Before long, Jiang Cheng and the Fatty were riding in the same two rickshaws they'd taken earlier. Jiang Cheng sat smiling contentedly in the back seat.
The Fatty, however, was thinking how close they'd come. It seemed the Japanese had noticed something was off, which was why they'd gone to check the teahouse entrance. If the two of them hadn't come out when they did, those men might have found a way to get inside and investigate.
Instead of going straight back to Su Manor, they got off near the Luo Man Hotel. Jiang Cheng paid the rickshaw pullers the agreed fare without shortchanging them, looking quite satisfied.
The two pullers saw the money and smiled for the first time in ages. But the more the Fatty looked at them, the more uneasy he felt. They didn't seem happy at all; they looked like they were seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it.
The two walked slowly along the street. From the traces around them, they could make out faint signs of the Luo Man Hotel's former bustle and splendor. But now that he knew its prosperity had been built on the suffering of so many people, the Fatty felt sick.
Gradually, they spotted a few familiar faces along the street as the various groups rejoined them.
He Ping and Ding Zhenzong arrived first, stepping off an old-fashioned tram. Then Luo Tianhe, Yuan Shanyuan, and Bai Yu showed up. Not long after, Yao Shunyu, Lin Qianqian, and Li Bai appeared as well.
Everyone gathered together and began sharing the information they'd found.
"Hold on." He Ping scanned the group, then looked up and asked, "Where are Zhang Shiwei and Li Shanru? What happened to them?"
"They said they were going to keep watch near Su Manor," Li Bai