The next morning, the fog had cleared, replaced by pale, cold sunlight that seemed unable to penetrate the gloom that now enveloped Eternal Flame Academy. News of Lieutenant He's "accident" had spread like a plague, carried by hurried whispers in the corridors and speculative glances in the dining hall. Morning training was canceled. The entire academy held its breath, waiting.
The stage for the confrontation was Colonel Ji Jin's always tidy office. Today, however, the neatness of the room felt like a mask covering the chaos beneath. Ji Jin sat behind his large mahogany desk, his face a mask of stiff displeasure. Across from him stood a trio of reformist instructors. He Xiang was present, his arm slung in bandages, his face pale but his eyes burning with cold determination. By his side, Hu Yanzhen stood with a posture so tense it looked like it was about to explode, while Lee Junshan stood slightly behind, his calm like an icy lake hiding a dangerous current beneath.
"I have received the initial report from Sergeant Ma," Ji Jin began, his voice dry and formal, as if discussing a trivial logistical matter. "This is a very unfortunate incident. Negligence in equipment inspection cannot be tolerated. I will ensure that the sergeant responsible receives the most severe disciplinary action."
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He deliberately framed the incident as a procedural failure, a blatant attempt to dismiss the case and bury it under a mountain of bureaucratic paperwork.
Hu Yanzhen could not hold back any longer. He slammed his palm on the table, making Ji Jin's inkwell jump. "Negligence?!" he growled, his voice low and trembling with suppressed rage. "Lieutenant He almost died, Colonel! He fell off a cliff because of a rope that was deliberately cut, and you call it 'negligence'? Are you blind, or are you part of this?"
The accusation was so direct, so bold, that Ji Jin jerked back in his chair, his face red with humiliation. "Watch your mouth, Captain Hu! You are accusing a superior officer without any evidence. This kind of emotional and paranoid attitude is what is destroying the discipline in this academy!"
"Calm down, Yanzhen," Lee Junshan said, placing a reassuring hand on Hu Yanzhen's shoulder, though his grip was firm. He then stepped forward, his gaze cold and unwavering as he met Ji Jin's. "With all due respect, Colonel, this is no longer a matter of emotion. This is a matter of evidence."
From his pocket, Lee Junshan carefully pulled out the handkerchief he had used the night before. He unfolded it on Ji Jin's desk, revealing the neatly cut end of the rope and, beside it, a small metal shard that glinted in the lamplight.
"This was not negligence," Lee Junshan said with sharp emphasis. "This was a calculated act of sabotage. We demand a full, thorough, and transparent investigation, led by an independent committee, not just by your internal staff. We will submit an official report to the Ministry of Defense this morning."
The threat—to take this matter to a higher level, beyond his authority—made Ji Jin pause. He stared at the evidence on his desk, then at the uncompromising faces before him. He knew he could no longer ignore this. "Very well," he said reluctantly, his tone bitter. "The investigation will continue. But I warn you, do not cause chaos in my academy with your ghost hunting."
The meeting ended without resolution, but the battle lines had been clearly drawn.
Back in their dimly lit office, the atmosphere was heavy with urgency. Lee Junshan sat under the lamp, using tweezers and a magnifying glass to carefully examine the tiny metal fragments. He Xiang, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, was reviewing the cadet roster and training schedule, looking for patterns or anomalies. Hu Yanzhen paced incessantly, too restless to sit still.
After a few minutes of tense silence, Lee Junshan straightened. "I know what this is," he said softly, and his two friends immediately turned to him.
"This is a piece of piano wire."
The name itself sounded deadly. "High-carbon steel wire," Lee Junshan continued, his eyes dark. "Very thin, it is almost invisible in low light. Very strong, and when pulled tight, the tip is razor sharp. It is the weapon of choice for assassins and intelligence agents in Europe. Used to make silent snares or, as in this case, to sabotage equipment in a nearly undetectable manner.
Our perpetrator is no angry amateur. He is a trained professional."
The truth of those words felt like a punch to the gut. Their enemy was no longer just a wayward cadet or a jealous old instructor. There was an agent, an assassin, living and training among them.
Lee Junshan's explanation sparked something in Hu Yanzhen's mind. He stopped pacing, his eyes narrowing as a vague memory surfaced. "Wire... rope... knots," he muttered. "There was something..."
"What, Yanzhen?" He Xiang asked, sensing the change in his friend.
"A few weeks ago," Hu Yanzhen said slowly, trying to piece together his memories. "During basic survival skills training. I ordered the cadets to make simple snares to catch small animals. Most of them made clumsy, useless knots." He stopped, his eyes widening as the memory became clear. "But there was one person. That quiet cadet, the one from Tianjin. Gao Ming."
Lee Junshan and He Xiang stared at him, holding their breath.
"I watched him work from a distance," Hu Yanzhen continued. "He thought no one was watching. He wasn't making a simple snare. The knot he wove... it was very complicated, very efficient. I've never seen anything like it before. The kind of knot a skilled hunter or... or a special forces soldier would use. When I got close, he quickly took it apart and made a simpler knot like the others. At the time I thought he was just talented. But now..."
Gao Ming. An unremarkable cadet, whose background was listed as "the son of a merchant." A cadet who in physical training had shown above-average abilities that belied his mediocre appearance. The cadet who now, with this new discovery, suddenly became the prime suspect.
Lee Junshan immediately turned to their filing cabinet and pulled out Gao Ming's personnel file. His photo showed an ordinary-looking, forgettable young man. His report was clean, his grades average, except for a note about "excellent survival skills."
"We need to know everything about him," Lee Junshan said firmly. "Send a request to our contact in Nanjing. Run the most in-depth background check on a merchant in Tianjin named Gao and his son. I suspect we won't find anything, which in itself would be proof."
As they spoke, He Xiang, despite the pain in his arm, refused to sit still. He had returned to his office, not out of anger, but out of burning determination. The attack had failed to scare him; instead, it had infuriated him.
Late that night, the three of them were still awake in their office. The burden of the day hung heavy in the air. Hu Yanzhen was cleaning his pistol again, a ritual that calmed his nerves. Lee Junshan was drafting an encrypted report for General Zhang.
He Xiang, who was trying to jot down notes with his left hand, winced in pain as the bandage on his shoulder shifted.
Lee Junshan saw it. Without a word, he got up, picked up the first aid kit, and knelt down beside his chair. "Let me see," he said softly.
He carefully unwrapped the bandage, his movements clinical yet gentle. Beneath it, a large bluish-purple bruise was visible on He Xiang's shoulder, with several deep scratches that had been cleaned and stitched up in the clinic. Lee Junshan cleaned the wounds again with antiseptic, his touch light and professional.
From across the room, Hu Yanzhen watched them. She saw the way He Xiang's shoulder relaxed slightly under Lee Junshan's touch. She saw the genuine concern in Lee Junshan's eyes, one that went beyond the mere concern of a colleague. She felt a sharp twinge of jealousy, but this time, it was mixed with something else: gratitude that Lee Junshan could provide the kind of care she could not. She could only offer anger and protection, but Lee Junshan offered healing.
After she finished re-bandaging the wound, Lee Junshan did not immediately move away. His hand paused for a moment on He Xiang's uninjured shoulder. "You should rest," he said softly.
"Rest won't catch the person who did this," He Xiang replied, her eyes meeting Lee Junshan's. "I won't hide. I won't let him win."
His strong determination, even when he was injured, made the bond between them even closer. This was no longer just a mission from the Ministry. It had become deeply personal. Their war was not just to clean up the academy, but to protect one of their own.
Hu Yanzhen put down her gun. She walked over to the map, sticking a red pin right above the name of the city of Tianjin. "Gao Ming," she said, His voice was hoarse but filled with new purpose. "We will hunt him."
Three pairs of eyes met in the dimly lit room. They were no longer just instructors. They were hunters, and they had just identified their first prey. The walls of the academy may have cracked, but within those cracks, three pillars had coalesced into an unshakable foundation.
****to be continued