Chapter 118 Zhong Jialu
The parrot's voice was shrill, and its pair of black, beady eyes stared intently at her, reflecting a cold light.
Under the clear blue sky, for no apparent reason, Wu Jiangxue broke out in a cold sweat.
"A ghost! A ghost!"
The parrot was still spreading its wings, hopping around incessantly, not wanting her to leave.
He yelled at her, "Help! Help!"
Those small eyes stared at her, cold and piercing.
"A ghost! A ghost!"
"Help! Help!"
"A ghost! A ghost!"
The parrot spread its large wings and squawked loudly, hopping around on the ground.
It's always the same two sentences, over and over again.
The other birds finished eating and quickly left.
The bird rings that used to circle the treetops were long gone. Wu Jiangxue stood in the cold shade of the trees, her ears filled with cries of "Ghosts! Ghosts!"
She paused, then waved to the parrot.
"May I have your name?"
But the parrot completely ignored her, hopping around in the same spot, behaving strangely.
They were either yelling "Help!" or "There's a ghost!"
It looks like someone who has witnessed a horrific scene and is so frightened that they have a mental breakdown.
She was about to pick up the parrot, and had just reached out her hand...
"Officer, what are you doing here?"
A male voice suddenly appeared, and the parrot cried out "Help!" and flew away quickly.
Wujiangxue: "..."
She paused, stood up, and looked at the people behind her.
Principal Mo, still wearing his glasses with the broken lens, had been standing behind her for who knows how long, smiling at her.
Unsure if she was being influenced by that parrot, Wu Jiangxue felt a strange chill run down her spine as she looked at the smile on his face.
She pulled her coat tighter around herself. "What brings Principal Mo here?"
Principal Mo pointed in the direction the parrot had flown away, "I came here to look for it too."
Wu Jiangxue looked in the direction he was pointing, but the parrot had already flown far away.
She looked away. "Principal Mo knows it?"
"Yes, I know him."
Principal Mo stood with his hands behind his back, still sporting that ever-smiling expression.
"It was raised by Teacher Min, who always said it was very smart."
"Teacher Min has passed away. I'm worried that this parrot will starve and die of thirst, so I plan to take it home."
"I never expected to see it here..."
"Oh, right."
He seemed not to have heard what the parrot had just said, and asked Wu Jiangxue in confusion.
"What did it just say?"
Wu Jiangxue stared straight into his eyes, making Principal Mo uncomfortable, and the smile on his face slowly froze.
She subconsciously touched her face, looking at Wu Jiangxue with embarrassment.
"Officer, is there something on my face?"
Wujiangxue: "..."
She stared at Principal Mo's face for a long time.
She only shook her head when the other person became increasingly embarrassed, to the point where they could barely smile.
"It's nothing, your face is quite clean."
Principal Mo: "...Oh."
He gave an awkward, dry laugh and tried to find a topic to talk about.
"Officer, what are your plans next..."
"Oh, I'm planning to wander around your school and see if I can find any clues."
Principal Mo chuckled, "No problem, Officer Wu, feel free to browse around. Just let me know if you need anything."
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Wu Jiangxue, he was about to turn and leave.
Suddenly, Wu Jiangxue asked, "Principal Mo, the trees in your school are growing so well!"
She pointed overhead, "The tree canopies are all touching, aren't you going to prune them?"
"Oh, we did that on purpose."
Principal Mo turned around and looked in the direction she was pointing, his face still bearing a kind smile.
"It's too hot in the summer. Students and teachers like to come here to cool off, so they won't let us make any repairs!"
"I see."
Wu Jiangxue touched the huge tree that three people couldn't wrap their arms around. The bark was rough and had various words carved on it by students with knives.
However, the writing has become deformed as the trees have grown, and it is no longer possible to decipher the meaning of the words.
Wu Jiangxue leaned closer to the big tree and looked at it with great interest, then asked:
"Look at these trees, they must have been growing here for many years, right?"
Principal Mo nodded. "Yes, it's been many years."
He raised his head slightly and thought for a moment, "These trees were already here when the school was first built."
"Back then, they were just saplings, probably this tall."
Principal Mo gestured to a position roughly level with his own shoulders.
"There was a lot of rain back then, and I never thought they would survive. Who knew they would change like children, changing every day."
He suddenly became quite talkative when the topic turned to the trees.
"Look, not only did it survive, it's grown so thick and so tall!"
He pointed to the treetops, gesturing for Wu Jiangxue to look up.
"Officer, do you see that place? That tree will bear fruit, and those little flowers will soon fall off!"
"When the fruit ripens, we won't pick it; we'll leave it for the birds to eat during the winter."
Principal Mo seemed to really like trees, and he talked about them at length.
Wu Jiangxue also pretended to be very interested, pointing to several trees and asking them questions one by one.
Occasionally, he could even answer a few questions from Principal Mo.
After a couple of rounds, Principal Mo became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked at Wu Jiangxue.
"I didn't expect you, Officer Wu, to know so much about trees!"
He excitedly made a "please" gesture, inviting Wu Jiangxue to his office.
"My friend helped me buy several books on trees from abroad, all of them color-printed hardcover editions."
"Officer, would you like to come with me to take a look?"
Wu Jiangxue readily agreed.
On their way back, Principal Mo continued talking about his trees, pointing out each one to Wu Jiangxue as they walked.
Wu Jiangxue suddenly asked, "Principal Mo, your school looks very new. Was it established in recent years?"
"How could it be just in recent years! Mingguang is a long-established prestigious school!"
Principal Mo found Wujiang Xue increasingly appealing and smiled as he pointed out the exterior walls of several buildings to her.
"These are all refurbished and repaired every year, so they look relatively new."
“They repair it every year, no wonder everyone wants their children to go to Mingguang.”
Principal Mo modestly replied with an "Ah," but then Wu Jiangxue asked again:
"Principal Mo, how many years has our school been open?"
"That's not a short time, it's been seventy or eighty years!"
"It's been that long?"
Wu Jiangxue's eyes were full of surprise.
Principal Mo chuckled proudly, "Of course! Otherwise, why would parents all want their children to get into Mingguang?"
"Since it's been seventy or eighty years, how come Principal Mo still sees the saplings that weren't fully grown when the school was founded?"
Principal Mo's steps suddenly froze, and the expression on his face vanished abruptly.
Wu Jiangxue seemed completely unaware, walking past him at a leisurely pace.
"Judging from Principal Mo's age, he should be around forty years old."
"Those trees must be at least seventy years old. Principal Mo is forty years old. Did he see those trees before he was born?"
"..."
Principal Mo stood frozen in place, as quiet and stiff as a large tree deeply rooted in the soil.
There was no reply for a long time.
Wu Jiangxue looked at him with a smile, not urging him, and quietly waited for his answer.
A gust of wind blew by, and the lush tree canopy rustled and sputtered.
A gentle breeze swept by, and even the cicadas' chirping seemed more lively.
"Hey... Officer Wu, you're really joking!"
Principal Mo finally spoke, giving Wu Jiangxue a glare with a smile.
"You said I'm only forty years old. How could a forty-year-old like me have ever seen a tree from seventy years ago!"
He chuckled twice, seemingly unfazed. "This isn't a foreign science fiction movie; I can't exactly travel through time!"
"These are all things said by the previous principal."
"It's a strange coincidence," he joked with Wu Jiangxue, "the previous principal was my father, and he also liked trees; it's just a matter of word of mouth."
As they spoke, they quickly arrived at the principal's office.
Principal Mo avoided looking into Wu Jiangxue's eyes and strode into his office.
As if to prove what he had said earlier, he took out several yellowed books from the bookshelf.
"Look, these were all passed down from generation to generation of principals. They were left to me by my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather!"
He handed Wu Jiangxue the oldest book, saying, "This was left to me by my great-grandfather, who was the founder of this school."
"Speaking of which, my love for trees is a family trait."
Wu Jiangxue carefully flipped through the pages, pretending not to notice his previous unusual behavior.
He laughed in surprise, "I didn't expect that Mingguang Middle School is Principal Mo's family business?"
"It's hardly a family business, just a private school!" Principal Mo waved his hand.
He pushed the books forward and said, "Since Officer Wu also likes trees, why don't we take these back and have a look?"
He then took a few more unopened books down from the bookshelf.
"These books were all bought from abroad by someone I asked. They are all good books, and Inspector Wu should be interested in them."
Wu Jiangxue looked at the old book in front of her, then at the new book in his hand.
He shook his head, feigning regret, "Never mind, I'm usually too busy to watch properly."
She touched the books, her movements filled with regret.
Principal Mo: "I'll give it to Inspector Wu. Inspector Wu, take whichever one you like and read it whenever you want."
With his glasses, the lenses of which were broken, and his sincere smile, he looked every bit the gentle and good-tempered middle-aged man.
"real?"
Wu Jiangxue was pleasantly surprised as her eyes swept over the books.
The cover was all green, and as far as the eye could see, it was all trees.
"Are you really willing to give it to me?"
"What's there to be reluctant about!"
Principal Mo pushed up his glasses and waved his hand.
"Officer, pick whichever you like, any book you want!"
"Since Principal Mo puts it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony!"
"You're welcome, Officer Wu!"
Wu Jiangxue smiled as she lined up the books and looked them over.
His brows furrowed slightly, as if he was struggling to decide which book to choose.
While hesitating, he asked, "Does Principal Mo have any recommendations?"
Principal Mo poured her a cup of coffee. "They're all good books, any one will do! If you can't choose, Inspector Wu, you can pick a couple more!"
Wu Jiangxue smiled but didn't say anything, her gaze fixed on the pile of old books.
She opened the oldest book and looked at it; the date was written on the second page.
“1922,” Wu Jiangxue said in surprise, “that’s almost seventy years ago.”
“That’s right, it will be seventy years after the New Year!” Principal Mo agreed.
Flipping through the book, Wu Jiangxue asked, "Is this book your great-grandfather's, Principal Mo?"
"yes."
Wu Jiangxue stopped reading on a certain page, looked at the book, then at Principal Mo, and suddenly smiled.
“Principal Mo, you look just like your grandfather, almost exactly the same.”
"What?" Principal Mo's smile froze.
Wu Jiangxue handed him the photo tucked inside the book, staring at the expression on his face.
"There's a photo tucked inside."
Principal Mo's expression changed, and he quickly took the photo and stuffed it into his pocket.
At this point, his expression finally changed noticeably.
"Excuse me, Officer Wu."
He forced a smile and covered his head.
"My memory has been bad lately, and I always have headaches."
"I'm really sorry I can't entertain you right now."
"It's alright, I'm the one who disturbed you."
Wu Jiangxue waved the old book in her hand, "Can I have this book to look at?"
Principal Mo: "..."
Seeing his hesitation, Wu Jiangxue picked up the book by the spine and shook it to make sure there was nothing else tucked inside.
Principal Mo then smiled.
"No problem, of course no problem. I was going to give Inspector Wu a copy anyway."
With that, he walked to the door to see the guest out.
"I'm really not feeling well, so I won't see you off, Officer Wu."
"It's alright, I can walk by myself. Principal Mo, you should get some rest."
As she stepped through the office door, she turned back.
“Principal Mo, I think the background of that photo is overseas, and the woman in it is quite pretty.”
Is she your great-grandmother?
Principal Mo's smile was bitter. "No, she... I don't know who she is either."
"Oh, I see."
She was about to ask more, but Principal Mo could no longer maintain his smile.
"I'm really not feeling well. If there's anything wrong, Officer Wu, can you ask me another day?"
"Okay, but I don't have any more important questions," Wu Jiangxue shrugged. "Principal, you should get some rest."
She came out of the office, and the door behind her quickly closed.
She didn't linger at the school as she walked down the stairs, but went straight to her car.
Only after locking the car door did she open the book and take out a black and white photograph.
The photo shows a man who looks exactly like Principal Mo.
Standing next to him was a tall woman wearing a black trench coat.
The woman wore a wide-brimmed hat at an angle, with a thin veil around the edge that covered most of her face.
Only the color of the lips is particularly dark.
Through this black and white photograph, one can almost glimpse the bright red on her lips.
The two people stood together, but they couldn't be considered close.
Principal Mo's great-grandfather leaned slightly toward the woman, but the woman stood against the wall, not even looking at the camera.
Behind the two is an intersection sign...
"Zhong Jialu?"
He held the photo and thought about it for a while.
Wu Jiangxue closed her eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember any place in Hong Kong called "Chung Ka Road".
The two people in this photo are the same as those in Principal Mo's photo.
Although the woman's face was not clearly visible, her clothing and attire were exactly the same, especially the dark lipstick on her lips.
Something feels off...
She held the photo and thought about it, coming up with all sorts of ideas.
Setting the photos aside for the time being, she picked up the old book and flipped through it casually.
The book is filled with notes, written in slender yet powerful handwriting.
But this font... she felt like she'd seen it somewhere before.
I don't know how long I stared at those words, when suddenly there were two knocks on the car window.
Upon seeing Chu Ci outside, Wu Jiangxue put down her book and rolled down the car window.
"you……"
She had just opened her mouth when she suddenly saw Chu Ci reach out and grab her face with a cold expression.
Wujiangxue: "..."
The driver's seat was behind her, making it almost impossible to avoid.
She hurriedly closed her eyes, but felt the hand pass over her face and reach behind her head.
"..."
She opened her eyes and saw Chu Ci withdrawing his hand.
Her fingers were loosely clenched, as if she were holding something she couldn't see.
Chu Ci pulled the little ghost who was lying on Wu Jiangxue's back over and frowned as he met the little ghost's terrified eyes.
"Who sent you?"
The little devil never expected that this living person could see it and even catch it.
Its mouth gaped open, and it let out a terrified, shrill scream.
Its mouth is huge, and its voice is deafening.
Chu Ci frowned, pinched its neck, rolled it up, and stuffed it into the umbrella he carried with him.
The umbrella moved slightly, and Xiaomin, the indigenous resident inside, showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Are you alright?" Chu Ci asked, looking worriedly at Wu Jiangxue inside the car.
Wu Jiangxue shook her head, only to feel the chilling sensation on her body suddenly disappear.
She got out of the car and looked at Chu Ci's empty hands.
"I... just now, I felt something on my back?"
Chu Ci nodded, "Just a little brat, he's no threat."
Her tightly furrowed brows did not relax as she turned to look at Mingguang Middle School next door, her expression grave.
Following her gaze, Wu Jiangxue saw nothing.
She didn't see it, but she didn't believe Chu Ci hadn't seen it.
"Is there something wrong with this school?"
Chu Ci: "This is a big problem."
I don't know what's going on with this school. There's a thick black mist inside, but the outside is covered by a golden shell.
The gold casing was so shiny that it almost blinded her.
No matter how bright it is, it can't change the fact that it's filled with "shit" inside.
Wu Jiangxue's mind raced. "Is it related to the... little ghost inside me?"
Seeing Chu Ci nod, she suddenly remembered the parrot whose behavior was very strange.
"Speaking of which, I did encounter something strange today."
She wanted to see Chu Ci and told him about the parrot.
Chu Ci's eyes widened in surprise, "Besides cats and dogs, you can understand bird language too?"
"Yes, I can." Wu Jiangxue rubbed her throbbing forehead. "It's just that I always feel so tired after listening to animals other than cats and dogs talk."
She held her forehead, her brows furrowed. "I would say I'm extremely tired."
Looking at her pale face, Chu Ci took out a talisman from his pocket and handed it to her.
"I made this for my grandma yesterday, so I'm giving you one too. Keep it with you."
Seeing that Wu Jiangxue had taken it, she whispered some instructions.
"My abilities are limited, and the functionality of this thing is probably limited as well."
"If this thing suddenly gets hot, run away immediately."
As for where she runs off to, that depends on her luck at that time.
Wu Jiangxue looked at the talisman paper folded into a triangle and nodded in agreement.
She patted the talisman in her pocket and looked towards the side gate of Mingguang School.
The iron gate of the side gate is very impressive, and the lush foliage completely obscures the sky above the back gate.
The shade of the trees fell to the ground, enveloping the entire gate, making it look very cool.
"Want to go in and take a look?"
Chu Ci stared at the school's side gate for a while longer, then shook his head.
"No, let's go find that parrot first."
“Okay.” Wu Jiangxue nodded. “I think it should have gone home.”
“The brothers Shen Xiuhe and Shen Zaikun happen to be there too, let’s go find them.”
While walking, Wu Jiangxue first called Shen Xiuhe.
"Parrot? What parrot?"
Shen Xiuhe looked around the house as Wu Jiangxue had instructed.
"We don't have any parrots at home!"
He looked at the thing hanging in mid-air. "There is a parrot cage, though."
But before he could finish speaking, he heard the sound of birds flapping their wings.
When I went outside, I saw a huge parrot flying back from outside.
The parrot stood atop the wardrobe with practiced ease, its beady black eyes fixed on him.
It spreads its wings and screams.
"A ghost! A ghost!"
Shen Xiu rolled his eyes at it, "You're the ghost!"
Parrot: "You're the devil! You're the devil!"
"Tsk! You stinky bird!"
Shen Xiu reached out to grab it.
The parrot nimbly took flight and circled around him.
"You're the ghost! You're the ghost!"
"Hey, you stinky bird!"
Shen Xiu jumped up to try and hit it, but couldn't get it down for a long time.
I ended up exhausted and panting for breath.
Hearing the noise on the other end of the phone, Wu Jiangxue frowned and reminded it.
"Don't break it, I'll bring it back later."
Hearing his boss say that, Shen Xiuhe could only glare at the parrot resentfully and reluctantly give up.
"Officer, what do you need it for?"
Shen Xiu stared at the bird with his beady eyes.
"It's awful, it even swears!"
The parrot perched on the wardrobe again, stretching its neck at him.
"You're swearing! You're swearing!"
"Did you hear that!" Shen Xiuhe said to Wujiang Xue over there, "It's practically a spirit!"
Parrot: "It's become a spirit! It's become a spirit!"
Wu Jiangxue was actually in a good mood.
"This bird is very smart. Don't touch it. Chu Ci and I will be there soon."
"Master Chu has arrived as well?"
Shen Xiu and Yi Xi exclaimed, "Okay, we'll be waiting for you!"
After hanging up the phone, he put his mobile phone aside, and the other two said:
"Inspector Wu and Master Chu are on their way. Let's wait a little longer."
Shen Zaikun, with dark circles under his eyes, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and softly hummed in agreement.
Chu Ci and Wu Jiangxue soon arrived at Teacher Min Min's doorstep.
Contrary to what they expected, Minmin's home was actually a detached house, which looked very wealthy.
I rang the doorbell, and soon footsteps came from inside.
"They're here!"
The door opened, and Bai Shengtian's slightly pale face emerged from behind it.
"master!"
She smiled and called out to Chu Ci, then looked at Wu Jiangxue beside her.
"Officer!"
Chu Ci looked at Baishengtian, who had appeared there, and felt a little strange.
"Weren't you worried about a case of child abuse lately? What brings you here?"
Bai Shengtian's eyes darted around. "Hmm, I'm planning to have Ahe come with me to visit the person involved..."
"Ahe?" Chu Ci frowned. "Who is Ahe?"
"It's me!" Shen Xiuhe poked his head out of the second-floor window. "Ahe is me!"
Chu Ci: "..."
She glanced at Bai Shengtian, whose eyes were darting around, and then at Shen Xiuhe, who was smiling broadly on the second floor.
"..."
Okay, their family backgrounds are similar, so it's fine for them to be together.
Chu Ci and Wu Jiangxue entered the detached villa together and took a quick look at the house.
Wu Jiangxue asked Shen Zaikun, "Have you discovered anything?"
Shen Zaikun had large bruises under his eyes and a pale face, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well in a long time.
He shook his head. "We didn't find anything of value."
After all, this wasn't the primary crime scene, so it's normal that nothing was found here.
Wu Jiangxue went upstairs to see the parrot.
Upon seeing her, the parrot tilted its head and pondered for a moment.
Suddenly, it flapped its wings and cried out, "A ghost! A ghost!"
"Help! Help!"
It circled around the snow-covered Wujiang River, looking flustered and anxious.
"A ghost! Help!"
Wu Jiangxue stretched out her hand and whistled, startling the parrot that was flapping its wings.
He stopped on the windowsill, tilted his head to look at her, hesitated for a moment, and then stopped at her outstretched hand.
"Help!"
Seeing that it was willing to come over, Wu Jiangxue breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at Chu Ci, who was standing quietly beside her, and asked, "Is it haunted?"
The parrot shook its wings and whispered, "There's a ghost! There's a ghost..."
Chu Ci patted the parrot's head, and the parrot did not refuse.
The parrot is entirely yellowish-green, and looks very fresh and beautiful.
From Chu Ci's perspective, however, it was shrouded in a very faint layer of black mist.
It was very light, yet it covered the entire body.
"It doesn't have any ghosts on it, but as it said itself, it must have seen ghosts."
"And he spent quite a while with that ghost, otherwise he wouldn't be covered in yin energy."
Wu Jiangxue met the parrot's beady eyes and nodded.
"Okay, then I'll ask it what exactly happened to Min Min."
"Okay, go ahead and ask."
Chu Ci left the space to Wu Jiangxue, closed the door and was about to go downstairs when she suddenly heard Bai Shengtian calling her from downstairs.
"Master Chu, Officer Wu! We've found something!"
"Minmin's house has a hidden basement, come and see!"
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