Chapter 307: The Forgotten Him (1)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After exiting the exit, Lu Miao bent down and picked up a dry branch, drawing a pattern on the snow.
Captain Ji rubbed his chin and looked at it for a while.” This is a…a formation? Lu Miao nodded.” The Nine Yin Revolution is a sacrificial array.”
Captain Ji immediately reacted.” Are you saying that the person behind this is using them as sacrifices?”
Mysticism has declined, and many formations have long been lost, especially rare and sinister ones. He hadn’t even seen this type before, but Lu Miao could tell at a glance.
Holding a twig, Lu Miao lightly tapped a few spots on the formation diagram.
“These spots are exactly where the bodies were discovered, as you mentioned. If I’m not mistaken, the birth dates of these victims are all ‘full yin’ days.”
Captain Ji immediately recalled the profiles of the victims he had seen before, and it was indeed true.
Six cases of murder in two months, plus today’s case, totaled six incidents. The people of Luocheng were on edge, and the police department was under tremendous pressure. Most officers were dispatched to strengthen night patrols. He was so busy that he overlooked such an important clue.
He quickly approached Lu Miao and squatted down beside her, staring at the formation diagram for a while. Then, he pointed to the southeast direction. “Based on this formation diagram, it seems that nine people are needed to complete the sacrifice.
Next time, the killer’s dumping location should be in the southeast direction, and it will happen one week from now.”
Lu Miao discarded the twig in her hand and patted off the dust. “Well done,
Captain Ji. You’re truly clever.”
Captain Ji raised his hand and rubbed his chin, stepping closer and pointing to the center of the formation where the core array eye was. “If the other directions are used for sacrifice, what is he doing here?”
Gu Shiyan stood on the side, watching the two getting closer and closer, their heads almost touching. Without changing his expression, he directly grabbed Ji Nanchen’s collar and pulled him aside. “If your eyesight isn’t good, get a pair of glasses.”
Ji Nanchen responded, “Thank you, President Gu. Both my eyes have 2.5 vision. It’s pretty good.”
Lu Miao stood up and spoke leisurely, “Do you still want to catch the culprit?”
Ji Nanchen immediately turned to look at her. “The southeast direction of the formation should be near the water treatment plant. I’ll arrange for people to keep watch there day and night.”
Lu Miao shook her head. “The killer’s timing of each murder seems to follow a time pattern, but it’s actually based on the changing positions of the formation combined with celestial changes.
We’re currently at the end of the year and about to start the new year, when celestial phenomena will undergo significant changes.”
Ji Nanchen’s expression changed instantly upon hearing this. He calculated with his fingers and said, “So, you mean the killer’s next crime will occur three days earlier?”
“There were water marks near the stone platform. The killer deliberately delayed the victims’ time of death and misled the police by using ice or something similar.
Based on the condition of the body we examined just now, the time of death was at least 48 hours ago. This means the killer’s next crime will occur two days from now.
With nearly ten million permanent residents in Luocheng, narrowing down the target to young women leaves us with at least a million potential victims. To find someone with a ‘full yin’ birthdate among so many people in such a short time, unless they’ve already preselected candidates by directly accessing the household registration system.” Lu Miao explained.
Ji Nanchen couldn’t help but marvel. Indeed, when Lu Miao hadn’t arrived earlier, the forensic expert had spoken in the same manner.
Lu Miao, a non-professional in forensics, could accurately pinpoint the issues at hand.
It’s no wonder the leader of Squad One was always keen on getting Lu Miao to join the police force.
“Are you really not considering joining us?”
If looks could kill, Ji Nanchen would have been killed a thousand times over by Gu Shiyan’s gaze by now.
“Busy,” Lu Miao simply rejected with a single word.
She really was busy. In addition to her research projects at school, she was also part of several national-level secret research teams.
For Old Master Fu, aside from small matters that went to the Special Affairs Management Bureau, everything involving major projects like geomantic surveys was directed to her.
Then there were the elderly gentlemen like Elder Sun, Elder Shen, and Prof Wen, with their research in the medical field.
She was so busy now that she didn’t even have time to take a break.
As for Lin Bufan, he had turned down countless people.
Ji Nanchen nodded regretfully, “Alright, I’ll return to the household registration system and find all the individuals who fit the criteria. I’ll figure out a way to contact and notify them.
There are quite a few households near the water treatment plant, and the killer, in order to evade attention, will surely have already done reconnaissance. I’ll immediately have someone check all the surveillance videos from the past half month.”
With time being of the essence and after confirming no further overlooked information, the three of them left the amusement park. By the time they parted at the entrance gate, it was already past 5 in the afternoon.
Lu Miao got into the car and checked her phone. She had received numerous messages from Gu Jinxi and Gu Ziheng. Half of them were messages playfully asking when she’d return, while the other half sternly reprimanded Gu Shiyan for not taking her home first.
Beside her, Gu Shiyan pulled her into his embrace, raising a hand to cover her eyes. “You’ve had a long day. Rest for now; we can discuss later.”
Under his palm, Lu Miao’s long eyelashes trembled, resembling a butterfly lightly fluttering its wings in his grasp.
Gu Shiyan lowered his head to plant a kiss on her forehead, his lips curving involuntarily when he saw her slightly flushed ears.
When the car stopped at the entrance of Lingyue Manor, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Lu Miao got out of the car and was immediately engulfed in a tight hug from
Gu Jinxi. “Sis-in-law, you’re finally back.”
Then, with a cheerful grin, he extended his hand to Lu Miao. “Where’s my New
Year’s gift?”
Taking her suitcase from Gu Shiyan behind her, Lu Miao retrieved an exquisite box from within and handed it to him.
“Thanks, sis-in-law!”
Gu Jinxi eagerly ran to the side to unwrap his gift.
Lu Miao then proceeded to take out several gifts one by one, handing them to Gu Ziheng and the others.
Finally, she approached Gu Shiyan.
The corners of Gu Shiyan’s lips curled up imperceptibly, but Lu Miao simply lifted a nearby suitcase and said, “I’ll go upstairs to freshen up and change clothes. I’ll come back down for dinner later.” And then she turned and went upstairs! !!
She just turned and went upstairs!!!
Gu Shiyan glanced around, not only at Gu Zhixing and Aluo, but even Auntie Xiu, the housekeeper, was cheerfully holding a gift.
So, was he forgotten?
“Auntie Xiu, what’s today’s date?”
“February 8th. Tomorrow is your birthday. Second Young Master, how could you forget even this?” Auntie Xiu reminded him.
“Yes, I didn’t forget,” Gu Shiyan looked in the direction Lu Miao had left without speaking further.
After dinner, the group enjoyed the lively atmosphere for a while before Gu Zhixing and Aluo excused themselves to leave.
Gu Jinxi and Gu Ziheng had already been ordered by Shen Qinghe to move back to the Gu residence and were forbidden from bothering Lu Miao.
Seeing Lu Miao get up, Gu Shiyan was about to go upstairs with her when he noticed her gesturing with her finger towards Gu Ziheng.
Immediately, Gu Ziheng excitedly followed her upstairs. Even on the staircase, he began to whisper something in her ear.
Nobody knew what he was saying, but his excited expression and eyes were gleaming..
