Yunzhou, special task force office, evening.
"Sister Miao," Zeng Ke reported to Miao Yinghui, "I checked the case records in the archives and found no similar cases!"
"Oh?" Miao Ying pinched her chin and asked, "How many cities have you searched for?"
"It's electronic screening," Zeng Ke explained. "Not just a few big cities, but throughout the 1990s, all open cases in the country were checked!"
"Unclosed cases," Cui Lizhu reminded, "could it be that the case has been closed, such as the wrong murderer was caught?"
"Well, if you want to check the solved cases, it's not easy!" Zeng Ke said, "In those days, there was no online filing. Cases that had been closed and had no objections were generally not entered into the electronic database. We could only go to Go to various local police stations to check..."
"Oh, okay then..." Miao Ying said, "Maybe the left-eared murderer has never been to our country?"
"Sister Miao, where did you get this information?" Cui Lizhu asked curiously, "Why can't I see the connection between the Zuoer case and the Red Bathtub case?"
"No, there must be some connection!" Miao Ying stood in front of the case whiteboard and pointed at a certain spot on the whiteboard and said, "We have ignored this most important clue from the beginning!
"If we want to thoroughly investigate this case, these white candles and charcoal powder left at the scene are the most important things!
"We must understand why the murderer did this!"
"I don't know anything else, but based on the information we have," Cui Lizhu said while staring at the whiteboard, "the serial murder case that happened at Zhang Fengyi's house must be related to some evil secret technique, and this secret technique is Zhang Shixiong's Grandpa and Zhang Fengyi are practicing..."
"Sweat..." Zeng Ke grinned, "The word "cultivation" has come out, I really belong to you, Xiao Cui!"
“So,” Miao Ying said, “Next, we need to focus on investigating what exactly they believe in!
"Also, are they believing in the same secret technique that Peter brought from Africa?"
"Sister Miao," Cui Lizhu said, "I have sent someone to contact Zhang Fengyi's colleagues. According to what they said, Zhang Fengyi may have come into contact with Peter!
"However, so far, no one can prove that the two of them actually knew each other...
"I'm thinking about whether we should investigate in reverse," Cui Lizhu said. "Let's find a few people who know Peter and ask them if they know about the relationship between Peter and Zhang Fengyi!"
"Hmm..." Miao Yingyan said, "I think so too. At this stage of the case, we have to investigate the Peter case from back then!
"Xiao Cui," Miao Ying ordered, "Besides these, you can check Zhang Fengyi's father, Zhang Tingshan, to see if this man knows Peter
"The information shows that Zhang Tingshan worked as a sailor and even spoke English, so he is also likely to know Peter!"
"I understand!" Cui Lizhu accepted the order, "Don't worry, I will find out the family connections of these people!"
"Captain Shao," Miao Ying turned to Captain Shao and said, "Send someone to investigate the secret art that Zhang Tingshan, Zhang Fengyi, and Peter believe in, and see if anyone knows about it?"
"Yes!" Captain Shao nodded in agreement and expressed his thoughts, "I think Zhang Shixiong's parents are the best breakthrough point. If we can find the people who believed in secret arts with Zhang Tingshan back then, we should be able to know. What the hell is that!"
While talking, Wu Xiumin entered the office and reported to Miao Yinghui: "Zhang Shixiong's father no longer resists and has told everything!
"What Zhang Shixiong's mother said is all true. He wanted to say it early, but he was afraid that if he said it, it would tarnish the reputation of his father and sister, so he chose to hide it... "
"Then..." Miao Ying asked hurriedly, "Did he mention what Zhang Tingshan and Zhang Fengyi believed in?"
"I mentioned it," Wu Xiumin said. "He said that he didn't understand at the time, just because his father was uneducated, why even his highly educated sister believed in that kind of thing...
"He said that the secret arts seemed to have very low technical content and were completely based on feudal superstition, but his father and sister believed in them...
"However, Father Zhang is relatively honest. Although he had complaints and worries, he never stopped him...
"It is precisely because of this that he knows very little about that kind of secret art. Moreover, the most regrettable thing is that after his father passed away, he threw away all things related to the secret art..."
"Tsk tsk... What a pity..." Cui Lizhu expressed regret.
"Then... did you mention white candles and charcoal powder?" Miao Ying asked again.
"Yes, Zhang Shixiong's father once saw Zhang Tingshan worshiping gods, with seven candles, yellow paper, and a fire ring surrounded by charcoal...
"He said that the scene was particularly strange and even a bit scary. What he was most worried about at the time was whether the charcoal would cause a fire..."
"I'll go..." Zeng Ke suddenly said, "Why does it sound a bit like Zhuge Liang's seven-star life-extending lamp?"
"Don't worry," Cui Lizhu's eyes widened, "Is it so mysterious?"
"Regardless of whether it is true or not," Zeng Ke said, "what we can know anyway is that the life-extending lamp does not work. Didn't Zhang Tingshan and Zhang Fengyi die in the end?"
"I estimate that this is probably the case!" Wu Xiumin guessed, "The father and daughter believe in this secret technique. Originally, this secret technique was just a general sacrifice!
"However, after Zhang Fengyi became terminally ill, their thoughts changed and they thought of human sacrifice..."
"Hey? Wait a minute," Cui Lizhu remembered something and asked quickly, "Where is Zhang Shixiong's grandma? Is his grandma still alive? Does his grandma know?"
"Zhang Shixiong's grandmother passed away very early," Miao Ying said. "Zhang Fengyi died of lung disease when she was still very young."
"Oh..." Cui Lizhu smacked her lips and said, "In this case, we can only discuss it in the long term!"
“What’s even worse,” Wu Xiumin said, “Zhang Shixiong’s father said that except for Zhang Tingshan and Zhang Fengyi, he had never seen anyone else believe in that kind of thing!
"He didn't know who Zhang Tingshan and his daughter learned from, or who else believed in the secret arts with them. He only knew that every weekend, Zhang Tingshan would go to a place called Sijiaoting!
"I guess I learned it from there!"
"Four Corners Pavilion?" Cui Lizhu looked at Captain Shao hurriedly, "What is this place?"
"Oh..." Captain Shao replied, "Sijiaoting is a pronoun, specifically referring to the area around Sijiaoting. It was an old residential area that was demolished and renovated a long time ago. It is now a botanical garden...
"However," he said to Miao Ying, "Leader Miao, leave this matter to me! I will send someone to ask the old people who moved from Sijiao Pavilion to see if they know the origin of this evil secret technique. …”
(End of chapter)