SECRET ROOM

A chu thought hard and tried to remember. Suddenly a memory flashed through his head.

"Ah, wait a minute. I think I once saw Uncle Yuan go into his private room and not come out again. At that time, I wanted to ask him about the contents of a book that I didn't understand. So I tried to enter the room following him. But it was strange. When I got inside. I couldn't find him. He seemed to have disappeared into thin air," said A chu.

"There must be a secret door there. A secret door leading to a hidden room. Could it be the underground room where Yuan Ting was kept?"

Now all the conundrums began to clear up in A Chu's mind. Then he said, "Yes, it must be in Uncle's private room."

A chu got up from his sleep. "I must hurry up and carry out my plan. The night is still long," A chu exclaimed.

A chu locked the door to his room tightly. He propped up the door with chairs and tables. So that people could not easily get inside.

He began to burn sheet after sheet of the book he had worked so hard to write. Then A chu collected the ashes. He thought about how he had struggled all this time. Day and night A chu struggled to write the book that was almost ruined.

A chu took the black ashes from the pile of paper. Then spread it all over his body and clothes. So that his body became difficult to see in the dark.

Then A chu began to pour oil around the room. The oil was taken from the lamps in his room. He also lined up candles in every corner of the room. All the candles were placed near flammable objects.

Incidentally in A chu's room. There were many spare lamps and candles. Because he had asked Yuan Tan for them. To help him with the writing process when needed.

After all the preparations were ready, he rushed up to the window.

A chu lit the candles and lamps. Then threw them into the center of the room. Where he had placed a pile of papers and some flammable objects. The fire soon spread across the room very quickly. A chu hurriedly jumped out, and ran between the dark trees.

*****

Smoke began to rise.

The flames, blown by the wind, began to grow and licked other rooms very quickly. Now it wasn't just A chu's room that was on fire.

Ah Tung could be seen running around in the distance. His face looked very panicked and scared. He ran quickly to his master's bedroom while shouting frantically.

Ah Tung was tall and thin with a fierce face. He was middle-aged. He was the one who opened the door. When A chu first came to Yuan Tan's house.

Ah Tung's room is not far from A chu's room. So he was the one who first noticed the fire. As soon as he got to his master's room. He rushed to wake up his two mistresses.

*****

Meanwhile. A chu had managed to sneak into Yuan Tan's private room.

A chu immediately checked around the room. To find where the secret door where Yuan Ting was locked up was located. This room is actually not that big. But in this moment of panic. A chu became less calm and hurried.

There were several bookshelves in the room. A few chairs and a large table. On the walls of the room, hung several paintings and literary works by famous artists of the time.

The large table in the center of the room. It was the place where Yuan Tan used to work. On the table. There were many writing utensils and stacks of books.

A chu tried to check on the table. Who knows if he could find a clue. After checking for a while. A chu finally found a key that looked quite large. The key was tucked among the books.

"Ah, I was right. I know almost all the rooms in this house. No one uses a key like this. There's no mistaking it. This must be the key to open the door of the secret room," A chu thought. Without thinking. A chu immediately put the key in his pocket.

After failing to find any clues on the table other than a key. A chu finally tried to observe the surroundings. He looked at the bookshelves and the strange paintings on the walls.

"Those paintings on the wall, they look suspicious," A chu thought.

A chu then tried to flip through and examine the paintings one by one. But he couldn't find anything. A chu began to look uneasy. Because the longer he was in this room. The less time he had to escape from the house.

What if Yuan Tan suddenly came into the room. All of A Chu's efforts would be in vain.

A chu bit his lip. "Please God give me a clue," A chu pleaded. Indeed, in times of trouble like this. Everyone can only surrender to God.

A chu tried to look around the room again. He tried to observe the bookshelves that lined the sides of the room. Then his eyes fell on the large bookshelf behind the desk.

"All the bookshelves are lined up at the side of the room. Why is this bookcase located behind the desk. Is it possible that the secret door is behind this bookshelf?" A chu thought.

Finally A chu tried to check behind the bookshelves. Until finally A chu found an oddity in the large bookshelf behind the desk used by his uncle.

A chu checked carefully. After inspection. It turned out that behind the large bookshelf, there was a gap that was wide enough for people to enter. At first glance, this gap will not be seen, when viewed from the front. A chu entered the gap.

Sure enough. It turned out that behind the cupboard was a gap that led A chu to a dark hallway. A chu tried to feel the walls of the hallway. There A chu found a fire-stopping device and also a torch.

Without wasting time A chu immediately lit the torch and started walking. A chu continued to walk down the dark and damp hallway. Not long after. He had reached the end of the hallway.

It turned out that at the end of the hallway, there was a door. The door was made of iron and looked very sturdy. A chu tried to push the door as hard as he could but it didn't budge at all.

A chu tried to observe the iron door. It turned out that at the top of the door there was a small gap to peek inside. A chu tried to peek inside through the gap. But because the gap was quite high. A chu had to stand on tiptoe.

A chu tried to bring the torch closer to the gap. Finally, A chu was able to see into the room. It turned out that the room was not too big. There was a bed and simple furniture. There was also a lamp that was already dim.

Above the bed was the shadow of a person. A chu's heart almost fell out from shock. Finally, A chu had the courage to call into the room.

"Sister Ting, is that you?" asked A chu.

The person on the bed looked shocked. But instead of answering A chu's question. That person asked back,

"Brother A chu? Are you right, Brother A Chu?"

A woman's voice.

*****

Outside, the flames were getting bigger and bigger. The fire, which was like an all-consuming beast, began to rage and devour room after room around it.

Yuan Tan, Qiao Lian and Ah Tung tried their best to put out the fire. Because in that house, there were only the three of them. The healers only came during the day when needed.

Moreover, Yuan Tan's residence was on the outskirts of the city. No one lived around his residence.

"You bastard! This must be that son of a bitch. Go find him and arrest him and drag him to me so I can chop him up and disembowel him," Yuan Tan shouted.

Yuan Tan shouted and cursed with emotion. He told Ah Tung to go find A Chu immediately.

It turned out that after the three of them searched for the source of the fire. They found out that the fire came from A Chu's room. Once they got there, A Chu's shadow was no longer visible.

At first Yuan Tan thought that A chu was burnt in the room. But he found a window that was wide open. He also found footprints under the window. Then he immediately came to a conclusion. That A chu had been playing crazy.

"Sister Lian, you too hurry up and help Ah Tung look for A chu. Let me try to put out this fire myself," Yuan Tan said to his wife.

"Fine, but you be careful, husband," Qiao Lian replied with a worried look on her face. Yuan Tan just nodded at his wife's words.

Then Madame Qiao Lian hurried off to find A chu. Leaving her husband alone. Yuan Tan tried to put out the growing fire.

*****

We went back to see how A chu was doing.

"Sister Ting, it's me A chu," A chu replied with a slightly relieved tone.

"Brother A Chu. Oh Brother A chu hu... hu...," Yuan Ting said while crying. She immediately got up from her bed and approached the door. Yuan Ting was crying with emotion.

A chu couldn't help but cry too. No one knows how long it had been since A chu had seen Yuan Ting. A chu felt very sorry for Yuan Ting's situation. Who would want to be locked up in a dirty, smelly, dark room like this?

Suddenly Yuan Ting stopped her crying. She seemed to remember something important. She then said,

"Oh yes, Brother A Chu, why are you here? Hurry up and run, Brother A Chu... Run now! Because Mom and Dad..." Yuan Ting paused.

"It turns out that all this time, my mom and dad were just trying to deceive and take advantage of you. hu hu hu... I'm sorry brother A Chu."

*****