L'affaire du messager fantôme - Le récit d'une âme qui quitte son corps

Chapitre 33

No matter what happens, you must trust him completely, otherwise you will not be able to feel at ease for even a minute.

More than two hours after the car started driving, the melody of "Dong Feng Po" suddenly started playing. Chunyu immediately answered the phone, but she didn't expect it to be Officer Ye Xiao calling.

"Spring Rain, where are you now?"

“Oh my god…” She glanced at Gao Xuan, who was driving, and said into her phone, “I’m going to Moganshan for tourism, and I’m on my way now.”

"Okay, let me ask you a question. Do you know what happened to Sulan a few months ago?"

"Sulan?"

"Yes, I heard from your classmates that she worked at a company a month ago, but then quit for some reason. You and Su-lan are quite close, I think you should know that, right?"

Chunyu immediately thought of what she had discovered at the company yesterday. She hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, I know the company where Sulan works."

She then told Ye Xiao the company's name and address, and then hung up the phone.

Gao Xuan turned his head slightly and said, "Su Lan is the girl next door, right?"

"Yes, he also worked at the company I work for. I wonder why Ye Xiao is asking me this question?"

Gao Xuan didn't speak. He kept his eyes on the road ahead and suddenly sped up.

After exiting the highway, they drove onto a national highway, passing through several towns before quickly entering the mountainous region of northwestern Zhejiang. The mountains in the south are always green, and driving on this road surrounded by mountains felt completely different from the open fields they had just left. Chunyu even opened the car window, breathing in the breeze blowing through the forest.

Around noon, they drove to a mountain resort by the roadside and had lunch there. The resort staff told them that the big mountain behind them was Tiancang Mountain, and there was a winding mountain road that led up to the mountainside.

Chunyu looked up at Tiancang Mountain. To be honest, the mountain wasn't particularly tall, but the two sides of the main peak were covered with undulating mountains covered with lush trees. It looked very vast and had a somewhat unfathomable feel to it.

She said with some concern, "Such a big place, do you know where that ancient site is?"

“I just asked them, and they said there is indeed an ancient site on the mountain. The cultural relics department has even come to investigate it. It’s just that the place is too remote, so it has never been developed or damaged. Right at the end of the mountain road, there is a towering tree, and under the tree there is a mountain path that leads directly to the site.”

After saying that, Gao Xuan got into the car and told Chunyu to hurry up and get in, adding, "Hold on tight."

The Passat had just rounded a bend when it entered the winding mountain road. This road was indeed incredibly treacherous, with a vast forest on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. Looking at the endless mountain ranges in the biting wind was terrifying. The mountain road had many curves, and a slight misstep could lead to disaster, but Gao Xuan's driving skills were excellent, and he easily navigated the bends. Chunyu kept her lips pursed the whole way, not daring to distract Gao Xuan. Looking at the boundless mountains and forests, she felt herself growing further and further away from the world, as if she had returned to an era thousands of years ago.

After driving for more than two hours on the winding mountain road, they suddenly found that the road ended, leaving only a steep cliff. Fortunately, Gao Xuan reacted very quickly. He immediately slammed on the brakes and came to a stop. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then got out of the car and looked around to see that this was the end of the mountain road.

Chunyu, wrapped in a scarf, got out of the car. The mountain was at a higher altitude, so it was definitely colder than the plains, at least four or five degrees below zero Celsius. He could only hunch his shoulders and search around, finally spotting the towering tree—it truly was "towering," at least eight stories high, its trunk incredibly thick, too large for ten people to encircle. Beneath the tree, a path lay covered in years of dried leaves, winding its way into the depths of the dense forest.

Gao Xuan opened the back door and trunk, taking out several large bags, looking like a mountain climber. Chunyu asked in confusion, "Why did you bring so much stuff?"

“It’s already 3 p.m. Even if we find that place, we can’t get down the mountain today—there are no streetlights on the mountain road, and it’s too dangerous to drive down the mountain in the dark.”

"You mean we're going to spend the night on the mountain?"

“Yes, that’s why I brought so much stuff.” Gao Xuan suddenly understood something and said with a smile, “I know what you’re worried about, the middle of nowhere, a lone man and a lone woman… However, while I’m not a gentleman, I’m definitely not the kind of thief or scoundrel.”

Chunyu quickly interrupted him: "Don't say anymore. Only a person with a dirty mind would think of such a thing."

"So I'm not a true gentleman."

Gao Xuan gave a cold laugh, which made Chunyu feel a little scared. He first parked the car and braced the front and rear wheels with wooden blocks. Then he grabbed two large bags and carried them on his back, leaving Chunyu to carry a light small bag.

"Let's go into the mountains now and find the secrets of hell."

He said it out loud, and stepped onto the mountain path with Chunyu.

As soon as you enter the path, you can feel the presence of the forest. The trees overhead block out the light, making the ground unusually dark, like dusk. Although it's the dead of winter, you can still smell the lingering scent of decaying leaves accumulated over centuries. Various birdsongs echo from the trees, especially the eerie sound of the woodpecker, which sounds like the roar of some monster, sending chills down your spine.

Gao Xuan walked ahead, extremely cautious, leaving a mark on a tree every so often to avoid getting lost on the way back. Chunyu remained constantly on edge; she had never been to such a remote and untouched forest before. She had often heard elders say that many monsters lurked in the forest, devouring the hearts and livers of handsome men and beautiful women. Although she no longer believed it as she grew older, now, walking in this real forest, the elders' words echoed in her ears like a curse, and even a falling branch sent chills down her spine.

At this moment, Chunyu took out her phone and checked it. There was no network signal, which meant that they had completely lost contact with the outside world.

The mountain path gradually turned into a narrow trail, flanked by tall, dense bamboo forests. The winding path seemed to have no end. After walking for more than an hour, Chunyu's legs were almost giving out. When she looked up in despair, she found that the view in front of her had suddenly opened up, revealing a clearing deep within the bamboo forest.

It turned out to be a large area of dilapidated ancient buildings, most of which had lost their roofs, leaving only the ruins on all four sides. It looked like a demolition site, but unlike other sites, tall, withered grass grew among the rubble, trembling incessantly in the cold wind.

Chunyu immediately forgot the soreness in her legs and almost jumped up, saying, "We've found the ruins!"

Gao Xuan stood frozen, staring blankly at the scene before him, as if he were truly witnessing people from a thousand years ago. He murmured, "This is the Bamboo Grove Hermitage of the Tang Dynasty." "The Bamboo Grove Hermitage?"

Chunyu heard it too, and she immediately turned around. "At the end of the Tang Dynasty, a group of literati and painters built houses in these mountains to escape the chaos of the world and lived in seclusion. They imitated the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and called themselves the Bamboo Grove Hermitage."

Gao Xuan walked to her side and together they stepped into the middle of the ruins. On the high stone foundation, many tiles and bricks remained, all original artifacts left from the Tang Dynasty. Judging from the foundation, there should have been more than a dozen houses here, but now almost all of them are dilapidated, with only one house with a gable roof remaining, its roof and walls intact.

They cautiously went inside and shone their flashlights into the dimly lit room, where it seemed that a stove and other living facilities still remained. Suddenly, the flashlight beam shone on something glowing on the ground, and Gao Xuan immediately picked it up.

It turned out to be a gold button, covered in a thick layer of dirt, but its reflective surface was still undeniable.

Gao Xuan nodded and said, "Such a gold button couldn't possibly have been left by the ancients. The only possibility is that it belonged to Mazzolini." "You mean this is Mazzolini's gold button?" "Yes, it should be a button from the suits of that period." Gao Xuan put the gold button in his pocket, walked outside and said, "At least it proves that Mazzolini did indeed live here."

Chunyu secretly thought that Gao Xuan's method of circular proof didn't seem to conform to logic, but she still believed Gao Xuan's words. She looked at the dilapidated buildings around her and said, "It seems there are no ancient paintings like the ones in the legends?" "I don't know either. But if there really are ancient paintings, they wouldn't be in such an obvious place; they must be hidden in some secluded corner."

They circled the ruins again, but still found no signs of ancient paintings or other valuable artifacts. Suddenly, Chunyu noticed what appeared to be a wall in the bamboo grove ahead. The bamboo grove was tall and dense, swaying rhythmically in the wind, looking very much like the place where Li Mu Bai and Yu Jiaolong dueled in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

As darkness fell, the chilly evening wind howled through the mountains and forests. Chunyu shivered and decided to run towards the bamboo grove. Gao Xuan followed closely behind, and they soon entered the depths of the bamboo forest. The sky was already quite dark, and the dense bamboo leaves overhead blocked out almost all the light, making it feel utterly pitch black.

The increasingly strong mountain wind swept through the bamboo forest, and countless leaves rubbed against each other, making a wave-like "whoosh" sound. This naturally reminded Chunyu of a Korean movie called "Springtime": the male and female protagonists ran into the bamboo forest and recorded the sound of the wind rustling through the bamboo leaves.

Being in this bamboo forest truly evokes a sense of returning to nature and tranquility; no wonder the ancients sought to live in seclusion here. Gao Xuan had already taken out a large flashlight, illuminating the dark bamboo forest. The wall quickly came into view, appearing dilapidated, with a small gate in the middle, suggesting a small courtyard inside.

They entered the small courtyard and, sure enough, there weren't many bamboo trees left. Ahead was a huge rock wall; they must have reached the foot of the mountain. Chunyu walked around with a flashlight and suddenly noticed an inconspicuous opening in the rock face.

Gao Xuan also noticed the cave and immediately ran over. It was a cave about three meters high and two meters wide, and it really looked a bit like a grotto in the Northwest region.

The cave was pitch black, and a peculiar smell emanated from it, causing Chunyu to instinctively take a step back. She didn't know what might be lurking inside, but the strange odor immediately reminded her of South American vampire bats that lived in caves.

At this moment, Gao Xuan grabbed her trembling shoulders and whispered in her ear, "Don't be afraid. All fear stems from the unknown. When we see what's inside, we won't be afraid anymore. Otherwise, this fear of the unseen will haunt you for the rest of your life."