Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 196

I nodded, and Flying Eagle immediately raised his arms and shouted, "Brothers, let's set off! We have guns, bullets, and explosives; there's nothing to be afraid of!"

He patted Liang Wei's shoulder heavily with his large hand: "Brother, thank you."

People in the martial arts world are very clear about their grudges and favors. I think even if he had five million RMB thrown in front of him right now, he wouldn't let anyone take Liang Wei away.

The group continued on their way, with Xiao Guan leading the vanguard, Liang Wei's group bringing up the rear, and I deliberately lagging behind, walking alongside Liang Wei. He seemed preoccupied; after hiding his identity for so long, his actions to save Fei Yue had exposed him, and his life was likely about to undergo a major change.

"Mr. Feng, feel free to ask me anything." A faint bitter smile appeared on his dark face as he kept raising the binoculars on his chest to look ahead.

"What are you looking for? Do you have a premonition that something bad is about to happen?" He seemed very nervous.

Ahead lay an endless expanse of jungle, a bleak gray expanse devoid of any greenery due to the harshness of winter. Occasionally, strange birds, startled by the flock, would take flight, emitting mournful cries. He was certain that his binoculars would never reveal secrets invisible to the naked eye.

“I’m just worried—the Longewitch is everywhere. If we break her formation, who knows what other strange things will happen next!” He sighed heavily and whispered to those around him, “Be careful of the jungle on both flanks, look out for each other, and no one should stray from the group.”

I haven't mentioned the strange old woman in the stone house, regardless of whether she's an incarnation of some Longa witch, and of course, I haven't impulsively sent Li Kang and the others down to search. Faced with an unexpected event, that group of people are completely defenseless. Whether it's the Ba brothers or Jiang Guang and Jiang Ming, they're just ordinary people; there's no need to put them at risk.

“Mr. Feng, actually I went into the expedition team’s yard to spy on them in the middle of the night. Schiller’s situation is different from Fei Yue’s. I can’t figure out why he’s unconscious, so I have no way to make a move.” He really saw through my thoughts.

"Just call me Feng, like a tiger." I didn't elaborate further; he said there was no need to say more since he couldn't save him. Perhaps we should inform Li Kang and the others to find a way to get Schiller out of the mountains and transferred to a major hospital for treatment. Whether Schiller can speak or not will be of great guiding significance to the search for Suren.

"Wind—" Liang Wei indeed changed his words, hesitating for a moment.

"Just say what you have to say," I replied immediately.

"Why did the expedition come? Was it for the legendary ancient tomb treasure? In the southwestern border region, countless legends of underground treasures have circulated. More than half of them say that after the Taiping Rebellion was defeated, hundreds of loyal veteran generals, unwilling to let their cause end so easily, buried the gold, silver, and jade they had plundered deep in the mountains beforehand. They agreed to retrieve the treasure as soon as the Qing army's encirclement and suppression eased, recruit soldiers, and revive the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Later, the veteran generals all died due to constant infighting, betrayal, and injuries, and the clues to the treasure were lost. For hundreds of years, people have continuously entered this jungle, no matter how noble their reasons, their goal has always been the same: to find the treasure."

"I know." Xiao Keleng had collected millions of words of this information in a single day, and I had also carefully read it during my trip to Xi'an. Legend has it that the Tang Clan of Sichuan was so confident in its ambition to unify the martial world because it had a vast amount of wealth as its backing. This didn't simply refer to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's treasure, but rather, as the overlords of Sichuan, their control over the southwestern mountains far exceeded the imagination of those who sought to hide or search for treasure. Therefore, those who came later, whether hiding or searching, ultimately became spoils of war for the Tang Clan.

"Wind, wind—" the eagle suddenly cried out, turned around and waved to me, while making a gesture for everyone to bend down.

Everyone immediately lay down on the spot, pointing their guns forward.

The sun was shining brightly, and the north wind stopped for a moment. I could clearly hear a little girl crying, the sound coming from within fifty meters directly in front of me.

Liang Wei's face turned deathly pale: "Feng, it's the Dragon Witch..." This time, it wasn't just Flying Eagle and Flying Moon who heard the voice, but everyone heard it together.

Before Flying Eagle could give any instructions, I had already given Liang Wei the order: "You take ten men and flank to the left, forming a fan-shaped encirclement. I will lead men to the right. We will meet up within thirty meters ahead and move out immediately."

I drew my pistol and, using the bushes for cover, moved to the right front. The men following behind me all crouched low, held their breath, and were ready to fire at any moment. Before seeing the little girl, I had no time to make any bold assumptions, but one thing was certain: if they were faking it, I would shoot immediately without hesitation.

Within fifteen seconds, Liang Wei and I had reunited. Behind us, two teams of men formed a circular perimeter, tightly surrounding the location from which the crying was coming. The crying continued, sounding exactly like the whimpering of a lost child.

"There's a bird in the mountains that makes this sound when it's hungry, just like a giant salamander—" Liang Wei, holding his submachine gun, grinned, trying to ease the tension, but to no avail.

I put my little finger in my mouth and let out a high-pitched, sharp whistle. This was the signal to move out, and the team members immediately jumped up and rushed straight to the core of the encirclement.

The crying continued. When I parted the last branch, a little girl in a red cotton-padded jacket and pants suddenly appeared in my sight. Her hair was tied in a black pigtail, and she was covering her face with her hands, wiping it haphazardly while sobbing uncontrollably. Her face was turned due north, directly towards the eagles that seemed to be on high alert.

Everyone was stunned, even more horrified than if they had seen a three-headed, six-armed monster.

"Hmm? We've finally found the real culprit this time! The last few times, the boss gave the order, but it was all a false alarm. Hey, little girl, why are you crying?" Xiao Guan said with a smile, but he didn't dare to relax his aim at the little girl with the submachine gun he was holding.

The little girl cried incessantly, seemingly oblivious to the large group of people who had appeared around her. Children dressed like this would be quite common in a mountain market, as most children in the mountains look the same.

The encirclement slowly tightened, and this time she was sure to have no chance of escape.

Eagle strode forward, reaching out to grab the little girl's arm, his other hand holding a gun pointed at her forehead, inches away. With his reflexes, if the little girl made any unusual movement, his bullet would pierce her skull within a tenth of a second.

I put away my gun and instead searched the surrounding bushes and treetops for any other suspicious individuals. Liang Wei was right; some animals can make sounds similar to a child's cry. The little girl was highly suspicious, but we needed to broaden our thinking and be wary of other possibilities.

The sun is directly overhead, the brightest light in the mountains and forests, making it the perfect time for human exploration.

"Little girl, where are your parents?" Flying Eagle forcefully pulled the little girl's hand down, revealing a thin, sallow face. Tears streamed down her face, but she continued to cry, her eyes staring blankly ahead.

After asking several times, the little girl neither shook her head nor nodded, nor did she respond at all.

Flying Eagle straightened up in disappointment and instructed Liang Wei, "Continue searching forward. We'll take her with us and see what kind of monster is causing trouble!"

Xiao Guan quietly circled behind the little girl, brought the gun close to her ear, and suddenly pulled the trigger. Three shots rang out, and the bullets whistled into the sky. At such close range, the gunshots must have been deafening, and unless she was born deaf, she would definitely have been startled.

This method is clever, but Xiao Guan went too far and could easily cause devastating damage to the little girl's eardrums.

The little girl continued to cry, tears streaming down her face, completely unaware of Xiao Guan's gunshot.

"So he's deaf!" Xiao Guan said sullenly as he locked the safety on his submachine gun, and the others relaxed as well.

I remained silent throughout. The little girl's face, clothes, and red corduroy shoes were all clean, without much dust on them, but our group was all covered in dust. This could only mean that she hadn't come here on her own; someone must have carried her or brought her here in some sealed vehicle and then dropped her off.

"Feng, what are you thinking about?" Flying Eagle asked, looking puzzled, as he walked past me. He had already ordered one of his team members to carry the little girl on their backs, while the other three stood guard from the left, right, and rear, carrying her forward.

"I think this little girl is just bait. It seems like someone is very interested in our operation and is keeping an eye on us!" I hope we can speed things up and find the clues that Suren left behind.

"Is that so?" Flying Eagle's face darkened, and he glanced worriedly at Flying Moon, who was walking to the side. It seemed that the only thing he couldn't let go of was his younger sister.

After walking for about a kilometer, we reached a slightly more open depression. There were more than a dozen cigarette butts scattered on the ground, and the grass roots were trampled into a mess.

"Where did you stop last time?" I realized that going any further was beyond the range the Flying Eagles could explore. After discovering Suren's disappearance, they conducted a search of a certain area, but finding nothing, they had no choice but to retreat—something every explorer would do.

Volume Four: The Divine Trapped in the Epang Palace

Part 1: The Mysterious Borderlands - The Disappearance of Sulun

— Chapter 8 - The Mysterious Village —

The path stretched on and on, but there were no fresh human footprints left; the grass roots were covered with a thick layer of dust. Through the binoculars, nothing could be seen except for withered branches and decaying grass.

The little girl had stopped crying and nestled on one of the team members' shoulders, closing her eyes and falling asleep. The team members sat wearily on the ground, their spirits extremely low. In this lifeless jungle, without any new stimulating elements, everyone inevitably becomes bored and silent.

The air was filled with the astringent smell of hay. Flying Eagle paced back and forth, taking out another cigarette. This "poisoned chalice" method of waking up drew the attention of every team member.

"Let's rest for half an hour and then continue. We must reach the entrance to Lan Valley before we stop. Suren is the kind of person who never gives up until he achieves his goal. Even if he's the only one left, he will still strive forward." I tried my best to keep smiling. With my profound internal energy cultivation, my energy and stamina could continue indefinitely. At least for a week, I wouldn't experience any exhaustion.

No one answered; only the sound of Xiao Guan chewing gum could be heard continuously.

"I'll make a call and have those remaining in the Concubine's Palace come up. Actually, we have plenty of people who can serve as our backup, but I just don't want a large influx of people into the mountains, causing huge chaos, dividing the readily available profits into thousands of shares, and creating numerous disputes involving attacks and plunder. Everyone, please bear with the hardship; the reward is not a problem. The key is to find my friend, Miss Suren—"

The only thing that can motivate mercenaries is money. They are like bounty hunters roaming through sinful cities, living only for the high bonuses. Talking to them about humanity and friendship is like casting pearls before swine.

Xiao Guan spat out his chewing gum with a "pui" sound and asked loudly, "Mr. Feng, can you be sure that Miss Suren is still alive? Then, how do you explain her sudden disappearance from our sight? Also, how come the donkey carrying Schiller appeared out of nowhere a few hours later, even though both of them disappeared at the same time?"

His thin face was filled with an arrogant and unruly air, as if he would stay there and refuse to take another step forward if I couldn't answer the question.

I walked up to him and looked him straight in the eyes: "This is precisely the kind of question we need to explore and understand step by step. I'm not a Mexican sorcerer who can see through everything in a crystal ball. If we could just sit here and chat and find out where my friend is, why would I need to hire you all?"

“I feel there are ghosts ahead. Survival is the priority. No matter how much money you offer, I won’t go any further. What do you guys say?” He turned to look at the team members sitting together.

The mere mention of ghosts brought everyone's attention back to the little girl. Her cries echoed repeatedly, and when Feiyue was possessed, she cried out in terror that someone was trying to drag her into the wall. Therefore, the little girl inevitably became the target of everyone's ire.

Feiyue walked over, bent down in front of the little girl, and carefully observed her.

I lowered my voice: "Feiyue, was it her who was holding your hand in the hallucination?"

Feiyue stared silently for a few minutes, then gently shook her head: "I don't know. Ghosts are invisible and intangible. I just felt someone pulling me, and I heard a little girl crying, so I thought it was her—" She grabbed the little girl's hand, looked at it over and over several times, touched her nose in confusion, and finally shook her head, "I only saw two hands, but they didn't look like hers. They were smooth and slender, like an adult's hands."

Such speculation is meaningless. If our exploration is limited to just one little girl, the slow pace may delay the best opportunity to rescue Suren.

Flying Eagle stood up, paced around thoughtfully for a few moments, then announced in a somber tone, "Brothers, those who wish to continue with me, stand behind me. Those who wish to turn back can stay with Xiao Guan. Of course, the promised reward will not be reduced by a single penny. We're all brothers; your willingness to join this team is a great honor for me, Flying Eagle. Thank you—"

He clasped his hands in a fist salute to all the team members, his expression calm and his tone sincere.

Liang Wei was the first to stand up, striding over to Flying Eagle's side. He bent down to check the magazine of his submachine gun, remaining silent. More team members stood up and joined Flying Eagle, until finally only seven remained, timidly crowding around Xiao Guan.

Xiao Guan rolled his eyes and chuckled dryly: "Hehe, there are still more people who believe in Boss. I can only earn this bad reputation. However, I still wish Boss all the best in helping Mr. Feng find the treasure and find Miss Suren! Well then, let's go back to Muyu Town outside the mountains to wait for everyone's good news. Farewell."

Of the seven, one of them, after much deliberation, returned to Flying Eagle's side. Xiao Guan, before leaving, only took six people with him to retreat.

His actions were, of course, understandable. Faced with danger, some people would rush in for money while others would retreat to save their lives; this was an inevitable choice for people in the underworld.

The team set off again, and my watch quietly pointed to three o'clock in the afternoon.

Military maps had become useless scraps of paper; no one would venture deep into this strategically worthless jungle. The only path ahead was haphazardly trodden by hunters and wild animals, veering wildly to the left and right. Several times, Liang Wei even considered forging his own path using the compass, but I stopped him each time. Haste makes waste; only by maintaining a calm and peaceful mind could we advance steadily, leaving no opportunity for those secretly spying on us.

Before dark, we had to find a suitable campsite. From Eagle's frequent checks of his watch, I knew that he shared the same idea as me.

After passing through a large grove of trees covered with gray, withered leaves, I suddenly smelled a familiar aroma—the mingled scent of freshly cooked rice porridge and the smoke from a wood-fired stove. The smell made me imagine farmhouses and villages with smoke rising from their chimneys under the setting sun.

"What's that smell?" Feiyue sniffed hard.

Liang Wei quickly climbed to the top of a tree and looked ahead with binoculars.

Flying Eagle's eyes held a silent, chilling gaze as he stared upwards at Liang Wei, who was intently focused on his work. Before achieving fame, he and his fellow disciples had traveled to the African continent, serving as mercenaries in a war-torn small country. Their hands were stained with the blood of foreigners, earning them their first great fortune. Those who have had such experiences, no matter where they are, become accustomed to the indifference of human life and don't care about taking another life on their hands.

I nudged his arm: "Flying Eagle, there's something I have to say—"

He turned his head, his eyes radiating undisguised murderous intent.

I lowered my voice to the minimum: "I'm committed to protecting Liang Wei's life. Don't make things difficult for me."

Flying Eagle was taken aback. He moved his left hand away from the gun handle and asked calmly, "What? I've never heard Scalpel mention that you have connections with people in the Sichuan underworld?"

Although his martial arts skills were superb, he dared not act recklessly out of respect for the scalpel.

"He's my friend. Give me some face and spare his life. Flying Eagle, I would say the same thing even to the Tang Clan of Sichuan."

Intuitively, Liang Wei's presence would greatly facilitate the search for Su Lun, and I also hoped to find Tiger through his trail and retrieve the long-lost "Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture." Even if Flying Eagle doesn't give me face, I will fight my way through with my own strength to ensure Liang Wei's safety.

Flying Eagle blinked, rubbed his thin, bony hands together, and nodded vigorously: "Alright, I'll give you face and keep my men in check so that Liang Wei's identity isn't revealed. But you'd better tell him to change his name and disguise himself as someone else as soon as he leaves the mountain. Otherwise, I'm afraid Xiao Guan might get greedy, since not everyone can treat five million like dirt."

I smiled and nodded: "Thank you."

When Scalpel was alive, he could stand tall among his peers, surrounded by a large following of influential figures wherever he went. But once he died, the relationships and connections he left behind gradually cooled; the saying "out of sight, out of mind" is an inevitable law of human society, and no one can be blamed for it. Eagle's actions were already quite considerate of Scalpel's feelings.

"Xiao Liang, what did you find?"

Liang Wei had been observing for too long, and Fei Ying finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"I see smoke rising from chimneys, but I can't tell where it's coming from. I'm observing it," Liang Wei reported apologetically as he turned around.

"About 30 degrees west of due south, two to three kilometers away, there's more than just one family cooking; there are at least twenty. If we're lucky, we can find lodging in a fairly large mountain village tonight." I briefly reported my discovery, confident, based on my keen sense of smell, that I was over 80% certain. The heavy smell of cooking smoke in the north wind was enough to prove that we were about to encounter a large, thriving village with at least a hundred people needing to eat.

Liang Wei jumped down and asked Flying Eagle for instructions: "Boss, should I lead a few men to clear the way? If we can stay in the village tonight, the brothers won't have to suffer from the wind and dew."

Flying Eagle squinted at him: "You really believe what Feng said? It's something you can't even see through a telescope, and you're so sure just because of one sentence from him?"

Liang Wei replied blankly, "I believe him, he is my friend."

I don't expect everyone to believe me, so I immediately smiled and stepped forward: "I'll go with Liang Wei, trust me."

Flying Eagle scratched his head, looking slightly surprised, and nodded awkwardly: "Okay, I didn't expect you guys to be like this... Be careful!"

My contact with Liang Wei lasted less than 24 hours, yet we developed such a deep friendship entirely thanks to Tiger as a bridge—something Flying Eagle, of course, couldn't understand. The longer one stays in the underworld, the more calculating one becomes. By his standards, Liang Wei, a fugitive wanted by the Tang Clan with a hefty bounty, seemed unworthy of my friendship, a promising young martial arts hero.

If he hadn't been forced by circumstances, he might have earnestly advised me to sever ties with Liang Wei.

Liang Wei and I led six team members along the path for about a kilometer. Everyone could clearly smell the aroma of cooking food coming from the chimneys, and their stomachs began to rumble simultaneously. The taste of compressed biscuits mixed with cold water wasn't pleasant; a delicious meal of rice tonight would be the most delightful thing.

After carefully wading across a meadow covered with weathered and collapsed rocks, dozens of wooden houses of varying heights were hidden in a ravine to the side. Wisps of smoke rose from the rooftops of each house, swaying in the wind. A row of thick tree trunks was buried around the wooden houses, presumably serving as a stockade wall. Several children were playing and frolicking in front of the wooden gate in the middle of the wall.