The Raid Comes Up Empty

The wind at Yangshupu Wharf smelled of fish, leaving a sticky film over everyone. Li Bingkun stood on the roof of a building across from the warehouse, watching the team below prepare to move. He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it-it was four in the morning, when people slept most soundly.

His two most capable action team captains stood behind him, one holding a submachine gun, the other carrying a crowbar. None of the three spoke as they waited.

"Where are Zhou Guoliang and Wu Dabiao?" Li Bingkun asked.

"Still laid up in the hospital," said the one holding the submachine gun. "Those Japanese men under Shen Yan were vicious. They broke two ribs and left their backs covered in whip marks. The doctor said they'd be bedridden for at least a month."

Li Bingkun made no reply. He snapped his pocket watch shut and slipped it into his pocket.

"Move."

Three trucks burst out of the alley, their headlights blazing through the darkness. Men leaped out before the trucks had even stopped. Seventy or eighty men in black Zhongshan suits leveled their guns and surrounded the warehouse, leaving no way out. A crowbar went into the gap between the iron doors. One heave broke the chain, and the doors swung open.

"Go!"

The men poured inside.

"Nobody move! Put your..."

The warehouse was empty. There was nothing in it. The floor was spotless, without so much as a scrap of paper left behind.

Several rectangular patches of dust lay against the wall, marks left by wooden crates that had stood there for a long time. The dust had dried, its edges curling up slightly and crumbling at a touch.

Li Bingkun stood in the middle of the warehouse, looking at the dusty marks, his expression shifting between light and shadow under the searchlight. He crouched and touched the dust on the floor. It was completely dry. The crates hadn't been moved today; they had been gone for at least two or three days.

"Chief, we found a cellar in the back. There were signs someone had been living there, but it was empty too."

"Bring the man who was keeping watch over here!"

Five minutes later, a man dressed entirely in black was brought before Li Bingkun.

"Where are they?!"

Li Bingkun couldn't keep the anger out of his voice.

"Chief Li... I kept watch the whole time. I didn't dare let my guard down for a moment!"

"So you're saying the dozen or so living, breathing people at this site sprouted wings and flew away while you were watching them so closely?!"

Li Bingkun was so angry he almost laughed.

Just then, a team member who had been out making inquiries returned and quietly reported in Li Bingkun's ear.

"Chief, the people at the wharf said a boat docked in the middle of the night three days ago. It loaded and unloaded some cargo, then left before dawn. The brothers watching the wharf didn't see anyone board apart from a few workers unloading cargo, so they paid it no mind."

Li Bingkun stood up and brushed the dust from his knees. His face was expressionless, but his gray eyes were cold as ice.

"Let's go."

He walked out of the warehouse and climbed into a car, slamming the door hard behind him. There were no lights on inside, and in the darkness, only the red tip of a cigarette glowed on and off.

No one spoke on the drive back to No. 76.

That morning, in the Special Higher Police conference room.

Kuroiwa Masao sat at the head of the table, the operation report Li Bingkun had written overnight spread out before him. Shen Yan sat in a corner with a report open in front of him too-it was a record of patrol inspections in his jurisdiction, entirely unrelated to the matter in Yangshupu.

Li Bingkun stood at the front, his voice strained.

"Section chief, the operation came up empty. The people at the supply point withdrew three days ago, and everything was cleared out."

Kuroiwa kept his head down, leafing through the report. "What did your informant say?"

"The informant said the supply point was still operating normally a week ago. Trucks were coming and going, and people were moving supplies. Three days ago, everything suddenly stopped, and the people disappeared."

"Three days ago," Kuroiwa repeated. He raised his head and looked at Li Bingkun. "Your men didn't notice anything unusual three days ago?"

Li Bingkun's Adam's apple bobbed. "The informant couldn't get inside every day. The supply point was well hidden, with concealed sentries around it. Our people could only watch from a distance."

"Watch from a distance." Kuroiwa closed the report and put it on the table. His voice was quiet, but every word struck like a nail.

"Your report says you set up at least three observation posts to monitor all activity on land and sea from different angles. Military police were guarding every road in and out of the wharf. But now the people are gone, vanished right under your noses! Should I book an eye examination at the military hospital for everyone in No. 76?!"

Kuroiwa slammed a hand on the table, making the lid of a teacup jump.

Li Bingkun lowered his head and said nothing.

Kuroiwa took a deep breath, doing his utmost to suppress his anger. He turned and saw the calm Shen Yan beside him.

"Captain Shen, you have a quick mind. Tell us what you think."

As he spoke, he handed him the operation report from the table.

Li Bingkun opened his mouth, seemingly reluctant to accept it, but in the end he said nothing.

It might be just as well to let Shen Yan have a look. If he couldn't find anything either, Li Bingkun wouldn't seem quite so incompetent.

Shen Yan stood up, accepted the report with both hands, and began reading it carefully, sentence by sentence. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he turned the pages at an unhurried pace, as though leafing through a casual book that had nothing to do with him. Li Bingkun stood there, staring at his face, hoping to read something in his expression.

After a long while, Shen Yan's eyes lit up. He placed the report in front of Kuroiwa and pointed to a line.

Kuroiwa leaned over, looked at it for a few seconds, and raised his head.

"You're saying the problem was with that boat?"

Kuroiwa looked thoughtful, but Li Bingkun, standing beside him, bristled.

"Impossible! My brothers were watching closely. No one boarded except a few cargo handlers!"

Shen Yan shot Li Bingkun a sidelong glance, as if he were looking at an idiot.

"Chief Li, the report says those handlers carried several wooden crates off the boat and into the warehouse, then carried several crates from the warehouse onto the boat. They went back and forth several times?"

"That's right. It was no different from any other cargo boat. What's the problem?"

Shen Yan shook his head and explained patiently, though his tone was that of someone teaching kindergarten children.

"First, the timing was wrong. How often have you seen a cargo boat loading and unloading in the middle of the night, Chief Li? What would be the point? Is it so dark they can't see the gangplank and can drop the cargo in the water?!"

"Perhaps... perhaps the owner urgently needed the goods, so they loaded and transported them overnight."

Li Bingkun thrust out his neck as he argued.

Shen Yan glanced at Kuroiwa, his eyes helpless, as though saying, This is the subordinate you chose?

"All right."

Shen Yan continued his explanation, as though indulging a willful youngster.

"Even if you're right, Chief Li, the people are gone now. Haven't you given any careful thought to whether the crates had to contain goods?"

At that, both Kuroiwa and Li Bingkun fell silent.

What was left to misunderstand? The Military Statistics Bureau people had climbed into the wooden crates and been carried onto the boat, trip after trip, under all those watchful eyes, then taken away...

After finishing his explanation, Shen Yan calmly stepped back and returned to his seat without another word.

Kuroiwa looked at Shen Yan's calm face, his satisfaction almost overflowing. When he turned back to Li Bingkun, his frustration at the man's failure was all but written across his face.

Kuroiwa took out a cigarette and lit it. He drew on it and slowly exhaled. "Chief Li, who did you give the intelligence about this supply point to?"

Li Bingkun raised his head, momentarily taken aback. "No one. Only you, me, a few senior officials at No. 76, and two action team captains knew. The informant contacted me directly and no one else. Even those two captains knew nothing about the informant."

"You're certain?"

"Certain."

Kuroiwa flicked the ash from his cigarette, his voice mild. "That's strange, then. If your intelligence wasn't leaked, how did the other side clear out the supply point three days in advance? Did they calculate the date themselves and leave you three days to clean the place up?"

The conference room fell silent. Li Bingkun stood there, his face pale.

Shen Yan sat in the corner with his head down, leafing through his patrol records as though he hadn't heard a thing.

Kuroiwa looked at Li Bingkun. "Keep following up on the supply point. Stop using the informant. Arrest and isolate the informant for interrogation, along with everyone who took part in the operation. Find the source of the leak within a month."

Li Bingkun lowered his head. "Yes, sir."

Kuroiwa waved a hand. Li Bingkun turned and headed out. As he reached the door, Kuroiwa's voice came from behind him, utterly devoid of warmth.

"Chief Li, I hope you'll put more thought into your work and spend less time driving out those who disagree with you and envying those more talented than you. If something like this happens again, I'll reconsider whether there's any need for No. 76 to exist!"

Li Bingkun shuddered, turned and saluted, then fled.

Only Kuroiwa and Shen Yan were left in the conference room.

"Shen Yan, do you think the person who leaked the information was one of Li Bingkun's men?"

Shen Yan stood. "Section chief, I don't know the details of the supply point, so I wouldn't dare make a rash judgment. But by ordinary reasoning, if the leak came from his team, the other side wouldn't have withdrawn three days in advance, but three hours. Withdrawing three days early suggests the leak came from the decision-making level, not the execution level. Fewer people knew the date of the operation than knew the supply point's location."

Kuroiwa turned and looked at him. "You mean there's nothing wrong with Li Bingkun's own men, and the problem is higher up?"

Shen Yan lowered his head. "It's only speculation. I have no evidence."

The corner of Kuroiwa's mouth twitched.

"You may go."

Shen Yan saluted, turned, and walked out.

That afternoon, Shen Yan left work early. Fang Yuan parked the car at the entrance to the lane, and Shen Yan got out and walked into the alley.

The alley was quiet. The minimap was clear, without a single yellow dot.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, and Big Yellow darted out of his kennel, wagging his tail and circling Shen Yan's feet. Shen Yan crouched and patted him on the head.

"Godfather!" Nian'an ran out of the house and plunged into his arms.

Shen Yan picked her up and hefted her. "How come you feel heavier every time I come home and pick you up?"

"No!" Nian'an wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "Grandpa said I'd gotten thinner."

"Your grandpa was just saying that to make you happy."

Old Chen came out of the house carrying a cup of tea and glanced at him. "You're home early today?"

"Mm. I'm taking Nian'an for a look around the City God Temple."

Nian'an slid down from his arms and looked up at him, her eyes bright. "Really?"

"Really. Go change your clothes."

Nian'an turned and ran into the house. Old Chen sat down by the stone table and took a sip of tea.

"A new tangyuan shop opened at the City God Temple. I hear it's good. I'll take Nian'an to try it. Would you like to come along and see the sights?"

"No. I finally got half a day off. A little nap beats anything else."

Nian'an ran out of the house in a clean set of clothes, her hair tied into two little braids that stuck out on either side. She took Shen Yan's hand and looked up at him.

"Godfather, let's go!"

Shen Yan stood and led her out by the hand. Big Yellow followed behind, wagging his tail, but Old Chen called him back.

"Big Yellow, don't go. Guard the house."

Big Yellow sat at the gate, watching them walk away, and whined twice.

The bustle at the City God Temple was different from elsewhere. Elsewhere, life was suppressed beneath a deathly stillness; at the City God Temple, deathly stillness was suppressed beneath the life. The people were the same, the stalls were the same, but everyone kept their voices a little lower, not daring to laugh out loud, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Nian'an paid no attention to any of that. Holding Shen Yan's hand, she darted through the crowd, looking at sugar figurines one moment and dough figurines the next, then crouching in front of a goldfish stall and refusing to leave.

"Godfather, this one's pretty!" She pointed at a red-and-white goldfish, her eyes sparkling.

"Even if we buy it, you can't take it home. Big Yellow would eat it."

Nian'an pouted, stood up, and took his hand again, pulling him along.

The new tangyuan shop stood beside the Nine-Turn Bridge. It was small, with only a few tables, all full of people. Shen Yan found a table by the window and sat down. Nian'an sat beside him, her legs too short to reach the floor, swinging them back and forth.

They had two bowls of tangyuan, one with black sesame filling and one with peanut. Nian'an ate the black sesame ones. She took a bite, and the filling ran out, smearing her mouth. She wiped it with her sleeve and took another bite.

"Godfather, it's delicious!"

Shen Yan picked a peanut tangyuan from his bowl and gave it to her. "Try this one."

Nian'an took a bite and chewed twice, then frowned. "It's not good. The black sesame ones are better."

Shen Yan laughed and took back the rest of her peanut tangyuan.

Outside the window, people came and went across the Nine-Turn Bridge. A middle-aged man in a long gown stood in the middle of the bridge, holding up a skewer of tanghulu. A child sat on his shoulders, reaching for it. Unable to reach, the child anxiously slapped his head. The man laughed and lifted it a little higher. The child finally reached it and giggled.

Shen Yan watched them and took a sip of the soup in his bowl. The soup was sweet and warm. It flowed down his throat, leaving a thread of warmth in his chest.

Nian'an finished her tangyuan and pushed her bowl over. "Godfather, I want some more."

"No more. You won't be able to sleep tonight."

Nian'an pouted, but she didn't make a fuss. She leaned on the windowsill and watched the people on the Nine-Turn Bridge.

"Godfather, that child is riding on his daddy's shoulders. Did I ever ride on your shoulders when I was little?"

Shen Yan was taken aback. "No. By the time you came to me, you were already too big for me to carry you like that."

Nian'an thought for a moment. "Then crouch down and let me ride for a bit."

Shen Yan laughed. "Ride Big Yellow when we get home."

Nian'an wrinkled her nose. "Big Yellow's too small. He flops down as soon as I get on."

Shen Yan smiled and patted her head. Nian'an leaned against his arm, looking out at the Nine-Turn Bridge, and suddenly said, "Godfather, does that child have a mommy? I saw a woman next to his daddy, holding the child's leg the whole time."

Shen Yan followed her gaze. A woman in a qipao stood beside the child's father, one hand supporting the child's leg and the other linked through the man's arm. The three of them walked slowly across the Nine-Turn Bridge. The child sat on his father's shoulders, holding up the tanghulu and laughing loudly.

"Yes," Shen Yan said. "That's her mother."

Nian'an said nothing. She leaned on the windowsill and watched the family of three cross the bridge and turn into an alley, disappearing from sight.

Shen Yan didn't look at her. He picked up his bowl and finished the soup.

By the time they left the City God Temple, it was dark. Nian'an was tired from walking and lay on Shen Yan's back, her head resting on his shoulder. Her breathing gradually grew even.

Nian'an stirred on his back and murmured sleepily, "Godfather, I was happy today."

Shen Yan said nothing and hitched her higher.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, and Big Yellow darted out of his kennel, wagging his tail and circling Shen Yan's feet, but he didn't bark-as if he knew the person on Shen Yan's back was asleep. Shen Yan crouched and let Nian'an slide down to the ground. Rubbing her eyes, Nian'an walked sleepily toward the house.

"Grandpa, I'm home."

Old Chen came out of the house and glanced at Shen Yan. Without a word, he led Nian'an inside.

Shen Yan stood in the courtyard and lit a cigarette. Moonlight shone on the top of the wall, on the half-dead jujube tree, and on Big Yellow. Big Yellow lay at his feet, his tail swaying back and forth.

Fang Yuan came in through the gate and lowered his voice.

"Captain, word came from the Military Statistics Bureau. They said the people at the supply point have withdrawn safely, and everything has been moved out. They asked me to pass along their thanks."

Shen Yan took a drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. "I see."

Fang Yuan stood there for a while, then hesitated. "Captain, there's one more thing. After Li Bingkun went back, he investigated all day but couldn't find the person who leaked the information. Someone under him is saying that only he and the two action team captains knew about the supply point, so a leak was impossible. They suspect someone heard about it elsewhere and stabbed them in the back."

Shen Yan flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Let them suspect."

Fang Yuan nodded, turned, and left.

Shen Yan stood in the courtyard and finished his cigarette. He stubbed it out against the wall and threw the butt into the trash.

He walked into the main room. Old Chen sat at the table drinking tea, and Nian'an was already asleep.

"Godfather, get to bed early."

Old Chen nodded without asking anything.

Shen Yan turned and went into his own room, closing the door. He lay on the bed and closed his eyes. As for what had happened in Yangshupu, Li Bingkun couldn't find the person who had leaked the information. He couldn't find them because his own men were clean, while everyone else under suspicion was his superior. Investigating them would be asking for death!

What was more, he would never, under any circumstances, know that the one who had leaked the information was himself.