Chapter 1520 - Bait?

"I was just sitting here... This woman kept trying to solicit me. I ignored her, and she started yelling..."

"Is that so?" The officer turned to the streetwalker.

The streetwalker glared at Lin Ming. "That's not what happened! He wanted my services but wouldn't pay."

"This is a non-business zone. What are you doing here?" The officer's gaze fell on the collar around her neck. He asked irritably, "Where's your yellow ticket?"

The streetwalker, knowing she was in the wrong, had no choice but to produce her yellow ticket.

The officer looked at it and read aloud: "Xin Nachun—so you're a non-citizen." His tone dripped with disdain. "Operating outside your zone, illegal solicitation. Just these two charges—you're looking at fifty lashes and a few days' rest. Tomorrow you'll be up before the Summary Court."

Xin Nachun's face filled with fear. Clearly, those fifty lashes were no pleasant experience.

The officer made a record, noted Lin Ming's temporary ID number, and had him sign.

"You're free to go, sir. She has violated the Regulations on Custom Trade; the rest doesn't concern you." The officer stowed her yellow ticket in his canvas bag, took out a rope, tied it to the ring on Xin Nachun's neck collar, and led her away. Lin Ming suddenly understood: so that was what the collar was for.

Lin Ming hurried away from the embankment, inwardly worried. Those police came awfully fast! Could this be a trap? The Brocade Guard codes were supposed to be internal secrets, but he had heard that in recent years many operatives sent on missions had gone missing. Though most had probably died in the line of duty, some might have been captured or turned traitor. It was possible the codes had leaked.

Still, he recalled that most Brocade Guard personnel were deployed to Liaodong; some had gone to Yunnan and Guizhou during the She-An Rebellion. He had not heard of any being sent to Hainan. Apart from the pirate raids on Guangzhou, Guangdong had been peaceful these past few years. No one would send agents to Lingao without cause. He believed Li Yongxun would not have handed over this family heirloom to the Cropped-Hairs.

Thinking this, he felt somewhat reassured. On his way back, he passed by Heyuan Street and noted that the police station was indeed quite close to his meeting spot. If officers had been patrolling the street, it was possible they heard the commotion and came running—though they had been rather eager.

But if the Cropped-Hairs really suspected him, they probably would not have gone to such lengths. By Lin Ming's Brocade Guard logic, if there was a suspect, just arrest him and apply severe torture—what confession could not be extracted?

The only problem was that he had now offended his fellow operative. He was not worried about the agent—from what he had seen, Xin Nachun was clearly a local recruit. If she was willing to do such a dangerous job under Cropped-Hair rule, she should know the stakes and would not make wild accusations.

The colleague who had not shown himself was more of a concern. If that person survived and returned to Guangdong, encountering Lin Ming there could lead to an extremely troublesome dispute.

Better for him to disappear quietly in Lingao, Lin Ming thought grimly. He must not ruin my plans with my sister-in-law.

With that thought, he took a roundabout route, confirmed no one was following, and returned to Haixing Store.

The next day he went to work as usual. After work, pretending to take a stroll, he went back to the spot where his sister-in-law had left her response. Sure enough, a new mark had been added: The embankment is not safe.

Clearly, Li Yongxun had gone to the embankment last night. Knowing it was unsafe, she would not go again. Lin Ming nodded to himself: his sister-in-law was indeed talented. All the precautions he had taught her about using code marks, she had remembered.

Now Lin Ming was slightly troubled. With fellow operatives in Lingao, his code marks were an open book. If he left new marks to arrange another meeting, and if the colleague was sensible, fine—but if they were a hothead insisting on making contact to serve the court, that would be a problem.

For now, contact with Li Yongxun had to be suspended. Fortunately, they had already made contact; meeting again would not be difficult. Lin Ming decided to observe for a few days. As long as he did not leave new marks, Li Yongxun would not seek him out on her own.

Li Yongxun had also gone to the embankment that night, though she arrived a little later. Discovering police there, she immediately left. The next day at work, she checked the nightly security briefing. Sure enough, there had been a minor incident on the embankment: the prostitute Xin Nachun had been detained for operating outside her zone and illegal solicitation by the Heyuan Street police station. She would be transferred to the Summary Court today.

Such petty cases were common in Lingao and easily handled. The Summary Court could adjudicate dozens a day. For someone like Xin Nachun, it would mean fifty lashes in the court's Corrections Office, then a few days locked in stocks on Heyuan Street for public display.

Clearly, Lin Ming had gotten into some kind of altercation with this prostitute last night.

But why had Xin Nachun been so bold? Operating outside her zone and illegal solicitation happened, but usually in remote areas with weak police presence. Doing it on the Heyuan embankment, right under the nose of the police station, was reckless. The Corrections Office executioners were all veteran runners from the old yamen—a single lash could twist your face in agony; you could not even scream. Three lashes could cause internal injury; ten could kill. They were formidable. And for a yellow-ticket prostitute, once sentenced, whether or not she was put on public display, she would be out of commission for at least five or six days—a significant loss of income.

Li Yongxun vaguely sensed something was off. Xin Nachun was probably not an ordinary prostitute.

Could the Political Security Bureau be fishing? Li Yongxun's anxiety spiked. She had indeed not revealed the Brocade Guard code system. But that did not mean the Cropped-Hairs definitely did not know it. The Brocade Guard was a massive, bloated organization with many members. What if the Security Bureau had learned the codes through some other channel?

At this thought, her heart clenched. If that were true, not only was Lin Ming in danger, but she herself was in peril.

Imagining herself arrested by the Political Security Bureau, taken to the basement for interrogation, stripped and strapped to a torture frame like the prisoners she herself had interrogated...

Li Yongxun felt a sinking weight in her abdomen; cold sweat broke out on her back. For an instant, the thought of turning herself in and reporting Lin Ming flashed through her mind.

Don't panic, don't panic. She steadied herself. There was no evidence yet that Xin Nachun was a Security Bureau bait. The first thing she had to do was verify this.

How to verify? Though her rank was not low, her position was just an ordinary clerk in the Household Registration Division. She had no legitimate reason to access a yellow-ticket prostitute's file.

Of course she could query it—after all, prostitutes also had household registrations and identity certificates. But the query would leave a record, which could become evidence later.

After much deliberation, her only option was to visit the Summary Court's Corrections Office. If Xin Nachun was really bait, either the sentence would not be carried out at all, or it would be faked. She could tell if the executioners were going through the motions.

Visiting the Summary Court was part of the Household Registration Division's duties. Every day, after sentences were handed down, the division updated registrations based on the verdicts. Anyone sentenced to a labor camp had their local registration and ID canceled and was processed for transfer—a one-stop service.

This routine task was typically rotated among the newcomers.

Luckily, I have a newcomer right here, she thought.

Li Yongxun went to the deputy director and proposed taking Zuo Yamei to the Summary Court today.

"Can't she go alone?" The deputy director was somewhat reluctant. "You've got a pile of work yourself..."

"She hasn't done this task before. I'll take her to get familiar with it." Li Yongxun kept a straight face. "My work is fine. I can catch up on my rest day."

With permission granted, she immediately called Zuo Yamei, gathered the relevant forms and ledgers, and set off for the Summary Court.

Since it was not urgent official business, they could not use a police wagon or bicycles—Li Yongxun was very curious about bicycles and had worked hard to learn to ride one, but she seldom had the chance.

The two had to go on foot and take the public carriage.

Lingao's Summary Court had originally been located in the trading post at East Gate Market. As caseloads grew, the tribunal had been divided: the trading post now handled only economic and civil cases, while criminal and public-order cases each had separate courts.

The Summary Court remained in East Gate Market—where public-order cases were most numerous—for convenience and as a form of deterrence.

The new Summary Court was quite large. In addition to multiple courtrooms that could operate simultaneously, it had a Corrections Office for short-term detention and corporal punishment. For minor offenses like spitting, littering, and graffiti, sending offenders to labor camps was too harsh; besides, they currently did not need that many low-level laborers. Binding them to a frame and giving their backsides a few dozen lashes was more effective.

They arrived at a designated office. The desk was already piled with adjudicated verdict documents from the morning—the Summary Court began at seven a.m. Li Yongxun instructed Zuo Yamei on the procedures while keeping an eye on the courtyard through the glass window.

In the yard, prisoners awaiting their hearings sat in lines. They looked dejected, seated under the eaves on either side, watched by a few cigarette-smoking officers.

Xin Nachun's verdict would not be here—her offense did not warrant labor reform. If she was not already done being punished, she would be in the waiting line.

Li Yongxun guided Zuo Yamei through a few documents, and seeing no errors, excused herself, saying she had something to attend to, and left the office alone.