Ba ethnic group's bewitching charm - the executioner

Chapter 57

The girl hung up the phone and left, satisfied. She didn't know the person on the other end; he was just an online acquaintance. Their deal was very simple: she would stay in the house he arranged for her, and if anyone came to the door, no matter who they were, she would simply take them to the Night Children bar to complete her job.

She genuinely had no idea what Zhang Shanren, the owner of the seaside villa, had done, so when the police knocked on the door, she was terrified and even decided to quit her job.

But in the car, Gao Wei happened to mention the eight-pointed star pattern, and she also happened to know the shape of the building where the Night Child Bar was located, so she added a comment. Unexpectedly, the police car ended up stopping in front of the Night Child Bar.

She wasn't worried that the online friend would cheat her, nor was she worried that he would renege on his payment. Even if he didn't pay her, she wouldn't care, because he had already prepaid her half of the fee before she started working.

The girl never expected that the person the online friend wanted her to take to the bar would be a police officer.

She wasn't planning on staying in this city anyway, so she would leave that very night. Whatever happened to the police at the Night Children's Bar was none of her business.

Qin Ge and He Lan were still waiting in the bar when their comrades on the phone said they would gather more people immediately.

Just then, a waitress in a short skirt walked through the middle of the "street" holding a sign. Qin Ge glanced at it casually, but immediately couldn't sit still. Because he saw his name on the sign.

Besides his teammates, only Gao Wei and the girl who had just left knew he was at the Night Children's Bar, but none of them would try to find him this way. Qin Ge's slightly cheerful mood immediately turned heavy again.

After identifying themselves, the waiter led Qin Ge and He Lan to a private room with a computer inside.

"A guest has booked internet access for you, and you can use it now," the waiter said politely, handing Qin Ge a notepad.

"Who is that guest? When did they make the reservation?" Qin Ge asked, frowning.

"I'm sorry, I saw someone booked this service for you in the reservation list during shift change, so I don't know who that customer is." The waiter smiled and left.

Qin Ge and He Lan were full of doubts, but they still sat down in front of the computer.

The note contained only an IP address. He Lan opened Internet Explorer, entered the address, and pressed Enter. A video playback window immediately appeared in the browser.

"This allows us to share his live video feed through the IIS platform within the personal computer system," He Lan said.

Qin Ge didn't care about the technical issues; he was staring at the playback software window, only wanting to know what they were watching.

The guests who booked this place must be related to the criminal officer or the Ba people. The fact that they could predict Qin Ge and He Lan would come to the Night Child Bar at this time makes it easy to suspect that this is a trap.

But things have already come to this point, and Qin Ge and He Lan can only take it one step at a time.

The image is taken from a top-down perspective, showing an octagonal platform below. Before today, Qin Ge and He Lan would never have known what this strangely shaped platform was, but now they immediately recognized it as being constructed entirely according to an eight-pointed star pattern. Within the central square area, a large chrysanthemum-shaped flame design was also depicted.

There were no people in the scene, and there was a lack of even the most basic reference points, so Qin Ge and He Lan couldn't judge the size of the platform at this moment.

The image remained still, but Qin Ge and He Lan stared intently at it. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long before someone finally appeared on screen.

Ma Nan held the page in his hands. The full text of the page is as follows:

If anyone reads these words, then I must have already gone to another world. Death is not a terrifying thing for me, because for more than 20 years, I have been thinking about death every moment. I am so close to death that, in my lifetime, I have long been accustomed to its darkness and coldness.

Now, I am truly dead, and I do not wish to record my life in any words. For I was evil; I betrayed my people and my children. If possible, I wish I could die peacefully, without anyone knowing, without anyone missing me. But I cannot. I cannot depart to the west like a carefree wanderer. I cannot take my secrets with me, so that even in death, they may continue to aggravate my sins.

I hope that Ma Nan and Chu Yan are the ones who read this, because then I can entrust my important responsibilities to you.

I have too many secrets in my life. Now I want to tell you that, besides Chu Yan and the six children I adopted, I have another son in this world. I have never brought him to you because he has no idea that I have a father. More importantly, I have hidden the secret of the Ba tribe's sacred object on his body.

Just as I sent you seven siblings to different cities, I cannot let the Ba people know about my relationship with him. The secret lies in his memory, but his situation is different from Manan's. My close and loyal brother, the Great Shaman Longyang, possesses supernatural powers beyond the imagination of ordinary people. He simply sealed Manan's memory, but he used much more skill on my son.

My son has a dual personality; evil and good, cruelty and tenderness coexist within him. What the Great Shaman Longyang needs to do is to slumber forever the evil and cruel side of his personality, so that he can live in this world like a normal person. And I entrusted the whereabouts of the Ba tribe's sacred object to his evil personality.

My original intention was to keep his evil side forever, thus ensuring his lifelong happiness and preserving this secret forever. However, the battle at Peach Blossom Mountain is imminent, and my plan, which I have been developing for over a decade, is about to come to an end. I don't know how it will end, whether it will be the Ba people who die, or myself.

I am now writing this down and hiding it in my own way.

As long as the last member of the Ba people remains, they will not give up the search for the sacred object. Therefore, whoever knows this secret will be in great danger. If I die, my children, you will have to choose between wealth and life. My advice to you is to live like normal people. Wealth is precious, but the killing that lies behind it is something you cannot bear.

My children, I have said that when you see these words, you will bear a responsibility—to return the sacred relics of the Ba people to them on my behalf. I have struggled with this mistake my whole life, and I cannot let you follow in my footsteps.

Only by returning the sacred object to the Ba people can we resolve the hatred between us and allow you to live peacefully and happily.

What you need to do now is find my son and then take him to the Ba people. The Great Shaman Longyang is dead. The only way to obtain the secret of the sacred object is for the Ba shaman to break the seal that binds my son, allowing his evil nature to awaken. He will then naturally tell you the whereabouts of the sacred object.

If the current shamans of the Ba tribe cannot break Longyang's seal, then you should tell them that when the most sacred and noble artifact of the tribe begins to turn, the demon sleeping within my son will naturally awaken.

My hands are stained with blood; I atone for my sins against my people by sacrificing my son's entire life's happiness. My son began his descent into evil the moment they obtained the secret of the sacred object. My only hope is that modern medicine will advance and cure my son's illness, allowing the evil within him to truly slumber or die.

At that time, whether I am in heaven or hell, I can watch over you without regret and bless you.

After reading the words left by Ba Rong, Ma Nan was deeply shaken, and tears blurred his vision. He knew these words must have been left by Ba Rong before the battle at Peach Blossom Mountain, a battle of paramount importance to him. To consider defeat before victory is the choice of a wise man. If he had died in that battle, then he had to first arrange things properly after his death.

Therefore, on Peach Blossom Mountain, as he lay dying, he slipped a piece of paper with a picture of flames and chrysanthemums into Chu Yan's hand.

Chu Yan's rescue of Ma Nan might have been part of his plan all along. In that case, Chu Yan would surely hand the pattern to Ma Nan, who would then use it to find the Star Altar and see the Fire God Zhurong and the eight-pointed star pattern. Although it would take them some time to find the room in the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) orientation, if they paid attention, they would definitely notice the unique shape of the Duguang Building.

Ma Nan suddenly realized that the name "Duguang Mansion" was actually a hint. The *Classic of Mountains and Seas* describes an ancient paradise on earth, specifically mentioning "Duguang Plain." Duguang Plain was the center of the world, where Houji, the god of agriculture, was buried, and where beautiful goddesses resided. At the center of Duguang Plain stood a towering tree called Jianmu. It was the "Garden of Eden" in ancient Chinese mythology.

The Duguang Mansion, could it be a metaphor for the connection between this place and the legends of those divine kingdoms?

It turned out that Ba Rong had already included all of this in his plan, but the only thing he hadn't expected was that after the battle at Peach Blossom Mountain, Chu Yan left quietly without saying goodbye to Ma Nan.

Therefore, this gave the Ba people an opportunity to find Chu Yan, which led to all of this happening now.

Barong's decision to return the sacred object to the Ba people must have been carefully considered and meticulously planned. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, he never expected the Ba people to act first.

The letter left behind by Barong before his death naturally gave Ma Nan confidence. He strode out of the bathroom, walked to the end of the room, held up the paper high in front of the camera in the corner, and shouted, "I want to see your leader."

After a while, I heard the creaking sound of hinges turning. Then, on the innermost wall, a door-shaped section suddenly moved backward and then shifted, revealing a door.

Ma Nan then realized that every room must have such a door, which was why the walls were made of blue bricks. Blue brick walls have many seams, which helps to conceal the door frame.

Ma Nan subconsciously took a step back, but after waiting for a long time, no one came out from inside.