Page 10
"Useless brother, these people are all brainwashed warriors. They have been subjected to all kinds of torture during training. Even if they are not dead, it is difficult for us to get useful information from them." Zhang Qihai said lightly.
He had already foreseen this situation, so he did not deliberately try to stop the actions of the three Japanese spies. Since he could not get any information from them anyway, it would be better to let them die.
"We can't find any clues now. Let's go back to Changsha City first and then make plans." After a moment's hesitation, Master Buddha gave the order to return home. All the clues were now gone.
It would be better to go back to the city and see if there are any new clues.
When everyone was about to return, Master Ba pointed in the direction of the bushes and shouted as if he had seen a ghost: "Master Buddha, look...there's a figure flashing by there!"
"People? Where is the person?"
Buddha looked towards the bushes that Master Ba had pointed to, but saw nothing but dense weeds.
"Master Buddha, you have to believe me! I really saw a figure flash by just now, and it looked like an old man!" Master Ba said with a firm face.
"Brother, what Master Ba said is right. When I was observing the surroundings just now, I did see an old man standing over there. But in just a moment, he disappeared! Let's go over and take a look. Maybe we can get something unexpected!"
Zhang Qihai's words also confirmed that what Mr. Qi Ba said was true.
If it was Master Qi who spoke alone, Master Buddha might think that Master Qi had made a mistake, but since his younger brother had also said so, it didn't matter if he went to check it out. It was better than returning empty-handed.
The Buddha also agreed and said, "Okay, let's do as Qi Hai said. Let's go and take a look together."
The group found a series of shoe prints on the ground in the bushes. Judging from the traces, they were just stepped on. This evidence confirmed that someone was standing here and observing them. Adjutant Zhang immediately said to Master Buddha, "It seems that Master Ba and Master Buddha were not mistaken. There was indeed someone staying here. Judging from the traces of the other party running away, he should have run towards the town. Master Buddha, should we follow him and see?"
"Okay, let's catch up quickly!" Zhang Dafoye said quickly.
The three Japanese ninjas had already become corpses, and the clues had been interrupted. Now that they had finally found a new clue, they were naturally unwilling to give up, so they chased in the direction of the town again.
It didn't take much effort for the group to return to the town.
The few people looked around and saw that the surroundings were still desolate. They did not find any trace of the sneaky old man. They were a little discouraged. The sharp-eyed Master Qi Ba said to Master Buddha, "Master Buddha, look over there, there is a pile of firewood. When we just came here, there was nothing here. This must have been left here by the old man in order to escape!"
"Interesting, this old man was able to run quickly from the back mountain to the town. I believe he must be very familiar with the terrain here. Maybe we have really found the right person this time. Everyone, search carefully around here. We must find the old man and cannot let him run away no matter what! This may be our last chance!" The Buddha said with a smile, curling the corners of his mouth.
"Master Buddha, I'll go search right away!"
As the Buddha's number one subordinate, Zhang Rishan immediately prepared to set off after hearing the Buddha's order.
At this moment, Zhang Qihai, who had been standing by and had not spoken, thought for a moment and then spoke up to stop them: "Wait a minute, Adjutant Zhang! Brother, I think we don't need to look for him. We can just sit back and wait. Look at the axe on the pile of firewood. It's very important to the old man. Without it, he won't be able to go up the mountain to chop firewood. So, we just need to hide and wait quietly. I believe he will come back soon."
"What Master Buddha said makes sense! But if he doesn't come, then wouldn't we have waited in vain?" Master Qi Ba said with some concern.
"There's no way he won't come, believe me! We are not familiar with this town. If we really have to search everywhere, we will inevitably encounter some dangerous situations, and it will be inconvenient to support each other at that time!" Zhang Qihai said again.
Mr. Qi Ba was indeed the most timid one among the Nine Gates. He wanted to say something, but when he heard the word "danger" from Zhang Qihai's mouth, he immediately shrank his head and became a loyal supporter of the wait-and-see plan.
Chapter 20 Consequences
Now that there were no more objections, everyone found a place to hide and waited for good news.
As Zhang Qihai expected, a quarter of an hour later, the bushes not far from the firewood pile suddenly became restless, and then an old man came out with a hunched back.
The old man was very alert. He looked around and after making sure that no one was following him, he walked to the firewood pile with peace of mind. He quickly rummaged through it and then pulled out the axe. A satisfied smile appeared on his wrinkled face, and then he turned around and walked somewhere in the town.
When the old man's figure disappeared at the corner of the street not far away, Fo Ye, Zhang Qihai and others came out from their hiding place.
Master Qi Ba looked at Zhang Qihai with admiration and said, "Master Xiao Fo, you are too good! You can actually predict that this old man will come back. Your fortune-telling skills are even better than mine!"
"That's great, Mr. Liao. Think about it, everyone else in this town has moved away, and only this old man is left. This means that he lives nearby, and the axe is one of the most important tools for mountain people. If the axe is lost, the old man will lose a handy tool, and how will he make a living by chopping wood in the future?" Zhang Qihai told everyone his inferences and analysis indifferently.
"As expected of Little Buddha, your brain works really well! So what is our next plan?"
Adjutant Zhang on the side first flattered Zhang Qihai, and then asked.
"Of course we have to follow him! This old man has been living here all the time. Besides, he just ran away when he saw us. He might know something about the Japanese. Anyway, we must find him and ask him about these things!"
Before Zhang Qihai could speak, Zhang Dafoye next to him spoke first.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Buddha chased in the direction the old man left. The few people looked at the Buddha's disappearing figure and hurriedly followed him.
Several people followed the old man, turning around in the town. After a quarter of an hour, they finally followed the old man to a private house.
Before entering the house, the old man vigilantly glanced at the surroundings. After making sure that no one was following him, he gently pushed open the door and walked in, then closed the door.
After seeing the old man walk into the house, the Buddha walked quickly to the gate and pushed hard with his hand. The door was pushed open directly with a creaking sound, but the old man in the house did not hear it.
A group of people rushed into the yard and saw that everything in the yard was arranged very neatly and looked clean and tidy. It was obvious that this was the old man's residence.
Everyone looked and saw a faint light flickering in the main room. The door was closed and the old man was still humming to himself in the room.
Seeing this, Master Fo signaled Adjutant Zhang to open the door.
"Yes, Master Buddha." Zhang Rishan nodded in response, walked quickly to the door, stretched out his hand and pushed hard, and the door was easily pushed open by Zhang Rishan.
As the door was pushed open, the figure of the old man appeared in front of everyone. He looked at the people who suddenly came in, panicked, and begged for mercy: "You... who are you? What do you want to do? Don't kill me! I don't know anything!"
"Old man, don't worry! We are all good people. We won't kill you. We come here just to ask you a few questions. Don't worry!" Zhang Rishan looked at the old man in front of him with a face full of fear and spoke to comfort him.
Hearing that they were not here to kill him, the old man gradually relaxed. At this time, Master Fo, Zhang Qihai and Master Qi Bay also walked into the house.
As soon as Mr. Qi Ba came in, he picked up a Type 38 rifle that was thrown on the side of the table. After fiddling with it for a while, he pointed to a pile of Type 38 rifles next to him and said, "This is the rifle of the Japanese pirates. How did it appear here? Old man, tell me the truth, are you Japanese?"
"No... No, I'm Chinese too! I picked these things up by accident!" the old man explained hurriedly, but the gleam in his eyes betrayed him.
"Picked it up? Old man, are you kidding me? This type of Type 38 rifle is only equipped by some elite troops of the Japanese army, and you have more than a dozen of them hidden here! Are you so lucky? I think you are colluding with the Japanese and want to plot something shameful in Changsha City! Am I right?" The Eighth Master stared at the old man with a serious face. These words sounded a bit intimidating coming out of his mouth.
"No, that's not true! I really picked up these guns!" After hearing what Mr. Qi Ba said, the old man explained in a panic, obviously afraid of being accused of colluding with the enemy.
You know, although the war has spread to Hunan Province, Changsha City and its vicinity are still controlled by the Republic of China. If he is charged with the false crime of colluding with Japanese pirates, it would be enough to shoot him dozens of times. How can the old man not be afraid?
"Okay, since you said you picked these up, then you can take us to the place where you picked them up, how about that? If we are sure that these things were picked up by you, then we will confiscate them, but as compensation, we will give you some reward money. If you are unwilling to cooperate, then we can only regard it as getting rid of thieves for the country!"
After Mr. Qi finished speaking, he raised the Type 38 rifle in his hand and pulled the bolt to load the bullet.
"Well... well, I'll take you there, but I have to make it clear that you must not kill me. I really didn't collude with the Japanese pirates!"
After seeing the obvious threat from Mr. Qi Ba, the old man looked bitter and after hesitating for a long time, he decided to lead the way for the four people.
The old man was also a smart man. He could see that Zhang Qihai and others in front of him were not good people. If he insisted on not leading the way, he would probably die today, and his death would be in vain. It would be better for him to choose to lead the way for these people in front of him. Maybe these people would be happy and give him some rewards, and he could make some money.
"You are sensible, old man. Hurry up and lead the way!" Master Qi patted the old man's shoulder and signaled him to lead the way.
Led by the old man, the group walked out of the house and headed towards the mine behind the town. They walked for more than an hour. Finally, Mr. Qi Ba became impatient and said to the old man with an unhappy face: "Old man, we have been walking for so long, why haven't we arrived yet? You must know the consequences of playing tricks on us! You must take us to the destination, otherwise you will be in trouble!"
Chapter 21 Moving away
Seeing Mr. Qi Ba's unhappy look, the old man was also a little afraid and said: "My brave man, you are joking. How dare an old man like me tease you? We are almost there. That place is not far ahead."
Everyone continued to follow the old man. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they finally arrived outside a large mansion. They smelled a foul odor.
"Damn, what is placed here? It smells so bad? And there are flies flying all over the place? Old man, you are so disgusting that you actually come to a place like this to pick up things?" Mr. Qi complained, covering his mouth and nose with one hand and driving away the flies around him with the other.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Qihai realized something was wrong and said to everyone, "If I'm not mistaken, this smell should be the stench of decaying corpses. It seems that there should be quite a few corpses in this yard!"
"Corpse?" Mr. Qi was shocked by Zhang Qihai's words.
"Yes, I was also wondering about this smell just now. Qi Hai's words reminded me that this smell is indeed like the smell of a rotting corpse." Zhang Dafoye also woke up at this time: "How can there be such a strong stench of corpses in this deep mountain forest? Let's go in and take a look!"
After the Buddha finished speaking, he kicked the gate of the courtyard suddenly, and the situation in the yard appeared in front of everyone. The yard was full of corpses, lying in all directions, with blood flowing on the ground. The scene was no worse than the corpses on the ghost train.
Mr. Qi had seen this kind of scene before, so although he felt a little nauseous, he could still barely hold it back. If an ordinary person broke in here and saw this scene, he would probably vomit all over the floor!
When the old man saw that Zhang Qihai and the others were only a little surprised, he secretly felt lucky that he had not done anything extreme just now, otherwise Zhang Qihai and the others would probably kill him.
Being able to remain calm in front of so many corpses is obviously the kind of person who kills people without blinking. When I first saw this scene, I vomited on the spot and had nightmares for several days. These young people are definitely not good people.
However, Zhang Qihai and others did not know that the old man had figured out so many things in his mind just by looking at their expressions.
"There are so many corpses piled together here, no wonder it smells so bad. This is really a big deal! So many people were killed here? It seems that the secrets in this mine are becoming more and more interesting!" said the Buddha indifferently.
"My dear warriors, please don't accuse me wrongly! The deaths of these people have nothing to do with me. I just coveted their money, and after they died, I took away their valuables. As for the rest, I dared not touch them. Everything I said is true! Please! Let me go! I really don't want to die yet!" The old man said with a frightened look in his eyes and sincerity in his tone.
It is obvious that these people were not killed by the old man. After all, it is really unlikely for an old man to kill a group of young and middle-aged people.
"Aren't you talking nonsense? With your old arms and legs, you still want to kill so many young and strong people? If it was really you who killed them, we can still catch you." Mr. Qi said coldly.
"However, although these people were not killed, I think you are also involved in their deaths, right? Otherwise, how did you know that they lived here? How did you know that they all died here?" Zhang Qihai suddenly asked.
"This..." The old man's heart, which had just been relieved, was suddenly weighed down again. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say.
"What? You don't want to say it?" Zhang Qihai asked with a smile and a threatening tone.
If the old man doesn't explain the truth, Zhang Qihai will teach him a lesson the next moment.
"Calm down, brave man. I'll tell you everything!"
The old man cleared his throat and told what he knew.
"Actually, what you just said is correct. I do know these people. It happened two months ago. They suddenly came to the mine and gave me a large sum of money to let me leave here and move down the mountain. As you can see, I am old and can only make a living by cutting wood in the mountains. Suddenly someone gave me such a large sum of money, so I was naturally willing to move down the mountain."
"More than a month later, I happened to pass by here when I went up the mountain to chop firewood, and heard a loud noise here. I didn't dare to come over to see at that time. I was so scared that I had to run back to the town. Then, after staying in the town for a few days, I thought something was wrong, so I ran back to this old house to check. As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw the scene you see now. As for how they died, you must believe me, I really don't know!" When he said this, the old man was obviously a little helpless.
"I believe you for now. The corpses in the yard have nothing to do with you. Now I have another question for you. You said you have always lived here, so you should have seen a train, right? Am I right?" Zhang Qihai asked again, finally getting to the point.
And after hearing what he said.
The old man also spoke tremblingly: "I have... I have seen it. The train left during the time when they died. Warrior, I have told you everything you asked me to tell you. Please let me go! I don't want the reward for leading the way, okay?"
The old man said with fear and trepidation.
"Don't worry. I promised to pay you for leading the way, so I will not break my promise. First of all, I have to wait until you finish leading us on the road!" Zhang Qihai said with a smile.
"What...what do you mean? Didn't I bring you up here? Where else do you want to go?" The old man asked in confusion, not understanding the implication of Zhang Qihai's words.
"Need I say more? Of course, these are the places that these Japanese have been to. Come on, old man, lead the way!" Zhang Rishan, who had been quiet on the side, spoke up.
"Well... since you want to go, I will take you there." After hesitating for a while, the old man finally agreed.
After walking for a while on the mountain, the group finally came to a mine. This mine had been completely sealed off, and the only way to get in was to dig a new path.
"Are you satisfied now? When the Japanese left, they blew up the entire mine. Unless we dig it up again, there's no way to get in."
The old man pointed at the mine in front of him that had long been collapsed by the Japanese bombing, and said helplessly.
Chapter 22 Cooperation
"These damn Japs are so cruel! They even blew up the way in and collapsed it!" Mr. Qi cursed.
"Master Buddha, what do you think we should do?" Zhang Rishan asked.
"It seems there is no other way. The roads leading in have been blown down. We can only go back to the city first, organize an excavation team, and then conduct a detailed investigation." After thinking for a while, Mr. Buddha said with some disappointment.