“Miss Xie, my apologies.”

“What happened that requires Captain Wang to mobilize so many forces to barge into my humble abode? You gave me quite a fright.”

“Nothing major, just arrested a few Communists. One of them happens to be a worker from your shop. I’ve come to ask you to come with us and cooperate with the investigation.”

“Worker? Which one?”

“Miss Xie, don’t play dumb.” Captain Wang chuckled lightly. “Let’s return to headquarters to talk.” Captain Wang stepped aside, clearing a path for her. “Miss Xie, please?”

There was no escaping now—she could only go with them first. Xie Chi wound several strands of hair around her fingers. Passing by the two Japanese soldiers standing behind, she stopped and berated them in Japanese: “Is this how your superior told you to guard? You can’t even watch a door properly, letting a pack of dogs in to bite randomly.”

The two Japanese soldiers lowered their heads.

Captain Wang didn’t care whether he could understand what she was saying at the moment. No matter how much, it was all bluffing. He smiled with his hands behind his back. “Let’s go, Miss Xie.”

Surrounded front and back, Xie Chi was escorted downstairs. While getting into the car unnoticed, she threw away the hair strands wrapped around her fingers.

Because of her relationship with Fujita Kiyono, the people from the secret service headquarters had always treated her with courtesy. Xie Chi sat in the interrogation room all afternoon with pastries and coffee placed before her. She wasn’t in the mood to drink. Every so often, when the coffee grew cold, someone would replace it with a fresh cup.

Three hours earlier.

After He Feng realized something was wrong, he had Old Ji lead everyone to retreat and immediately rushed to the meeting point. Unfortunately, he arrived a step too late, hearing gunfire from afar. By the time he got there, the dead were dead, the wounded were wounded, and the captured were captured. Two of them were even familiar faces.

He Feng panicked immediately, scanning through the corpses but not finding Xie Chi, which put his mind at ease. But the exposure of Jiang Shouyue and Zhang Ya undoubtedly increased her danger. He had to notify her to evacuate Shanghai immediately. Just as he turned to leave, Fujita Kiyono called out to him. “Ryuji.”

Seeing him approach, He Feng asked calmly, “What happened?”

“Caught a few Communists.” Fujita Kiyono studied his expression carefully, observing his reactions, but couldn’t detect any guilt. “They intended to assassinate.”

He Feng understood this was just a trap, but he had to continue pretending ignorance, asking necessary trivial questions. “Are the generals alright?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent them away safely.” Fujita Kiyono looked away toward the men being loaded into cars. “Shanghai really is an invisible battlefield, enemies everywhere.”

“What about Miss Xie?”

His gaze returned to He Feng, carrying somewhat meaningful amusement. “She’s at home, though today’s banquet will probably have to be cancelled.”

He Feng raised his hand to check his watch. “You go ahead and handle things. Since it’s cancelled, I’ll head back.”

Fujita Kiyono put his arm around his shoulders. He Feng was two inches taller with broader shoulders, making this gesture uncomfortable. “I’m finished here—I can leave it to them.” Fujita Kiyono deliberately prevented him from leaving. “Let’s have a simple meal together. Surely you don’t have plans today?”

The words left no room for refusal.

He Feng was kept occupied by Fujita Kiyono until after three o’clock before he could break away. He was too far from Xie Chi’s residence and could only call her first.

If she hadn’t gone back for that photograph, she actually could have escaped.

In the evening, Zhang Ya returned with people from the operations department. Under his guidance, they raided two Communist underground contact points, brought back a radio, and captured three couriers.

The harvest was abundant. Chief Li came to see Xie Chi in high spirits. Upon entering the room, he immediately bowed deeply with gravity. “Hello, Tiandong. Your reputation precedes you.”

Xie Chi regarded him coolly. “Chief Li, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“It’s fine if you don’t understand—it’s enough that I do.” Chief Li straightened up and sat across from her, silently examining her face.

“Chief Li, staring at me like this—aren’t you afraid I’ll complain to my fiancé and have your eyes gouged out?”

Chief Li laughed despite himself. “Miss Xie, you’re being too harsh.” He looked at the pastries before Xie Chi—not one had been touched. “My poor hospitality. Please forgive me.”

“Where is Fujita Kiyono?”

“The whereabouts of Japanese people—how could small fry like us know? However, I suspect Mr. Fujita must be very busy right now.” Chief Li poured a cup of tea, shaking his head and sighing. “I did suspect your identity, but I never imagined you were the Tiandong we’ve been hunting for half a year. Recently my wife even praised your tailoring skills. For the sake of past friendship and the Japanese’s face, you should confess obediently.”

“What does Chief Li want me to confess?”

“Your superior—where is Cuckoo?”

Xie Chi was silent for a moment before answering, “In the sky.”

“In the sky?”

Xie Chi smiled. “If birds aren’t in the sky, are they in the water?”

Chief Li laughed along. “Miss Xie is witty—no wonder Mr. Fujita is so fond of you. Such a pity that today should have been your engagement banquet.”

“I want to see him.”

“Japanese people are heartless. After hearing your name, not only won’t he show his face, but he’s told us to interrogate you thoroughly.” He glanced at Xie Chi’s expression—still calm and composed. “If not for Mr. Fujita’s instructions today, our operations department couldn’t have achieved such great success. One Tiandong, one Baimu—if we could add a Cuckoo, tsk, perfect.”

Baimu was Jiang Shouyue’s code name. From this, she should not have sacrificed her life. Xie Chi raised her hand to stir the coffee before her. “My little worker said this?”

Chief Li smiled and raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t know any Tiandong or Baimu you’re talking about. I’m just a tailor, a Japanese man’s mistress.” Coffee splashed on her thumb. She picked up a cloth to wipe it and casually tossed it aside. “You have no evidence whatsoever, relying entirely on my worker’s word to frame me as a Communist. Is this how the secret service headquarters operates? What if he’s falsely accusing me out of nowhere? I’d have no recourse, would I?”

“No, no, no, Miss Xie. Sophistry is useless.” Chief Li pushed several confession letters toward Xie Chi. “They’re written in great detail—how intelligence was transmitted, contact points, what intelligence was sent out, listed meticulously. Perhaps Miss Xie should reconsider.”

Xie Chi picked them up and glanced through them. “Didn’t expect that little rascal had some capability.” She handed the confessions back to him. “So what? You’re relying on this as proof?” She crossed her arms and looked frankly across the table. “He’s an anti-Japanese element, I’m the Japanese man’s fiancée. If he finds me displeasing and genuinely wants to drag me down, he could fabricate any absurd story. I’ve neither killed anyone nor stolen intelligence. I was sitting nicely at home preparing for my engagement banquet when this dirty water was splashed on me. Chief Li, please don’t wrongfully convict me.”

…

After half an hour of sparring, Xie Chi simply refused to admit anything.

There was a listening device in the room. Fujita Kiyono had been carefully listening from nearby. When Chief Li couldn’t extract any information, he came to find him. “Mr. Fujita, she just won’t admit it.”

Fujita Kiyono tapped his fingers on the table. “Continue questioning. I want to know who else her accomplices are. If you can’t find out, you needn’t be chief anymore.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No torture allowed. Don’t harm her.”

“But she keeps denying everything stubbornly. There’s nothing we can do. As she said, apart from that Communist surnamed Zhang’s word, there’s no substantial evidence.”

Fujita Kiyono closed his eyes and pressed his brow. “When necessary, you may appropriately scare her, but don’t go overboard.”

“This humble servant is dull—how should we scare her?”

…

Snakes, insects, birds, beasts, demons and monsters—Xie Chi was afraid of almost nothing, except one thing: leeches.

Growing up in the mountains, she often encountered such creatures. At age six, while playing in the water, a leech attached to her leg. No matter how hard she pulled, she couldn’t remove it. She cried all the way to find her grandfather. After he removed it, the blood wouldn’t stop flowing. Looking at the slimy, disgusting thing her grandfather had crushed on the ground, she vomited up her entire lunch. Ever since then, she had carried this psychological shadow.

Fujita Kiyono was very aware of this. In summer, they had gone to the suburbs together for relaxation and happened to encounter two leeches. Xie Chi hid far away, not daring to look even once. He didn’t want to torture Xie Chi. Even if she admitted to being an undercover agent who had been using him all along, he would still protect her. He only wanted to learn more secrets through Xie Chi. He vaguely felt that Koike Ryuji and Cuckoo must have some connection.

There was a Mr. Huang in Shanghai who ran a small leech farm, specifically breeding them to supply pharmacies.

The things looked disgusting. Chief Li didn’t want to touch them, and seeing Fujita Kiyono’s attitude, he must still have lingering feelings. If anything went wrong, ten heads wouldn’t be enough to lose, so he handed the matter to Captain Chen. Even if something happened, it wouldn’t be his responsibility.

Xie Chi sat in the torture chair with her hands and feet bound by leather restraints. She appeared calm on the surface but was actually terrified inside.

Captain Chen held a leech with tweezers right in front of her. “Miss Xie, just confess. Save yourself the suffering. A beautiful woman like you—I can’t bear to lay a hand on you.”

Xie Chi didn’t dare look at it, only able to look at this traitorous dog’s face through it. “Nothing to confess. I told you I’m not.”

“That Zhang Ya—no, should be Zhang Haosheng—has confessed everything in detail. What are you being stubborn about?” Captain Chen sighed. “How about I give you two more minutes to think?”

Fujita Kiyono sat in the adjacent cell, able to hear their every word clearly.

Several times he wanted to rush over and tell them to stop, but thinking of the beast in her belly, he couldn’t control his fury.

Captain Chen placed the leech on Xie Chi’s arm. “Look at your tender skin. Soon these creatures will be all over you, black and slippery, crawling on your body, sucking blood.”

Xie Chi didn’t dare look at it, staring coldly at Captain Chen. “When I get out, I’ll make sure you eat this entire basin of things.”

Captain Chen chuckled. “Well, Miss Xie, I won’t hide it from you—you’re not getting out. Even if we release you here, the Japanese won’t let you go. You’ve deceived Mr. Fujita so cruelly.”

“Have someone ask him to come. I have something to say to him.”

“Still have things to say? You should know this method was his idea.” Captain Chen went to pick up another one. “Don’t look at me like that. Orders from above—you must confess, or I won’t have an easy time either. You can see, there’s a whole basin full. If that’s not enough, there’s more outside. They could cover your entire body. If there’s no room, any opening can be stuffed. Imagine these soft, disgusting things crawling through your nostrils, ears, mouth—creepy, isn’t it?” Captain Chen smiled as he placed another on her right arm. “They’re sluggish in winter. I’ll light a couple more braziers later to let them play with you slowly.”

Xie Chi saw him bringing one toward her face and involuntarily closed her eyes.

Captain Chen held his position. “Just confess.”

When there was no sound, Fujita Kiyono panicked and sent a subordinate to check. Soon the subordinate returned and whispered in his ear. Fujita Kiyono immediately stood up and ran to the next room.

He kicked Captain Chen away and saw a leech on Xie Chi’s forehead. Frantically trying to remove it, he lost his composure. The ones on her arms had already attached to her skin. Breaking out in a sweat, he struck them off.

Xie Chi looked down at his pale face. “You came.”

Fujita Kiyono never dared look directly into her eyes. Seeing the blood seeping out, he pulled out a handkerchief to press against it, shouting at those behind him: “To the hospital! Untie her! Untie her for me!”

Perhaps due to poor physical condition from pregnancy, losing some blood, being frightened, and not sleeping for a long time, Xie Chi actually fainted. When she woke up, she was lying on Fujita Kiyono’s bed.

She sat up abruptly. Apart from some faint pain and itching on her arms, she felt no discomfort elsewhere. She got up and went outside, seeing two Japanese soldiers guarding the door. “Where is Mr. Fujita?”

“The commander just left.”

Xie Chi tried to leave, but the two blocked her. “The commander said you cannot step out of this room.”

…

Fujita Kiyono personally interrogated Zhang Ya once but didn’t obtain the information he wanted. When leaving, he encountered Captain Chen, who had tortured Xie Chi that afternoon. His anger immediately flared up again. “Where are the leeches?”

“Reporting to the commander, they’re all still there.”

“Take me to see them.”

“Yes.”

Captain Chen led Fujita Kiyono over. Before he could speak, his neck was grabbed from behind, his entire face pressed down toward the basin containing leeches.

“Commander! Commander, spare my life! I was just following your instructions.”

He didn’t dare speak anymore, his face buried in the wet, writhing things, afraid they would enter his mouth if he opened it.

“I said to scare her—who told you to lay hands on her!” Fujita Kiyono released him and kicked him against the wall.

Captain Chen scrambled to his feet. Several leeches clung to his face as he frantically slapped himself. “This humble servant knows his error! Commander, spare my life!”

…

Fujita Kiyono returned home and stood at the door for a long time before mustering courage to enter the bedroom.

Xie Chi was standing by the window, gazing into the distance.

“It’s cold by the window. Don’t stand there.”

Xie Chi ignored him.

Fujita Kiyono came over and closed the window.

Xie Chi looked at him. “You knew I was most afraid of leeches, yet you used them against me.”

Fujita Kiyono wanted to avoid this matter and immediately turned the accusation on her: “You’re a Communist.”

“I’m not. He’s framing me.” Xie Chi looked at his expression and smiled lightly. “See, I say I’m not, but you don’t believe me. Is there any point in questioning? I have nothing to confess.”

Fujita Kiyono lowered his face and asked in a deep voice, “Who is Cuckoo?”

“I don’t know Cuckoo.”

“Then whose child is in your belly?”

Xie Chi’s heart skipped a beat. Fujita Kiyono suddenly grabbed her chin. “Who is that man?”

“He’s dead.”

“You want to protect him.” Fujita Kiyono applied slightly more pressure. “You know the consequences of those torture devices, don’t you? Even if you don’t die, the bastard in your belly definitely won’t survive.” He repeated his question. “Who is his father?”

Xie Chi didn’t answer.

“Tell me, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. I’ll protect you. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, no one will dare touch you.”

“He’s dead.” Xie Chi looked at him calmly. “Liu Yi, captured by the secret service headquarters last month.”

“Randomly pulling out a dead person—you really think I’m a fool.” Fujita Kiyono’s eyes reddened slightly. “After deceiving me for so long, you still want to deceive me?”

“I’ve said it. Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”

“If you won’t say, that’s fine. I’ll personally bring him before you. I can forgive you because I love you, but I won’t spare him. I will definitely make him die in front of you.” Fujita Kiyono released her. “You’ll stay here for a while. I’ll have them take good care of you.”

…