Chapter 4 Chapter Three

It was nearly 30 kilometers from the Nanmingshan Police Station to the Municipal People's Hospital, but fortunately there were not many vehicles on the road at night, Zhou Ping drove all the way, and parked the car in front of the hospital in less than 20 minutes. After learning about the situation, the hospital immediately organized the doctor on duty to give Zhang Bin emergency treatment.The situation was not particularly serious, and Zhang Bin's condition was quickly brought under control.According to the doctor, he suffered a sudden heart attack just because of being overworked and frightened. As long as he rests for a few days, his body can return to normal.

Zhou Ping's heart relaxed a little. While Zhang Bin was still sleeping, he walked outside the building alone, wanting to smoke a cigarette.At this time, he noticed that there were snowflakes dancing in the night sky all over the sky, thinking that Luo Fei was walking up the mountain, he couldn't help but sweat secretly. After that, Zhou Ping stayed in the ward all night without closing his eyes.At around 6:30, Zhang Bin woke up. After several hours of deep sleep, his spirit seemed much better. "Comrade policeman, you sent me here, right? Thank you so much!" Seeing Zhou Ping, Zhang Bin greeted him gratefully.

Zhou Ping smiled slightly and said: "You're welcome, my surname is Zhou, this is our job as a policeman. As long as you cooperate with our work, you are the best thanks to us. The so-called 'people's police for the people, the police and the people are a family' Fish and water love' well." Infected by Zhou Ping's friendly smile and words, Zhang Bin also laughed relaxedly. Zhou Ping got up and poured a cup of hot water, handed it to Zhang Bin, and said chattingly: "You said you were painting a picture, how did you go to such a deep mountain?" "Thank you." Zhang Bin took the water glass and took a sip subconsciously, "The purpose of our coming out is to choose a quiet and remote mountain, so that we can feel the artistic conception in it and draw good works. And we played while going up the mountain. While walking, I didn’t think it was too far away. It’s just that I missed the time to go down the mountain, so I had to temporarily decide to live in a monastery not far away.”

Zhou Ping let out a "huh" and sat down beside Zhang Bin, and at the same time the topic turned to the key point: "What happened after you guys arrived in the temple? What about the 'Headless Ghost' and the 'Fierce Painting'?" ?” Zhang Bin fell silent suddenly, and the nervousness reappeared in his face and eyes. "Don't worry, take your time and start from the beginning." Zhou Ping tried his best to sound soothing and peaceful. After a while, Zhang Bin finally opened his mouth and told about his experience from yesterday evening. "It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the temple. Besides me, the other two people who went with me were my colleagues. One was Chen Jian and the other was Hu Junkai.

"The temple is quite big, and it seems that it has been around for a long time. We went around back and forth, worshiped the Bodhisattva, and donated some incense money. There was a very enthusiastic young monk who led us all the time. Later, I I heard others call him Shunde. But when we proposed to stay in the temple, Shunde refused." "It shouldn't be." Zhou Ping was a little surprised. "As far as I know, several temples on the mountain have guest rooms. It should be a normal thing for pilgrims to stay overnight. At most, they charge some accommodation fees."

"We also raised questions at the time. Shunde explained that they could stay in the temple originally, but when there were more pilgrims a while ago, some things were lost in the temple. After this happened, the abbot decided not to stay in ordinary people. Pilgrims live in the temple." Something is missing in the temple?But the institute didn't receive any report about it?It's time to check this out.Zhou Ping was thinking in his heart, but he didn't say anything. He listened to Zhang Bin's narration: "At that time, it was impossible for us to go down the mountain again, so we had to fight hard. Finally, a monk in charge came, and I heard that he was the head of the temple. After a lot of rhetoric, he finally agreed to let Shunde Take us to live in a separate hut behind the temple."

"The hut behind the temple?" Zhou Ping muttered, "Where is it? I've been to Kumu Temple several times, why haven't I seen it before?" "The hut is about 40 meters away from the back door of the temple, connected by a narrow mountain road. Although the distance is not very far, because there is a big bend in the middle of the mountain road, the temple and the hut seem to be separated by the mountain. So it is impossible to see the hut from the temple." "Oh." Zhou Ping nodded. After Zhang Bin said so, he seemed to have some impressions of such a mountain road, but he didn't expect that there was a hut connected to the other end of the mountain road.

"What was the cabin like?" he asked. "The conditions are very poor, we don't even have electricity, we can only rely on the oil lamps brought from Shunde for lighting. The only single bed in the house is covered with dust, and it looks like no one has been in that house for a long time." "That is to say, the room was always empty before you came?" "It should be. Before entering the room, Shunde suddenly told us something mysteriously." Having said that, Zhang Bin's voice lowered and trembled slightly. "What's the matter?" Zhou Ping turned his body sideways to Zhang Bin with concern, and he realized that the other party was about to talk about the key part.

"He said...he said he'd seen the house haunted, and it was a headless ghost." Although he was mentally prepared, Zhou Ping couldn't help but frowned. The term "headless ghost" really made him feel a little ridiculous. Zhang Bin seemed to have expected Zhou Ping to have such a reaction.He took a deep breath, controlled his increasingly tense emotions, and then continued: "I heard Shunde's words at the time, just like you now, I didn't believe it at all. Then Shunde told us another story He said that there is a murderous painting in this house, and anyone who sees the painting will be haunted by ghosts and suffer bad luck."

Zhou Ping chuckled lightly, shook his head and said jokingly: "This Shunde is really a talkative guy." Zhang Bin looked at Zhou Ping: "We also laughed at such a statement at the time. But if you know what happened later like me, you won't be able to laugh." Zhou Ping realized that he had lost his composure, touched his chin in embarrassment, and then put on an appearance of listening carefully. Zhang Bin took a sip of water, paused for a moment, and continued: "Later, Shunde went back to the temple to get us the bedding for the night, and we simply packed it up in the house. During this process, we found a box under the bed. It was neatly piled with old picture scrolls. Painting is what we are most interested in, so we almost didn’t even think about it, so we opened a few of them and looked at them. Almost all the paintings in the box are fine works of art. Among the three of us, Hu Junkai has the highest attainment in painting and is well-known in China, but he is ashamed of himself when he sees these paintings."

"Oh? Then who painted these paintings?" "Judging from the inscriptions, these paintings were created in the 1970s and 1980s, and the author called himself 'Monk Kongwang'." Zhang Bin answered Zhou Ping's question, and then continued his memories, "We just lived in the dark like this. We admired the oil lamps one by one, and we almost saw all those paintings before we knew it. At this moment, we found something at the bottom of the box, which surprised people.” "What is it?" "It's a dilapidated painting box. There is a seal on the box. It is written in bright red characters: 'Zhengming sealed the murder painting on May 2, 1972'." Zhang Bin's face showed a depressing look. Frightened, his tone was slow and low, as if he was afraid of alarming something. Zhou Ping leaned forward in astonishment: "So there is really a 'murderous painting'? Have you opened it?" Zhang Bin shook his head: "Not for the time being. The two of them want to see it, but I object - this matter is somewhat evil. When we were arguing, Shunde came back with the quilt in his arms. We hurriedly put the painting box back into the box and hid it away." .In any case, there is a seal on it, so it must be inconvenient for outsiders to see." Zhou Ping gave a "hmm" and signaled Zhang Bin to continue talking with his eyes. "Shunde didn't seem particularly strange when he knew that we found the painting box. We only found out after we asked him that the last occupant of this hut was the 'monk Kong Wang' on the signature. As we all know, it was not until ten years ago that he moved from the hut to the temple to concentrate on practicing Zen. "At that time, we admired Kong Wang so much that we immediately proposed to visit him. But Shunde told us that Kong Wang had been practicing meditation behind closed doors since half a month ago. No one could see him. They were sent to his house specially. "We were both surprised and disappointed. Hu Junkai still didn't give up. He took out his own business card and asked Shunde to give it to Monk Kongwang. He hoped that Kongwang had heard of his name and could make an exception to meet him. "After Shunde left, we made up the bed and bedding. Because I was weak, Chen Jian and Hu Junkai took care of me and let me sleep on the bed, and they made the floor together. I didn't refuse. But after I went to bed, they But they didn't go to bed right away, but discussed to see that 'murderous painting'." "Did you not stop this time?" Zhou Ping guessed. "No." Zhang Bin looked a little regretful, "Actually, I really wanted to see that painting myself, but I was really afraid. At that time, I thought, since they must see it, I should let the two of them see it first, and then I will It depends on the situation whether you want to watch it or not.” Zhou Ping nodded, such a mentality is easy to understand. "Seeing that I no longer objected, they excitedly turned the painting box out of the box, carefully opened the seal, and took out the scroll inside. Then, under the dim oil lamp, they painted the painting bit by bit. And I was half leaning on the bed, watching all this from three or four meters away. "The flickering light of the oil lamp reflected on the faces of the two of them. I could clearly see that their originally excited expressions slowly solidified, and then turned into surprise and fear. Especially Hu Junkai, who was closer to me, I had never seen There will be such a look in a person's eyes, he seems to see a horrible thing that can never happen. "At that time, the atmosphere in the room seemed to be frozen in an instant, and it was terribly quiet. Although I didn't see the painting directly, a cold feeling spread all over my body. I held back for a long time before finally I mustered up the courage to ask: 'What's the matter? What's the painting on it?'” Zhou Ping was also affected by that atmosphere. This time he didn't interrupt, but quietly conveyed the same question to Zhang Bin with his eyes: What is the painting on it? Zhang Bin, on the other hand, was completely immersed in his own memories: "After hearing my question, Hu Junkai seemed to wake up suddenly. He quickly rolled up the painting and murmured in a trembling voice: '...how is this?" Possibly... How is it possible? You must not look at this painting, and don't ask what it contains, you can't bear it!'” "I can't bear it, what does this mean? What about Chen Jian's reaction at this time?" "He just stood aside blankly, with a dazed look on his face." Zhang Bin smiled wryly, "Actually, even if Hu Junkai didn't say anything, I would never have the idea of ​​looking at paintings again. My heart has always been bad, doctor I have long been told to avoid excessive stimulation. "Later, Hu Junkai put away the painting and lay down silently with Chen Jian. I could see that both of them were preoccupied, obviously still shrouded in the shadow of the painting just now. After a tiring day, I fell into a deep sleep not long after. I don’t know if it was a psychological effect, but I had a terrible nightmare! I dreamed that traces of blood leaked from the painting box, and the blood became more and more serious. So much, it spread through the hut, and finally flooded the top of my head, almost suffocating me." Zhou Ping frowned. Zhang Bin's subjective emotions seemed to be particularly easily affected by the objective environment. That nightmare fully demonstrated this. Zhang Bin ignored his reaction, and just said to himself: "I woke up from a nightmare, and my heart was beating wildly. When I calmed down a little, I suddenly found that Chen who was sleeping beside my bed Both Jian and Hu Junkai were gone, replaced by an open and empty painting box on the floor. "The door of the room was closed at that time. I didn't care to put on my coat. I stepped on my shoes and went to the window to look out. I saw the two of them standing at the corner of the mountain road, as if they were discussing something. Hu Junkai held the oil lamp, and Chen The 'murderous painting' is displayed in the hands of the athletes." "Are they going to see the painting again?" Zhou Ping couldn't help becoming very interested in this painting. "Yes. And they went outside to look at the paintings while I was asleep. Naturally, they wanted to hide something from me. This time the distance is farther, and I can't see their expressions clearly, but I can still feel the tension between the two of them. In the middle, there is a very dignified atmosphere. "I just stood behind the window, looking at them blankly, full of doubts in my heart, but I didn't have the courage to go over to understand the truth. The silence of the night made every minute and every second seem so long. I only hoped that they could Go back inside quickly, throw that painting aside, and never bother with it again." "Can't you hear anything they were saying?" Zhang Bin shook his head: "My ears are not particularly good, and their voices are very soft. I can only judge some general content from their actions." "Really? Then what did you judge?" Zhou Ping looked at Zhang Bin expectantly. "Chen Jian held the painting and seemed to want to go to the other side of the mountain road, which is the direction of the monastery. Hu Junkai was trying to persuade or stop him from doing so." "To the direction of the monastery, does he want to find the 'monk Kongwang' who did the painting?" Zhou Ping analyzed. "It's possible." Zhang Bin nodded in agreement, "After a few minutes, Hu Junkai seemed to give up his efforts. He first waved his hand in disappointment, then turned and walked towards the cabin; Go in the other direction on the mountain road." From Zhang Bin's slow tone, Zhou Jian felt that something important was about to happen. He held his breath and listened attentively. Zhang Bin clenched the water glass in his hand and said, "At this moment, I suddenly discovered that at the corner of the path, a dark figure was hiding behind the cliff and watching them." Although this situation was somewhat unexpected, Zhang Bin's emotions seemed a bit exaggerated, and his tone seemed to be describing a frightening event. "Oh? So, there was a fourth person at the scene of the incident?" Zhou Ping said thoughtfully. "Is it a person? No, I don't know..." Zhang Bin took a sip of water, and then swallowed it, his voice trembling slightly with fear, "That black shadow is facing me, just over ten meters away. Looking at the refracted past firelight, I can see clearly, 'it' stands there, with hands and feet, but no head!" "What?" Zhou Ping showed an expression of disbelief, "Are you sure?" "Yes, 'it' is hiding behind a cliff less than two meters away from Chen Jian, but Chen Jian doesn't realize it, and is walking towards 'it' step by step!" "Why can't Chen Jian see it at such a close distance?" "That black shadow is hiding on the other side of the turning." Zhang Bin gestured, "Because of the angle, Chen Jian and Hu Junkai are very close to 'it', but they can't see 'it'." Zhou Ping nodded: "What's next?" "I didn't see what happened next." Zhang Bin said, taking a long breath, as if he felt very relieved by it. "Didn't see it? Why?" Zhou Ping asked in surprise. "Because I had a sudden heart attack." Zhang Bin replied. Zhou Ping nodded suddenly. If the situation Zhang Bin mentioned was true, normal people would be frightened. Zhang Bin saw that Zhou Ping was somewhat disappointed, and explained helplessly: "At that time, looking at that strange black shadow, that kind of fear made my heart twitch. I squatted down in pain and opened my mouth to shout, but Can't make a sound..." "Then what did you do?" Zhou Ping began to care about Zhang Bin's safety at that moment. "The heart-saving pill was in the coat pocket at the head of the bed. I almost crawled to the bed, took out the medicine bottle with trembling hands, opened it, and swallowed a life-saving pill." Thinking of the critical situation at that time, Zhang Bin felt lingering fear I patted myself on the chest, and then continued, "My breath just calmed down, and suddenly a shrill scream pierced the night sky. Thinking of the situation outside just now, I couldn't care about my body, and struggled to rush out .I saw Hu Junkai standing blankly by the side of the road, he seemed a little frightened, and Chen Jian disappeared." "You mean, at this time, Chen Jian has fallen off the cliff, and he was the one who made that scream?" Zhang Bin closed his eyes and nodded in pain. "What's going on specifically? What did Hu Junkai say?" Zhou Ping asked. "As I said, Hu Junkai and Chen Jian were walking in opposite directions. When Hu Junkai walked five or six meters away, he suddenly heard Chen Jian's screams behind him. When he turned around, he could no longer see Chen Jian. Jian's figure, and the cry from the bottom of the cliff lasted for five or six seconds." "So Hu Junkai didn't see the scene when Chen Jian fell off the cliff?" "No." "Where's that black shadow you mentioned? When you rushed to the mountain road, did you see 'it' again?" Zhang Bin shook his head: "I can't see it at that position, and I didn't dare to turn the cliff for a while, so I just told Hu Junkai what I saw in the house." "Then what was Hu Junkai's reaction?" "After hearing my words, he was stunned for a moment, then he seemed to think of something, and muttered to himself: "Headless black shadow, headless black shadow...he is still here, and he can't escape..." Said this When he said something, he even smiled strangely." "Laughing strangely?" Zhou Ping didn't quite understand. "Yes, it's a very weird smile, like a wry smile, and it seems to be a bit relieved, but one thing is certain, at that time his face was pale and he looked extremely scared." "It sounds like Hu Junkai foresaw the appearance of a headless black shadow?" Zhou Ping was full of unexplainable mysteries, "Did you see that 'murderous painting' afterwards?" "No." Zhang Bin shook his head again, "The painting has fallen off the cliff with Chen Jian. Later, the monks in the temple heard the cry and came to check. After learning about the situation, they decided that I should go down the mountain to report the case, while Hu Junkai stayed behind to search. Rescue. Then I ran all the way down the mountain and came to the police station to report the case.” "Hmm." Zhou Ping frowned and began to sort out his thoughts. After Zhang Bin said so much, not only did things not become clear at all, but they became more and more complicated. Zhang Bin took a rest, and after drinking two sips of water, his mood gradually calmed down. Suddenly, he thought of something, and asked, "How is the situation on the mountain now? Is it possible for Chen Jian to survive?" "This is still unclear." Zhou Ping said, looking at his watch, the time was 7:15 in the morning. It was snowing so heavily, and it was unknown if Luo Suo had arrived at the temple.He decided to contact Luo Fei.