Chapter 23: The Ghost in the Armory
After a peaceful night's sleep, Yin Chuan and Lin Lang finally emerged from the barracks at noon the next day. Just as they were about to continue their search for clues related to the deserters with the logistics platoon and the reconnaissance squad, Yin Chuan, with his keen ears, heard two soldiers whispering to each other not far away:
"What happened at the armory last night? Did you find out?"
"According to the people in the first battalion, there's something haunted in the armory!"
"There's a ghost? Where did the ghost come from?"
"Yeah, that's what I said. Where do ghosts come from in this world? Even if there really are ghosts, isn't the military camp the place with the most yang energy? There's no way ghosts can cause trouble in the military camp!"
"Is there anyone in their battalion who believes in gods and ghosts?"
"I got it from the battalion commander's orderly. He told him everything with all the details, and it wasn't just this time. I heard it was some headless ghost in the armory. Judging by his expression, it didn't sound like he was making it up at all!"
Yin Chuan's interest was instantly piqued upon hearing this. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw two sentries standing guard at the door of Staff Officer Han's barracks. He couldn't help but move closer to them. He had just taken two steps when someone grabbed his arm from behind.
"Where are you going?" It was Linlang who pulled him back.
"I heard something interesting. Go and listen carefully."
"Are you crazy? That's the direction of Situ Xin and Han Chi's barracks. Aren't you afraid of being seen by them?"
Yin Chuan was stunned, and then he realized that although he didn't have to worry about the obstruction of the guarding soldiers now, if Situ Xin or Han Chi really caught him outside, although it was unlikely that he would be killed on the spot, at least more soldiers would have to be sent to guard him strictly, and it would be even more difficult for him to investigate freely.
"They said that the armory was haunted last night." Yin Chuan spoke after the two of them hid in a shady place.
"Haunted? It's such a modern day, and people still believe in this?" Linlang said with a look of disapproval.
"Of course, I don't believe in ghosts and gods, but considering the tense atmosphere in the barracks these past two days, this incident is definitely unusual. Perhaps... it could be the opportunity to resolve those unsolved mysteries we still have."
"So you're planning on going to the armory?"
Yin Chuan nodded, "I just don't know where the armory is located."
"Isn't this easy? Go find Bai Tao in the reconnaissance squad and ask him to take us there."
So, the two found Bai Tao and first asked about Du Yunzhang's departure yesterday. Bai Tao told them that Du Yunzhang had left the military camp smoothly and asked him to tell Yin Chuan and Linlang before leaving that even if they couldn't bring back Huang Tan during this trip to Chenjia Village, they must turn over all the information about Huang Tan in the Huang family compound and return to reunite with them within two days.
"Let's put Du Yunzhang's matter aside for now. Do you know where the armory is?" Yin Chuan asked.
"I know. It's not far from the logistics platoon. Where are you going?"
"Yes, didn't you hear? It was haunted last night."
"Haunted? No wonder..."
"No wonder? No wonder what?" Linlang heard the hidden meaning in his words.
"No wonder I heard footsteps heading towards the armory in the barracks before daybreak today. When I went outside to see, I vaguely saw the figures of more than a dozen brothers armed with guns heading there. I had no idea what was going on at the time, but you said it was a ghost, and it might be true."
"From what you said, there have been ghosts in the military camp before?" Yin Chuan asked.
"I can't say if it's haunted or not, but I personally witnessed a strange scene, which also happened in the armory."
"Oh? Can you tell me in detail?" Linlang's interest suddenly piqued.
Yin Chuan quickly reminded, "Let's not talk about this for now, let's go to the armory and see what's going on."
Bai Tao, along with Yin Chuan and Lin Lang, made many detours and arrived near a warehouse with three barracks. However, they discovered that the warehouse was surrounded by more than a dozen soldiers, fully armed and on high alert. At the entrance, Deputy Regimental Commander Situ Xin stood there, giving instructions to his men. Since the three of them didn't dare get too close, even Yin Chuan, with his keen ears, could hardly hear what Situ Xin was saying.
"What should we do? Situ Xin is standing in front of the door, and we can only watch helplessly." Linlang said helplessly.
"Maybe he will leave soon, let's wait here for a while." Yin Chuan said.
Linlang had no other choice but to do as Yin Chuan said and wait patiently in the dark.
Sure enough, after a while, Situ Xin left the armory with a guard, but there were still more than ten soldiers guarding around. If Yin Chuan and the others wanted to get close, they would definitely be discovered.
"This is troublesome," Linlang said anxiously. "Even if I can hypnotize one person, there are so many people guarding there that it's impossible to get in easily."
Yin Chuan lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think there's any need for us to go into the armory."
Linlang was stunned, not understanding what Yin Chuan meant. Yin Chuan pointed to the right side of the armory and said, "That should be the logistics platoon's barracks, right? Since they're so close to the armory, they must know what's going on with the ghosts in the armory in the middle of the night."
"You mean to ask the logistics platoon about the situation? How do you know they'll tell us?"
"Look—isn't that the young man who helped us?" Yin Chuan saw the young man walking out of the barracks. "He knows he can get something out of us, and for the sake of the current dollar, he will definitely tell us everything he knows."
Linlang's eyes lit up. Indeed, since this waiter was from the logistics platoon, he must know a lot about the haunted armory in the middle of the night. So she called Bai Tao, who was following behind her, and asked him to call the waiter over.
"Gentlemen, what other good things do you have for me?" The waiter asked with a smile when he saw Yin Chuan and Lin Lang. Although more than half of the silver dollars he had received yesterday had been taken away by the deputy platoon leader, he still treated Yin Chuan as if he had seen the God of Wealth.
Yin Chuan weighed the two silver dollars he had prepared long ago and deliberately showed them to him. "We just want to know what the so-called 'haunting' in the armory was about last night?"
The playful waiter immediately stopped smiling when he heard Yin Chuan was asking this. He suddenly became serious and asked, "Who told you that there was an accident at the armory last night?"
His sudden change in attitude surprised Yin Chuan and Lin Lang.
"What? Is there anything taboo about this matter?" Linlang asked.
The second boy looked around nervously, then lowered his voice and said, "Yesterday at midnight, someone from our logistics platoon saw a headless body appear in the armory. It looked like the regimental commander, Chen Hui."
His words made Yin Chuan feel even more puzzled. "What does it look like? Isn't he a headless corpse? How can you tell it's Captain Chen Hui's?"
"There's a hidden story here—" The waiter's voice lowered. "Not long after we were stationed here, people started hearing strange noises coming from the armory in the middle of the night. Some even spotted the figure of the regiment commander, Chen Hui, passing through the wall of the warehouse. It was like a ghost."
"Passing through the wall?" Linlang didn't understand what he meant.
"He left from a place without a door, and this happened more than once. So this time, the people who saw him in the middle of the night saw the headless ghost's uniform and thought it was the regimental commander Chen Hui."
Yin Chuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you guys in the logistics platoon know what happened to Captain Shen?"
"Our deputy platoon leader said the regimental commander was assassinated and his head was cut off, so we should keep our mouths shut. As for the rumors going around, just use the far-fetched theory that the armory is haunted. After all, the rumors of a haunting haven't been around for a day or two."
Yin Chuan nodded in understanding, his mind almost fully grasping the situation. But before he could consider the next step in his investigation, a dozen heavily armed soldiers suddenly appeared, rifles loaded, their muzzles pointed at Yin Chuan and Lin Lang. Leading them was none other than Deputy Regiment Commander Situ Xin.
"Okay, Detective Yin, I told you to stay in the barracks honestly, but you really can't sit still!" Situ Xin said coldly.
At this moment, Yin Chuan was unusually calm. "Hehe, Deputy Captain, since you want us to investigate the truth as soon as possible, how can we investigate if we don't leave the house? Isn't this asking too much?"
"Aren't you a great detective? You are so capable, and you still blame me for forcing you?" Situ Xin curled his lips.
"We're not gods! What you're saying makes no sense!" Linlang couldn't suppress her anger. But just as she was about to say that, she felt a sudden shock on the back of her head, and was knocked unconscious by the butt of a rifle.
"You..." Yin Chuan didn't expect them to suddenly attack him so violently. Just as he was about to question them, he was hit hard on the back of his head. His eyes went black and he fell to the ground unconscious.
Situ Xin sneered, his hands behind his back, "Humph, I don't have time to accompany you to investigate the truth. Come on, lock them up!"
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