Tang Dynasty detective

Chapter 3 Evil Sacrifice
In a mud house, Li Canghai sat on a broken chair.Di Feng stood aside with a gloomy face, playing the role of the villain very well.

"What's your name?" Li Canghai asked a man sitting across from him who was writhing all over his body.

The man's face was pale, and he said tremblingly, "I, my name is Daniu."

"Okay, Daniel, don't be afraid. I called you here, I just want to ask you a few questions." Li Canghai said gently.

Daniu was at a loss and picked up the pipe hanging from his waist. He wanted to smoke but didn't dare to smoke. After hesitating for a long time, he still put the pipe on the table.

"You were on duty last night, right? Did you have the key with you?" After he calmed down a bit, Li Canghai asked.

Daniel shrank his neck and nodded in fear: "The little carpenter and I were on duty last night, and the key is indeed with me..."

"Then have you seen any strange things, or suspicious people have been to the mountain temple?" Li Canghai continued to ask.

But before Li Canghai finished asking, Daniel suddenly yelled in horror: "Ghost... There is a ghost! It was a ghost who killed her. I saw it, I saw it! Ghost...!"

Li Canghai didn't expect his reaction to be so strong, so he hurriedly comforted him: "There are no ghosts here, please calm down."

"No, no, there is a ghost, I saw it! It was a ghost that killed her, it was a ghost that killed her! Ah... a ghost!" Daniel shook his head desperately, his eyes filled with fear, and after yelling a few times, unexpectedly Suddenly rushed out of the earth house in a frenzy, yelling that there are ghosts along the way.

"Brother Li, this guy won't be frightened to the point of madness, right?" Di Feng looked at Daniel's back, touched his nose and said.

Li Canghai sighed, maybe he was really frightened, he looked up and saw the pipe on the table, he put it away, and prepared to return it to him the next time he met him.

"Brother Li, Daniel is crazy, do you want to ask the next one?" Di Feng asked.

Li Canghai nodded, and Di Feng walked out immediately. After a while, a young man followed Di Feng in.

The man was a little cautious, and he was a little at a loss when facing Li Canghai. He stood there and kept stirring the white corners of the starched clothes with his fingers.

Li Canghai looked at the man, smiled lightly and said, "Don't be nervous, I just asked you something, drink some tea."

Di Feng hurriedly handed over the cup full of tea, and the man hurriedly took it in his hand, and took a sip tremblingly.

Li Canghai stared at him intently, saw that he paused while drinking, and said with a smile: "Is this tea delicious?"

"Hmm... a bit bitter." The man was stunned for a moment, put down his teacup, and said.

Li Canghai chuckled and said, "Are you a little carpenter?"

The man took a few deep breaths, tried to calm himself down, and nodded stiffly.

"Little carpenter, were you and Daniel on vigil last night?"

"Ah."

"After the mountain temple is locked from the outside, who has the key?"

"...Big Brother."

"Is this the only one?"

"Yes, only one."

"Have you seen any strange things or suspicious people last night?"

"...No, no, there is..."

"Is there or is it not?"

"...Yes. Last night at the second watch, I suddenly fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already the third watch. Brother Big Niu curled up in a corner, shaking with fright, and kept saying that he saw a ghost."

Li Canghai smiled and said, "Do you think what Daniel said is true?"

The little carpenter shrank his neck, with fear flashing in his eyes, and said cautiously: "I... I don't know. But, Brother Da Niu said swearingly, saying that a ghost killed Sister Jing... The folks also said , it must be that we are not devout enough to the mountain god, which caused sister Jing to suffer this catastrophe."

Li Canghai stared at the little carpenter and found tears in his eyes, so he asked, "How long have you known Miss Jing?"

"Sister Jing and I have known each other since childhood..." The little carpenter bit his lip, but his voice became lower and lower.

"Dead people can't be brought back to life, so let's do my condolences." Li Canghai sighed, stood up and said, "Thank you for coming, if you think of any doubts, please inform the county magistrate as soon as possible, only in this way can the county magistrate solve the case earlier , be fair to Miss Jing."

The little carpenter nodded, and then left the earth house.

"Brother Li, did you ask anything?" Di Feng asked curiously.

"It's hard to say now, let's go and see how the investigation is going at the adults' place." Li Canghai picked up the bowl of tea and looked at it for a while, then opened his mouth to take a sip, and a strong bitter taste rushed into the mansion. He rolled his eyes.

At this time, night fell quietly, Li Canghai took Di Feng, and the two walked towards the mountain temple one by one.

When approaching the mountain temple, the two were surprised to find that there was a raging bonfire burning in front of the mountain temple. All the villagers were kneeling around the bonfire, humming scriptures.

Beside the bonfire, several men in grass clothes and ghost masks were dancing exaggerated dance steps, and kept uttering some vague words and sentences.

"Jumping Master?" Li Canghai touched his nose and thought to himself, could it be that the villagers are trying to save the dead?But shouldn't one go to a Taoist priest or a monk to save the dead?
Li Canghai looked puzzled. It wasn't until he walked in that he realized that the villagers were not offering sacrifices to the dead souls, but offering sacrifices to the mountain gods.

"My lord, what's going on?" Li Canghai walked to Di Huai's face, and asked.

"I don't know who spread the rumor that the deceased was killed by a ghost. The villagers worried that retribution would fall on them, so they began to sacrifice to the mountain god again." Di Huai said through gritted teeth.

"Sacrifice to the mountain god? What kind of sacrifice is used?" Li Canghai looked around with some doubts. There were no sacrifices prepared around him.

At this moment, the leader among the dancers suddenly shouted: "It's time, sacrifice!"

The crowd fell silent immediately, and the two dancers walked into the crowd step by step with heavy steps, and took a burden from the crowd.

With the light of the fire, Li Canghai saw at a glance that the burden was a baby!
A woman in the crowd had tears all over her face, and her sobbing sound floated in the quiet night, like a night ghost crying, full of sorrow.

"Are they going to use babies as sacrifices?" Li Canghai exclaimed with his eyes wide open.

He couldn't believe that there was such an evil ritual of using babies as sacrifices.

What surprised him even more was that none of the villagers came out to stop him.

"My lord, they actually sacrificed babies, why didn't my lord stop them?" Li Canghai asked eagerly.

Di Huai clenched his fists and said annoyedly: "I want to stop them too, but they have been blinded by the demons, I... can't do anything!"

"No, I have to stop them!" Li Canghai roared, rushed over, crashed into the two dancers as fast as lightning, and then rolled on the ground, just in time to catch the baby in his arms .

The sudden change made everyone stunned. They looked at Li Canghai, and their eyes suddenly became fierce.

"Are you all crazy? This is a baby! You are going to kill an infant baby just because of the so-called ghosts and monsters?" Li Canghai roared angrily.

"People with foreign surnames, this matter has nothing to do with you. If you interrupt the sacrificial ceremony, the gods will punish you! Return the baby quickly, if it is delayed, our entire village will suffer!" The village elder shouted tremblingly.

"You stupid people, do you think that you can get the blessing of the gods by sacrificing a baby? God has the virtue of good life, do you think the gods will bless and kill innocent people? Ask your conscience, sacrifice a baby for Are you safe and sound?" Li Canghai was furious, pointing at the villagers and yelling: "Damn, I said that there are no ghosts and gods in this world. If you want to be safe, you have to rely on yourself! I know what you are afraid of , someone spread rumors that Miss Jing was killed by an evil spirit, fart! Fucking fart!"

"I can tell you responsibly that the murderer is a person, a living person! He has nothing to do with ghosts and gods! If you don't believe me, I will find the murderer for you." Li Canghai hugged the crying baby, eyes almost Spit fire, shouted angrily.

At this time, Di Huai hurried over and said loudly: "Fellow folks, what Cang Hai said is reasonable. We have already got some clues about the murderer. Give us some time to find out the real murderer and give everyone an explanation!"

"My lord, don't lie to us." The villagers were a little shaken by Li Canghai's roar, but they still hesitated.

"I promise you, if I can't find the murderer, I'd rather be burned to death by you!" Li Canghai shouted sharply.

Everyone's eyes turned to him immediately, and the old villager swung his cane and said, "Okay, then I'll give you a day! If you can't find the murderer, don't blame us. Everyone leave!"

Following the old man's words, the villagers dispersed slowly. Li Canghai handed the baby into the arms of the crying woman. The woman kowtowed to him in gratitude before leaving with the baby tightly in her arms.

After the crowd dispersed, Di Feng recovered from his astonishment. He said excitedly: "Brother Li, what you said just now is really wonderful! It's beautiful, it's so beautiful!"

Li Canghai's face was slightly cold, as if he hadn't come out of the anger just now, he sighed, and then asked Di Huai: "My lord, I don't know how the investigation is going?"

Di Huai took out a few pieces of paper from his bosom, handed them to Li Canghai and said, "These are qualified people, there are seven people in total, but who is the real murderer?"

Li Canghai read the contents of the several pieces of paper carefully, and said in a deep voice, "Who is the real murderer is still uncertain. Give me some time, and I will definitely find out the real murderer."

Di Huai patted him on the shoulder and shook his head helplessly, as if he hesitated to speak.

Li Canghai didn't look at Di Huai, but turned around and walked towards the mountain temple.

Although he guessed the characteristics of the murderer, these cannot be used as direct evidence, not to mention that there are still doubts that have not been resolved.

First of all, how did the murderer enter the mountain temple, and how did he lock the door and leave after killing the man?This doubt can't be solved, even if the real culprit is found, it won't help.

The mountain temple is still as quiet as he first saw it. The difference is that the current mountain temple is full of blood, and the solidified crimson blood on the ground reminds everyone what a murderous murder happened here.

This is the first scene of a murder case, and the scene of a murder case can often provide many unexpected clues. He believes that there is no perfect case in this world, as long as it is a man-made case, many clues will definitely be left behind.

Two rows of candles were lit in the mountain temple, and the dim candlelight made the gloomy mountain temple even more terrifying. From a distance, it looked like a giant beast with a big glowing mouth, waiting to be automatically fed into the mouth.

Holding a candle in his hand, Li Canghai searched radially around the altar, not missing any inch.

This murder case is full of various doubts. These doubts may be nothing to others, but to Li Canghai, who has a double bachelor's degree in criminal investigation and criminal psychology, these can provide crucial clues to solve the case. .

The head of the deceased was beheaded, and a large amount of blood spurted out, but no bloody footprints were seen at the scene. According to the village elder, after the tragedy was discovered, everyone immediately protected the scene. Although some people entered the temple, the blood overflowed. The place where it flows has not been set foot.

This situation only showed one problem, the murderer was extremely cautious.

When he was studying criminal psychology in his previous life, he had conducted research and statistics on the psychology of criminals over the years. It seems that such cautious people are inconspicuous on the surface, and may even be forgotten by others.

Ordinary in appearance, cowardly, honest and taciturn.This is the psychological portrait given by Criminal Minds.

At the same time, the outline of a murderer gradually appeared in Li Canghai's mind.

Li Cang searched for clues by the sea, while exploring the murderer's psychology. He had already searched all over the altar, but there was no clue.

From this point of view, the murderer either cleaned up the scene, or the murderer did not do unnecessary actions. His purpose was very simple, to kill people.

Raised the knife in his hand and dropped it, raised his head and left.

Such a crisp and neat killing method shows that the murderer has a psychological endurance beyond ordinary people.

But now it is the Tang Dynasty, how can the people in an ordinary village have such a strong psychological endurance?
Obviously, this endurance is not deliberately trained, but accumulated over time.

This shows that the murderer is very likely to have been bullied by force or verbal ridicule for a long time, and has not been vented for a long time. After a long time, the murderer's psychological endurance will be strengthened, and at the same time, his psychology will become distorted.

Li Canghai's mind was spinning rapidly, and a criminal psychological portrait of the murderer gradually became clear.

"The murderer's ferocity exploded with the marriage of the deceased, so the age difference between the murderer and the deceased should not be too big, and the fact that he was bullied when he was a child made the murderer violent and terrifying."

Thinking of this, Li Canghai hurriedly took out a few pieces of paper that Di Huai gave him, which recorded the experience of people who met the relevant characteristics.

Li Canghai flipped through the contents of the paper quickly, and suddenly, his eyes stopped on the last sheet.

"Haha, it really is you, it really is you!" Li Canghai suddenly laughed loudly at the piece of paper.

At this time, Di Feng came in with a few steamed buns in his arms, and when he saw Li Canghai laughing like crazy, he was immediately frightened.

"Brother Li, what's wrong with you? Have you been possessed by a monster? Master, help me, Brother Li has lost his mind~!" Di Feng yelled in fright.

Hearing his yelling, Li Canghai caught his breath in his throat, almost dying of laughter.

(End of this chapter)