Chapter 29: I Had No Choice Before
Mo Youqian always put on makeup when he went out to stage a car accident, just in case someone he knew recognized him; he still wanted to save face.
"Master, you truly are a brilliant strategist." Caught in the act, Tang Ren awkwardly rubbed his head and said, "We did come to you this time because we need your help with something."
"Old man, can you tell us what this symbol means?" Tang Ren took out his phone and pointed to a pattern on it, asking.
"Soul Suppressing Talisman!" While Mo Youqian was racking his brain to remember, Mo Fei, who was beside him, suddenly smiled and said, "This kind of talisman is usually used by murderers. Generally speaking, it's because they fear the souls of those they killed will harass them after death. So, they use a Soul Suppressing Talisman to prevent the deceased's soul from transcending, forever fixing it in the place of death. It's a very rare and extremely sinister evil secret art."
From the moment he saw Tang Ren, Mo Fei knew his opportunity to get rich had arrived.
I had no choice before, but now, I want to be a rich man!
"Kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" Tang Ren glared at Mo Fei.
"No!" Mo Youqian looked at Mo Fei in surprise, "He's absolutely right. This is indeed a Soul Suppressing Talisman."
"Heh." Mo Fei smiled enigmatically.
Mo Youqian added, "I should have seen a detailed description of the Soul Suppressing Talisman in that book, if I remember correctly..."
"The Soul Suppressing Talisman is recorded in the 'Yin Yang Wuji Shuo' (Discourse on Yin and Yang Wuji), and this book can be found at the New York City Public Library," Mo Fei said leisurely.
"Damn, you know that too?" Tang Ren looked at Mo Fei in shock.
"I've dabbled in traditional Daoist culture and have a rough understanding of some things," Mo Fei said with a faint smile.
Just as Mo Fei and the others were discussing the Soul Suppressing Talisman and the Yin Yang Wuji Shuo, the door of the boxing gym was pushed open, and a stout old woman, smoking a cigarette, walked in with a swaggering, devilish gait.
A unique pair of slippers made a 'pat-pat' sound, her head was full of hair rollers, and her dress was almost bursting at the seams.
"Wife, you're back? Did you buy the groceries?" Mo Youqian immediately cast Tang Ren aside and went to greet her obsequiously.
"Is that his wife?" Mo Fei was stunned. The old woman's physique, he wouldn't doubt it if someone said she weighed three times as much as Mo Youqian.
How do they do naughty things at night?
Isn't Mo Youqian afraid of having his old back broken by a single sit?
Tsk, marrying an overly fat wife, I'm afraid many positions will never be mastered in this lifetime!
"Speaking of buying groceries, it makes me so angry! Didn't vegetable prices just rise two months ago? These bastard profiteers are raising them again! It's just because I'm old; if I were younger, I'd slap those profiteers to death!"
The old woman was also in her fifties or sixties, but her temper still seemed incredibly explosive!
"Yes, yes, yes. Back then, who didn't know your reputation, wife, as 'Iron Palm Invincible'!"
"Who are they? Are they also here to learn boxing?"
"This is my disciple, Tang Ren, Little Tang! He specially came to visit us!"
"Yes! It's me, Master's Wife!" Tang Ren quickly stepped forward, smiling solicitously.
"Oh, it's Little Tang! You're still kind-hearted, I tell you, those few disciples your master took in back then, they all forgot about your master. Not one of them ever came back, heartless! Little Tang, don't leave today. Master's Wife just bought extra vegetables..." As she spoke, she walked towards the inner room.
"Wait." Mo Youqian's heart skipped a beat. Disturbed by Mo Fei and Tang Ren, the live broadcast hadn't even been turned off yet... "Wife, how can I let you cook? Let me do it!" Mo Youqian quickly stepped forward, trying to stop her, but unfortunately... she stared at Mo Youqian expressionlessly. The girl on the computer screen was still posing suggestively... "Little Tang used my computer for a while just now." Mo Youqian pointed at Tang Ren and angrily said, "Little Tang, it's not Master scolding you, but you're not young anymore, how can you still be so ignorant? If you want to watch these messy things, how can you use Master's computer?"
"Master, I..." Tang Ren felt very innocent, but seeing his Master vigorously winking at him, he could only weakly say, "I didn't mean to..."
"Wife, you see, Little Tang is young, so don't be too hard on him." Mo Youqian breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head, and smiled at his wife.
"Do you take me for an idiot!" The old woman took a deep drag from her cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, lifted her foot, and stomped it out.
Mo Youqian had a bad feeling. He knew this was a premonition of his wife's outburst: "Wait, wife, I feel like there's still a chance for me to be saved..."
Before he could finish speaking, his wife swung her hand, slapped him across the face, and directly sent him flying into the wall, the kind where you couldn't even pry him out.
Mo Fei and the others fled from the Mo Family Fist gym as if their lives depended on it.
Behind them, earth-shattering sounds emanated, and every now and then, a tremor could be heard coming from inside the gym.
"I never thought that after so many years, Master's Wife is still so virtuous and gentle," Tang Ren panted.
"Hey, what are you looking for the Soul Suppressing Talisman for? Tell me, maybe I can help you!" Mo Fei looked at Tang Ren and his group, smiling faintly.
"What's it to you?" Tang Ren was very impolite.
Qin Feng ignored Tang Ren and spoke frankly: "We are investigating the death of Seventh Uncle Wu Zhiyuan's grandson, Wu Zhihao. The Soul Suppressing Talisman was present at the scene of his death. Furthermore, we also found the Soul Suppressing Talisman in another murder case at a dilapidated shipyard on the Hudson River, so I suspect this is a series of serial murders. There might be clues in the Yin Yang Wuji Shuo."
"A dilapidated shipyard on the Hudson River?" Mo Fei stroked his chin and said, "Where was Seventh Uncle's grandson found dead? Cause of death? Time of death?"
"Zao Wang Temple! Heart removed! July 1st, 9 AM to 10 AM."
"Zao Wang Temple, internal Yin Fire, belongs to Fire; heart, heart fire blazing, internal Five Elements, belongs to Fire; July 1st, Ding You year Fire day, 9 AM to 10 AM, Si hour, also belongs to Fire." Mo Fei shrugged, "I guess in the murder case that happened on the Hudson River, the kidneys were removed?"
"Damn, you even know that? You didn't kill them yourself, did you?" Tang Ren exclaimed in surprise.
Mo Fei looked at Tang Ren contemptuously, "This is just basic common sense. Even an ordinary person, if you read a bit more and know that the two murders are serial killings, by comparing the Water and Fire locations, and the heart and kidneys, you can naturally see that the murderer is killing people according to Yin Yang Five Elements."
"And if you've read the Yin Yang Wuji Shuo, you can further confirm that the victims' birth dates also correspond to Water and Fire respectively. Specific locations, specific times, specific methods of killing, specific people. He is using New York City as an altar, corresponding to killing five people—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—and taking their five organs to refine elixirs!"
Tang Ren: I didn't connect these basic common sense points. I'm sorry, I've disgraced ordinary people too.