Der dritte Gelehrte der Song-Dynastie

Kapitel 15

Ah Cai suddenly felt his feet shaking. It turned out that there was a gap between the big rock and the ground, making it unstable to squat on. In fact, Ah Cai was nervous, so nervous that his legs were trembling. However, he was unwilling to admit it. He thought that the rock was afraid.

After standing there for a while, Ah Cai began to feel uneasy. He dared not leave easily, fearing that the stones under his feet might become unruly and give away his location, bringing him bad consequences.

Ah-Cai nervously clung to the wall for a good ten minutes before he noticed the dark figure crouching on the ground again, as if searching for something.

At that moment, Ah Cai saw a strange scene: a dark figure emerged from the ground, and judging from its posture, it seemed to be the old woman next door. Then, another dark figure came up; without a doubt, that person was the old woman's husband. It turned out there was a hidden cave or well in that corner.

With the help of the dim light, Ah Cai could make out that the elderly couple had taken a small box out of the well.

Suddenly, a dark creature lunged at him, startling Ah Cai so much that he immediately ducked and hid behind the wall. He was extremely nervous and terrified.

"Meow—" It was just a cat, a black cat. The black cat was leisurely strolling on the wall, like a domineering young master. Ah Cai breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he was still incredibly nervous, afraid the black cat had discovered him and given away his location. Thankfully, thankfully, the black cat didn't make a sound, but it peed on Ah Cai's head. Ugh, it smelled awful! The wretched black cat, having relaxed, wriggled its little butt and contentedly continued its stroll on the wall, only hopping back into its yard a while later. Ah Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, completely relaxed. Then, he suddenly noticed something else: on the other side of the wall, there was another person lying there. Who was that person?

103

Yu Minsheng's loss of contact caused great unease in Taiwan. Chiang Kai-shek secretly ordered Huang Feihu to speed up preparations.

Huang Feihu moved to a temple in the suburbs, but after only one night, he felt that the place was far from the city center. Although it was safer and more secluded, it was inconvenient and his work efficiency was much lower. There were also a few places in the city, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that none of them were very reliable. Just when he was unsure of what to do, Old Eagle whispered a few words in his ear. Huang Feihu pondered for a moment, his eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: "Great!" He felt that Old Eagle's suggestion was indeed very practical.

As agreed, he was to send Old Eagle to the vicinity of Liberation Monument to receive a box containing gold bars the next day at noon. Huang Feihu thought to himself, why not prepare for the relocation immediately?

Huang Feihu immediately ordered Lao Diao to take the necessary equipment: a spare radio, guns, and other special equipment, and move towards the city.

During his escape in Sishui, Yu Minsheng was swept away by a raging current. When the group reached the shore, Sun Haiwang was terrified to find the special envoy missing. He was about to question the two attendants who were responsible for the special envoy's personal protection when he discovered that they were also gone. It turned out that the two men had been swept away by the current as well.

Sun Haiwang realized the situation had become very serious. He had been instructed by his superiors to risk his life to ensure the special envoy's safety; how could he explain himself now?

Those subordinates had no way out. The matter had been exposed, and none of them could go home. Their past professional cover had completely failed, and everyone was waiting for Sun Haiwang to make a decision.

Sun Haiwang thought to himself that there was only one way to proceed: split up and sneak back into the city, meet secretly at the Wanlong Inn, and see what his brother thought before making any further arrangements.

104

Ah Cai blinked before he could see clearly that the person on the other side of the wall was Aunt Ling.

Aunt Ling gestured to him, signaling him to be quiet and still.

A few more minutes passed, and there was no more sound from the other side of the wall. Only when Aunt Ling made another gesture did Ah Cai dare to quietly retreat with her.

Aunt Ling quietly instructed him not to talk about this with anyone and to pretend that he knew nothing about it.

This request struck Ah Cai as odd. Although it wasn't difficult to do, he felt there was no real reason to do it.

Aunt Ling seemed to sense Ah Cai's confusion, and as if forced to, she revealed her identity to him: she was a police officer from the Public Security Bureau! But Aunt Ling's initial conversation with Ah Cai was like this:

Are you a Young Pioneer?

Ah Cai nodded.

"So, you can definitely sing the Young Pioneers' song?"

Ah Cai nodded in agreement.

"How does that song start?"

Ah Cai suddenly became dignified, and he softly sang the first line of the lyrics, "We are the successors of communism..."

Aunt Ling asked Ah Cai, "So, how can you become a successor to communism?"

Although Ah Cai was puzzled as to why Aunt Ling was asking these questions, he answered without hesitation, "Listen to the Party and be a good child of the Party!"

“That’s right, can you do it?” As she said this, she took out her work ID. The clever Ah Cai looked at the photo of Aunt Ling in her police uniform and seemed to understand immediately. He was filled with respect for Aunt Ling. “Yes, I can definitely do it!” He was determined to keep Aunt Ling’s secret.

That night, Ah Cai was incredibly excited. He felt like he was no longer a child. Ah Cai was good at thinking, and he immediately connected Aunt Ling with Teacher Tian, Teacher Lu, and Teacher Yu. He wondered if they were also police officers? Teacher Tian seemed like one, Teacher Lu seemed like one too, but Teacher Yu didn't. So, what kind of person was Teacher Yu? He thought of this last question and suddenly felt ridiculous. Teacher Yu was just Teacher Yu; she didn't need to be like anything else. If he had to say what she was like, then Teacher Yu was like a movie actress—a beautiful movie actress, of course!

105

After issuing the order, Sun Haiwang suddenly realized something was amiss. Sending a large number of people to Wanlong Inn would attract too much attention. He quickly instructed his men to hide in a mountain cave on the outskirts of the city, while he himself took a bodyguard to Wanlong Inn and went straight to the manager's office.

Sun Hailong, who had already heard the news of the special envoy's disappearance, was taken aback when his younger brother suddenly appeared. He quickly closed the door.

"Are you crazy! Get out of here right now." After hearing Sun Haiwang's brief explanation of the incident involving abandoning ship and fleeing, Sun Hailong seemed to realize that there was danger. He quickly opened the floorboards in the corner of the room, revealing a secret passage leading to an abandoned house in the distance.

"Get out, get out now!" Sun Hailong said sternly. "Are you crazy? Aren't you afraid someone will follow you?" He then whispered a few words to Sun Haiwang, who nodded vigorously.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Sun Haiwang quickly gathered his entourage and scurried underground like rats.

Sun Hailong closed the cave entrance and concealed it again before carefully opening the door and peering out. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, he felt slightly relieved.

Sun Haiwang's whereabouts had been noticed by our public security personnel who were on surveillance outside. While keeping a close watch on him, they notified their comrades to report to their superiors.

After learning about the situation, Lu Ming, with the cooperation of the local street committee, knocked on the manager's office door under the pretext of checking for safety.

Sun Hailong locked himself in the manager's office to think alone. Huang Feihu's sudden departure gave him a sense of crisis. In his line of work, danger was bound to appear sooner or later.

About half an hour after Sun Haiwang left, someone came to visit. The visitor was Lao Chen, a street cadre, and another stranger. Lao Chen claimed to be checking on fire safety issues.

"This is Section Chief Cai from the district." Old Chen introduced the stranger to Sun Haiwang. This Section Chief Cai was actually Lu Ming in disguise.

Lu Ming discreetly observed the room and found it completely open, with no other hiding places. A sense of unease crept in. If, as the scouts had said, the two suspicious individuals had gone in and never emerged, where had they gone? Did they possess some kind of divine power?

Lu Ming looked at the ceiling, which was completely sealed off with no exit. He wondered if he possessed some kind of supernatural ability to burrow underground. He then carefully examined the ground around him, and a strange look suddenly flashed in his eyes. However, he quickly concealed his emotions and pretended to boast to Sun Hailong for a while.

Sun Hailong was very wary when he saw the uninvited guest. He didn't care about Old Chen, who was an old acquaintance. But he was meeting Section Chief Cai for the first time and had no idea what to do with him. At this moment, Sun Hailong dared not be careless. He also secretly observed Section Chief Cai and felt that Section Chief Cai's eyes were full of sharpness.

Chapter Sixteen: Noisy Sounds in the Attic (1)

An even louder sound came from upstairs, and Ah Cai instinctively hid in his mother's arms. Ah Cai's mother was truly frightened this time; could there really be ghosts in this building...?

Looking out from the attic of Ah Cai's house, the Liberation Monument is very close. Ah Cai's house, the school, and the Liberation Monument form a triangular area.

As National Day approaches, the Meishan Road area has become a key area for security and sanitation checks. Every day, street committee cadres conduct inspections street by street, and police officers from the local police station, who are not usually seen in public, frequently appear in the inspection teams. This seems to create a special pre-holiday atmosphere: both solemn and tense and well-prepared.

These days, many new faces have appeared at both the neighborhood committee and the police station, which Ah Cai finds fascinating. Whenever these new faces appear around Ah Cai's house, he can sense a special kind of attention in their eyes. Rumors are quietly spreading in the Meishan Road area that the area is haunted again. When neighbors are whispering, if they see Ah Cai passing by or approaching, they always stop talking and give him a strange look. The perceptive Ah Cai vaguely senses that their conversation is related to his family, but no one will tell him, not even the neighbor's children or Sister Wenzhu; they all seem to keep it a secret from him. Ah Cai feels isolated; he really doesn't understand why the people around him treat him that way. Previously, Sister Wenzhu would occasionally come to his house to play, but now, Ah Cai's playmates have almost completely disappeared. This feeling of isolation acted as a catalyst, forcing Ah Cai to mature through reflection. Ah Cai vaguely sensed that the attitudes of his neighbors and their children towards him were likely related to some strange things that had recently happened in his home, but how did they know about these things? Ah Cai recalled some phrases he had read in books, such as "walls have ears" and "there are no secrets that stay hidden forever." Before, Ah Cai didn't quite understand these phrases, but now he seemed to grasp their meaning. However, why were these neighbors distancing themselves from him? This was the most perplexing thing for Ah Cai, until one noon, after an incident occurred, Ah Cai began to understand some of the reasons more deeply.

On his way home from school at noon, A-Cai was kicking a broken tin can as he walked, engrossed in this game. As he neared his house, the can accidentally struck a group of classmates heading home for lunch. When they turned around and saw it was A-Cai, they all scurried away as if they'd seen a plague. This immediately made A-Cai feel a chill in the air, which angered him. He kicked the can harder this time, and this time, the can struck Yang Er-wa's heel. Yang Er-wa turned around and saw that it was something A-Cai had kicked that had hit him. He jumped up, yelling, "Wow, I'm so unlucky!" The people around him chuckled maliciously and quickly moved aside.

If it were any other classmate who said that, Ah Cai might not have cared much, since he was the one who kicked the tin can at them. However, Ah Cai couldn't stand Yang Erwa's mockery. He angrily chased after him, but he tripped and fell to the ground. The surrounding classmates burst into laughter. Ah Cai felt extremely humiliated. By the time he struggled to his feet, Yang Erwa had already run away.

Ah Cai suddenly realized that in just a few short days, his classmates' attitudes towards him had changed strangely. He stood alone in the middle of the street, feeling as if he had been abandoned by his former group; in short, he felt abandoned.

"Ah Cai—" someone called out loudly. Ah Cai turned around and saw that it was Aunt Ling calling him from his door. Aunt Ling had seen the whole scene just now.

Ah Cai patted his clothes, suddenly realizing that perhaps he shouldn't have bothered with Yang Erwa—ugh! He really shouldn't have bothered with that fool. He suddenly felt that no matter what happened, those people didn't deserve to treat him like that, because he was indeed different from them. He was a little adult now, no longer a child who only knew how to play and fool around all day. He thought about how he had been dealing with adults all these days, and suddenly felt that he was much taller than his peers. He was no longer an ignorant child. Last night's experience gave Ah Cai a sense of maturity; he felt that he had already joined the ranks of adults.

107

Teacher Yu is particularly enthusiastic about the flag-raising team activities. These days, she has become the core figure of the flag-raising team.

With Teacher Yu by his side, Ah Cai found the flag-raising training more interesting; a pretty face always brings joy.

Teacher Yu seemed to have exceptionally keen hearing; she knew almost everything about her students' families. Perhaps it was because the students liked to whisper to her in private, or perhaps she had a special ability. Teacher Yu quickly learned about A-Cai's mother's illness.

After being humiliated by Yang Erwa, Ah Cai, filled with resentment, had just stepped into his house when Teacher Yu arrived, accompanied by music teacher Pei Fen.

Aunt Ling, who was in the living room, saw the two teachers arrive and greeted them like a warm hostess. However, Teacher Yu seemed uncomfortable with Aunt Ling's presence at A-Cai's house again, and a look of surprise flashed across her face.

Ah-Cai was very perceptive; he noticed the change in Teacher Yu's expression.

Ah Cai observed Aunt Ling closely and noticed that she also seemed surprised by Teacher Yu's arrival. Normally, it's understandable for a homeroom teacher to care about a student, but the observant Ling Yuqi felt that Teacher Yu's concern for Ah Cai seemed unusual. She felt that rather than saying Teacher Yu was exceptionally concerned about Ah Cai, it was more accurate to say she was unusually attentive to Ah Cai's family. Women are naturally sensitive and often able to see the inside story from subtle signs—this is intuition. Intuition often doesn't rely on reason, but it often cuts straight to the heart of the matter like an invisible knife. Ling Yuqi used this intuition to try to peel back Teacher Yu's outward expressions. In these extraordinary times, she couldn't help but be wary of those who frequently interacted with Ah Cai's family. If she didn't possess this awareness, she wouldn't be worthy of being Long Fei's capable assistant.

Although the Snow Moon Drunken Painting had been stolen and Han Qing was dead, Long Fei felt that the matter at No. 13 Meishan Road might not be over yet. His guess had nothing to do with intuition, unlike women like Ling Yuqi who were good at intuition and sometimes relied on it to see things. Long Fei's insight was based on something.

A few days ago, Long Fei secretly learned about the background and origins of the backyard of Residence No. 13: the person who bought the backyard was a wealthy businessman, but the residence was not a luxury mansion, and logically, it didn't seem worth the businessman's purchase. After investigation, Long Fei discovered that the businessman had secretly transferred the house to a secret society called the Qingyi Society. The Qingyi Society was ostensibly an arts group, but its background was very complex, containing both progressive and reactionary elements. They only came together because of their shared love of art. Later, for reasons unknown, the property was transferred to an unidentified person, who is now the owner, surnamed Shi.

According to Bai Jingming, the head of the anti-espionage agency of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau, there was a period of time when the public reported that unidentified people were frequently coming and going from the Shi family's house. After investigation, no further suspicious points were found, and the matter was eventually dropped. However, Bai Jingming still remembers it vividly after Long Fei inquired about it.

Long Fei began noticing the surrounding houses after Han Qing's death. Unwilling to overlook any suspicious points, and driven by a keen intuition and a strong sense of responsibility, he instructed Ling Yuqi and the others to remain at the location. Of course, there was also a more important reason, or rather, a more practical need: on National Day, central leaders would be attending events at the Liberation Monument in Chongqing, making it necessary to establish a working point there.

When Mei Fang fell ill, the news reached Long Fei's ears. He felt that there were still unsolved mysteries surrounding the No. 13 residence, and that it would be necessary to arrange for Ling Yuqi to continue to get close to Mei Fang.

After a day of rest, Mei Fang felt much better. Seeing Ling Yuqi busy helping her, she felt very guilty. After Teacher Yu and the others left, Mei Fang urged Ling Yuqi to go back and rest, and not to stay with her for so long. She felt that she could withstand the blow that Han Qing's death had dealt her.

Ling Yuqi thought that staying at Mei Fang's house for a long time might cause inconvenience to her work. It would be better to retreat to a secret location and keep a certain distance from the No. 13 residence. There were already people secretly staking out the area, and if there were any unexpected movements, they would be under control in time.

108

Near Jiefangbei, on the second floor of a teahouse called Xianrenju, a man dressed in black, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, sat at a table by the window. He had pulled the brim of his cap down low, making it difficult to immediately discern his face. His gaze was fixed on the street in front of the teahouse downstairs.

The pot of tea he ordered was almost cold, but he hadn't even taken a few sips. The waiter came up several times to ask if he needed more water, but he shook his head and refused. He didn't even look at the waiter, only focusing on looking out the window at the street scene below.

Several tables around him were filled with tea drinkers, who chatted and laughed as they drank their tea. But this solitary guest seemed oblivious to what was happening around him, patiently keeping his sights on the table.

Time passed slowly, and the guest began to frequently check his watch.

After noon, the man wearing sunglasses seemed a little anxious. He rubbed his palms repeatedly, trying to hide his inner anxiety.

Not far away, at another table by the window, a customer sat alone, holding a newspaper and covering his face. When the waiter noticed that the customer hadn't refilled his water for a while, he took the initiative to go over to him.

The man was very alert. As soon as he heard someone approaching, he quickly put down his newspaper and cast a wary glance at them, which contained both tension and a hint of ferocity.

This man is Huang Feihu.

The man wearing sunglasses was Old Eagle.

Huang Feihu and Lao Diao were both waiting here for the secret envoy who would deliver the funds.

About half an hour later, a blue-canopied tricycle finally appeared in front of the teahouse. The driver was a strong, burly man with a stubble beard. Sitting in the tricycle was a man in his fifties, who was Shi Wengsheng's assistant, Zhu Dengfu, who had been disguised.

Zhu Dengfu was wearing a gray cloth shirt and a black top hat, which was his signature. At his feet was a small leather suitcase containing gold bars for financial purposes.

Old Eagle recognized the agreed-upon sign, his eyes lit up, and he turned back to give Huang Feihu a subtle signal before going downstairs alone to meet him.

Old Diao jumped into the car and sat next to Zhu Dengfu, pretending to hitch a ride. Just as they were about to hand over the goods, an unexpected incident occurred. A three-wheeled motorcycle traveling on the road suddenly went out of control and crashed into the back of the blue three-wheeled vehicle, sending it flying several meters away. The driver fell to one side, and the two people on the vehicle also fell to their sides. The box containing the gold bars was thrown even further to the ground by the inertia of the impact. With a loud crash, the small leather box burst open, and rows of gleaming gold bars appeared right before the eyes of many pedestrians on the roadside. People felt as if their eyes had been greatly stimulated, and they were all stunned and speechless for a long time before they realized that what had fallen out of the box was gold. Wow, so much gold! They had never seen it before. It was enough for one person to squander for more than ten lifetimes!

The onlookers on the roadside suddenly became agitated, and it seemed a scramble for gold was about to break out. In the blink of an eye, a group of elderly men from a security patrol rushed out from the side. Like well-trained soldiers, some formed a protective circle around the suitcase, while others helped those who had been knocked down. The driver was badly injured and lay on the ground, unable to get up. Old Diao and Zhu Dengfu, both highly skilled, had only felt a gust of wind from behind and reacted in unison, leaping into the air just as their carriage was thrown far away. They both landed with sprains in their ankles and it took them a while to get up. When they approached the suitcase, the area was already under the control of the elderly patrol. Old Diao tried to negotiate with the patrolmen to retrieve his suitcase, but the old men refused. They argued that so many gold bars were highly suspicious and insisted that Old Diao and Zhu Dengfu go to the police station to explain. One of the leading old men claimed that they had no authority to return such a huge amount of gold.

Someone had already secretly called the police, and nearby police officers arrived quickly.

Seeing that things were not going well, Lao Diao and Zhu Dengfu decided to run away as fast as they could.

The scene greatly surprised the elderly people, who became even more convinced that something was amiss. Upon hearing the commotion, the police officers who arrived at the scene also joined the chase and pursuit.

Zhu Dengfu was a beat too slow and was grabbed by the crowd. Although he had extraordinary kung fu skills, he was unable to use his fists and feet against the overwhelming number of opponents. He was about to be tied up, but he refused to surrender. Suddenly, he lowered his head and bit his collar. In an instant, he fell to the ground. The muscles on his face twisted into a ferocious shape. He foamed at the mouth, his limbs convulsed, and he died. Everyone present was so surprised that they stepped back.

The injured driver was lifted onto another tricycle and, under the supervision of the police, headed straight for a nearby hospital.

The scene unfolding in front of the teahouse was witnessed by Huang Feihu, who was sitting by the window upstairs. He sighed deeply and slammed his fist on the tea table. The teapot and teacups on the table jumped in surprise, tilting left and right. The small teacup, which was not disturbed, first fell sideways on the table, then rolled to the edge of the table and fell to the ground with a thud, shattering!

The surrounding tea drinkers all cast surprised glances at them.

When Huang Feihu saw the waiter arrive in response, he knew he had seriously lost his composure and would have to pay compensation. Without saying much, he took out a two-yuan note from his pocket, slammed it on the table, and strode away.

109

In his panic, the old eagle darted about, squeezing through every crack and crevice he could find. He fled to a small alley, and seeing no one around, he leaped over the wall and jumped into the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, he was astonished to find that he had escaped into the backyard of house number thirteen. He noticed that the back window of the attic was open, and an idea struck him. Like a gecko, he climbed along a hidden path and slipped into the attic.