Ghostly Figures in the Attic

Chapter 20

While Long Fei was searching everywhere for Bai Jingzhai's whereabouts, Bai Jingzhai was hiding in a secret room within the Ping'an Palace, playing with the enormous rats in their iron cage. He placed high hopes on these rats. At this moment, in Bai Jingzhai's eyes, these rats were simply the most adorable pets in the world. Wu Dengke's defection had dealt a heavy blow to Bai Jingzhai. Now, he found it difficult to trust anyone else, but there was one type of person he particularly trusted: those "possessed by Gu." "Poisoned people" had no independent thought, were completely manipulated, and were absolutely obedient. This was the tool Bai Jingzhai needed most at the moment, and it was also the safest tool for him.

The "poisoned people" were locked in the secret room next door. Bai Jingzhai had already given them a makeover, tidied their appearance, and dressed them in ordinary clothes. He planned to secretly take them to a newly rented house near Jiefangbei in the middle of the night.

In order to further test the actions of the "poisoned people" before carrying out sabotage, Bai Jingzhai decided to take them to a wilderness outside the cave at night for a secret training session.

As night fell, Bai Jingzhai checked his watch and knew the time was right. The training he was going to give to the "Gu-infected" people was to teach them how to detonate the explosives they were carrying after receiving a signal.

Bai Jingzhai racked his brains to design the signal. After some comparison, he initially chose the whistle-blowing plan. Although it was too conspicuous and would easily expose the identity of the signalman, it was still carried out by his subordinates, so Bai Jingzhai thought it was quite suitable. However, the situation changed suddenly. Some of his subordinates died, some were captured, and others were not very reliable. Now, Bai Jingzhai had to rely on himself. He felt that the whistle-blowing method was no longer feasible because he might have to operate it himself. After thinking hard for a long time, Bai Jingzhai decided to use the melody of the March of the Volunteers to direct the detonation of the "poisoned people." This was truly a brilliant move, and Bai Jingzhai was very proud of himself.

144

In order to eliminate the remnants of the Plum Blossom Gang, Long Fei came up with a strategy: mobilizing the masses. Through the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau and grassroots organizations in various places, he organized many security patrol teams.

That night, Long Fei received a report that someone was playing the national anthem in a wilderness area on the outskirts of the city, and there were some people behaving strangely who were practicing. This information puzzled Long Fei, but he was unwilling to let go of any clues and decided to go and check it out himself.

When Long Fei arrived at the scene, he found it completely empty.

It turned out that after Bai Jingzhai practiced several times, he felt it was ideal, so he quickly brought the "victim of Gu" back to the cave.

Bai Jingzhai was cunning and shrewd. He planned to separate the "poisoned people" into two groups and place them in different key areas in order to achieve the best explosive effect. Once the scene was in chaos, assassins would take the opportunity to assassinate important CCP officials. In order to ensure success, he also had to be ready to release giant rats at any time.

Upon returning to the cave, Bai Jingzhai was surprised to find one of the "Gu-infected individuals" missing. Just as he was about to go out to search for them, the Gu-infected individual returned on their own. This individual possessed mechanical memories. Bai Jingzhai was overjoyed to have the Gu-infected individual back, knowing that all of them were invaluable treasures and none could be lost!

Bai Jingzhai never expected that this "cursed person" who had fallen behind and returned would bring him trouble.

While searching in the forest, Long Fei and his companions unexpectedly discovered a strange person. When Long Fei called out to him, the strange man didn't react at all, walking around like a wooden figure, oblivious to everyone around him. Long Fei was very surprised and boldly went forward to investigate. Based on his past knowledge, he knew that this person was like a walking corpse. Out of curiosity, Long Fei secretly followed the strange man to find out where he was going. Unexpectedly, he discovered a great secret.

Bai Jingzhai had already locked the first "poisoned people" who returned in the original secret cave. After the "poisoned people" who had fallen behind returned, Bai Jingzhai was in a hurry to go out and contact a truck to transport these "poisoned people" to the Jiefangbei area, so he locked this "poisoned person" in his own secret room to keep company with the giant rats...

Long Fei, unaware of Bai Jingzhai's internal situation, dared not act rashly. Seeing Bai Jingzhai go out, he instructed Xiao Wu, who was accompanying him, to follow Bai Jingzhai, while he himself managed to sneak into Bai Jingzhai's secret room to investigate. There he saw the "poisoned man" standing by the rat cage, motionless. He blocked Long Fei's view of the large rats, so Long Fei pushed him aside. The "poisoned man" stubbornly returned to his original spot. It turned out that he had a strange memory, which made him fixated on a particular place. Long Fei found it amusing and pushed him again. The "poisoned man" swayed and then stiffly leaned against the rat cage.

Long Fei was naturally pleased to have seen the rats, as these pests had finally been found. However, he dared not move them easily, fearing that the cunning Bai Jingzhai might have other rats among them. If he removed these pests, Bai Jingzhai might have other plans. Right now, the key was to control Bai Jingzhai's movements and keep his whereabouts within a certain range. Only in this way could he ensure safety on National Day tomorrow.

Long Fei found another secret room filled with strange people. They ignored him, which Long Fei naturally accepted. He observed them closely and noticed that they all had thick waists. When he lifted the waistband of the first strange man, he saw that it was wrapped with detonators and explosives. Long Fei continued to randomly check a few more and found that they were all the same. He suddenly understood and realized that things were very serious. Long Fei thought to himself, "This Bai Jingzhai is really too cunning and too cruel."

A police officer following Long Fei noticed a strange man who looked very much like Long Fei.

"Is that so?" Long Fei immediately took a serious look at the strange man the warrior was pointing at, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Just then, Long Fei heard a scream from next door. He and his soldiers rushed over to investigate. As soon as he pushed open the secret door, he was stunned by the horrific scene before him. A group of enormous rats had escaped from their cage and were now scrambling to devour a mangled corpse. It turned out that when the strange man leaned against the rat cage, one of the rats bit his calf. Strangely, after being bitten, the "cursed man" became incredibly energetic. He frantically shook the rat cage, and soon the latch came off. A cage full of enraged rats rushed out, surrounding the "cursed man" and tearing at him until he was knocked to the ground.

Just then, the soldier on watch outside came in to report that Bai Jingzhai had returned.

Bai Jingzhai approached the secret chamber and realized something was wrong. He cautiously pushed open a crack in the door and was shocked, thinking, "It's over, it's over." After calming down a bit, he sighed and quickly checked the adjacent secret chamber. Fortunately, everything was fine there. Bai Jingzhai didn't have time to think much and quickly directed the "poisoned people" to leave the cave and take a car to their secret hideout near Jiefangbei.

Chapter Twenty: The Mystery Remains Unsolved

Ah Cai took out an exquisite fountain pen from under his pillow and fiddled with it. It was a pen that the beautiful Teacher Yu had entrusted to him. It turned out to be a pen-pistol, containing only one bullet. The bullet's tip was highly poisonous; a mere skin wound would be enough to kill instantly… 145

The next day was National Day. That night, A-Cai was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep. His mother had already neatly folded the white shirt and blue pants he would wear the next day and placed them on the headboard of his bed. It was a new set of clothes, and it had a special fragrance. A-Cai turned his head to smell the fragrance several times, and felt a special sense of satisfaction.

There was another reason that made Ah Cai excited: his father was coming home tomorrow. Just thinking about seeing his father tomorrow made Ah Cai's heart leap like a joyful deer, making it even harder for him to fall asleep.

Unable to sleep, Ah Cai thought of a way to pass the time. He took out a delicate fountain pen from under his pillow and examined it carefully; it belonged to Teacher Yu. When Mei Fang returned home from school in the evening, she saw Ah Cai secretly admiring the pen in his room. Surprised, she anxiously asked him where it came from. Ah Cai had no choice but to tell her the truth: Teacher Yu had asked him to take the pen to the National Day celebration the next day.

Why doesn't Teacher Yu carry it with her herself? A fountain pen isn't a piano, why would she need Ah Cai to do something so small? Mei Fang felt a little strange, but she didn't ask Ah Cai that. Instead, she said in a relaxed tone, "How can Teacher Yu trust you so much that she even lets you keep her fountain pen?"

Ah Cai felt particularly honored when his mother said that Teacher Yu trusted him so much. However, after thinking for a moment, he told Mei Fang Teacher Yu's true thoughts: "Teacher Yu said that she doesn't have any pockets on her. She wants the leader to sign something for her tomorrow, and then she can get it from me."

Mei Fang was surprised to hear this. She hadn't expected that the seemingly quiet Teacher Yu would be so bold. How could she so easily ask a central leader for an autograph? After hearing this, Mei Fang didn't ask A Cai any further questions.

After dinner, Aunt Ling was brought over by some unknown wind. She quietly pulled Ah Cai aside and asked him about the fountain pen. Aunt Ling said she also wanted to see the fountain pen.

Ah Cai was a little unhappy. He had promised Teacher Yu that he wouldn't tell any outsiders about the pen or its purpose, and Teacher Yu had told him to keep it a secret. What should he do now? Teacher Yu was his homeroom teacher, and he had to listen to her, but Aunt Ling was a police officer. After some internal struggle, Ah Cai had no choice but to take out the pen.

Aunt Ling said she wanted to borrow the pen for a while, and this time, Ah Cai hesitated again. Seeing that Ah Cai was conflicted, Aunt Ling cut to the chase: "I'll return it to you in a little while, and I promise I won't break it."

Ah Cai then reluctantly nodded.

Aunt Ling kept her promise and returned the pen to Ah Cai about an hour later.

As he went to bed that night, Ah Cai quietly opened the fountain pen. Teacher Yu had previously warned him not to open the pen carelessly, saying it was a special type of pen that children wouldn't know how to use and could break if opened carelessly. Ah Cai had agreed, but Aunt Ling's questioning only fueled his curiosity. He finally succumbed to the allure of curiosity and quietly examined the pen, discovering that the cartridge at the back wouldn't open. Ah Cai noticed that the pen might be quite advanced, as there were foreign letters on the nib.

Ah-Cai fell asleep while playing with his pen.

146

On National Day, the sky over Chongqing was a clear, deep blue, exceptionally sunny and cloudless, with a refreshing and invigorating atmosphere. The area around the Liberation Monument was packed with people; tens of thousands from all walks of life participated in the National Day celebrations. A strong festive atmosphere permeated the venue. When the central leaders appeared on the rostrum at the foot of the Liberation Monument, the entire audience erupted in cheers. After a brief opening speech, the Chongqing Municipal Party Secretary, who was presiding over the celebrations, announced: "Play the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China."

At the flagpole directly in front of the Liberation Monument, Ah Cai, the flag raiser, heard the solemn command from the municipal party secretary and, accompanied by the music played by the military band, slowly raised the national flag. His heart was filled with pride.

Previously, on a residential building not far from the venue, Bai Jingzhai had been waiting for this moment with binoculars. When he vaguely heard the melody of the March of the Volunteers, his heart pounded. He thought the exciting moment was about to arrive. However, even after the red flag was raised to the top of the flagpole and the music had finished playing, Bai Jingzhai still didn't hear the explosion he was expecting. Oh no, he had a premonition that something was wrong.

147

After raising the national flag, Ah Cai saw a group of Young Pioneers rushing onto the platform to present flowers. He was surprised to find that the person leading the Young Pioneers in presenting the flowers was none other than Teacher Pei Fen. Wasn't she sick? Where was Teacher Yu? Ah Cai was stunned. What was going on?

To make a long story short, it turns out that Long Fei and Ling Yuqi had long suspected Yu Xiu. After a secret investigation, Long Fei discovered that Yu Xiu's background was unknown, and they had been secretly monitoring her.

The masked woman who appeared next to Huang Feihu at the secret meeting of the Plum Blossom Party in the cemetery was Yu Xiu. Yu Xiu was Huang Feihu's illegitimate daughter, and was later trained by Huang Feihu to become an excellent special agent.

The reason Mad Eagle was frightened by Yu Xiu that day was because he was familiar with Yu Xiu's eyes. Several times, in Huang Feihu's secret room, Mad Eagle had seen a masked man whose eyes were the only visible part of his face, and those eyes had stirred his heart. The saying "softness overcomes hardness" certainly held some truth; for some reason, the fierce and ruthless Mad Eagle was filled with awe for those eyes. That day, when Mad Eagle encountered Yu Xiu, the word "fear" suddenly surfaced in his subconscious; he was afraid of Yu Xiu's eyes.

Long Fei learned that Yu Xiu frequently visited A Cai's home, so he asked Ling Yuqi to secretly work on Mei Fang's mindset, asking her to assist the police and promptly report Yu Xiu's visits.

Last night, Mei Fang promptly informed Ling Yuqi about the pen. After borrowing the pen back from A Cai, Ling Yuqi immediately asked a police expert to examine the foreign brand gold pen. The expert struggled to disassemble it and discovered it was actually a sophisticatedly designed pen-pistol containing only one bullet. However, this bullet, regardless of where it struck the human body, would be fatal instantly because the bullet contained a highly toxic substance—a fact later discovered through testing. Ling Yuqi had the expert remove the bullet and returned the reassembled pen to A Cai. That same night, Yu Xiu was arrested.

Teacher Pei Fen's illness was arranged by the organization in order to make Yu Xiu expose herself more quickly.

But Ah Cai was completely unaware of all these details. Even Teacher Pei Fen didn't know why the organization had arranged for her to take a two-day vacation out of town. No one at the school knew the specifics, not even the principal knew that Yu Xiu had been arrested; he only heard from someone from the organization that Yu Xiu was to go to Beijing for further study. 148

About a week after National Day, Acai was going on a long trip with his father to Xinjiang. This was the whole family moving west, and Meifang was also going with her husband.

Jin Pengju's return home was arranged by the organization. The organization appointed Jin Pengju as the head of a geological research department in Xinjiang, and in order to take care of his family life, the organization specially allocated a very nice Soviet-style apartment to Jin Pengju.

Ah Cai left Chongqing just like that. He never returned to the place that held his childhood memories. He never solved the secret in the attic. He didn't want to ask his mother, and Mei Fang wouldn't tell him either. For a while, Ah Cai always felt that his father must know. However, a few times when Ah Cai was talking to his father, when the topic of the attic was about to come up, his father would always smile and avoid the topic. It seemed that there was always something very generous in his father's smile. Perhaps that was called great wisdom appearing as foolishness. After Ah Cai truly began to understand things, he thought this one day.

Years later, Ah Cai heard that his family's old house in Chongqing had been destroyed in a fire. That night, Ah Cai got up, gripping a gun in both hands, only to be grabbed by a pair of large hands… The old man selling cotton candy shouted at Ah Cai… “Little friend, I'll give you one…” Ah Cai walked barefoot to the door, and his mother was standing behind him, seemingly out of nowhere… Wild Wolf Black Bean was drinking in a tavern when Wild Wolf slipped a sleeping potion into Black Bean's drink.

Han Qing examined Zuo Yong under the moonlight. Before Na Lihua could utter another cry, she collapsed and died. Huang Feihu gave the old eagle an order, and the old eagle knelt down and bowed...

On the street, Old Eagle, disguised as a street performer, sells medicine to Ah Cai...

...(Ah Cai climbs into the attic)... Suddenly, a faint sound is heard, and a nimble figure leaps through the back window. Old Eagle puts the real painting into his arms, disappears through the back window of the attic, and the roof is silent. Old Eagle and Huang Feihu apply medicine to the painting, and the arms picture appears. The two laugh loudly. Old Eagle is entangled by Yang Caiping and walks towards his own home. Ah Cai climbs over the wall and sees the old man digging in the ground to take out a small box. Old Eagle, who is hiding behind the window, sees a monster running out of the window, followed by a big cat. After being bitten, Old Eagle's appearance changes drastically, and he runs away wildly...

In the secret passage, Huang Feihu was grabbed by a monster and bitten on the neck by Ah Cai... In the panic, he tripped and stumbled... Mr. Liao, 60 years old and unkempt, was looking at paintings with Han Qing.

Old Eagle saw Hu Zheng and Lu Ming hurriedly leave Huang Feihu to meet with the man in the military cap...

Hanqing was dying from poisoning. Meifang was shocked and hurriedly hung a white sheet on the window. A group of vicious rats desperately bit the dummy. Above, Longfei and the soldiers were shocked to see Teacher Yu pinning the madman to the ground with a long pole... "You're crazy! Get out of here right now!" Acai's family moved westward.

The entire book has been serialized. Thank you for your attention!