Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Yang Song quickly followed, and the two walked out of the side hall one after the other.

Gu Cheng mounted his horse and was about to ride away when he heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats behind him.

Zhang Tingshu reined in his horse, dismounted, and strode over to him.

"Jingchuan, we've searched all the suspicious locations in the north of the city, but there's no trace of Haruhiko Yumi, nor have we found Miss Wang." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "However, the brothers intercepted a suspicious carriage at the city gate. There was no one inside, but there was blood on it."

Gu Cheng's gaze darkened: "Whose car is this?"

"I don't know, the driver ran away, we couldn't catch him."

Gu Cheng remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a cold laugh... It really was them.

"No need to search anymore." He handed the reins to Yang Song, who had followed closely behind. "Go back and wait for Kikuchi's news."

Zhang Tingshu was taken aback, then quickly mounted his horse and followed: "Wait for Kikuchi? Jingchuan, do you trust that old Japanese devil?"

"I don't believe it." Gu Cheng's voice was as cold as ice. "But he wants to find Haruka Yumi even more than we do."

The two returned to the brigade headquarters one after the other.

In the side hall, Jiang Yingrong had already bandaged her leg injury and was sitting in a chair, lost in thought.

When Gu Cheng came in, she stood up abruptly. Her eyes were still red, but she was no longer as out of control as she had been when she first arrived at the brigade headquarters.

"Jingchuan, have you found him?"

Gu Cheng shook his head, about to speak, when Yang Song's voice came from outside the door: "Mr. Gu, Mr. Kikuchi has arrived and is at the door."

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow; they'd arrived quickly. He strode out of the side hall, followed closely by Jiang Yingrong and Zhang Tingshu.

Kikuchi stood at the bottom of the steps at the entrance of the brigade, still wearing a dark gray suit and with a humble smile, as if nothing had happened.

Upon seeing Gu Cheng emerge, he bowed slightly and said in a steady voice, "Commander Gu, Kikuchi has already made contact with Harukami Hiromi."

Gu Cheng stared at him without saying a word.

Kikuchi took a slip of paper from his briefcase and handed it to Gu Cheng with both hands: "These are her conditions—release Kono Ichiro and the other four South Manchuria Railway personnel and let them leave Jinzhou safely. Otherwise, she cannot guarantee Miss Wang's safety."

Gu Cheng took the note, glanced at it, and saw that the handwriting was messy and it was written in Japanese, with the gist of what Kikuchi had said.

He folded the note, put it in his pocket, and looked up at Kikuchi.

Where is she?

Kikuchi shook his head: "Kikuchi doesn't know. She passed the message through an intermediary and didn't reveal her location."

Gu Cheng sneered, "Then what are you doing here? Here to relay her message?"

Kikuchi's smile remained unchanged as she gave a slight bow: "Kikuchi is here to help Commander Gu. Harukami Hiromi is now desperate; she only has Miss Wang as a trump card. If Commander Gu agrees to her conditions, she might release her; if—"

"What if I don't agree?" Gu Cheng interrupted him.

Kikuchi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Then Kikuchi doesn't know."

At the entrance to the side hall, Jiang Yingrong bit her lip, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Zhang Tingxu clenched his fists, his face turning ashen.

Gu Cheng stood on the steps, the night wind blowing the hem of his clothes, and the moonlight casting a long shadow of him.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that Kikuchi thought he was about to get angry, and so long that Jiang Yingrong couldn't help but speak up.

"Mr. Kikuchi," Gu Cheng finally spoke, his voice as calm as still water, "Go back and tell Haruka Hiromi—I've released Kono Ichiro and the other three. But she must personally bring them back. Hand them over, release them."

Kikuchi paused for a moment, then bowed: "Commander Gu is very wise and righteous. I admire him. I will go and deliver the message now."

As he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps in the distance.

A patrolling soldier came running up, panting, saluted, and exclaimed with barely concealed excitement, "Master Gu! Miss Wang is back! She ran back herself!"

Everyone was stunned.

Gu Cheng turned his head abruptly, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Where?"

"The housekeeper has already come to the front yard to greet you, Miss Jiang. You—"

Before she finished speaking, Jiang Yingrong had already rushed out.

Gu Cheng followed closely behind, running briskly towards the front yard.

As soon as the two ran out of the hanging flower gate, they saw the steward leading two maids, one on each side, supporting Wang Yuyou as they walked towards them.

The girl was covered in dirt, her expensive Suzhou embroidered cheongsam had several tears at the hem, the fabric at her knees was worn out, revealing bruises, and her face was also scraped, with bloodstains mixed with dirt.

Despite her disheveled state, her eyes remained clear. She didn't cry or panic; she was just somewhat dazed, clearly not yet fully recovered from the shock.

Jiang Yingrong had already rushed over.

She hugged Wang Yuyou tightly, tears streaming down her face. Her lips trembled for a long time before she managed to squeeze out a complete sentence: "You...you scared me to death! How could you run away alone? How could you—"

Wang Yuyou was a little breathless from being hugged so tightly, but she didn't push her away. She just raised her hand and gently patted her back, her hoarse voice carrying the calm of someone who had survived a disaster: "Sister Rong, it's okay, don't cry."

Jiang Yingrong cried even harder, burying her face in her shoulder, her tears soaking her tattered collar.

Wang Yuyou stood there, one arm around her waist and the other gently patting her back, as if comforting a frightened child.

Her own legs and hands were trembling, but she didn't utter a sound.

The two maids stood to the side, one squatting on the ground crying, the other leaning against the wall panting. They were both terrified, but seeing their young mistress return safely, most of the fear on their faces had faded.

Gu Cheng stood under the corridor, watching this scene, but did not step forward.

He leaned against the pillar, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and slowly smoked it.

The smoke slowly dissipated in the morning breeze, carrying that familiar sweet scent. His shoulders, which had been tense all night, finally relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from them.

After Jiang Yingrong finished crying, she raised her head, still sobbing, wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, and looked Wang Yuyou up and down several times.

Next, Zhou Ran led the two young ladies to a side room. After washing up and changing their clothes with hot water, Gu Cheng understood the butler's intermittent report:

It turns out that during the chaos, not only Jiang Yingrong was separated from her group, but Wang Yuyou was also separated from her group.

Seeing her two maids being tied up and put on a carriage by men in black, the young lady of an official family did not panic or scream. Instead, she turned around and ran towards the theater.

Because she was a regular at the theater, the owner of the shop told Wang Yuyou to hide without saying a word, and only brought her back after it was completely dark.

"Where are the shop owners? I need to see them."

Butler Zhou Ran wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Master Gu, the owner's surname is Chen, his name is Chen Yongnian. He's from inside the Great Wall and has been running a theater in Jinzhou for quite some time. After he brought Miss Wang back, he didn't dare leave and waited in the gatehouse, saying he was afraid you might have more questions for him. He came with two other men, both from the theater, who are also waiting in the gatehouse."