Chapter 95 Dameihua Village
The old woman thought for a moment, then her grandson interrupted her, "Yes, they are so numerous, like they are at war, they have even come to our village. It's very noisy."
Tu Lanxun asked, "So you hit one of them with a stick?"
The little ghost stopped talking.
Tu Lanxun got back to the point. "Did you see anyone like you among those three people who fled?"
The old lady ghost was much more straightforward than her: "Are you asking a ghost?"
Tu Lanxun nodded shyly.
The old lady ghost said: "I think there is one. I can feel it, but I don't know what it looks like."
The half-grown ghost said, "I saw it! I saw it! That ghost has long hair and a green face. It's wrapped around their iron ox cart. It's so scary!"
"Around?" Tu Lanxun didn't understand this word.
The half-grown ghost gestured with his arms. "His hands and feet are like ropes, wrapped around the beams of the carriage. It's obvious he's not a good ghost."
"Oh..." Tu Lanxun asked again: "Do you know where they ran to? Are there ghosts from the village in the mountains too?"
The young ghost firmly denied it. "No! None of us living here dare to go there. Hey, why don't you ask Uncle Zhou? He has a piece of land over there in the valley. He'd know where it is."
Zhou Xiaobo is the young ghost who wiped his mouth with his finger just now. He is only in his early twenties, but he is a generation older than the half-grown ghosts and is jokingly called Zhou Xiaobo.
Zhou Xiaobo said, "I didn't go to the mountains yesterday, but I can take you there. I know the roads there very well. I can walk there with my eyes closed. I know all the places in the mountains where people can hide."
Tu Lanxun thanked him and gave him a small bottle of Coke. Zhou Xiaobo grimaced after taking a sip, but after recovering, he fell in love with the taste. "Sweet, this medicine soup is so sweet!"
"We can go into the mountains now." Tu Lanxun returned to the parking lot and said to Captain Luo.
A group of well-equipped police officers set out in unison. As they entered the valley, the armed police on duty checked their IDs. Unseen by anyone, N and Zhou Xiaobo walked off to the side.
Zhou Xiaobo pointed to a mountain road nearby and said, "It's faster to go up this way. Besides, most of the roads ahead are dead ends, so this road is the only way to get over the mountain."
Tu Lanxun said to Captain Luo, "We may not be able to catch him this time, but I can tell you a few narrow passes that are convenient for hiding and escaping."
The mountain road they were on was not suitable for driving. In fact, the fugitive's car was found abandoned at the bottom of the cliff as early as this morning. Tu Lanxun and others were essentially walking on a road that was moving forward and backward with the fugitive.
"There were no footprints at all, and we don't know how they managed it," Captain Luo said. "It was like they were flying on flat ground."
Following this mountain road upwards, you can take a side road halfway up the mountain where two mountains meet. In the middle, there are several natural caves, which were marked one by one by Captain Luo on the satellite map, waiting for the large force behind to inspect and search.
"See that?" Zhou Xiaobo turned around and smiled. He was pointing to a mountain stream in the distance. It was early winter, and the water had dried up, but the steepness of its angle and height could still be seen. "That's a natural barrier. If you dare to go through it, you can directly reach the valley inside and go straight out."
Tu Lanxun asked: "If someone escapes, which place will they choose first?"
"You're taking it seriously." Zhou Xiaobo said, "Apart from antelopes, no one can jump over there. The bridge is too slippery and shaky. If you're not careful, you'll fall down."
Tu Lanxun's heart sank. Modern rock climbing and mountaineering have many equipment, which Zhou Xiaobo didn't know. If the three fugitives also...
"There's a village over there called Plum Village," Zhou Xiaobo said. "If they go the other way, they can get around to the village. It's a wild road, and the area below the cliff is actually very flat. No one knows about it except the birds."
Tu Lanxun said, "Little Plum Blossom Village."
"Yes, Plum Blossom Village." Zhou Xiaobo smiled, "That village is a bit strange."
Tu Lanxun felt like he had grasped a clue. "What's strange about it?"
Zhou Xiaobo said: "People in their village have land but don't really farm it. I went to see it a long time ago, and it wasn't a legitimate way of making a living."
"When was a long time ago?"
"I just died not long ago."
Tu Lanxun has nothing to say about it, but that was at least a hundred years ago. If villagers a hundred years ago were stealing and robbing, who would bother people today?
But alarm bells rang in her heart. If the three fugitives could take a shortcut to Xiaomeihua Village, wouldn’t that be dangerous?
Tu Lanxun immediately told Captain Luo about the situation. Captain Luo contacted the commander-in-chief and received information that nothing strange had happened in Xiaomeihua Village at the moment, but they would increase vigilance.
That direction actually leads to Dameihua Village, but Dameihua Village is deserted and there are not many trees there. Special police are stationed nearby, and surveillance drones are flying above.
"They're a bunch of thieves," Captain Luo said gravely. "Even the police dogs can't smell them, and there aren't any footprints. I'd believe you if you said they were ghosts."
They had already penetrated the search radius, marking even the most secluded grottoes and earthen caves, but there was still no sign of Zheng Dabao, Wan Amei, and Diao Jinlong. It was as if the three fugitives had vanished from the face of the earth.
Tu Lanxun's feet were sore from walking that he couldn't help but ask, "What did those three smuggle?"
The previous description of the case had only mentioned that it was a precious cultural relic unearthed in Xi Province, priceless. No one had explained what it was specifically, and those who knew knew it, while those who didn't were just blind to it, like Tu Lanxun and the other two.
"It's a mural," Captain Luo said. "It was unearthed from the Baiyucheng Cultural Relics Protection Area in Western Province."
Baiyu City is located in the central part of Western Province. It is also a city adjacent to the desert. It is named after the famous Baiyu Grottoes nearby.
The cultural relics smuggled by Zheng Dabao and his two companions were the ancient murals in the last two caves excavated among the 19 caves in the White Jade Series.
"They probably chiseled off the mural in its entirety," Captain Luo said. "These smugglers are greedy for money, but lack a sense of professional responsibility for the integrity of the cultural relics. They may have cut it into small pieces for easier transportation, and they may not have properly preserved it. Even if they wanted to, they might not have the technology to do so."
Tu Lanxun asked again: "What about killing people?"
"They didn't use guns. We didn't know their methods at first, and only today did we realize how bizarre they were." Captain Luo sighed. "An expert professor, a young teacher, and two assistants at the scene all collapsed at their workstations. The expert died despite efforts to save him, and the autopsy revealed cardiac arrest. The other three victims had no external injuries other than scrapes and bruises from the fall."
So Zheng Dabao and the other two who were on the run were carrying a strange weapon that had the ability to cause people to become unconscious or die from a distance.
It's very difficult to deal with.
Tu Lanxun glanced at N intently. All the strange invasions so far seemed to be related to him. However, N shook his head, "There are too few clues to determine. Besides, there's more than just the Gray City Cave game invading Earth."
Ordinary people couldn't walk through the wild mountains on foot. By the time Tu Lanxun reached the back, he felt like he had no legs. The search team behind him combed the mountain like a comb, but they didn't even pick out a flea.
Still haven’t found Zheng Dabao and the others.
Won’t they be tired?
"There's only one possibility." Tu Lanxun tried his best not to look at Zhou Xiaobo. "They passed through that mountain stream. Over there is the first cliff after the pass."
The group immediately turned around and headed back. When they reached the high slope where the mountain stream was, the police dog suddenly barked twice.
The mountain stream was broken in the middle, and below it was the immeasurable depths of the sky. Looking down from above, it looked like a green eye, shrouded in a faint blue mist, staring coldly at the sky. Tu Lanxun was certain that a person falling from this place would make no sound; the sounds of branches snapping and skulls breaking wouldn't reach them.
"Captain Luo, there's a bloodstain on the side of the broken cliff." The police officer ran over and said.
Tu Lanxun carefully slid over. At this height, even Mikhail's elbow couldn't save her. Then she saw a fist-sized blood mark on the rock's upper side, and a thread of cloth clung to the rock's rough surface.
"They got through. There was just a small problem along the way," said Tu Lanxun.
Captain Luo looked at the cliff where no traces of human feet were left. The soil in the front half of the cliff was very soft and wet. All the police officers who had come here had left shoe prints, but there were no shoe prints from the fugitive.
The freshness of the bloodstains clearly proved that they had passed through here.
"Damn it!" said Captain Luo.
There was a risk of casualties if they jumped directly, and it was too cumbersome to take a detour down the mountain. The helicopter propeller stirred the airflow and landed directly at a suitable location on the top of the mountain, taking Tu Lanxun and others to another hill.
"It's such a loud noise, they will definitely hear it." An Feng said.
Xiao Zhang glanced at him and said bluntly, "Come on, if you ask me, they're already hiding somewhere and spying on us."
Several people descended the rope ladder. As soon as they stepped onto the ground, they felt a silence all around them. Three armed special police officers surrounded Tu Lanxun and the others. One of the leaders looked at Tu Lanxun and said, "I think this is still too risky."
Tu Lanxun was also a little scared. After hesitating for several seconds, he finally said, "If I go, you will be spared some unexpected dangers."
She tried to speak as tactfully as possible, and she didn't know whether the SWAT officer with a stern face understood her.
But the truth is, the greatest effect of Tu Lanxun is not binding the evil spirit N, nor is it the destructive power of Mikhail's elbow, but...
She can ignore the Fourth Treaty.
She is the only living person who can communicate with ghosts in both directions without killing them. She can even be said to be the only complete channel between the Yin and Yang worlds, a diplomat, and the best spokesperson.
Another example is Suo Niya's adoptive mother, Suo Fanhua, but Suo Fanhua's exception only applies to Suo Niya and is not universally applicable. Similar to the case with Tang Weining and Bai Xiaoju, it's currently speculated that this stems from a blood relationship or emotional connection.
The more ghosts that stood behind Tu Lanxun, the more terrifying her power would become. If someone was destined to stand up and guarantee the ghosts' inclusion into human society, no one else besides Tu Lanxun had the qualifications.
The SWAT officer said nothing more, but nodded. "Okay, reinforcements are coming up from the bottom of the mountain. Let's be careful."
Finding someone in the vast mountains is a very difficult task.
The blue-painted sneakers weren't too hard, but they still rubbed my heels so hard that they felt numb and painful, as if the skin would break and blister at any moment.
"Look, there is still a drop of blood here." The police officer with the police dog ran over. The big dog with a black face sat on the ground, pointing its muzzle at the tree roots seriously.
There was a drop of blood at the root of the tree, as if it had been dropped unconsciously. They marked it and waited for the large group coming up the mountain to take samples.
The SWAT officer said, "They're not in good shape. They were injured while crossing the mountain stream, and now they don't even have the energy to clean up the blood."
Captain Luo said, "But this group of people still has no footprints."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Tu Lanxun, who said, "It's still the strangeness that's exerting its power." She suddenly stopped talking and shifted her gaze to the nearby soil. "The strangeness's power has run out."
They ran over carefully and sure enough, there was half a very faint shoe print, which looked like a woman's shoe from the size.
"Wan Amei." Captain Luo said.
More and more shoe prints were found ahead, from one every ten steps to one every five or six steps, and finally they were completely uncovered, with the same density as normal people walking.
Captain Luo squatted down, carefully measured the depth of the forefoot and heel, and said, "They are carrying weights, at least 20 kilograms each."
Twenty kilograms of weight was a heavy load even for an adult, not to mention that these three had been fleeing through the mountains for a whole night and a day. The only explanation was the strange figure beside them.
Since the traces have been found and the large group coming down the mountain is about to arrive, the special police decided to chase them first, but they must ensure Tu Lanxun's safety and let her walk in the middle of the formation.
Xiao Zhang said: "It's okay, I will protect you."
They advanced rapidly, drones and helicopters rumbling overhead, outflanking any direction the three fugitives might take.
After running forward for more than ten minutes, Tu Lanxun leaned against a tree to catch her breath. Suddenly, she glanced to the side and her blood ran cold.
There was a sneaky man hiding in the bushes, his body covered in grass and tree sap, his eyes as fierce as an eagle, pointing a black gun at her.
The man made a gesture to keep quiet. His whole body was shaking, but his hand was very steady, with his index finger on the trigger. If Tu Lanxun dared to send a signal to others, the bullet would definitely hit her first.
Tu Lanxun instantly combined this distorted face with the portrait on the wanted poster. He was Diao Jinlong.
Xiao Zhang walked over from the side. Due to the angle of the trees, he didn't see the strange scene in the grass. He asked, "Are you feeling better? Why don't you wait here for the main force? Those bastards can't get away."
Diao Jinlong became even more excited and pointed the muzzle of his gun at Tu Lanxun. The two were less than fifteen meters apart, so Diao Jinlong definitely couldn't escape, but he definitely wanted to take someone with him before he died.
Unless Tu Lanxun is willing to let him go and actively create an environment that is convenient for him to escape, otherwise, he will have to gamble his physical skills with the bullets.
Tu Lanxun said, "Really?"
Xiao Zhang may have felt that she was strange, so he walked over and handed her a bottle of water, "Drink some." Tu Lanxun didn't have time to stop her, and now Xiao Zhang was also exposed to Diao Jinlong's shooting range.
A ferocious smile appeared on that green face, and he looked proud.
Tu Lanxun took the water but didn't drink it. He glanced to the side vaguely and said, "Stop struggling."
Xiao Zhang was stunned by these words, but quickly reacted. Diao Jinlong was even more enraged, and subconsciously pulled the trigger. Xiao Zhang rolled forward with the Tu Lan Xun, but he was still a beat too late.
But the gun didn't fire.
The silence made people nervous and even more embarrassed, and this embarrassment spread around Diao Jinlong.
His fingers seemed to be frozen and he couldn't pull the trigger at all. Then a sharp, wet and cold pain came over him, and the pistol actually slipped out of his hand and rolled into the grass.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Diao Jinlong held his right hand, and his fingers were bent sideways at an angle that was contrary to the human body structure, and he began to roll.
There were two figures standing next to him, one was N with an indifferent expression, and the other was Mikhail with his arms folded, but only Tu Lanxun could see them.
The special police and Captain Luo who heard the noise rushed over quickly. Diao Jinlong was pressed to the ground with his hands handcuffed behind his back.
The police dogs were immediately dispatched to search the surroundings, but they could not find any trace of Wan Amei and Zheng Dabao. However, it was believed that they had not run far.
Captain Luo found the backpack in a hollow tree root near Diao Jinlong's hiding place, but inside it were only some daily necessities, guns and ammunition, and a full set of tools for committing the crime. There was no trace of the mural.
Diao Jinlong was at the end of his strength. Threatening Tu Lanxun had exhausted his last bit of power. He was now being held between two police officers and couldn't even stand up straight.
"A 100-kilometer mountain cross-country training, huh?" Captain Luo looked over sharply. Diao Jinlong huddled up dejectedly, but his eyes still held a fierce look.
This was the first time Tu Lanxun faced this type of desperado.
Diao Jinlong refused to answer questions about his accomplice's whereabouts. His eyes were bloodshot, and he spat on the ground in front of him, swearing to refuse to cooperate. A small search in the vicinity also failed.
"They may have run away separately. Or Diao Jinlong may have been exhausted and left alone, and Wan Amei and Zheng Dabao could no longer take care of him," said Captain Luo.
An Feng nodded. "Yes, that also explains why there are no murals on Diao Jinlong's body. They might have asked him to find a new way to make a living."
The pursuit was now in the right direction, as waves of police poured into the wild mountainous area, surrounding the one-kilometer radius where they were now. It was only a matter of time before the fine mesh caught the fish.
"Captain Luo, Diao Jinlong is dying!" the police officer on the other side shouted.
At this moment, a large force arrived, along with stretchers and medical staff, but Diao Jinlong seemed to have no need for them.
His arms were twitching across his chest, his skin was purple-black, his lips were pouting, and white foam was constantly oozing out, like an animal infected with plague. His eyes, which had been fierce as knives just a moment ago, had now lost their focus, his pupils were turbid and dilated, and he looked like he was about to die.
"Is it because of severe physical overexertion, hormone poisoning in the body, and shock?" Captain Luo walked over.
The medical staff over there were already performing emergency first aid, but they found that Diao Jinlong's indicators were frighteningly low, as if the vitality in his body had been drained away, leaving only an empty shell that was about to die.
"We have to take him down the mountain quickly. We may not be able to save him even if we go down the mountain, so just do our best." The person in charge in a white coat came over and said to Captain Luo.
Tu Lanxun continued searching with the team. The SWAT officer followed her and asked with interest, "You and Diao Jinlong didn't have any physical contact. How did he get subdued so quickly? He even broke his own finger."
"That's why I'm here." Tu Lanxun smiled.
The SWAT team leader was a sensible man and didn't ask too many questions, but he must have considered Tu Lanxun's abilities.
The footprints ahead became denser and denser, from three people to two people. Twenty minutes later, they found Zheng Dabao on the edge of a cliff in the valley.
Zheng Dabao sat crookedly on the edge of the cliff. The terrain here was not high. A long way across would lead to the legendary Golden Island. But that had nothing to do with Zheng Dabao. He gasped for breath, but his breaths were almost unreliable. He supported himself with his hands at his sides. When he saw the search team approaching, he raised his voice:
"Don't come over here, or I'll jump!"
The cliff was only about twenty meters high, but the police still didn't dare move forward. Captain Luo shouted, "Zheng Dabao, you've been surrounded! You don't look like you can get very far. Come back with us!"
Zheng Dabao raised his eyelids and fell down. Everyone thought he was going to jump off the cliff, but he didn't even have the strength to do so. He fell sideways and couldn't even turn over.
The police ran over to restrain the man, and N, who had been standing still at the edge of the cliff, slowly came back. Everyone's face was a little strange.
Zheng Dabao's condition was very similar to Diao Jinlong's. Both looked as if their physical strength had been drained away. They were listless and their physiological functions were rapidly declining. They seemed to have witnessed a long process of death.
The doctor was already very skilled. Zheng Dabao's stretcher was also carried down the mountain. No personal belongings were found nearby. Captain Luo leaned over the edge of the cliff and looked down. "Well, the backpack is stuck on the top of the tree. I'm sure there's nothing in it."
After some effort, Zheng Dabao's backpack was retrieved, and it was exactly the same as Diao Jinlong's.
"Then the mural can only be on Wan Amei." Xiao Zhang said anxiously.
The SWAT team leader was a little confused. "I'm not being sexist, but none of these three people have a background in heavy labor or athletics, let alone professional training. Logically, even if Wan Amei's endurance is better than these two men's, she's still carrying such a heavy load."
Xiao Zhang also said, "Yes, Zheng Dabao and Diao Jinlong's backpacks were weighed and were half the weight estimated by the shoe prints. All the weight was transferred to Wan Amei. Not to mention the two of them being exhausted to death, even Tyson would be crushed by her. Is she Superman?"
Tu Lanxun felt that this matter was related to that weirdness.
Not only Wan Amei's athletic ability, but also the current status of Zheng Dabao and Diao Jinlong!
"I guess that weird thing can drain the energy of living people, which is why it took the three of them so long to escape so quickly," Tu Lanxun said. "But human energy isn't infinite. Zheng Dabao and Diao Jinlong are like two fuel tanks that were depleted one after another."
Now the responsibility of the fuel tank has passed to Wan Amei.
"Go further and cross a relatively flat hillside, and you will leave the Yeshan mountain area. But the vegetation in that place is sparse, and people can't hide at all." The special police said, holding a map.
Tu Lanxun turned his head and saw a small cluster of houses faintly visible beyond the cracks in the rocks. He asked, "What's that on the left? Dameihua Village?"
"It's Dameihua Village," Captain Luo said. "Dameihua Village is a long, scattered, north-south layout, built around a relatively gentle canyon in the Wild Mountain area. Back then, the land was contracted for cultivation, but the soil west of the Wild Mountain was poor, and over the past twenty years, it's gradually become uninhabited. Add to that the inconvenient transportation and the west wind that floods the village with sand, and all the residents have moved away."
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