Chapter 194
When the topic of heroic spirits and the dead came up, everyone fell silent for a while.
Tang Xuan's superior took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, saying, "Let's solve the current case first, and then we'll go to pay our respects to our predecessors together with the results."
He said to Tang Xuan, "Come on, Tang, go through the whole case."
Tang Xuan responded and distributed the pre-printed data to several people: "From 45 days ago to yesterday, in just one and a half months, a total of nine cases of missing children have occurred in this city. These are the specific details of the missing children."
The bureau takes these cases very seriously, and the information is extremely detailed, including photos, dates of birth, schools, and family details.
Out of professional habit, the few people from the Xuanmen sect present all looked at their birth dates first.
Qin Lide quickly flipped through the pages, then calculated according to the calendar, frowning deeply but not particularly surprised. He sighed, "The birth charts of these children all have some significance. They didn't just randomly grab people; they came prepared."
Qiao Yijing and the two from the Special Management Department also agreed with his opinion.
Zhang Yan complained, "This Chu Er is quite persistent. More than twenty years have passed. Is he trying to summon an evil god again?"
Qiao Yijing said, "I don't know what he wants to do, but since he kidnapped children, he is probably going to sacrifice them. I have read the records of Chu Er's case 25 years ago. At that time, Chu Er also selected boys and girls with special birth dates."
As an outsider, Tang Xuan had many questions, such as, "Why do these cult rituals always involve capturing young boys and girls? Are adults too filthy?"
Qiao Yijing was taken aback by his question, but she didn't think he was being argumentative. Instead, she thought about it seriously for a while and replied, "These inhumane and evil sacrificial methods are basically passed down from ancient times. In many dynasties in ancient times, there was a shortage of food and clothing, and there was nothing to offer, so they could only find people to help them."
"As for why they chose children, it was probably not only because they thought children's souls were purer, but also because children were less able to resist. Over time, these vicious methods have been passed down."
“That makes sense. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they arrest a tall man who’s 1.8 meters tall?” Tang Xuan was convinced by his statement and then sneered, “It’s clear that whether it’s evil gods or these believers, they’re all just bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong.”
Zhang Yan interjected, "That's right. Look at 'Journey to the West.' Tang Sanzang is the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, and a bunch of demons insist that eating him will grant them immortality. But Sun Wukong is naturally born with amazing spiritual energy, yet no one says they want to eat him to improve their health. If Tang Sanzang were a martial monk, would these demons still dare to do that? Elder Tang could kill them all with one blow of his staff."
Everyone: "..."
Imagining the burly, fierce-looking Tang Sanzang, I couldn't help but shudder.
That was a good assumption; don't make that assumption next time.
Tang Xuan walked up to the whiteboard, tapped it with a marker, and brought the discussion back on track. "Let's talk about these key figures again."
"Chu Shuangyan, male, 25 years old, unmarried, is currently a top male star in the entertainment industry. His personality has changed drastically in the past two years. After close contact, Mr. Qin and Ms. Qin believe that he is likely to have two souls in one body."
"Chu Er, male, died 25 years ago. Before his death, he had a criminal record for kidnapping children and Taoist practitioners. It is currently suspected that he used some kind of evil method to possess Chu Shuangyan's body."
"Lin Jing, female, forty years old, married but childless, is a part-time teacher at a private tutoring institution. In her spare time, she works as a female Taoist priest. She claims to be very fond of religious and traditional Chinese culture. She was once adopted by Chu Er and now has some kind of cooperative relationship with Chu Shuangyan."
Tang Xuan pasted the printed photos of the three people onto the whiteboard for everyone to see.
Qin Su glanced at the three photos, frowned slightly, and said, "Isn't something missing?"
Zhang Yan asked in confusion, "What's missing? Nothing's missing."
Qin Su looked at Tang Xuan, who didn't say anything but gave her a thumbs up in admiration.
Under everyone's gaze, he took out a new photograph.
The photo shows a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, wearing a work uniform. He has an honest-looking face, but his eyes give off an unpleasant feeling.
Tang Xuan pasted the photo next to Lin Jing's photo and introduced, "This person's real name is Bai Facai, nicknamed Lao Bai, male, thirty-nine years old, and he and Lin Jing are legally married."
Qin Su asked thoughtfully, "What is his profession?"
Tang Xuan said, "The deliveryman."
He paused for a moment and added, "His delivery truck is the kind that's enclosed and locks at the back; the interior space can fit several adults."
If it can fit adults, it can certainly fit children.
Now the others realized why Qin Su had said something was missing earlier: it would have been difficult for Chu Shuangyan and Lin Jing to steal the child without leaving a trace.
Needless to say, Chu Shuangyan's face makes it inconvenient for him to go anywhere or do anything. Nowadays, fans have sharp eyes; they can find out his identity just by showing a finger, let alone the fact that he would personally steal a child.
Lin Jing is a working woman who not only has limited physical strength and time, but also faces great difficulty in avoiding the omnipresent surveillance.
There must be someone doing things for them. This person not only has free time, but also has the ability to move around freely, has an identity that won't be suspected, and has a way to transport the children away.
Lin Jing's husband, Bai Facai, happens to meet all the criteria.
"So they're a husband and wife working together?" Zhang Yan stroked his chin. "This is a bit tricky. Bai Facai is a courier, so he must know a lot of warehouse and factory addresses. Hiding a few kids wouldn't be a problem for him, and it'll be hard for us to find him."
Hu Meng glanced at him sideways: "Do you even remember what you do for a living?"
Zhang Yan stammered, then choked.
Yes, he was supposed to be in charge of calculating the location.
He tentatively suggested, "How about I do it again?"
Everyone looked at him.
Tang Xuan said, "Great! Teacher Zhang, I've never seen anyone else use divination before. What method do you use?"
“I mainly use the Plum Blossom Divination method.” Zhang Yan took out two alcohol wipes from his bag, carefully wiped his hands clean, and then took out a small round box. Inside the box were three ancient copper coins.
"There are many methods for casting a hexagram in Plum Blossom Divination. Time, number of characters, size, sound, objects, copper coins, and tortoise shells can all be used as methods. I use copper coins, which means shaking three copper coins in the palm of my hand and then tossing them six times in a row to form a hexagram. I then analyze the predictive result of the hexagram."
This is what is commonly referred to as the Six Lines divination in folk tradition.
After Zhang Yan finished explaining, he held his breath, closed his eyes, and shook the copper coins, scattering them on the table six times in a row. Finally, he drew the hexagram on a piece of white paper and began to calculate in his mind with a furrowed brow.
Tang Xuan peered at the six seemingly undefined horizontal lines on the paper, not daring to disturb Zhang Yan, and whispered to Qin Su, "Why are there six lines?"
Qin Su said, "It's not six lines, it's two trigrams superimposed on each other. The top three lines are the upper trigram, and the bottom three lines are the lower trigram. They each have their own corresponding Bagua diagrams. You need to remember the shapes of Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kan, Gen, and Dui to see what trigrams they are."
Tang Xuan asked, "Do you mean each line when you say 'yao'? Are both dotted and solid lines called 'yao'?"
Qin Su nodded: "The dotted lines are yin lines, and the solid lines are yang lines. Because the hexagram is composed of six lines, it is called the six lines."
Tang Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "How complex!"
Little Dragon, listening to the voice of this unknown person so close to Su Su from inside Qin Su's sleeve, clenched its claws in resentment, wanting to whip the person far away with its tail. However, Su Su had told it that it was a very unique and precious existence in this world and could not easily appear in front of others, otherwise it would cause a huge uproar.
Xiaolong didn't understand, but he reluctantly listened to Susu.
He rested his head on Qin Su's wrist, rubbing it gently, looking listless.
Why can't he become human? If he could become human, he could stay by Su Su's side forever.
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