Chapter 307: Second Old Photo

The photo was sent via email. Panzi was completely clueless about it; I taught him for a long time, and by the time it arrived, an hour had already passed since our phone call.

It was indeed a very old photo, yellowed, with traces of fading. Even so, I could still see what was on it, and I understood why Panzi couldn't be sure, and what "ghost" meant.

That old photo must have been taken in an old house. The background was a folding screen. The photo was heavily overexposed, details unclear, but I could see a human figure standing straight behind the screen.

Light came through from behind the screen, and the figure was quite distinct. What was hair-raising was the person's posture. An ordinary person standing would have some shift in balance, but this figure was almost perfectly upright, and moreover, the shoulders were drooping — it looked abnormal at first glance. My first impression was that the person was hanging in midair.

A dead person hanging behind the screen? I felt a little uneasy, but I couldn't figure out what about this photo could interest me. I'd go find him after seeing this? I didn't have that feeling.

Looking down, the floor was wooden. The left edge of the photo showed a deep view — a corridor behind the screen, half hidden by the screen, half visible. That area was wrinkled, and rough at a glance, but looking closely, I could see several doors along the corridor.

Suddenly I felt this scene was familiar. This old, aged feeling, combined with the arrangement of the rooms — I must have seen it somewhere before, and the impression was rather strong.

I moved the mouse. The email also contained a scan of the back of the photo, on which was written a note from Brother Chu, obviously addressed to me. It said: 1984, Golmud Sanatorium.

I sucked in a cold breath and suddenly understood. Ah, this was a photo taken in that abandoned sanatorium in Golmud. The scene at that time flashed through my mind. This was a corridor on some floor, I couldn't tell which.

That sanatorium was the hiding place Wenjin and her group chose to evade Third Uncle's pursuit. Wenjin's group had a mysterious background; according to Third Uncle, they were conducting some unknown research. In that abandoned sanatorium, they shot a large number of videotapes, monitoring their every move. There was even a person who looked extremely like me. This whole matter was a complete mess.

How could Brother Chu have a photo of that place? Was he also involved? Unlikely. Then I thought — he had a very good relationship with Third Uncle. Could it be that Third Uncle left something with him? Or asked him to handle something... so he knew some inside information.

That was indeed quite possible. If he really knew what had happened in that sanatorium, it would be an unexpected bonus for me. But on the other hand, what was this photo actually of?

For ordinary people, taking a photo must have a subjective purpose: either as a souvenir or to preserve information. It's impossible to take a photo for no reason. At that time, in that sanatorium, there must have been some occasion that made someone take this photo.

A souvenir seems unlikely. The screen was very ordinary, and the simple corridor was at the edge of the photo — definitely not the subject. So, what this person wanted to photograph must have been the shadow behind the screen.

This was quite eerie. On one hand, the shadow was hair-raising; on the other hand, this way of taking a photo indeed made people think it might be a "ghost" photo, because it looked a bit like those ghost photos on the internet. But I knew very well that it couldn't be a ghost. It must be something behind that screen, and the person who took the photo, for some reason, took it through the screen. It's just that we weren't there at the time, only saw the result, so it seemed inexplicable.

That sanatorium had hidden too many things. They filmed their every move, and now such a photo appears. What exactly were they doing inside?

After thinking it over, I couldn't afford to worry too much. It seemed necessary to meet this person. So I called Panzi and explained my thoughts. Panzi thought for a moment and agreed, saying he would arrange it and notify me when everything was set.

To make a long story short, soon I met Brother Chu in Pingtang Prison. The process went more smoothly than I expected. Panzi took me in. This was my first time in a prison; I broke out in a cold sweat all the way. After passing through several iron gates, I saw him in the waiting room.

This guy had clearly lost weight. His shaved head was no longer shiny. He looked several years older, frowning and shivering. I handed him a cigarette; he took a few puffs before relaxing a bit. Thinking back to how slick he used to look, I couldn't help but sigh — in this line of work, you get rich or poor overnight, and if you end up like this, you have to accept your fate.

Our meeting was awkward for a moment. I didn't know what to say to him. It was he who asked me first: "What's the situation with your third uncle?" His voice was much hoarser. I briefly told him about Changsha, said that Third Uncle had disappeared without a trace, not seen anywhere, no idea where he had gone.

"Retribution. This line of work brings retribution." He took a heavy drag on his cigarette, seemed a bit distracted. After a moment's thought, he looked up and stared at me, then asked, "Are you inquiring about Mute Zhang?"

"Mute Zhang?" I was startled, then after a second I understood. "You mean that young fellow? You call him Mute Zhang?"

"That's what everyone on the street calls him." By then he had already finished the cigarette, extremely fast. I saw his hand shaking again, so I hurriedly gave him my cigarettes and lighter. He immediately took them and lit another. "Because he doesn't like to talk. Why are you asking about him?"

I thought to myself, that's none of your damn business. I didn't know how to answer. Panzi said from the side, "Why the hell are you asking so many questions?"

Brother Chu took a few puffs, glanced at Panzi, and said without fear, "I'm already like this. What harm can asking do?"

Panzi was already resentful towards him. He clicked his tongue, about to say something harsh. I stopped him. Brother Chu was at his lowest point; harsh words wouldn't help. He had nothing left to lose; what good would cursing him do? I said, "Brother Chu, you've been in this business longer than I have. You know there are some things I really can't talk about."

"Oh ho, Little Third Master is giving me the runaround too, huh? Alright." He nodded at me, a bit sourly.

I didn't fall for that. I just looked at him. He shivered, smirking for a moment, then found I had no reaction, so he got bored. Suddenly he said to Panzi, "Master Pan, did you pay my dad?"

Panzi pulled out a receipt. It seemed Panzi had paid 100,000 yuan on my behalf. He threw it in front of Brother Chu. Brother Chu picked it up, looked at it, and said, "Truly Third Master's man, straightforward enough."

"We've paid the money, and you've seen him. Now can you talk?" Panzi said grudgingly.

Brother Chu nodded, then said to him, "Please step out, Master Pan. This is between me and your Little Third Master."

Panzi frowned, a bit annoyed. I quickly signaled him to go along with it — what could we do? Panzi was furious, muttered a curse, and got up to leave.

Brother Chu watched him leave until the door closed, then turned to me. I saw his expression change. He exhaled a puff of smoke and said to me, "Little Third Master, you can't keep investigating."

I looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to say that.

"Why?" I blurted out.

He sighed. "Look at me, my fate, your third uncle's fate, Mute Zhang's fate — you've seen everyone's fate." He stood up. "What's beyond this is too shocking. It's not something people like us should touch."

I sat up a little straighter, recalling that photo, and asked him, "What exactly do you know?"