Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

It's been raining for three hours and shows no sign of stopping.

He Yuzhu lifted the curtain. The water in those trenches at the front was probably knee-deep. He lowered the curtain, turned around and stared at the sand table, pointing his finger at the small flag at the Second Qingdong of the puppet capital, without saying a word.

"Deputy Division Commander, there's someone outside—"

Water dripped from the brim of the communications officer's hat.

"They said they were from the Volunteer Army. They didn't bring any guards. We waited for twenty minutes, but they wouldn't let us announce our arrival."

He Yuzhu's finger stopped on that flag.

"Let him in."

He lifted his raincoat, letting in a damp breeze. The man took off his round-framed glasses and slowly wiped away the condensation with the corner of his coat.

After wiping and putting it on the shelf, he looked at He Yuzhu.

"Commander He—oh, Deputy Division Commander He."

He paused.

"Is your injury healed?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He touched his left leg with his left hand; through his military trousers, the centipede-shaped scar was hard and unyielding.

"alright."

He pulled his hand back into the seam of his trousers.

"You didn't come here to investigate me."

Shen Lian hung his raincoat on a nail by the door, as if he were entering his own office. He walked to the sand table, his gaze lingering for two seconds on the small flags marking the "Special Operations Battalion Assembly Area".

"I've come to ask for your help."

He Yuzhu didn't reply. The rain pounded on the canvas, filling the silence.

Shen Lian pulled three brown paper bags from his briefcase. They weren't sealed; they were just folded in half. He unfolded the first one and placed it on the wooden board at the edge of the sand table.

Do you know each other?

He Yuzhu glanced at it. Resume, black and white photo, square face, logistics department badge pinned to his collar.

"I don't know him."

"Logistics Department Communications Section, Staff Officer, Li Bingwen." Shen Lian moved the photo down to reveal a handwritten annotation: "Since May, the radio station has transmitted encrypted signals three times outside of duty hours. Intercepted by the Kaesong Technical Station. The signal characteristics point to Seoul."

He Yuzhu remained silent.

Shen Lian pulled out the second copy. He Yuzhu recognized this person. He was Zhou, the deputy head of the investigation section. He had met him twice in meetings; he was quite eloquent.

"Deputy Section Chief Zhou. On May 27th, he applied for close-range reconnaissance at the front, leading a team of three, and lay in ambush for four hours at a distance of 5 meters from the enemy position." Shen Lian overlaid a direction finding and positioning map. "The report didn't mention anything unusual. But we overheard that during his infiltration, a certain enemy unit went into radio silence twice."

He paused.

"This kind of tacit understanding can't be cultivated in a day."

He didn't unfold the third one. He just placed the brown paper bag next to the other two, tucked it in a little, and didn't remove it completely.

"This one... you should know these two first."

He looked up. His gaze behind the glasses was as calm as a deep pool.

"The U.S. Eighth Army already knows we're going to fight a major war. They don't yet know the specific timing or the main direction of the attack. But this window of opportunity won't last long."

He paused for a moment.

"If someone had sent your army's main attack time and breakthrough area to them before the battle started, Jincheng would not have been a piece of easy prey, but a meat grinder."

He Yuzhu leaned against the ammunition box, shifting his position; the scar on his left leg was irritating.

"Catching moles isn't my job."

Shen Lian looked at him.

A few seconds later, he gathered the three files together, stacked them neatly, and placed them on the edge of the sand table.

He pointed to the three assembly areas of the special operations battalion.

"Your men will infiltrate behind enemy lines from these three directions on the night of July 13th."

It was as precise as if they had seen the original combat orders.

"These three infiltration corridors pass through: the temporary forward position of the logistics and communications station, the pre-established observation post of the reconnaissance section, and the 'tactical flanking route' newly applied for by Deputy Section Chief Zhou last week."

He put his hand back into his raincoat pocket.

"I don't need you to specifically investigate them. When your people pass through these areas, set up a few signal monitoring points to measure the transmission and reception strength of specific frequency bands and record who used the radio during that time period."

He paused for a moment.

"I'll take care of the rest."

He Yuzhu stared at the three files on the edge of the sand table.

Rainwater seeped in through the gaps in the tent, forming a small puddle along the edge of the wooden planks. The bottom corner of the kraft paper slowly became damp.

He didn't look at the puddle. He looked at Shen Lian.

"If I help you find out the truth."

He spoke.

"What's the reward?"

Shen Lian didn't answer immediately. He bent down, pulled out the file that had been soaked by the rain, and moved it to a dry spot. The movement was very gentle.

Then he straightened up and looked at He Yuzhu.

"After the war."

He said.

"I can downgrade your file on the Shangganling incident by two levels."

The tent fell silent.

The sound of rain is still there, but it seems farther away.

He Yuzhu felt he should ask "which matter," or pretend to be confused and say he didn't understand. But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

He remembered the burning sky that night. He remembered the black wings silently gliding through the clouds. He remembered the system notification—

[Confirm Redemption?]

He remembered the damp shelter of the investigation team. He remembered Shen Lian's razor-sharp gaze behind his glasses.

"That's it?"

He heard himself say it.

"This is it."

Shen Lian replied.

He Yuzhu looked at him.

ten seconds.

"make a deal."

Shen Lian didn't say another word. He put the three files back into his briefcase, took his raincoat off the nail, put it on, and tied the straps with fingers as steady as if he were performing surgery.

He paused before lifting the curtain.

He didn't turn around.

"Your three battalions are well trained."

He paused for a moment.

"By the way, I've reported their assembly area to the Ministry of Personnel."

He didn't say, "It's not that I don't trust you." Nor did he say, "In case something happens, I hope someone will speak up for you."

He only said...

"I'm gone."

The curtain fell. The sound of footsteps was washed away by the rain.

He Yuzhu was still standing by the sand table.

He looked down and saw the puddle. The light from the kerosene lamp flickered in the water.

He didn't trim the wick. He stared at the light for a long time.

He wasn't thinking about what would happen after the war. He just suddenly remembered that night at Shangganling was also a very wet night.

7 month 10 day.

The official operational orders were delivered at 4:00 AM.

He Yuzhu signed for it. It was still dark outside, the rain had stopped, and there was a musty smell in the air.

He read the order from beginning to end and placed it on the table.

Then he took out a letter and a pencil.

Rain: Brother is going on a long trip soon. Study hard and listen to Grandma. I'll send you candy after this busy period.

He stopped writing here.

The pencil spun twice between my fingers. Then it spun twice more.

He folded the letter and stuffed it into the drawer. He didn't seal it, nor did he mail it.

He stood up, picked up the faded military cap, and put it on his head.

"Pass on my orders."

He lifted the curtain.

"Special Operations Battalion, assemble at the forward positions in one hour."

July 10th, night. 11 PM.

It started raining again.

He Yuzhu stood on an unnamed hill less than three kilometers from the enemy's front line. Rainwater streamed down his hat brim, but he didn't wipe it away.

Through the telescope, only scattered lights could be seen in the direction of Erqing Cave. Occasionally, a searchlight would sweep across, its white beam piercing the rain and illuminating a blurry mountain ridge.

Footsteps sounded behind me. They sank low into the mud.

Battalion Commander Lao Lu approached. He was soaked to the bone, and it was impossible to tell whether the water on his face was rain or sweat.

"Deputy Division Commander, the entire First Battalion is ready for infiltration."

He Yuzhu did not turn around.

Do you know the mission?

"I know." Old Lu's voice was very low, and he enunciated each word clearly. "Disrupt the command and communication center of the puppet capital's divisions and above, and prioritize paralyzing the Erqingdong command post."

He paused for a moment.

"And at three coordinate points along the route, stop for fifteen minutes to monitor radio signals in specific frequency bands."

He Yuzhu put down the binoculars.

"That was just something I did on the side."

He turned to Old Lu.

"The main goal is to save the frontline troops two hundred lives."

Old Lu didn't say a word. Stand at attention and salute.

He Yuzhu returned the greeting.

He looked at the veteran who had been with him for more than half a year. His lips moved slightly.

"Return alive."

Old Lu grinned, revealing his teeth stained yellow from smoking.

"That depends on how tough the enemy's command is."

He turned around, crouched down, and like a seasoned wildcat, disappeared into the rain in a few moments.

He Yuzhu stood on the high ground.

He recalled the few seconds Old Lu's finger lingered on that coordinate point when he was looking at the sand table. That wasn't how an officer looked at a map—that was how a craftsman touched his chisel.

He recalled the three months of training. Two hundred and seventy days and nights of sand table simulations. Two thousand rounds of live ammunition for each person. An infiltration route map that each person had drawn twenty times by hand.

And tonight too.

Old Lu's drawings, tucked in the inner pocket, must have been soaked with sweat at the corners.

He glanced at the system interface.

Points balance: 2,500,000.

Useless.

He closed the interface.

It's still raining.

He Yuzhu reached into the rain, scooped up a handful, and rubbed his face with it.

It's icy.

Before he descended the mountain, he glanced back at the distant rain-shrouded landscape. The lights in the direction of Erqing Cave were still on.

He remembered the unmailed letter in the drawer.

The letter read, "I'll send you candy after I'm done with this busy period."

He didn't say he would go home after he finished this busy period.

He turned and went down the mountain.

His figure was quickly swallowed up by the rainy night.