I walked over, cupped his chin in my hand, and leaned in close. “I admire your intelligence. But a wise person knows when to bend and when to stand firm. You were loyal to Wu Guodong, sacrificing yourself to complete the mission. In theory, your best effort should have been enough, regardless of success or failure, because your opponent was beyond your control. In my eyes, you're still a qualified assassin. You possess all the necessary qualities. It’s just that this time, the mission failed. At most, you’ll face a reprimand and punishment. Is it fair to lose your life over this?”
His gaze drifted slightly, and I sensed a wavering in his resolve. Though not overtly apparent, there was a definite shift from his previous resolute expression.
I continued, “Each of us owns our life first and foremost. Is there any rule that dictates one's life can be dictated by another? Although you were sent to assassinate me, you failed to achieve your objective. We can consider it that fate spared me this trial, and no enmity has arisen. In that sense, wouldn't you say we have a connection?”
He stared at me blankly, taking some time to process my words. He looked at me hesitantly, then glanced at Qian Fugui standing nearby, appearing somewhat confused about Qian Fugui’s identity.
I said, “Do you find him familiar? He used to be one of Wu Guodong’s men, and he likely saw Wu Guodong more clearly than you did. That’s why, when he encountered me yesterday, he decisively followed me back. You should ponder why he was so resolute. How about this: you two fellow countrymen chat here for a while. Now, I cannot untie you, so you’ll have to bear with it for now. Once you’ve truly thought things through, I’ll guarantee your freedom.”
I asked Wen Siqiang to stay with them for a while, and I went to find the other two apprehended assassins, to see if I could glean any more information from them.
I needed to get closer to Wu Guodong to understand what he truly wanted, and why Principal Sun could manipulate him so easily.
After leaving, I called the security captain on the walkie-talkie and asked him to take me.
The security captain drove over in an electric cart and said, “Mr. Li, it’s a bit of a distance. Please get in.”
I asked, “Did you take them into the workshop?”
The captain replied, “Indeed. There aren’t many truly secure places around here, so we had to find a spot in the workshop.”
He drove me, weaving through various routes, to a tightly shut iron gate of a workshop. He used the dedicated channel to notify those inside to open it, ensuring no other radios could pick up the transmission.
I hadn’t expected them to be so cautious, leaving no room for enemies to exploit.
After confirmation from inside, the gate was opened.
We followed the opening guard for a distance to a single-story building. Our identities were confirmed again before we were allowed inside.
This turned out to be the workshop office, consisting of two large rooms. There was an office desk just inside the entrance, and two beds were set up further in for them to sleep.
The security guards usually took turns on duty here to ensure their safety.
The two men had their restraints removed and were free to move around the room.
Upon seeing me enter, they quickly asked, “How did it go? Smoothly?”
I replied, “Your cousin is truly despicable. He never intended for me to return alive. When I went to find him, he had already set a trap for me. Fortunately, I was lucky and managed to survive. But I did see your cousin. I questioned him about why he did this, and he said that since you failed the mission, you deserved to die. He even ridiculously asked me to do him a favor to nullify your death sentence. That was a major taboo. How could he possibly help you!”
The elder cousin heard this and refused to believe it. He said, “How could this be? He and I are closer than brothers. When I was young, I could only eat after he had eaten, and I always saved food for him. When we first arrived with the General, I shielded him from any danger. I never let him get hurt or wronged in any way. Now that I’m in trouble, facing a death sentence, how could he do this to me?”
I said, “You don’t have to believe what I say. This time, I brought someone back with me, Qian Fugui. Do you know him? He was with Wang Dong. When he saw us, he decisively abandoned the dark for the light. I can have him come over and tell you.”
The elder cousin’s eyes became a little moist, and he said to me, “It’s my fault for trusting family too much and causing you alarm. I apologize!”
I replied, “It was also my oversight to consider things too simply and rush for results. By the way, you mentioned last time that Wu Guodong had some kind of illness that required a doctor from the mainland to treat him monthly. Can you provide any more information on that?”
He said, “I only know that he is ill. This illness is incurable in our region. The doctor from the mainland has a special medicine. A few days of treatment is enough to keep the illness at bay for a month. So, at the beginning of each month, this doctor travels there for a few days to treat him in his secret club.”
I asked, “Where is his secret club located?”
He said, “The club is easy to find. It’s on the back mountain of the town you went to. There’s a large manor there, but it’s very difficult to get close to. This manor is surrounded by a regiment of his troops. In fact, it’s a manor within a military camp. The troops are stationed all around it, like an impenetrable fortress, guarding him tightly.”
I could imagine how difficult it would be to get in. I didn't interrupt him, signaling him to continue. He went on to say, “He is very cautious. For someone at our level, we’ve barely seen his true face. Every time he travels, it’s very secretive, with many false leads disseminated, making it impossible to know which is real and which is fake. My cousin is his personal guard and a relatively trusted individual, so he knows a bit more, which gives me a chance to know more. What’s certain is that on the first of every month, the doctor from the mainland will arrive. This is an unalterable fact.”
I asked the security captain accompanying me what day it was. He replied that it was the twenty-sixth, June twenty-sixth. June only had thirty days, meaning the doctor would arrive in four days.
I asked, “Do you know how he travels each time? Is he picked up?”
He said, “I heard from my cousin that he travels to the border crossing himself, and a car picks him up after he passes through customs.”
I said, “Alright, I understand. Stay here and rest assured. Make any requests you have, and we’ll do our best to fulfill them. There’s just one condition, the usual one: you cannot have your freedom for now. This is not just for our sake, but for yours as well.”
They both quickly replied, “Mr. Li, please rest assured, we understand perfectly and will cooperate.”
I said, “That’s good. Get some rest.”
With that, I exited the room. Suddenly, an idea struck me: I could approach this from the doctor’s side. And I still had Qian Fugui. Perhaps he could offer some assistance.