Chapter 32: Long Time No See, Comrade

The jeep rattled along the bumpy mountain road, the interior heavy with a deathly silence.

Xu Feng leaned against the cold iron wall, his eyes closed as if resting. Beside him, Lin Xue kept her head bowed; her face was obscured, but her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed her inner terror.

At the wheel was a Soviet soldier named Vasily.

Eliza sat in the passenger seat, watching Xu Feng’s calm profile in the rearview mirror. Her mind was a chaotic tangle. She refused to believe that this man from the Dragon Kingdom was a traitor. In the special forces training camp, although the man had been full of sharp edges, she had seen the ruthless tenacity and stubborn devotion to his homeland buried deep within him more clearly than anyone.

During a simulated combat exercise, his squad had run out of ammunition and everyone else had been "killed." Yet, armed only with a dagger and his wits, he had managed to drag out the "pursuit force" she led for three days and nights in the snowy Siberian forests. When they finally found him, his lips were purple from the cold, yet he was still clutching a tattered rag painted with a map of the Dragon Kingdom to his chest.

Could a man like that be a traitor?

And yet, Wang Erhu’s accusations, the woman named Lin Xue, and his own current air of mystery—everything felt deeply unsettling.

The jeep drove into Shangba Town and stopped in front of the two-story building at the east end. It had once been the headquarters of the Japanese Gendarmerie; now, it served as a temporary command post for the Soviet forces. On the walls, ugly scars remained where the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" slogans had been torn down.

"Lock them up separately," Eliza said as she jumped from the vehicle, her command icy. "Keep a close watch. No one is to have contact with them without my orders."

Xu Feng and Lin Xue were led into the grim building. The hallway echoed with the hollow sound of leather boots hitting the floorboards. At a fork in the corridor, Xu Feng was pushed to the left, and Lin Xue was led to the right. Before they parted, Xu Feng looked back at her, his lips moving silently.

Lin Xue understood. He had mouthed the words: "Do not be afraid."

A warmth spread through her heart, and much of her fear seemed to dissipate. She nodded at him, a flicker of resolve appearing in her eyes.

Xu Feng was locked in a cramped room that had likely been a solitary confinement cell for the gendarmerie. There was only one small window with iron bars, through which a few strands of bleak moonlight filtered in. Aside from a broken wooden cot, the room was empty. The air seemed to reek faintly of blood and mildew.

...

Back at the village of Laohegou, in the courtyard of Xu Feng’s home, the crowd had mostly dispersed. The meat in the large pots was still steaming, but no one had the heart to eat it anymore. The villagers gathered in small groups, whispering in low voices, as if sharing some shameful secret.

Wang Erhu had become the center of attention. Surrounded by a group of people, he was spitting as he touted his "meritorious deeds."

"I told you all that kid was trouble!" he said, rubbing his still-swollen face, looking indignant. "A supposed cripple who spent a few years drifting away and came back covered in scars—could he really take down a wild boar weighing hundreds of pounds all by himself? And drag it back alone? Do you believe that?"

The question struck a chord with everyone. It was true; the whole thing defied reason.

"His disability must have been a fake!" a man slapped his thigh, a look of sudden realization dawning on him. "That kid is full of tricks. He faked being a cripple to win our sympathy so he could hide out in the village!"

"And that woman!" Wang Erhu’s voice rose a notch. "Have you ever seen a woman from our country look like that? Her skin is whiter than snow, her eyes are huge, and she won't even speak! I'm telling you, she must have been specially trained by the Japanese—one of those... 'female spies'! The muteness is an act just to keep her cover!"

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

"Then... what has Xu Feng really been doing all these years?" someone asked.

Wang Erhu sneered, wearing a profound and knowing expression. "What was he doing? What else could he be doing! I reckon he went and joined the Japanese! People like him are just weathercocks, traitors! They follow whoever offers the best deal!"

"Traitor," "Collaborator," "Female spy"... these harrowing terms tumbled out of Wang Erhu's mouth, crashing against the villagers' simple worldview and stirring up a massive wave of panic.

They thought of Xu Feng’s combat skills and his lavish generosity in treating the entire village to meat today. Under Wang Erhu’s interpretation, these acts were all reframed as parts of a sinister conspiracy. The villagers, who had been eating, drinking, and calling each other brothers just moments ago, now felt a burning shame. They felt cheated and played for fools.

"I knew it! No one gives away favors without a hidden agenda!"

"And to think I thought he was a decent fellow. Bah! What a waste of a good pot of meat!"

"Everyone stay away from his place from now on, lest we bring trouble upon ourselves!"

The power of public opinion was on full display. The goodwill Xu Feng had earned with a wild boar and a night of sincerity was dismantled in less than an hour by a few of Wang Erhu’s malicious rumors.

...

In the confinement cell, the air was cold, damp, and thick with the smell of rust and rot.

Moonlight squeezed through the high, barred window, casting a pale patch of light on the floor, illuminating a few woodlice scuttling past. Xu Feng leaned against the wall, sitting on the bare wooden cot. His posture was relaxed, as if he were resting on a haystack in his own backyard rather than in the former Japanese Gendarmerie headquarters.

He kept his eyes closed, his breathing steady, as if he had already fallen asleep.

A crisp, rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway—the click-clack of leather boots on floorboards. The sound drew closer and finally stopped outside the door.

"Creak—"

The door was pushed open. A tall figure stood in the doorway against the light, casting a shadow that completely engulfed Xu Feng.

Xu Feng opened his eyes and looked at the visitor. In the dim light, he could not see her expression, but the crisp Soviet uniform, the military cap with its golden curls, and that familiar yet distant sense of pressure told him exactly who she was.

"Are you used to being alone?" Eliza’s voice rang out in the empty room, carrying a hint of icy detachment.

A smile appeared on Xu Feng's face, one that seemed rather flippant against the backdrop of the pale moonlight. He patted the wooden board beside him and greeted her in fluent, crisp Russian.

"Long time no see, Tovarishch."

The word "comrade" acted like a key, instantly unlocking a vault of dust-covered memories.