Let the true energy circulate for a while

……

Los Angeles Secret Service.

Good news has arrived from the front lines: Mr. K has been successfully captured.

Qin Shifan was sitting in his office, listening to his secretary's report.

"Old Qin, that so-called Mr. K never left Luo City. Mengun and his men arrested him near Liuzi Village."

Qin Shifan said in a deep voice, "You see, sometimes you have to put some pressure on you. Who is he?"

The secretary said, "His identity has been verified. Mr. K's real name is Yuan Yong, 48 years old, from You County, Echeng. His parents are both retired employees of the local brewery. He comes from an ordinary family. He is a full-time retail investor in the stock market."

"Retail investors?" Qin Shifan's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

"Yes," the secretary added. "His operating style is extremely stable and accurate, using small investments to make big profits. Over the years, his funds have remained stable at around 5000 million. When there is more, he transfers it out in batches to buy low-risk financial products, and when there is less, he buys more. He never holds excessive positions."

"To put it bluntly, he deliberately 'hides' himself, fearing that the scale of his funds is too large and will attract the attention of regulators. He usually lives a secluded life and basically does not interact with outsiders."

"No other background?" Qin Shifan pressed.

"No, no criminal record, no contact with foreign forces, and not some wealthy Chinese businessman."

Qin Shifan asked, "How does he manage to make a consistent profit on his investments?"

The secretary said, "According to his confession, about seven years ago, he obtained an old book with many pages of handwritten notes inside, which predicted the future trend of the stock market and some major domestic and international events. The information on those notes, which predicted the future, was verified, and he believed it without a doubt."

Qin Shifan asked in surprise, "Then why would he kidnap an eight-year-old child? Was it also written in the prophecy?"

The secretary said, "He wants to talk to you about this."

"Where is he? He's already been taken to the conference room downstairs."

Qin Shifan stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "Let's go."

Downstairs, in the room, Mr. K was wearing handcuffs, sitting in a chair, looking exhausted.

In the corner, a man who looked like a farmer was squatting, his hands cuffed behind his back, trembling.

On the table was a book titled "The Secret of the Golden Flower" and a jade lotus flower, about the size of a fist, with exquisite carving.

The two special agents who were interrogating him stood up. "Old Qin."

Inside the conference room, there were many special agents, wearing rubber gloves, inspecting one item after another.

Qin Shifan nodded, then looked at the thin middle-aged man and asked, "Mr. K, oh, I should call you Yuan Yong, you can speak now."

Yuan Yong asked, "Can you manage the household?"

Qin Shifan patiently and calmly said, "This is the Special Operations Bureau; there's no room for you to bargain here."

Seeing the respect the special agents in the room showed to the elderly man with gray hair, Yuan Yong pursed his lips and said:

"I have already explained the situation to them. The prophecy says that in the Central Plains, a child born on the 14th day of the fourth lunar month will open the gate to the celestial realm."

Qin Shifan: "How do I open it?"

Yuan Yong had expected the other person to be surprised or to think he was mentally ill, but he found the man to be quite serious.

"No, don't you have any doubts about me?"

"explain."

Yuan Yong's expression became excited, and he said loudly, "That special child, by channeling his true energy into the jade flower!! He can open the Heavenly Gate, and I too can ascend to immortality!"

Qin Shifan looked at the jade lotus on the table, tilted his head, and asked, "What's the origin of this?"

A special agent from the information team standing nearby said, "I just asked the experts from the National Institute of Cultural Relics. After investigation, they found a similar artifact in a newly discovered large tomb in Luocheng New District. It's possible that they are a pair."

Qin Shifan asked, "Where did you get these things?"

Yuan Yong said, "About seven years ago, I found a wooden box in a cabinet in a small hotel in Zhangliwan, Xincheng. When I opened it, there was a book and this jade lotus flower. I thought it was left behind by some traveler. After opening the book, I found many notes inside."

On the long table nearby, gloved Secret Service agents were laying out sheets of paper, each page containing predictions: lottery winning numbers, stock market information, international and domestic events, presidential election results, the Los Angeles fire, and so on…

The handwriting was done with a ballpoint pen; the characters were very messy and crooked.

Yuan Yong continued, "At first, I didn't believe it either. I thought it was a prank, that the prediction contained the lottery jackpot number, but it would be four months later. But there was another prediction in it, that the next day, Alan Berset, the president of the Riel Federation, would suddenly die of a heart attack at his official residence in Bern, exactly at 2:48 pm."

The people in the room fell silent and turned to look.

One of my colleagues immediately started typing on the keyboard and began searching.

Yuan Yong's eyes burned with fervor, and his voice trembled:

"I only saw the international news on the second night, and the official time of death was exactly as predicted."

"That's when I was completely stunned." Yuan Yong's voice suddenly rose:

"The time of a foreign head of state's death could be predicted down to the minute; this is not something that can be explained by mere coincidence. Later, I made a small fortune based on the stock market information predicted in the prophecy."

Qin Shifan asked, "And then?"

Yuan Yong said, "Later, when the lottery numbers from the prediction came true, I bought 80 tickets for the Double Color Ball lottery a day in advance, all betting on the same number. I admit I was a bit greedy. The first prize is 500 million yuan, so 80 tickets of 500 million yuan each would be 4 million yuan!"

"You won?"

Yuan Yong shook his head: "No, I didn't win a single penny! But apart from the lottery information, everything else in the prophecy book was absolutely accurate."

Qin Shifan said, "Maybe you'll win with just one bet."

Yuan Yong nodded and said, "Yes! I thought of that too. I felt I couldn't be too high-profile, so I controlled my profits. However, the major and minor events of the prophecy ended last March. The last page, which initially made me most skeptical, I've come to believe without a doubt. I want to find the person with true energy, open the Heavenly Gate, and I can become an immortal!"

Qin Shifan remained silent, walked to the long conference table, and looked at each of the prophetic slips of paper.

"Were these written seven years ago? Is there a method to verify their authenticity?"

The special agents replied, "We are contacting experts."

My gaze fell on the last sheet of paper; the handwriting was mediocre, written with a blue ballpoint pen.

[In the Central Plains, one person will be born on the fourteenth day of the fourth month of the year Wuxu. By infusing true energy into the jade flower, the Heavenly Gate can be opened; whoever enters the gate will ascend to immortality.]

"I checked online and found that the years of the Dog (戊戌年) are 1958 and 2018. They are either elderly or eight-year-old children. I spent money to buy a lot of information on the black market and surprisingly found that there are very few elderly people born on the 14th day of the fourth lunar month. While looking for children, I also tried to find the corresponding elderly people."

Qin Shifan asked, "Since when did you start looking for children from this era?"

Yuan Yong said, "About eight months ago, I didn't hurt those children. I just let them touch the jade flower. After they didn't react, I put the children back."

At this point, Yuan Yong's expression darkened:

"Now that I have money, I don't want to die. I want to live forever and become an immortal. Thinking of the true energy and internal strength mentioned in the prophecy, I took the initiative to approach some traditional kung fu masters. Later, I met the organizers of the Bull Group's combat sports events. I was willing to invest more to hold a traditional kung fu competition, hoping to find someone with true energy. Perhaps he can also open the Heavenly Gate."

Hu Yong's gaze fell upon the jade flower, his eyes gleaming: "The prophecy is very clear: infuse true energy into the jade flower, and the Heavenly Gate will open; those who enter will ascend to immortality!"

The secretary came in from outside and said, "Teacher Qin, I just spoke with the Institute of Cultural Relics. They confirmed that the jade lotus flower unearthed from the tomb in Luocheng New District, based on its appearance in the photos we sent, is a pair, which is what antiques often call a pair of mandarin duck pieces, or twin pieces."

Qin Shifan instructed, "Hongtao and Dazhuang, you two go to the Luocheng New District Tomb and bring back the jade flower from there."

"Yes!" A man and a woman left the room.

Qin Shifan frowned and said seriously, "Keep asking, list out all the details. Mock the stick, you come with me."

"yes!"

Qin Shifan went outside and asked Mengun for a cigarette in the corridor.

"Let's go find Chen Ye."

Muffled Gun nodded: "Okay, I'll drive."

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PS: One chapter for now, more to come today.