War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1814 Bubble Blowing and Big Horse

"Electric fishing? What is that?" Zhang Zhengqi asked in confusion. It was a new word for him.

"You'll know in a moment." Wei Ran smiled but didn't explain. He just asked, "How do we get in?"

"Come with me"

Zhang Zhengqi took Wei Ran and started walking again, walked around to the side of the bathhouse, and then went into the dark alley.

After almost circling the bathhouse and arriving at the back door of a building next to it on the other side, Zhang Zhengqi quickly and skillfully used the edge of the first-floor window equipped with anti-theft windows to climb onto the top of the wall and flipped silently into the yard.

After a while, he gently opened the back door of the courtyard from the inside. Zhang Zhengqi waited for Wei Ran to come in and whispered, "The manager of the bathhouse lives here. There are also a few waiters and cooks living here."

Hearing this, Wei Ran looked around and found that although there were many lights on in the building, there seemed to be no one there.

"Except for the boilerman in the middle wing and the cook in the front wing, the rest are working next door at this time."

Zhang Zhengqi pointed to a small room on the side and explained in a low voice, "The kitchen is connected to the next door, and there is a small izakaya over there. Normally, there is a Japanese bartender mixing drinks there at this time."

This An Qingbang doesn't remember it at all.

Wei Ran shook his head. He really overestimated these gangs.

Without wasting too much time, Wei Ran walked to the kitchen room which was almost equivalent to a wine cellar.

This so-called kitchen is actually the kitchen, but there is no stove inside. There are only shelves full of wine and drinks, a translucent wooden door, and of course, a dim light hanging overhead.

Wei Ran tiptoed to the side of the wooden door and looked through the crack. As Zhang Zhengqi said, the opposite side was a beverage room similar to a small bar, and the door was on the side of the bar in the beverage room.

Because of this, he could clearly see that there was a woman in a kimono sitting on a recliner at the bar, and next to her on the bar table, there was a radio playing a Japanese channel.

In addition, there was a charcoal fireplace, several small tables, and an upright piano - and no one else.

Raising his hand, he gently pressed down the spear in Zhang Zhengqi's hand that he had been using in Fengtian. Wei Ran gently opened the half-closed wooden door, observed it again, and walked directly into the bar.

"Click!"

With a crisp sound of bone cracking, Wei Ran broke the neck of the snoring woman in kimono before she regained consciousness.

Signaling Zhang Zhengqi to stay where he was, Wei Ran observed him vigilantly, then couldn't help but curl his lips.

This is a shitty Japanese hot spring bath. It's just a high-end bathhouse with an izakaya.

The front and back patios were decorated to look like Japanese-style gardens so small that a man sucking a stick would subconsciously look down at his crotch. There was also a Podocarpus macrophylla that had been trimmed in a twisted pattern in the front patio, and a Taihu stone that was one meter high stood in the middle of the back patio.

On one side of the patio, there are changing rooms, a tavern, and even several chess and card rooms, and there are stairs leading upstairs.

Passing through the living room, the rooms on the first floor on the other side of the two patios have been converted into several hot springs of different sizes. There is also a staircase in the middle leading to the upper floor.

There were signs written in Chinese and Japanese by the stairs saying things like "Please go to the second floor for scrubbing, back tapping and massage" - the only difference between it and the bathing centers of later generations was that it was much smaller and too simple.

Standing at the stairs leading to the second floor, he could still hear the moans, conversations in Japanese, and the sounds of clinking glasses and flesh coming from two of the hot springs.

After listening for a while, and even bravely walking into an empty hot spring pool, Wei Ran couldn't help but sneer on his face. The people they wanted to kill were all here, and these hot spring pools were connected by waterways.

Turning back to the izakaya that was neither Chinese nor Japanese nor Western, Wei Ran went into the wine cellar and asked Zhang Zhengqi to bring a chair and stand on it. He used a bayonet to pry open the porcelain pad that fixed the light bulb wires, and removed the wires all the way to the switch and pulled them off roughly.

After coiling up the five or six meter long electric wire, he returned to the pub and calmly unplugged the power cord of the radio. After cutting it off, he connected it to the wire in his hand and wrapped it with the cloth torn from the woman in kimono.

Finally, he unscrewed the light bulb and stuffed it into the female corpse's mouth with great disgust. Then he and Zhang Zhengqi walked through the living room where snacks such as oden were placed, and came to the door of the hot spring pool separated by wooden boards.

Carefully looking into the steamy pool, Wei Ran looked around, unplugged the power cord of a gramophone, and plugged his homemade new energy fishing rod into the socket.

Weighing the wire in his hand, Wei Ran walked into the cubicle and threw the reel of wire in his hand into the Japanese-style hot spring pool filled with water vapor, amid the surprised, wary, stunned and curious gazes of the people in the hot spring pool.

The moment the lamp fell into the water, the lights of the building flashed, and the men and women in the pool began to tremble with excitement. Then they straightened their bodies little by little, and then slipped out into the hot spring pool to participate in a competition to see who could spit out the most bubbles and hold their breath for the longest time underwater.

"This move is really good, he's starting to kick his legs!" Zhang Zhengqi exclaimed in a low voice.

Before he finished speaking, the lights in the building went out one after another.

Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately pulled out the wire and signaled Zhang Zhengqi to keep quiet.

Not long after, the overhead lights came back on, but the men and women in the pool still hadn't finished their breath-holding competition.

"Mr. Xiaoshan, Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to have frightened you just now."

"Baga! Get out of here!"

Wei Ran tried his best to imitate the voice of one of the people he had just heard and cursed.

"Yes Yes Yes!!"

The person outside the pool started to panic and ran back with the sound of footsteps.

After exchanging a glance with Zhang Zhengqi, the two of them tiptoed out of the compartment and then went to check the next compartment. Seeing that the men here had also sunk into the water, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everyone is here," Zhang Zhengqi whispered, "Let's go back and have a drink."

"Don't worry"

As Wei Ran spoke, he rolled up his beloved new energy fishing rod and threw it into the hot spring pool. Then he pulled up one of them, cut open its abdominal cavity with a bayonet, and let the waste inside float out.

Immediately afterwards, he dragged up the second and third people, and carried out disgusting but not bloody revenge killings one by one.

After everything was done, Wei Ran and Zhang Zhengqi walked quickly to the small izakaya on the other side of the living room, and while passing through the living room, they each grabbed a handful of oden tacitly.

They quietly left the dormitory of the bathhouse manager and the waiters, each holding a handful of oden and eating while returning the same way to find their respective bicycles.

While riding his bike through the dark alley, Zhang Zhengqi stopped at an intersection, parked his bike on the side of the road, took off his clothes, and whispered, "Turn left at the next intersection. You can go back by yourself. It's time for me to leave the city."

"it is good"

Wei Ran nodded and watched the other party jogging to the entrance of the alley. He handed his changed clothes to a person who was waiting for him. He also took the other person's rickshaw and ran away to an unknown place.

Fortunately, there were no accidents.

Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief, rode his bike back to Zhang Taichuan's next door according to the instructions, and with Xiao Wu's help, he changed his clothes and returned to the next door, sitting back at the lively wine table.

"Come on! Cheers!"

Zhang Taichuan, who was already drunk, shouted loudly.

"Cheers!" Zhao Jingrong also picked up the wine bowl.

"Dry!"

Amid the enthusiastic responses from the "train captains", Wei Ran also raised the rice bowl-sized wine bowl, brought it to his mouth and gulped down the wine, while also allowing Xiao Wu to pour the glass of wine on his collar, chest and cuffs.

That following night, Wei Ran drank so much white wine and Japanese sake that he literally lost himself in alcohol that he didn't even remember how he got back to his own room.

Of course, he didn't know that the people who helped him back to the room were not Zhang Taichuan and Xiao Wu, who were also drunk, nor the train drivers or Zhao Jingrong, but Lao Yan, the deputy captain of the grain collection team, who came in the middle of the night with a chill.

"Old Yan, you're back."

Zhao Jingrong drunkenly called out, "Ahfu, Ahgui, come here. Ugh!"

Before Zhao Jingrong could finish his words, he vomited all over the table.

"Captain Jin and the drivers spent most of the night drinking with Boss Wei and Translator Qin!"

Wang Fu whispered in Old Yan's ear, "Boss Wei has vomited three times. Captain Jin said that when you come back, he will let you look through Boss Wei's suitcase to see if there is anything suspicious."

"Captain Jin suspects that Boss Weiweiweiwei is the one?" Old Yan's face turned pale and he made the number four with his hand.

“It’s best”

Wang Fu whispered, "Captain Jin said that it would be the best if it were true. Not only would it reduce the share given to others, but it could also drag Musashi into the water. By then, Translator Qin would have no one to rely on, and the big share would be his and yours!"

"Hi!"

Old Yan slapped his thigh and complained, "Chi Lao should have said it earlier! I have to let him go anyway." "Captain Jin also said that fake ones cannot withstand investigation and will harm us instead." Wang Gui reminded in time.

"Yes, yes, yes! Captain Jin is right!"

After Old Yan finished speaking, he rolled his eyes and whispered to the two confidants behind him, "You two go look through Boss Wei's luggage to see if there is anything to hold against him."

Upon hearing this, the two people standing behind Old Yan immediately followed Wang Gui to Wei Ran's room.

"Captain, translator Qin is waiting for you in the dead room." Wang Fu said in a low voice.

Hearing this, Old Yan nodded, went upstairs alone, and entered the room where the murder took place that year.

Of course he knew why Captain Jin had waited for him to come back and asked him to look through Wei Ran's luggage. It was simply that everyone shared the good times and the bad times.

It's a pity that you are still a little immature!

Old Yan was secretly proud. He had now bribed Wang Fu, Wang Gui and all the other drivers. Even Qin the translator had become his friend.

Now, he has become the real captain of the grain collection team. As for Boss Jin, according to the translator Qin, if he didn't need to take the blame when something happened, or if he didn't need to get those precious antiques from his master and senior brothers, he wouldn't even be asked to go pee with him!

With contempt for Captain Jin, Old Yan, who thought he had reached the peak of his life, pushed open the door with the ghost-exorcising talisman on it and saw Zhang Taichuan sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Translator Qin, I'm back. I also brought back the big foreign horse you asked for."

Old Yan said this with extra respect. In his opinion, the elegant-looking translator Qin was the smart person who was worthy of his friendship.

"Where is it placed?" Zhang Taichuan said with a smile while pouring a cup of tea for the other party.

Old Yan sat down on the edge of the chair, holding his teacup, and said with a flattering smile, "According to your instructions, I have rented the Shikumen apartment next to yours, using the name of Manager Qi, and the big foreign horse will be placed in that apartment."

"Are you and your people on the way? Huh?"

"What are you talking about!"

Old Yan said quickly, "We really didn't touch a finger! I swear on my mother!"

“It’s better not to touch”

Zhang Taichuan took a sip of tea and said in a low voice, "It's OK for only the two of us to know about this matter. Don't go to that house too often in the future."

"There is"

"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask," Zhang Taichuan said, "Don't let anything slip about what happened today, especially from Captain Jin, that idiot."

"Translator Qin, Captain Jin asked me to look through Boss Wei's luggage. Could this be Boss Wei?" Old Yan asked in a low voice, and gestured with his hands again.

"Him? If he was in the New Fourth Army, I would have licked his father's ass."

Zhang Taichuan sneered, "Old Yan, Captain Jin doesn't doubt Boss Wei, how can we get Boss Wei to stand with us?"

"Boss Kewei"

"Let Captain Jin and Boss Wei fight each other."

Zhang Taichuan whispered, "If they fight, we can focus on making money, right?"

"Great! Really great!" Old Yan exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"Okay, come back early."

Zhang Taichuan whispered, "Don't come here again in the future, so as to avoid Captain Jin's suspicion."

"It's all up to you," Old Yan said quickly.

"Go ahead, I won't keep you here."

After Zhang Taichuan finished speaking, he yawned, and Old Yan immediately took his leave, leaving the building with his two confidants.

"Did you find anything just now?" Old Yan asked only after he got back on the mule cart.

"no"

One of the confidants who didn't have to drive the carriage said quickly, "The most valuable things in the boxes he brought were a few gold bars and a camera. The rest were all kinds of clothes. Oh, and there were also a lot of photos."

"Photos? What photos?" Old Yan asked immediately.

“Photos of pretty girls”

Another confidant who was driving the cart said, "There are many Japanese women wearing kimonos, and there are also big foreign horses, and there are also people of all ages who are not wearing clothes."

"Damn it, if I had known earlier I would have gone and looked for it myself." Old Yan slapped his thigh and suddenly felt that he had lost hundreds of gold bars.

"I wonder how Boss Wei deceived those women?" The confidant who didn't have to drive the carriage guessed with longing.

"Money, or opium."

The coachman's confidant expressed his guess, "That big foreign horse we brought back, wow! It's really special!"

He didn't even finish his words when Old Yan slapped him in the face, "If you don't want to die, shut your shit mouth. Do you want to die?"

Hearing this, the confidant shut his mouth in embarrassment. At the same time, Old Yan also subconsciously rubbed his crotch. These three darlings had worked so hard along the way.

Before the sky got brighter, screams of terror were finally heard from the Longyue Hot Spring in the background of the Anqing Gang. However, all this had nothing to do with Wei Ran and the others, or with Old Yan who had returned home but was still reminiscing about the big horse, and naturally had nothing to do with Zhang Zhengqi who had already hidden back in the coffin shop.

Finally, when the Longyue Hot Spring was finally cleaned out by the Anqing Gang members after the people in the pool vomited continuously, the sky finally brightened.

Wei Ran had no idea what happened that morning. When he woke up, it was already past noon.

Although still hungover, Wei Ran immediately noticed that his suitcase had been rummaged through.

Fortunately, before he could check, Zhang Taichuan and Zhao Jingrong rushed over and recounted in detail what happened in the second half of the night.

“That’s pretty much it.”

Zhang Taichuan finally said, "You should also take a shower and get ready. We will go to the dock to pick up Lao Gui and the beast's sister this afternoon. Wei Ran, you must behave well at that time. If you can seduce the beast's sister into bed, it will be a great achievement."

"Let our second uncle handle things like this," Wei Ran said jokingly as he walked downstairs.

"Why don't you two uncle and nephew come together?" Zhao Jingrong teased with a wicked look.

"I hate it so much"

Zhang Taichuan straightened his collar and said as he walked out, "Remember to bring your camera, they will definitely take pictures when the time comes."

"Where are you going?" Zhao Jingrong asked.

"Go take some pictures of that big horse"

Zhang Taichuan stopped talking here and asked, "Have you arranged everything?"

"rest assured"

Zhao Jingrong smiled and replied, "The mother who manages the Venus Dance Hall went to serve that big foreign horse personally. She prepared a hundred kilograms of opium and more than a dozen bottles of medicinal wine."

"Don't beat that big foreign horse until he becomes stupid," Zhang Taichuan reminded.

"Other people are more professional than you in disciplining their mothers"

Zhao Jingrong said nonchalantly, "How about letting that beast's sister have a taste as well?"

"Let Qiao An decide," Zhang Taichuan sighed, "Let me say it. Even if I skin her alive, it won't be enough to vent my anger."

"Okay, then wait for Qiao An to come back and I'll ask him what he said."

When Zhao Jingrong said this, he glanced at Wei Ran, who was still drunk but obviously eavesdropping.

Wei Ran also didn't want to express any opinion on this matter, so he simply went downstairs and took a hot shower. After dressing himself up, he changed into a neat suit, met up with Zhang Taichuan and walked out of the alley. The three of them each took a rickshaw to the dock.