I asked Duan Guangyi, "Yanzi lived through two lifetimes, so there are two bodies. Which one are you looking for?"
"Yanzi took her own life in the first lifetime, so her body couldn't be found. Maybe it was already washed away by the surging Yangtze River. In her second lifetime, she died of starvation, and I personally buried her body, so that corpse should be findable," Duan Guangyi analyzed.
I asked, "Have you tried to find it yourself?"
"I have," Duan Guangyi said. In recent years, he has spent a lot of money searching in the land of Henan, China. Frankly, when he buried Yanzi's body back then, there was no marker, and then he was taken away to serve as a soldier. So now, finding it is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
He said that over the years, he spent at least millions in search of the body, comparing hundreds of thousands of photos. He probably has an idea of the general area, but not the exact location.
I asked him where the general location is.
Duan Guangyi glanced at me and immediately became dim, saying, "Fengmen Village, Henan Province!"
"Fengmen Village?"
My voice involuntarily rose.
Duan Guangyi immediately became a little embarrassed, saying that he understood that Fengmen Village is the first class of Minghuai in the country. Not to mention finding a body, just going to that place is a very dangerous thing. But he still hoped I would help, as I have many underworld connections.
I shook my head and chuckled, "Xiaoduan, you misunderstood. I'm not afraid of Fengmen Village. On the contrary, these days, I happen to be going to Fengmen Village. Your destination is Fengmen Village too, so let's travel together. I also want to ask you for advice, that's great."
"What? You're also going to Fengmen Village?" Duan Guangyi looked at me.
"Of course, and I've also asked Master Xunlongte to join us. Come with me. I'm sure he has some news," I told Duan Guangyi.
Duan Guangyi's first life was during the Jiaqing period. At that time, recruiting 'underworld' people in the court's 'underworld' tribe was completely disbanded, so he had never heard of Master Xunlong's name. Naturally, he maintained some doubts about the wind shadow.
He said he could pay money to invite Fengshui masters and other capable people. Would that be a problem?
"You're underestimating the ability of Wind Shadow. Let me tell you, the Wind Shadow is particularly proficient in Feng Shui. His understanding of Feng Shui is very deep. He has long surpassed the scope of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. He studies dragon veins and dragon forms. Master Xunlong is not just bragging," I defended Wind Shadow.
Upon hearing this, Duan Guangyi nodded. As long as the body could be found, everything would be fine.
"Okay, tomorrow morning, we'll set off together, first to help Wang Tianlai resolve the Bean Thief, then we'll meet Wind Shadow and head for Fengmen Village," I patted Duan Guangyi on the shoulder.
Duan Guangyi nodded. "Okay, okay."
...
The next morning, we took the return flight, and four hours later, we were back in Guangzhou.
The three of us took a taxi from the airport and went to Wang Tianlai's house at the Dockside Community.
This community is relatively old, with a circle of houses and a huge playground in the center. Usually, there are people walking dogs here, and children like to gather and play.
I took out my phone, placed it under a tree in a corner of the playground, covered it with mud and branches, ensuring that the camera could capture the entire playground, then stood up, ready to go back to rest.
"Where are you going?" Wang Tianlai stopped me.
I said everything was ready here, so I was going back to your house to rest, then record for seven or eight hours and check the video later.
Wang Tianlai shook his head, saying that my phone couldn't record for that long; how long can it stand by for?
"What should I do then?"
"My house has many cameras. I'll find one for you," Wang Tianlai said.
I slapped my forehead, cursing myself for being confused. Wang Tianlai is a director, so he must have a lot of filming equipment at home.
Duan Guangyi and I arrived at Wang Tianlai's house. When he opened the storage cabinet, I was amazed. What does 'DV' mean? What does "antique camera" mean? What does "handheld camcorder" mean? This guy actually had everything in his cabinet.
Wang Tianlai pointed to the camera equipment inside and asked me, "Which one do you like?"
"Please, a gentleman doesn't take what others cherish. What you like is just a toy for video recording in my eyes. You are ruining it by giving it to me," I shook my head.
Wang Tianlai casually picked a DV and went back to the playground, where he buried the DV in the place we had prepared, ensuring that the entire playground could be seen.
"Okay, let's go upstairs and rest. We'll take it out later while having dinner to see if we've got anything," Wang Tianlai clapped his hands.
The three of us went upstairs.
Back in the room, I was tired as hell and flopped on the sofa to rest. Wang Tianlai carefully wiped the lens of his camera, while Duan Guangyi opened his e-reader. It seems that this former top scholar still enjoys reading.
I was too lazy to bother, so I cuddled with a pillow and fell into a deep sleep.
In my half-awake state, I heard Wang Tianlai's angry shout: "Where have you been? Why are you so dirty? Every time I send you out all spick and span, you come back looking like this. Go back to your room and reflect on your behavior."
I got up to see who Wang Tianlai was shouting at, only to realize that he was scolding his daughter Ya Bao.
Ya Bao is a seven-year-old girl, who looks very much like her mother and has a particularly high facial value. When she is well-dressed, she looks delicate like a little doll.
But now, Ya Bao's face was dirty and her clothes were covered in mud, probably due to some wild play with her friends.
I tried to advise Wang Tianlai: "Director Wang, kids always love to play."
"I don't need you to interfere," Ya Bao snapped at me.
"Do you still have no manners? How have I taught you? Go back to your room and reflect properly," Wang Tianlai scolded Ya Bao severely.
I never thought that Wang Tianlai, who is a director and considered an intellectual, would be so harsh in teaching children.
Ya Bao pouted and went back to her room, visibly upset.
"I'm so angry. Even at such a young age, she is so stubborn. She doesn't pay attention to me at all; all she wants to do is go wild and roam around," Wang Tianlai said, sitting on the sofa, and then he smashed his teacup in frustration.
To avoid the awkward situation, I quickly changed the subject, suggesting, "Director Wang, we've been shooting that DV for a long time. Shall we take a look at it?"
"Let's go!" Wang Tianlai got up and, before leaving, he shouted towards his daughter's room, "Go reflect on your behavior properly. Always going wild, no sense of manners. If you continue this way, I won't give you any pocket money in the future, you little troublemaker."
After scolding her, Wang Tianlai finally left the room.
At the playground, I picked up the DV, and the three of us were eager to see what this camera had captured.
So the three of us sat on the ground directly.
I played the video, fast-forwarding it, and then slowing down to roughly see if there was anything eerie.
As the video fast-forwarded to the second hour, the previously empty playground suddenly had a group of children, boys and girls, including Wang Tianlai's daughter Ya Bao.
I tried to fast forward again, thinking, what's so interesting about a bunch of kids.
But Wang Tianlai stopped me and asked me to play that segment, saying that he had never seen a video of Ya Bao playing, and now he wanted to see.
I gave in and played it.
On the screen, Ya Bao shyly hugged a tree.
A girl shouted at Ya Bao: "Ya Bao, come and play with us."
"What are we playing? Ya Bao doesn't have a dad, so what's there to play?" a boy scolded domineeringly.
"Who said I don’t have a dad? I have a dad," Ya Bao refuted angrily.
"You have a dad? Call him and let’s see?" Several other boys joined in, teasing her.
Ya Bao muttered, "My dad... my dad... he's working and doesn't have time."
"Tsk, you definitely don't have a dad. You are an unwanted child."
"Unwanted child, no dad, no dad, unwanted child."
"You definitely don't have a dad. Except for seeing your dad during the previous Lunar New Year, I have never seen your dad."
"Your dad must have left your mom and abandoned you, doesn't want you. You're an unwanted child."
"I have a dad, I have a dad." Ya Bao couldn't bear the bullying and tried to push the boy.
But with six or seven others against her, Ya Bao was no match.
They pushed her to the ground and rubbed mud on her delicate little face and her snow-white new clothes.
Before long, Ya Bao turned into a mud doll, the "crazy child" in Wang Tianlai's words.
"Unwanted child, no dad, unwanted child."
"Unwanted child, no dad, unwanted child."
The kids bullied Ya Bao and left.
Ya Bao sat alone on the ground crying.
Seeing this, Wang Tianlai was heartbroken and suddenly got up, saying he wanted to find the parents of those kids to settle the score. No one would tolerate their daughter being bullied like this.
I quickly stopped Wang Tianlai and said, "Come on, old Wang, don't be so hasty."
“What?” Wang Tianlai's eyes reddened. Anyone who saw their daughter being bullied like this would feel extremely uncomfortable.
I looked at Wang Tianlai and asked, "Finding those kids' parents to settle the score is definitely necessary. But I want to ask you, how long has it been since you accompanied your daughter to go out and play?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Tianlai lowered his head and began to reflect, saying, "It's my fault. I don't really understand Ya Bao's feelings most of the time. Plus, I am usually busy with work and spend most of my time shooting outside. When I come home, I just tinker with my cameras. It's my fault... it’s my fault."
To be honest, the problem with Ya Bao was actually ninety-nine percent attributable to Wang Tianlai. If he paid more attention to his daughter, would she have been bullied among her peers? Would she have been isolated every day?
Thinking of this, Wang Tianlai sighed repeatedly.
At this time, Duan Guangyi shouted to us: "Hey, come over here, something strange has appeared."
"Ah?" Both Wang Tianlai and I crowded around Duan Guangyi, looking at the camera in his hand.
In the camera, Wang Tianlai's 'daughter' Ya Bao had stopped crying, squatted on the ground, holding a small branch, and was drawing Wang Tianlai's portrait on the soft soil.
She drew vividly, while murmuring something. Her murmurs were very clear, but I couldn't understand what she was saying at all. Then, a very eerie phenomenon appeared next to Ya Bao.
Author's message: Thank you for the support from the brothers, and also thank you for the enthusiastic subscriptions. God loves you all.