Chapter Ninety-Five: The Aftermath of the Incident (Requesting Monthly Votes)

"Zong Pu is my senior disciple. He began learning how to read prescriptions and dispense medicine with me when he was just a teenager, and it has been more than ten years now. I have no wife or children, so I treated him like my own son. I never imagined it would be him. Why would this happen?" Wu Quanjiang said sorrowfully. At that moment his heart felt as if it were being torn apart. Betrayal by the person closest to him was a truth no one could accept at once.

Fang Boyi turned to pour a cup of hot water and handed it to Wu Quanjiang. "Old Wu, are you certain?"

Wu Quanjiang took the cup but had no desire to drink. He set it gently on the table and said with a bitter smile, "There can be no mistake. The information here is far too complete. If it were one of my contacts who had turned traitor, even if they knew my identity, we would not ordinarily have any contact. We only see one another when handling a matter, so they would never know such detailed things about my business or the partners I work with.

"Look at this. They even know that my favorite drink is Lotus Brew. Old Fang, you know this: for those of us doing clandestine work, being fond of drink is a grave taboo. To the outside world, everyone knows I never touch alcohol. I always say my stomach is bad. In truth, only when I am craving it badly do I secretly have a cup of Lotus Brew from the Liu family on South Street. Maybe only a few times a year. That was supposed to be a secret known only to Zong Pu. On several occasions he even went and bought it for me in secret.

"He has followed me since he was little. I have always regarded him as my successor. I took him with me on all my business, and by now most of the legitimate business is handled by him. He is very familiar with my business partners.

"Not only that, he is also very familiar with the helpers in the traditional medicine shop, and that is recorded here in great detail.

"But the most important point is this!"

Wu Quanjiang pointed to one line in the dossier and continued, "It even mentions my niece, Wu Ruyun. You know what kind of life we lead. Danger can descend at any moment, so over the years I never married. This Wu Ruyun is actually Old Zhong's orphan. After Old Zhong sacrificed himself, he left behind only this child, and I have been secretly raising her to adulthood. She is now studying at a girls' middle school.

"I was afraid that if anything happened to me, she would be implicated, so I always sent money over in secret and never had the slightest contact with her in front of others. The child is sensible too, and never speaks of me to anyone. That is why this matter has been kept extremely hidden.

"Only a few times, when I truly could not get away, did I ask Zong Pu to deliver the money for me. Once he asked about my relationship to Ruyun, and I casually said she was my niece. In truth, her mother was my classmate, so she has always called me Uncle.

"So only Zong Pu knew about the connection between Ruyun and me, and only then would he have thought she was my niece."

Listening to Wu Quanjiang point out each suspicious detail one by one, Fang Boyi finally understood that the mole must indeed be Zong Pu.

"But how did Zong Pu learn your true identity? Old Wu, could it be that you violated organizational discipline and told him yourself?" Fang Boyi asked.

Normally, even if Zong Pu was Wu Quanjiang's closest person, secretly revealing one's organizational identity in violation of underground Party discipline was absolutely forbidden.

Hearing Fang Boyi's question, Wu Quanjiang said somewhat awkwardly, "Zong Pu is a child I have always cherished. I long ago intended to bring him into the Party organization, so over these past two years I have not hidden certain things from him very carefully. I planned to give him more time to train before developing him. But he only suspected that I was part of the underground Party; he had no idea I was a member of the Nanjing Provincial Committee."

After hearing this, Fang Boyi did not blame him. After all, one of the main ways the underground Party had grown to this point was through this very kind of mentorship, with one generation bringing in the next. Wu Quanjiang wanting to turn someone he trusted most into a contact was not unreasonable.

He picked the dossier up again and looked it over once more, then suddenly asked, "The file says the surveillance on you has not been going on long, only since about ten days ago. Think carefully: about ten days ago, did Zong Pu show any unusual behavior?"

Wu Quanjiang was momentarily stunned by the question. After a careful recollection, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said in frustration, "Fourteen days ago, there was a problem with the transport of a batch of Yunnan Baiyao we had purchased. I gathered several people from my line and held a small meeting.

"The situation was urgent, so I took Zong Pu directly to the rendezvous point. I told him to stand watch outside. Could it be that he eavesdropped on what we were discussing?

"No good, Old Fang. Zong Pu absolutely cannot be left alive, and the other comrades may be in danger too!"

Hearing this, Fang Boyi was also startled. If that was the case, then all the comrades on the pharmaceutical line could be in grave danger. But he was experienced; he quickly steadied himself and waved a hand.

"No, I don't think so. Look at what this dossier says: their judgment is only that you may be an important member of the Nanjing Provincial Committee. If he had heard everything you discussed, then your identity would already be confirmed. They would not use words like may and possibly.

"I suspect he only overheard part of it, or perhaps did not hear your conversation at all. He may have simply judged from the way the others treated you that your status in the Party must be very high.

"Of course, when we act, we have to plan for the worst. The comrades on the pharmaceutical line must all enter deep cover immediately. Once we catch Zong Pu and interrogate him carefully to find out exactly how much he knows, we can decide on the next step. Where is Zong Pu now?"

Fang Boyi's calm analysis let Wu Quanjiang breathe a sigh of relief. If his negligence had caused immense losses to the comrades on the pharmaceutical line, he would regret it for the rest of his life and never be able to atone, even with death.

"I sent Zong Pu to Anqing to buy supplies yesterday. He cannot be back until the day after tomorrow," Wu Quanjiang replied.

"I will send men to Anqing at once to make the arrest. Write down the exact supply address. Also, your niece Wu Ruyun must be moved immediately!" Fang Boyi said again. "Hurry and write a note. I will send someone to take it and bring her out."

As soon as Wu Quanjiang heard this, he grew even more anxious. Without another word, he quickly took up the paper and wrote a line to Wu Ruyun, signed his name, then wrote down the place where Zong Pu was going in Anqing to purchase supplies, and handed everything over to Fang Boyi.

Fang Boyi turned and left. Not long after, he hurried back.

"Everything has been arranged. Rest easy, Old Wu. In two days, we will send you out of Nanjing."

Wu Quanjiang nodded but said nothing. He knew he could no longer continue working in Nanjing. His information had almost certainly been thoroughly uncovered by the Central Party Affairs Investigation Office.

To remain in Nanjing any longer would be far too dangerous. It would threaten not only his own safety, but, far more importantly, the security of the underground Party in Nanjing.

Thinking of having to leave the city he had lived in for so many years, Wu Quanjiang felt a sorrow too deep for words.

As for Ning Zhiheng, when he arrived at the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau, he was only a little later than usual. Besides, he was often disappearing in his day-to-day life anyway, always out working on cases, so neither Wei Liangbi nor his subordinates thought anything was amiss.

Only after sitting down in his office, brewing a cup of tea, and taking a small sip of the warm, fragrant brew did Ning Zhiheng finally feel relaxed.

Nine full hours had passed since last night. In those nine hours, he had been rushing back and forth without rest, and at last he had reversed a disastrous situation and saved the underground Party from a deadly crisis. Being able to contribute his strength to the Communist cause made Ning Zhiheng feel genuinely happy. At that moment, his mood was one of exhilaration and delight.

Just then, Shao Wenguang walked in and saw Ning Zhiheng enjoying his tea. Smiling, he said, "You actually have some rare leisure today. Why aren't you out practicing your shooting with Deputy Team Leader Sun?"

Seeing that it was Shao Wenguang, Ning Zhiheng also smiled. He did not answer directly, only said with a grin, "A visit from Specialist Shao himself! My humble office is truly honored."

At the end of last year, Wei Liangbi had transferred Shao Wenguang back to headquarters, where he had been helping at Wei Liangbi's side ever since. He finally seized a good opportunity: in Ning Zhiheng's case against the Shadow Group, he had made a notable contribution, and with Wei Liangbi speaking well of him, he at last managed to secure a fine post for him.

The position was called Police Inspection Specialist. The title sounded impressive, but in truth it was merely a group of personnel drawn from the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau and sent to inspect and supervise the police headquarters and the various police precincts under its jurisdiction.

This was a position created by the bureau itself. On the surface, it was said to be for inspection, supervision, and urging the police to do their work, but in reality it was simply a way of sending people to the police departments to demand money and collect funds for the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau.

The Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau was one of the Nationalist Party's foremost intelligence organizations. The operating funds approved by the Ministry of National Defense had always been abundant.

But corruption was rampant throughout the Nationalist army, and the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau was no exception. No matter how much was allocated, they always cried poor and clamored day after day for more appropriations from above. After all, only a crying child gets milk.

Who would ever complain about having too much money? The Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau oversaw the nation's three major forces: the army, the police, and the gendarmerie. It was perfectly normal to shake a little money loose from the subordinate departments. If you did not take it, it would only go to waste.

Thus the so-called Police Inspection Specialist was born. Their task was to extort money on behalf of the Military Intelligence Investigation Bureau.

This was a rich post that Wei Liangbi had spent a long time securing for his old subordinate Shao Wenguang.

"What a damn 'specialist'! Running errands and shouting myself hoarse—how am I a specialist?" Shao Wenguang said dismissively, but his face was glowing with satisfaction, clearly pleased with how things had been going recently. "Zhiheng, do you know? Early this morning, there was a fierce gun battle on the streets in the northern part of Nanjing. The Central Party Affairs Investigation Section took a heavy beating."