Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 223 Ghostly Shadows in the Mountain Village

At dinner, Li Dajiang's wife, Aunt Wang, cooked a few home-style dishes.

Besides Wu Zhiyuan, there was also Liao Yong, the deputy director of the town's police station, who was investigating the illegal brick kiln in the village and had dinner at Li Dajiang's house that evening.

A plate of stir-fried bok choy, a dish of stir-fried cured pork with dried bamboo shoots, a plate of spicy chicken, and a pot of stewed radish and pork ribs. The staple food is cornbread.

Wu Zhiyuan ate with relish, chatting as he ate.

Li Dajiang casually mentioned something: "Secretary Wu, let me tell you something strange. That place in Xishantou is very eerie."

It's been haunted since last year. People often hear crying at night, and some have seen white shadows floating in the woods.

Even more frightening was that sand would fly down from the sky as soon as someone got close, yet they couldn't see anyone. Several people in the village fell ill from the fright.

A few months ago, there was a young man in the village who was very brave. He was nicknamed "Bold Yu" because he was fearless and had a strong build.

Hearing that Xishantou was haunted, he didn't believe it and went there that night with a peach wood stick.

In our rural area, there's a saying that peach wood can ward off evil spirits.

And guess what? I actually saw a ghost! I got covered in sand, scrambled back home, had a high fever for three days, and now I don't even dare to mention it.

After that, no one dared to go that way anymore; they would avoid it even during the day.

Wu Zhiyuan put down his chopsticks and frowned: "Haunted? Tell me the details."

Seeing that Wu Zhiyuan was interested, Li Dajiang started talking: "That mountain forest was contracted by a boss from out of town a few years ago to grow camellia. He built three bungalows as a shed and warehouse."

Last year, the boss died in a car accident, so the camellia oil forest was abandoned, and those houses were also abandoned.

Not long after the boss died, some people said they could hear a woman crying at night;

Some people say they saw a female ghost in white floating on the tree in front of the house;

Some people say that sand falls from the sky as soon as you get close, but when you look up, there's nothing there.

"Has anyone seen it with their own eyes?" Wu Zhiyuan pressed.

"Yes! Widow Sun from the east end of the village heard ghostly wailing when she went to pay respects at the graves on the evening of Qingming Festival this year."

She turned around and saw a white shadow floating on the treetops, with sand flying everywhere. Startled, she dropped her basket, ran home, and fell ill.

Li Dajiang described it in great detail: "And Li Genfa's father also said that he saw it with his own eyes, a white shadow with very long hair, wandering in the tree in front of the bungalow."

Wu Zhiyuan is a staunch atheist and does not believe in these things at all.

He judged that the so-called "haunting" was likely hiding a secret.

"Uncle Li, you said the boss is a man?" Wu Zhiyuan asked.

"Yes, it was a man. I forgot his name, but I remember his surname was Zhao, Boss Zhao."

Wu Zhiyuan laughed: "Since he's a male boss, even if he really becomes a ghost, he should be a male ghost. How did he become a female ghost in white? That doesn't make sense."

Li Dajiang was stunned, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Aunt Wang was also stunned, muttering, "That's right, the male boss is dead, how could a female ghost appear?"

Li Dajiang said, "But everyone says it's a female ghost..."

Liao Yong joked, "Could it be that Boss Zhao married a ghost wife in the underworld?"

Everyone laughed.

After a while, Wu Zhiyuan stopped smiling and said seriously, "Uncle Li, Aunt Wang, what ghosts are there in this world?"

The so-called ghost stories are mostly just people pretending to be ghosts and doing shady things.

Wang Gang's illegal brick kiln is right under our noses, and we didn't even notice it, did we? I need to go check out this western hilltop.

Li Dajiang quickly waved his hand: "Secretary Wu, you can't go! That place is really scary; several daring people have gotten themselves into trouble!"

"The stranger it is, the more I want to go and see," Wu Zhiyuan said resolutely. "If there really is a ghost, I want to meet it."

Even if there's no ghost involved, we still need to find out who's behind it and why!

Liao Yong said, "Secretary Wu, I'll go with you!"

Wu Zhiyuan asked with a smile, "Director Liao, aren't you afraid?"

Liao Yong grinned: "What haven't I seen as a policeman?"

I've never seen a ghost, but I've caught plenty of bad guys who pretend to be ghosts.

Besides, with Secretary Wu around, I feel at ease.

Wu Zhiyuan nodded: "Okay, then let's go and investigate tonight."

Uncle Li, just give us directions, and come back when you get there.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade them otherwise, Li Dajiang had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll take you to the intersection."

However, Secretary Wu, Director Liao, you must be careful; that place is really not safe.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong, led by Li Dajiang, walked towards the west end of the village with flashlights.

Moon stars are rare.

But the further west you go, the more rugged the mountain path becomes, and the denser the forest grows.

The night wind whistled through the woods, making a howling sound that could be quite unbearable for the faint of heart.

As they walked, Li Dajiang introduced, "Secretary Wu, Director Liao, that area ahead is the old camellia oil forest."

The three bungalows are nestled deep in the woods, about a ten-minute walk from here.

The road is difficult to travel; tractors and motorcycles can barely make it, but cars can't get through.

Ever since the haunting started, even woodcutters and snake catchers avoid it.

As they approached the edge of the forest, Li Dajiang stopped and pointed his flashlight into the dark depths of the woods: "Go in from here and keep heading west until you see a patch of old camellia trees, then you'll be there."

"Secretary Wu, Director Liao, I'll leave you here. Please be careful."

Wu Zhiyuan patted Li Dajiang on the shoulder: "Uncle Li, don't worry, we know what we're doing."

"Go back first, and keep it a secret for us. Don't tell anyone we came here."

Li Dajiang nodded, turned around and walked back. After taking a few steps, he looked back again before quickening his pace and leaving.

Liao Yong took a police baton from his waist and handed it to Wu Zhiyuan: "Secretary Wu, please take this for self-defense."

I brought a flashlight, a high-powered flashlight, and a baton.

Wu Zhiyuan took the baton and tested its feel: "Let's go, I want to see what kind of monster it is."

The two men, flashlights in hand and bamboo sticks in hand, trudged deeper into the woods.

The moonlight was fragmented by the dense canopy of trees, making the forest dim.

The beam of the flashlight swayed in the darkness, casting strangely shaped shadows on the trees.

The whistling sound of the wind through the woods did indeed sound a bit like a woman's weeping.

"Director Liao, does the sound of this wind sound like crying?" Wu Zhiyuan suddenly asked.

Liao Yong listened intently and laughed: "It does sound a bit like a ghost. If you have a preconceived notion that something is amiss, you can hear the sound of ghosts wailing in the wind."

If you have nothing to hide, this is just ordinary gossip.

"That's right. If you have a guilty conscience, everything will look like a ghost; if you have nothing to hide, even ghosts can't harm you."

As they were talking, a sobbing sound suddenly came from the woods ahead. It was intermittent, sometimes loud and sometimes soft, and it definitely sounded like a woman crying, not the wind.

Liao Yong immediately turned off the flashlight and pulled Wu Zhiyuan to squat behind a big tree.

The two held their breath and listened intently.

The crying sound came from the direction of the mountain valley, drifting and ethereal, yet exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

But if you listen carefully, you can tell that the rhythm and tone of the crying are somewhat regular, unlike the natural ups and downs of a real person's crying.

"A tape recorder," Wu Zhiyuan whispered. "Play the crying sounds on a tape recorder to create the illusion of a ghost."

Liao Yong nodded, turned the flashlight back on, but covered most of the light with his hand, leaving only a small beam: "Secretary Wu, it seems someone really is up to something."

The two continued forward.

After walking for a few more minutes, the outline of houses began to appear in the distance.

Three low-lying bungalows are nestled in a mountain valley, surrounded by waist-high weeds.

Just then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

In the middle of the house, a white shadow was seen slowly drifting in the moonlight on a tree in front of it.

The shadow, dressed in white with long hair, swayed gently between the tree branches two or three meters above the ground. Its white robes fluttered in the wind, obscuring its face, and it was indeed terrifying in the dim light.

If an ordinary person saw this, they would probably be terrified.

But Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong are both worldly people, so how could they be fooled by such tricks?

"Secretary Wu, look, that ghost is moving very evenly, as if it's being swayed by a rope, not like a living thing," Liao Yong said in a low voice.

Wu Zhiyuan observed carefully: "Hmm, and it stays at that height the whole time, without moving up or down."

If it were a person in disguise, there would at least be a support point, and there would be some subtle movements. This must be a mannequin.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a piercing shriek suddenly rang out from ahead, its ear-piercing sound echoing through the mountains and forests.

At the same time, a shower of fine sand fell from the sky, scattering onto the ground around Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong.

Just a short distance to their side, behind a dense thicket of bushes, another white figure suddenly stood up.

The white figure moved erratically, letting out a piercing scream, and at the same time, it flicked its hand, sending a cloud of sand flying towards the two of them.

"There's one more!" Liao Yong whispered, shining his flashlight over.

Under the bright light, the true appearance of the white figure was instantly revealed—it was clearly a person wearing a white robe and a long black wig.

There seemed to be something smeared on her face, making it appear deathly pale under the light.

The person was startled by the flashlight beam and turned to run towards the bungalow. Although the movement was swift, it was clear that the person was alive. As he ran, he continued to emit that strange howl.

"A charade!" Wu Zhiyuan instantly understood. "The mannequin in the tree is a fake, this is a real person in disguise! We've been discovered!"

His mind raced, and he whispered to Liao Yong, "Let's play along! We'll pretend to be terrified!"

After saying that, Wu Zhiyuan raised his voice and shouted in extreme terror, "Ghosts! Two ghosts! Sand! Run!"

This place is truly haunted! You have to believe it!

He grabbed Liao Yong and deliberately staggered a few steps back the way they came, making hurried footsteps and the sound of hitting bushes, before quickly hiding behind a big tree.

Liao Yong had already taken advantage of the chaos and the noise Wu Zhiyuan had created to sneak up and quickly make his way to a shadowy spot on the side of the bungalow, where he pressed himself against the wall and held his breath.

Wu Zhiyuan hid behind a big tree and observed carefully.

The person dressed as a ghost ran to the door of the bungalow, banged on it urgently, and shouted in a low voice, "Open the door! It's me! Two brave guys came by earlier, but I scared them away with sand!"

The wooden door creaked open a crack, and the person slipped inside before the door closed again.

Wu Zhiyuan waited patiently for a few seconds, then tiptoed to the base of the bungalow wall.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the windows of the three bungalows were all boarded up from the inside, with only the door serving as the sole entrance and exit.

Wu Zhiyuan held his breath and peered through the crack in the door.

This is one of them, which serves as both a kitchen and a dining room.

The room was dimly lit, with lights on.

Three men were sitting around a table, drinking.

A fat man with a face full of scars grinned and said, "Those two cowards were so scared when they heard the ghost scream that they ran away with their tails between their legs!"

Damn, this trick of pretending to be a ghost or spirit is really effective!

Another tall, thin man took a sip of his drink: "That's right, people in this remote, impoverished area are all superstitious."

Hang up a mannequin, play a recording, and sprinkle some sand; that's enough to scare them away.

"This location is well-chosen; it's at the junction of two provinces and three counties, a no-man's-land where even the police don't bother coming."

The third one was a short man with a scar on his face: "Brother Long really knows how to do things. Using this place as a transit point, it's done without anyone noticing."

Those women are locked up here; they can scream their lungs out, but no one will hear them.

The fat man chuckled lewdly: "Speaking of which, that college student we just brought in today is really pretty."

Unfortunately, Brother Long instructed that this should be sold intact for a good price, and no one was allowed to touch it.

Sigh, it's so tempting to see something you can't have.