American Zombie Detective

Chapter 153 Peng Sheng

Qin Jin had already considered this issue, otherwise he wouldn't have arranged for David to stay at the station to keep watch: "This is just my guess. The beauty soup that Chen Anni has been taking for a long time, and even using this soup to protect her pregnancy, shows that the yin energy in her body has accumulated to a very high level. To put it bluntly, she is basically half dead."

"This dense yin energy emanating from within confused or even blocked the mountain spirit's senses to some extent. So, when Lin Hao contaminated the stone, it came from the Rand Park community—of course, I was just taking a gamble, but I didn't expect to win."

Qin Jin's statement was correct in its core, but only he knew that there was no element of gambling involved. Qin Jin and Alessa had clearly sensed the strong, rotten, and chilling aura emanating from Chen Anni and had already noticed it.

However, Carter and Hansen took this as Qin Jin's accumulated experience in handling cases and immediately accepted this explanation.

"Then—what should we do with that old woman who makes soup?" Hansen thought of the bloated old woman who was still being held in custody.

Qin Jin thought for a moment and gave a direct yet fundamental suggestion: "What she did might not be easy to punish severely from a legal perspective, but it was extremely harmful. If it gets out, it will cause trouble sooner or later. Prosecute her for desecrating a corpse, find a way to lock her up, and prevent her from having any more opportunities to come into contact with those things and harm people."

"Understood!" Hansen nodded; this was indeed a safe approach.

Soon, Deputy Director John returned and told Qin Jin that Chief Justice Warlin was willing to help, that the documents would be sent over shortly, and that the plane tickets had also been booked for Qin Jin and would be delivered that afternoon.

Everything seemed to be arranged properly.

Qin Jin was about to return to the hotel with Alessa to rest when Deputy Chief John extended a warm invitation: "Detective Qin, I'm planning a small celebration party tonight for everyone who participated in the case. We'll have a barbecue and drinks in my garden. It'll be very low-key! You absolutely have to come. I'll have Carter pick you up."

Qin Jin disliked this kind of socializing, but seeing the other party's sincere eyes and realizing that he did need to maintain the relationship, he reluctantly nodded: "Alright, then I'll take my leave."

Exhausted from a night of fighting and relieved to be dealing with new troubles, Qin Jin and Alessa returned to the hotel first.

After they had both finished washing up and rested for a few hours to replenish their energy, it was nearly afternoon.

After being awakened by the sound of Yuanxiao munching on an apple, Qin Jin glanced at Yuanxiao. The little bear cub, who had been curled up on the sofa and munching on an apple, immediately wriggled its bottom and crawled to Qin Jin's side, rubbing its head against his shoulder, whimpering as it lay there with a round belly, clearly having eaten too much.

Qin Jin, both amused and exasperated, rubbed Yuanxiao's belly. The little bear yawned contentedly and then fell asleep again.

Qin Jin glanced at his phone; it was just past two o'clock. He was about to call Alessa to go to the flea market and buy some clothes as gear for changing his identity in Romania when the phone rang.

He answered the phone: "What's up?" Not knowing the situation on the other end, Qin Jin neither called her Qingyin nor Muse, but asked directly what was going on.

"I sent you two links, take a look." Qingyin's voice was less alluring and seductive than usual, and more serious.

Qin Jin immediately opened MSN and saw a message from Qingyin: "[Mass suicide tragedy strikes Kansas town! Over two hundred people hang themselves simultaneously!]"

Is it a cult? Mass hysteria? The mystery of deaths in a small town shrouds the entire nation!

The accompanying news photo showed a yellow police cordon in the distance and rows of bodies covered with white sheets, a scene so eerie it was suffocating.

I glanced at it, and the content described a mass suicide incident that occurred in a town called Silverwood, Kansas, where more than two hundred people hanged themselves at the same time, a truly shocking scene.

Qin Jin called Qingyin again: "I saw the news, what's your opinion?"

"I don't have much to say about the case, but those things on the wall look familiar."

Qingyin's voice lowered, as if lost in distant memories: "Remember when I told you that there were two other things I knew about in those seven paintings—I suspect that's what they created!"

Are these things from those seven paintings again?

Qin Jin's expression darkened slightly, and he subconsciously asked, "It's not Jiang Chen, is it?"

"No, it has nothing to do with Jiang Chen. This thing should be—Peng Sheng!"

Qingyin uttered the name and briefly explained: "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Prince Peng Sheng of the State of Qi was unjustly killed by Duke Xiang of Qi. Before his death, he vowed to become a vengeful ghost. He eventually transformed into a giant pig-shaped demon with tusks like knives, who enjoyed torture and killing, especially watching people hang themselves in despair! It is said that he was severely injured by Zhang Tianshi and reappeared to wreak havoc at the end of the Sui Dynasty—I think it's very likely him!"

Her tone even carried a hint of unusual excitement: "Qin Jin, I need to go out and see if it's true! After all, it comes from the East, I think it might be able to help me—"

Qin Jin immediately understood her unfinished meaning and interrupted her in a deep voice: "Qingyin, I think you should reconsider! The demons can't do much to you, and besides—the second group and I certainly won't just watch you die! My personal advice is that you shouldn't provoke them; I'm afraid it might cause other trouble!"

Qingyin was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, seemingly unconvinced, and her tone turned cold: "I'll consider your suggestion, but I have my own ideas about how to proceed!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Qin Jin felt uneasy as he listened to the busy signal.

He knew that Qingyin was constantly trying to strengthen her self-defense capabilities in order to protect the fetus in her womb and fight against the demon. However, how could something that came out of the painting be so easy to deal with?

Qin Jin checked Peng Sheng's information and found that, as Qing Yin described, he was indeed quite strong, probably surpassing the Painted Skin Ghost and slightly weaker than Qing Yin.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Jin called Kang Shidanding.

The call connected quickly, with the sound of a melodious piano in the background, suggesting the caller was in a café or some other place. "Qin? What's up? Is the case not going well? Need my help?"

Constantine's voice carried his usual teasing tone.

"The case's over, now it's other stuff!" Qin Jin directly addressed Qingyin's problem: "Muse might be planning something risky. I'm going to Romania, so you'll have to keep an eye on things. If..."

Qin Jin paused for a moment, then said, "If anything happens, help if you can!"

"What is it? How can I help if you don't tell me?" Constantine asked curiously, "What is the other party—uh, what is it?"

"I don't know either, you'll have to figure it out when the time comes!"

After saying that, Qin Jin added the most important point: "If anything happens, contact me immediately and tell me the details."

"No problem!" Seeing that Qin Jin didn't know, Constantin didn't press the matter and naturally changed the subject: "How long will it take you to get to Romania? Do you need my help?"

"I'll be busy with some personal matters. It'll take a few days if things go smoothly, and a dozen days if things go slower. By the way, the money from the slush fund will be allocated soon. It's a lot of money. See if you can use your connections to find something more powerful to boost Muse and Catherine's strength. I might need some too."

"Alright, I'll go ask," Constantin agreed, then added, "By the way, if you're going to Romania to find something, I suggest you take Tagore with you. You know, Gecko Boy's luck is extraordinary—"

"Bring that koi fish along?" Qin Jin's heart skipped a beat. Surprisingly, that was a good suggestion!

Qin Jin casually said, "It's a good idea, but—why did you think of him?"

"It's all because he came to me begging for help!"

Constantin scoffed, "Last time you went to San Francisco, didn't Tagore help you out? Things got out, and now he's scared to death and is hiding at my house. He can accompany you on your business trip and lay low for a while."

"Okay, then!"

Qin Jin agreed. Tagore's lucky charm ability would still be useful in the future, so it wouldn't hurt to protect him a little. He left this matter to Constantin, asking Tagore to contact him after arriving in Romania so they could meet up.

The two chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone, at which point Alessa woke up.

Qin Jin glanced at the bright afternoon sunlight outside the window and decided to temporarily suppress the disturbances brought by Qingyin. The most urgent task was to deal with the trip to Romania and the issue of the Blood of Jesus.

"Alessa," he stood up, "let's go browse the flea market."

A new storm seems to be gathering on the horizon, but at least for now, their goal is to pick out a few suitable new clothes for themselves.

enjoy