Wang Zeyuan walked up to Cao Shi, slightly displeased, "Knowing Zhang Ping was locked in the well, why didn't you call the police?"
"I didn't know about that. I just arrived and saw you, the people's police, heroically rescuing someone."
"Do you think I'd believe you?"
Just then, the captain called out to Wang Zeyuan, asking him to go to the hospital with the ambulance. Wang Zeyuan glanced at the smiling Cao Shi, turned to leave. Cao Shi took a few steps forward, pressed a copy of "Forbidden City" magazine into Wang Zeyuan's hand, and instructed, "Remember to read it when you have time."
While Zhang Ping was being resuscitated, Wang Zeyuan sat in the corridor, reading the magazine. He was reading "The Vanishing Tooth Mount," a story set in 1921 about a prince of the Niohuru clan who was ruined by a Japanese man. The prince, feeling his death was unjust and his resentment immense, chose to hang himself in a small Western-style house in Xizhimen. That surge of resentment attached itself to a tooth mount.
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The tooth mount was made of ivory and exquisitely crafted. After returning to China, the Japanese man auctioned off many of the prince's belongings, but the tooth mount, being in good condition, did not sell. In '37, the Japanese man returned to Beijing under the guise of war to collect antiques.
In '42, Japan's international situation deteriorated, and the Japanese man prepared to return home. His family packed the antiques, but he was nowhere to be found. They eventually discovered that the Japanese man had hanged himself in the small Western-style house where the prince had once lived.
Why would a man preparing to return home die in a small house he rarely visited? The situation was chaotic at the time, and the case was never solved.
...
Later, after Japan's defeat and as production resumed, the small Western-style houses in Xizhimen were demolished and replaced with rows of single-story homes for the public. Other houses were fine, but number 18 was particularly eerie. A geomancer was later hired to suppress the tooth mount with Taoist magic. It was then buried with the prince in his tomb in Dongzhimen. Only then did the strange occurrences subside.
Spring turned to winter. Beijing prospered. Dongzhimen, once known as a burial ground, saw the construction of many traditional courtyards. With the influx of people from other regions, its popularity grew, and everyone forgot that Dongzhimen was once a burial ground. However, the infamous number 18 Xizhimen began to cause trouble again. One person died in '78, and another in '85.
The author concluded that these two suicides were caused by the tooth mount being unearthed and disappearing again. Only by finding the missing tooth mount and suppressing it could these malevolent events be prevented. Otherwise, more people would die at number 18 Xizhimen.
Finally, the author stated that if readers enjoyed his folk tales, he would submit more. This piece was about the late Qing dynasty Western-style house number 18 in Xizhimen. Future stories might cover the burial ground in Dongzhimen, the dragon-locking well in Beiximen, the disappearing bus from Xiangshan to the Old Summer Palace, and the invisible executioner in Caishikou. The byline was: Earthworm's Carnival.
...
Wang Zeyuan used a hospital phone to call "Forbidden City" magazine. A staff member confirmed that an author using the pen name "Earthworm's Carnival" had indeed submitted a piece. Because the description of the ivory tooth mount was detailed and fit the magazine's style, it was published in the "Folk Tales" section. It was short, only filling half of a 16mo magazine.
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When Wang Zeyuan, acting as a police officer, asked for the author's address, he was stunned. He remembered what Zhang Ping had said: "Bai Qiuyin? She's not from this area."
It seemed the truth would have to wait until Zhang Ping woke up.
Wang Zeyuan stayed there until midnight when Zhang Ping finally woke up. He was extremely panicked and began to spill out everything he knew like water.
...
This incident dated back to '78, the year Ren Sanjie turned thirty. In those times, a woman over thirty who was unmarried was a disgrace to her family. Ren Sanjie came from a good family and loved opera since childhood. She remained unmarried because she was involved with Zhang Ping, an opera singer five years her junior. Ren's father disdained opera singers, especially one five years younger than his daughter. So, Ren's father arranged for her to meet Zhao Gang from the textile factory. To outsiders, Zhao Gang was seen as steady, capable, and with a promising future. Most importantly, he held a secure job in a state-owned textile factory.
Ren Sanjie married Zhao Gang. Zhao Gang was an antique enthusiast and knew that Ren Sanjie was no longer a maiden. He didn't care; his main goal was to get close to Ren Sanjie's father and pursue his passion for antiques. Once, Zhao Gang became very angry when a tooth mount he coveted was bought by someone else. Drunk, he went to the buyer's home, knocked the person unconscious with ether and gauze from the textile factory, hung him from the rafters, and staged it as a suicide. Number 18 Xizhimen, already rumored to be haunted, provided a cover for Zhao Gang.
However, what Zhao Gang didn't expect was that Ren Sanjie found out about it. Ren Sanjie threatened Zhao Gang, making him secretly arrange a divorce without telling her parents. She then left home to find her beloved Zhang Ping. Zhang Ping's involvement with Ren Sanjie at the time was not out of love, but for money. He had also become a male prostitute at seventeen or eighteen. Upon learning this, Ren Sanjie was heartbroken and left Zhang Ping.
From then on, Ren Sanjie's personality changed drastically. There were even rumors that she preferred women. However, while Ren Sanjie's love life was a failure, her career flourished. She went into the antique business with her father and was very successful. Things might have ended there. But unexpectedly, Ren Sanjie was cheated. She couldn't let it go. She planned to find a few people to deal with the cheater, but when she investigated, she discovered that the person lived at number 18 Xizhimen.
So, Ren Sanjie canceled her original plan. Afterwards, she found Zhao Gang, who had by then become a team leader, and threatened him. Zhao Gang helped Ren Sanjie kill again. Ren Sanjie obtained the antique and paid Zhao Gang 2,000 yuan as hush money. This was in '85.
In the following years, Ren Sanjie's life improved, and she still remained unmarried. However, she often drove her Hongqi car and brought young men home. During this time, she met a friend nicknamed Bai Qiuyin. A prostitute from Huoshan Temple alley, Bai Qiuyin was good at handling people and made Ren Sanjie very happy. Ren Sanjie confided in her when she felt lonely.
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Learning that Ren Sanjie still had feelings for Zhang Ping, she came up with a peculiar idea: a three-person get-together. That night, the three drank a lot, lay on the bed, and talked until dawn. In the early morning, Ren Sanjie, holding Zhang Ping who slept with his back to her, found Zhang Ping nestled in Bai Qiuyin's arms. Bai Qiuyin was awake, gazing at the ceiling.
That year was '87. The three became an odd group of close friends, sharing everything. In the summer of '88, Ren Sanjie received a business proposal: someone was willing to pay 100,000 yuan for the ivory tooth mount. Tooth mounts were hard to find. Ren Sanjie searched the antique markets and found several, but none satisfied the customer. This reminded Ren Sanjie of how Zhao Gang had killed for that tooth mount back in '78.
Ren Sanjie went to Zhao Gang to buy the tooth mount. Zhao Gang claimed he had already sold it. Ren Sanjie didn't believe him and had no proof. Later, while eating, the three discussed it. Zhao Gang, a great antique lover, had never mentioned selling antiques. All three suspected he had hidden the tooth mount. After much deliberation, they decided to have the younger Bai Qiuyin approach Zhao Gang and find the missing tooth mount.
Under the guise of Miss Bai, a girl from Hebei, Bai Qiuyin moved into the infamous haunted house and became a worker at the textile factory. She was beautiful and had a cheerful disposition, quickly becoming the mistress of Director Zhao at the textile factory. After their intimate relationship began, Bai Qiuyin subtly probed him multiple times, but Zhao Gang insisted he had sold the tooth mount. He never mentioned to whom or for how much.
Ren Sanjie grew impatient. The three discussed their next move. They decided Zhang Ping would write an article. Zhang Ping, having grown up in the opera troupe, was literate and eloquent, and wrote the chillingly atmospheric article "The Vanishing Tooth Mount." The three reasoned that since Ren Sanjie and Zhao Gang were both murderers, repeatedly threatening Zhao Gang might lead to a desperate situation, causing him to call the police. This indirect pressure was intended to make Zhao Gang give up the ivory tooth mount.
However, they hadn't anticipated how ruthless Zhao Gang could be. Upon discovering that Miss Bai was the author, he did not hesitate to murder her. Zhang Ping waited for Ren Sanjie to discuss how to deal with Zhao Gang. But Ren Sanjie, having heard rumors that a silver hairpin she bought was a cursed item, fled Beijing alone. Ultimately, Ren Sanjie could not escape. Zhao Gang cornered her in her home, drugged her, and hanged her from a beam with a rope.
Wang Zeyuan's brows furrowed deeply, "Two people are already dead, why didn't you report it?"
"Zhao Gang doesn't know I was involved. I think he won't dare to kill anyone again anytime soon."
"Even if Zhao Gang wouldn't kill, how dare you extort Zhao Gang after I left!"
"I didn't extort Zhao Gang. Zhao Gang is a ruthless killer, how would I dare to provoke him!"
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"Then why did you go to the textile factory?"
"After you left, a fat man came in. He said if I listened to him, he would completely sever my connection to this matter. He told me to go to the textile factory at one in the morning."
Wang Zeyuan listened in stunned silence, "He wasn't there to get money?"
"He took back 50 yuan and gave me 200. I believed him because he looked honest, but I didn't expect him to be a killer."
"What killer?" At this point, Wang Zeyuan was completely bewildered.
"After I met him at the textile factory, he gave me another 200 yuan and told me to wait for him at the Suolong Well. I waited there all morning. At noon, he brought me steamed buns. I asked him what he was up to. He said he'd tell me after I ate, then he drugged me and threw me headfirst into the well. When I woke up, I yelled for help, but no one heard me. After a while, I fainted again, and then you rescued me."
This time, Wang Zeyuan finally understood. They had all been played by this honest-looking fat man. It wasn't easy to get information from Zhang Ping. Zhao Gang had killed two people, and Zhang Ping was already terrified. If it weren't for his inability to support himself outside the alley, he would have run away long ago. He stayed there trembling, no longer daring to mention Zhao Gang's name.
However, what Cao Shi had done, it had not only scared him but completely shattered his soul. Faced with such dire circumstances, how could he still conceal anything? He poured out everything he knew in one go.