Daomu Biji Volume 6 Chapter 2

The photo was sent by e-mail. Pan Zi knew nothing about it. I taught him for half a day. When I received it, it was an hour before I called him.

It was really a very old photo, yellow, with faded marks on it.  Even so, I can still see what is in the photo and understand why Pan Zi is unsure and thought it was a “ghost.”

The old photo should have been taken in an old house with a screen in the background. The photo was so white that I could not see the details clearly. However, I could see a figure standing straight behind the screen.

Through the light from behind the screen, the figure is quite clear, and what was creepy was the person's posture.  Ordinary people always shift their center of gravity when standing, but this figure is almost standing upright, and the whole person's shoulders are flat, which is abnormal at first sight.  My first impression was that this man was hanging in mid-air.

Behind the screen hung a dead man?

I feel a little uncomfortable in my heart, but I can't think of why this photo would interest me.  Will you look for him after seeing this picture? There seems to be no such feeling.

Looking down again, the floor is made of wood. On the left edge of the photo is a deep view, which is the corridor behind the screen. Half of it is covered by the screen and half of it can be seen. It is not clear at first glance, but if I look carefully, I can see several doors on one side of the corridor.

At first glance, I felt that this scene was a little familiar. This kind of old feeling, coupled with this arrangement of rooms, must have been seen somewhere, and it was quite impressive.

I dragged the mouse, and there was print on the back of the photo in the e-mail, in Brother Chu's handwriting, which was obviously for me. 

It says: 1984, Golmud People's Liberation Army Sanatorium.

I gasped and suddenly realized, ah, this is a picture taken in the abandoned nursing home in Golmud, and the situation flashed through my mind. But I don't know which floor the corridor is on.

The sanatorium was where Wen-Jin and the others chose to hide from Uncle Three. Wen-Jin and her party have secretive backgrounds. According to Uncle Three, they do not know what research is being conducted.  In this abandoned nursing home, they took a large number of videos and watched their every move. There was even a person who looked very much like me. This aspect of the matter was completely chaotic.

Why does Brother Chu have a photo of that place, is he also involved?

No, I thought, he has a very good relationship with Uncle Three. Could it be that Uncle Three entrusted him with something? Or asked him to do something… so he knows some inside information?

This is indeed very likely. If he really knew what happened in the nursing home, it would be a pleasant surprise to me.  But then again, what was this picture taken of?

For ordinary people, taking photos must have a subjective purpose, either to take a picture to commemorate or to preserve information. It is impossible to take a photo without meaning.  At that time, in the sanatorium, there was obviously an opportunity for someone to take this photo.

In my opinion, it is not possible to take a picture to commemorate it. The screen is very common. The shabby corridor is at the edge of the picture. It is certainly not taken for these purposes. Then, what this person wants to photograph must be the shadow behind this screen.

This is a rather strange thing. On the one hand, this shadow makes people feel creeped out. On the other hand, this way of taking pictures really makes people feel that it may be a “ghost” because it looks a bit like ghost photos on the Internet.  But my heart is very clear, this can't be a ghost, there must be something behind this screen, and for some reason, the person who took the picture took the picture across the screen, but we were not there and only saw one result, so we felt strange.

There are so many things hidden in that sanatorium that they took pictures of their every move, and now there are pictures like this. What did they do in it?

After thinking about it, there was no need to worry so much. It seemed that it was really necessary to meet this person, so I called Pan Zi and explained my thoughts.  Pan Zi agreed after thinking and said he would arrange it and inform me when it was done.

Soon, I met Brother Chu in Pingtang prison. The process was smoother than I thought and Pan Zi brought me in. This was my first time in prison; I broke out in a cold sweat. After passing through several iron gates, I saw him in the lounge.

This guy obviously lost weight, his bald head was not bright, he looked several years older and was trembling with a frown. I handed him a cigarette, and he took a few puffs to relax a little.  I couldn't help but sigh with sorrow thinking about his glossy face when we first met. The rich and poor in this line of work have to accept their fate.

After staring awkwardly for a moment, I didn't know what to say to him. Instead, he asked me in a hoarse voice, “What is the situation with your uncle?” 

I gave a cursory account of Changsha's situation, saying that there was no news from Uncle Three, and there was no one on the scene. I did not know where he had gone.

“Karma, this is retribution in this line of work.” He took a hard drag on his cigarette and seemed a little distracted. He looked up at me and asked, “Are you asking about Mute Zhang?”

“Mute Zhang?”  I paused, thought for a moment and then realized, “you mean Little Brother?  You call him Mute Zhang? “

“That's what people call him.”  He had finished his cigarette by this time, and he was so fast that I saw his hands shaking again and hurriedly handed him my cigarette and lighter. He immediately took one out and grabbed another one: “because he doesn't like to talk.  Why are asking about him? “

My heart says this is none of your business, but I suddenly don't know how to answer. Pan Zi said off to one side, “Why the fuck are you asking so many questions?”

Brother Chu took a few puffs and glanced at Pan Zi. He was also fearless: “Laozi is like this, what can I do?”

Pan Zi hated him so much that he wanted to say cruel words. I stopped him. Brother Chu is now at his lowest, it is useless to say malicious words as he has nothing left to lose. What does scolding him a few times accomplish?  I said, “Brother Chu, you've been in the underworld much longer than I have. I really can't tell you some things.”

“Yo-ho, Little Master Three is also playing with me, ok.”  He nodded at me and said sourly.

I didn't answer him, just leveled him with a glare. He shivered and smiled for a while. He found me unresponsive and a little boring. Suddenly he said to Pan Zi, “Master Pan, did you pay my father?”

Pan Zi pulled out a piece of paper. It was a receipt. Perhaps Pan Zi paid 100,000 yuan for me. He threw it to Brother Chu. Brother Chu took it and looked at it. “You're really the Third Master's man. It's generous enough,” he said.

“We've paid the money, and you have seen the person. Can you talk now?”  Pan Zi asked angrily.

Brother Chu nodded and said to him, “Please excuse me, Master Pan. This is between me and your Little Master Three.”

Pan Zi frowned and was a little angry. I gave him a look, meaning to follow along. What can you do?  Pan Zi was so angry that he got up and went out with a dark look.

Brother Chu watched him leave until the door closed, then turned to look at me.  I found his face changed.  He released a mouthful of smoke and said to me, ” Little Master Three, you can't continue the investigation.”

I looked at Brother Chu in surprise. I didn't expect him to say this.

“Why?”  I blurted out.

He sighed: “Look at me, my fate, your uncle's fate, Mute Zhang's fate, everyone's fate, you've seen it all.”  He stood up and said, “The things after this are too amazing for people like us to touch.”

I sat up straight, remembered the photo and asked him, “What do you know?”

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Chapter end