Tianzhu: The Record of Foreign Stories in the Republic of China

Chapter 24 Rat Killing (10)
Ma Shiqi understood what he meant, and quickly shook his head and said, "This won't work, we might both die here..."

The masked man shouted, "Hurry up, hold me tight."

Ma Shiqi had no choice but to climb onto his back and hug him tightly with both hands.The masked man grasped the rope with both hands, stepped on the wall with both feet, and climbed up as if walking.This man is obviously a practitioner, with great strength, with a person on his back, flying over the eaves and walls, as if walking on flat ground, with only a few "swish", he has already jumped to the top of the wall.Then put away the flying claws, propped his arms against the wall, and jumped down, Ma Shiqi only heard a gust of wind "whoosh" beside his ears, and opened his eyes to see that he had landed safely outside the courtyard wall.

"The assassin ran outside, quickly open the back door and chase after him!" In the yard, Yao Waquan was still yelling angrily.

The masked man obviously came prepared, he had already found out the escape route, said: "Let's go." He dragged Ma Shiqi into a deserted alley.Before reaching the exit of the alley, he turned into a side road, and then turned over the back garden of a family, made seven turns, and finally entered a dark alley.Ma Shiqi felt dizzy for a while, and even he, an old Xiulin man who had been wandering around the streets and alleys of Xiulin since he was a child, was in a daze and didn't know where he was.

He was out of breath from running, his legs were weak, and he was about to stop to catch his breath, when the masked man said, "There are still pursuers behind, don't stop, we will be in a safe place soon." He pulled hard, and pulled again He staggered forward for a while, passed through a narrow alley sandwiched by two high courtyard walls, and when he turned a corner, Ma Shiqi suddenly felt a bright light in his eyes, it turned out that he followed the masked man to turn east Turning to the west, I ran out of Yipu Street unconsciously and came to the edge of the Yangtze River.

A boat with a black awning is moored by the river.The masked man said, "Get on the boat." As soon as he pushed him onto the boat, Ma Shiqi couldn't help himself, and stepped onto the boat with one stride.The masked man untied the boat's rope and pushed the boat toward the center of the river, and the boat swung away from the water and left the shore.When the boat was more than ten feet away, the masked man gave it a full swing, like a flying swallow, and landed steadily on the bow, but the boat didn't even shake.

Ma Shiqi couldn't help applauding: "It's so easy!"

The masked man grabbed the penny and poked it hard at the bottom of the river. The boat shook slightly, and headed towards the center of the river like an arrow. The sound of the water was rushing, and it was tens of feet away from the shore in just a moment.

At this moment, Yao Waquan came panting with a group of people, and fired a burst of guns on the shore, but the black-covered boat had already gone far away, so how could the bullets reach it?

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The masked man abandoned the pole and used the oar, and swung the two oars very fast.The black-covered boat is like a shuttle, and it travels several miles downstream in less than a bag of cigarettes.The masked man looked back and saw that Yao Waquan and the others were not chasing him, so he breathed a sigh of relief, stopped the oars, and let the boat float in the middle of the river.

Ma Shiqi was shocked, he bowed to him, and said gratefully: "Thank you for saving your life, the brave man, if not for the strong man's help today, I am afraid that the little old man would have already become Yao Waquan's dead soul."

The masked man hurriedly picked him up and said, "Master Ma, you don't need to thank me. You were my savior once. Seeing that my benefactor is in trouble, how can you not save me?"

Ma Shiqi was taken aback by these words. He stared at the other party's eyes exposed outside the black mask and said, "I am your savior? Where did you say that?"

The masked man glanced at him, didn't say much, just smiled, and stretched out his hand to remove the black mask covering his face, revealing a big square face with clear outlines.When Ma Shiqi saw it, he was stunned: "So it's you." This masked man was actually Zhu Dapeng who had just parted with him in the cave of Xiulin Mountain not long ago.

With a smile on his face, Zhu Dapeng cupped his hands and said, "Master Ma, we meet again."

Ma Shiqi couldn't help but took a step back, looked him up and down, and saw that he was dressed in black and black trousers, wrapped in leggings, with a pistol in his waist, with a heroic and heroic appearance, completely different from the frowning and downhearted man in the past. The homeless man couldn't help but look surprised: "You, you are..."

Zhu Dapeng laughed loudly, invited him to sit in the cabin, and without hiding it from him, he readily revealed his true identity.

It turned out that Zhu Dapeng was a member of the New Fourth Army, and he was also the commander of a reconnaissance company.In order to disrupt the Japanese army's position and open the way for the large troops behind, his superiors sent him to sneak into Xiulin City by himself.

On that day, he found out that Ozuka Zhenyi was going to attend the [-]th birthday banquet of Chen Liangyou, a cloth merchant in Xiulin City, so he deliberately pretended to be a man from other places who was selling rats, trying to sneak into the birthday banquet, looking for an opportunity to shoot and assassinate Ozuka. .Unexpectedly, he met Ma Shiqi, a real mouse show entertainer. The two mice fought, and he was defeated. Naturally, the plan to assassinate Xiaozuka at Boss Chen's house could no longer be carried out.

On that stormy night later, he quietly sneaked into the Japanese army's garrison and attacked Kozuka for the second time. He didn't want to be discovered by the enemy's army dogs, and the Japanese soldiers chased him all the way to Xiulin Mountain. In the end, he was shot twice in the body and escaped by chance. The Japanese army pursued him and passed out at the entrance of the cave, only to be saved by Ma Shiqi.

Unwilling to fail, he healed his wounds and bid farewell to Ma Shiqi after he went down the mountain, and wanted to carry out the third assassination of Xiaozuka.However, Kotsuka has stepped up his guard since the last time he was in danger. Let alone getting close to Kotsuka's residence, it is very difficult to sneak into the Japanese army garrison.Later he found out that Xiaozuka would come to Yao Waquan's house on Yipu Street every once in a while, and he didn't bring many guards with him every time he came, so the precautions were not strict.He wanted to assassinate Kozuka in Yao Wa's family.

He wandered around Yipu Street for several days, familiarized himself with the surrounding terrain, and then climbed over the wall and entered Yao's house without anyone noticing. He wanted to lurk in Yao Waquan's house and wait for Xiaozuka's arrival.Unexpectedly, he accidentally ran into the scene where Ma Shiqi was fighting with Yao Waquan's master and apprentice today. Only then did he know that the pockmarked old man who saved his life in the cave that day was Ma Shiqi.Seeing that his savior was about to be killed by Yao Waquan's gun, at a critical moment, he also ignored his plan to assassinate Kozuka Zhenichi, so he had to save Ma Shiqi first.

After Ma Shiqi knew his identity, he heard that it was because of him that he delayed his plan to assassinate Kozuka twice in a row. If he had known Zhu Dapeng's identity earlier, when he was at Boss Chen's house, he would not have competed with him for the business.

Zhu Dapeng smiled heartily, and said: "You can't blame this. You didn't know it at the time. It's not wrong to argue with reason in order to make a living. Besides, don't we two never know each other? Although we have been assassinated several times in a row Xiaozuka didn't succeed, but I believe that as long as I stay in Xiulin City, I will always find a chance to kill him." He glanced at Ma Shiqi's face, and then asked suspiciously, "Master Ma, what are you doing?" face... what happened to you?"

Hearing his question, Ma Shiqi couldn't help feeling sore in his heart, sighed, and said, "Oh, God really has no eyes, and the family is unfortunate." So Yao Waquan wanted to occupy the "Rat King" and get his daughter, how could he borrow Zhu Dapeng? In the name of Flying Knife, he designed to bury himself alive, how he was disfigured by a few little mice and then escaped with the help of two hamsters, how he knew the news of his daughter, how he planned to take revenge on Yao Waquan, but was calculated to almost kill him Said everything.

After hearing this, Zhu Dapeng frowned, clenched his fists, and said angrily: "This traitor, I knew it was so hateful, I should have shot him today, so as to remove the evil for the people."

Ma Shiqi said: "The matter between me and Yao Waquan, a bastard, is a family feud. If you want to kill Xiaozuka Zhenyi, it is a national hatred. If you shoot Yao Waquan today, even though you have avenged my family , but once Yao Waquan dies, Xiaozuka will never come to Yipu Street again, so if you want to kill him, wouldn’t it be even more difficult to do so?”

Zhu Dapeng nodded and said, "That's true."

Ma Shiqi said: "Although Yao Waquan is not dead now, Xiaozuka Zhenyi will still come to his house, but Yao Waquan will definitely report today's incident to Xiaozuka Zhenyi. When Xiaozuka comes again in the future, he will definitely We will bring more manpower and strengthen our security, if you want to assassinate him in Yipu Street or Yao Waquan's house, I'm afraid it will not be an easy task."

Zhu Dapeng said: "That's right, after this trouble, if you want to kill Kozuka Teichi, you have to think of another way." He was silent for a moment, glanced at Ma Shiqi, suddenly thought of something, raised his brows, and said , "Hey, by the way, Master Ma, you just said that Ozuka Sadaichi would come to Yao's house once a week, didn't you?"

Ma Shiqi said: "Yes, I heard that the Japanese Army's Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department is actually a place for research on bacterial warfare. Kozuka will go to Yao Waquan's place every other week to carry two cages of white mice back for experiments."

Zhu Dapeng suddenly realized, and said: "During this period of time, I have been lurking in Yipu Street and observing secretly. I often see Xiaozuka taking two guards and carrying two cages of mice back to the station. I was still wondering why they mentioned so many things. What is the little white mouse going back to do? It turned out to be for this purpose. In this way, killing him is even more urgent. Otherwise, after they succeed in the experiment, they will make a bacterial bomb and a bacterial cannon to deal with us Chinese. It's troublesome."

Ma Shiqi said: "That's right. If they release those bacteria, it will be a great plague. Don't talk about people, I'm afraid even animals won't be able to survive."

Zhu Dapeng thought for a while, then suddenly slapped his hands and said: "Since Xiaozuka Zhenyi has to come to Yao Waquan's house every week to watch him use the 'Rat King' to summon the mice, and then bring the collected mice back, it means During this period of time, he has been with Yao Waquan all the time. If this is the case, I have a way to bring the two of them together."

Ma Shiqi looked at him and asked, "You mean you can kill two birds with one stone and give Xiaozuka and Yao Waquan to the bastards in one fell swoop..." At this point, he used his hand as a knife and made a beheading gesture.

Zhu Dapeng nodded and said, "That's right. But this is my method, because I need two little white mice as props, so I need you to help me all the time."

Ma Shiqi hurriedly said: "It's a great thing to be able to avenge the family and hate the country. If you have any orders, just say it, and you don't need to be polite to my old man."

Zhu Dapeng straightened his face and said, "Okay, then I won't be polite to you. Although I have a plan, this matter needs to be discussed carefully. Let's go ashore first and find a place to live before we talk about it."

While talking, Zhu Dapeng rowed the awning boat back again, and when he landed, Ma Shiqi saw that he had returned to Yipu Street again?Zhu Dapeng seemed to see through his thoughts, and said with a smile: "The most dangerous place is always the safest. I know that there is a Xinglong Inn at the end of the street, which happens to be diagonally opposite to Yao Waquan's house. Yao Waquan must still be in the whole country at this time. He never dreamed that we would live in the Xinglong Inn opposite his house." Ma Shiqi glanced at him and couldn't help admiring his extraordinary courage.

The two of them stayed behind closed doors in the inn, and on the third day, when the wind outside was no longer serious, Zhu Dapeng said to Ma Shiqi: "Master Ma, can you find a way to get me two little white mice? "

Ma Shiqi smiled and said, "Old man, have you forgotten what I was born into? Isn't it easy to catch two little white mice? But I heard that my good apprentice caught almost all the little white mice around here, so If we want to catch mice, we have to go to a place farther away, preferably by the river."

It was night, and the two came to the bank of the Yangtze River in the dark, and sat down on a piece of sand.It was the coldest season of the year, and the cold and wet river wind was blowing in front of us, even Zhu Dapeng couldn't help shivering.He glanced at Ma Shiqi and saw that he was empty-handed, he didn't bring any scented cakes or food to attract mice, and he didn't bring a mousetrap tool, so he didn't know how he was going to catch white mice.

Ma Shiqi could naturally see his doubts, smiled slightly, and without further explanation, took out a handful of tobacco leaves, rolled a pipe with rotten newspaper picked up from the street, and handed it to Zhu Dapeng.Zhu Dapeng shook his head and refused to smoke, so he was not polite, put it in his mouth, turned his back to hide from the north wind, wiped a match, lit the cigarette, and smoked again and again.

When his cigarette was almost finished, Zhu Dapeng saw that he had no intention of catching white mice, so he couldn't help becoming anxious and said, "Master Ma, can we kill Xiaozuka Zhenyi and Yao Waquan in one fell swoop this time? It all fell on these two white mice. If you can't catch it..."

"Hush..." Ma Shiqi suddenly threw away the cigarette, put a finger to his lips, and made a silent gesture towards him.Zhu Dapeng was taken aback for a moment, and immediately stopped talking.At this moment, two "squeaks" were heard suddenly, and there seemed to be two balls of white balls on the sand, approaching from a distance, and soon rolled to Ma Shiqi's feet.

Zhu Dapeng wiped his eyes and took a closer look, he couldn't help being stunned. What kind of white balls were those? They were clearly two living mice.Before he could recover, Ma Shiqi waved his sleeves, and the two mice disappeared.Just as he was wondering, he suddenly heard a "squeak" sound from Ma Shiqi's sleeves, and realized that he had already stuffed two little white mice into his sleeves.

Ma Shiqi put his hands in his sleeves, smiled at him who was stunned, and said, "Let's go, hurry back and warm yourself by the fire. I've been sitting by the river for more than half an hour. My old man is almost frozen to death." .”

Zhu Dapeng woke up like a dream, and quickly ran up to him and asked, "Master Ma, what kind of magic did you use to attract the mice?"

Ma Shiqi put his hand in front of his nostrils: "Smell, what's the smell?"

Zhu Dapeng sniffed it vigorously and said, "It seems to have a faint sour smell, which is strange. What kind of smell is this?"

Ma Shiqi chuckled and said, "It's called acidic ammonia smell. It's the smell secreted by male rats among white rats. It's also the smell that male rats attract female rats. These two little white rats are two female rats. Do you understand?"

Zhu Dapeng was stunned again, nodded as if he had realized something, but couldn't help asking: "Then why does your hand have such a smell?"

Ma Shiqi was shivering from the cold, put his hands into his sleeves again, looked back at him, and said, "If you are willing to accept me as your teacher, I will tell you the trick."

Zhu Dapeng smiled wryly and was speechless.

The north wind was blowing, and it was so cold that people seemed to be stuffed into a hole in the ice.When the two returned to the inn, they were almost frozen to death.Zhu Dapeng quickly lit a fire of charcoal, and the two of them sat around the fire, roasting for a long time before they felt a little warmth on their bodies.Ma Shiqi took out a small bamboo cage that had been woven a long time ago, stretched his sleeves, released the two mice, and filled them with bamboo cages.

Zhu Dapeng held the bamboo cage in his hand, played with the mice in the cage for a while, looked at the burning fire in front of him, and suddenly asked: "Master Ma, you said that you can train the mice so that they can see the stove, Can you automatically jump in regardless of everything?"

Ma Shiqi smiled and said: "It's not difficult. Isn't there that kind of transparent glass now? Go buy a piece of glass, light a charcoal fire in the center of the room, use the glass to separate the mice from the stove, and then glue the glass to the glass. A melon seed kernel. The mouse doesn’t know about glass. At first glance, it thought that the melon seed kernel was roasting in the fire. At the beginning, it was afraid of being hot, so it didn’t dare to grab the melon seeds and eat them. , it will try to eat melon seeds. After eating, I know that the melon seeds in the fire are not hot at all, so if there are melon seeds sticking to the glass by the stove in the future, it will dare to eat them with confidence, and it will not be hot at all. I am not afraid of fire anymore. As time goes on, the little white mouse will form a habit of thinking, and when it sees the stove, it will think that there must be melon seeds in the stove, and it will rush towards it without hesitation as before."

Zhu Dapeng stared at him and said, "You mean, after a period of intensive training, even if there is no glass to block them, they will jump into the stove to find melon seeds without hesitation?"

Ma Shiqi nodded and said, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)