One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Almost the instant the first layer of the black plastic bag was peeled off, an extremely pungent stench of decay filled the air. The stench, mixed with rotting leaves, fermenting sludge, and a strong smell of blood, seemed to penetrate right into one's skull.

"Ugh!"

Sun Mingzhou, the trainee police officer who had been trying his best just a moment ago, turned deathly pale. He suddenly covered his mouth, scrambled back three or four steps, grabbed a dead tree nearby, and began to gag violently, almost vomiting up all the buns he had just eaten.

Summer and autumn have not yet receded.

She merely frowned slightly and held her breath. Finding a slightly cleaner branch nearby, she crouched down and carefully peeled away the last bit of mud-covered plastic film.

From the dark red mud, a clump of long, black hair covered in mud and pale, swollen skin were revealed. Through the gaps created by the branches, the severed neck was clearly visible, displaying a nauseating dark brown color.

verified.

This is the head of Zhao Meini that the entire county's police force, including police dogs, could not find.

Xia Qiu threw away the branch in her hand, took a deep breath, and took off her rubber gloves, which were covered in black mud and stench.

She stood up, turned her head, and stared at Jiang Shou, who was standing a few steps away, with a look of shock, doubt, and indescribable complexity in her eyes.

"You...really found out by fortune telling?" Xia Qiu's voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Shou felt a little uneasy under her gaze, so he quickly raised his hands, took a half step back, and exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Wow! Captain Xia, why are you looking at me like that? Do you suspect that I buried this head? I'm just a law-abiding citizen who enthusiastically provides clues to solve cases. How come you're already betraying me before we've even crossed the river, treating me like a suspect?"

Xia Qiu was taken aback by his rascal-like behavior, which dispelled most of her doubts.

Xia Qiu's rational mind told her that there was an inexplicable eeriness about the young man in front of her. In this world, how could anyone really calculate and accurately locate a buried head in this vast, desolate wilderness?

According to the normal procedure for handling cases, she should absolutely bring Jiang Shou back to the station immediately, take a detailed statement from head to toe, and even list him as an important informant for investigation.

Seeing the hesitation in Xia Qiu's eyes and the tendency for his professional instincts to kick in, Jiang Shou sighed helplessly, "Officer Xia, I know this sounds unscientific, but I am, after all, a Taoist priest with a certificate of ordination." Jiang Shou pointed to the muddy ground beneath his feet, "Feng Shui, Bagua, dragon vein searching, and acupoint location. These are all skills passed down from our ancestors. Look at this place, it's low-lying, never sees sunlight, and accumulates moisture. In Feng Shui, this is called a 'sinking muddy swamp,' an excellent natural location for hiding yin and gathering evil spirits."

Jiang Shou, without batting an eye, fabricated a story: "Since the murderer wanted to create a cenotaph, he would have subconsciously sought out places with heavy yin energy. I followed this 'energy' and, with a bit of deduction and investigation, managed to find my way here."

Xia Qiu stared at him intently for a long time before looking away.

Whether Jiang Shou's words are true or false, at least for now, he has helped the police solve a huge problem. Without him, this head might have rotted in the mud for years without anyone finding it.

"Thank you for the clue today." Xia Qiu didn't say anything more, took out her phone, and went to the side to call her colleagues in the bureau and the forensic department to ask for support.

Jiang Shou stood there and breathed a sigh of relief.

He habitually reached out and touched the winter solstice badge that was stuck to his chest through his clothes.

However, the wooden sign remained cold and unresponsive.

"Huh? The mission isn't over yet?"

Jiang Shou was taken aback. In the past, as long as the key item was found or a solution was provided, the task would be completed and the reward given immediately.

The four lines of divination he had read that morning flashed through his mind, his gaze settling on the last sentence: "It is advisable to retrieve the head, reunite the body and remains, to appease the vengeful spirit."

"I see..." Jiang Shou suddenly understood. The divination required not only the recovery of the head, but also the reunion of the head and body. Although the head had been dug out, Zhao Meini's body was still lying in the freezer of the county public security bureau's forensic department.

It seems that this task will only be truly completed once the forensic doctor has pieced the body back together and stitched it up, and the vengeful spirit's obsession dissipates.

Since he no longer needed to lift a finger, Jiang Shou was too lazy to stay there in the cold wind.

"Captain Xia, now that the item has been found, the rest is your area of ​​expertise. I won't get involved here. I'll be going now." Jiang Shou waved to Xia Qiu, who was on the phone.

Xia Qiu turned her head and glanced at him. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded slightly, which was considered as tacit approval.

After Jiang Shou's figure disappeared into the bushes, Sun Mingzhou, whose legs were weak from vomiting, rinsed his mouth with a bottle of mineral water and came over with a pale face.

"Captain Xia... Captain Xia." Sun Mingzhou glanced at the mud puddle, then quickly looked away. "That young man just now... that head, did he really divine that?"

Xia Qiu looked in the direction Jiang Shou had left without commenting.

"Keep everything about this young man a secret today, and don't tell anyone," Xia Qiu instructed seriously. "I'll personally write the on-site report and the source of the clues."

"Yes, I understand!" Sun Mingzhou quickly stood at attention.

……

On the other side, Jiang Shou crossed the creaking wooden bridge, making sure no one could see him from behind.

He took a deep breath, his mind sinking.

The olive-sized ball of true essence in his dantian was instantly mobilized, and a surge of abundant energy rushed straight to his legs along the meridians!

"Bang!"

Jiang Shou suddenly exerted force with his feet, and like a cheetah, he was launched directly from his spot.

When they arrived, they had to walk for almost an hour, stumbling along the muddy paths, to accommodate Xia Qiu and the others. Now that they were free to move, Jiang Shou could only feel the wind whistling in his ears.

He traversed the rugged mountains and forests as if they were flat ground, leaping three or four meters in a single stride. Even when encountering fallen tree trunks or deep ravines, he easily crossed them with a light leap.

"Awesome! This is what parkour should be like!"

Feeling the exhilarating speed, Jiang Shou excitedly traversed the mountains and forests. With his current physical condition, if he participated in an Olympic cross-country race, he could absolutely leave those world champions far behind.

With the help of his true energy, Jiang Shou completed the 3,000-meter mountain road in less than ten minutes.

From afar, he saw the blue three-wheeled vehicle he had parked outside the broken iron gate of the Da Zhou Porcelain Factory.

Jiang Shou withdrew his true energy, calmed his breathing, got on the tricycle, and turned the key.

"Rat-a-tat-tat..."

Jiang Shou was in a great mood as he rode his bike toward Cuiwei Mountain.

Although this was a "police assistance" mission, without the 20,000 yuan in incense money that the fat boss earned, it was easy. No need to draw talismans or pretend to be a ghost, just run errands and give directions, and wait for the forensic doctor to piece together the corpse to get a free mission reward.

With the mountain breeze blowing, Jiang Shou relaxed the tension in his mind.

My thoughts drifted, and the image of Xia Qiu bending over and wielding a shovel by the edge of the swamp inexplicably popped into my mind.

The dark, tight-fitting undershirt swayed rhythmically up and down in view as the shovel hurled soil with each shovel stroke.

"Amitabha..." Jiang Shou coughed twice, shook his head, and forcibly banished the swaying scenery from his mind, focusing on riding his bicycle.

……

the next day.

Around noon.

Jiang Shougang finished fighting with Pang Hu for the last piece of braised pork in the pavilion in the backyard.

The winter solstice talisman I kept close to my body in my pocket suddenly became scalding hot!

"They're here!"

Jiang Shou's eyes lit up, and he rushed back to his room without even bothering to clear away the bowls and chopsticks.

He took out the wooden plaque, and the divination text on the back was radiating a brilliant blue light. The characters melted like ripples on water, turning into a dense blue light that disappeared into his brow.

A soothing warm current washed over his entire body once again, and Jiang Shou closed his eyes to enjoy this top-notch spa for body and mind.

As the blue light faded, he immediately looked inward at his dantian.

At the bottom of his dantian, the ball of true energy that was originally only the size of an olive had expanded like a balloon, more than doubling in size!

"The forensic doctor is quite efficient; it looks like the stitches are done."

Jiang Shou felt the abundant power in his dantian and smacked his lips in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to get up to wash the dishes.

"Shh...shh..."

Suddenly, a series of chaotic footsteps came from the winding stone steps outside the Taoist temple.

Jiang Shou's ears twitched.

With his enhanced hearing, he could tell that there was more than one person making the footsteps; at least three or four people were walking towards the gate of Shouyi Temple.