Chapter 28: Long Live the Monarch! Long Live Xiao Fei!

But today, Xiao Fei had no intention of killing Ichiro Fujiwara, for the man still held considerable value to him. Xiao Fei immediately ordered Xiao Ling to activate the military prison. In the blink of an eye, Ichiro Fujiwara found himself inside a vast military penitentiary, teeming with snakes, insects, rats, and all manner of vermin, and equipped with every conceivable instrument of torture.

Within Xiao Fei’s consciousness, the military prison was nothing more than a virtual space, dreamlike and illusory. Yet for Ichiro Fujiwara, it was as real as could be. The true genius of it all was that Xiao Fei could enter this prison at will in the form of a consciousness, much like assuming a role in a virtual game.

Inside the prison, Fujiwara suffered every imaginable indignity. “Let me go! Let me go! Who is it? Who dares to plot against me?” he screamed in anguish.

“Ha! Fujiwara, do you still recognize me?” came a familiar voice. Through the dim light, Yoshihiko Noda approached slowly. Of course, this “Yoshihiko Noda” was merely Xiao Fei in disguise.

“You... you are Colonel Noda! Why are you imprisoning me? What is this place?” Fujiwara searched through every scrap of knowledge and memory, but he found no trace of such a prison in any record.

“You’re mistaken,” Xiao Fei replied with a laugh. “I’m no Colonel Noda. Open your eyes and see who I truly am.” With that, he tore off the mask from his face and removed the wig, revealing the clear features of a young Chinese boy standing proudly before him.

Fujiwara was struck with terror and sudden realization—he had been thoroughly deceived. But regret now was far too late.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?” Fujiwara snarled, his teeth clenched in fury, wishing he could tear Xiao Fei apart.

“Who I am is not for you to know,” Xiao Fei replied with a sneer. “All you need to do is reflect on the crimes you have committed against our great nation. Also, I have a task for you: you have three days to repent and confess every secret you know about your country to me. When I return, I expect the whole truth from you. If you cooperate, you will suffer less. Do not even think of taking your own life—in here, even that right has been stripped from you. Ha ha ha!”

With the echo of his laughter fading, Xiao Fei’s figure vanished as well.

“Who are you? I’ll kill you!” Fujiwara howled like a mad dog, lunging and screaming in vain.

For more than a decade, Fujiwara had indeed committed unforgivable crimes against the Chinese people. He had raped and murdered dozens of Chinese girls, using their suffering to cultivate a sinister art from his homeland. He had allowed his subordinates to violate hundreds of young Chinese women. He had orchestrated the assassination of over a hundred revolutionary youths and poisoned dozens of Chinese scientists and outstanding professionals in various fields. To capture Chen Yongjie, he had even slaughtered all of Chen’s relatives.

His crimes were so numerous that words could scarcely record them all.

Now, this murderous fiend was locked away in a lightless military prison, enduring every form of inhuman torment—a fate he richly deserved. Fujiwara found life worse than death. Desperate for release, he tried to end his own life, but no matter what method he attempted, mysterious mechanical arms intervened, preventing even something as simple as biting his own tongue. It was then that Fujiwara truly understood: here, even death was not his to claim.

With Fujiwara dealt with, Xiao Fei slipped away and rejoined Li Shishi and Qin Tianxiang.

By now, the Fujiwara estate was in utter chaos. The servants and warriors who had survived the explosion fled in panic. But Xiao Fei was not about to let these lackeys escape. The three of them, armed with machine guns seized from Fujiwara, opened fire without mercy.

In this way, Xiao Fei and his companions eliminated all 109 of Fujiwara’s associates.

Fujiwara Ichiro had been dispatched by his homeland as a council member to China, handling diplomatic affairs. He had also opened a martial arts school as the inheritor of a renowned sword style, and had forged alliances with Japanese businessmen in China. All those gathered that day—over a hundred—were killed without exception.

As for the young girl Emi Fujiwara, a product of a mixed Chinese-Japanese union, she posed no real threat to Xiao Fei.

The tremendous explosion alarmed the nearby troops under Hu Baiwan, as well as the personnel in the British, French, and American concessions. Each party sent agents to investigate.

The Japanese concession and the Japanese envoy in China responded immediately, dispatching a large force to examine the incident, simultaneously pressuring the Beiyang government for an explanation.

The Beiyang government sent dozens of detectives to investigate. Yuan Shikai took the matter with utmost seriousness, appointing his own son, Yuan Keding, to personally oversee the case in Jiangning.

The gravity of the situation could not be overstated. Over a hundred Japanese citizens killed in China—this was an explosive story, certain to become a pretext for open aggression, something Xiao Fei had anticipated and prepared for.

Days of investigation by the multinational inquiry commission yielded but a single conclusion: the explosion site’s basement and side rooms were filled with chemical agents and unstable substances for biological experiments. It was clear that Fujiwara and Noda had been secretly developing biological weapons, and the explosion had occurred due to an accident during experimentation. According to the United Nations Convention on Warfare, the use of biological weapons was strictly prohibited; any state secretly developing such weapons would face international condemnation.

Thus, Japan became the target of worldwide criticism and was forced to abandon the matter.

The repercussions extended even further. According to the original course of history, Japan had planned to land warships at Qingdao on August 6, 1914, just three days later. But faced with overwhelming international pressure after this incident, they had no choice but to cancel the operation.

When news reached Japan, every member of the Fujiwara clan became a national pariah and traitor. Even Fujiwara Ichiro’s mother, who had just celebrated her eightieth birthday, committed suicide by disembowelment in shame before the emperor.

Perhaps only the young Emi Fujiwara was left to carry the family’s bloodline.

With Japanese pressure gone, Hu Baiwan relaxed his military stance against Qinglong Mountain, unwilling to risk his soldiers in a battle with no certainty of victory. Jiangning returned once more to its former vitality.

Xiao Fei sent word to the spies of Qinglong Mountain embedded in Jiangning, asking them to relay news of this victory to his brothers. All of Qinglong Mountain erupted in celebration. They drank and feasted, shouting at the top of their lungs, “Long live the Sovereign! Long live the Sovereign!”

Liu Susu, her eyes brimming with tears of joy, waited eagerly for Xiao Fei’s return.

Xiao Fei, finally able to breathe easy, did not rush back to Qinglong Mountain. Instead, he lingered in the bustling Jiangning, claiming he wished to enjoy the beauty of the Ten Li of Qinhuai. But as Qin Tianxiang put it, Xiao Fei had been firmly tethered to Li Shishi’s side.

As lanterns glimmered and crowds thronged the streets, dusk brought Jiangning to its most enchanting hour. Yet Qin Tianxiang had no heart for such sights.

“Hmph, spending all day in a brothel and claiming to be gathering intelligence—what utter nonsense!” she muttered, unable to bear the revelry of the Yihong Courtyard, nor the flirtatious banter between Li Shishi and Xiao Fei. She walked alone along the Qinhuai River, cursing Xiao Fei in her heart for his callousness.

Now dressed once again as a woman, Qin Tianxiang moved with an elegant, light step along the riverbank. Catching her reflection in the water, she could not help but smile. So, I can be this beautiful too, she mused. It’s just that scoundrel Xiao Fei hasn’t the sense to appreciate it.

But why should his appreciation matter? There are plenty of men who admire me, Qin Tianxiang thought with a huff.

Lost in thought, she suddenly bumped into someone. Looking up in surprise, she saw a young gentleman in a suit and tie, staring at her in a daze.

“How beautiful...” The words escaped him before he could help himself.

Qin Tianxiang blushed and quickly lowered her head.