There was blood on the stairs, fresh blood, and I could even smell the blood. This meant someone was bleeding, and it must be one of the three missing girls.
I stood there, motionless, looking at the blood for a long time. It seemed that it was not unintentional, but intentional. There were two or three drops on each step. It was impossible for it to drip so evenly. It seemed to be luring me.
I stood there motionless, and those old coffin boards made me feel scared.
I counted the stairs, thirteen, it's really evil, ghost counting, when this basement was built, there must have been someone who understood, ghost number thirteen, the ghost will not walk up this stair, the ghost will be on the floor below, I really can't understand it.
I still have to go down. After all, they are the lives of three girls, seventeen or eighteen years old, which is the best time of youth.
I walked down slowly, not stepping on the blood drops.
Halfway down, I saw that most of the place was still in a mess, with broken tables and chairs, and even some colorful flags and broken drums.
I didn't see any people, or ghosts or anything.
I went down to the bottom and it was still the same. The three girls didn't happen, and I didn't see any ghosts. This place can't be so clean. For one thing, it's a basement, a dark place. For another, there are old coffin boards here, things that attract ghosts and spirits. The older it gets, the more this is the case.
I stood there listening to the sound and watching, but didn't see anything.
What should I do? Impossible, there was a sound just now, which means there is someone here.
I walked forward and saw a blackboard, a big blackboard blocking the way. It was an old-fashioned blackboard that had been eliminated long ago. It should have been used in the 1960s and 1970s.
I didn't find anything. When I looked at the blackboard, there were words on it, written with chalk. Indeed, those should be the words of a girl. I took a look and they should be newly written. Two words, "behind". Behind the blackboard
My heart was in my throat. It seemed that things here were not so simple. It seemed that everything that happened in my life happened here.
The word that appeared in the girl's book was only for a moment. It should be the word "ghost". What was the purpose of leading them here? It seemed that he was a pervert.
It is normal for a pervert to seduce women, especially girls.
I slowly walked to the blackboard, which was actually hung on the wall. It seemed that this place had been used as a classroom or something.
When I was about to lift up the blackboard, I stopped immediately. I found torture instruments in the innermost part of the basement. I was startled. The light was dim and I couldn't see clearly.
I walked over slowly, and indeed it was a torture instrument. There was blood on it, black blood, which was the bloodstain after many years. I didn't move and immediately went to the stairs. If there was a torture instrument, at least this place meant that it had been used as a cell, prisoners had been tried here, and even people had died here.
Prisons and jails are the most evil places, so I was afraid.
What to do? Exit.
I retreated to the stairs and slowly climbed up. When there was only one step left, I was stunned. There were actually twelve steps. It was impossible. I counted from the top and there were thirteen steps. If there were twelve, a ghost could have come up.
I was disappointed and counted down. Yes, it was the thirteenth level. I went down again and counted from the bottom. It was indeed twelve. That’s right, that’s right.
Such stairs are too scary. I went up slowly, opened the big iron gate, and then went out. Just after I took a few steps, I heard a sound. The big iron gate was bolted from the inside. I didn’t see anyone, really. Or rather, if there was someone, I didn’t see it. It was really a mess inside.
The principal and his colleagues were all outside, the girl was there too, and the parents were there too.
"How is Master Ke?"
I frowned, called Liu Yang aside and spoke in a low voice.
"Just ask the principal and the director to come out with me. We can't talk here."
We arrived at the teahouse opposite the 351 High School, sat down, and drank two cups of tea before speaking.
"I need the entire information of this basement, from beginning to end."
"This, this... is over a hundred years old."
"No matter how long it takes, I need it."
The principal thought for a long time and said.
"There are no records about this in the city. They are too old. Even if there were, they would not be preserved until now. So, there is a teacher who retired from 351. He is almost 80 years old today. He knows this place best and has made notes about 351, or a book of legends, but I don't know whether it is true or not."
"Then let's go."
I drove to the teacher's home, the teachers' apartment.
The teacher is indeed very clean. He is over 80 years old, but he is in good spirits. When he heard that we wanted to know about No. 351 Middle School, he became more energetic. I thought he would not be happy.
"Regarding the 351 Middle School, it has a history of more than 100 years. It was not a school at first. It became the 351 Middle School after the 1960s. Its predecessor was originally a place to detain prisoners."
"Just tell me about this."
This is what I want to know, and I don’t want to know too much about the rest.
"Originally this was a prison for female prisoners, but later it became a prison for male prisoners because the place was too big and there were not enough female prisoners."
"I want to know what's going on in the basement."
The teacher was stunned. He hesitated for a long time and didn't want to say anything.
I glanced at the principal.
"It's almost noon, Mr. Liu. I'm treating you today. I've wanted to treat you for a long time. You are highly respected, but I'm afraid you won't give me face. I have to give you this face today..."
The principal is very good at talking, which makes Mr. Liu happy. He is over 80 years old, but he feels like a child. I like this old man too.
After entering the restaurant, they ordered food and drank some wine. Mr. Liu actually liked to drink.
After drinking a little, these words came out.
"You want to know about the basement. It was originally an interrogation room for prisoners. Why do I know so much? My father worked there, so I know almost everything about it. The city even asked me to write a city history about it, but I disagreed. I felt that the things there shouldn't be written about. There are many weird things. So I'm not going to tell you about it today. I'm over 80 years old now, and I don't have that many ideas anymore. I'm dead or alive. I've lived for over 80 years, and that's enough. I've been holding it in for a lifetime."
I thought, that's great. If he didn't say it, it would also be troublesome. Usually people wouldn't talk about such things. Not only is it unlucky, but it's also easy to be retaliated against. As for how to retaliate, that's not the business of the living.
If you put it that way, today's affairs will be easier to handle.
Mr. Liu was in high spirits.
"No. 351 Middle School was originally a prison for female prisoners, with 68 female prisoners. But it was only used for three months before it became a prison for male prisoners. There were 68 female prisoners, but when they were released, 61 of them were still alive. That means seven female prisoners died. I don't know how they died. My father didn't tell me, or he didn't know at all. They left here on June 13th. It was a coincidence that my birthday was on that day. My father told me about it, so I remembered it..."
I think now I understand. The basement should be the place where the seven female prisoners died. That should have been before liberation, not after liberation. There is some mismatch in the time. I am over 80 years old, so it is inevitable that I remember some things.
None of this matters anymore, I think. All I need to know is that there were seven dead female prisoners and seven seduced girls. It seems that all this is related to these seven female prisoners.
That day, it was already dark when I returned to school.
"I want to go into the basement. Of course, I need someone to accompany me, just me."
The principal started sweating. He didn't want to accompany them, so he looked at the director. The director thought for a long time and said.
"Okay, I'll accompany you."
If I want to go in again, I have to find that girl. Her parents said they would never agree. The girl was scared and had a fever.
All we can do is wait and stay there. Let the director stay there and call me immediately if anything happens.
Liu Yang and I will go home, she said.
"I think you should stop caring about this matter. I wonder what's going on down there?"
I told you the following situation, Liu Yang said.
"Never mind. I'm scared."
"It's okay. The three girls are still inside. No matter what, they are still children, 17 or 18 years old. I can't bear to watch them. I can't just ignore them."
Liu Yang sighed.
The next day when I went to work, Li Xiaohuan came in.
"Master, I don't want to learn from other masters."
"What happened again?"
“They always treat me badly.”
I know that in the crematorium, no one likes to lead someone who is not your own apprentice, and no one can explain clearly if there is a problem.
"Then how about this? You come to the office and help me run around. I need someone like that."
"No one else will say anything else, right?"
"No, this kind of thing will not happen in a crematorium."
The good thing about the crematorium is that no matter how you move people around or what you do, it seems like nothing is said about it.
Li Xiaohuan came to the office and sat opposite me. I asked her to write some information, report to the superiors, or deal with some problems. I felt a lot more relaxed.
I kept waiting for a call from the principal of 351 Senior High School, but it never came.
It wasn't until the third day that I received a call saying that words appeared on a girl's book again and I went to the basement at ten o'clock in the evening.
I thought, the fact that no one of them stopped must be because they were in a hurry and they were going to do it no matter what.
I went there at around nine o'clock in the evening, and there were still girls with long hair. There is a tradition in No. 351 Senior High School that girls can have shoulder-length hair, or even waist-length. I heard that the first principal of No. 351 Senior High School was a woman, so this tradition started.
I was sitting in the office. The principal's eyes were red and the family members were still pestering him.
That day, more than ten policemen came, and one of them called me outside for a talk.
"We can't miss an opportunity like today. You made us miss it last time. If we go in together, we can definitely take it down in one fell swoop. It must be man-made. With three girls here for so many days, I'm afraid something must have happened."
"It's not what you think. Explain to me, how could the words that appeared in the book disappear in an instant?"
"That was man-made. A scientific method was used. A teacher or a student in the school was connected to the people in the basement."
There is nothing wrong with his analysis. If it were normal, this would be the only way to analyze it.
"I think I just need to ask the director to come in with me."
"No, we can't lose this opportunity. Three lives were lost. The impact is very bad now. People are saying that we police officers are just there to do nothing."
"That's fine too, don't have too many people, just rush in all at once."
"We also analyzed that it is definitely not just one person, but a group of at least three to five people, because there are seven girls."
"How many people do you want to go in?"
"What's going on down there?"
I explained the situation.
"The stairs aren't wide enough for four people."
"Okay, then follow my instructions."
He nodded, but I could tell that was impossible, he didn't believe me at all. (To be continued)