Chapter 14 With Passion, Peace is Difficult

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[Jin Xianrong]

.........
  "wo pēi!"
(*TN: 我呸! despising sound)
  Several people stood there in a daze, and after being scolded by Zhu Yanlin, they couldn't say anything.
  Looking at Zhu Yanlin who was leaving, Xie Xiang, who was wearing a military uniform, had a pain in her eyes. Although she entered Arsenal Military Academy to fulfill her brother's last wish, which soldier in the Arsenal Military Academy did not regard it as his own responsibility to resist foreign humiliation and protect the family and the country. Now that the compatriots have died tragically, the murderers are at large. If they are allowed to leave today... Xie Xiang looked down at the badge on the chest and clenched her fists. How can she be worthy of her identity and this military uniform.
  "Is he telling the truth?" she murmured, and what caught her eye was no longer the peaceful and quiet green playground, but the scene of four students in the prison struggling in the flames, their helplessness, the helplessness of the people, the ruin of the country, all of which set off waves in her heart.
  Don't know how long, Gu Yanzheng was in a daze and walked away, running towards the confinement room. Xie Xiang was shocked, "Hey! Gu Yanzheng, what are you doing?"
  According to the temperament of taking care by Yanzheng, something must be done.
  Fortunately, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce came to pick up people at this time. When Xie Xiang arrived at the door of the confinement room, there were already a few circles of people here.
  She couldn't squeeze in for a while, so she could only stand on tiptoe and watch from the outside.
  There was a lot of enthusiasm in the circle, the students shouted slogans loudly, and they squeezed forward excitedly. The guards pulled up the human wall to stop the students. Xie Xiang saw that Zhu Yanlin was also among these people, and the slogan was particularly loud.
  Song Huaping stopped in front of the students and shouted loudly, "What do you want to do?"
  "Instructor Song! Seven workers and one child from the Huaxi Cotton Machinery Factory, and four students from the Chengnan Prison all died at the hands of these Japanese. They are murderers and executioners. We can't just let them go!"
  "Yes! We can't let them go!"
  The crowd was so excited that the guards stepped forward and pushed the students. Zhu Yanlin, the leader, saw this and fought with the guards. The other two guards rushed over and tried to subdue Zhu Yanlin.
  There was a gunshot in the circle, and the chaotic crowd suddenly fell silent. The black-painted long gun pointed straight to the sky, glowing with a cold light in the sun, and the gun was a pair of slender hands, with well-defined joints and violent blue veins. From now on, Gu Yanzheng had his back to the crowd, Xie Xiang couldn't see his expression at the moment, but it was conceivable that the pair of deep eyes must be full of anger at this time.
  Song Huaping looked at Gu Yanzheng with shock. It was within his expectation that the group of students came to stop him, after all, the young people were hot-blooded. But dare to openly shoot at dozens of guns, does this Gu Yanzheng want to die? He pointed at Gu Yanzheng and said, "What are you doing, are you rebelling?"
  This is not only a scene for the Japanese to see, but also his own question.
  With several guns aimed at him, Gu Yanzheng fearlessly said, "I should have asked you this, these people are well-known murderers. Now, there are countless pairs of eyes staring at them outside. But you want to let them all go in front of everyone, Instructor Song, I want to ask you, your reputation is gone. What about your face?
  "I served the headquarters, served..."
  "It's an order from the city hall, right? What about the official document approving their release, the warrant? Don't you mean to say that you just got a verbal order from someone, instructor, you can be stupid, but you can't be that stupid, such an obvious black pot, you have a lot of energy on your back!"
(*TN: black pot, 黑锅, metaphor for injustice or unjust person)
  Song Huaping's face was gloomy and uncertain. In all fairness, Gu Yanzheng's remarks were not unreasonable. Now the crowd is excited, and tens of thousands of eyes are staring at these three people. Zhang Zhongxun and Bai Peiyong, the two old foxes, threw this hot potato to Arsenal Military Academy. The advantages and disadvantages are self-evident, but now that the Japanese side is putting pressure on them, it is impossible for these three to not let them go.
  A fat man beside the car saw Song Huaping swaying, and immediately stepped forward to persuade: "Mr. Song, don't forget..."
  A "bang" shot blocked what he was about to say, Gu Yanzheng shot in his direction, the bullet rubbed the corner of his clothes and hit the car, causing a spark.
  There was a burst of exclamations in the crowd. The Japanese guards loaded their bullets and aimed at Gu Yanzheng in a warning manner. Xie Xiang hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd and grabbed the guard's gun to protect Gu Yanzheng. The scene was chaotic for a while.
  When things had developed to this point, they couldn't be dragged on any longer. Song Huaping resolutely said, "Put down their guns and hold them down!"
  Gu Yanzheng couldn't stop sneering: "Song Huaping! Are you sure you want to be a traitor?"
  "Who are you calling a traitor?"
  "Of course I'm talking about you."
  Song Huaping was furious, took out his pistol and pointed it at Gu Yanzheng's head, "I'll kill you!"
  Gu Yanzheng's tightly pursed lips were still smiling, "Come on! Do you have the courage?"
  Xie Xiang looked at the dark muzzle, and only felt that the whole body was cold, she couldn't help shouting: "Instructor Song! Do you really want to shoot your own students for a few Japanese who killed our compatriots? "
  Seemingly awakened by this sentence, although Instructor Song still glared at Gu Yanzheng angrily, he finally moved his gun away.
  "Put him down!"
  The guards swarmed up, and several people were unloaded. The guards also came to grab Gu Yanzheng and he hid, and grabbed Xie Xiang and walked away.
  All the Japanese, including the three murderers, got into the car. The driver looked at the students with disdain and started the car with a sneer.
  The Japanese did such a bad thing, and they actually retreated. It is useless for the students to get angry. All afternoon, Gu Yanzheng has been lying on the bed and sulking, Xie Xiang squatted on the ground to wash the sheets, and looked at him secretly while washing, but could not persuade him.
  If the Japanese were to be dealt with today, they would stop them even if they risked their lives, but it was the guards of Arsenal Military Academy who stopped them...the country was in danger and surrounded by foreign enemies, how could they really open up to their compatriots? Guns, not to mention a group of soldiers who obey orders.
  But what if this command is wrong? Xie Xiang picked up the washed sheets and walked out. As soon as the door opened, the wind poured into the house, and the cool wind blew her mind.
  If the command is wrong, it should not be executed.
  As the sun went down, there was a red glow on the horizon. Xie Xiang took the sheets out of the basin and started drying. Suddenly, she heard a muffled sound behind her, and it seemed that someone had turned over from the wall not far away.
  Xie Xiang was a little curious, and then lay on the ground and looked out through the long sheets. What caught the eye was a pair of combat boots full of mud. The man opened the backpack at hand and took out a pair of clean shoes to replace, and then put the dirty combat boots back into the backpack. Xie Xiang put her face lower and finally saw the man's face.
  "Shen Junshan?"
  There is a handsome face under the white sheet, facing Xie Xiang's eyes, Shen Junshan seems to be even more shocked than her, "Xie Liangchen?"
  "Why are you here? Ah, you went out!"
  Shen Junshan nodded slightly, "Ehm, what are you doing."
  "I'm drying the sheets." Xie Xiang tugged at the sheets, "There are too many things during the day, and I don't have time to wash."
  "Oh." Shen Junshan nodded.
  Xie Xiang glanced at him, "Aren't you in school today? Do you know, Instructor Song, he..."
  Shen Junshan suddenly stood up and walked away, strode around the hanger, and lifted Xie Xiang, who was wondering, from the ground: "Aren't you tired of talking like this?"
  Xie Xiang scratched her head a little embarrassedly, and did not answer, Shen Junshan bent over to pick up the sheets in her basin, and put it on the clothesline.
  Xie Xiang saw him like this, and quickly went to grab it, "I will do by myself."
  "Let's do it together."
  He held the two corners of the sheet in his hand and looked at Xie Xiang. Xie Xiang quickly ran to the other end and grabbed the sheet, and the two worked together to level the sheet.
  "Do you know what happened today?" She raised her head and asked Shen Junshan, "Instructor Song released the three Japanese, and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce sent a car to pick them up."
  Shen Junshan shook his head and said honestly, "Really, I don't know."
  Xie Xiang blinked. After today's events, she felt that many of her thoughts had changed. Now facing Shen Junshan, she has a special desire to talk: "The students are so angry, they are all talking to the guards. When he started, Gu Yanzheng was almost killed by Instructor Song."
  Shen Junshan frowned with a pair of beautiful sword-shaped eyebrows: "What about you? Are you not injured?"
  Xie Xiang raised the corner of her mouth, "No."
  Shen Junshan smiled, his smile was very good-looking, and Xie Xiang also laughed, looking at him with a kind of warmth that he could not tell.
  "By the way, today is a rest day. You can ask for leave to go out. Why are you still going over the wall?"
  Shen Junshan tugged at the sheets and dragged Xie Xiang in front of him. He looked at her with burning eyes and a little seriousness: "Xie Liangchen, please, don't tell anyone that you have seen me here today."
  Xie Xiang knew that his going out this time probably needed to be kept secret, and quickly said: "Okay, don't worry, I will definitely help you keep the secret." As she said, she nodded solemnly.
  "Thank you then." Shen Junshan smiled slightly when he saw this, "Let's go back."
  As soon as they reached the door of the dormitory, the two saw Ji Jin who was about to go out. When Ji Jin saw Shen Junshan, he grabbed Shen Junshan's hand and ran out, "Junshan, just in time, I have something to show you."
  Shen Junshan quickly returned the basin to Xie Xiang, plus a backpack: "You help me take the backpack first."
  "Okay." Xie Xiang hurriedly took it over. Ji Jin took Shen Junshan to run and disappeared. She stood there for a while, weighed the backpack in her hand, and quickly swept away in her heart.
  Back in the dormitory, Xie Xiang took out the boots in the backpack and brushed it seriously. It gradually appeared in front of her eyes. The picture of Shen Junshan bandaging her wound in the deep forest that day, his cold eyebrows and eyes under the moonlight, and the pair of slightly warm hands with thin calluses covered her ankles warmly and softly.
  Thinking about it, her face blushed, she patted her cheek, and the cold touch made Xie Xiang calm down.
  "Xie Liangchen! What are you thinking, your face is so red." Gu Yanzheng leaned against the bathroom door and looked at her jokingly.
  "Do you miss me?"
  "Bah, stinky shameless." Xie Xiang spat at him, and then placed the brushed shoes neatly on the windowsill.
  The combat boots that were washed diligently and cleanly disappeared early the next morning. Xie Xiang searched for a long time and found them lying in the trash can.
  "Gu Yanzheng!" The roar resounded throughout the dormitory, Xie Xiang came out with the boots, and his eyes were widened as if he had nothing to do with it, "Why did you throw my boots into the trash?"
  Gu Yanzheng looked with a glance, his hands kept moving, and he didn't speak until he buttoned the last button on his shirt, his tone was very teasing: "Is that yours, how can you grow such big feet for such a short person? "
  "You!" Xie Xiang was very angry, but she couldn't quarrel with him, and went straight out of the door with the shoes.
  Zhu Yanlin ran from a distance and saw Xie Xiang come out, shouting at her excitedly waving the newspaper: "Good news! Good news! The Japanese who set fire to the Huaxi Cotton Machinery Factory were killed!"
  Ji Jin's dormitory door was kicked open, "What? Who killed them?"
  "I don't know who did it. I went to the police station and didn't find out why. However, no matter who did it, I admire him as a good man."
  Looking at the newspaper in Zhu Yanlin's hand, Xie Xiang's heart had a cold face, and the uneasiness in her heart was magnified. She shook her head, and her brows were almost twisted into a ball.
  Since newspapers can be spread to Arsenal Military Academy, they can also be spread to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce.
  At this time, a newspaper with the words "A Japanese businessman was attacked on his way, the murderer's trace is still a mystery" was lying quietly on the desk of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Kazuo Sato grabbed the newspaper and smashed it into a ball and threw it on the ground. The secretary stood in front of the desk and hunched over quietly listening to Kazuo Sato's temper.
  "The Japanese side has already sent a letter. They are very dissatisfied with what I have done during the period when I took over as president. If I can't achieve anything, I am afraid that they will let that humble woman take my place." Kazuo Sato looked disgusted, and seemed to be very disgusted with the woman he had mentioned. "Call Cheng Rui Beile and say I want to see him."
  "Yes."
  A black Japanese car slowly drove into the church on the outskirts of the city.
  In the church with a strong European style, Cheng Rui is playing the piano, and in front of him is a group of girls in the choir singing the hymn of the church. A flock of perched white doves.
  Although Cheng Rui is young, his black and white pupils look very attractive. He just sits quietly and has a noble aura of his own. The Qing Dynasty was over. He ditched his long coat and shaved his braids. Cheng Rui wore the most fashionable back, a white shirt and a black vest, a pair of black suit pants, and a black bow tied between the collars.
  The heavy stone door opened a gap, and an old man walked in with his back hunched over, whispering something in Fu Jiu's ear. Fu Jiu waved his hand, and the man backed out.
  "Master Beile, Kazuo Sato of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce is outside asking to see you."
  The piano music, accompanied by the girl's singing, still floated in the empty church without pausing for half a minute. After a long time, the hymn finally came to an end, the girls slowly retreated, and a maid knelt in front of Cheng Rui with a water basin and held a hand for him, he looked up at Fu Jiu, "The ancestors were not filial, and now even a small barbarian country's businessman can also see me casually."
  Fu Jiu lowered his body and said, "He has something to ask Lord Baylor."
  "Let him wait and say that I'm not in good health, and I don't have the energy to take care of his shit."
  "Yes." Fu Jiu bowed and retreated, and when he was halfway through, he seemed to remember something and retreated, "Master Beile, Miss Xian Rong* has returned to China."
(*TN: 显蓉格格 Xianrong gégé, I'm just gonna assume this means miss)
  Cheng Rui's hand holding the medicine bowl paused slightly, then raised his head and drank it.
  "Do you know what she came back for?"
  "Miss Xianrong is the adopted daughter of Hideyuki Oda, and Kazuo Sato is Hideyuki Oda's retainer. Now that Kazuo Sato has made a mess of Shunyuan, when Miss Xianrong comes back at this time, it is very likely that she will take over the position of Kazuo Sato and become Japan's representative of Shunyuan. Presumably, this is another reason why Kazuo Sato is looking for you."
  "Be careful, she will tell me as soon as she arrives in Shunyuan." Cheng Rui turned around and continued to play the qin, but he couldn't really see his expression in the dim light and shadow.
  "Yes." Fu Jiu withdrew.
  The ethereal sound of the piano reverberated in the church again, but it was mixed with a trace of annoyance and sadness. Cheng Rui knew very well about Jin Xianrong's past. She had a lot of resentment towards the palace and Shunyuan. The trend set off a wave in Shunyuan.
  And Jin Xianrong, who made Cheng Rui and Kazuo Sato look like enemies, was standing in front of the Hall of Martial Arts and waiting leisurely.
  Xie Xiang just walked out to the front of the campus and saw this scene.
  A group of students formed a group in twos and threes, and tiptoed to look at the graceful no-one in front of the door. Xie Xiang couldn't help but be curious, and also came over.
  The gorgeous-looking woman stood in front of the door with her handbag in her hand, and looked at Arsenal Military Academy from time to time, as if she was waiting for someone. The breeze lifted her skirt, and the goose-yellow dress complemented her elegant figure. She permed her short hair into big waves. Unlike the naive and ignorant girls of this age, she had a unique mature charm.
  Amidst the whispers of the students, Shen Junshan and Ji Jin walked out. The woman ran over quickly and threw herself into Shen Junshan's arms. The students took a deep breath and Ji Jin hugged his arms, shakily walked over and stood still in front of the crowd.
  Students who had good things started to ask about Ji Jin. With Shen Junshan's aloof personality, they couldn't ask anything, so they could only ask Ji Jin.
  Ji Jin turned his head to the side and said calmly, "Her name is Jin Xianrong, she is Jun Shan's classmate when he was studying in the UK, you guys, don't think too much about it."
  "No, someone of the opposite sex just came to Arsenal Military Academy and she is a beautiful woman, but she was abducted by Shen Junshan just like this!"
  Ignoring the emotions of everyone, Xie Xiang's eyes fell directly on the two.
  Shen Junshan lowered his head and didn't know what to say to Jin Xianrong, she lightly hammered Shen Junshan, but a smile bloomed on her lips.
  The surrounding students are all talking about them. They are talented and beautiful, and they are a pair of people that really match each other. For some reason, Xie Xiang felt a little lost, the handsome outline tightened, then lowered her head, and left the crowd with heavy steps.

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