Chapter 10: "The Guillotine"
Yin Chuan understood why he hesitated to speak, so he explained: "It doesn't matter. Deputy Commander Situ has given me full authority to investigate, which means we can ask about anything in the barracks. So, you can speak freely."
"Okay. The disagreement between Captain Shen and the other senior officers is that the others believe that the Southern Alliance, which opposes President Yuan and Marshal Zhang, can be dealt with with just one word: 'Kill!' Kill them all. But Captain Shen feels that since we are now in the Republic of China, a republic of five ethnic groups, we should try our best to stop fighting. If there are any political disagreements, we should sit down and talk, avoid violence, and try our best to prevent the people from suffering."
"Captain Shen's idea is right!" Linlang agreed very much.
"As a regimental commander, isn't he afraid of being suppressed by higher-ranking officers?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"We are an independent regiment, not affiliated with any other division-level military unit. We are directly under the command of Marshal Zhang, so other commanders dare not harm Commander Shen."
"Do you brothers in the independent regiment think the same as Captain Shen?" Yin Chuan asked.
"What we think isn't important in itself. We'll do whatever Marshal Zhang tells us to do. However, we have no objection to Captain Shen's thinking. After all, when a war breaks out, everyone's on the defensive. Who knows when they might lose their lives on the battlefield and become a wandering ghost, so naturally, it's best not to fight. But then again, as a soldier, obeying orders and going to the battlefield is understandable. So... I even have this inexplicable feeling that Captain Shen may be secretly connected to the Southern Alliance. And this feeling is not only mine, the people in other battalions also have some suspicions."
"Then do you have any evidence?"
Li Huaide shook his head. "There's no evidence. It's just pure speculation."
Yin Chuan pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then asked, "You also witnessed what happened in the barracks just now, right?"
"Yes, I saw it."
"What do you think is going on?"
"As for me... I was really shocked at the time, but after I recovered, the first thing I remembered was something."
"Oh? What is that?"
"Before I joined the army, I heard storytellers at the market talk about a hidden weapon called the 'Blood Guillotine' that could fly around and snatch heads from the enemy. The scene where Captain Shen was murdered was exactly the same as the 'Blood Guillotine' I imagined in my mind!"
"The Blood Guillotine? I know that!" Du Yunzhang interrupted. "It seems to be in the storyteller's 'Swordsman Picture'. Old Yin, you must know about it, right?"
Yin Chuan had been hanging around the performing arts market in Huangmuying, Wuhe County, for many years. He had naturally heard storytellers recounting the "Swordsman's Picture" and was well-versed in the legendary hidden weapon, the "Blood Guillotine." But he also wondered how a murder in the military camp could be connected to the "Blood Guillotine."
"But how do you explain the gunshot before Captain Shen's head fell? It couldn't have been fired by a killer with the 'Flying Guillotine', right?"
"How would I know? Aren't you detectives? You should answer this question." Li Huaide glanced at Yin Chuan with dissatisfaction.
After Li Huaide left, Yin Chuan murmured, "I think the idea behind the 'Blood Guillotine' he mentioned is very unique. Maybe that's what it is."
"Come on!" Du Yunzhang said with disdain. "What era is this now? How could there be such a mysterious 'Flying Guillotine'? It's just a hidden weapon made up by storytellers. No one has ever actually seen one. Besides, everyone saw what happened. There was no 'Flying Guillotine' at all."
"I just think that Captain Li, although he looks big and strong, actually has a lot of ideas."
"Maybe she is just rough on the outside but delicate on the inside." Linlang said with a smile.
Next came the Third Battalion Commander, Wu Ziqing. The most striking thing about him upon entering the barracks was his shiny, shaved head, a stark contrast to the braids worn by everyone else in the camp.
"I say, if you have any questions, please ask them quickly. I still have military affairs to attend to!" Wu Ziqing spoke in pure Shandong dialect.
"Captain Wu, what's wrong with your left shoulder? Was it also injured during the battle just now?" Yin Chuan asked.
"Well, that was bad luck. Those bastards' bullets didn't hurt me, but I tripped over a snow-covered fence and skinned my shoulder. It's no big deal, I'll be fine after I clean myself up."
"I'm glad you're okay. Captain Wu, you should have seen the scene where Captain Shen was killed in the barracks. I remember you were closest to the barracks door at that time, but why didn't you rush into the barracks immediately, but said nothing?" Yin Chuan asked immediately.
"What's so strange about this? It happened so suddenly. How could I just barge into the commander's barracks? Besides, I wasn't the only one who was shocked. Li Huaide and Shen Xi were the same way."
"But I noticed that the expression on your face at that time was not shock, but more of confusion."
"What's going on? Aren't you confused by such a strange scene?"
"But your doubts don't seem to be about why that happened..."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. Captain Wu, can I ask how old Captain Shen is this year?" Yin Chuan suddenly changed the subject.
"Well..." Wu Ziqing didn't expect Yin Chuan to ask this, "He...he is twenty-five."
"What about your three battalion commanders?"
"Are you asking about age?"
"That's right."
"The first battalion commander, Li Huaide, is twenty-seven, the second battalion commander, Chen Xi, is twenty-three, and I am also twenty-seven."
"What about the deputy commander Situ Xin?"
"He's twenty-nine."
"Oh, I see. That's what I don't quite understand. How could a young man younger than you and First Battalion Commander Li Huaide become your superiors? If we use military talent as the standard, I think you two are no worse than Captain Shen. Is there something special about him that makes him stand out from you two?"
"This..." Wu Ziqing seemed to have completely unexpected that Yin Chuan would ask this question that had nothing to do with the murder case, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"There are only three possibilities for someone so young to hold such a high position in the military," Yin Chuan continued. "Either he's related to someone who holds the power of life and death, or he possesses exceptional military talent. As for the third possibility... perhaps he holds something that those in power particularly value."
Wu Ziqing couldn't help but gasp, wondering if Yin Chuan was really just a commoner. How could he see things so clearly? This sentence hit the nail on the head.
Judging from the changes in Wu Ziqing's facial expression, Yin Chuan had some idea in his mind. It seemed that Captain Shen had a complicated background, and there might be a bigger secret behind his bizarre murder in the snowy secret room.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
