Tianzhu: The Record of Foreign Stories in the Republic of China

Chapter 48 The God of Death (3)
There can only be one explanation for this. The real collection of Ge Changqing's Tibetan painting room was stolen by Yi Zhihan when the fire broke out. In order to deceive people, he put some ordinary calligraphy and paintings in the room, and let the fire burn them on purpose. .In this way, when people saw the ashes of calligraphy and painting in that room, they would think that all the calligraphy and painting collected by Ge Changqing had been burned, and they would never think that they were stolen.

If this is the case, it means that those batches of ancient paintings, including "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", were not burned, but were in the hands of this mysterious Mr. Yi.

What should we do now?He kept rubbing his hands in the room, thinking.I am not a policeman and have no right to search Mr. Yi's residence.But if you don't search his residence, how can you find those ancient paintings?He frowned tightly, and thought to himself: This Yi Zhihan, after the completion of the famous painting, will never stay in Xiulin City for a long time in order to prevent the night from having many dreams.If there is no accident, he should end the business of the gallery within a few days and leave Xiulin City quietly.When he left, he would naturally take those ancient paintings with him.In other words, as long as I stared at him day and night from now on, I would be able to find those ancient paintings that disappeared.Thinking of this, he has secretly made up his mind: closely monitor Yi Zhihan, and no matter what, he must not be allowed to take away those national treasure calligraphy and paintings!

In order to facilitate the action, he first bid farewell to his classmate the county magistrate, and pretended to leave Xiulin City by boat.Then he turned back halfway, lurking in an alley opposite Yi Zhihan's studio on Biyu Street, monitoring Mr. Yi's actions day and night.

As expected, two days later, a notice was posted outside Yi Zhihan's studio, saying that the owner of the studio returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors, and the studio will be closed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

On the third night, in the middle of the night, everything was silent. Ding Chaoxiong was hiding in the corner of the opposite alley and dozing off in a daze. At the door of Yi Zhihan's studio.Through the starry sky, Ding Chaoxiong saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy driving the car, and he recognized Yi Zhihan's apprentice, Xiao Ma.

As soon as Xiao Ma parked the car, the door of the studio opened.Xiaoma jumped out of the carriage, and together with his master Yi Zhihan, he brought out four large camphor wood boxes studded with copper nails from the house, and put them on the carriage.Just when the master and apprentice locked the door, jumped into the carriage, and were about to drive away, Ding Chaoxiong suddenly jumped out from the darkness and stopped in front of the carriage.

Yi Zhihan's master and apprentice were taken aback, and they asked at the same time, "Who are you and what do you want to do?"

Ding Chaoxiong was quick-witted, took out a black ID, shook it at the two, and said in a rough voice, "I am a plainclothes detective from the county police station. What are you two doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?" He patted the Four boxes and asked, "What's in it? Is it something you stole? I want to open the box and check."

The pony man was young and very angry, and immediately jumped up: "Why do you say we are thieves? The things in this box are all our own."

Ding Chaoxiong felt more and more that the four boxes were haunted. Ge Changqing's hundreds of calligraphy and paintings should just fill the four boxes, right?Moreover, this is a camphor wood box. Camphor wood has the effect of preventing insects and moths. It is a special wooden box used to store calligraphy and painting collections.He glanced at the other party majestically, and said, "If it belongs to you, you will know if you open the box and check it."

Yi Zhihan could hold his breath, glanced at him, and said to his apprentice: "Xiao Ma, since the inspector wants to open the box for inspection, you can open the box and let him see it. Don't delay here too long , we still have to go on our way while the night is cool." Xiao Ma pouted, so he had to take out the key and open the box.

Ding Chaoxiong didn't expect Yi Zhihan to open the boxes so readily for him to check. He lowered his head and saw that the three boxes in front were filled with clothes and luggage, while the box behind contained some calligraphy and paintings. But they were all ordinary paintings drawn by Yi Zhihan himself, none of them were the ancient paintings he was looking for.He suspected that the box had interlayers, so he poured out the contents and checked them carefully, but still found nothing.

He stared at the box in a daze, Xiao Ma was already impatient, and asked: "Mr. Detective, after you have checked, can we go?"

Ding Chaoxiong squatted in the alley for three days and three nights full of confidence, but he did not expect such a result.Could it be that he made a wrong estimate, that this matter has nothing to do with Yi Zhihan, or... He glanced at the other master and apprentice, waved his hands in frustration and said: "Okay, I was wrong, you can go. "

Yi Zhihan cupped his hands at him and said, "Thanks for your hard work." He got into the carriage.The pony whipped the horse's buttocks, and the carriage carried the two masters and apprentices, ran over the street, and left quickly.

6
When the carriage drove out of Biyu Street and Ding Chaoxiong's dark shadow was no longer visible behind him, Yi Zhihan said to Xiao Ma: "Turn left and go to the Ge family's mansion."

Xiao Ma was taken aback, and said, "Master, isn't the Ge family's mansion burned down? What are we going to do there?"

Yi Zhihan said: "Don't ask too much, you will know when you go."

The carriage turned a few turns on the deserted street, and soon arrived in front of the Ge family's mansion at Jieshan Pass.That piece of scorched and ruined walls looked not only desolate but also terrifying in this silent night.

Yi Zhihan jumped out of the carriage, looked left and right, saw no one was around, and took out a thick copper key from his pocket.Xiao Ma knew that this copper key was taken by Master from Ge Changqing's charred body.

The two masters and apprentices came to the backyard of the Ge family's mansion by stepping on the rubble that still exuded the smell of burnt.The flowers and trees in the backyard have long been burned to death, leaving only a bare rockery standing abruptly in the center of the pool.Yi Zhihan led the pony through the narrow stone arch bridge to the foot of the rockery, and skillfully removed a large millstone, revealing a round keyhole under the stone.Yi Zhihan inserted the copper key in his hand into the lock, twisted it hard, only heard a soft "click", and a large smooth stone opened like a door, revealing a cave as tall as a person.

Xiao Ma stuck out his tongue. If Master hadn't been leading the way, no one would have guessed that this seemingly ordinary rockery hides such a mystery.After entering the cave, Yi Zhihan lit a match and lit a candle.With the flickering candlelight, Xiao Ma found that it was an extremely spacious stone house, with four window holes ingeniously left on the four walls using artificial rock cracks.If it is daytime, the room is not only well-lit, but also well-ventilated, without feeling stuffy at all.

There are dozens of ancient paintings hanging on the four stone walls.Xiao Ma glanced over and found that all these paintings were rare treasures.There are also two large camphor wood boxes in the corner. When you open it, you can see that there are also some famous paintings inside.There is also a slightly smaller wooden box, which contains three long scrolls separately.

Xiao Ma couldn't help being curious, opened it and saw that there were three different versions of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".One of them is about five meters long after being unfolded. At the right end of the scroll is the outskirts of Bianliang, which is full of spring, and in the middle is the Bianhe River and Jia'an Market.At the end of the frame is the urban street inside the city gate, with cars and sedan chairs carrying loads and pushing and pulling. Although the crowds are bustling, they appear to be orderly, lively and stretched.On the front of the volume, there are five characters "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival" inscribed in "thin gold body" by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, and there is a small seal of Shuanglong on the seal.It is Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

Xiao Ma was staring in a daze, Yi Zhihan patted him on the shoulder and said: "Take out all these calligraphy and paintings, empty the box on our carriage, and put these calligraphy and paintings in."

Xiao Ma finally understood something, and said while moving the paintings: "Master, after the Ge family mansion caught fire, people said that the big green brick house in the backyard of the Ge family was Ge Changqing's painting studio, and all the paintings in it were burned. So he The real secret room for Tibetan paintings is actually hidden in the belly of this rockery. Master, how do you know the mystery of this?"

Yi Zhihan said: "Because Ge Changqing once brought his teacher to this secret room. He also told me that the big green brick room outside was filled with cheap fake calligraphy and paintings. He deliberately decorated that big room The purpose of making it look like a secret room is to deceive people and make others think that it is his secret room for painting."

Xiao Ma scratched the back of his head and said, "Oh, that's it. In fact, I should have thought about it a long time ago. With Ge Changqing's shrewdness, the secret room for the collection of paintings he designed must be able to prevent theft and fire. How can the paintings in the secret room be so easy? Was it burned by the fire outside? Master collected the body of that old guy Ge Changqing in order to get the copper key that he hung around his waist all day. Apart from himself, only you, Master, know about this secret room. With the key in hand, it would be as easy as picking a bag for us to take the paintings."

Yi Zhihan nodded and said: "Yes, if we take these paintings away immediately after the Ge family caught fire, it will easily attract suspicion. It's better to do nothing and let these paintings be stored in this secret room under the rubble Here, it will be safer to come and pick it up when we are about to leave the city."

During the conversation, the master and apprentice had moved all the ancient paintings in the secret room.Yi Zhihan turned around and locked the door of the secret room, pressed the keyhole with a stone, and after confirming that there were no traces left, he got into the carriage and quietly left the city in the dark.

7
Xiulin City is located on the bank of the Yangtze River, at the junction of Hunan and Hubei provinces.Exit the city from the south gate, and then go south for a short distance, and you will arrive at the border of Hunan.The pony was driving the carriage, speeding up the whip, and in a short while, taking advantage of the light of the stars and the moon, he had already run for more than ten miles on the deserted road.

The master and apprentice were about to stop to catch their breath when they suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes behind them.In an instant, a fast horse chased up from behind like lightning.With a sound of "wow", the man on the horse reined in the galloping horse and stopped in front of their carriage.The two master and apprentice were taken aback, and when they took a closer look, it turned out that it was the person who searched their box on Biyu Street before.They didn't know the real identity of the other party, they only knew that he was really a police detective, and they suddenly became nervous.

Ding Chaoxiong jumped off his horse and clasped his fists at Yi Zhihan: "Mr. Yi, you guys run really fast. If my horse wasn't so fast, I really wouldn't be able to catch up with you."

Yi Zhihan suddenly understood, stared at him and said, "You, are you following us?"

Ding Chaoxiong sneered and said, "If I don't follow you, how can I find the batch of ancient paintings left by Master Ge?"

A look of panic flashed across Yi Zhihan's eyes, but he calmed down immediately, jumped off the carriage, looked at him and asked, "What do you want?"

Ding Chaoxiong tilted his head, looked at the four large camphor wood boxes on the carriage, smiled slightly, and said, "Leave the four boxes on the carriage for me, and I will let you two, master and apprentice, leave safely."

The pony jumped up and said angrily, "You want to be black and white?"

Yi Zhihan stared at him and sneered, "What if Yi refuses?"

Ding Chaoxiong stretched out his hand to his waist, and there was already a black pistol in his hand, pointing the muzzle at Yi Zhihan's chest: "I advise Mr. Yi to agree to my request, or else the next year's day will be the same as today's." , is the memorial day for your master and apprentice.”

Yi Zhihan's master and apprentice's expressions changed, and they froze there at the same time.

Ding Chaoxiong raised the muzzle of his gun, and was about to make a move when he suddenly felt two hard things pushing against his back at the same time, and a low voice said in his ear: "I also advise you to put the gun down quickly. Otherwise, today in the coming year will be your memorial day."

Ding Chaoxiong was taken aback, he never dreamed that Yi Zhihan's helper was hidden in the grass behind him.He glanced back from the corner of his eye, and on both sides behind him, there were indeed two strong men who looked like iron towers.Judging from his experience, what the opponent held against his back was definitely not fake guys like wooden sticks, but two real pistols.As long as he moves slightly, the two bullets will penetrate his body at the same time.The hero didn't want to suffer the immediate loss, so he had to sigh helplessly, let go of his fingers, and threw the pistol on the ground.

A person behind him asked loudly, "Mr. Yi, we surprised you by our late arrival. Are you alright?"

Yi Zhihan smiled lightly, and said: "Fortunately, it's not too late. Everything is packed in the box on the carriage, including three versions of "A Picture of Shanghe During the Qingming Festival", a total of 380 eight pieces, please Let's order a little..."

At this moment, Ding Chaoxiong took advantage of the distraction of the two people behind him talking to Yi Zhihan, suddenly lowered his body, dodged the guns of the two, and swept his legs backward at the same time.The big man on the left back fell to the ground with a "plop", and the pistol was thrown far away.Ding Chaoxiong rolled forward and reached out to pick up the pistol he had dropped on the ground.As soon as his fingertips touched the handle of the gun, he felt a chill in his temple, and another person's pistol had already hit his head like lightning.He froze there immediately, not daring to act rashly again.

"Good guy, you really dare to do it!" The big man who was knocked down by him got up from the ground angrily, and punched him in the face.However, when his fist was less than half an inch away from the tip of Ding Chaoxiong's nose, he stopped abruptly.

"Old Ding, why are you?" the man suddenly called out.

Ding Chaoxiong looked up and laughed too: "Oh, old Zhou, it's you. No wonder why I think this voice is so familiar." It turned out that the person's surname was Zhou, and he was a person in charge of the Southern Hunan Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China. We've had several meetings together, so we know each other well.

Lao Zhou said: "This Mr. Yi contacted us a few days ago, saying that there is a batch of rare calligraphy and paintings of the national treasure level to be donated to us. We thought we had encountered an enemy. I didn't expect it to be you."

Ding Chaoxiong laughed and said, "This time we have flooded the Dragon King's Temple." He told me that he was appointed by his superiors to come to Xiulin to wait for an opportunity to seize the rare calligraphy and paintings that Ge Changqing had embezzled.

Lao Zhou obviously knew Yi Zhihan for a long time, he cupped his hands at Yi Zhihan and said, "Mr. Yi, are you all right? Don't worry, sir, this old man is one of us."

Only then did Yi Zhihan heave a sigh of relief, and cupped his fists at Ding Chaoxiong: "I'm sorry."

Ding Chaoxiong hurriedly clasped his fists in return: "Sir, you are admirable. It's just..."

"Just what? If Mr. Ding has something to say, he might as well just say it."

"It's just that although Ge Changqing is greedy, plundered, and seized national treasures, he is not unforgivable, and his crimes are not unforgivable. Your fire, it is inevitable..."

Yi Zhihan didn't wait for him to finish, suddenly laughed, and cupped his hands at Old Zhou Yi said: "Mr. Zhou, I leave these four boxes of ancient paintings and this carriage to you. We will meet later!" With his apprentice Xiao Ma , took a pack of luggage, and drifted away in the evening breeze.

After Lao Zhou watched him go away, he said to Ding Chaoxiong: "Old Ding, you are wrong to blame Mr. Yi. Do you know how the Song version "A Picture of Shanghe During Qingming Festival" fell into Ge Changqing's hands? With enough funds for fleeing, he intends to sell the painting, and asked Ge Changqing to find a strong buyer for him. After Ge Changqing dealt with it, finally Liuyun Yishi, a great Tianjin painter, bought the painting at a high price. But Liuyun Yishi took the painting Before the painting left Changchun City, it was poisoned to death by Ge Changqing, and this "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival" also fell into Ge Changqing's hands. Liuyun Yishi's real surname is Yi, and this Mr. Yi Zhihan is Liuyun Yishi descendants."

When Ding Chaoxiong heard this, he couldn't help being stunned.

(End of this chapter)