Well, this is a massive misunderstanding!

The harsh roar of the military truck tore the afternoon tranquility of Old River Gou Village to shreds like a rusted saw.
The yellow dust kicked up by the wheels billowed at the village entrance, choking several curious half-grown children into a fit of coughing.
Villagers poked their heads out from their doorways and the edges of the fields, their faces painted with shock and suspicion.

"Are those Russians here again?"
"Good lord, why are there so many of them this time? And all their gear is gleaming!"
"Look at the truck, aren't those Wang Erhu and his gang of scoundrels? Why are they mixed up with the Russians again?"

The murmur of discussion rose and fell, carrying the rough and blunt directness typical of northeasterners.
The truck stopped in front of Xu Feng's courtyard gate, and twelve fully armed Soviet soldiers filed out of the truck bed.
Their movements were uniform and synchronized, their leather boots striking the ground with dull, forceful thuds.
An oppressive, murderous atmosphere instantly enveloped the entire village entrance.

Sandwiched in the middle, Wang Erhu tried to borrow the authorities' might to intimidate others, lifting his chin high, yet not daring to meet the gaze of any villager.
Half of his heart swelled with the triumph of a mission about to be accomplished, while the other half was gripped by a terror inspired by Eliza's words.
He felt as though he were dancing while hugging a bundle of dynamite, either blowing everyone else to smithereens or reducing himself to ashes.
Fatty and Skinny Monkey followed right behind him, not even daring to draw a full breath, their heads drooping like a pair of defeated, plague-stricken roosters.

Inside the courtyard, Lin Xue was intently tinkering with something in her hands.
Half a bowl of fine salt sat in a coarse ceramic bowl, accompanied by a few freshly picked medicinal herbs from the foot of the mountain, emitting a refreshing, bitter fragrance.
These mundane, smoke-wreathed days of ordinary life intoxicated her and brought peace to her heart.
The roar of the truck and the noisy clamor outside interrupted her train of thought.

She frowned slightly, assuming it was just another family dispute in the village.
Yet when that familiar, oppressive sound of military boots echoed outside the courtyard gate, her heart sank abruptly.
It was them again!
She put down the wooden stick, walked quickly to the edge of the courtyard gate, and looked out through the crack.
At a single glance, her face turned ashen.

Eliza's tall, imposing figure, full of heroic vigor, pierced straight into her sight like an unsheathed sword.
Behind Eliza stood an entire squad of live-ammunition-toting soldiers, and... Wang Erhu, whom they surrounded!
An ominous premonition, like a freezing tide, instantly overwhelmed her.
Something was wrong.
Something must have happened to Xu Feng!

Without time for hesitation, Lin Xue abruptly pulled open the courtyard gate and stepped outside.
She was still wearing her plain, coarse cloth garment, her hair simply coiled at the back of her head.
Yet, as she stood there quietly, she seemed to draw all the surrounding light toward her. The detached elegance emanating from her very bones felt completely out of place against the noisy, gritty rural backdrop.

Eliza's gaze locked onto her instantly.
The eyes of the two women met in mid-air, colliding silently.
Eliza's look was complex. There was scrutiny, wariness, and a trace of jealousy she was unwilling to admit even to herself.
She had to confess that this woman hidden away in Xu Feng's home was startlingly beautiful.
Especially in this tense, hair-trigger atmosphere, her poise and composure appeared all the more extraordinary.

Lin Xue's heart was already in her throat, but her face maintained that same detached and calm expression.
She knew she could not panic, nor could she show any flaws.
She glanced at Wang Erhu, who was trapped in the middle of the soldiers with a complexion alternating between pale and livid, and then looked at Eliza's solemn face, guessing seven or eight parts of the truth.
That scoundrel Wang Erhu must have been playing dirty tricks behind their backs again!

She could not let Eliza lead so many people into the mountains, led by the nose by Wang Erhu.
The situation in the mountains was far too complicated, and Xu Feng was all alone. Should a conflict break out between the two sides, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Lin Xue's gaze swept past Eliza's face, and finally, she tilted her head almost imperceptibly toward a corner of the wall piled with haystacks not far away.

Eliza's eyebrows arched slightly.
She understood.
This woman had something to say to her, and it had to be in private.

"Andrey!" Eliza shouted without turning her head.
"Here!"
"Keep an eye on them. No one is allowed to move around. I'll be right back."
"Understood!"

Eliza handed her riding crop to Andrey, lengthened her stride, and walked straight toward that corner of the wall.
Lin Xue followed her silently.
One after the other, they walked to the unattended corner.

Eliza turned around, crossed her arms, and looked down at Lin Xue from a position of superiority, her azure eyes carrying a hint of interrogation.
She did not speak; she was waiting for Lin Xue to break the silence.
Lin Xue did not waste words either. Her voice was kept very low, yet it carried an imperceptible trace of urgency: "Captain Eliza, why have you come again? Is it... has something happened to my husband?"

This less-than-fluent Mandarin flashed a look of surprise in Eliza's eyes.
She had thought this woman would continue to play dumb.
"Your husband?" A mocking curve appeared at the corner of Eliza's mouth. "He's in big trouble now."
She concisely repeated Wang Erhu's fabricated narrative.

From Xu Feng colluding with the Japanese soldiers in the mountains, to forcing Wang Erhu and his men to buy supplies, and finally to silencing them by murder.
With every additional sentence Eliza spoke, Lin Xue's face grew a shade paler.

Upon hearing the words "Japanese soldiers in the mountains," her body swayed uncontrollably, as if struck by an invisible, startling thunderbolt.
So... it was true...
There really were Japanese soldiers in the mountains!

She had originally thought she had escaped that nightmare and could start a new life in this remote mountain village.
Yet she never expected that nightmare to follow her like an unshakeable ghost!
And Xu Feng... he had gone into the mountains to secure a life of stability for her and this home.
Now, because of her, he had been dragged into this fatal danger!

A massive wave of panic and self-reproach tightened around her heart like an invisible giant hand, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Eliza keenly captured the fleeting horror on her face.
"It seems you know something." Eliza's tone grew even colder. "You don't seem surprised that there are Japanese soldiers in the mountains."

Lin Xue raised her head abruptly, panic appearing for the first time in her clear eyes.
She recalled Xu Feng's warning, that phrase "never, ever mention this matter to anyone else," which bound her tightly like a spell of constriction.
Yet right now, Xu Feng's life might be hanging by a thread.
On one side was Xu Feng's order, and on the other was Xu Feng's safety.

This choice required no choice at all.
She took a deep breath, as if making up her mind about something.
She looked straight into Eliza's eyes, and at that moment, her pupils burst forth with an astonishing radiance—a complex glow blending resolution, pain, and courage.

"Captain Eliza, Wang Erhu is lying," she said, her voice not loud, but every word crystal clear. "Xu Feng has not colluded with the Japanese soldiers. He is the victim."
"Why should I believe you?" Eliza retorted.
"Because..." Lin Xue's lips trembled slightly, and the secret buried at the deepest part of her heart was finally about to be uncovered. "Because those Japanese soldiers in the mountains... the person they are looking for is most likely... me."

Eliza's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Why are they looking for you?" she pressed on, her voice carrying a trace of urgency she hadn't even noticed herself. "The war is over. Why would they still hunt down an unarmed woman?"
Lin Xue closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the panic had faded, leaving only a dead-water-like calm.
"Because I hold the evidence of their crimes."

She paused, as if organizing her words, or perhaps recalling that unbearable past.
"During the war, I worked in a hospital in Harbin. I... I accidentally obtained a list, along with copies of some experimental data. They all point to a single place..."
Lin Xue's voice was as light as a breeze, but the name she uttered weighed as heavy as a mountain.
"Unit 731 Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department."