Chapter 2: The Second Old Photo

The photo was sent by e-mail, but Pan Zi knew nothing about it, so I spent a long time teaching him. When I finally received it, an hour had passed before I called him.

It was really a very old photo, yellowed with age and covered in faded marks. Despite this, I could still see what was in the photo, and understand why Pan Zi was unsure and thought it was a “ghost.”

The old photo must have been taken in an old house with a screen in the background. The photo was so white that I couldn’t see the details clearly, but I could see a figure standing right behind the screen.

With the light coming in from behind the screen, the figure was quite clear. What made it so creepy, however, was the person’s posture.  Ordinarily, people always shift their center of gravity when standing, but this figure was standing almost upright with their shoulders flat, which looked weird at first glance.  My first impression was that this man was hanging in mid-air.

A dead man was hanging behind the screen.

I felt a little uncomfortable, but I couldn’t understand why this photo would interest me.  Would I look for him after seeing this picture? There seemed to be no such feeling.

I looked down at the photo again and noticed that the floor was made of wood. On the left edge of the photo was a view that seemed to stretch on, which turned out to be a corridor behind the screen. Half of it was covered by the screen, but the other half could be seen. It wasn’t clear at first glance, but if I looked carefully, I could see several doors on one side of the corridor.

At first glance, I felt that this scene was a little familiar. This kind of old feeling, coupled with the arrangement of rooms… I must have seen it somewhere, and it left quite an impression.

I dragged the mouse and saw that there was print on the back of the e-mailed photo in Brother Chu’s handwriting, which was obviously meant for me. 

It said: 1984, Golmud People’s Liberation Army Sanatorium.

I gasped, suddenly realizing that this was a picture taken in the abandoned nursing home in Golmud. My previous experience there flashed through my mind, but I didn’t know which floor the corridor was on.

The sanatorium was where Wen-Jin and the others chose to hide from Uncle Three. Wen-Jin and her group had secretive backgrounds, and according to Uncle Three, they didn’t know what research was being conducted.  In this abandoned nursing home, someone filmed a large number of videos and watched their every move. There was even a person who looked very much like me, which made everything even more chaotic.

Why did Brother Chu have a photo of that place, was he also involved?

No, I thought, he had a very good relationship with Uncle Three. Could it be that Uncle Three entrusted him with something? Or asked him to do something… so he knows some inside information?

This was indeed very likely. If he really knew what had happened in the nursing home, it would be a pleasant surprise to me.  But then again, what was this picture taken of?

For ordinary people, taking photos must have a subjective purpose, either to take a picture to commemorate or to preserve information. It’s impossible to take a photo without meaning.  At that time, there was obviously an opportunity for someone to take this photo in the sanatorium.

In my opinion, it wasn’t possible that this picture was taken to commemorate something. The screen was very common, and the shabby corridor was at the edge of the picture. It certainly wasn’t taken for these reasons, which meant that this person wanted to photograph the shadow behind the screen.

This was a rather strange thing to do. On one hand, this shadow was creepy, but on the other hand, taking the picture this way really made people feel like it may be a “ghost” since it looked a bit like those ghost photos on the Internet. But I was very certain that this couldn’t be a ghost, and there must be something behind the screen. For some reason, the person who took the picture captured it from in front of the screen, but since we weren’t and only saw this one view, it made us feel strange.

There were so many things hidden in that sanatorium that they took pictures of their every move, and now there were pictures like this. What did they do there?

After thinking about it, there was no need to worry so much. It seemed like it was really necessary for me to meet this person, so I called Pan Zi and explained my thoughts. He agreed after thinking it over and said that he would arrange it and inform me when it was done.

Soon, I met Brother Chu in Pingtang prison. The process was smoother than I thought, and Pan Zi brought me in. Since this was my first time in prison, I broke out in a cold sweat. After passing through several iron gates, I saw him in the lounge.

He had obviously lost weight, his bald head was no longer so bright, he looked several years older, and he was trembling with a frown on his face. I handed him a cigarette, and he took a few puffs to relax a little.  I couldn’t help but sigh with sorrow thinking about his glossy face when we first met. The rich and poor in this line of work really had to accept their fate.

After staring awkwardly for a moment, I didn’t know what to say to him. Instead, he asked me in a hoarse voice, “What’s the situation with your uncle?” 

I gave a cursory account of Changsha’s situation, saying that there was no news from Uncle Three, there was no one on the scene, and I didn’t know where he had gone.

“Karma… this is retribution for this line of work.” He took a hard drag on his cigarette and seemed a little distracted. Then he looked up at me and asked, “Are you asking about Mute Zhang?”

“Mute Zhang?”  I paused, thought for a moment, and then realized, “you mean Little Brother?  You call him Mute Zhang?”

“That’s what people call him.”  He had finished his cigarette so quickly by this time, that I hurriedly handed him my cigarette and lighter when I saw his hands shaking again. He immediately took one out and grabbed another one: “Because he doesn’t like to talk.  Why are asking about him?”

My heart said, this is none of your business, but I suddenly didn’t know how to answer, and Pan Zi said from nearby, “Why the fuck are you asking so many questions?”

Brother Chu took a few puffs and glanced at Pan Zi, before fearlessly saying: “That’s just how I am, what can I do?”

Pan Zi hated him so much that he wanted to say cruel words, but I stopped him. Brother Chu was now at his lowest, and it was useless to say malicious words as he had nothing left to lose. What did scolding him a few times accomplish?  I said, “Brother Chu, you’ve been in the underworld much longer than I have. I really can’t tell you some things.”

“Oh-ho, Little Master Three is also playing with me. Ok.”  He said sourly as he nodded at me.

I didn’t answer him, and merely leveled him with a glare. He trembled and smiled for a while, before finding me unresponsive and a little boring. He suddenly said to Pan Zi, “Master Pan, did you pay my father?”

Pan Zi pulled out a piece of paper that turned out to be a receipt. Maybe he paid the hundred thousand yuan for me. He threw it to Brother Chu, who took it and looked it over. “You’re really the Third Master’s man. It’s generous enough,” he said.

“We’ve paid the money, and you’ve seen the person. Can you talk now?”  Pan Zi asked angrily.

Brother Chu nodded and said to him, “Please excuse me, Master Pan. This is between me and your Little Master Three.”

Pan Zi frowned and was still a little angry as I gave him a look, meaning for him to follow along. What else can you do? Pan Zi was so furious that he got up and went out with a dark look on his face.

Brother Chu watched him leave until the door closed, then turned to look at me.  I found his face had changed, as he released a mouthful of smoke and said to me, “Little Master Three, you can’t continue the investigation.”

I looked at Brother Chu in surprise, not expecting him to say this.

“Why?”  I blurted out.

He sighed: “Look at me. My fate, your uncle’s fate, Mute Zhang’s fate, everyone’s fate… you’ve seen it all.”  He stood up and said, “The things that follow are too amazing for people like us to touch.”

I sat up straight as I remembered the photo, and asked him, “What do you know?”

<Chapter 1> <Table of Contents> <Chapter 3>

*****

Updated 6/19/2020