allonlinenovel Chapter 396 The Female Ghost Performs?
Chapter 396 The Female Ghost Performs?
"Did you discover anything from that woman's opera singing?"
Liu Daqiang shook his head.
“We went there five or six times, always at night. We even had people keep watch for two nights. But there wasn’t a sound of opera singing, not even a ghost.”
"Is this old lady mentally sound? Is she hallucinating? Or does she have some physical ailment, like being hard of hearing or something due to her age?"
"We also considered this point and even took her to the hospital for a check-up. Everything was normal, and her hearing is perfectly fine."
Liu Daqiang said:
"The old lady described it vividly, and it didn't seem like she made it up. Most importantly, the item was indeed stolen. It's not worth it for the old lady to go through all that trouble, pretending to be a ghost and making a scene at the police station every few days for something so worthless."
Zhong Yuemin thought for a moment, then asked again,
"What did this old lady do in the past? Has her background been investigated?"
"Nothing special. This old lady is just an opera singer. But I heard from the neighbors that she was a star in the opera troupe when she was young and had some fame. Other than that... nothing special."
"Is he also an opera singer?"
"What's wrong? Is something strange?"
"I can't tell!"
Zhong Yuemin shook his head.
“But I think it’s related to the sudden appearance of a woman singing opera at night… Brother Liu, how about this, let’s go there tonight. I can’t figure out what’s going on just from the photos and the story. Let’s go to the scene and see for ourselves.”
"Okay, I'll arrange for a few team members to go together."
"As for the other two of us, you don't need to wear this uniform, wear civilian clothes instead."
Why is that?
Zhong Yuemin rolled his eyes.
"Brother Liu, you're a former criminal investigator who's solved quite a few cases. Don't you have any sense of vigilance?"
You went there five or six times before and even stayed there for two nights, but you found nothing. However, whenever you were away, the sound of women singing opera would start coming from the old lady's room. Could that be a coincidence?
I think there's a 80-90% chance someone's up to something, and this 'ghost' is probably nearby. You were being watched when you went in and out of the old lady's house."
Liu Daqiang frowned.
"What was the purpose of this guy hiding in the shadows doing all this? It couldn't be just to scare the old lady for his amusement, could it?"
Zhong Yuemin shook his head; he had no way of knowing that.
"Let's go check it out tonight."
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Around 8 PM at night,
The two arrived at the alley near the old lady's house. It was completely dark by then. They walked through the narrow, gloomy alley. In April or May, the nights weren't cold, but a slight breeze made it a bit chilly. The fallen leaves on the ground rustled as they were blown up.
The low walls on either side cast long, dark shadows in the night. Occasionally, a dog barked from the depths of the alley. These days, there's practically no entertainment at night; most people are in bed early. The quiet surroundings, combined with the current atmosphere, created a rather eerie feeling.
The old lady lived in a detached house, not one of those large tenements, and the conditions were quite good. The two of them didn't go through the main gate, but quietly slipped in through a small back door.
Although the old woman's hair was gray and her face was full of wrinkles, judging from her appearance and figure, she must have been a beauty in her youth. Now, however, a trace of fear and weariness lingered in her eyes.
The old woman had no children and lived alone for many years. The house felt even colder and more gloomy than the outside, and the old furniture exuded a musty smell.
The light bulb was low wattage, casting a dim, yellowish light that barely illuminated the small space.
The old woman started rambling on again about the terrifying sound of the 'female ghost singing opera' in the middle of the night, her voice trembling.
"...and I just kept singing it, over and over again, and my heart felt like it was filled with a block of ice..."
Liu Daqiang was speechless. "Haven't I told you several times already? There's no such thing as a female ghost. Don't scare yourself."
"No, it's...it really is a female ghost!"
The old woman spoke in a low voice, her expression solemn, as if afraid of being overheard by the 'female ghost'.
"The neighbors all say that a famous Peking Opera actress used to live in this courtyard. During the War of Resistance against Japan, she was murdered by those damned Japanese devils. Unable to bear the humiliation, she hanged herself in her house. She loved singing 'Farewell My Concubine' all her life, and even after her death, her vengeful spirit still longs to sing opera..."
"Don't listen to those people's nonsense. You said you've lived here for decades, and this female ghost only appeared recently. So what? You two could 'get along peacefully' before?"
Liu Daqiang was annoyed, but deep down he was still a little scared. No one could really explain ghosts and spirits; it was better to believe in them than not.
Zhong Yuemin didn't interrupt. A former reconnaissance soldier, his gaze habitually swept slowly across every corner of the room.
I walked to the corner where the 'female ghost's voice' was said to come from, squatted down, gently ran my fingers along the cold brick seams at the base of the wall, and then looked up at the low roof beams.
"Grandma, are you sure the sound is coming from here?"
Zhong Yuemin turned his head and asked in a calm voice,
"Yes, yes, right here, I heard it clearly!"
The old lady pointed to the corner of the wall.
Zhong Yuemin nodded, stood up, and said to Liu Daqiang:
"Brother Liu, do me a favor. Go to the alley outside the gate and hum a couple of lines, but don't let me see you there."
Although Liu Daqiang didn't understand why, he did as he was told. He went outside, found a spot in the alley, and started humming an off-key tune.
Inside the room, Zhong Yuemin listened intently with his eyes closed. After a while, he opened his eyes and said to Liu Daqiang, who had returned to the room.
"The sound was muffled and echoing, as if it were coming from behind something!"
Ask the old lady, "Is that the kind of sound?"
The old lady shook her head.
"It doesn't seem like it. That...that 'female ghost's voice' sounded like it was coming from inside the house. I heard it very clearly. It wasn't coming from outside."
"Is this wall... solid?"
The old lady interjected:
"It's solid, it's an old wall, very thick."
Zhong Yuemin didn't ask any more questions. He walked to the chest of drawers inside and examined again the traces of the previous thieves' rummaging through it.
After looking around, his gaze finally settled on the empty old wooden box, his fingers tracing the inside of the lid.
"What's so special about the lost stamps?"
The question was asked seemingly casually.
The old lady thought for a moment:
"These are all old tickets, quite old, but not worth much."
"Nothing special?"
"no!"
The old lady shook her head and said, "Well, there are some differences..."
After a pause,
“I’ve told the police before that one of these photos was given to me by one of my friends back then, and it has a postmark from a post office that no longer exists.”
Zhong Yuemin nodded slightly and then asked about those old magazines.
"They're just some old magazines from decades ago, nothing interesting, they've been sitting in a drawer for years."
"Were there any other things tucked inside the magazines? Like letters? Photos or something?"