Chapter 330: The Streetwalker
She knew that this level of surveillance wasn’t very strict. They usually didn’t have permanent hidden sentries watching the shop, nor did they typically place a “ten-man team” inside. But she was still very cautious. She first walked past Haixing Store on the street in front to check the surroundings.
This wasn’t a bustling area, so there were few pedestrians, and the shops were mostly empty. Li Yongxun noticed there were no surveillance personnel around and felt a little more at ease. Just as she was figuring out how to contact her cousin-in-law, she suddenly saw some graffiti-like symbols on a nearby wall.
Li Yongxun was stunned: it was the Jinyiwei’s secret code!
People in the jianghu often used secret signs and symbols to contact their peers. Li Yongxun was no stranger to this. The Jinyiwei themselves were quite knowledgeable about these street-level methods and had their own set of secret contact signs. It was a very useful tool, whether for clandestine investigations or enemy reconnaissance.
During her work with the National Police, she had seen all sorts of secret signs when seconded for “cooperative” operations, but this set of signs was one she knew clearly—it was the Jinyiwei’s! Lin Ming had even specifically taught her back then.
Seeing this secret sign, she became even more certain that Lin Min was Lin Ming. The content of the sign was simple, a summons for colleagues: to meet on the river embankment near Heyuan Street on every evening ending in one, using a willow branch held in hand as the recognition signal.
No wonder her cousin-in-law was in a shop in the pleasure district! Since he was on a serious mission to gather military intelligence, why would he be visiting a prostitute? Li Yongxun had found it a bit incredible at first, but now, putting things together, it made sense.
Seeing the secret sign, Li Yongxun no longer hesitated. Seeing no one around, she casually picked up a piece of coal slag from the ground, drew a responding sign below it, and quickly left.
That evening, Lin Ming saw the response and was overjoyed. However, he soon discovered an awkward problem. Although the secret sign could specify the date, it couldn’t clarify which calendar system to use. Under the Great Ming’s rule, this wouldn’t be a problem, but Lingao used the so-called “Gregorian calendar,” which didn’t align with the Ming calendar at all. To accommodate the farmers, the short-hairs also had a “lunar calendar,” which was printed alongside the “Gregorian calendar.” And this “lunar calendar” was also different from the Ming calendar.
Lin Ming thought for a long time. Since Li Yongxun had been living in Lingao for a long time and there was no way to find a Ming calendar here, she would definitely follow the short-hairs’ “Gregorian calendar.”
According to the short-hairs’ “Gregorian calendar,” the next day ending in one was the twenty-first of the month: just three days away.
Three days later, after work, Lin Ming washed up and, pretending he was going for a stroll, left the shop alone. He was now familiar with the routine: he first went to a small eatery in Dongmen Market for dinner, then wandered around for a while. He walked sometimes fast, sometimes slow, stopping frequently to look around, entering shops, looking like a poor man with a keen interest in life enjoying a walk. After about half an hour of this, seeing that it was getting late and hearing the clock strike six, he once again confirmed there was no “tail” behind him and quietly made his way to Heyuan Street.
Lin Ming carried the calling card the girl had given him. If anyone questioned him, he would use the excuse that he was going to “Night Flower.”
He quietly arrived at the river embankment. Although it was right next to Lingao’s pleasure district, it was deserted. Women wouldn’t come here, and the men were all heading straight for their destinations. No one had the leisure to come to the riverbank at night for a breeze.
Standing on the embankment, he could see the red lights and green wine of Heyuan Street below, the sound of music filling the air. But the embankment itself was bleak and deserted. Lin Ming sat on a bench, playing with a willow branch he had broken off, waiting for his sister-in-law to arrive.
“Life is truly like a dream…” Lin Ming thought, looking at the night scene, feeling a sudden wave of emotion. It seemed like only yesterday that he had left home six months ago, drifted at sea, and finally arrived in Lingao. He had always been worried about whether he could find his sister-in-law, fearing he wouldn’t be able to track her down. Although he was just her cousin-in-law, a very distant relative, the time Li Yongxun had spent at his home made it impossible for him to let her go. He always felt a sense of responsibility for her.
As he was sighing, someone suddenly said, “Master, instead of playing in the street, you’re sitting here alone sighing. Isn’t that a waste of this wonderful life?”
Lin Ming’s heart tightened. He was on high alert while waiting for Li Yongxun. He had heard that the short-hairs also had their own Eastern Depot and Jinyiwei, and their reconnaissance skills were formidable. So, he was wary of every stranger who appeared nearby, fearing they were short-hair spies.
He took a closer look and saw it was a prostitute with a yellow ticket hanging around her neck. Although he couldn’t tell her age clearly in the dim light, from her figure and the faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she was probably around thirty. Her face was heavily powdered, but her features were quite good. She was very full-figured, like a ripe peach. She wore a light, white silk tunic with red flowers. The collar was unbuttoned, revealing a red corset tightly wrapped around her chest, giving her a seductive charm.
Around her snow-white neck, she wore a black leather collar, faintly engraved with numbers and adorned with a metal ring. Lin Ming had seen some of the “streetwalkers” wearing these, while others didn’t. He figured she was probably trying to solicit his “business” and relaxed a little. He just chuckled and didn’t answer. As long as he didn’t engage, the “streetwalker” would naturally leave.
Unexpectedly, this “streetwalker” didn’t leave. She smiled and said, “Brother, don’t be so heartless. I have some excellent wares here, I guarantee you’ll like what you see…”
Lin Ming knew the tricks of these “streetwalkers.” It was usually just unbuttoning their clothes to reveal their breasts and entice customers. He didn’t expect that instead of undressing, she would pull out a willow branch.
The pupils of Lin Ming’s eyes instantly shrank. One hand involuntarily reached for his waist but found nothing. In an instant, his mind went blank: it wasn’t his sister-in-law who had come, but someone who understood his secret sign!
The “streetwalker,” with a flirtatious expression, leaned on his shoulder. “How about it, brother? Isn’t this a fine item?”
In that moment, Lin Ming understood: there were his own colleagues in Lingao!
However, the Jinyiwei never used women. This woman must be an “operative” for one of his colleagues. She must have been sent after they saw his summons for a meeting.
Lin Ming felt no joy at all knowing there were colleagues here. He had come to Lingao on a “private matter.” Whether it succeeded or not, it was to be done in secret, without anyone else knowing.
Now that his colleagues knew, this was a major problem.
He had entered enemy territory without orders on a private matter. If someone wanted to settle a personal score, this alone would be enough to get him in serious trouble. Secondly, even if no one made an issue of it, the purpose of his colleagues coming to Lingao was obvious, and they weren’t here to look for a sister-in-law. If they asked for his help later, should he help or not?
If he helped, Lingao was a web of traps. Getting involved would be suicide. If he didn’t help, the other party could anonymously report him to the short-hairs, and he would instantly become a prisoner!
At this thought, he couldn’t help but regret leaving that secret sign. The city-wide manhunt in Lingao these past few days was clearly for a major case—and for the short-hairs, the biggest case would be spies sent by the court. He should have realized there were colleagues in Lingao earlier. And after several rounds of raids, they must be severely weakened and hoping for reinforcements.
The only plan now was to deny it to the death. Lin Ming believed that he had done nothing since arriving in Qiongzhou, and his identity was still clean. No matter how proficient the short-hair spies were, they couldn’t investigate him thoroughly so quickly. In any case, only his sister-in-law knew his true identity. As long as she didn’t expose him, even if the short-hairs captured him, he could still deny everything.
As for the Jinyiwei side, since his colleagues had only sent an “operative” to meet him, they were clearly not from Guangdong province and wouldn’t recognize him. Moreover, his trip to Lingao was entirely secret. Neither his colleagues nor the centurion’s office knew about it. Even if there were official troubles after he returned to Guangdong, he could completely deny ever having been to Lingao or leaving that secret sign.
Besides, with the city-wide manhunt in Lingao being so urgent, even if his colleagues were angry, they probably wouldn’t dare to cause extra trouble.
He had years of experience investigating cases for the Jinyiwei. In an instant, he had sorted out the pros and cons. His expression quickly relaxed. He remained silent, pretending not to understand, not to see, and not to care.
Seeing him remain silent, the woman grew impatient. “Can’t you even see this willow branch?”
“Miss, I’m not in the mood. Please go do your business elsewhere. Go on!” he said loudly. If Li Yongxun was already nearby, this would alert her that something was wrong and she should leave immediately.
“What do you mean?!” The “streetwalker” was clearly an amateur. Seeing that he wasn’t making contact, she jumped up. “Since you’re the one who asked for a meeting, why are you turning your back on me now?”
Lin Ming deliberately feigned ignorance and said loudly, “Miss, I haven’t said a word. You’re the one who approached me. I’ve already said I’m not interested. Go do your business elsewhere!”
This turned the originally quiet embankment noisy. A sound of footsteps was heard, and two patrolling police officers in black uniforms ran up from below the embankment.
“What’s going on?” someone shouted.
Seeing the situation was bad, the “streetwalker” turned to run, but another officer had already blocked her path from the side, brandishing a white baton. “Squat down! Behave!”
The “streetwalker” seemed terrified of the police and immediately squatted down with her hands on her head.
The other officer blocked Lin Ming’s path, raised his right hand to the side of his head in a sharp salute, and said, “Sir, please cooperate and show me your identification, thank you.”
Lin Ming was very nervous but did his best to stay calm and not show it. He was gambling. If this woman made a scene, he would be in deep trouble. However, he had already weighed the odds and felt he had a good chance of winning. With a smile, he handed over his identity card with both hands. The patrol officer took it, carefully checked it under the streetlamp, and returned it to him, asking:
“What’s the matter?”