Winter Returns

Chapter 236 Ancient Temple, Green Lamp, Alone (The End) (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Shutong suddenly felt speechless.

Actually, he could multitask. After hanging up the phone, Zhang Shutong casually asked the police officer:
"And what was the result?"

Officer Xiong laughed loudly:

"It turns out the deceased climbed in himself to take photos. Isn't that strange? Can we deduce it using common sense? Obviously not."

"...a perpetrator who took photos without consent?"

"Yeah, I confirmed it from the photos on his phone. He's a repeat offender. I never thought he'd get himself into trouble... What happened to you?"

Zhang Shutong was stunned on the spot.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

"and many more……"

He turned and ran into the police station.

"Sigh, you're still not giving up, young man..."

Zhang Shutong had no time to pay attention to what the other person was saying. He pushed open the glass door and ran into the conference room in a few steps. His speed drew a surprised look from a police officer. Officer Xiong gestured for him to calm down. Zhang Shutong darted to the head of the conference table and picked up the photos that hadn't yet been collected—

Where, where, where...

It should be.

He stared intently at the photos, forcing himself to suppress his nausea as he examined each corpse, along with the neatly arranged belongings and photos of the residence. His movements quickened, but Zhang Shutong looked at them again and again, still unable to find what should have been there.

"How's it going?" Officer Xiong asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Any discoveries? I have a meeting later..."

Zhang Shutong suddenly spoke:
“A senior of mine said that these college students were members of the photography club back then.”

"Oh, that? Didn't I just hear you mention it?"

"so--"

Zhang Shutong slammed the photo on the table:
Where are their cameras?

Officer Xiong was stunned.

That's right.

The items in these photos seem perfectly normal, everyday items and personal belongings. But Zhang Shutong felt something was missing the moment he saw them. He used to be a member of a photography club. Members of the club might forget their phones or meals, but they would definitely keep their cameras safe. Besides, if there were no cameras, where would Yun's photos come from?
"You mean..." Officer Xiong burned his hand with a cigarette butt.

"It's only possible that someone took it."

Zhang Shutong spoke each word carefully:
"Moreover, it was taken by the only living person."

Officer Xiong suddenly slapped his thigh and paced back and forth in the conference room, muttering to himself:
"It really is true... How come I didn't think of that back then? Xiao Wu, can you help me find the phone number of the investigation team from back then!"

A young man hurriedly entered through the door:

"The meeting you're attending later?"

"I forgot about it." Officer Xiong waved his hand reluctantly. "Well then, young man, I'll ask around for you when I'm done with this. Wait for my news. Maybe we can actually find something this time. I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

When Zhang Shutong walked out of the police station again, he was already riding a bicycle.

He no longer needed the information from the police station.

He had spoken to Lao Song on the phone a few minutes ago. Logically, if Yun had taken the camera, Lao Song should have known after so many years of dating. But that wasn't the case. Why did she take the camera? What was hidden inside?
Just when Zhang Shutong thought he had hit a wall again, Old Song slowly recalled:

"When I went to her funeral, it seems... there really was a camera there."

An answer spontaneously arose in his mind—

The place where Yun's parents live!
The clues were still hidden there.

Old Song said he didn't think much about it at the time because there were too many people around, and he was completely distracted. Besides, the camera wasn't strictly speaking Yun's keepsake. Four years ago, the two of them were teaching in the city, but the camera had been sitting in the old house ever since.

All the clues finally converged at one point!
Zhang Shutong quickened his pace and soon rode to the village. He knocked on the iron gate and waited quietly for a moment, but there was no response.

Because of Lao Song, Yun's parents also disliked them. Last time, they slammed the door and left, but this time they didn't even open the door.

not at home?
Zhang Shutong knocked harder again. Having ridden all this way, how could he turn back? He circled around the courtyard and found the chicken coop that Lu Qinglian had mentioned.

This is the lowest point of the wall; perhaps it's possible to climb over it directly.

But Zhang Shutong hesitated when he saw the wall, which was taller than his head.

If only Lu Qinglian were here—the thought had just crossed his mind when he shook his head to dismiss it. He remembered what Lu Qinglian had said on Christmas Eve: people can develop dependence without realizing it. Zhang Shutong chuckled and scolded, saying that he, a lone wolf, hadn't reached the point where he needed to depend on anyone.

The morning exercises he had been doing finally paid off. He took a few steps back, then jogged a bit to gain momentum, and Zhang Shutong pushed off the wall and successfully cleared it. He almost stumbled when he landed, but he patted the dust off his body and thought with some relief that even if he was stood up, it wouldn't stop him from doing what he was supposed to do.

Zhang Shutong surveyed the house before him. It was a long, narrow building, and the door was unlocked, a common practice in rural areas. He quietly pushed the door open, and sure enough, no one was inside. The main room led to three rooms: one was Yun's parents' bedroom, another was a storeroom, and he had already searched the first two. Zhang Shutong stood before the last room's door and grasped the doorknob.

The door opened smoothly, which startled him for a moment, because he thought it should have been locked. It was a spotless bedroom with neatly made bedding in a refreshing light green, which was out of place in this old house and looked like something a girl would use.

On the table sat a teddy bear and a framed photo of Yun's family. Zhang Shutong suddenly realized that this place had been kept clean all along.

He opened the drawer of his desk, revealing a series of letters with somewhat childish handwriting and round watermarks.

Yun was also a teacher. When news of her passing reached the school, letters began to arrive like snowflakes.

Zhang Shutong didn't find it in the desk, so he turned his attention to the bedside table. When he opened the table, a camera was found safely inside. He remembered that the notebook containing the clay figurines was found in Lao Song's bedside table back in the dormitory.

You two are quite a good match. Zhang Shutong thought to himself, his mind a jumble of emotions. The camera was out of power, something he'd expected, but the most important thing wasn't the camera itself, or rather, it was inside the camera—

Zhang Shutong pried open the card slot and pulled out a small memory card.

As he carefully put the memory card away, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then Zhang Shutong's heart leaped again, because he heard the door open—

An elderly woman with white hair walked in.

It turned out to be Yun's mother who had returned. He quickly crouched down. Fortunately, he had parked his bicycle far away. Zhang Shutong held his breath and could only pray that she had no intention of coming into the house. Luckily, she went to the kitchen on one side as soon as she entered.

Knowing that he had to slip away as soon as possible, Zhang Shutong didn't hesitate any longer. He put the camera's card slot back in its original position, and just as he was about to close the drawer, he suddenly saw a photo lying at the bottom.

That was a group photo.

The background is an amusement park.

The two people in the picture are—

Song Nanshan and Yun.

He didn't know why the photo was there, but its presence itself spoke volumes.

The photos weren't hidden away well; on the contrary, they were left lying there openly in a prominent position. This was a room that was cleaned every day, and even the objects in the room were carefully wiped clean. Even the hidden camera, when Zhang Shutong touched it, had not a speck of dust on its surface.

It turned out to be the case.

Zhang Shutong took a picture, silently closed the drawer, and left the room.

As he slipped out through the iron gate, he only caught a glimpse of a strand of dry, white hair through the kitchen window.

He sent the photo to Lao Song.

“Very clean.”

Zhang Shutong rode his bicycle toward the police station.

It was noon, the best time of day, when the sun was shining brightly. He squinted and felt a sudden sense of relief.

The clue from eight years ago is hidden in a small memory card in his pocket.

Not only did they finally find a clue, but the man named Song Nanshan was also finally able to untangle a knot in his heart.

Zhang Shutong hummed along to the melody in his headphones. He was listening to Pu Shu's songs when he went there, and he was listening to the same songs when he came back. When he was almost at the police station, he saw a long-haired figure in the distance.

Who else could it be but Xiaolu?

Lu Qinglian stood alone on the street corner. She was wearing that green robe today, still looking the same as before. Tens of thousands of green hairs cascaded down, and when the sunlight shone on her flawless profile, she looked like a fairy who had descended to earth.

Even if she's a fairy, she's an unreliable fairy.

Zhang Shutong wondered whether this was reliable or unreliable. If it was the former, she had finished everything before leisurely arriving, but if it was the latter, she had at least kept her promise, even if she was quite late.

Last time he failed to scare her at night, so this time Zhang Shutong was determined to give her a good scare.

So he deliberately applied the brakes early and approached quietly. As expected, Lu Qinglian didn't notice him; she was just standing there with her face upturned, looking like she was waiting for someone.

Zhang Shutong suddenly patted her on the shoulder.

Sure enough, the woman in front of him stiffened and turned around reflexively.

So, shouldn't we run away...?

As Zhang Shutong was thinking this, the girl had already turned her face away.

A blurry red glimpse peeked through her blue sleeves; bloodstains spread down Lu Qinglian's arm, like tiny snakes biting the back of her hand, eventually pooling into a stream.

"you……"

This is the best minute of the sunlight, shining directly into your eyes, yet it makes you feel dizzy.

“A clay figure has appeared.” Her eyes were calm and still. “A little late, I apologize.”

(End of this chapter)