Chapter 070
Shimen Yihshyong
Yihshyong was sitting pensively on a chair in the dining room when he heard the clock on the wall chime. He looked at the object that made the sound. Without blinking, he stared at the antique clock hanging on their dining room wall. The clock showed five in the afternoon.
Three hours from now, we have to hand over the ransom. I don't know if everything will go smoothly.
So far, there had been no news regarding Shannchyuan's whereabouts. They left the television in the living room on. Everyone was waiting for news updates on television about the incident this afternoon, especially news about the victims.
What should we do now? The kidnappers wanted Dahge to carry the items. If other people showed up there, maybe they will not take us seriously. Will that fact have a big effect on their treatment of Shinnshiow?
Previously, in his entire life, Yihshyong had never experienced such a thrilling event as this time. There were three truly memorable and terrible events in Yihshyong's life, but all three of them were not as scary as the Shinnshiow kidnapping incident. At least, that's how Yihshyong felt. Indeed, that was a very subjective view. Events that have passed would certainly never be the same as events that were currently happening.
Of the three events, Yihshyong could rank based on the potential danger he felt. Yihshyong called those things the first event, the second event, and the third event. The first event was the least risky, while the third event was the most dangerous.
The first incident occurred when Yihshyong was very young. At that time, he got lost in a fairground. Luckily, Shannchyuan was there to help him, so Yihshyong didn't find it so scary. Yihshyong didn't know if Shannchyuan had the same impression of the event as he did. Nevertheless, Yihshyong was sure that Shannchyuan would never forget the incident.
About ten years ago, a second event occurred. At that time, Yihshyong was lost in an area where wilderness still covered most of the surface. Whenever Yihshyong remembered the incident, he almost always smiled and was amused because it all happened by chance. Yihshyong had no plans to go there. He joined the group that went there because he had to replace a friend who at the last moment before departure had to cancel his departure because suddenly one of his family members was hospitalized due to a traffic accident. Yihshyong's friend had to be in the hospital taking care of things.
What was even stranger was the fact that Yihshyong's friend wasn't the one who was supposed to go to that wilderness, either. He also had to replace others. The person who originally had to go there was a friend of Yihshyong's friend. Therefore, because Yihshyong didn't know the person very well, he didn't know why he couldn't join the group.
Yihshyong was actually very reluctant to go into the forest. He truly felt that such activities were a waste of time and energy. But Yihshyong had no choice. He had to do that. Yihshyong's friend said that if Yihshyong agreed to replace him, then Yihshyong's contract would be extended. Yihshyong did work at a company where one executive was the friend.
The third event occurred long before the second event. Yihshyong was very young then, in his mid-twenties. At that time, Yihshyong took his father and mother to visit one of their distant relatives. Arriving there, the relative ordered Yihshyong to deliver a wooden box that was tightly locked to a place which was actually not too far from where the relative lived. What made the place not so easy to reach was that it was on a small island in the middle of a fairly large lake. The small town where Yihshyong's relatives live was located on the shore of the lake.
Yihshyong couldn't understand why he had to deliver the box there. According to Yihshyong's reasoning, it would be far more practical if they just sent the object by post. Yihshyong's relatives insisted the object should be delivered there by a member of their family. Indeed, Yihshyong was not alone in going to the island in the middle of the lake. There were two other people accompanying him. They were the two confidants of the Yihshyong relative.
When Yihshyong's relatives told Yihshyong to do this, Yihshyong's parents made no effort to stop him. They even supported it. Such circumstances made Yihshyong suspect that, in fact, Yihshyong's departure to the island was not just to deliver the wooden box. There was something else he had to do there. It's a shame that Yihshyong doesn't know what exactly he should do because soon after that an event happened that made all plans change.
From a small port on the shores of the lake, Yihshyong boarded a fairly large ferry. Since the lake was so vast, the trip to the island would take about three or four hours, depending on various factors. About an hour after they left the port, a group of armed men took over the ship. All passengers automatically became hostages.
The gang members turned out to be supporters of one candidate for the local chief on the island where Yihshyong was going. It turned out that a few weeks earlier; the island had held a new chief election. When all the votes had been counted, there were parties who claim that fraud had occurred. Because it turned out that the authorities ignored this at all, finally a group of people hijacked the ship to attract wider public attention.
Soon, anti-terrorist troops surrounded the ship. But they did not storm into the ship right away. There were peace talks that lasted about forty-eight hours. When negotiations failed, then the troops charged in to free the hostages. The entire sequence of events was quite tense. However, because the armed gang had behaved politely during the hostage-taking incident, Yihshyong and the other passengers were not so frightened.
Because the government immediately closed the entrance to and exit from the island in the middle of the lake, the ship had to return to the port on the shore of the lake. Yihshyong failed to deliver the wooden box. His relatives said it was a sign that Yihshyong was not the right person to deliver the box. Yihshyong didn't ask any further, as he was relieved that he didn't have to. Yihshyong then took his parents back to their city. Until this moment, Yihshyong didn't know what he had supposed to do on the mysterious island.
The sound of the bedroom door opening broke Yihshyong's thoughts. He turned towards the source of the voice straight away.
"Shyongge!" Iren appeared out of one bedroom. "You better take a shower first!" He immediately sat next to Yihshyong.
"Okay! After this, I'm going to take a shower. Now Jinqkang is still in the bathroom."
"He didn't bring a change of clothes, did he?" said Iren.
"I already gave him Shinnshiow's clothes. They fit perfectly."
"You're right! I also thought that kid's stature was very similar to Shinnshiow."
"Regarding this matter of Shinnshiow, what do you think?" Yihshyong looked at Iren.
"I think it's clear now that Shyongge is the one who have to deliver the goods. I guess once we get to this point, it doesn't really matter who will deliver the ransom items there."
"I know. I was just thinking about what to tell them."
"Just tell them the truth."
"Tell them that Dahge was one victim in the incident this afternoon?"
"Right. I think that's the best way."
"What if they don't believe it?"
"So far, we've been cooperative with whatever they want. So, we have no reason to lie about this. If they still don't believe it, there's nothing more we can do."
"Hmm..."
"I don't think they will have any other choice, either. In the end, they will accept whoever delivers the ransoms."
Yihshyong was stunned to hear Iren's words. He looked up at the ceiling in the room. Yihshyong often saw Shannchyuan did that. He did not know what purpose Shannchyuan looked up at the ceiling. Sometimes, Shannchyuan's behavior was difficult for them to understand. Yihshyong, who had been living with Shannchyuan for more than a year, from time to time felt like he was groping in the dark as he tried to interpret what Shannchyuan was doing.
"Shyongge, what are you doing?" Iren asked.
"I did nothing," Yihshyong replied. Still looking up, he turned to Iren. It turned out that Iren was also doing the same thing as him. "What are you doing?"
"Of course I do the same as you."
"Do you know what I'm doing?"
"I think Shyongge must be imitating Dahge."
Yihshyong laughed. Still looked up. "Right! What do you think Dahge is looking for on the ceiling?"
"Based on Dahge's personality, it's very likely that this act was one of Dahge's ways of getting some inspiration."
"You do realize that an answer like that is stupid, right?" Yihshyong smiled.
Iren laughed. His head still looked up. "That's something my relatives always say back home. I don't think they were completely wrong. The fact that I'm here with you now may prove that what they said was right."
"You're not alone. My cousin said that too when he found out that I quit my job and chose to travel."
They both chuckled.
"Then, according to Shyongge, what is the real reason?"
"Reason for what?"
"Of course, Dahge's reason for looking up at the ceiling like this!"
"Maybe Dahge was just trying to stretch his neck muscles. That makes a lot more sense."
"Hmm," muttered Iren.
"Or maybe there really wasn't a particular reason. Dahge just wanted to do that."
They both burst out laughing. Under those circumstances, anything could be funny. In stressful situations, as was the case at that time, they often laughed at themselves. It's one of the mechanisms they built to make themselves felt a little better.
"What are you guys doing?" Chioujen's voice startled Yihshyong.
"Imitating Dahge," replied Iren.
"Ah! This is very interesting!" Chioujen laughed. "Do you want to try too?" said Iren. "Hmm..." Chioujen was still laughing. "I just wanted to ask about our dinner. Should I prepare it now?"
"About that," Yihshyong didn't look at his friends at all, neither at Iren nor at Chioujen. He kept looking up at the ceiling. "I haven't showered yet. But you can start preparing now. So, after I'm done showering, I can go straight to dinner."
"Okay. I think in five minutes I'll start preparing dinner," Chioujen said.
"Has Dahge done something like this recently or has it been his habit for a long time?" Iren asked Chioujen.
"Do what?"
"Certainly doing what we are currently doing," said Iren.
"As I recall, Beaushu used to do this often too," Chioujen said. "When I was a child, when I visited my friend's house, I would often see Beaushu gazing alone and staring at the ceiling."
"Did Dahge never explain to you why he did this?" Yihshyong asked.
"Never."
"And you never asked him either?" Yihshyong asked.
"Never," Chioujen replied. "I think it's a private matter. I don't want to interfere at all."
"Have you ever tried it?" Yihshyong asked.
"Of course I have!"
"So what did you get?" Iren asked.
"My neck hurts so bad. I have to put some medicine patches on to ease my suffering," Chioujen replied.
The three of them burst out laughing.
"Ah! You all seem to enjoy doing this too," came a voice.
The three of them turned. Yihshyong and Iren turned towards the voice while still looking up. Jinqkang was already beside them. Turned out he had finished taken a shower. They were so excited to look up, then they didn't even hear when Jinqkang opened the bathroom door.
"What do you mean?" asked Chioujen.
"Of course, looking up at the ceiling. Isn't that what you're doing now?"
Iren looked at Jinqkang. "Don't you find this strange?"
"Of course I find it a little strange. But isn't that the custom of the ancients?"
"Who said that to you?" Yihshyong asked.
Maybe I'm not sociable. So I do not know the customs of the ancients!
"No one. But I used to see my grandfather in Yeuandong doing this a lot. Not only my grandfather, but his relatives too. So I came to the conclusion that this is a habit that old people sometimes do."
Yihshyong poked Iren. "You've heard of this."
"No." Iren shook his head vigorously. "This is the first time I've heard of such a thing."
"Perhaps this is just a custom of the Duanmuh Family," Chioujen said.
Chioujen's words were probably just a joke. But maybe he's serious. That's quite reasonable. There were so many mysterious things about the Duanmuh Family.
Do I need to ask Dahge about this?
After that, they all fell silent. Everyone was busy with their own thoughts. Because no one was making a sound, the sound of the television can be heard very clearly.
"The delivery of the ransom at night is very unfavorable to us." Yihshyong broke the silence by making the statement.
"Right! It's easier for criminals to escape. Especially if they are very familiar with the area," said Iren.
"In addition, the night atmosphere also makes it easier for them to monitor anyone who comes to the park," said Chioujen."During the day, the park is very crowded. But after sunset, except on weekends, not many people come there. So, if suddenly there are a lot of visitors, it is not difficult for the criminals to conclude that those people are the police."
"I think the police must have considered the matter well," Jinqkang said.
"I hope you're right. At night, of course, the police will find it difficult to disguise themselves. Maybe they will hide in places that are not very clearly visible, such as in the bushes, in the trees, or on the roofs of buildings that are there. One thing is for sure. There's no way they disguised themselves as plants," Yihshyong said.
They heard a car driving in front of their house. Immediately after, the sound stopped.
"The car stopped in front of our house," said Iren. "Someone's coming!"
"Let me see!" After saying so, Chioujen rushed out of the house.
"I think it's Tsaehorng's car," said Iren.
Yihshyong nodded. "That kid really keeps his word."
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