Chapter 925: Fake Taoist Master
Chapter 925: Fake Taoist Master
In the evening, Lin Dongxue came back from the hospital. All her colleagues had gotten off work, but Chen Shi was still in the office staring at the computer in a daze.
Seeing Lin Dongxue open the door and come in, Chen Shi asked, "Did you discover anything?"
Lin Dongxue shook her head regretfully. "Crazy Lady wasn’t born there. What are you looking at?" She leaned over to look at the computer screen.
"Haii, search engines are really not useful. I wanted to find out if there are any cult rituals that require the organs of people born on the same day, month, and year. What I found were all weird things."
"Could we ask an expert who researches religion?"
Chen Shi shook his head. "No, this isn’t the important point. It’s enough that we know it’s someone that’s collecting organs. The heart and liver. What is left? Spleen, stomach, and kidneys? The person who needs these organs may have some connection with the date of February 19th, 1973."
There was a stack of documents on the table, all of which were the results of doing searches in the information department. It would probably take a long time to look over them. Chen Shi patted it with his hand. "These are the files of all the targets currently living in Long'an. The victims are amongst them, and so may the murderers."
"I'll help you look over them tomorrow!"
"Ha, you think I’ll let you off with this easy work? You’ll accompany me out to investigate the case tomorrow." Chen Shi found a large envelope from the drawer and put away all the information.
Picking up the papers, Lin Dongxue found two boxes of mooncakes underneath. She picked them up and asked in surprise, "You’re giving out mooncakes?"
"Your brother sent them. Everyone gets a share. I helped you get yours. The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Then should we prepare for Old Man Lu's affair?"
"Indeed." Chen Shi looked worried. Every event was happening together. "Let’s go buy a knife now!"
"Do you know where to buy a beautiful handcrafted knife?"
"Just go to the supermarket and buy a random one."
"Didn't you say that you wanted to buy a handcrafted knife? Why do you suddenly want a random one again?"
"A knife that is too beautiful doesn’t seem like a murder weapon… Okay, this is just an excuse I came up with because I find it troublesome."
"Shall we go home?"
"Let’s go!"
The two went to a supermarket near their home. As it was almost Mid-Autumn Festival, the supermarket had added some new promotional booths and the flow of people had also increased. The two strolled together arm in arm. When they got to the tableware area, Lin Dongxue droppedChen Shi’s arm and ran towards a booth. "Wow, what a beautiful little bowl, it only costs 9.8 yuan. Captain, let’s buy a few!"
"How many bowls are there at home? Why do you like tableware so much?"
"This is really cheap and affordable."
"Go, go, go!"
Chen Shi stubbornly dragged Lin Dongxue away and went to the shelves where table knives were placed. Chen Shi picked up a stainless steel knife, looked it over and said, "This is very similar to the weapon used by Zhou Xiao. Let’s buy a piece of sandpaper to wear it down so it looks a little older."
Lin Dongxue coquettishly said, "I want a small bowl."
Chen Shi pretended not to hear her. "The condoms are almost running out. Let’s go buy a box."
After taking a box of “buy one, get one free” condoms, Lin Dongxue said again, "I want a small bowl."
Chen Shi still pretended not to hear her. "Let’s go upstairs and buy some food. We’re always eating instant noodles. It's too boring. Would you like me to cook some stir-fried noodles for you?"
"I want a small bowl!"
"Why do you want a bowl?!"
"Of course a bowl is used to hold things. It can be used for rice, soup, or for the cat at home. It will definitely be nice for the cat to drink water out of this."
Chen Shi sighed. "You’re only allowed to buy one."
Lin Dongxue happily ran over to pick a small bowl and Chen Shi, who was waiting at the side, showed a helpless, wry smile. He had already guessed the fate of this bowl. It will be used a few times after they go back, and then placed into the cabinet to gather dust with the rest of Lin Dongxue’s "collection" of tableware.
However, it was fine as long as she was happy.
The case was still being investigated slowly. At noon the next day, Chen Shi received a text message from kk and called up Lin Dongxue to rush to the agency together. As soon as he entered, he saw a silver-haired and bearded old man sitting there smoking a cigarette. His clothes were ordinary but his hairstyle was that of an old-fashioned Taoist priest. kk introduced, "This is Mr. Ju Zhenglei from the Heavenly Master Sect. These two are Brother Chen and Police Officer Lin…"
"What, police?" The old man who was smiling and holding out his hand to shake Lin Dongxue’s hand quickly stood up and prepared to leave.
"Hey, don't run away in a hurry!" kk and Sun Zhen stepped forward to stop him.
"It's impossible for me to cooperate with the police. It's impossible within my lifetime. Starving to death is a small thing, but disloyalty is a big thing. I would rather die than work with the enemy. A real man has a backbone of steel."
The old man made an uproar as he was brought back by the two and pressed down onto a chair. Chen Shi asked, "Which asylum was this man released from?"
"Young man, be careful when you speak. I, Ju, am half immortal. You can't see them with the naked eye but behind me are the six divine generals…"
"Stop acting!" kk slapped him on the back. "Speak properly."
The old man was so scared that he bent over, and took advantage of this effort to look at Lin Dongxue a few more times. "Fake? How can a police officer be so beautiful?"
"It’s true that the police force rarely has such beautiful officers like me." Chen Shi showed him his credentials.
Seeing Chen Shi's higher rank, the old man was dumbfounded. "Who else is a police officer in this office?"
"Just the two of us. Although I’m a policeman, I’m also a shareholder of the agency and a friend of theirs. Do you know Liao Chunhuang?" Chen Shi said.
The old man nodded.
"Liao Chunhuang has completely fooled the richest man in Long'an. Seeing that his property is about to be snatched away by him, we need your help."
The old man stroked his beard. "It's a big taboo to cut the ground from under the feet of someone from the same industry. If I fight with him, he won’t know you guys but he knows me. If he tells others, I won't be able to survive in Jianghu."
"Fuck, you’re someone who’s already buried up to your neck, do you still care about that?" kk said.
"A person’s reputation is very important. I, Ju, don't want to leave behind an infamous name in Jianghu at the end of it all." The old man said sternly.
"He’s already about to lose everything, if you help, you will only be praised in Jianghu." kk coaxed.
"Tch, what nonsense are you spouting?! Liao Chunhuang hasn’t broken the rules. The person was willing to be fooled. It's like selling Dali pills and after spending lots of energy and hard work, a colleague comes along and says that what you’re selling is fake. Wouldn’t you say that this peer is hateful? It’s the same logic! We have different values. You think that Liao Chunhuang is a bad person and a scammer, but to me, he is a good boy who follows the rules, is good at his tricks, and is self-reliant. I’m almost from the master of his master’s generation. If I cooperate with the police to cut the ground from under the younger generation’s feet, tell me how I can face my ancestral master in the underworld in the future?"
"Fake Taoist priests have ancestral masters? Who is it?" kk asked.
"How ignorant. The founder of our profession is Zhuge Liang!"[1]
"Zhuge Liang has never been so seriously defamed before." Sun Zhen mocked.
The old man fumed. "I'm leaving. I can't talk with you laymen! A bunch of crazy people who act without using your brains."
Chen Shi stopped him. "Hey, are you really capable? Or are you just a dabbler who doesn’t dare to fight with Liao Chunhuang?"
"What?!" The old man turned his head, "Young people really don't know their place."
When he turned his palm, there was a talisman. The talisman spontaneously ignited in his hand and turned into ashes. Then the old man waved his hand and the ashes floated in mid-air for a while. He clenched his other hand, and the ashes were all sucked into his fist. When he opened it, there was a golden core in his hand.
Everyone was stunned. Even though they knew that this was all fake, even according to the standards of magic, it could be considered to have reached the peak of perfection.
People who only delve into only one thing in their entire life, even if it is only scamming, will also make others gasp in amazement.
1. Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era, and has been compared to Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War. ?