If the rifle sabotage had sent ripples of alarm through the academy, the following week brought a tidal wave of deeper suspicion. The resistance was no longer just coming from the shadows of the old staff; it was beginning to manifest itself through the cadets themselves, the young men who should have been blank canvases now showing the scribbles of hidden agendas.
The stage for the next revelation was the academy's dojo, a polished wooden hall that reeked of sweat and discipline. It was a scheduled day of hand-to-hand training led by Hu Yanzhen. His methods, as usual, were direct and uncompromising.
"Guns can jam! Bullets can run out!" he shouted as he strode through the rows of cadets in their white cotton training uniforms. "When all that happens, all you have left are your hands, your feet, and your courage. I'll make sure you know how to use all three!"
He demonstrated the basic techniques—punches, kicks, locks, and throws—with brutal force and precision. Then he ordered the cadets to practice in pairs. At first, the session went as expected. The cadets were awkward, hesitant, their movements more like a clumsy dance than a battle.
Then it was Wu Renjie's turn.
The mysterious cadet from Manchuria was paired with a cadet who was much larger than him. When the training began, Wu Renjie had been passive, simply dodging and parrying his more aggressive opponent's attacks. Hu Yanzhen, who was watching him, almost reprimanded him for his lack of initiative.
But then, his opponent made a mistake, leaving a small opening when throwing a punch that was too wide. In the blink of an eye, Wu Renjie moved. It was no longer a beginner's move. He slid to the side, using his opponent's momentum against him, his elbow hitting a nerve point on his opponent's arm, followed by a swift and precise leg sweep that sent the larger man off balance and crashing hard to the floor. All of this happened in less than two seconds. Silence.
Hu Yanzhen narrowed his eyes. It wasn't luck. It was deadly efficiency.
"Again!" Hu Yanzhen ordered. He switched Wu Renjie's opponent with another cadet, one of the best in the class. The result was the same. Wu Renjie waited, watched, then exploited the slightest opening with stealthy speed and brutality. His movements were not the standard military style taught in the academy; they were more like something older, deadlier, designed to incapacitate or kill quickly.
Frustrated and curious, Hu Yanzhen stepped forward. "Very well, Cadet Wu. Now you train with me."
Whispers spread among the cadets. The instructor challenged a cadet. Hu Yanzhen took a stance, motioning for Wu Renjie to attack. Wu Renjie hesitated for a moment, then struck with a swift straight punch. Hu Yanzhen easily parried it, but he was surprised by the power behind the blow.
For the next minute, the two engaged in a brief, intense exchange. Hu Yanzhen was clearly far superior in strength and experience, but he was frustrated by Wu Renjie's ability to anticipate and counter his attacks in unexpected ways. This was no longer a cadet learning; this was a seasoned practitioner trying to hide his skills.
Hu Yanzhen finally managed to trap Wu Renjie, locking his arms and sending him crashing to the ground. He pressed his knee into the cadet's chest, his breath coming in short gasps. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked, his voice low and demanding.
Wu Renjie looked up at him from the floor, his face pale but his eyes calm. "I was just copying your moves, Captain."
It was a blatant lie, and everyone in the room knew it. Hu Yanzhen let go, his suspicion of Wu Renjie now turning into genuine alarm. Who exactly was this cadet?
On the other end of the spectrum, Lin Fengqing's vulnerability came into focus. It happened during an obstacle course designed by Hu Yanzhen but supervised by He Xiang. The final obstacle was a twelve-foot-high wooden wall. The cadets had to run and jump, using their upper body strength to pull themselves up.
Lin Fengqing, with his smaller frame, struggled. He failed on his first and second attempts. He Xiang watched him closely, seeing the desperation beginning to show in his eyes.
"Use your momentum, Lin Feng!" He Xiang shouted. "Not just arm strength!"
On the third try, driven by determination, Lin Fengqing ran faster, jumped higher.
He managed to reach the edge of the wall. As he struggled to pull himself up, his muscles tensed, and the thick cloth he had used to flatten his chest loosened slightly. It was only a split second, a subtle change in contour beneath his sweat-soaked uniform.
He Xiang, who had anticipated this, was the only one who noticed it clearly. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jin Wuyou, who had just cleared the obstacle course, pause and stare at Lin Fengqing. Jin Wuyou's eyes narrowed, a frown of confusion and suspicion appearing on his face. He saw something was wrong.
He Xiang's heart was pounding. If the arrogant Jin Wuyou were to voice his suspicions, Lin Fengqing's secret would be exposed, and his career at the academy would be over before it began.
Without thinking twice, He Xiang took action. "CADET JIN!" he shouted, his voice breaking everyone's concentration. "What are you doing just standing there? Do you think this is a circus act? Do twenty push-ups right now for being lazy!"
Jin Wuyou was taken aback by the unexpected outburst. "But, Lieutenant, I just…"
"NOW!" He Xiang ordered, pointing to the ground.
The diversion worked. All attention turned to Jin Wuyou, who furiously began doing push-ups. In that brief moment, Lin Fengqing, with one last, desperate gasp, managed to scale the wall and jump down the other side. He paused for a moment, glancing at He Xiang from afar. No words were spoken, but the look in his eyes was a mixture of deep gratitude and genuine fear.
That night, a report about Wu Renjie reached the trio of instructors. A night guard had caught him near the academy's archives area, far from his barracks. The report stated that Wu Renjie had been seen trying to unlock a side door to the archives room before the guard had appeared. When questioned, his excuse of "getting lost while looking for the library" sounded incredibly weak.
In their dimly lit office, the three pieces of the puzzle from that day lay on the table between them: Wu Renjie's unnatural martial prowess, his suspicious attempt to infiltrate the archives, and Lin Fengqing's near-exposed vulnerability. The weight of secrets and danger weighed heavier.
"So, we have a cadet who fights like a professional assassin and tries to break into the archives," Hu Yanzhen concluded with frustration. "What is he looking for? Student lists? Instructor records? Or something older?"
"And we have a girl who disguises herself as a man, risking everything to become a soldier," He Xiang added, her voice concerned. "If Jin Wuyou starts spreading rumors, his life here will be hell."
Lee Junshan, who had been silent until then, stood up and walked over to a map of China hanging on the wall. "We have two kinds of ghosts," he said quietly, tracing the border of Manchuria with his finger, where Wu Renjie came from. "One may be the ghost of the Oda conspiracy, an agent infiltrated into the academy with a specific mission. And the other…" he paused, "…is the ghost of our own society, forcing a talented young woman to lie and hide just to serve her country."
A silence fell between them. His statement summed up the complexity of their struggle perfectly.
He Xiang stared at Lee Junshan, touched by her understanding. Hu Yanzhen, seeing the look, felt a familiar twinge of jealousy, but she quickly suppressed it, turning it into sharp focus.
"Then we hunt on two fronts," Hu Yanzhen said, her voice hoarse. She gestured to the list of cadets on the table. "We need to find out everything we can about Wu Renjie. His background, his family, how he escaped Manchuria. Something about his story doesn't add up."
"And I'll keep an eye on Lin Fengqing," He Xiang said determinedly. "I won't let prejudice destroy him."
Lee Junshan turned from the map. He walked over to He Xiang and, in a brief but meaningful gesture of support, gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not alone in this," he whispered.
Hu Yanzhen saw the gesture. She saw the warmth in Lee Junshan's eyes and the relief on He Xiang's face. For a moment, the room felt stifled. She turned abruptly to the blackboard, picking up a piece of chalk. "Let's map out what we know about Wu Renjie," she said, her voice a little louder than necessary, drawing attention back to their mission.
The unspoken romantic tension, as always, fueled their growing friendship and cooperation. They knew that the shadows on the academy walls were growing longer and darker.
And they were the only thing standing between the shadows and the light.
***to be continued