Day and night tour

Chapter 24: Dai Gentleman's Loophole
"Blood sacrifice? Ritual?"

Liu Tianen had heard of similar things before. In fact, he had heard quite a few of them.

Both the Yin people and the gods have similar rituals, especially the gods of the Wu family school and the Yin people of the Mangshan Niangniang branch, who are very fascinated by this kind of rituals.

But based on his understanding of Mr. Dai, Dai Siming believes in Maitreya Buddha, so there is no reason for him to be keen on this kind of ritual.

Liu Tianen pondered and said, "A Maitreya believer like Mr. Dai would not preside over a blood sacrifice ceremony, right?"

"Is that the kind of Mitreya you're talking about?"

Zhou Xuan pointed at the depressed Maitreya Buddha statues along the Huilang River and said.

"if not?"

"Have you ever thought that they are not the real Maitreya..."

"hiss!"

Liu Tianen had to admit that he was abducted by the young man's words and actually began to think along the lines of Zhou Xuan's topic.

These Maitreya Buddha statues have been placed in the corridor for many years, and no one has ever questioned whether they are fake.

Every year, Maitreya Buddhists from other places such as Mingjiang Prefecture and Guangyuan Prefecture come to Pingshui Prefecture and are willing to worship in the temple in Huilang River. They all say that the Buddha here is efficacious. Don’t they see that this Buddha is fake?

"These days, there are so many lies, and how many people can tell the truth from the lies..."

Zhou Xuan suddenly stopped talking, leaned close to Liu Tianen's ear, and whispered, "For example, Mr. Dai is doing charity work and wants to perform a ghost play for the six death row prisoners. This matter has been publicized in the newspapers and is known to everyone in the city. But how many people know...that the six death row prisoners are not death row prisoners at all?"

Buzz,
Zhou Xuan's words were like a thick stick that was swung at his head, making Liu Tianen's head buzz.

Others may not know, but Liu Tianen knows.

Those six death row prisoners were indeed not real death row prisoners. It was just Mr. Dai who publicized that those six people were death row prisoners.

Even though it was publicity, it was still necessary to say hello to the warden of Pingjiang Prefecture. After accepting Mr. Dai's "respectable" arrangement, the latter turned a blind eye and did not interfere.

Warden Guo Changye and Liu Tianen have been friends for many years.

After Mr. Dai got into trouble, Guo Changye called Liu Tianen's office and told him everything, begging Liu Tianen to help him keep the identities of the six death row prisoners secret.

"Old Liu, Mr. Dai's case involves a murder. The investigation must focus on the murder. Don't involve me in this, no matter what."

Some things, if they are not weighed, they weigh only three ounces, but if they are weighed, they weigh a thousand pounds.

Guo Changye understood, and Liu Tianen also understood.

"Take a step to speak."

Liu Tianen sensed "danger" from Zhou Xuan. If they continued chatting in public, he might reveal some secrets.

"it is good."

Zhou Xuan pointed to the open space in front of the stage. Not long ago, this place was full of audiences listening to opera.

The group of one-eyed villagers who had eaten Mr. Dai also appeared from here.

The grass in the open space was as thick as a quilt and very soft to step on. A circle of willow trees grew around the open space. The trees were growing strong, with luxuriant branches. The surface of the branches and trunks seemed to be covered with a matte finish, making them look vibrant.

Liu Tianen chose to have a chat next to a willow tree.

His attitude towards Zhou Xuan was no longer overbearing, and he became much more polite: "Little brother, what's your name?"

"Zhou Xuan!"

"Oh, the young master of the Zhou Clan." Liu Tianen raised his head, looked at the slightly distant stage, and asked: "Those six death row prisoners are indeed not real death row prisoners, but we don't know what their original identities were..."

He really didn't know.

Guo Changye didn't know either. He was only concerned with providing convenience to Mr. Dai. How could he have the time to ask about the origins of the dead people?

"Ah."

"Don't just hum... Tell me about the blood sacrifice ceremony. Mr. Dai is the host of the ceremony, and he also serves as the sacrifice. What's going on?"

Liu Tianen was waiting for the main topic.

Although he has already considered the Zhou Clan as a backup option, the reason why he is a backup option is that he is not a person without principles.

If the case can successfully uncover the truth, of course we will conduct a normal investigation. If we can't find out the truth, we will try to find crooked ways.

He is a man who believes in using courtesy before force.

Zhou Xuan did not get into the topic directly, but asked: "Director Liu, how is your relationship with Mr. Dai?"

"I know him, right? We can say hello when we meet. He is a big shot in Pingshui Prefecture, one of the White Cloud Gentlemen, and a member of the Shan De Society. And I... hehe..."

Liu Tianen smiled bitterly: "He is just a cruel official who deals with strange 'patients' every day."

Yep,
Liu Ju had a clue in his mind. Zhou Xuan then asked, "So what do you think of Mr. Dai's health?"

"very good."

"But after meeting Mr. Dai today, he seemed as if he would not live to see tomorrow. He kept saying 'my whole life' and 'this life', which were all words that summarized things. Moreover, from the bridge to the stage, he kept sighing. He sighed when he saw a house, a temple, and sometimes a railing pier.

Thinking about it now, that was not a sigh, it was him saying goodbye to his memories and his life.

He knew he was going to die today."

Liu Tianen shook his head and said, "Maybe you misunderstood his meaning? When I came here, my subordinates reported to me that Mr. Dai has a detailed business plan. At the end of the underworld play, he also announced his plan to build a factory and join forces with the Shan De Society to build a hospital in the corridor..."

"That was a lie he made up."

Zhou Xuan said: "When we were in the car, he told my senior brother that he was going to invest in an oil refinery this year, but when he announced the plan, he also said that he was going to invest in three factories!
Sometimes it's one, sometimes it's three. He is an extremely shrewd businessman. Businessmen are much more sensitive to numbers than ordinary people. He will not make a mistake in such a simple number.

But he was wrong, and the only explanation is that his plan was all a lie, and he knew it was a lie, so he didn’t pay much attention to the details.”

Liu Tianen felt that it made more and more sense, but these were all speculations... to be more precise... speculations!
"Your speculation only proves that Mr. Dai foresaw his own death. You have made no progress in the direction of the 'blood sacrifice ritual'."

"go!"

Zhou Xuan raised his leg and walked towards the stage.

"where to?"

"Find Liu Jiaotian and find the evidence you want." Zhou Xuan responded.

……

Liu Jiaotian is the mainstay of the Zhou Clan. She is usually a bit cold and arrogant, which is in line with her genius personality.

Genius is arrogant and so insolent.

However, at this moment, Liu Jiaotian was shaking all over and her face was pale. No matter how well she acted, she was, after all, just a weak woman. Facing a cruel official like Liu Tianen, she was very nervous, especially since she was already guilty.

"Mr. Liu, don't be nervous."

Zhou Xuan understood the troupe's rules.

All famous opera actors are addressed as "sir", regardless of whether they are men or women.

"Um... um..." Liu Jiaotian simply responded, his throat couldn't help but tremble.

"Today's play, the part you sang was "A Dream in the Garden", right?"

"what?"

The word "ah" represents Liu Jiaotian's stereotype of Zhou Xuan.

She remembered that the young master was an uneducated bastard who spent a lot of money to support actors every day, but couldn't even remember a word of the lyrics. How did he know that she was singing Dream in the Garden?
Before Liu Jiaotian could answer, Zhou Xuan asked again: "You changed a lot of words in this play!"

"No...no!"

"Not only did you change the lyrics, you also changed the singing style. If you don't admit it, I will go find Third Senior Brother and ask him to explain."

Third senior brother Li Shuangyi is the head coach of the opera troupe. Whether he can sing well or not is another matter, but he definitely understands opera and knows exactly whether any lyrics have been changed.

"I changed it..." Liu Jiaotian didn't dare to be stubborn anymore, so he had to admit it. At the same time, he found an excuse for changing the lyrics, which was so unruly: "But, we are singing ghost opera, not like the regular opera industry. Changing the lyrics is common. Sometimes..."

"Whether you change the lyrics or not has little to do with me. No need to explain. I just want to ask you - did you change the lyrics because you received money from Mr. Dai?"

Zhou Xuan's words were very straightforward.
Even Liu Jiaotian couldn't believe it. Is this still the young master? Why is he speaking so sharply?

She felt as if she was naked in front of the young master, and was seen through by his eyes.

Hey, speaking of eyes... The young master's eyes seem to be much better than before, with high corners and bright pupils...

Zhou Xuan couldn't see through people's hearts. If he wanted to, he would spit out blood - my friend's nerves are so tense, are you playing a sickly romance game with me?

“Just answer it, right?” Zhou Xuan’s patience was rapidly decreasing.

Damn, is it so difficult to communicate with celebrities?

"Yes! Mr. Dai gave me three thousand Jingguo banknotes... and asked me to change the words and tone."

When Liu Tianen heard this, he stood up and asked, "What words were changed?"

"This is what I want to change." Zhou Xuan took out a piece of paper and handed it to Liu Tianen: "I have already written it for you."

The note contained the lyrics of the song after Liu Jiaotian's revision: I don't know where the fate comes from, but it is deep and lasting. The living can die, and the dead can be reborn. Those who are alive but cannot die, and those who are dead and cannot be reborn, are not the ultimate fate.

This poem is quite normal when put into a play.

But just take it out, the eye-catching "fate, life, death, resurrection", and then associate it with the "blood sacrifice ceremony" mentioned by Zhou Xuan.
Liu Tianen just felt creepy!

(End of this chapter)