

Gu Yunqiu slammed the account book on the table.

"Xiangji Tailor Shop in the French Concession. It's deserted. But we found this in a hidden compartment under the counter." Gu Yunqiu opened the ledger. "Half a month ago, someone ordered thirty sets of yellow woolen overcoats and military boots. They paid a deposit of two gold bars. The signature left was 'A Bing'."

She spoke a beat slower than usual, as if she was thinking about something.

Lu Minghui picked up the account book, looked at it, and nodded.

"So, you mean there's a lack of witnesses? Secretary Gu, what's your take on this?"

Gu Yunqiu snapped out of her reverie and stared intently at Lu Minghui.

"Commander Lu, the owner of Xiangji Tailor Shop ran away in a hurry, without even taking the cash from the shop." Gu Yunqiu placed his hands on the table, staring intently at Lu Minghui. "He knows we're coming."

"Making Japanese military uniforms is a capital offense. Given the major incident at the vault last night, it's normal for them to run away after hearing the news," Lu Minghui said calmly.

"Then what about this ledger? Why didn't he burn it?"

"You didn't even bring any silver dollars, and you still have time to worry about account books?" Lu Minghui closed the account book. "Secretary Gu, we investigate cases based on evidence, not assumptions. Now we have physical evidence, but the witnesses have run away, leaving only that Ah Bing. Fu Yewen is highly suspected of colluding with the enemy to rob gold."

Gu Yunqiu gritted her teeth.

Even if she says now that the evidence is fabricated, Nakajima won't believe her.

"I will report the truth to the section chief." Gu Yunqiu grabbed the ledger, turned around, and strode out.

Lu Minghui watched her figure disappear outside the iron gate, picked up his teacup, and finished the rest of the cold tea.

He walked out of the interrogation room.

Even if Gu Yunqiu turned the French Concession upside down, he wouldn't find a flaw. The owner of Xiangji Restaurant boarded a ship to northern Jiangsu last night.

Back to number 76.

It was already daylight.

Lu Minghui walked into the Confidential Affairs Office and closed the door.

I walked to the window and opened the blinds a crack.

Across the street, the night newspaper stall has been replaced by a breakfast stall. A white towel hangs next to the steaming steamer of buns.

Safety.

But the hem of the towel was tied in a knot.

Lu Minghui stared at the knot.

This is Lao Zhao's emergency contact code. There's an emergency.

He turned and walked out of the office, downstairs, and out of No. 76 through the back door. As he reached the door, a clerk from the confidential office came from the other end of the corridor carrying a tea tray and met his gaze.

The clerk bowed to make way, but slowed down a beat, glancing over the tea tray at where he was going.

Lu Minghui didn't stop, but turned into the alley.

After passing through two alleyways, we entered a pan-fried dumpling shop. Old Zhao sat at a table in the corner, with a bowl of soy milk in front of him.

Lu Minghui walked over and sat down opposite him. He ordered a pan-fried bun.

"Did you get a message from home?" Lu Minghui asked in a low voice.

"The matter of Old Ghost has been investigated." Old Zhao didn't look up, stirring his soy milk with a spoon. "We took down an outer outpost in the Northeast. Someone couldn't withstand the torture and vomited out this code name. But there's only the code name, no other information. That woman used it to trick you; it was just a lucky guess."

Lu Minghui picked up a pan-fried dumpling and took a bite. It was scalding hot, and the broth inside spilled out, but he didn't spit it out; he chewed it up and swallowed it.

Old Ghost hasn't been exposed. Gu Yunqiu is just casting a wide net.

"Ah Bing has been moved, so there's no need to worry." Old Zhao paused and placed the spoon on the rim of the bowl.

Ah Bing.

Lu Minghui's chewing motion remained unchanged. A Bing was the only one who could prove the two gold bars had nothing to do with the military uniform. With this lead broken, Fu Yewen's case was completely closed.

"The family is very satisfied with the items they brought this time."

Lu Minghui did not respond.

"There's one more thing." Old Zhao stopped what he was doing, and his voice turned somber.

"explain."

"The owner of Xiangji is in trouble."

Lu Minghui's chopsticks, which were holding a pan-fried bun, froze in mid-air.

"Last night, I took him to the Shiliupu Wharf as planned. But the wharf was blocked." Old Zhao looked up, his eyes grave. "The Green Gang is inspecting the goods. She Aizhen is leading the team personally."

Lu Minghui frowned: "What is She Aizhen investigating?"

"Investigate Wu Sibao's death. Her informant at the dock reported that unfamiliar faces had appeared in the area the night Wu Sibao died. She detained everyone who was preparing to board the ship last night." Old Zhao lowered his voice, "The owner of Xiangji was among them."

Lu Minghui put down his chopsticks.

The owner of Xiangji had met him. Although he wore a top hat and changed into an overcoat when he went to pick up his military uniform, the tailor used a tape measure to measure him from head to toe—shoulder width, arm length, waist circumference, every number was measured by his hands.

Gu Yunqiu is searching the world for this tailor. Once the owner of Xiangji falls into her hands, Fu Yewen's case will immediately be overturned.

"Where is he?" Lu Minghui asked.

"The French Concession, the branch behind the Great World amusement park. Green Gang territory," Old Zhao said. "My family asked if we should send someone to rob it."

"No. There are too many people and too many eyes in the Green Gang's branches; it's too risky to rob them by force." Lu Minghui shook his head.

He stood up and threw down two cents.

"I'll go myself."

Lu Minghui stepped out of the shop, the cold wind blowing on his face.

She Aizhen. He had just helped her settle accounts with four secret gangs, and she turned around and arrested his men. This woman would do anything to avenge Wu Sibao.

Lu Minghui returned to No. 76 and drove straight to the French Concession.

The back alley of the Great World.

The Green Gang's headquarters were tightly shut. Four thugs dressed in black jackets stood at the entrance.

Lu Minghui got out of the car and walked over.

"What are you doing?" The thug stepped forward, blocking their path.

Lu Minghui didn't say anything, but took out his ID card from No. 76 and slapped it on the thug's chest.

"Tell Sister She that Lu Minghui has come to ask for a cup of tea."

The thug's expression changed as he looked at the identification, and he turned and ran inside to report.

Not long after, the gate opened.

Lu Minghui went inside.

Dozens of people were standing in the courtyard, holding weapons.

She Aizhen sat on a grand chair in the main hall, a thin cigarette dangling from her lips. Beside her knelt a dozen people, bound hand and foot, beaten until they were covered in blood.

Lu Minghui immediately spotted the owner of Xiangji kneeling on the far side.

The owner of Xiangji had his head down and was trembling all over. He hadn't been beaten yet, but he was clearly terrified.

"Commander Lu, what brings you here?" She Aizhen exhaled a puff of smoke without standing up.

"Come and congratulate your eldest sister." Lu Minghui walked over. "The appointment letter has been sent to the guard brigade. From today onwards, you are Captain She."

"Congratulations to you too." She Aizhen smiled insincerely. "Commander Lu is so busy, he wouldn't have come all this way just to deliver my appointment letter, would he?"

"Just passing by." Lu Minghui glanced at the person kneeling on the ground. "What are you interrogating, big sister?"

"Interrogate the murderers who killed Sibao." She Aizhen's eyes turned cold. "These people were acting suspiciously last night, trying to escape. I will interrogate them one by one. I would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

"What did they find out?"

"Not yet." She Aizhen stood up and walked to the owner of Xiangji. She stretched out her foot and kicked the owner's shoulder.

"This tailor was shaking the most. He abandoned his shop and ran away in the middle of the night. I was just about to have a good questioning with him about what he had done wrong."

She Aizhen turned to look at Lu Minghui.

"Commander Lu, you're an expert at interrogation. Why don't you help me with the interrogation?"

Lu Minghui clenched his fist in the pocket of his trench coat.

The owner of Xiangji looked up and saw Lu Minghui.

Their eyes met.

The tailor's gaze first fell on Lu Minghui's shoulder, paused for a moment, and then slid to his hands hanging at his sides... carefully examining him.

The tailor's eyes widened, and his lips trembled as he pulled back.

Lu Minghui saw his reaction.

The tailor opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again. His Adam's apple bobbed twice, his jaw clenched tightly, and the flesh on his chin trembled.

She Aizhen's gaze swept from the tailor's face to Lu Minghui, then back again. The cigarette between her fingers flickered, creating wisps of smoke.

Lu Minghui pulled his right hand out of his pocket and slowly lowered it to his side. His fingertips touched the gun handle at his lower back.

Just then, a screeching sound of brakes came from outside the courtyard gate. This was followed by the sound of hurried footsteps and the cocking of rifles.

"Don't move! This is a case from Division 76!"

Gu Yunqiu's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

Lu Minghui's hand stopped.

The clerk who carried the tea tray.

The courtyard gate was violently kicked open. Gu Yunqiu stormed in with a squad of heavily armed Japanese military police. The bank robbery was still unsolved, and she mobilized the military police under the pretext of investigating the origin of the uniforms—a reason no one could refuse.

She spotted Lu Minghui standing in the center of the courtyard, and then she saw the owner of Xiangji kneeling on the ground.

Gu Yunqiu pushed up her glasses and walked straight over.

"Commander Lu is here too." Her tone was businesslike, but her gaze swept back and forth between Lu Minghui and the owner of Xiangji. "I'm following Section Chief Nakajima's orders to investigate the military uniform clue in the bank robbery to the end. I'm taking this tailor with me."

Without waiting for Lu Minghui's reply, she drew her gun and pointed it at the owner of Xiangji's head.

"Now tell me, who exactly ordered you to make those thirty sets of military uniforms?"

The owner of Xiangji looked at the dark muzzle of the gun, then glanced at Lu Minghui.

Lu Minghui stood there, expressionless.

The gun handle was digging into my spine from below.

The tailor's gaze drifted to his hand again. That middle finger knuckle.

Lu Minghui gently flicked the safety off his sidearm with his thumb.

"Speak!" Gu Yunqiu shouted sharply.

The owner of Xiangji opened his mouth.

"Yes……"