Playing mystical tricks?

Midday!

The sun was bright, and the ice and snow were melting!

Yet Shen Ting's heart sank completely.

The explanations given by Yoshikage Kira and Hannibal were indeed the most rational ones at present.

The contradictions in the WeChat reply could also be explained.

"Shen Ting, I'm sorry, I like you!"

This must have been Gao Ya confessing her feelings to him.

The "but" that followed probably meant she was dying, couldn't make it to their date, and couldn't be with him anymore.

As for the "hehe," it might have genuinely been sent by the killer.

The killer might have discovered Gao Ya using her phone, snatched it away, and sent "hehe" to mock and ridicule him.

And Gao Ya was dead!

The killer, carrying the phone, came near the intersection.

Only after Shen Ting called did the killer think to remove the SIM card.

The process was fairly logical.

However, this was not the outcome Shen Ting wanted!

"I mustn't let my imagination run wild; these are all my speculations.

Until I see the body, anything is possible."

Shen Ting tried hard not to think about the worst-case scenario, but he found he couldn't control his own mind.

The more he tried not to think about it, the more frequently those thoughts occurred.

"Give me a shovel!"

Shen Ting walked to the front of the line and started shoveling snow, attempting to use physical labor to restrict his chaotic thoughts.

He shoveled like this for over three hours.

It was now deep winter, and here in Dajing, it started to get dark around five o'clock.

Once the temperature dropped, the ice and snow would not be so easy to shovel.

Shen Ting grew even more anxious!

Because in three hours, only a single new purple crystal bead had been found.

Not a single shred of the escort service card paper had been discovered again.

The investigation team believed that Yin Tingxue had not been carrying many cards on her at the time.

After all of them were torn up and scattered, they were replaced by Gao Ya's purple crystal bracelet.

However, when the two were transported, the ground might not have had snow, only ice.

Therefore, once the circular purple crystal beads were dropped, they could have rolled very far and off in unusual directions, making them extremely difficult to find.

"Searching like this is much too slow!"

Shen Ting calculated that there were less than two hours left before the sun went down.

Judging by the progress of the previous three hours, if only one or two purple crystal beads were found before dark, it wouldn't carry much meaning.

Because ahead of Anyan Road, there were quite a few branching paths leading to numerous destinations.

A few beads were simply not enough to determine a trajectory.

Shen Ting found Zheng Yuanqiao and asked anxiously,

"Captain Zheng, does Director Ma have any appraisal results yet?"

"Hold on, let me make a call and ask."

Zheng Yuanqiao immediately called the forensics lab and hung up a moment later.

"Shen Ting, Director Ma says the substances clinging to the paper scraps are far more complex than he imagined.

Moreover, the quantities are minuscule and microscopic, making appraisal extremely difficult.

He has only identified a small portion of the substances; the rest are still undergoing expedited analysis.

However, even for the substances already identified, he can't deduce much information because they are far too mixed.

He has already uploaded the relevant contents to the police network for you to take a look at.

Oh right, Director Ma mentioned there is a fair amount of rare pollen on the cards, and if you have time, he'd like you to help identify the species."

Shen Ting nodded and immediately opened the police network.

While reviewing the report, he simultaneously uploaded it to the case-solving group chat.

"The stuff really is a mixed bag!"

Shen Ting let out a hiss, genuinely surprised.

Only after reading the report did he truly grasp what Director Ma meant by a "mixed bag."

The known substances identified on the paper scraps included algae, bone fragments, artemisia scraps, colorants, tetrodotoxin, formalin, paper fibers, decomposed dog meat, 84 disinfectant, cinnabar powder, and so on.

Kiko: "How on earth did Yin Tingxue's escort cards end up stained with so much weird stuff? (,,•́ . •̀,,)"

Guan Hongyu: "The crucial thing is, none of these things seem to have any connection to each other, right?"

Guan Hongfeng (Elder Brother): "It's simply too mixed.

Is the killer disinfecting the victim? Why disinfect?

I'm starting to lose sight of what the killer is trying to achieve."

Forensic Pathologist Qin Ming: "Formalin is something we forensic doctors routinely use to preserve specimens.

Does the killer want to preserve the victim's corpse?"

Tang Detective Qin Feng: "Ahem, Group... Group Leader, the guy surnamed Tang says he has a discovery.

He's applying for unbanning and speaking rights!"

Tang Ren?

What could this fellow possibly discover?

Shen Ting didn't want to pay Tang Ren any mind, but he was afraid of missing a crucial clue and delaying the rescue of Gao Ya.

In the end, he unmuted Tang Ren!

Tang Ren: "Wokaka, I, Tang Ren, the number one detective in Chinatown, have returned once more~~~"

Group Leader: "Get to the point!

If you're spouting nonsense again, watch out or I'll kick you from the group!"

Tang Ren: "Got it~ Got it~~

Here's the deal, I suspect the killer is studying Taoist arts, especially talismans and sigils."

Guan Hongyu: "Huh?"

Kiko: "Boss, kick him (◔◡◔)!

How on earth does this connect to Taoism?

He must be talking nonsense again, hurry up and kick him!"

Shen Ting also pressed down on Tang Ren's avatar, preparing to give him the boot.

At that moment, however, Tang Ren hurriedly typed out:

"You dead girl, you just want to see me get kicked, right?

Group Leader, show mercy, let me finish talking~~

Several items in the appraisal report are actually related to Taoist talismans and sigils~~

That decomposed dog meat residue—I dare say it's black dog meat.

Because there is a branch of Taoism that uses black dog blood and cinnabar powder to mix the pigments for talismans~~

Those paper fibers are obviously yellowed; they must be the yellow ritual paper used for writing talismans~~

And the wormwood fibers—you guys certainly wouldn't know this, but besides moxibustion, Taoists also use wormwood to ward off evil and exorcise spirits~~"

This...

Shen Ting did know that Tang Ren liked playing with esoteric mysticism.

Yet he never expected him to be so well-versed, rattling off explanations with such plausibility that it sounded remarkably convincing.

Even less did he expect that the shredded paper contained so many metaphysical and esoteric materials.

Was the killer someone who also fancied esoteric mysticism?

Shen Ting pondered for a moment, still feeling that Tang Ren was somewhat unreliable, so he opened an AI assistant app to verify.

To his astonishment, he quickly discovered that everything Tang Ren had just said was actually correct.

In fact, his statements were rather conservative.

For instance, moxibustion sticks in esoteric mysticism could not only ward off evil and exorcise spirits, but also clear away negative magnetic fields.

If the flame flickered abnormally or produced unusual smoke while a moxibustion stick burned, it indicated a heavy presence of yin energy in the surroundings.

Furthermore, regarding the fine residues of decomposed dog meat on the paper scraps, Tang Ren must have looked quite closely.

There really was a black hair among them; just a single strand, which was noted in the report.

As for black dog blood mixed with cinnabar, it indeed formed the talisman formula of a certain school.

The paper fibers were also different from the fibers of the escort cards themselves.

Under a scanning electron microscope, the fibers of the escort cards contained massive amounts of fluorescent whitening agents.

These made the paper appear brighter and whiter!

Meanwhile, the fibers specifically highlighted by the appraiser contained zero fluorescent whitening agents, but instead possessed plenty of yellow dye.

Shen Ting contemplated for a brief moment, somewhat won over by Tang Ren's explanation.

However, so what if the killer was obsessed with esoteric mysticism?

Did that have anything to do with the case?

Qin Feng voiced the question on behalf of Shen Ting:

"Little Tang, stop... stop keeping us in suspense.

How are we supposed to investigate the case based on these things involving esoteric mysticism?

Or rather, can you tell what the killer intends to do by preparing all these items?"

Tang Ren: "How would I know that~~?

Those are just some basic materials; even immortals would be baffled looking at them~~

However, as for a homicide case, it definitely has to do with ghosts and netherworld spirits~~

No matter how complicated and convoluted things get, there is actually only one most fundamental element, and that is yin energy.

Without yang energy, a person cannot live; without yin energy, a ghost cannot exist!

The Group Leader can approach it from this angle~~

Simply put, just look for places nearby with heavy yin energy, and the killer is very likely to be right there~~"

Places with heavy yin energy?

Shen Ting raised an eyebrow.

Why was this sounding more and more mystical?

According to Tang Ren's theory, esoteric mysticism could be counted as the killer's hobby, something they had been trying to pin down earlier.

Murder and hiding corpses and the like certainly did correspond to deeply negative matters, which should align with the concept of yin in mysticism!

Yet this yin energy wasn't something that actually existed in reality, was it?

It felt much more like a conceptual framework!

Could this serve as a basis for solving a case?

Shen Ting modestly asked for guidance: "@Tang Ren, how are we supposed to find this yin energy?

How do we determine where there is yin energy and where it's the heaviest?"

Tang Ren: "That's even simpler~~

Just use tools to help out, find a store selling Taoist ritual implements, buy a Bagua mirror, get a Luopan compass, and follow the direction of the yin energy it points to~~"