Wrapping Up, Old Chen's Warning

After walking out the gates of the Special Higher Police, Shen Yan stretched and let out a long breath.

He waved down a rickshaw and gave the address of Old Chen's house. The puller grinned, lowered his head, and started jogging.

It wasn't a short trip, making it a decent fare. If the customer was happy, he might even get a tip. Today he could take an extra pound of cornmeal home.

Half an hour later, the rickshaw came to a smooth stop outside Old Chen's house. The puller made sure it was steady, then wiped the sweat from his face with the towel around his neck.

"Sir, we're here."

Shen Yan got out and glanced at the puller's ingratiating smile.

"Clink!"

Shen Yan flicked a shining silver dollar into the air, and it landed squarely in the puller's hand.

"That was a smooth ride. Keep the change."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

The puller was overjoyed. Today he could buy some offal for the little debt collectors at home, and the whole family could have a taste of meat!

Shen Yan waved the profusely grateful puller away and stepped into the courtyard.

At a glance, he spotted the tiny figure clutching a bamboo broom half again as tall as she was. Standing on tiptoe and leaning sideways, she laboriously swept the fallen leaves in the corner of the courtyard, one stroke at a time. Her little brows were slightly furrowed, and her earnestness was adorable.

"Zhaodi."

He called her softly.

The little girl jerked her head up, her round eyes lighting up as her face broke into a smile.

"Ah! Godfather!"

She immediately dropped the broom and came pattering over on her short little legs. Like a fledgling returning to its nest, she plunged into Shen Yan's arms, hugged his waist tightly, and rubbed her little head against his coat.

Shen Yan reached down and scooped her soft little body securely into his arms. He hefted her, and a gentle smile rose unbidden to his lips.

"You've gotten so much heavier? Is your grandpa raising you like a little piglet?"

Zhaodi puffed out her cheeks, looking like an indignant little steamed bun. She lightly thumped his shoulder with her little hand. "You're mean, Godfather! All you do is bully me! When Grandpa gets back, I'll make him whip you!"

"All right, all right, Godfather was wrong. Let me make it up to my little girl."

Shen Yan chuckled as he coaxed her, pulling a bright red, glossy skewer of candied hawthorns from behind his back with his other hand, as if by magic. He held it out in front of her.

"A gift to make amends. Want it?"

Zhaodi's eyes instantly sparkled like stars. She reached out at once and took the candied hawthorns in her little hands, her eyes curving with delight as her earlier sulk vanished.

Looking at the little girl's contented, joyful smile, the viciousness he had accumulated during his month at the special training camp, the ruthlessness he had put on, and his tightly wound nerves all began to melt away, until they disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, a Special Higher Police military truck arrived at the mass grave east of the city.

Two masked Japanese military policemen climbed out of the cab, opened the tailgate, and threw the corpses out of the truck bed one after another.

Then they drove away without stopping.

A few minutes later, a pack of fat, sturdy wild dogs gathered around, looking at the fresh dinner on the ground.

After eating so many corpses, their eyes were bloodred and white foam dribbled from their mouths.

Before they could start eating, several men charged over, brandishing thick wooden clubs.

"Get out! We'll beat you to death if you don't!"

The wild dogs didn't panic or linger. Food was plentiful here, and there was no need to risk their lives.

The men used a flatbed cart to haul the ten corpses to a dilapidated house that had half collapsed.

With trembling hands, Qian Bin took out the little red bottle Shen Yan had given him and poured a little into the mouth of each stiff comrade. Then he waited anxiously.

Time ticked by, and just as everyone was beginning to despair, a faint cough reached their ears.

Then came a second, and a third...

"It worked! They're alive! All of them are alive!"

The bearded underground Party member slowly opened his eyes. As his gaze focused, he saw Qian Bin looking at him with reddened eyes.

"...Old Qian? You sacrificed yourself too?"

"Bah! You old bastard, can't you wish me well?"

Qian Bin cursed him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"We... didn't die? What happened? I remember we were all at the Special Higher Police, beaten to death by a beast who spoke Chinese and worked for the Japanese devils!"

Qian Bin hurriedly covered the bearded man's mouth. The man had just saved them, and now he was cursing him to his face. That was too ungrateful.

"Because of organizational discipline, I can't tell you the details of what really happened. What I can tell you is that you've all been saved, and the man who saved you was Shanghai's famous Scavenger. The organization has already arranged an evacuation route. All of you are to return to the base area to work. Until you receive further instructions, you must not return to Shanghai! This is also for the Scavenger's safety! Now, take off everything you're wearing and change into the clothes I brought."

Everyone nodded in understanding. After changing clothes, they quietly left under the guidance of a local comrade.

As the sky darkened, a figure dressed entirely in black, with black cloth covering his face, appeared at the mass grave like a ghost.

Qian Bin cautiously went up to him. "Sir, are you here to pay your respects?"

"No, I'm here for the funeral feast."

Qian Bin nodded, at a loss for words. "Your code phrase really is... distinctive, Mr. Scavenger..."

Shen Yan shrugged indifferently. "As long as it works. I can't stay long. I left ten corpses where the Japanese devils unloaded the truck. They're all agents I killed. Have your people dress them in your comrades' clothes and smear some honey on their faces."

Taking the jar of honey Shen Yan handed him, Qian Bin was deeply impressed. "Mr. Scavenger, your work is truly flawless! I admire you!"

"If I weren't careful enough, I don't know how many times I'd have died! All right, save the pleasantries for later. I'm off!"

With that, he turned, made a few nimble leaps, and vanished into the night.

"The man truly is extraordinary!"

Qian Bin exclaimed.

After hurrying back, Shen Yan found a corner, changed into his usual clothes, and pushed the gate open to enter the courtyard.

Old Chen was sitting in a bamboo chair beside the square table, puffing on his tobacco pipe. The embers in the bowl glowed and faded. Hearing footsteps, he didn't even look up, merely knocking the pipe bowl hard as he spoke in a tone of gloomy reproach.

"So you finally remembered to come back? For a whole month, there was no sign of you alive or dead. You finally come back, and you're already running around late at night. Looks to me like the Japanese have made you wild!"

Shen Yan patted Zhaodi, who was worried too, and sent her to play nearby. Only then did he turn around. Seeing the extra strands of white at Old Chen's temples, he felt warmth in his heart, though his smile was somewhat apologetic.

"Godfather, didn't I come back safe and sound? There were some things I couldn't get out of."

Old Chen looked up and glared at him, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relaxed a little. "From the day I met you, I knew you'd do great things someday. But... I'm already an old man. I don't know when I'll close my eyes for good. Next time you go walking on a knife's edge, spare a few more thoughts for Zhaodi. If something really happens to you, who are Zhaodi and I supposed to rely on?"

Every word was a complaint, but all that lay in those clouded old eyes was worry he couldn't hide.

Shen Yan was silent for a moment. Then he stepped forward, took a neat stack of fabi notes from inside his coat, and gently set it on the table, pushing it toward Old Chen.

"Godfather, this is the reward the bureau gave me for completing my mission. Five hundred fabi. Please take it."

Old Chen glanced at it, his pipe pausing. "Keep it for yourself. When you're out in the world, you can't get anywhere without money on you."

"I have enough." Shen Yan shook his head and took a small oilcloth bundle from his inner pocket. He unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing ten neatly stacked small gold bars that glimmered faintly. "These are what I quietly pocketed the last time we seized opium. They're for you too."

Old Chen's eyes narrowed sharply, and the pipe in his hand froze in midair.

Ten small gold bars were enough to buy an entire respectable courtyard house here in Shanghai.

He looked up at Shen Yan, his lips moving. After a long while, he finally forced out, "You... what are you doing? Putting your affairs in order?! Did you get into trouble out there, boy?"

Shen Yan pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone calm but utterly serious:

"Godfather, what are you thinking? Put hair on your son and he'd be cleverer than a monkey! The person who could force me to put my affairs in order hasn't been born yet! I just think this courtyard is too old and too remote. It's chaotic and unsafe. Zhaodi's growing up, and she ought to have a bright, secure place to live. I want to use this money to buy a new house in the city. It'll be spacious and clean, and close to the police station. Then you and Zhaodi can live in peace."

Old Chen stared at him for a long time without speaking.

Tobacco smoke curled around his face, hiding the emotions churning in his eyes. He wanted to scold him for being reckless and wasting money, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn't bring himself to say them.

He knew the boy before him wasn't giving him money.

He was giving him a home.

In the end, Old Chen merely let out a heavy sigh and rapped the pipe bowl hard against the corner of the table. His voice was hoarse, but there was no longer any trace of reproach in it:

"You, honestly... You've been a handful ever since I met you. Go on, keep stirring things up. Let's see how high a little sparrow like you can fly!"

He paused, then reached out and drew the bundle of gold bars and the fabi over to his side. His movements were rough, but they concealed a tenderness he had never voiced in his life.

"If you want to buy it, then buy it. It's up to you."

"But you remember this-"

Old Chen looked up, his gaze sharp as a blade, yet so soft it made the heart ache:

"I'll look after the money for you, keep watch over the house, and raise the girl for you.

"But that life of yours, you'd better keep it safe for me.

"If you're gone, it won't matter how big or new the house is."

Shen Yan looked at the old man before him, so tough in words yet soft at heart. His eyes warmed, and he nodded gently.

"I'll remember, Godfather."