Zhao Yu didn’t believe in prolonging one’s life through unorthodox means. The person who created the Seven Star Hanging Coffins must have been a fraudster like Master Zhang.
He figured that, if the person to which the birth data belonged was indeed beset with a terminal illness, this person was probably already dead by now!
Therefore, they shouldn’t limit their search to only those who were still alive, but should also take deceased persons into account.
If there was indeed a person who had the same birth data and who had just recently died from a terminal illness, then this person must be closely related to the case of the hanging coffins!
Zhao Yu heaved a sigh of relief. After going to so much effort, he finally had a lead of some sort.
“Sir… something is still unexplained!” In an attempt to get his sentence reduced, Master Zhang was still trying his best to help with the case. “Why is it that there wasn’t any birth data on the corpse found in the 7th coffin?
“That doesn’t make sense…” he said earnestly. “The Seven Star Hanging Coffins obviously implies that there must be seven bodies for it to be effective. If birth data is missing for one of them, wouldn’t it be useless?”
“Maybe. This wouldn’t be hard to explain!” mused Zhao Yu. “The person seeking to prolong their life may have offended someone around them, someone who may be harboring evil intent…
“It seems as if someone didn’t want them to succeed. Therefore, someone laid hands on the female corpses and stole the birth data of the seventh female corpse, to ruin their entire plan!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Master Zhang nodded in agreement. “That’s definitely possible. It’ll explain everything, right?”
“You wish!” sighed Zhao Yu. “We don’t even know where the corpses came from!”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Master Zhang nodded respectfully.
“By the way…” Zhao Yu took out the yellow paper slip with the birth data written on it, asking again, “Didn’t you say earlier that this yellow paper slip looked familiar? Alright, here’s a chance for you to redeem yourself. Quick, tell me. Where have you seen that before?”
“Erm!” Master Zhang suddenly sighed, saying resignedly, “You should know by now what kind of tricks we use to retain our customers. So… what I said earlier about it looking familiar was just bullsh*t!”
“F*cking h*ll!” shouted Zhao Yu in disappointment and anger. He hadn’t expected it to all be bullsh*t.
“Erm… erm… relax, relax…” In an attempt to appease Zhao Yu, Master Zhang picked up the yellow paper slip and looked at it again carefully.
At that moment, Master Zhang’s wife and Xu Lu, who were lying on the ground, were gradually waking up. They took long breaths, expressions still blank. Then they slowly made their way up from the ground, one leaning against the doorframe, the other against the Kang bed-stove.
Despite seeing Zhao Yu and Master Zhang in the midst of a discussion, they were still in a daze. It was as if they had already forgotten what had just happened.
“Tut, tut…” Looking at the yellow paper slip earnestly, Master Zhang said to Zhao Yu, “Sir, I didn’t take a good look previously! Now that I’ve taken a good look at it, I’ve realized… realized…”
“Realized what? Stop mincing your words. Spit it out!” urged Zhao Yu.
“I’ve realized that I made a mistake previously!” Master Zhang pointed at the birth data on the yellow paper slip. “Look at the handwriting, how powerful these strokes are!”
“Hm? You mean to say…” Zhao Yu seemed to understand.
“You may not be aware, but it’s harder to write with cinnabar ink. One would require years of practice!” Master Zhang said.
“Amateurs don’t bother writing with cinnabar anymore!” He pointed at the words written in red on the yellow paper slip. “But look at the words written here, it’s obvious they are the work of a master!”
“Oh… I get it now!” said Zhao Yu. “What you’re trying to say is that not everyone can write this well?”
“That’s right!” Master Zhang nodded. “This person must be very well-skilled! And is probably one of the best in Fulai Province!”
“Oh…” Zhao Yu snapped his fingers, hopeful once again. “Since that’s the case, you must be acquainted with some of them? Write me a list of names!”
“Sure!” Master Zhang readily agreed. “I do know a few masters. Most of them are in Xiakou or the provincial capital.
“These people are not to be trifled with! They serve only the rich and wealthy, such as the bosses of large enterprises. The fees they charge are in the millions!
“One of them even hired 300 extras to put up a show in order to convince his client!”
“The f*ck?” Zhao Yu swallowed his saliva, amazed at the way they operated.
“Hang on… there aren’t many names. I’ll write them for you now.” Grabbing pen and paper, Master Zhang started listing them out for Zhao Yu.
“Ah… ah!!?”
Finally, having recalled the ghost that Zhao Yu conjured earlier on, Xu Lu suddenly screamed out in terror.
“Eh? Eh, eh, eh…” Master Zhang’s wife was trembling in fear, so much that she couldn’t even stand up. Instead, she fell back toward the bed-stove.
“Lao Zhang!” Ignoring the two of them, Zhao Yu continued asking Master Zhang, “Do any of the masters stay nearby? I still think the corpses found in the hanging coffins were found in the vicinity!”
“No, definitely not!” Master Zhang said confidently. “I guarantee there’s no one as professional as me within a 100-mile radius of Mount Wuqing!
“Did you know? The cripple Ah Qi from Li Tian Mu writes hexagrams in hanyu pinyin!”
“Ghost! Ghost!” Master Zhang’s wife pointed at Zhao Yu. “Lao Zhang, he’s a ghost! Electrocution didn’t work on him! Run… run for it…”
“That’s enough, stop screaming, b*tch! We’ve been exposed…” With a shake of his sleeves, Master Zhang said to Zhao Yu, “Sir, although there aren’t many masters like that, most of them are very low profile and rarely show their face in public!
“In addition to the list I’ve given you, I suggest you check with the uber-rich. They may know more people than me within their exclusive circles!”
Wee-oww, wee-oww…
Just as Master Zhang had finished speaking, police sirens were heard from a distance.
It turned out that Zhao Yu had already texted Xiong Wen Dong, and the civil police were on their way there to make the arrest. Due to the broken bridge, the police had to be sent from Songzhou.
“Old… old man… Is that the police? Why are they here?” Master Zhang’s wife blanched in shock. At a complete loss, she anxiously hung onto Master Zhang’s arm.
“Ok! Good job!” Zhao Yu was pleased with Master Zhang’s positive attitude. “Turn over a new leaf. Don’t commit any more atrocities! If I manage to crack this case, I’ll request reduced sentences for you guys!”
“Thank you, Sir! Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to turn over a new leaf! I won’t go around scamming people anymore!” Master Zhang bowed with his hands held in front. Looking at Zhao Yu, he suddenly asked in curiosity, “But… sir!
“How did you conjure up the ghost? I’ve never seen anything so realistic in my entire life. There were no flaws at all!
“Where did you hide your props?
“Erm…” Master Zhang thought for a bit, before sincerely pleading, “Could you please… teach it to me?”
