Insights Chapter 136: Mountain Blast

Chapter 136: Mountain Blast

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Afternoon, within Wangshe Village. It’s around five o’clock now, but the sky was as dark as midnight, with the constant sound of rain pouring down. This was the west side of the village, closest to the Wang She Mountain. A man was still shouting, his voice penetrating through the rain curtain, sounding extremely eerie amidst the rumbling thunder, sending shivers down the spine.

The four policemen all turned their attention to the rain.

Yu Shen asked, “Should we bring him back?”

“He’s just a lunatic, named Wang Tengyue. He’s fine usually, but whenever it rains and thunders, he runs out.” The old village leader shrugged, nonchalant. “You don’t need to bother with him. Once the rain stops, he’ll calm down and find his own way back home.”

Yu Shen inquired again, “What does he mean by ‘the earth dragon turning over’?”

The old village leader switched on the light and explained, “Our land sits on a dragon vein. Whenever it rains, the dragons living underground awaken and move their bodies with the thunder. People in nearby villages can feel it.”

The old man spoke earnestly, complemented by the rain outside, making it seem as if there were indeed supernatural forces at play.

But Lu Ying interrupted, “This ‘earth dragon turning over’ is just an ancient term for earthquakes. Penang isn’t in an earthquake zone, and we haven’t had one in years.”

The old village leader chuckled, “You young folks are really ignorant. Seeing is believing. You haven’t lived here, so how would you know the power of the earth dragon turning over?”

Continuing, the old man said, “This Wang She Mountain was originally called Dragon Roar Mountain. Later, it was renamed. We locals believe there’s something inside the mountain, perhaps dragons or something else.”

He turned towards the direction of the Wang She Mountain, clasped his hands together, and bowed.

But Lu Ying interjected, “This talk of earth dragons is just feudal superstition. Why don’t we feel anything now? Has anyone seen a dragon? Are there any pictures or videos?”

The old village leader replied, “A geomancer was invited to the village, and he said the earth dragon has been dormant for the past decade or so, which is why there have been fewer calamities.”

Lu Ying retorted, “Aside from the loud thunder, heavy rain, and dark sky, there’s nothing unusual, and all of these can be explained scientifically. The terrain can cause condensation of water vapor, a concept learned in high school geography. Wang She Mountain is located in a precipitation zone, so it naturally receives more rainfall.”

He seemed ready to give a scientific lecture to the old village leader, explaining the principles involved.

The old man, however, dismissed Lu Ying’s skepticism, saying, “Talk is cheap. This matter isn’t so simple. Many people in our village have suffered because of it.”

To prove his point, the old man continued, “Look at that lunatic with wonder. His madness stems from an incident over a decade ago when the earth dragon turned over, causing many large rocks to fall from the mountain. His father was with him at the time and, in an attempt to save him, pushed him away and got hit on the head himself.”

“That rainy night was just like tonight. The dying words his father left were ‘The earth dragon is turning over, run!’ Seeing his father die so tragically made the child go mad. Now, only he and his mother remain. His old mother can’t control him, so whenever it rains, he runs out. You tell me there’s no earth dragon turning over; then are all these people’s experiences false?”

Gu Yanchen listened to the old village leader’s words, furrowing his brows. He vaguely felt that something was amiss but found it difficult to explain the phenomenon. Perhaps they had encountered a mudslide? Or maybe a landslide?

He had researched a lot about Wang She Mountain and knew its geological condition wasn’t good. It had long been designated as an environmental protection area, with afforestation efforts ongoing and no development allowed. However, he hadn’t heard anything about an earth dragon.

Shen Junci stood by, reaching out to catch raindrops dripping from the eaves. “The rain’s getting lighter.”

Indeed, the heavy rain lasted for only a short while before gradually tapering off.

Gu Yanchen asked the old village leader a few more questions, eventually obtaining a registry of the villagers from twenty years ago.

The four policemen put on their raincoats and left the old village leader’s house.

Conveniently, there was a farmhouse restaurant on the west side of the village. Although the rain had lessened, walking back to the east side would likely soak their pants and shoes. They decided to take a break here and discuss their next steps. They entered the restaurant and took off their raincoats.

Gu Yanchen ordered several homestyle dishes according to the menu written on a small blackboard.

Comparing the two sets of registries they had obtained, Shen Junci remarked, “There are noticeably fewer people in the village now than before.”

A rough count revealed that apart from those who had passed away or gotten married and left, the permanent population had decreased by one or two hundred people.

Upon hearing this, the owner of the farmhouse restaurant commented, “Indeed, who would want to stay in this poor, remote village? Everyone has gone to work in the city. If not for taking care of my elderly parents, I would have left long ago.”

After ordering the food, Gu Yanchen opened the police system on his phone and logged into the household registration management center to systematically check those who used to live in the village but had since left. He focused on finding their registered phone numbers.

They dialed one number after another, but several attempts yielded no results.

As the dishes arrived one after another, Gu Yanchen suggested, “Let’s eat first.”

Lu Ying and Shen Junci picked up their chopsticks, ready to dig in, but Yu Shen said, “Captain Gu, I’m not hungry yet. You guys go ahead; I’ll try a few more calls.”

He proceeded to make a few more calls, saying he’d make just one more, but his hand kept dialing.

Lu Ying felt sorry for him, patting his shoulder, “A man’s gotta eat. Grinding your ax won’t hold back the work. Have some food first; later, I’ll make calls with you. We’ll make sure to contact everyone today.”

Yu Shen’s eyes reddened, but he still didn’t put down his phone. He spoke up, “This is the last one. After this call, I’ll eat.”

Yu Shen dialed another number. The owner of this number was a woman with a gentle voice.

After identifying himself and explaining the situation, the woman on the other end said, “I know about that call. I made it.”

Her voice was soft, but Yu Shen was still trembling with excitement. He had put in so much effort, yet it took only a minute to get a definite answer. But without their earlier efforts, they might not have found this woman who made the call.

Seeing his expression change, Lu Ying quickly asked, “Did you find something?”

Shen Junci and Gu Yanchen also stopped what they were doing.

Yu Shen put the phone on speaker, eager to confirm. “It was fifteen years ago, July 22nd, right? Why did you call them back then? What did you say on the phone?”

Finally nearing the truth of that year, he was too excited and asked several questions in a row.

The woman seemed a bit startled, hesitating before saying, “I… I was there in the village after finishing my junior high school exams that year. I stayed in the village for the summer. A pair of journalists came to the village, saying they wanted to do a special report on the mystery of the earth dragon turning over. They asked me some questions about the village’s legends and gave me twenty yuan, telling me to call them if I encountered the earth dragon turning over. In July of that year, one rainy night, I felt the earth dragon starting to turn over again, so I went to the small shop and called them with the news.”

Fifteen years ago, she lived in the village, still a minor, then went on to high school and later became a teacher outside. So, during several previous investigations, they hadn’t been able to contact her. Another earth dragon turning over!

Gu Yanchen took the phone and asked, “What does it feel like when the earth dragon turns over?”

After a moment’s thought, the woman said, “The ground shakes, there are strange thunder sounds, smoke comes out of the mountain, and rocks fall down. It usually shakes intermittently, stopping and starting again. Each time lasts for several tens of minutes, even intermittently for several hours.”

It was similar to what the old village leader had described. That night, Yu Chang’en and his wife had come here to witness the earth dragon turning over. They must have discovered something.

Yu Shen asked a few more questions of the woman, instructing her to call them again if she remembered anything else.

After hastily finishing their dinner, they left the small restaurant. The rain had lessened considerably outside, but the sky was completely dark. The entire village was shrouded in a white mist, resembling a secluded paradise. Only the muddy ground beneath reminded them that they were still in the world.

After walking a difficult stretch of road, Gu Yanchen reached out and grabbed Shen Junci’s hand. Shen Junci lowered his head and silently grasped his fingers. The ten fingers of the two intertwined under the raincoat.

After walking for over forty minutes, which should have taken less than fifteen to return to the vicinity of the small shop, Shen Junci suddenly stopped. He seemed to have realized something, looking back at Wangshe Village and then gazing at the distant, hazy Luming Mountain.

The rain had dampened Shen Junci’s bangs, his face somewhat pale, his gaze distant.

What had Lin Xianglan really discovered back then?

Seeing him freeze, Gu Yanchen reached out to shield him from the rain. “Get in the car first.”

Shen Junci sat in the car, still in a daze. He blinked his eyes and suddenly said softly, “I understand now.”

Even his usually calm voice was trembling. “There might be illegal mining in Luming Mountain. To avoid detection, they set off explosions during thunderstorms, which is what’s referred to as the earth dragon turning over.”

With this explanation, all the stories seemed to make sense. The rising smoke wasn’t dragon breath but dust from the explosions. And the so-called earth dragon turning over was just localized earthquakes caused by the explosions, with falling rocks injuring villagers.

For the past decade or so, none of these events had occurred not because, as the geomancer had claimed, the earth dragon was asleep but because the illegal mining had ceased.

Lu Ying was stunned. “There’s a mine here? Why haven’t I heard of it?”

Shen Junci replied, “Those involved in mining would naturally try to erase all online records and prevent ordinary people from discovering it.”

The information Gu Yanchen had collected had been processed, and online information had been edited. Over the years, Zhen Jiaxu had been planting trees on Luming Mountain to erase all traces of mining. So even though Gu Yanchen had climbed the mountain for a long time, he hadn’t found anything abnormal, no bodies, traces, or evidence of illegal activities, because all the crimes had long been buried hundreds of meters underground.

Lu Ying asked again, “If people were mining on the mountain, wouldn’t people going up the mountain notice? Why is it so mysterious?”

Gu Yanchen said, “It’s related to the terrain nearby. Although Wangshe Village is adjacent to Luming Mountain, it’s right next to the steepest side, making it difficult to climb directly. To climb Luming Mountain, they would need to take a large detour.”

As he said this, he suddenly realized, “Could those disabled people who went missing in the past have been coerced into working as miners on the mountain?”

He had heard news in the past that some people would use mildly disabled individuals as laborers, forcing them to work day and night in private mines.

Shen Junci nodded, “They might have found those people through the foundation.”

All the information connected. They seemed to have finally uncovered the secret hidden in the Luming Mountain, only needing confirmation. Yu Shen felt chills run down his spine upon hearing these words.

Gu Yanchen made a decisive decision, “We’ll bring in geological surveyors tomorrow and use instruments to confirm this.”

Lu Ying asked, “If we bring those people up the mountain, won’t it alert the others?”

Gu Yanchen looked at the dark mountain path, “We’re at the point of grabbing the bull by its horns, why fear alerting others?”

If there were really private mines beneath Luming Mountain, if lives were really lost, Hetu Trading Association, Zhen Jiaxu would definitely be implicated.

They feared the secrets here. That’s why they had acted hastily when Lin Xianglan had just learned about all this, before he could report, he was silenced. Times had changed, they had found their way here, and the supervisory team was still in Penang. Even if they thoroughly searched the mountain, they would get to the bottom of the truth. The two returned home, their hair and shoes still damp in many places.

Gu Yanchen nudged Shen Junci, “Quick, go take a shower, don’t catch a cold.”

Shen Junci said, “Your shoes are wet too, the water heater can’t handle it, shall I go next door?”

Gu Yanchen grabbed him, “Go where? Together.”

The bathroom was misty, warming their bodies quickly and dispelling the cold.

Gu Yanchen filled the bathtub with water, and as he stepped in, droplets splashed out and fell to the ground. The gentle touch could soothe the soul; the sound of water never stopped. The bathroom lacked some oxygen, making one breathe a little heavily.

After they finished showering, Gu Yanchen dried Shen Junci’s hair first.

That night, Gu Yanchen made calls everywhere, communicating with leaders and relevant departments. Shen Junci compared the information Gu Yanchen had collected before. He specifically searched and found some traces of deletion.

According to early geological survey records, not only were there mines beneath Luming Mountain, but they were likely valuable gold mines. Back in the Republican era, mines had been opened here, but due to limited technology, not much ore had been extracted.

And over the past few decades, Luming Mountain had been designated as an environmental protection area, prohibiting all geological mining and development activities. Now it seemed that Zhen Jiaxu might have used his connections to claim this mountain as his own territory.

Early the next morning, members of the Special Criminal Division and the detective team brought in geological experts and the supervisory team to go up the mountain together. As soon as they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they encountered heavy resistance. Workers planting trees on the mountain blocked their way, refusing to let them drive up.

These workers were holding shovels and chainsaws, clearly hostile.

Gu Yanchen knew from previous trips up the mountain that these tree planters would block cars, so he had avoided the trouble by always riding a bike. But he hadn’t expected these people to set up checkpoints and be so brazen. He presented his credentials, “We’re from the City Bureau Special Criminal Division.”

Lu Ying also said, “Police business, please let us through!”

The lead worker was aggressive, “I don’t care if you’re police or not, we’re from forestry. We don’t answer to your City Bureau. Without our leader’s signature, no one is allowed up.”

Others chimed in, “That’s right, you don’t know this mountain isn’t for driving?”

“Who dares to drive up the mountain, don’t blame us for not being polite! If you damage the trees, can you afford to compensate?”

Lu Ying muttered, “Isn’t this just a disguised gang of road bandits? How much bribery has been involved in this abuse of power?”

The line of cars was blocked at the foot of the mountain. Secretary Cui stepped out of the car behind and walked steadily, albeit with small steps.

He approached the leading worker and stated his identity, “I am Cui Shihui from the provincial supervisory team. Who is in charge here?”

The workers had seen Cui Shihui in the news and were intimidated. They reluctantly gave a name.

Secretary Cui said, “Give him a call, I’ll talk to him personally.”

One of the workers made the call.

Secretary Cui took the phone and as soon as he identified himself, the other party became respectful and began to shift blame, “We were following the city planning bureau’s plan when we planted trees here.” Secretary Cui said sternly, “Even if you are planting trees, it’s for the service of the people. If you want to obstruct a murder investigation just because of a few trees, isn’t that a ridiculous inversion of priorities? Even if we have to cut down trees and blow up mountains, we will get to the bottom of what happened over a decade ago.”

The other party agreed repeatedly.

Secretary Cui said firmly, “I’d like to see who dares to give a green light to criminal forces, to provide protection. Today, anyone who obstructs police work will be immediately relieved of their duties!” After finishing, he returned the phone to the worker and calmly said to them, “I’ve already spoken with your leader. If anyone still obstructs, it will be considered as obstructing police work and will result in detention for more than fifteen days.”

Those people should pray that they wouldn’t find anything today. If they were proven to have committed illegal acts, evidence would be found, and everyone involved would be thoroughly investigated. When the time came, more than one or two people might lose their jobs.

With orders from above, the forestry workers took two steps back, removed the roadblocks, and cleared the blocked road.

Gu Yanchen was very familiar with the terrain here and led these people along. Several machines were brought up Luming Mountain. These detectors could penetrate thick rocks and sand to scan the situation below. Soon, the surveyors found a sealed entrance halfway up the mountain, suspected to be an abandoned mine.

Experts also found traces of gold ore on some rocks. A few demolition experts discussed and provided specific professional plans. With such elaborate concealment, there was likely something wrong inside.

Secretary Cui made a decision, waving his hand decisively, “Blow up the mountain!”

Some workers cut down nearby trees while professionals busied themselves burying detonators and explosives underground, preparing. The medical examiner and forensic evidence personnel stood by, ready to enter the scene after the explosion to search.

Shen Junci stood in a safe place not far away. He wore a white medical examiner’s uniform, tall and straight, with a solemn expression on his handsome face. The wind in the forest lifted his hem, making a rustling sound. Shen Junci’s eyes were slightly red at the corners. He had a premonition that something must be buried beneath those mine shafts.

Gu Yanchen stood beside him, looking serious, arms crossed, watching the scene before them.

With a deafening roar, the entire mountain trembled. The mountainside of Luming Mountain was completely blown open, with sand and stones flying and waves of air rolling. Through their relentless efforts, the evil sleeping in the mountains and forests would finally be uncovered. Under the brilliant light, nothing could hide.