The Little Demonic Cultivator in the Courtyard: Borrowing 100,000 Japanese Pirates to Heal

Lou Bancheng began his covert actions in the second week after the establishment of the Business Cooperation Association.

On the surface, he went to the cooperative office every day, signing documents, presiding over meetings, and conveying the orders of the Imperial Army under the supervision of the Japanese soldiers, and was very diligent.

But every night, after all the servants in the house had gone to sleep, he would sit alone in his study and write down the contents of the documents he had signed during the day from memory. He would then copy them into tiny characters on extremely thin Xuan paper, roll them into thin strips, and stuff them into a hollowed-out bamboo cane.

He didn't even tell his personal secretary about these things.

He doesn't trust anyone. Even his personal secretary, Xiao Song, he only uses her, but doesn't completely trust her.

One late night in mid-September, Lou Bancheng called Xiao Song to his study.

There was only one kerosene lamp lit in the study, with the wick turned down low, so dim that you could only see the face of the person opposite you.

Lou Bancheng sat in a grand chair, with a small cloth bag on the table in front of him containing several gold bars and a small bag of silver coins. He pushed the bag towards Xiao Song.

He lowered his voice and said, "I need you to do something for me."

Xiao Song found it a bit strange, but still agreed.

Lou Bancheng then added, "This matter cannot be known to anyone, including your family. If you feel there's a risk, you can refuse now, and I won't blame you. But if you agree, you can't back out halfway."

Xiao Song looked down at the cloth bag on the table, then looked up at Lou Bancheng's face.

Lou Bancheng looked extremely tired in the dim light. The nasolabial folds at the corners of his mouth were much deeper than before he fell into this predicament, and there were two obvious dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

"What is it, Mr. Lou? Just tell me," said Xiao Song.

Lou Bancheng leaned forward and lowered his voice to speak.

"The Lou's Steel Rolling Mill has now been taken over by the Japanese. All the steel in the mill must be registered, and the destination of each batch of goods must be reported to the Imperial Army. But there's still a corner of the mill's warehouse that was secretly moved before the Japanese took over..."

Lou Bancheng's idea was to give these things to the resistance organization to see if they could be transferred, and then blow up the steel mill.

After listening, Xiao Song remained silent for a long time.

His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the table, once, twice, three times, as if pressing on abacus beads, as he calculated the risks of this transaction.

He witnessed firsthand what happened to those who were captured by the Japanese and opposed them at Caishikou Square.

According to the Japanese rules, those who resell controlled materials are guilty of the same crime as resistance fighters.

He thought for a moment and said that he could do it, but if something happened to him, he hoped that Lou Bancheng could take care of his family.

Lou Bancheng said yes, his face showing a complex expression, as if surprised yet relieved.

He always thought Xiao Song was just a good secretary—a steady driver, tight-lipped, and never prying into things she shouldn't have, but that was all.

Unexpectedly, this usually quiet young man is quite bold.

That evening, it was almost dawn when Xiao Song left the Lou family's house.

……

For the next period of time, Xiao Song would disappear for a whole day every two or three days.

Lou Bancheng also made some adjustments.

Using his position as president of the Business Cooperation Association, he proactively advised the Japanese on multiple public occasions to strengthen control over food and medicine in Beijing, arguing that these supplies should not fall into the hands of resistance fighters.

To this end, he wrote a proposal that was more than ten pages long and submitted it to Sasaki Maki. The proposal detailed the loopholes in the existing control measures and proposed improvement plans.

Sasaki was very satisfied after reading it and praised Lou Bancheng in public, saying that he "understands the big picture and considers the overall situation".

Lou Bancheng stood next to Sassa Maki, bowing slightly, his expression neither humble nor arrogant, perfectly conveying the gratitude and humility befitting a merchant appreciated by the Imperial Army.

In fact, even if Lou Bancheng hadn't mentioned this loophole, the Japanese probably already had one in mind, so why not use it as a pledge of allegiance?

……

the other side.

Bai Ling reconnected with the organization through Wang Xiaoyong.

That evening, she told Xu Jiande that she was going to the black market to buy salt. After leaving the house, she turned into a side street west of Nanluoguxiang and walked for about 15 minutes before stopping in front of a grocery store.

The storefront was small, with several bundles of hemp rope and two large jars of pickled vegetables piled up at the entrance. The rims of the jars were covered with a layer of dust, and it looked no different from other shops on the street.

Bai Ling pushed open the creaking wooden door, and the bell behind it rang once. An old man wearing reading glasses sat behind the counter, glanced up at her, then lowered his head again to continue working on his abacus.

"Buy salt," Bai Ling said.

"Coarse salt or fine salt?" The old man didn't look up.

"Three catties of coarse salt."

"Three catties isn't enough; we sell at least five catties."

"Then five catties."

The old man pushed the abacus aside, took off his reading glasses, stood up, walked to the door, and closed the door panel.

Then he turned around and lifted the gray curtain behind the counter, gesturing for Bai Ling to follow him inside.

Behind the curtain was a narrow passageway, at the end of which was an iron gate with no sign, only a doorknob with peeling paint.

The old man knocked on the iron gate three times, paused, and then knocked twice more.

The door opened from the inside, and a woman in her thirties opened it. She was wearing a plain cloth shirt, and her hair was pinned back with a wooden hairpin. She looked like an elementary school teacher.

Bai Ling followed her inside, the iron gate closing behind them. Inside was a small warehouse, piled with several stacks of sacks and wooden crates, with a square table and two chairs in the corner.

On the table sat a kerosene lamp and a pot of cold tea.

The woman gestured for Bai Ling to sit down, poured her a bowl of tea, and then sat down opposite her. She introduced herself as Zhou and asked Bai Ling to call her Sister Zhou.

Sister Zhou's voice was not loud, and she spoke slowly, but she enunciated each word clearly, with a calmness that came from years of working underground.

"After your previous liaison officer was killed, the organization kept looking for you. We only found out you were still alive through Comrade Crow," Sister Zhou said. "How are your injuries?"

Bai Ling said she was almost fully recovered, but didn't elaborate on who treated her injuries.

Sister Zhou didn't press further, but simply nodded and took out a cloth bag from under the table. Inside was a summary of the latest city defense intelligence and several blank intelligence registration forms.

She pushed these things in front of Bai Ling, saying that the organization recognized her performance during this period, and that it was not easy for her to find a hiding place and hold on after the fall of the city.

Bai Ling took the intelligence report and looked down to read it.

The summary details the latest deployment adjustments made by the Japanese in Beijing, including several new temporary detention centers added by the military police, and the locations of new machine gun emplacements near Dongsi Street and Beixinqiao.

And the approximate time and troop deployment for executions at Caishikou Square each day.

Some of this information was observed by Bai Ling herself, some was passed on by Wang Xiaoyong, and some was collected and compiled by comrades on other online platforms.

Sister Zhou said that the organization is currently lacking intelligence in three areas: first, the movements of high-ranking Japanese commanders; second, intelligence related to biological weapons; and third, the specific implementation of the control of supplies within the city.

These three storylines currently only have scattered clues and are not systematic, so they need to be supplemented as soon as possible.

Bai Ling put away the intelligence, nodded, and then asked, "Should we launch a precise counterattack against the Japanese?"

Sister Zhou nodded.