Chapter 208: Discovery
In the darkness, Su Ning’s face looked unpleasant, and she still hadn’t fully recovered from the scene she had glimpsed.
Hearing Zhang Qi’s words, she subconsciously nodded and agreed.
“Ning Bao Gai, are you okay?”
Noticing something wrong with her, Luo Shuangshuang immediately restrained her smile. “Are you worried about what that beast Wei Junjie might do?”
“No, I’m just thinking about some things.”
Patting the back of her hand, Su Ning glanced at the sky. “Xi You, you go back first. Uncle Luo and the others will be worried soon.”
It was just a ten-minute walk to see someone off, but she had gotten herself lost. If she didn’t go back, Luo Wu would probably come out looking for her.
Watching her walk through the gate, she then walked back with Zhang Qi.
……
After winter set in, several snowfalls had occurred in the back mountain, but the first snow hadn’t even come in the city yet.
The air was just damper and colder than usual, cool and refreshing when breathed into the lungs.
By a little after eight and not yet nine, there were hardly any pedestrians on the street, and the long street only echoed with the rhythmic tapping footsteps of the two.
The city Z courtyard was not far from First Street. When the two walked back to the small courtyard gate, the gate was half-open, the lights in the courtyard were brightly lit, and the two elderly people were sitting under the corridor, enduring the cold wind, restlessly anxious as they waited.
“Dad, Mom, why didn’t you go inside?”
“Yeah, Godfather and Godmother, it’s so cold outside!”
Closing the courtyard gate, the two quickly walked to them, each supporting one as they headed inside the house.
Houses in the city didn’t have fire basins built in the kitchen like every household in the village. After dinner, the family would gather around the fire to roast and chat, warm themselves up, then scald their feet while nice and toasty before going to bed.
For heating here, they could only rely on a small stove burning coal balls or charcoal.
Bringing them to the main hall, Su Ning went to the kitchen to light the fire and ignite some charcoal. Only when the black smoke from the charcoal lessened did she pick up the stove and return to the room.
By now, Zhang Qi had already explained the general situation, including Secretary Luo’s attitude and the coincidental encounter with Wei Junjie.
“Serves him right! Beating him once is too lenient!”
The couple ground their back teeth almost to pieces. Zhang Fu especially hated himself for not going along, otherwise he could have kicked that beast a few times to collect some interest first.
Wiping away the tears that had unconsciously welled up at the corner of her eye again, she saw Su Ning just setting down the stove and preparing to pick up the thermos to boil hot water.
Hu Yingtao quickly pulled her hand and made her sit beside her. “Ning Ning, stop bustling around. Your little hands are so cold.”
It was her fault. These things should have been prepared before the two returned. But she had been absent-minded, dinner was just some hasty simple food to fill the stomach, then she coaxed Xiao Qiu to sleep and focused entirely on waiting for them to come back.
The stove hadn’t been lit, and the hot water hadn’t been boiled.
On such a cold day, running back and forth like this, they must have frozen badly.
“Godmother, I’m not very cold. I’m wearing a lot.”
Seeing the self-blame and annoyance in her eyes, Su Ning obediently set down the thermos, sat properly beside her, and let her place her hands above the stove to warm them.
Turning to look at Zhang Fu and Zhang Qi who had suddenly fallen silent, “Godfather, Older Brother, tomorrow morning Zhang Brother and I will go out.”
“Ning Ning, you don’t go. Zhang Ze and I brothers will go together.”
Pulling together his thoughts, Zhang Qi forced himself to perk up, knowing she was saying this to prepare to collect evidence on Wei Junjie. With men at home, how could he let her do something so dangerous.
“I’ll just help keep watch outside. With Brother Zhang’s skills, one person has no problem. And Older Brother, you have other more important things to do.”
“What things?”
“Go on stakeout.”
……
This conversation lasted a long time, until late at night when they finally dispersed to rest.
The next day early in the morning, braving the drizzling light rain, Su Ning hurriedly went out. After meeting Zhang Ze and explaining the situation, the two quickly went to the house that Wei Junjie had bought outside.
Fortunately, when Zhang Ze had investigated deeply before, he had grasped these details, saving some unnecessary trouble now and not wasting extra time and energy.
This residential area was on the outskirts of Gu City and near the national highway, so it was relatively scattered and not concentrated.
This Wei Junjie really knew how to pick places. The bungalow he bought had a unique location: in front was the front bay river flowing into Lishui, and behind it backed against the mountain hollow cliff.
Neither near a village nor a store, plus a two-meter-high brick wall with not even a gate opened. No matter how much noise people inside made, not a single soul would be drawn.
However, Su Ning, who had glimpsed his future scenes, knew that this place Zhang Ze had investigated was just where Wei Junjie held and trained the abducted people in the first few days.
The things collected to satisfy special psychological fetishes, as well as the well-trained people, were all in the secret room built deep in the forest behind this mountain.
How to think of a way to lure Brother Zhang over there, and then coincidentally discover it?
“Ning Ning, you stay here. I’ll go in and take a look.”
“Okay. Brother Zhang, be careful. If someone comes, I’ll mimic two bird calls.”
Zhang Ze nodded, observed the surroundings for a while, selected a position, and silently approached.
This high wall might be quite difficult for others, but with Zhang Ze’s skills, it was very easy.
Confirming no movement inside, he retreated several large steps, used leverage to climb the wall, and with hands and feet flipped over smoothly to land.
The house inside wasn’t big, and there was nothing in the courtyard. The closer he got to the room door, the more obvious the faint bloody smell emanating from it became.
Trying to push it, the door wasn’t locked. Zhang Ze tilted his listening ear, frowned, crouched low, and carefully stepped over the threshold.
Sure enough, the cement floor inside the room was full of the color of dried black-red blood.
Against the wall was a low rack, with both upper and lower layers full of various torture instruments. The adjacent wall even had two chains welded to it.
Squatting down, he picked up the handcuffs from the chains on the ground, examined them carefully in the light behind him, and sniffed them close to his nose.
After checking the small room inside and out, up and down, missing no tiny detail, he finally found the tunnel entrance switch into this house.
Bold from his high skill, without much hesitation, Zhang Ze quickly entered the tunnel and closed the mechanism from inside, completely disappearing into the darkness.
……
Su Ning waiting outside checked the watch on her wrist again, her face showing some anxiety.
Why had Brother Zhang been inside so long without coming out?
It shouldn’t be. Before he went in, she had clearly touched him, and except for Grandma Zhang’s matter, no other scenes had appeared.
“Ning Ning.”
“Brother Zhang?”
Looking at the direction he came from, then turning back to glance at the place he entered.
What was the situation? Why had he come out from the opposite other direction?
No, that yard wall had no door opened. Since he didn’t exit the original way, he must have found a way in.
“I found the entrance to the secret passage.”
Sure enough.
Nodding, understanding his gaze, Su Ning said nothing more and closely followed behind him.
Following the direction he had come, the two flipped over the not-too-high slope in front of them, one after the other.
Zhang Ze’s sense of direction was excellent, and his memory for routes was top-notch. Even though it looked similar, he clearly memorized it after just one time.
He didn’t choose the small path mountain road that had been trodden by people; the wild path was even harder to traverse.
As they gradually went deep into the dense forest, the surroundings became increasingly eerie, and the moisture in the air grew heavier.
By the time they reached that place, their clothing hems were covered in flat round spiky grass seeds, and their hair and shoulders were soaked.
“It’s here. That secret passage exit has one leading into that courtyard, and another even more hidden one leading here.”
Afraid she would be anxious waiting, Zhang Ze had returned after finding this place without going in to explore.
That Wei dog thing was more cunning than a secret agent, really good at burrowing. He had almost missed this clue here.
Silently giving a thumbs up, Su Ning couldn’t help but sigh that Brother Zhang was amazing!
Not long ago she had been racking her brains how to lure him here, and he had discovered the anomaly from tiny details and come over ahead of time.
“Brother Zhang, look!”
Nodding her chin, Su Ning looked straight at one spot.
That was a big tree needing several people holding hands to encircle, with a simple small wooden house built under its umbrella-shaped tree crown.
As if sensing a stranger’s scent, two or three big black dogs with fur fed glossy and shiny, limbs thick and powerful, burst out.
Those big black dogs had blood-red ferocious light in their eyes, looking just like starving wolves in the mountains, not at all like the silly cute pastoral dogs raised by humans.
Even though they had spotted outsiders, they didn’t bark, but instead took on a posture ready to pounce and tear.
“Brother Zhang, use this!”
No time for more words, Su Ning quickly pulled out two small porcelain bottles from her cotton clothes pocket. Inside were the mutant version sleeping potion she had first developed.
She had personally witnessed its effect before; it was completely fine for taking down these big black dogs.
Being deleted by various reviews is really annoying. My family still belittles my novel writing as worthless. Don’t know how to describe this mood, feeling lost. This month is the last month on the list. On the 30th, if everyone has monthly votes, hope you can leave them for me, just that day. Pear also needs a ray of light, someone holding an umbrella.
Save the child, at least let me show my family some good data, have some ground to retort. Save me ahhhhh!
