Chapter Fourteen: Slaying the Dragon

(Thanks to “A Fleeting Moment of Eternal Love,” Book Friend 20180613230612796, and Book Fan A Jiu for their recommendations. Also, this novel has been signed—please recommend and collect it.)

The next day.

When Bai Zeshao arrived at the operations team, Monkey immediately sidled up to him, a sly grin on his face. “Xiao Bai, do you remember what you said yesterday?”

“What was it?” Bai Zeshao was momentarily confused.

“The duty shift,” Monkey said eagerly. “Last night at the Rose Dance Hall, you said it yourself. Have you forgotten?”

“Oh, I remember now. Why is it my turn?” Of course, Bai Zeshao hadn’t forgotten, but he couldn’t let himself appear too eager. It would be hard to explain—after all, no normal person volunteers for hardship.

“Well, it’s my turn, but you know I drank too much yesterday. Got a headache. So I want to swap shifts with you. I’ll take your shift tomorrow.” Monkey rubbed his hands together, handing Bai Zeshao a cigarette and lighting it for him with unusual attentiveness.

“Alright, I’ll take today’s shift,” Bai Zeshao replied cheerfully, blowing out a ring of smoke.

“That’s real brotherhood. Come on, I’ll take you there. Once you know the place, you can go yourself next time,” Monkey said, giving Bai Zeshao a pat on the shoulder.

On the way, Bai Zeshao’s heart raced with anticipation—he was about to see Mr. Li. Three days had passed since Mr. Li’s arrest, and now, finally, the opportunity had come.

After passing through a series of security checkpoints, they reached their destination. But before Bai Zeshao and Monkey could enter the interrogation room, the officer on duty, Dali, stepped out ahead of them.

“Dali, why are you out here? What if something happens inside? You’d be in serious trouble,” Monkey scolded, grabbing Dali and moving toward the interrogation room.

Unexpectedly, Dali shrugged him off nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. You probably don’t know, but there are plenty of people inside now. We can actually relax a bit.”

“What’s going on?” Bai Zeshao asked directly, frowning.

“You—” Dali began, but before he could finish, the door to the interrogation room opened. Two men emerged, supporting Mr. Li between them, led by a man in military uniform.

Bai Zeshao’s gaze instantly locked onto Mr. Li, his eyes filled with anxiety and concern. Yet there was nothing he could do but watch Mr. Li being taken away.

Mr. Li, who had kept his eyes closed, seemed to sense someone watching him. As he passed by Bai Zeshao, he suddenly opened his eyes and, upon seeing him, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Bai Zeshao understood—it was a knowing smile. Then he saw Mr. Li give a barely perceptible nod before staggering and collapsing at Bai Zeshao’s feet.

By sheer chance, he fell right at Bai Zeshao’s feet, and the unexpected incident left everyone momentarily stunned. Bai Zeshao, however, reacted with lightning speed, bending down to grasp Mr. Li’s clothes.

With his right hand, he swiftly tapped out a Morse code message on Mr. Li’s back. The message was brief, only six words: “The codebook has been moved.”

Though he had feigned unconsciousness, Mr. Li’s heart leapt at the message. Connecting this to what he had learned from Liu Peiru in the interrogation room about the codebook, he was finally certain: Bai Zeshao was not a traitor, nor had he been discovered. A sense of relief settled over him. He tapped two words in return on Bai Zeshao’s back: “Dragon Slayer.”

As soon as he finished, the two men who had been supporting Mr. Li dragged him away roughly. In those fleeting seconds, Bai Zeshao had exchanged only a few moments with Mr. Li before watching him disappear from sight.

As for “Dragon Slayer,” Bai Zeshao understood its meaning well: he was to remain undercover, to keep playing his role as a pawn, and to await the day of the dragon’s fall.

But Bai Zeshao knew he could not safely remain in hiding. Mr. Li’s condition looked dire—he had clearly endured brutal torture and could die at any time. If anything happened to Mr. Li, Bai Zeshao would lose all contact with the organization; any intelligence he gathered would be useless. For these reasons, he knew he had to rescue Mr. Li.

And it had to be soon. The longer it took, the less likely Mr. Li could hold on. The agents might lose faith and execute him at any moment.

“What’s going on? Aren’t those the arrogant bastards from Team One? Why are they taking him away?” Monkey muttered angrily once the group had disappeared, seeking an explanation.

“Who knows. They barged in early this morning, and even used the chief’s writ to take him,” Dali replied with a shrug. “But I did overhear something—they mentioned word had gotten out on the black market that the Red Party member was being held here. They even knew the exact floor, just not the room number. This has caused a major uproar among the higher-ups.”

“What? Who leaked the information? Even we don’t know which floor or room he’s being held in unless we’re on duty that day. Not many people could know this,” Monkey said, astonished.

“Who knows? It’s not the first time we’ve had a leak in the Special Operations Division, but they still haven’t caught the mole,” Dali said indifferently.

“Dali, where are they taking the Red Party member?” Bai Zeshao asked curiously.

“They’re probably moving him to one of our external safe houses. The security and secrecy there are much better,” Dali said, though he sounded uncertain.

“Definitely. Whenever something like this happens, it’s always those Team One bastards who take over. Bah, enough about them,” Monkey grumbled, then turned to Bai Zeshao. “Come on, Xiao Bai. Since we’re off duty, we can save ourselves the trouble. Let’s go play cards.”

“Sure,” Bai Zeshao smiled and nodded, following Monkey out. Still, he kept a mental note of everything Dali and Monkey had said.

Back in the office, after briefly updating Huzi and Tian Haiming, the idle group began setting up a card game. But before they could begin, someone walked in.

It was Qian Huiwen. He saw the group gathered around the table, a stack of bills in front of them, and Bai Zeshao—back to the door—shouting, “Play! Luck’s on my side today; I’m going to clean you all out!”

Qian Huiwen frowned at the scene, then cleared his throat and called out coldly, “Bai Zeshao!”

“Here!” Bai Zeshao shot to his feet almost instinctively. His appearance, however, was far from presentable: a cigarette dangling from his lips, clothes disheveled, cards still clutched in his hand. It was hard to believe he’d just left the military academy two days earlier.

Seeing Qian Huiwen’s dark expression, Tian Haiming and the others quickly straightened up. Tian Haiming forced a smile and said, “Secretary Qian, you’ve already visited our Team Three twice in just two days. Truly an honor for us. May I ask what instructions you have for us?”