Maoshan Arts in the New Era

This seemingly far-fetched yet remarkably consistent conclusion with the "evidence" at the scene undoubtedly caused a brief "stir" among the few people in the know present.

Does this mean that a person whose throat has been slit, in the brief moment before death, generates a temperature high enough to melt metal when their hand touches the ground?

This sounds utterly outrageous.

"Furthermore, apart from external injuries, no burn marks were found on the deceased's hands, and the cuffs of his pajamas were also largely unaffected."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Old Zhou thought for a moment and then slowly added a sentence, thus ruling out some common possibilities such as hiding something in his sleeve.

Because they knew he wasn't joking, none of them could laugh.

Silence is the prevailing atmosphere at this moment.

In the brief silence, Old Chen's phone suddenly vibrated.

He only glanced at the screen; it was Deputy Director Zhao Zhijian's direct line number.

He apologized and went to the window before answering the phone.

"Director Zhao."

"Captain Chen, what's the situation on the ground?" Director Zhao's voice sounded as calm as ever, but thanks to their years of familiarity, Old Chen still caught a hint of something unusual in it.

This time, even the other side called him "Captain Chen".

"It's rather complicated."

Captain Chen paused for a moment, briefly organizing his thoughts, "Preliminary assessment suggests this was the work of a professional killer. The methods were clean and efficient, with signs of possible beatings and torture. Furthermore, some areas of the scene were likely cleaned up afterward—"

"Okay, got it."

Without waiting for further comment, Zhao Zhijian abruptly interrupted his detailed report, his tone unusually commanding this time. "Stop all work at the scene immediately. Seal all collected physical evidence in place. If there's any evidence that has been moved, leave it with details of its whereabouts. Then, lead all personnel to evacuate the scene. Don't take anything with you. Execute immediately."

He narrowed his eyes, pondered for a second or two, then simply gripped his phone tighter, asking in a tone that seemed to indicate he "didn't understand," "Director Zhao, why—"

"Comrade Chen Yunzuo!" The person on the phone emphasized, even using a formal form of address.

"This is not a discussion, it's an order. The relevant personnel should already be at the entrance. Hand over the work properly, don't ask questions, and don't communicate. This is discipline!"

However, when he said the last sentence, Director Zhao suddenly lowered his voice, making it as soft as a mosquito's buzz, a stark contrast to his previous impassioned tone.

"Bring the young men back safely, don't let them cause trouble. That situation is probably beyond our control."

Okay, now it's clear.

The call was abruptly ended, but Old Chen, being a shrewd man, naturally understood the implication behind the other party's "business as usual" attitude.

He put down his phone, took a deep breath of the still-crisp smell of blood in the room, glanced at the extremely messy bed, and then turned to look at the corpse lying on its side on the floor.

"Everyone, let's call it a day."

Chen Yunzuo turned around and addressed his colleagues, his voice rising and his pronunciation becoming exceptionally clear, "Seal all items in place and handle them according to regulations. Do not perform any unnecessary operations, including the sample with the high-temperature traces and the analysis records. Do not ask any further questions; we will evacuate immediately."

No one raised any objections. Although they looked doubtful, everyone understood what the emphasis on "don't ask too many questions" meant, and they all tacitly chose to believe this well-known veteran captain.

A group of people quickly packed up their equipment, put away their testing devices and miscellaneous items, and left the villa.

Only now did Captain Chen realize that the midday sun was a bit too bright.

At first glance, two black vans without any additional markings are now quietly parked outside the police line.

Several people dressed in ordinary dark work clothes, but with upright posture and efficient movements, were also standing beside the car, silently watching them. Some of them even silently took out their equipment and took a few photos of the group.

Old Chen's eyelid twitched again, but he still didn't say anything.

The handover process involved almost no verbal communication. Both sides simply glanced at the identification documents presented by the other, briefly checked them, and after confirming that everything was in order, Captain Chen proactively handed over the box and document bag he was carrying.

The leaders of both sides nodded to each other and then passed each other by.

Once inside the car, Captain Chen, as always, strictly adhered to the law and immediately fastened his seatbelt. He let the officers in front of him start the car, while he quietly turned his head away.

Through the rearview mirror, he could clearly see that the "relevant department" personnel had begun to circle around the villa, retrieving and placing various items.

"Drive," Old Chen calmly ordered. "First, Old Zhou to the lab. When you get back and write the report, just file it as a burglary murder case, a crime scene transfer to the higher authorities."

For some reason, at that moment, his shoulders suddenly felt a sense of relief.

While the people inside the car are looking at the scenery outside, the people outside are also looking at their own shadows inside the car.

"Those people in charge have already left, but to be honest, I feel like we're just here to 'reap the benefits' after everyone else has been working so hard for so long?"

"Stop being so glib, kid. This is a real mess. Do you think anyone else wants to get involved?"

Just a few casual words.

After all the unrelated outsiders had left, in this area that had been objectively "cleared out," among the few people who had just gotten out of the car, after walking about a hundred steps with the other staff, one of the middle-aged men wearing a gray Daoist robe suddenly turned his head, staring intently in a direction like an old deer that had sensed something amiss in the forest.

He then spoke a few words, and quickly led the other two away from the "main group".

Deviating from the main road, the three walked along a gravel path for several dozen meters before stopping at a lush, green corner on the side of the villa.

Above the lush greenery, several ancient trees stand tall, their branches gnarled and twisted like tightly clenched bones, casting deep, dense shade that blocks out most of the sunlight from above.

The man in the gray robe first took out a set of small, modern-style storage devices from his bag, which seemed out of place with his outfit, and then put on a thin glove.

He then squatted down, pulled out a short, transparent tube from the storage device, smeared the dark red liquid contents onto the fingertips of his glove, and then dotted it onto his other palm, skillfully drawing a strange and intricate pattern!

The talisman head, talisman core, and talisman foot are all complete.

What are they doing?

The young man next to him, wearing brown sunglasses and dressed in relatively trendy clothes, clearly didn't quite understand what he was doing.

Another middle-aged man explained in a low voice, "Can't you tell? This is drawing a talisman."

"That tube contains pre-extracted and stored raw materials. It's basically a fresh blood sample with added anticoagulants and processing agents. According to tests, it can maintain its freshness for nearly three days," meaning it won't affect the normal use of Maoshan Arts techniques.

"What era are we living in? Otherwise, would people still make others bite their fingers to bleed every time they perform a ritual? It's painful enough, but if they don't control the force and cause excessive bleeding, or if they bite repeatedly, it can easily lead to infection."

Ignoring the two men's whispers, the man on the ground changed his gloves, pulled a transparent liquid tube from his storage container, squeezed out the liquid, and quickly applied it to his eyes and forehead.

"Processed cow tears are much harder to obtain than simply drawing blood."

The same low-voiced explanation.

After all preparations were completed, the man in the Daoist robe squatted down and carefully examined a pile of fallen leaves in the bushes.

Seeing his strange behavior of simply brushing aside a few fallen leaves, forming a hand seal, and staring intently at the spot without moving, the two people who had followed him also immediately became serious.

"What's wrong?"

"A man with a strong sense of malice, who must have taken more than one life, passed through here not long ago. There are slight signs of footsteps in the soil, indicating that it was no more than a day ago. He probably stayed in this spot for quite some time before. My discerning eyes can still see a clear trace of lingering resentment."

Can you tell anything from this?

"No, there's nothing visible underground either. There are no signs of digging. That guy probably didn't do anything here. I can't see many other traces either."

Both companions remained silent for a moment.

However, the slightly older middle-aged man seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke up, "Please move aside, I'll give it a try."

After the two men, bewildered, stepped back, he stepped directly into the spot, then turned around, looking left and right, sometimes squatting and standing up, searching his surroundings.

Without needing to be explicitly stated, the other two quickly grasped the underlying meaning.

"That's a clever move. Crouching down here not only avoids those cameras outside, but the fallen leaves from the bushes also make it virtually impossible for anyone to spot you unless they get very close. If you were wearing camouflage too—"

The man stood there, repeatedly adjusting his height and angle to look around, while talking about details that most people would hardly notice.

"----From this angle---- Yes, the tree is shoulder-width apart, but if you risk standing up a little, you can observe the movement at the front door of the house. There's also the main road leading to the parking area behind it, so any vehicles entering or leaving will be spotted immediately."

"As long as you manage to sneak here after nightfall, it's an excellent spot for long-term stakeouts. You can see everything the homeowner does and anyone else coming and going."

"Damn it, they've figured out everything about him, even these shady corners have been exposed. How long have they been watching that First-Test User who died in the room?!"

Upon realizing the problem, the group felt a chill run down their spines.

"Quick! Have someone bring the drone box from the car. My magic power is too weak, and it's being depleted too quickly in the real world. This basic Paper Crane Technique can only barely reach a little bit of power; it can't actually fly yet. But with the drone, it'll be more than enough!"

"While the lingering resentment of the deceased hasn't completely dissipated and we can still barely discern any traces left by the murderer, we must hurry and catch up to confirm the situation! In half a day at most, this little trick for Spirit-Seeking and Fiend-Chasing will be useless!"

The middle-aged man in the Daoist robe immediately spoke up.

"Ah, the actual follow-up period after death is only a little over a day? Your enhancement is too weak—okay, okay, my bad, I'll shut up."

Seeing that the other person's gaze had become "unfriendly," the talkative young man wearing brown sunglasses quickly followed his instincts and made a zipping motion around his mouth.

In fact, they all knew very well that the most crucial thing right now was the ability of this middle-aged Daoist who had been enhanced by the [Junior Maoshan Taoist] from the "Uncle Nine's World".

When it's difficult to solve a case or catch a culprit using conventional methods, it's perfectly reasonable to use some less "conventional" methods.