Chapter 161 He Zhao didn't quite understand before why some exceptionally intelligent people sometimes seemed...
He Zhao hadn't quite understood before why some exceptionally intelligent people sometimes seemed foolish, but now she completely understood. Look, Jiu Qing was a classic example of someone whose cleverness backfired. She thought about too many things, which only made others more confused.
The first layer of this matter: the red wedding dress is problematic and has a deep connection with the Tonghuan Association;
On the second floor, inside the house associated with the red wedding dress, they found letters that appeared to be a frame-up. A normal person would find such a method too clumsy and wouldn't fall for it, simply laughing it off.
But the third layer, which is what clever people like Jiu Qing would think, is that perhaps they are just using the guise of framing someone to clumsily clear He Zhao of suspicion. In that case, He Zhao would actually be exonerated.
Regardless, Tonghuan Society seems quite clever. Anyway, He Zhao definitely won't consider this third layer; he'll just think Tonghuan Society is a complete fool.
So He Zhao tried to reason with Jiu Qing from the fourth floor: "Is it possible that what they want you to think is exactly what you're thinking now? In the end, they still want to frame me, only they've gone from clumsy methods to something more sophisticated. Since you've already thought so much, why don't you think even more?"
"Because besides these, there is a lot of other evidence that can prove you have a problem."
He Zhao was stunned. Her eyes widened, eager to see what else Jiu Qing could come up with. Jiu Qing didn't disappoint He Zhao; she took out several more documents and placed them on the table in front of her.
“We’ve investigated, and many ghosts who come to your stall are completely unaware and don’t remember anything. But after eating the white rice you make, they gradually regain their memories. This recovery speed is far beyond the normal level. Moreover, most ghosts actually disappear gradually in a daze and don’t remember anything from their previous lives. They just quietly perish because they’ve lost their yin energy.”
“The ghost that often visits your stall, the one you call ‘Grandma,’ should be like that. It does harbor resentment towards its children, but before coming to your stall, it had already existed as a wandering spirit for a long time and would soon disappear. However, after eating the rice you cooked, it became the ghost it is now, who not only remembers everything but also speaks clearly and has perfect logic.”
"That alone is enough to raise suspicion."
Regarding this, He Zhao also had something to say: "This has nothing to do with me. It's all the white rice that the system taught me to make. It can take ghost money out of the ghosts, so it must have some special methods. I don't have that ability myself."
Jiuqing didn't believe it: "You keep talking about the system and the transmigrator, but you can't actually provide any evidence, so I don't believe it."
He Zhao sighed: "Okay, and then what?"
He Zhao now understood that nothing he said could convince Jiu Qing, yet Jiu Qing could use the slightest clues she had found to condemn him in her own heart.
"In the previous Hua Hua incident, you were able to make the ghost roam freely. Your actions are exactly the same as Hua Hua's father's actions of using Hua Hua's hair to make the ghost cause trouble for the Countermeasures Bureau. Given that Hua Hua's father is actually connected with the Tong Huan Association, it's hard not to suspect that your magic also came from the Tong Huan Association. Considering that you are their puppet, who knows what might be hidden in the rice you give out one day."
He Zhao grunted twice, signaling Jiu Qing to continue.
"There's another point: there have been more ghosts lately, and these ghosts all ended up appearing in front of your stall, forming long queues. That alone is enough to make people suspicious."
He Zhao couldn't explain this either. The increase in customers was simply a normal phenomenon. After all, the only food available to ghosts was her white rice; she essentially held a monopoly. So, how could there not be many ghosts around her?
Jiuqing maintained the same expression throughout, and at the end, she used the same words as before: "You are just an ordinary person, there is no need for you to risk your life for Tonghuan Society. If you confess, we can be lenient with you. You will only serve a few years in prison at most, and you can still come out and embrace a wonderful life. There is no need to follow a bunch of crooked and evil people and ruin your good life."
He Zhao and Jiu Qing were speechless, because from Jiu Qing's perspective, what she said made a lot of sense. If He Zhao were on Jiu Qing's side, she might also think that "He Zhao" was a major villain.
There's a feeling that "Jiuqing didn't actually make a mistake in arresting him; maybe I really have a problem."
If you can give the person in question this feeling, how can you not consider it a success for Jiuqing?
He Zhao knew she couldn't talk to Jiu Qing; she only believed in what she truly believed in. Many investigators, including Qiao Yanyu, placed great faith in their intuition. They had relied on it to avoid many crises and solve many cases, so it was normal for them to have such strong convictions.
But even your sixth sense can be wrong sometimes!
Knowing that further discussion with Jiu Qing would be pointless, He Zhao chose to remain silent. When Jiu Qing asked again, "Well, have you thought it through? You can confess now," He Zhao spoke up: "I won't say anything until Qiao Yanyu arrives."
"Then you may have to wait a long time, Qiao Yanyu can't come right now."
He Zhao gasped. What did that mean? She'd blocked Sister Qiao? He Zhao hadn't been able to get through to Qiao Yanyu earlier, and she'd assumed she was busy. But judging from Jiu Qing's words, something must have happened.
He Zhao pursed her lips, but she believed that as long as Sister Qiao knew, she would definitely travel a long way to her side. So she turned her head away and remained silent.
So He Zhao was locked in a small, dark room. At first, He Zhao had a good sense of time, but as time ticked by, she had no idea how much time had passed. She only felt her stomach growling with hunger. Fortunately, although Jiu Qing had locked her up, she wasn't too harsh on her. When she heard that He Zhao was hungry, she would bring her food.
Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.
Moreover, although He Zhao called it a "small dark room," it wasn't dark at all. All the lights were on, making the whole room brightly lit. The treatment seemed much better than Lin Gao's. However, there was no entertainment whatsoever; they could only sit in their seats, and at most, they could wander around the interrogation room once. They couldn't leave the room.
Jiuqing and the woman who used to be next to her would occasionally come in and ask He Zhao, "So, have you made up your mind yet?"
He Zhao didn't answer, but asked instead, "Has Sister Qiao arrived yet?"
At first, Jiuqing simply replied, "She can't come." But after three or four times, Jiuqing finally used other words: "Qiao Yanyu also accepted our explanation, thought you had a problem, and agreed to our handling of you."
Without the slightest hesitation, He Zhao immediately said, "I don't believe you. You're lying to me."
This piqued Jiu Qing's interest: "How can you be so sure? As far as I know, you've only known each other for less than six months. Why do you trust her so much?" Actually, Jiu Qing also wanted to ask why Qiao Yanyu trusted He Zhao so much.
But He Zhao only said, "Then don't worry about it. Anyway, I definitely don't believe what you're saying. Even if Sister Qiao said that to me, it must be because you guys sowed discord and instigated her. She definitely didn't mean it from the bottom of her heart."
She even imagined that the special investigation team might have other methods, such as creating a dummy or disguising themselves as Qiao Yanyu, in short, having someone with the exact same face as Qiao Yanyu come over and say the same thing to her.
But no matter what, she wouldn't believe it. And she was convinced that if it were her, she would be able to recognize the fake at a glance.
In fact, He Zhao's thinking was quite correct. It wasn't about the dummy or the disguise; it was that Qiao Yanyu didn't accept Jiu Qing and the others' treatment of He Zhao at all. The reason Qiao Yanyu didn't receive He Zhao's call was because she had been dispatched to the suburbs, where there were signal jamming devices. It was a stronghold of the Tonghuan Society that they had found.
However, the place was abandoned, and the members of the Tonghuan Society were extremely cautious, like rats, scattering at the slightest disturbance. So Qiao Yanyu investigated for a bit and then left. Just as she left the signal jamming area, Qiao Yanyu received that text message.
At this moment, Qiao Yanyu understood that Jiu Qing had deliberately sent her to investigate this base today. Although she wasn't under Jiu Qing's special investigation team, Jiu Qing's authority was indeed quite high, and he could certainly order Qiao Yanyu around when the special investigation team was short-handed.
However, Qiao Yanyu could also refuse. She really wanted to finish the Tonghuan Gathering as soon as possible, which is why she accepted the task.
Inside the house, Qiao Yanyu did indeed discover some unusual things. She found some traces of ritual that had not been completely erased, and some graffiti in the corners of the walls.
Part of the graffiti had been erased, but the overall impression remained. It was clear that the person who removed it was reluctant. Perhaps they were instructed by higher authorities, but unwillingly wanted to leave their mark.
It was a doodle drawing of several little figures holding hands and dancing around a smiley face symbol. However, the little figures were separated by black and white, with the black ones filled in and the white ones cut out. It looked like a child's random drawing, without any real meaning.
But Qiao Yanyu noticed a clue. These strange organizations, especially those that can gather a large group of people, often have a leader who spreads strange ideas about the members.
This idea brought these people together. Qiao Yanyu often referred to this kind of organization as a "cult," as they all believed in one thing: their leader. Qiao Yanyu was very familiar with this organizational structure, after all, her mother had died at the hands of such an organization.
Her finger landed on the smiling face in the very center. Without a doubt, this smiling face represented the artificial god worshipped by these cultists. Their purpose was clear: they most likely wanted this creature to become stronger, to reach a level unattainable by ordinary people; they genuinely wanted to create a god.
However, the moment Qiao Yanyu saw the text message, she suddenly felt that these messages weren't that important.
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