《Once Upon a Time in a Foreign Land》Chapter 112 : Duanmu Shanquan
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Shanquan started to descend the hole. This time, he quickly reached the bottom of the hole. There, he waited patiently for Qiuzhen's arrival. He knew this was Qiuzhen's first time, so it was only natural that it would take him a while to get to the bottom.
After Qiuzhen landed right beside him, Shanquan immediately explained what he already knew about the room. The last time Shanquan and his friends were there, they had locked the door on one wall of the room, which led to a secret underground passage. However, they did not cover the door with the things that looked like the cupboard. The objects stood scattered around the door in the wall.
Qiuzhen circled around while highlighting the entire wall there.
"Is there anything you want to ask about this dungeon?" Shanquan also aimed his flashlight all over the room.
Qiuzhen stopped walking. He focused his flashlight on the secret passage. Shanquan thought his friend would ask something related to the passage.
"For now, I think that's enough, Biaoshu."
Uh? He doesn't want to ask anything? Maybe he knows a lot about this place. More than we do.
"Do you want to go back to the surface now, or is there something else you'd like to say?" Shanquan was absolutely sure that Qiuzhen had already chosen that time to say something.
You better say right away. I'm sleepy right now.
"Now, I want to tell you about the things I have seen and experienced over the past three days." Finally, Qiuzhen made his point.
Shanquan nodded. "Good! I'd really like to hear your story." Even though he was sleepy, he felt so excited.
"So the story goes like this," said Qiuzhen.
"Let's sit there first." Shanquan pointed at the stone benches in the center of the room.
They both rushed towards the benches. "But before that, how about the photo I asked you to get from the document copying shop at the station?" Shanquan said that right after he sat down.
"I put it in my backpack. Do Biaoshu want to see it right away?"
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"No need. You just keep it for now."
"Okay. Now I'll start telling the story. If anything isn't clear, Biaoshu can just ask. There's no need to wait until I finish."
Qiuzhen then started to tell his story. Shanquan listened eagerly. The fact that Qiuzhen was inside the building the same night he and Yingyue were trapped inside the elevator surprised Shanquan.
"It's good that I've known you for decades. Otherwise, I would have thought by now that you are an extremely strange person," Shanquan said.
For decades, it turns out that Qiuzhen hasn't changed!
Shanquan chuckled. Qiuzhen's decision to hide when he realized that there was a possibility Shanquan was in the elevator was indeed almost unreasonable. This clearly had the potential to cause misunderstandings. Shanquan knew that there was always a good reason behind Qiuzhen's every action. Not everyone could understand those reasons. Regarding the incident at Dafeisi Tower, Shanquan didn't blame Qiuzhen at all. Shanquan felt he would probably do the same if he were in Qiuzhen's position.
He was fully aware that almost everyone out there would think of them as weirdos. Shanquan agreed that their way of thinking often differed from how people think in general.
"Sorry, Biaoshu. I hope Biaoshu isn't offended."
"Why should I be offended?" Shanquan laughed. "You take it easy. I believe each person is a unique individual. So the strange decision you've made, I don't think it was a bad thing."
"Thank you, Biaoshu."
"Now, please continue your story."
Qiuzhen then continued his story. Shanquan was intrigued when Qiuzhen mentioned the bright light he saw in the room of one unit in Dafeisi Tower.
"The unit's entrance is unlocked?" Shanquan couldn't help but interrupt Qiuzhen's story.
"That's right, Biaoshu! Hanrong said that all the units on the ninth floor should be locked.
"Isn't it possible that the tenants of the unit forgot to lock the door the last time they left the premises?"
"That's impossible. That unit hasn't been rented for a long time."
Shanquan laughed at the explanation.
"The bottom line is that the security in the building really sucks!"
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"Since the place will be closing soon, I don't think that's a bizarre thing." Shanquan chuckled.
Qiuzhen nodded. He did not refute Shanquan's words.
This kid seems tired. Should I just stop him? Next time we will continue.
"I'm not tired yet." Qiuzhen suddenly said that. "This is very important."
Ah! He can guess my thoughts.
"Okay." Shanquan fiddled with his flashlight by highlighting the walls in the cellar. "Please continue."
Qiuzhen explained the things that happened next. He explained everything succinctly but clearly. His storytelling style was so different from Yiren's way of telling things.
There's still something I don't understand. Should I ask now?
While playing with the flashlight, Shanquan finally decided to settle the curiosity that lingered in his mind. "Then where did that bright light come from?"
Qiuzhen sighed. "Regarding that, until now, I also have not found the answer."
Shanquan also sighed. He felt a little disappointed.
"Why is Biaoshu so attracted to that light?"
"Have you heard of any strange occurrences that have recently occurred around here?"
"What happened, Biaoshu?"
"Recently, there was an incident similar to that. There was a light explosion that occurred in a large mall nearby. The testimonies of the visitors at the mall are very similar to what you just described. Too bad I didn't get to see the light."
"Biaoshu was also nearby?"
"At that time, I was in the mall. But I was in the restroom. So, I knew nothing at all when it happened."
"Did Biaoshu not come out of the restroom at all? Wouldn't it have been a mess back then? People were running here and there."
"I was in the toilet for a long time. From the beginning to the end of the incident, I was still inside."
"People must be screaming really loud. Didn't Biaoshu hear it?"
"When you're in the public restrooms inside the mall, do you ever hear any noises from outside, however loud they may be?"
Qiuzhen shook his head. "Didn't anyone run into the toilet?"
"I don't know."
"Biaoshu don't know?"
"I think I passed out in one of those cubicles."
Qiuzhen nodded. "Oh. So that's what our friends were talking about!"
Shanquan then briefly told about what had happened to him. He could feel Qiuzhen's surprise when he heard that. What Qiuzhen experienced was also almost the same as what Shanquan had experienced.
As Qiuzhen recounted what happened next, Shanquan couldn't help but let out a low scream. Shanquan admired Qiuzhen when he found out that he was willing to hide in a box in Hanrong's study just to find out the contents of the conversation between him, Yingyue, and Hanrong. If that happened to Shanquan, maybe for three days, he would experience aches from having to bend his body in such a way for a certain period of time. But Qiuzhen was much younger than Shanquan. So it's natural that his body was still much healthier and more flexible.
When it came to the part where Qiuzhen caught Hanrong doing strange things, Shanquan couldn't help but let out a surprised voice. Qiuzhen paused his story for a while.
I thought Hanrong is an innocent person who would easily get dizzy when he was given a heavier load than usual.
Qiuzhen nodded several times. He seemed to be able to guess what Shanquan was thinking.
This is really amazing. In the slightest, I never thought that he actually kept a secret. Such an odd secret.
"Who called Hanrong? And why is Hanrong watching us?" Shanquan leaned forward.
"I'll explain later," said Qiuzhen.
Qiuzhen then told him about how he followed the people who were following Zhengyi and Xinxiu. He recounted he saw one stalker, then was injured in the stomach. Qiuzhen also expressed his suspicions about the potential involvement of the black hat person in the incident.
"Xinxiu also talked about the injured person. But he didn't know who hurt him," commented Shanquan.
"That's right, Biaoshu. They told me about it."
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