A cunning rabbit has three burrows

"Yes, yes, I was blind. I failed to recognize someone so great." Chang Jiu pleaded incessantly. "Sir, please spare my life."

Dropping his earlier flippant manner, Chen Fan held the axe and said amiably, "Even ants cling to life. I understand that you want to live."

"I can give you a chance. If there's a single question you fail to answer clearly, I'll kill you."

"Did you hear me?"

Chang Jiu dared not hesitate and nodded hastily. "Ask away, Boss Chen. I'll tell you everything I know and hold nothing back."

"Good." Twirling the little axe in his hand, Chen Fan asked slowly, "Where is Old Fire Crow's main warehouse?"

"That..." Chang Jiu began trembling at once. "Boss Chen, I really can't tell you that."

"If I do, Master Rong will kill my whole family."

Chen Fan sneered. "Your whole family? If you don't talk now, I'll make sure there isn't even a whole corpse left of you."

Chang Jiu shook even harder at those words.

"My patience has its limits." Chen Fan stood up, the axe in his right hand gleaming coldly beneath the light.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Chang Jiu broke down at once, his voice thick with tears. "It's, it's on Foch Road..."

Chen Fan had no intention of letting him off so easily. "Where on Foch Road?"

Chang Jiu gritted his teeth. Once that psychological barrier broke, he no longer had any scruples.

"Datong Warehouse, on Foch Road. On the surface, it stores charcoal and fuel."

"There's a large warehouse underneath, specifically for goods supplied by the Brits and the French."

"Yue Zheng guards the place. He's the older brother of Master Rong's mistress, Yue Jialing."

"He's always been in charge of the warehouse."

"Boss Chen, everything I've said is true. Please let me go."

Chen Fan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Where is Old Fire Crow?"

Chang Jiu shook his head. "Master Rong doesn't trust other people. He has lots of houses. I have no idea where he'll stay tonight."

"But I can guarantee that Yue Zheng knows."

"Master Rong just went to the Nanjing Grand Theatre yesterday. He's sure to have Yue Jialing keep him company today."

Chen Fan nodded slowly. "Very good. So far, I haven't caught you lying, so your life is safe for now."

"Next, let's get down to some real business."

Chen Fan handed Chang Jiu the axe. "Take it. Your brother has lost a lot of blood."

"He looks like he's in such pain. Show him some kindness and don't let him suffer any longer."

At those words, Chang Jiu's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Chen Fan watched him coldly.

Their ancestors had mastered this business of dragging people into the fold many years ago...

The most important thing when forcing people into outlawry was to make sure nobody's hands were clean.

Chang Jiu selling information wasn't anything particularly serious. He could explain it away by saying he had been forced.

But killing one of his own wasn't something he could escape with a few words.

"Take it!" Chen Fan barked.

Chang Jiu instinctively took the axe Chen Fan held out. At that moment,

the man on the floor, who had been shot in the left leg, saw Chang Jiu approaching step by step with the little axe and desperately dragged himself backward.

He kept begging for mercy. "Brother Jiu, we're brothers! We only just ate together yesterday!"

Chang Jiu approached step by step, his right hand tightening around the handle, his body shaking violently, but he still didn't dare strike.

Chen Fan's voice came from behind him. "Brother Jiu, was it? Don't put on some show of brotherly devotion for me."

"On the count of three. Either you die or he does. Three..."

Chang Jiu gritted his teeth. "Brother, I owe you in this life. I'll repay you in the next."

"I'm sorry. Your big brother will personally send you on your way."

With that, he abruptly raised the axe and hacked viciously at the man on the floor several times.

He struck so brutally that even Chen Fan could barely bear to watch. This was no brother of his-he might as well have been the man who killed his father...

Chen Fan clapped his hands. "A wise man knows which way the wind blows. Brother Jiu, you really are a smart man."

All the strength seemed to drain from Chang Jiu's body, and he slumped helplessly to the floor.

Chen Fan waved a hand, making the uninjured men among them go through the same choice as Chang Jiu.

These men were all desperate outlaws. They had no loyalty to speak of, but they were very useful to Long Si.

Long Si's Four Seas Gang had long since vanished. He needed some men as his foundation, to help him seize back the Four Seas Gang's territory.

But whether they were Brother Bao's men or Cao Bin's men, they already had bosses. Long Si could only borrow them, not keep using them forever.

Extraordinary times naturally called for extraordinary measures. If problems emerged later, he could deal with them then. At least for now, he could put this trash to use.

The screams gradually subsided. Now it was time for the Cleaners squad under Ma Xiaotian to get to work.

They brought in the body bags and handcarts they had prepared earlier. In just fifteen minutes, the group loaded all the bodies onto the carts and hauled them away.

Having witnessed it all, Chang Jiu's face had gone numb.

Chen Fan crouched and patted Chang Jiu on the shoulder. "Brother Jiu, sorry to trouble you with one more thing. Take me to the main warehouse."

"All right..."

Chang Jiu agreed without even thinking, because he seemed to have lost any choice about where he stood.

The best outcome would be for Chen Fan to spare his life once this was over.

He would immediately flee with his family. He definitely couldn't stay in Shanghai anymore.

In the French Concession, not far from Foch Road, lay Shanghai's famous Ferguson Road.

They weren't far apart, yet they were two different worlds.

Ferguson Road was home to all sorts of business magnates, political leaders, collaborationist scum, and traitors...

Foch Road, however, was a far cry from that...

This road lay at the western end of the French Concession. The farther west it went, the quieter it became. Past the corner of Route Ratard, even the streetlights grew sparse, leaving only a few crooked utility poles by the roadside...

The warehouse stood at the end of the road, a solitary three-story building with two tightly shut black-painted wooden doors. A faded wooden sign hung above them, bearing the words "Datong Warehouse."

Several stacks of bamboo charcoal baskets stood by the entrance. From outside, it looked like the most ordinary charcoal business imaginable, selling charcoal by day and lying silent at night, without even a watchdog.

Chang Jiu stopped at the entrance and swallowed hard as he looked at the dark mass of people behind him.

"Boss Chen, I've done everything for you. Can I leave now?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "Brother Jiu, see your good deed through to the end. You've come this far and done all the bowing and scraping. What's one last push?"

"Take us inside."

Chang Jiu's face was deathly pale. "Boss Chen, if Yue Zheng sees me, I'm dead."

Chen Fan chuckled. "Don't worry. You won't die."

"Besides, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. Take us inside."

"Do you understand?"

Something in Chen Fan's expression made Chang Jiu shudder. He gritted his teeth. "Boss Chen, use the back door."

"There are hidden sentries at the front. Leave some men here to keep watch. If anything happens at the main warehouse, Yue Zheng is sure to run."

"There's a secret passage in the warehouse. Only he knows where it is."

Chen Fan smiled knowingly. "That's more like it."