Chapter 40 Qing Shui Town 12

  "I won't go back for now, I'll wait a bit longer and see how things develop." Qin Fei said after some thought.

  "The vengeful spirit of the mountain behind... I'll go take a look tomorrow, try to find some clues." Zhang Zhixin glanced at Qin Fei, then quickly lowered his eyelids, looking at his own wrinkled hands and speaking in a low voice.

  "Tomorrow I'll go with you, if we really can't find any clues, we'll change direction and look again."

  Qin Fei was worried about the curse, but if things remained unclear for a long time, he didn't plan to stay in Qing Shui Town for too long. His bookstore had Xie Zhe and others watching it, so he wasn't worried, but with the end of the year approaching, his parents said they would be back soon. If he stayed in H City any longer, they would definitely worry, especially since there had been seven murder cases in the past month. The police hadn't released details about the case to the public yet, but the fact that murders had occurred was already widely known - it wasn't something that could be hidden.

  Qin Fei believed Zhang Zhi Xin's judgment, since he said that the vengeful spirits on the back mountain might be related to the person who cast the curse, he also believed it. Although Zhang Zhi Xin's expression looked a bit off, he didn't think much of it. After all, Zhang Zhi Xin's grandson had fallen victim to that deadly curse in Qing Shui Town many years ago, and Qin Fei just thought that Zhang Zhi Xin was getting emotional because of the memory.

  Qin Fei was talking to Zhang Zhixin when Gu Wenkai called over.

  Gu Wenkai asked him where he was now, and also told him that the case had made progress, and it wouldn't be long before they found the murderer. At that time, they would know if the murderer was the one who cast the curse or not.

  Gu Wenkai seemed busy on the other end, and after exchanging only a few words with Qin Fei, he was about to hang up. But then he remembered something else and added: "Qin Fei, you'd better not stay in Xizhen anymore."

  "Huh? Why?"

  "That place had something happen before, the yin energy hasn't dissipated yet, and this period of time has also started to have a deathly aura." Gu Wenkai didn't tell Qin Fei about what happened in Qing Shui Town seventeen years ago. Firstly, he himself wasn't very clear about what happened back then, secondly, even if Qin Fei knew, it wouldn't be beneficial for him, so he simply glossed over it with a sentence. "I originally wanted to get my second brother to find you, but we're currently searching for the murderer, and when the time comes, we'll need my second brother's help, so he can't leave for now." Zhou Jun inferred that the murderer might make a big move in Qing Shui Town soon, anyway, you should quickly leave Xi Town.

  "I encountered a vengeful spirit on the mountain behind Qing Shui Town today, it didn't seem like something that was originally on that mountain... If it were originally on that mountain, then Ren Qiaoqiao wouldn't have been guarding the mountain and cleaning it up. I plan to go back to that mountain with Third Uncle tomorrow to take a look again, if we can't find any useful clues, I'll return to the city."

  "Then you be careful." Gu Wenkai hoped Qin Fei would leave Qing Shui Town as soon as possible, the sooner the better. But he also knew that once Qin Fei made up his mind, it was unlikely to change, so in the end, he could only remind him with a sentence.

  "Uh-huh, I know."

  That night, after dinner, Zhang Zhixin quietly returned to his own room after Qin Fei went to the house arranged by Zhou Tian for him to stay. He didn't even change his clothes, and lay on the bed with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

  After knowing that the culprit of the seven cases was Zhou Tian Tong, Zhang Zhi Xin's previous guess was wrong. Qin Fei and the Shizhu person he was looking for were not in Qing Shui Town at all. Everything was just a phenomenon formed by Zhou Tian Tong's behavior, which gave them an illusion.

  The victim's symptoms after being cursed were the same as his grandson's before he died, and the residual imprint that appeared during the short time after death was also what he had seen before his grandson died. So, he thought that even if the murderer was not the person who cast the curse on his grandson back then, they must have a connection with that person. The cursed mark on Qin Fei's body was extremely similar to the residual imprint that appeared on his grandson before he died...

  However, all the so-called clues... turned out to be wrong in the end. He didn't grasp those so-called clues, but instead got the method to retrieve Zhou Qing and Zhang Dang's missing souls from Zhou Tian Tong.

  That method was cruel and insidious, but he still couldn't help trembling. So even though he knew the vengeful spirits on the back mountain of Qing Shui Town were materials prepared by Zhou Tian Tong, he told Qin Fei that those vengeful spirits might be related to the person who cast the curse. Qin Fei already had no reason to continue staying in Qing Shui Town, but he subconsciously used lies to hold him back. Whether or not to help Zhou Tian Tong, at that time he had already made his decision.

  Zhang Zhixin sat up from bed, wiped his face and got up to walk towards the door. He was going to find Zhou Tian Tong next door.

  Qin Fei, this life is uncle's fault to you, so please help uncle once, next life uncle will repay you even if he becomes a cow or a horse.

  After Zhang Zhi Xin knocked on Zhou Tian Tong's door twice, he heard a low and hoarse voice responding from inside. He pushed open the door and went in, only to see Zhou Tian Tong sitting in front of a square table, which was filled with all sorts of instruments. The seven black porcelain bottles that he had seen before, used for sealing evil spirits, were also among them.

  After Zhang Zhixin entered the house, Zhou Tiantong's drooping eyelids twitched slightly as he raised his eyes to meet Zhang Zhixin's gaze. "I've already prepared everything, I plan to take action tonight. Have you thought it through?"

  Zhang Zhixin's clenched fist shook slightly before he relaxed his hand and nodded at Zhou Tian.

  Zhou Tian Tong stiffly hooked the corner of his mouth, then turned around and carefully placed the instruments on the table one by one into a not very large cloth bag. After finishing everything, he also handed Zhang Zhi Xin a damaged book.

  "This is an ancient book of formation diagrams, you take a look at the drawing." Zhou Tian Tong said, "After you set up the formation, I'll go bring Qin Fei over."

  Zhang Zhixin held the half-ruined ancient book and nodded slightly.

  "It's getting late, let's go." Zhou Tian Tong patted his shoulder and carried the sack out.

  Zhang Zhixin was very unwell during the day, and although Qin Fei didn't ask much, he still had some concerns. Lying in bed for a long time, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, just as he was about to drift off, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. The sudden knock also startled away Qin Fei's drowsiness.

  The light was turned on and a glance at the wall clock showed that it was just past eleven o'clock, but this time was not a normal time for anyone to come.

  Qin Fei stood up and put on his pants and jacket, with a puzzled look, he opened the door.

  Outside the door, Zhou Tian stood there with a lantern in his hand, the faint light of the lantern shining on the lower half of his face, his face half bright and half dark. Qin Fei was startled at first sight, taking a step back before recognizing the person.

  "Grandma Zhou?"

  Zhou Tiantong did not respond, but instead used his deep-set eyes to stare straight at Qin Fei.

  "Grandfather Zhou, you came to do wha..." Qin Fei's words were not yet finished, and the tail tone was already ambiguous. He smelled a strange fragrance that made his consciousness become blurred.

  When Qin Fei's eyes lost focus and his expression turned wooden, Zhou Tian Tong's hoarse voice slowly sounded, "Let's get going."

  Zhou Tian Tong turned around, carrying an oil lamp and walking towards the back mountain. He muttered to himself as he walked. Behind him, Qin Fei stood at the door, swaying slightly before following Zhou Tian Tong outwards.

  ……

  Qingshui Town Police Station, a large office, the main team in charge of the homicide case - Chen Ming and Shen Bin's two teams gathered together. Chen Ming and Shen Bin stood behind the data analysis personnel, watching them continuously operating and screening. The others were communicating with people in charge of the case at various locations, collecting information.

  Zhou Jun previously suggested that the perpetrator might be someone who had contact with all seven victims. After discussing with Chen Ming and Shen Bin, the investigation team began collecting information on people who had contact with the seven victims within a month, planning to find out who among them had contact with all seven for in-depth investigation.

  This is a huge workload survey, seven people were dismissed within a month, the number is absolutely objective. The other six personnel at the sub-branch also assisted in the screening process, after a day and night of busy work, there was only one screening process left.

  Gu Wenkai and Zhou Jun were sorting through the printed materials together, both of their faces tense. If they still couldn't find the murderer after this investigation, the case would become even more difficult to solve from now on.

  "It's done."

  Upon hearing the analyst's words, Gu Wenkai and Zhou Jun put down the materials in their hands and walked towards that screening computer.

  Although the goal is to find seven victims who have all had contact with each other, there will inevitably be omissions in the actual investigation. Therefore, the final locked-in person does not necessarily need to have had contact with all seven people, but only needs to have had contact with more than two people to be locked in.

  After screening, there were three people left. The photos of the three people lined up on the computer screen, with two young people and one old man, accompanied by simple personal information.

  "The three people's occupations were a fortune teller, a product promoter and a food delivery person..." Chen Ming furrowed his brow, "It wouldn't be surprising if these occupations happened to come into contact with several victims!"

  "That fortune-telling old man shouldn't be the culprit, if one of these three is the murderer, it should be one of those two young men," said Shen Bin.

  "Indeed..." Chen Ming nodded and turned to Zhou Jun beside him, "What's your take on this?"

  Zhou Jun glanced at Gu Wenkai and said, "Give me a copy of the information, let me think about it again."

  Zhou Jun took the materials and pulled Gu Wenkai into the adjacent rest room.

  "Is the result out?" Seeing Gu Wenkai and Zhou Jun entering, Gu Wenchang put down the materials in his hand and asked.

  "It's out." Zhou Jun handed over the information of three suspects to Gu Wenkai, "Which one do you think it is?"

  Gu Wenqing flipped through the materials and pushed his glasses up, picking out one of them and placing it on the table. "Most likely it's this fortune teller... Zhou Tian Tong."

  Zhou Jun nodded, "I think so too. Those seven people died from non-human means, and the only one who matches up with exorcism is this fortune teller."

  "It's not ruled out that the remaining two people deliberately used their profession as a cover." Gu Wenqing said, "But if it's these two people left, the scope of the murder won't be limited to Qing Shui Town and its surroundings. Zhou Tian Tong has been living in Qing Shui Town all along and is advanced in age, not convenient for action, can't run far, and conforms to the rules of the crime scene."

  "So the most deliberate one is still Zhou Tian Tong this week..." Zhou Jun's gaze returned from the document in front of Zhou Tian Tong, and he glanced at Gu Wenkai beside him, only to see him frowning with a serious expression. Zhou Jun then reached out and pushed him, asking, "Hey! What are you thinking about?"

  "Zhou Tian Tong, this name... I heard Qin Fei mention it when I called him during the day..." Gu Wenkai's face turned even more unsightly, "That person is in Qing Shui Town's Xi Zhen, if he's the same as the murderer..."

  At this point, Zhou Jun and Gu Wenqing also changed their faces at the same time.

  "I'll give Qin Fei a call."

  Gu Wenkai took out his mobile phone and started calling Qin Fei, but no matter how many times he dialed, no one answered.