How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 174 Raid on the Dock

Qingru noticed Jiang Shen's actions, quietly left the room, and spoke with Jiang Shen alone.

"what is that?"

Jiang Shen still refused to speak, saying, "What? I don't understand what you're saying."

Qingru rolled her eyes. "Come on, Guo Zixing just said that Su Chuan can't be locked up for too long. If you know the whereabouts of that batch of opium, I advise you to confess honestly, or else..."

Jiang Shen interrupted her threat, "Alright, alright, I was just about to speak when you interrupted me. You're wasting my time."

Qingru was furious. "Don't try to shift the blame. Go now."

Jiang Shen nodded in agreement, but how could he explain it? And he couldn't reveal his own identity.

Upon entering the inner hall, Qingru saw Jiang Shen hesitating for a long time, so she made up her mind and pulled Guo Zixing aside.

"Jiang Shen needs to talk to you."

Guo Zixing looked at Jiang Shen with a puzzled expression. Jiang Shen was so flustered that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.

Guo Zixing walked towards Jiang Shen, who stood up and, steeling himself, led Guo Zixing into the inner room. With Guo Zixing's back turned, Jiang Shen made a gesture as if to beat Qingru up.

Guo Zixing patted Jiang Shen on the shoulder knowingly, "You and Qingru seem to be quite familiar with each other?"

Jiang Shen: ...

"so so."

"Speak up, what's the matter that you're calling me in such a hurry?"

Jiang Shen gathered his emotions, gritted his teeth, and blurted it out.

Someone asked me to give you something.

Guo Zixing: "What is it? Who gave it to you?"

"Don't worry about it for now, let's see what happens." With that, Jiang Shen handed the package at his waist to Guo Zixing.

Guo Zixing opened it and found a bullet, a picture, and a letter.

"What is this?" Guo Zixing asked.

Jiang Shen shook his head. "Then I don't know. I didn't open it to look."

"He said it was for me?" Guo Zixing was even more puzzled.

"Correct."

First, I opened the map, about half the size of a newspaper. The yellowed paper contained a rough drawing of the city's roads, marking the river and land docks and several villages in the suburbs. The river and land docks, in particular, were marked with several squares, circled in red, and labeled with a small "Opium" sign.

Guo Zixing stared at the paper, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "Where did you get this?"

"I think it was given by someone from that side," Jiang Shen answered honestly. Of course, he couldn't tell Guo Zixing that the person from that side was himself.

"Didn't you arrest him?"

Jiang Shen touched his nose. "I think General Guo's attitude towards that side wasn't that serious, and it was just a kid who gave it to me. By the time I realized what was happening, the kid had already run far away."

"This is a bit troublesome," Guo Zixing pondered. "If the government finds out... tsk."

"The commander-in-chief is wholeheartedly devoted to the country. As long as it's for the good of the nation and the people, what's wrong with it? Different paths lead to the same goal, aren't they all for the purpose of repelling foreign aggression and pacifying the country?" Jiang Shen said earnestly.

Guo Zixing glanced at him, "I hope so."

Then he opened the letter.

"As a fellow traveler and my friend, I am delighted to receive your letter."

When China faces peril, we should unite in our hatred of the enemy. The recent disaster at the Zheng family's residence was our doing; we were determined to bring opium to China. However, like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, the Japanese and those with ulterior motives interfered, complicating the situation. Mrs. Qiao and her guests did not die at our hands. Therefore, I hereby clarify that I am willing to share the same goal and work together to stabilize the situation. Knowing your confusion, I offer this in the hope that the clouds will part and the moon will shine through.

The signature is Luo Yin.

Is he their leader in this area?

After reading the letter, Guo Zixing's expression changed inexplicably. He didn't recall anyone by this name; no wonder they hadn't received any information about it. Could it be a new candidate?

Guo Zixing pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "So how did you meet them?"

Jiang Shen scratched his cheek. "Last night I went out for a walk and saw a little boy hand me a bundle. And this was inside."

Guo Zixing burned the letter, deciding to believe it once in a while.

"Let's go. There was the burning of opium at Humen before. Hopefully this time... we won't come up empty-handed and let them escape."

Guo Zixing led a group of men and quickly headed to the location marked on the map, while he himself led his men to the land and water dock.

...

Sifang City has only one dock. Because some sections of the Mi River that flows through the city are not wide, the dock is built at the river mouth. It is spacious and can accommodate about twenty or thirty cargo ships with a loading and unloading capacity of thirty tons, which is not actually that small.

Guo Zixing and Jiang Shen split into two groups. One group led men straight to the dock, while Jiang Shen took a small boat to surround them by water.

The docks were bustling with activity as they made their way there. The dock workers showed little interest in Guo Zixing's convoy, busy loading and unloading cargo. Along the sidewalks, vendors were selling food, with small groups of workers hastily wolfing it down.

Jiang Shen sat in the small boat, watching the commotion on the shore. Guo Zixing's men were entangled with the guards. They seemed unwilling to negotiate, but the guards were relentless and unyielding, resulting in a stalemate.

This was actually just a smokescreen. With such a major incident involving the Zheng family, Zheng's comprador couldn't possibly remain unperturbed. Guo Zixing's commotion at the docks conveniently made it easier for Zhang Xun to carry out his business.

On the other side, Zhang Xun and his brother led a group of men to the Zheng family's warehouse, an important storehouse for the Zheng family's valuables. Although there were many guards, the security was not very tight.

Zhang Xun and his men easily subdued the guards and slipped inside.

The warehouse was brightly lit. Chief Zhang led his men in and sneaked in, only to find that the warehouse was completely empty.

"Could this be a trap?" Zhang Xun cursed under his breath and rushed inside.

The warehouse was filled with wooden crates, each sealed with a tape. Prying open all the crates revealed them to be empty except for a stack of scrap paper!

Zhang Xun felt a pang of regret. "Damn Zheng, that cunning fellow! He has three burrows, and we've managed to catch him empty-handed."

Sergeant Zhang also came in, and his expression was also very bad when he saw this scene.

Zhang Xun glanced at Chief Zhang, "What should we do now?"

Sergeant Zhang frowned. "We can't waste any time. We must search the entire warehouse immediately to ensure everything is safe!"

Zhang Xun nodded in agreement and ordered his men to begin the inspection, while Sergeant Zhang continued to keep an eye on the empty boxes.

Sifang City was already sealed off; nothing could be moved out. The Zheng family had just suffered a great calamity, and he simply didn't have the time or energy to plan in detail.

Where did that thing go? Could the information the bureau chief received be wrong?

Chief Zhang broke out in a cold sweat. If the news was false, and Guo Zixing had offended the Zheng family again, he would lose both an ally and prestige—a clear miscalculation.

Was Guo Zixing set up?

wrong.

Chief Zhang shook his head; this didn't make sense. Guo Zixing was cautious and would never act so rashly. And even if he had been tricked, would something simply vanish into thin air in such a short time?

Then there must be another reason.

A thought flashed through Chief Zhang's mind: perhaps the information Guo Zixing received was inaccurate, and this was merely a smokescreen used by Zheng the Comprador. After all, Zheng the Comprador, who had built such a fortune from humble beginnings as a beggar, was certainly not a reckless man.

This is a problem. If that's the case, where will they find the real hiding place for opium?