Chapter 61: A Feng Shui Treasure Land? Turning Death into Life?

Shen Ting raised his head to find an abandoned construction site before him.

Villas and residential buildings stood within its bounds.

However, none of them were near completion.

It was obvious that construction had only begun a short while before the project stalled indefinitely.

The exterior of one building still bore four large characters: Happy Homeland.

They were eye-catching, yet deeply ironic.

After asking Zheng Yuanqiao, Shen Ting learned that this project had been abandoned for four or five years.

The buyers who had purchased units in advance had caused a commotion on several occasions.

The Chaoyang government had also coordinated with developers and banks to resolve the issue.

Yet, work on this housing estate had never resumed.

In Qin Shan’s aged eyes, profound doubt was evident:

"Could the criminal be hiding here?"

The skepticism among the other officers reached its peak as well:

"Look at the ground; there aren't any tire tracks or footprints at all!"

"Could the criminal have left before the heavy snow stopped completely?

That's why the footprints were covered by the snow?

Or perhaps, they've been hiding in the abandoned buildings ever since the snowfall and haven't left?"

"Even so, it's impossible not to leave a single trace, isn't it?"

"Ugh, are you guys really discussing this?

You don't actually think you can find the criminal using that compass and Bagua mirror, do you?"

"Exactly, don't be so ridiculous!"

……

Just then, Tang Ren suddenly left a message in the case-solving chat group:

"Oh, this abandoned site actually looks quite suspicious~~

Because judging by the terrain, this place seems to be right where the 'dragon spits water,' exactly where the water lands.

How interesting~~

It couldn't be such a coincidence that a housing estate was built right here.

The developer must have also believed in Feng Shui and consulted a Feng Shui master before breaking ground, which is why they chose this location~~"

Guan Hongyu: "What kind of sane person builds a housing estate in a place with such heavy Yin energy?"

Tang Ren: "You silly goose~~

Heavy Yin energy doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing~~

Haven't you ever heard that extreme Yin gives birth to Yang?

And what about a rolling source of wealth, ever heard of that?

What is the source? It's the origin, it's water~~

And this is the spot where the dragon spits water, right where it lands. This is truly a treasure land for generating wealth~~"

Shen Ting was entirely certain that Tang Ren was talking absolute nonsense.

Because this damn housing estate had… stalled out!

What kind of damn treasure land for generating wealth was this?!

However, the Feng Shui master hired by the developer most likely used the exact same theory to talk absolute nonsense.

And the criminal was no different!

Only!

The developer and the Feng Shui master had their eyes set on "generating wealth."

While the criminal had their eyes set on the "Yin energy" of this place!

For some inexplicable reason, even though he knew Tang Ren was spouting nonsense, Shen Ting felt his confidence grow considerably.

He straightened his Taoist robe, carried the peachwood sword on his back, held the Bagua mirror in one hand and the compass in the other, and led the way into the construction site following the needle's direction.

The snow here remained uncleaned and lay quite thick. Unlike the snow cleared away on the roadside, it was still soft and uniced, crunching noisily with each deep and shallow step.

The officers behind him quickly followed.

Yet, everyone's faces bore an even more distinct look of hesitation and distrust.

Not because they doubted Shen Ting, but because they simply didn't believe in metaphysics!

They didn't believe this case could truly be solved through these unfathomable ritual instruments.

As they ventured deeper, everyone realized that the scope of this housing estate was even larger than they had anticipated.

There were nearly twenty villas occupying the best locations.

Followed by townhouses and spacious flat-roofed apartments.

Standard residential buildings were the most numerous, numbering around thirty to forty blocks.

If the entire estate had been completed, it undoubtedly would have formed a massive residential cluster.

Leaving aside Chaoyang, it would have ranked high even across the entirety of Great Beijing.

Right at that moment!

Someone left a message in the chat group.

Guan Hongfeng (Elder Brother): "I have a thought.

Since the prostitution cards dug out from the snow contain so many metaphysical elements,

and the location of this housing estate also involves Feng Shui principles,

according to Tang Ren, this drop point of the 'dragon spitting water' is supposed to be a place of wealth.

Yet as it happens, the construction stalled.

Judging by the scale of the site, a tremendous amount of money must have been invested.

The developers probably suffered devastating losses. Since they believed in Feng Shui, is it possible they wanted to resort to evil methods?

Using murder and sacrifice to boost the Feng Shui, turning death into life, and saving the housing estate?"

Tang Tan Qin Feng: "That actually... seems to make sense!

Little Tang, surely there are practices like this in Feng Shui, right?"

Tang Ren: "Of course!

However, those are all unorthodox and crooked paths; what we study is proper metaphysics~~

I'm not very familiar with those stuffs~~"

Forensic Pathologist Qin Ming: "Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to be the developer trying to save this housing estate.

It could also be the buyers who purchased off-plan properties in advance!

If someone paid in full, that meant millions had gone down the drain.

Those who took out mortgages have it even worse; with the project stalled, they still have to repay the bank loans along with exorbitant interest.

It could be one or several property buyers who believe in Feng Shui, attempting to save this unfinished estate through the evil art of sacrificial murder."

It made sense!

And the timeline matched as well!

Shen Ting had checked the exact date the project stalled, which was five years ago.

As for the frequent disappearances on snowy nights, Qin Shan had stated they also began within the last four to five years.

Shen Ting directly shared all the information regarding the developers and home buyers for the group members to cross-examine.

As for himself, he followed the compass deeper into the construction site.

Soon, they reached the area close to the center of the estate!

As he ventured further, Shen Ting's confidence actually began to flag somewhat.

Just as the officers had pointed out, if the criminal's body-dumping and hiding place truly was here, footprints and other traces were bound to be left behind.

Unless the criminal had remained hidden within the estate since the snowfall and had never left.

In that case, the murderer's vehicle should also be here.

Or perhaps, the criminal had only stayed here for a few hours before leaving, after which their tracks were once again covered by the heavy snow.

Yet!

Gaoya had appeared near the intersection yesterday noon.

Regardless of whether she was a fleeing victim or the killer herself, if this was the dumping ground, her footprints ought to remain at the very least.

"Not necessarily!"

Gaoya appeared at the intersection at one o'clock yesterday afternoon.

Even if this housing estate was the crime scene, it didn't mean she had left the place at noon.

If she had departed before the heavy snow stopped, her footprints could well have been buried by the snow.

After a moment of thought, Shen Ting looked at Qin Shan and Zheng Yuanqiao, who had been following closely behind him:

"Captain Qin, Captain Zheng, there's no need for everyone to trail behind me the whole time.

This construction site is vast, and there are many areas that require investigation.

You can divide yourselves into several teams and search the entire site.

Focus heavily on finding footprints and tire tracks…

Since Yinxue was able to toss out those prostitution cards, the murderer's vehicle is most likely an electric tricycle."

"Understood!"

"I'll go arrange it!"

Just as the two men were about to assign the officers into groups, Xu Xinyi suddenly let out a startled gasp:

"What is this..."

She felt a foreign object beneath her foot, but it didn't feel like an irregular pebble.

Lifting her right foot to take a look, the dim twilight of the setting sun shone upon that patch of snow, faintly revealing a blurred trace of purple beneath the surface.

She quickly squatted down and scooped up the entire handful of snow.

This time, it was clearly visible that the purple object was actually a barrel-shaped bead, and its material closely resembled the beads found on Anyan Road.

It should be amethyst as well!

The officers crowded around to take a look, their eyes widening in unison instantly...