February 7, 1940, the 30th day of the lunar month, Chinese New Year's Eve.

There are still five years, one month and one day before Xing Renju died mysteriously at the Xinjing Execution Ground of the Puppet Manchurians.

He was in the Daoli branch of the Harbin City Prison in Binjiang Province, the puppet Manchukuo, and there was not the slightest atmosphere of the New Year.

Neither the guards nor the prisoners seemed to be aware of what day it was, because even today, there were still wails and cries coming from the interrogation room at the end of the cell's corridor.

Xing Renju sat against the corner of the prison, his head resting on one side of the wall, his ears pressed against the wall, his eyes closed, his left hand clenched into a fist against the wall, flicking his fingers rhythmically, listening carefully to the sound of his fingers blinking against the wall.

The prisoner sitting opposite Xing Renju kept staring at him, this person's name was Qi San, who was originally a supervisor at the dock outside the Harbin Daowai. In the early years, because of gambling, he owed a lot of money to a local gang, and was almost tied to a stone and sunk into the Songhua River.

The policeman who captured him saw that he was familiar with the situation at the dock and persuaded him to become a supernumerary policeman, commonly known as a secret agent. Not to mention paying him a salary on a regular basis every month, as long as the report is correct and the "lawbreaker" is caught, he will get a large amount of remuneration. The "lawbreakers" referred to by the police are spies from all walks of life who infiltrated the puppet Manchurians, whether they were the Kuomintang, *, the Soviet Union, or the Comintern.

But the good times didn't last long, after all, Qi San had not received systematic counter-espionage training, and was soon noticed by a special agent team stationed near the dock, so he set up a trap to make him think that he had clues about the big fish.

Those who are secret agents know that it is natural that the clues of small fish and shrimp will be handed over to the Special Service Section of the National Police Agency, but once the clues of big fish and shrimp are handed over, the credit of the secret agent will basically be minimized, and at most they can drink soup. Therefore, at this time, most of the secret agents will choose to hand over the clues to the Japanese gendarmerie or the Japanese secret services, because if they do so, they will not only be able to eat meat, but will also be included in the peripheral counter-espionage system by the Japanese secret services, and their lives will basically have a comprehensive guarantee.

As a result, Qi San fell for the trap and became a secret agent who lied about clues, indirectly killed many Japanese, and blew up the three Japanese spies and five gendarmes who broke into the so-called stronghold of the Central Union.

Qi San was then arrested by the gendarmerie, interrogated, and thrown into the prison.

Qi San has been staring at Xing Renju, it has been half a month since he came in, but Xing Renju has never dealt with him, and he can't find a suitable opportunity to talk to the other party at all.

"Qi San!" A prison guard walked outside the cell and put his baton on the iron railing, making a loud "clang" sound, which startled Qi San, and he quickly crawled to the door, stood up with his support for the railing, and maintained a slightly bowed posture.

The prison guard looked at Qi San, glanced at the torturer in the corner again, and then said, "Someone came to see you, stretch out your hand!" ”

Qi San immediately stretched out his hands from the opening of the cell door and asked the prison guards to handcuff him, then turned around and slowly withdrew with his hands raised, and asked the prison guards to tie the chains of the handcuffs to the ankle chains and lock them - these are all necessary procedures to prevent prisoners from sneaking up on the prison guards and escaping.

A year ago, there was a well-planned escape in this prison, when three prisoners who were held here killed five prison guards with their bare hands, snatched a light machine gun and two Type 38 rifles, and killed 12 armed prison guards, but the snatched grenade did not blow up the prison gate, and then was suppressed by the Japanese gendarmerie who rushed to the scene with superior firepower, and finally three committed suicide.

The Japanese military intelligence department conducted a detailed investigation of the identities of the three people, and it took more than half a year to find that two of these three people were members of the Kuomintang military command, and the other was an agent sent to the Soviet Union to study espionage. When the three were arrested, because they were all implicated, their identities were not revealed, and from that day on, the Japanese army stepped up an in-depth verification of the identities of the people in the prison.

At the same time that Qi San was escorted away by the prison guards, another prison guard came from the opposite side and nodded to the prison guard holding Qi San.

The prison guard who escorted Qi San nodded in return, but felt strange, felt that this person had a life, although the prison was very large, not everyone knew him, but this person's face was something he had never seen before, so when escorting Qi San to the door of the interrogation room, he asked the squad leader who was standing there smoking: "Who is the person who went in just now?" Why haven't you seen it? ”

The squad leader sighed and said, "Don't ask, people have a relationship in the police department, and I heard that they are relatives of the deputy chief's family!" Don't ask, if you shouldn't know, you'll get into trouble. ”

The prison guard nodded in understanding, stuffed Qi San into the interrogation room, and when he closed the door, he glanced at the man with his back to the door, wearing a windbreaker, a gentleman's hat, and a cigarette in his hand, and then closed the door, and asked, "Who is this person?" I come every three or five days, and I see this Qi San every time. ”

The squad leader pulled the prison guard into the corner and said in a low voice, "You're dead!?" This guy is Japanese! Chief of the Intelligence Section of the National Police Agency! Last time, a brother offended him, and before he could take three steps, he broke his wrist directly, this guy is a madman! ”

The prison guard gasped: "He's that Shin Dongjun?" Isn't that a North Korean name? ”

The squad leader slapped the prison guard: "You don't care if he's a North Korean or a Japanese, anyway, it's someone we can't afford to mess with!" ”

The prison guard immediately stood there without speaking, and the squad leader glanced at the door of the interrogation room, and walked away with a shrunk neck.

The prison guard, who was called a relative of the deputy chief of the National Police Agency by the squad leader, walked outside the cell and glanced at the cell opposite, where the prisoner was groaning and groaning because of his illness, so he took out a handful of strange-looking hay from his sleeve and threw it into it, and dropped it on the floor of the cell.

Xing Renju, who was leaning against the corner, couldn't help but be startled when he saw the handful of hay falling to the ground, raised his eyes to look, and then heard the prison guard standing there whisper: "Chen Jiujin? ”

Chen Jiujin was Xing Renju's previous name, and very few people knew his name.

Xing Renju listened to the familiar voice, looked at the "Life-Continuation Grass" that he had never left in his hand before, and immediately stepped forward cautiously, looked left and right, frowned and lowered his voice: "Xing'an!" What are you doing here? ”

The prison guard who came was none other than Tian Xing'an, the apprentice who Xing Renju had taken in the Jiu'an pawnshop in his early years, and it had been many years since he said goodbye on the night of the Midyear Festival, and now Tian Xing'an is 45 years old, much calmer than back then.

"How did you find me!?" Xing Renju gritted his teeth and said.

Tian Xingan lowered his head and said in a low voice: "After the master left Shanhaiguan, I inquired along the way and knew that the master had arrived outside the customs, so I resigned from the position of courtier, chased all the way, and looked for the master for many years, but there has been no news. A few days ago, my son's friend came to visit the house, and he brought a prison officer check list in his bag, and I saw your name on it, so I tried to come in, but I didn't expect it to be you. ”

Over the years, Tian Xingan has not given up looking for news of his master, so he will not let go of any opportunity.

Xing Renju said happily: "Xing'an, you have an heir?" ”

Tian Xingan looked around, smiled and nodded: "It's called Tian Yunhao, he is 20 years old this year and has joined the navy." ”

Xing Ren was taken aback: "Navy? The Navy of Manchukuo? ”

Tian Xingan immediately said: "Master, don't worry, my son can't be those miscellaneous lackeys, that's just his identity on the surface, in fact, he is a person from the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, this kid thinks I don't know, where can I hide this little thing from me, I was taught by you, Master." ”

Xing Renju breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good." ”

Tian Xing'an asked again: "Master, I don't have much time, why did you come to Guanwai?" Why was he arrested? I've got to find a way to get you out. ”

Xing Renju shook his head and said: "There are some things you don't need to know, you just keep those pair of chopsticks, and you don't have to worry about other things, let's go, leave me alone." ”

Tian Xingan said again: "Master, if you stay here, you will die sooner or later, and there are not many prisoners who are locked up here who can get out alive?" I still have relationships and methods, my current identity is a medicine seller, and the relationship with the family of the deputy director of the National Police Agency is not bad! I can still think of a way! ”

"Don't!" Xing Ren raised his eyes and said, "There is only one thing you have to do, and that is to keep those pair of chopsticks, understand?" Let's go! Come on! ”

Tian Xing'an was stunned there, and then saw Xing Renju sit back in his previous position, he couldn't speak too loudly, just looked back and looked around No one paid attention to him, and he also knew that Master Xing Renju's words had always been the same, and he said that he couldn't care about it, so he could only kneel down and kowtow, get up and leave quickly.

After Tian Xing'an left, Xing Renju, who was sitting in a dark corner, smiled again and said with relief: "My apprentice has a queen, it's good, it's great." ”

When Tian Xing'an, who returned, bowed his head and walked through the interrogation room, he didn't know that Shin Dongjun in the interrogation room was asking Qi San about Xing Renju.

In the interrogation room, Qi San was sitting, Shen Dongjun was standing, as in the previous times, Shen Dongjun was just standing at first, and his back was to Qi San, giving Qi San an inexplicable sense of oppression and mystery, Qi San only knew that his identity was the head of the intelligence department when he met with Shen Dongjun for the third time, and at first he always thought that he was an official of the Japanese secret service.

"Didn't say anything?" Shen Dongjun looked sideways at Qi San, "For half a month, he didn't say a word?" Peeing and pooping and eating without talking to people? Didn't make any eye contact? ”

Qi San shook his head: "Section Chief Shen, no, really not, I've been staring at it, I'll follow him wherever he goes." ”

Shen Dongjun closed his eyes: "That's right, wherever he goes, you follow him, fools know that you are watching, do you know why you will be tricked by the people of Zhongtong?" It's because you won't hide yourself, I'm just letting you figure out why he went to jail, it shouldn't be difficult, right? As I said, as long as you can figure it out, you will be released from prison immediately, and after you are released from prison, you will be a secret agent under the intelligence department, and your monthly salary will be doubled compared to before, and you will also receive rice and white flour and even wine and meat every month. ”

Qi San's face was expectant, and then he changed to a sad expression: "Section Chief Shen, I did my best." ”

Shen Dongjun nodded and walked out, Qi San almost knelt down, and begged: "Section Chief Shen, will you give me another chance?" I'll tell you about anything else I've found in prison, and I know that maybe two people are spies, either * or military! ”

Shen Dongjun shook his head: "I'm not interested in these, I just want to know about Xing Renju." ”

Qi Sanyi gritted his teeth: "Okay, I'll find a way again!" ”

Shin Dongjun nodded: "I'll give you a little more time, so be it, I'll come back in three days, if you can't find out anything after three days, then you are ready to go to prison for the rest of your life." ”

Qi San closed his eyes and nodded, and he had an extremely risky plan in his mind.

And before Qi San returned to the cell, Shen Dongjun walked straight to the outside of Xing Renju's cell, stood there and lit a cigarette, looked at Xing Renju in the dark, and then said: "Two years ago, I got a piece of information, the information directly mentioned Qimen, I didn't want to let go of this clue, and I rushed to Mudanjiang with people to find that line, who knows that nothing can be found, and many people died, if it weren't for my father, I'm afraid I would have been transferred back to the North Korean Governor's Palace, it was a trap at all, you laid it, you know I'm looking for Qimen, So, you want me to die, you are really good at calculating, you know that there are many things that only you Chinese understand, I can't figure it out even if I want to break my head, so I deliberately gave me that information anonymously. ”

Xing Renju didn't speak, still sitting in the corner, but in the dark, he looked at Shin Dongjun and showed a smug smile.

Yes, then everything is a bureau of criminal benevolence.

"There are many dangers there, if there is no way you write in the letter, I will never be able to enter, but after entering it is a trap every step of the way, I have not found anything, I can only come back, this is your first step plan, in this step of the plan, you want me to die there, if I don't die there, so many people die, I will be held accountable when I come back, the worst result is to be shot, of course, for you, that is the best outcome." Shin Dong-joon took a deep breath of the cigarette in his hand, "As for why I would know that it was you who gave me, do you want to know?" Do you want to know who betrayed you? ”

At this time, Xing Ren raised his head and walked over slowly, walked to Shen Dongjun, across the iron railing, still with a smug smile on his face, and said lightly: "You should never want to find Qimen." ”

Shin Dongjun smiled: "Are you trying to tell me that I will never be able to pry your mouth open?" ”

Xing Renju just laughed and didn't explain anything.

Shin Dongjun: "Sooner or later, I'll find out why you took the initiative to go to prison, and sooner or later I'll find out." ”

Xing Renju turned back to the corner where he had been, leaning against the wall and smiling dryly.

When Shin Dong-joon was about to leave, he found the handful of hay on the ground, because it was a different kind of hay from the straw used to keep the cell out of the moisture. So Shin Dongjun squatted down and slowly reached into the cell to grab the hay, while observing the torture in the corner.

Xing Renju was also shocked at this time, he forgot to take back the hay, this was his mistake, because Tian Xingan deliberately threw the hay in, hoping that Xing Renju could use this thing to confirm that he was his apprentice Tian Xing'an, but what Tian Xingan didn't know was that after many years, Xing Renju's illness had been cured, and he no longer needed to pinch the life-sustaining grass at any time.

In the dark, Xing Renju watched Shin Dong-jun's hand touch the hay, and did not make any movement, if he moved, he would reiterate Dong-joon's suspicions, if Shin Dong-jun found Tian Xing'an and found the pair of chopsticks, then everything was wasted.

At the moment when Shen Dongjun's hand was about to touch the straw, he moved slightly, touched the ground, touched it carefully, and then said: "It's very humid here, you speak in a very nasal voice, and your throat seems to be wrapped in something, you should have rhinitis and tracheitis, you won't live long in this environment." ”

Xing Renju just snorted coldly, Shen Dongjun got up and left, walked straight towards the door of the interrogation room, walked up to the prison guard, and asked, "After I entered the interrogation room, has anyone ever been to the direction of the cell where you interrogated the prisoner earlier." ”

The prison guard was shocked, he was very embarrassed at this time, the person in front of him was the head of the intelligence section of the National Police Agency, and the squad leader told him that the person who went in earlier was a relative of the deputy chief of the National Police Agency. If he doesn't say it, he will offend Shin Dong-joon, and if he does, he will offend the deputy director of the National Police Agency.

The prison guard's embarrassed expression immediately made Shin Dongjun realize something, and he grinned, "Thank you." ”

After Shin Dongjun finished speaking, he left, and the prison guard looked at his back and didn't understand why he didn't say anything, and the other party still said thank you? Just when he was wondering, Shen Dongjun, who was walking forward, threw down a sentence: "Get Qi San back, be polite to them, there is only one Chinese New Year's Eve a year, and a person has only one life." ”

Shin Dong-joon's chatter made the prison guards scratch their heads, so they could only stay there and watch Shin Dong-jun's figure disappear into the distance, then he turned around and entered the interrogation room and took Qi San back to the cell.

Qi San returned to the cell and sat down, while continuing to refine his plan in his mind, Shen Dongjun had already asked Tian Xing'an about Tian Xing'an in his own special way at the prison warden, although the prison director did not know Tian Xing'an's identity, but let Shen Dongjun know that it was the relationship between the deputy chief's family, and then Shen Dongjun left the prison, found a cloth shop and made a few phone calls, and soon figured out Tian Xing'an's affairs.

Shen Dongjun looked at the door of the store with the phone and repeated: "Jiu'an Pharmacy, No. 89, Sidao Street, Daowai, the owner is called Tian Yongmin, I know, thank you, I will also help you with your affairs." ”

After saying that, Shin Dongjun hung up the phone and turned to leave the cloth shop.

A few hours later, Shin Dongjun appeared alone opposite the Jiu'an Pharmacy on Daowai Sidao Street, pretending to be someone else in the cold wind to observe the pharmacy opposite, looking at Tian Xing'an, who was guiding a guy in the pharmacy, who has now changed his name to Tian Yongmin.

Although Tian Xing'an didn't find Shen Dongjun on the other side, Shen Dongjun didn't notice that at the window of the wonton shop next door to Yong'an Pharmacy, a white, handsome-looking man wearing a long shirt and a horse coat was holding a bowl of wontons, paying attention to him while eating.

After the man finished eating, he carefully wiped the corners of his mouth with the residual soup, took out the money, nodded slightly to the boss, signaled that the money was not needed, and then wrapped on a scarf, opened the door and walked to the opposite side.

(If you want to know what happens next, please see the next breakdown!)