Ba ethnic group's bewitching charm - the executioner

Chapter 43

"Red Cotton".

Qin Ge hesitated for a moment. It was quite normal for Chu Yan to want to see Hongmian; both Hongmian and Ma Nan were adopted children of Ba Rong, and Chu Yan had spent almost all of her childhood and adolescence with them. Now that Ma Nan had been kidnapped by the Ba people, Hongmian was the only remaining relative of Chu Yan in the city.

However, Qin Ge remembered that Chu Yan had betrayed several of her brothers in the past, and her sudden appearance and the veracity of her words made her somewhat suspicious. Would sending her to see Hong Mian cause any problems?

"Okay, have the doctor check you again later. If there's really nothing wrong with your body, come back to the Criminal Investigation Team with me. I'll go with you to find Hongmian tonight."

Chu Yan nodded. Then she saw Qin Ge nod to the girl behind him, and the two were about to leave. She couldn't help but ask, "Where are you going? How am I going to find you later?"

"Don't worry, our comrades are protecting you outside." Qin Ge turned around by the door. "I also need to take this opportunity to get a shot. Police officers can get sick too. I have a fever right now."

“Our Captain Qin jumped off a cliff into the sea in this freezing weather last night to save you. He must be sick from the cold,” He Lan, who had been silent all along, interjected.

Chu Yan was stunned, and when she looked at Qin Ge again, her eyes were filled with apology.

Qin Ge then turned to stare at He Lan. From He Lan's words just now, he sensed that she seemed to harbor some hostility towards Chu Yan. He wanted to ask, but he held back in front of Chu Yan. Later, after the doctor had started his IV drip, he sat in the infusion room and finally told He Lan about it.

He Lan didn't deny it at all. She said, "I just feel that Chu Yan is a bit suspicious. Don't ask me why. I don't know the reason. It's just a gut feeling."

Qin Ge remained silent; in his heart, how could he not be wary of Chu Yan?

The infusion room was crowded; it was surprising how many people came to see a doctor during the Spring Festival. While Qin Ge and He Lan were idly passing the time, a woman in her thirties, rather plump, came in selling newspapers. She looked like a laid-off factory worker. Qin Ge had He Lan buy him an evening paper, then picked up a few pages and casually glanced at them.

The newspaper was closed for the Spring Festival holiday, and the newspaper was not published for four days. Today is the first newspaper of the new year.

Half of the evening paper was filled with trivial social news, and Qin Ge had little interest in those rumors and gossip. Apart from the social news section, he liked reading columns like the "Big Picture." The "Big Picture" almost always devoted an entire page to one issue, mostly criminal cases, which was related to the profession of a police officer.

Flipping to the full-length photo edition, Qin Ge stared at the red-highlighted title and didn't react for a long time.

Helan, noticing his unusual behavior, leaned over and froze. The title of this photo feature is as follows:

Murder video recreates ancient torture

Serial killer leaves a warning to the world

In this report, the reporter claimed to have received a CD two days prior containing two video files, both showing a man claiming to be a executioner using ancient torture methods, beheading and strangulation, respectively. The CD also contained a text file, a letter from the executioner to the reporter, detailing his motives for the murders and providing information about the victims.

The article analyzes that the murderer must have suffered past trauma, thus harboring resentment towards society, which led him to resort to extreme measures to vent his discontent. While condemning this act of murder, the reporter also quotes some viewpoints from the murderer's letter to convince readers that the killer suffered from mental illness.

"This society is like a contagious patient, terminally ill, yet still relentlessly releasing deadly viruses into the air. Everyone born into this society is unfortunate, breathing filthy air every day, consuming the corpses of animals and plants, and using civilization to adorn their ugly lives. Living is a helpless and painful thing, but since we are already born into this world, we must protect ourselves from harm to the greatest extent possible. And the best way to protect ourselves is to try to make this world cleaner. Therefore, I use my own way to cleanse some of the viruses in this world..."

The killer's method of eliminating the virus was murder.

The letter also described the victims: the beheaded man was a lawyer, and the hanged man was a real estate businessman. The executioner claimed that the murdered lawyer was solely driven by profit, having long since abandoned the dignity of the law and lacking even basic human honesty. Yet, such a person insisted on standing in the sacred courtroom, wielding the weapon of law to maximize his own interests; and the hatred for real estate developers is a consensus among most citizens. They drive up housing prices to create profits for themselves, completely disregarding the feelings of ordinary citizens. This murdered real estate businessman is a representative of this type of person.

At the end of the report, the reporter stated that just before publication, they received another CD from the murderer, containing two more murder videos, still using ancient torture methods: "disembowelment" and "skull captioning." The victims were a pyramid scheme operator and an advertising planner, respectively. Regarding these two professions, the forensic officer said they are both viruses in society, poisoning people's lives daily. Pyramid schemes are illegal; they not only deceive people to extract money but also create false myths for those unaware of the truth. When hope is shattered, it is extremely devastating to a person's spirit. As for advertising planners, they are those who plan and create a large number of false advertisements. Don't assume that advertisements broadcast on television are much better than those posted on telephone poles, and don't think that so-called well-known companies are any different from underground workshops. Their deception of consumers differs only in degree, and most of this deception is conveyed to consumers through advertising planners.

At the end of the article, the reporter stated that the CD had been handed over to the public security authorities and that they would continue to follow up on the incident.

After reading the article, Qin Ge flew into a rage, crumpled the newspaper into a ball, and slammed it to the ground. These days, news reporters, in their pursuit of sensationalism and attention, publish anything and everything. When faced with something like this, their first thought isn't to immediately call the police, but to leak it to the public through the media they control. They don't realize the immense panic this causes among the citizens.

"Immediately send someone to the newspaper office, find that reporter, and investigate the source of the information. Then find their superiors and make sure they don't publish any more news about the detective committing murder until the case is solved. If they don't listen to us, go to the bureau chief and have the higher-ups intervene," Qin Ge said angrily.

He Lan nodded and went to the side to make a phone call to instruct her comrades in the team to handle the matter.

After sitting down next to Qin Ge, He Lan remained silent for a while before saying, "The executioner certainly won't be done with killing these four people. He's already beheaded the lawyer, strangled the real estate businessman, disemboweled the pyramid scheme operator, and stabbed the advertising planner. What methods will he use to kill people from other professions next?"

Qin Ge felt heavy-hearted. He knew that this matter had been exposed, and if the case wasn't solved quickly, it would not only cause widespread panic among the citizens but also put pressure on his superiors. Moreover, as a police officer, failing to stop crime and apprehend criminals in time would be a dereliction of duty, but he currently had absolutely no leads.

Helan's words made him even more irritable. Now, he didn't even feel like sitting here getting an IV drip.

He Lan continued, "Just now I suddenly remembered something. A few days ago, when I went back to my hometown for the Spring Festival, besides repeatedly watching that torture video, I also wandered around aimlessly. I once went to a website where they were holding an event where netizens could vote for the eight most hated professions. The event was still ongoing, and the voting was still in progress. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but now that I think about it, it seems that lawyers and real estate developers were among the candidates."

"Do you still remember that website address? Call back now and have the team check it out."

Helan shook her head: "I just accidentally went there through another link, and I really don't remember the URL. But I can search for it on Baidu when I get back, and maybe I can still find it."

Qin Ge remained silent, a strange feeling suddenly creeping into his heart. He simply couldn't connect the murderer published in the newspaper with the Ba people. The Ba people seeking revenge and treasure could be explained, but how could they have thought of using ancient Chinese torture to kill someone, and moreover, consciously choosing their targets?

Just then, his phone rang. It was a colleague from the bureau's technical department. They said they had found clues about the detective on the computer they had taken from Xu Wen's house. Qin Ge's spirits lifted immediately. He hung up the phone, ripped the IV needle off the back of his hand, and strode out.

"Captain Qin, where are we going?" He Lan asked as she followed.

"Back to the station," Qin Ge said without turning her head.

"What about Chu Yan? She's still waiting for you to take her to meet Ma Nan's wife."

"Take her back to the team first, call Hongmian, and confirm if she really is Ma Nan's sister." Qin Ge said without turning his head, "This isn't urgent. Finding Ma Nan and catching the criminal officer are the important things."

Chapter 27

Seven people gathered in the old man's room. The old man was in his sixties, balding, overweight, with a protruding belly, but his skin was well-maintained, fair, and without a single beard on his chin. At first glance, he looked a bit like an old woman.

Of the people in the room, only Yang Zheng, Yang Mei, and the police officer knew each other; everyone else was meeting for the first time, and given the circumstances, everyone was extremely wary. No one could explain how they ended up here. Except for Ma Nan and Yang Zheng, the others either woke up to find themselves in a different place, or they were attacked, knocked unconscious, and forcibly brought here.

The burly man with the menacing face was named Zhao Sihai. He spoke loudly and had a thuggish air about him; among the group, he seemed the most nonchalant. He kept cursing and shouting that he would find out who was behind this and that he would kill their whole family. Before coming here, he slept at home; his wife worked the night shift at a clothing factory, and he lived alone.

The man in the suit and tie, looking like a businessman, was named Liu Hongzhong. He was a pharmaceutical representative for a well-known pharmaceutical factory in the south. Although a southerner, he had been working in this city for many years. According to him, almost every doctor in the city's hospitals sold medicines distributed through him. He was terrified by what had happened; his eyes darted around nervously. It was clear he was the cunning but cowardly type. Before being brought here, he had accompanied a group of hospital leaders to dinner, sauna, and special services. Late at night, the leaders left satisfied, and he himself fell asleep in the sauna's lounge.

The old man, who looked like an old lady, seemed to have some mental issues, perhaps even Alzheimer's. He sat on the bed the whole time, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in front of him. Whenever his eyes met someone's, he would give a stiff, fawning smile.

"No matter the reason, we are all in the same boat now. If we want to get out, we must work together and not suspect each other." When Ma Nan said this, he had already guessed the Ba people's intention in gathering so many people together.

Such things are rare in reality, but they're not uncommon in movies and novels. Hollywood has made many similar films, all about a group of people in a relatively enclosed space, where people keep dying, and the killer is either hiding behind the scenes or is one of these people. In modern criminology, there's a term called copycat crime, which refers to a killer imitating classic cases or borrowing criminal methods from movies and novels.

But Manan still felt a little strange that this happened to the Ba people.

No one responded to Ma Nan's words; everyone seemed to have their own plans. Zhao Sihai, with his menacing face, loudly declared he would check the surroundings to see if there was any way to leave, and then left. The timid pharmaceutical representative hesitated for a moment, then immediately followed Zhao Sihai. Yang Zheng also left with Yang Mei at this time. The police officer had been staring intently at the two of them, his resentment evident on his face. After Yang Zheng and Yang Mei left, he paused for a moment, then followed them out, walking slowly behind them. Yang Zheng suddenly stopped, turned around, and glared angrily. The officer stopped as well, his gaze meeting Yang Zheng's without flinching.