Chapter 6: Encounter in the Land of Buried Bones (Part 1)

  One

  Tang Zhengfei stared at the tea leaves slowly unfolding in his cup, pretending to ponder their next move.

  Dou Changwei sat comfortably in the swivel chair by the window, with the morning sunlight pouring down from behind him, casting a halo around his body, giving Tang Zhengfei an illusion of worshiping Buddha against the light. On the sofa next to him was a girl dressed in outdoor gear, with wheat-colored skin and something like protective gear on her arm, which Tang continued to ignore.

  "So you're saying the private message you received and the task I gave you are one and the same thing?" Lao Dong still spoke slowly, with great interest studying the few white hairs on Tang Zhengfei's head.

  Ah Tong didn't dare look him in the eye and could only respond vaguely with a single sound.

  Lao Dong handed the letter of introduction on his hand to the cup in front of Ah Tang on the table, "You handle both public and private affairs. When you arrive at Xuzhou, coordinate with the local judicial bureau. Comrade Jiang Hongying, a special correspondent of Xinhua Morning News, will go with you. There is no need to make an announcement to the city, just an internal brief."

  Tang Zhengfei let out a sigh of relief in his heart, fortunately this old guy didn't ask about last week's trip to Taiwan.

  In the corridor, Jiang Hongying punched Tang Zhengfei's arm with a loud thud. "Easy does it, Old Jiang, this is flesh and blood!" Tang shouted in alarm.

  "Look at you just now, like a mouse seeing a cat! Qianqian's father doesn't like this. I dislike it the most!"

  "Spare me, you have a team of iron men serving you overseas..." Ah Tang felt that after not seeing him for many years, this guy seemed to have more of a feminine touch, just looking at him. It's because he pretended not to recognize her earlier that she got angry. No choice, it seems that this trip to Xuzhou is going to be another class reunion, and Comrade Dou Jin will definitely make his move again.

  2.

  The azure king's mighty steed galloped across the vast and desolate sandy terrain of Xuzhou.

  "Far away, that's Yunlong Mountain." The one speaking while pointing outside the window was Zhang Di, an old classmate of Tang and Jiang who had not seen each other for many years, now working at the Xuzhou Judicial Bureau Legal Aid Center.

  Tang Zhengfei raised his eyes and looked at the sky, where a strip of dark gray clouds stretched across the horizon, biting into the remnants of the sunset's red glow, like an ancient giant dragon, dormant and silent.

  "You two have seen the document, right? That place in Yunlong Mountain, commonly known as Longgu Gou, can't be left undeveloped forever. Now the higher-ups have given a strict order to complete the demolition and relocation by the end of the year. Everyone has started working on it, except for that one big mansion at the deepest part of the mountain valley. The work is not going smoothly because there's only an old mute living there, who has been alone for many years and refuses to move out. He's very stubborn.

  That mansion is really big, you can tell it was built during the Ming or Qing dynasty just by looking at it." Zhang Di said, discussing official business in a serious tone. But he didn't expect Old Jiang to suddenly bang his fist on the table behind him, "Nonsense! I wouldn't want to move out of such a great mansion either! This time, we must take a good look at this Ming-Qing dynasty mansion and write about it. Heartless developers colluding with the government, poor old mute seeking help from the media... haha!"

  Zhang Di gave her a cold glance and continued to gesture as he spoke: "We're not forcing demolition, all levels of leadership have done their work, but this old man is almost 90 years old and still refuses to budge. I've been thinking, they don't even want money, what's the point of wanting money or a house when you're alone with no children? This time we invited you two, it's also an invitation to the province's major media and the outstanding masses - Huaian Soft Build Office, to work together again and witness our sincerity."

  A-Ton expressed his agreement, and indeed, he heard that Xu Zhou was shouting to keep up with Huai'an's soft environment, and such things would naturally not miss the opportunity for publicity. Looking at the distant mountains, A-Ton thought of what his grandmother had said.

  (Three)

  It was almost dark when they arrived at the foot of Yunlong Mountain.

  After walking for a while on the winding mountain path, a large mansion appeared in front of me, built against the slope. The heavy wooden buildings inside seemed desolate under the protection of the thick walls, except for the red and black "demolition" character on the wall that was particularly striking.

  "Sit in the north and face south, with a mountain behind and a valley in front, indeed there is a dragon's breath of energy." Zhang Di ignored Jiang Hongying's murmurs and went to knock on the copper tiger nose at the black lacquer gate. The dull sound suddenly startled a flock of evening birds, which flew over their heads with a whooshing sound. Ah Tang dodged and caught a glimpse of the bloody sunset in the west, his heart involuntarily tightening.

  After knocking for a long time, the door finally opened halfway. The person who poked out his head was an old man with a weak appearance, hunched back, leaning on a cane, and covered in age spots, seemingly nearing the end of his life.

  "Excuse me, sir, we've come to bother you again. May we come in and have a word with you?" Zhang Di hastily put on a smiling face.

  The old man vigilantly stared at them, waving his hand to signal them to leave. Jiang Hongying hastily approached him, looking around the yard, the old man was somewhat angry, raised the crutch in his hand, muttering to himself, and drove them away with difficulty. Zhang Di and Tang Zhengfei also had no choice, the cool breeze blowing through the door made Ah Tang feel nauseous, so they hastily bid farewell to the old man.

  On the way down the mountain, Jiang Hongying didn't say a word either. It was Ah Tang who broke the silence, "Is Longgugou named after the ancient battles of the Chu and Han dynasties?"

  Zhang Di leaned against the wall, looking at the lamp post under his feet. "It's almost there, which dynasty didn't fight in Xuzhou? The Huaihai Campaign, the War of Resistance Against Japan, even Liu Bei and Cao Cao had fought against Lü Bu here. You should ask a knowledgeable journalist like Jiang about this kind of thing."

  Jiang Hongying ignored him and simply shone her flashlight randomly in the sky and on the ground.

  "Let's ask you something, madam." Zhang Di patted her.

  "Huh? Yeah, did you two notice something strange just now?" Seeing the suspicious expressions of the two, Old Jiang said with a smile: "I caught a glimpse earlier, and saw that the old man's residence is in the west wing where the servants live, but the main hall is tightly closed, yet it's often swept clean. Could there be someone else living here?"

  Ah Tong also fell into deep thought. Although he and Jiang were thinking of different things, they still decided to go and investigate again in secret.

  Four

  Early winter nights on Yunlong Mountain are not so friendly.

  They went around to the back of the house and found a low back door.

  The wooden door bolt was inside. This obviously didn't faze Jiang Hongying, who pressed a button on her wrist guard, which opened like a small box, and took out a long thin iron pick. After fiddling with it for a moment, the door bolt was pushed aside. With a gentle push, the door creaked open, and a blast of cold air made Tang Zhengfei very uncomfortable.

  "You really are like Tie Li Hua, do all outdoor journalists have this treasure chest?" Tang Zhengfei thought that interrupting could cover up his own awkwardness. Jiang MM made a silencing gesture, "My idol is Laura." The instrument panel in her hand showed a circular magnetic field image, she whispered to herself: "Was there originally a tomb here? The bio-electricity is so strong?"

  Zhang Di started to feel uneasy, tugging at Tang Zhengfei's arm. "Let's go back, the old folks in Xuzhou all say this house is strange. Our leader also said that during special times, counter-revolutionaries wouldn't come here for a reason."

  Tang Zhengfei was just about to express his doubts, but saw Jiang Hongying glaring at Zhang Di in anger, "If you want to go back, you can go back by yourself. I'm going to see what's not clean here."

  No choice, they each harbored different anxieties and walked into the cold courtyard. The Ninth Special Envoy

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