Luckily, the two people they were avoiding didn't stand for long in front of the stall that Shannchyuan and Chioujen were aiming for. From the movement of their hands, Shannchyuan guessed it looked like they were looking for food. After the two people left, Shannchyuan and Chioujen came out of the shop they were hiding in.
"Okay! At ten o'clock, I will enter the shop," said Chioujen.
"I'm going home now," said Shannchyuan. "You don't need to accompany me any further."
Chioujen looked deeply at Shannchyuan. He started to open his mouth. With a slow tempo, the words left his lips. "Did Beaushu go here through the underground passage?"
Shannchyuan was very surprised to hear Chioujen's question.
<
Chioujen grabbed Shannchyuan's shoulder. He continued his speech. "Beaushu have to hurry back. Don't delay. That our new neighbor most likely also knows about the underground passage. Right now, he is indeed walking around the mall. However, we can't say for sure how long he will be at the mall. Don't let him catch Beaushu in that underground passage!"
<
A thousand and one questions raced through Shannchyuan's mind. Shannchyuan just stood still. Chioujen looked impatient.
"Okay! I'll explain a little while walking Beaushu towards the secret passage entrance." Right after finishing his sentence, Chioujen walked quickly.
Shannchyuan instantly followed Chioujen's steps.
<
"Beaushu's neighbor has been keeping an eye on our house and all its occupants for the past five months or so. That person was definitely not just a curious old man. I don't know who that person is, but Beaushu must be very careful."
<
"How did you know?" Shannchyuan couldn't hold back those words.
"I found out by chance. Last night I saw him having a conversation with his friend. Not the person we just saw earlier. The friend I previously saw was much older than the person we just saw. They talked about many things, one of which was that our neighbor is working on a project related to the people who currently live in our house. He knows who lives in our house. The old man knows where we come from. He knows when Beaushu dan others have lost their jobs. He knows Beaushu is very picky at work. And, he also knows what the habits of our householders are. In other words, he's been keeping a close eye on Beaushu and our friends!"
All this time, Shannchyuan had been a little suspicious of the person who suddenly became their neighbor about five months ago. But he never thought that this person was deliberately and systematically monitoring their house and all its inhabitants. Even so, he still wasn't sure that the person had bad intentions.
<>
Chioujen was taller than Shannchyuan, so the stride was longer. Right now, he was walking at high speed. Shannchyuan had to struggle to keep up with Chioujen's steps. In no time, they arrived in front of the Shindongchaang gate.
Chioujen knew so much! This is absolutely amazing!
"So you already know the entrance to the underground passage from this mall?"
"Yes. Near the quietest toilet on this floor, there is a fork in the hall. The entrance is from there."
Shannchyuan was speechless. It seemed that Chioujen was much more mysterious than three months ago when they had last seen each other. Shannchyuan began to understand why Songfei chose to ask Chioujen for help over others. Chioujen's habit of saying far less than he knows was his principal asset. An advantage that might be extremely valuable in Songfei's eyes.
"Who was Beaushu coming with?"
"Iren and Yihshyong. But Iren and I were the only ones out of the passage and into the mall. Yihshyong remained in the secret passage. He had to be on guard in there. Before I went to meet you, I told Iren to go into the underground passage first. I told him to give Yihshyong a photocopy of the documents so that Yihshyong could bring the items home immediately. Iren then replaced Yihshyong on guard in that place."
"Why should anyone be on guard in the passage?"
"There's a part of the passage where I don't know how to open it from the outside. So one of us has to stand guard there so we can open it from the inside in case the door suddenly closes on its own."
"Which part?"
"Inside, there is a passageway where if we want to open it from the inside, we have to tilt a candle holder mounted on the hallway wall."
"Oh! Beaushu, you mean that passage door near an ancient dressing table?"
This time Shannchyuan was not too surprised. After hearing Chioujen's story earlier, he already guessed that Chioujen had already entered the underground passage.
"Do you know how to open the hallway door next to the dresser? I mean, how to open the door from the outside?"
"Of course. The way to open it is in one drawer on the dresser." Chioujen answered quickly.
"Ah! I thought so. But we haven't had time to check the dresser carefully because yesterday we didn't have time."
"Do Beaushu want me to show you how to open it?"
"No need. You can go back now. I have to hurry. If you come into the passage, I'm afraid when you come back here, you will meet our neighbors who will use this underground passage to go home. Besides, I don't know how to explain your presence to Iren."
"Ah! I forgot about that." Chioujen laughed.
Shannchyuan also laughed."
Chioujen stopped walking. They had arrived at a forked passage. One branch led to the remote public restroom, and the other branch led to the underground path leading to the dungeon in their backyard.
"When I get home, our friends will tell me everything that happened. At that time, I will act like I know nothing yet. So, Beaushu, please also support me."
"I see. Don't worry."
"That includes the existence of this secret passage. I know absolutely nothing."
"Okay!" Shannchyuan smiled.
Chioujen is indeed a cautious person. But I'm not sure that he can play well. Not saying something is not the same as pretending not to know.
"But you also have to act a bit. If you weren't at all surprised when you heard our story, of course, the rest of our friends would be suspicious."
"I'll try my best, Beaushu."
"See you later," Shannchyuan said.
"Be careful, Beaushu!"
Shannchyuan took out his flashlight. He began walking down the underground passage, guided by the bright light emitting from the tip of his flashlight.