Hidden Radiance

"Lu Minghui, remember this day."

Fu Yewen turned and left with his men. His leather shoes pounded on the blue bricks with each step.

Sun Yaozu let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead again and again. The way he looked at Lu Minghui was different from the way he had looked at him in the interrogation room the night before.

There was an added layer of awe.

The courtyard fell silent.

Lu Minghui turned around and looked at She Aizhen.

"Sister She, tell your men to leave too. This is No. 76, not a Green Gang branch."

She Aizhen sized him up. She threw away the cigarette butt in her hand and stomped on it with her high heels.

"Commander Lu, you've got some impressive skills. Si Bao mentioned you more than once when he was alive, saying you were a ruthless character who kept a low profile. Meeting you today, I can confirm that he truly lives up to his reputation."

She waved her hand, and the Green Gang members put away their weapons and retreated outside the courtyard.

Then he walked up to Lu Minghui and took an envelope out of his handbag.

He held it in his hand, pinched the seal a couple of times with his fingertips, and scrutinized Lu Minghui's face.

"The day before Si Bao died, he told me to keep this safe. He said if anything happened to him, I should give it to the person who could take over the guard brigade."

Lu Minghui looked at the envelope but didn't reach for it.

"What?"

She Aizhen lowered her voice and her eyes darkened.

"Sibao discovered a Kuomintang spy named 'Paper Kite.' Here is half a photo of 'Paper Kite.'"

She handed over the envelope, but didn't let go.

"Commander Lu, I'm entrusting this to you not because you helped me today, but because of Si Bao's last words. But there's one condition..." He paused slightly, "Once you find the kite, tell me first. I want to handle it myself."

Lu Minghui reached out and took the envelope. The moment She Aizhen's fingers loosened, her nails scratched across the envelope, making a soft sound.

He opened the envelope.

Inside was a black and white photograph torn in half, with only the left half remaining. The photograph showed a man's profile, only half an outline, blurry but still discernible.

It wasn't him.

Lu Minghui stuffed the photo back into the envelope and put it into the inner pocket of his trench coat.

"I'll take this back to the Confidential Office for filing. The Paper Kite case was personally assigned by Section Chief Nakajima, so the evidence must be filed." He looked at She Aizhen, "Sister She, I've already recommended you to Section Chief Nakajima to be the head of the guard team, and the appointment letter will be issued soon. If you have any new information about the Paper Kite case, let me know immediately."

She Aizhen stared at his trench coat pocket, remained silent for two seconds, and then nodded.

"Sibao cannot have died in vain. Commander Lu, if you help me find this 'paper kite,' I, She Aizhen, and the entire Green Gang will follow your lead from now on."

Lu Minghui nodded.

"Don't worry. I will definitely find this person."

He turned and walked toward the office building.

Half a photograph, half a face. Who has the other half?

I went up to the second floor and walked to the end of the corridor.

Gu Yunqiu leaned against the wall, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, as if she had been standing there for a long time. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the slightly bulging pocket of Lu Minghui's trench coat before shifting away.

"Commander Lu, what good stuff did Sister She give you?"

Lu Minghui walked past her without stopping.

"It's official business of the Confidential Affairs Department. If Secretary Gu is interested, I'll show it to you after the files are handed over tomorrow."

He pushed open the office door, went in, and closed it.

Gu Yunqiu stood in the corridor with a coffee cup in her hand, tapped the rim of the cup lightly with her fingertips, and silently turned around.

Office of the Chief of the Special Higher Police Section.

Across from him at the desk, Shinichi Nakajima was practicing calligraphy. The brush touched the rice paper, and the ink spread out.

"Section Chief, Lu Minghui is silencing them." Gu Yunqiu adjusted his glasses, his tone certain. "The prisoner just mentioned 'Old Ghost,' and he immediately pulled out a gun and killed someone. This is against regulations."

After writing the last stroke, Nakajima put down his brush.

"Yunqiu," Nakajima said, picking up a hot towel to wipe his hands. "Do you know anything about the Red Party?"

Gu Yunqiu frowned.

"The Red Party has strict organizational discipline. When faced with a crisis, their first reaction is to cut off communication and go into hiding." Nakajima tossed the towel into the tray. "If that prisoner is a member of the Red Party, then Lu Minghui is also a member of the Red Party. Lu Minghui would never fire a gun in public. That would be tantamount to telling everyone that he has a problem."

Gu Yunqiu retorted, "Perhaps he was driven to desperation and didn't have time to think of any other solutions."

"He just recovered twenty chests of gold for the Empire." Nakajima walked back to his desk, sat down, and took out a gold storage list. "The chief personally called to commend him. He's the most prestigious man in 76 right now. You tried to trick him with two street thugs, and he shot you—that's a slap in the face."

Nakajima picked up his teacup.

"Killing one and sparing one proves that he has a clear conscience; it also tells me that he has been wronged."

Gu Yunqiu bit her lower lip.

"But the code name 'Old Ghost'..."

"Enough," Nakajima interrupted her, his voice turning cold. "The gold case has just been closed, and the chief of staff is very satisfied. These petty tricks are too clumsy. Do you understand?"

Gu Yunqiu lowered her head.

"Understood."

"Go to the confidential office and keep a close eye on Li Shiqun's men. Lu Minghui is one of my tools; don't go looking for trouble." Nakajima waved his hand.

Gu Yunqiu turned and left.

The door closed.

Nakajima's expression slowly faded. He held the teacup, rubbed his thumb along the rim twice, and then stopped.

His gaze fell on the gold deposit list on the table.

He reached out and flipped it over, slamming it face down on the table.

In the afternoon, at the No. 76 Confidential Office.

The archives were at the far end of the corridor. The iron doors were heavy, and there were no windows.

Lu Minghui sat at the long table. The incandescent light bulb overhead emitted a slight hum.

Two files were placed on the table.

On the left, Fu Yewen. On the right, Gu Yunqiu.

Lu Minghui opened Fu Yewen's file. Fu Yewen was Li Shiqun's brother-in-law, a former member of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong), who had defected to the Wang Jingwei regime. He owned three properties and five bank accounts. His monthly income was enormous, twenty times his official salary at the 76th Division.

Lu Minghui closed the file.

Before his death, Wu Sibao was investigating "Paper Kite." The half-photo She Aizhen handed over showed a man's profile. Li Shiqun wanted complete control of No. 76, while Nakajima wanted to infiltrate No. 76.

Lu Minghui opened the drawer, took out a red and blue pencil, wrote the three characters "Fu Yewen" on a piece of white paper, and drew a circle around them.

Then he opened Gu Yunqiu's file.

Senior agent of the South Manchuria Railway Bureau of Investigation. Code-breaking expert. Clean resume.

Lu Minghui looked at it for a long time, and then wrote the three characters "Gu Yunqiu" below Fu Yewen's name without circling them.

Then he tore the paper into pieces, threw it into the brazier next to him, and lit it with a match.

The firelight reflected on his face. He watched the paper burn to ashes, curling up, then turned and walked out of the archives.

Just as I stepped out, I bumped into Fu Yewen.

Fu Yewen, dressed in a gray suit, stood with two operatives behind him. His hands were on his sidearms at his waist, and he stood across the middle of the corridor.

"Director Lu, checking the files?" Fu Yewen stopped and said mockingly, "Hey, you big jerk from the Confidential Office, don't get Director Lu's new clothes dirty."

Fu Yewen was seething with anger after failing to secure any territory at the guard post that morning.

Lu Minghui stopped and looked at him.

"Director Fu is well-informed. I just looked at the guard brigade's accounts," Lu Minghui said calmly. "Wu Sibao left behind a mess."

Fu Yewen's eyes flickered.

Wu Sibao was in charge of the guard brigade and had a lot of money to be made from it.

"What kind of mess is this?" Fu Yewen asked.

"There are several secret operations in the French Concession whose profits don't match the books. There's a shortfall of about 20,000 silver dollars." Lu Minghui straightened his cuffs. "Section Chief Nakajima asked me to investigate this money. Director Fu has been at No. 76 for a long time; I wonder if he has any leads?"

Twenty thousand silver dollars.

Fu Yewen's breathing became heavy.

"How would I know about Wu Sibao's private accounts?" Fu Yewen chuckled twice. "Director Lu can investigate at his leisure. Director Li is returning to Shanghai tomorrow. At that time, the rules of No. 76 will still be up to Director Li."

"Of course." Lu Minghui nodded and walked past Fu Yewen.

As they passed each other, Lu Minghui paused for a moment.

"I'll make a list of the addresses of those secret locations tomorrow. Director Fu can take a look if he's interested."

After saying that, he left.

He took ten steps, but no footsteps followed behind. Fu Yewen remained standing still.