PD -Chapter 90 The Mad Taoist Murderer

Yu Qi frowned and thought for a moment before finally shaking her head.

“I really can’t remember the details clearly. I only caught a glimpse of it—it looked like a sharp ancient sword you’d see in a TV drama.”

“That’s also why I didn’t mention this to the police… because I don’t even know whether it was my hallucination or if that sword really appeared,” Yu Qi sighed.

I comforted her, “Don’t blame yourself too much. After you get back to school, rest well and attend your classes properly. If you need any help, you can contact us.”

As I spoke, the car drove into the residential compound. We dropped Yu Qi off in front of the dormitory building, then went to the academic affairs office to complete the onboarding procedures.

The paperwork was completed much faster than I expected. It almost felt like someone high up had already spoken to the school. We were quickly assigned to a teacher dormitory building.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhu was not rejected by the school at all… Even more surprising, despite having no documents whatsoever, she was still arranged to stay with us in the faculty apartments.

After asking around, I found out that the Zhu family had once again used their “money power” on the school. They donated a very considerable amount every year…

So, the young lady of the Zhu family entered the school under the guise of auditing and further study, walking in openly and even receiving the same single-apartment treatment as the teachers.

The three of us settled into our room first. I carefully thought about Yu Qi’s description earlier, especially the “floating sword” she mentioned. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I felt that Yu Qi might not have been hallucinating. If this murder case was really done by some kind of supernatural entity invisible to ordinary people, then it was definitely connected to that sword.

Usually, when investigating such cases, we link the weapon to the deceased’s resentful spirit. Perhaps that ancient sword was carrying some kind of wronged soul.

Yu Qi and Li Fei were simply unlucky—running into that resentful entity in a deserted area, which led to the current tragedy.

So that sword was a very important clue.

I was considering whether to ask the Zero Investigation Unit for help in checking local legends about ancient swords, when I suddenly remembered we were at a university.

And the most convenient place in a university is the library.

The library might not be as fast as the internet, but the accuracy of its materials is far beyond the chaotic information online.

In particular, collections like local gazetteers and cultural folklore records would be extremely useful for investigating past events.

Thinking of this, I stood up and called Liu Xiaopeng and Zhu Zhu to come with me. We headed to the library and began searching local historical materials, flipping through books one by one to look for information about the “ancient sword.”

Researching in the library was exhausting work. We spent four or five straight hours reading. My neck had become completely stiff.

Just then, Liu Xiaopeng seemed to have made a discovery.

“Brother Han!”

He was so excited that he forgot we were in a quiet library, and his voice was loud enough to draw several annoyed looks from nearby female students.

I leaned over to look. He was holding a very old, worn book that gave off a strong musty smell. It was clear it hadn’t been opened in a long time.

He pointed to a page and began explaining his discovery.

The book recorded a series of murders that took place in Flower Willow Alley in the east of the city before liberation.

The perpetrator was a Taoist who made a living by fortune-telling. He often claimed that he was the chief disciple of the Wudang Mountain sect leader.

This normally eccentric, half-mad Taoist didn’t attract much attention… until one dawn, he secretly slipped into Flower Willow Alley and killed ten prostitutes who had just finished work and fallen asleep.

Their throats were slit open, severing both the windpipe and arteries. The scene was horrific, and blood soaked all the bedding until it turned completely red.

When the mad Taoist was finally caught, he was still holding a blood-covered Taiji sword, standing on the city wall and staring at the blood-red dawn, loudly chanting a purification spell.

Later, the mad Taoist was arrested. But due to the chaotic times, his case was put on hold for a long time… and only after the founding of the country was he executed along with other extremely serious criminals.

“Could it be that this mad Taoist turned into a supernatural entity and killed Li Fei?” Liu Xiaopeng asked me.

I nodded.

“It’s possible. I remember Yu Qi said that place was a demolition zone. I also found old maps in the local gazetteers. That area used to be an old prison, and it was only converted into residential housing in the 1980s.”

“Now it’s completely deserted. Where there’s less yang energy and more yin energy, it’s easy for resentment to take hold. The chances of vengeful spirits reappearing there are very high,” I said, pointing at the map.

“Shall we go take a look?” Liu Xiaopeng asked.

I nodded, then turned to Zhu Zhu.

“You stay here and see if you can find more useful information. The two of us will go.”

Zhu Zhu hesitated for a moment but still nodded. She was not very brave, and it was already night. Going to such a deserted place would naturally scare her… Besides, she also knew she wouldn’t be much help even if she went.

Liu Xiaopeng and I immediately set off. We left the library and headed to the parking lot to get the car.

But at the entrance of the parking lot, we saw Yu Qi standing beside a car in the distance, talking to someone inside.

We didn’t approach. Instead, we observed from afar.

The driver was the Taoist priest—Yu Qi’s father.

It seemed like there was a conflict between father and daughter. The Taoist was gesturing for her to get in the car, seemingly trying to take her home, but Yu Qi refused. They argued, and in the end she turned and ran back toward the dormitory.

The Taoist priest paused for a moment before driving away.

“Teacher Liu, Teacher Qiu, what are you doing here?” Yu Qi called out when she noticed us.

I paused, then smiled. “We’re just getting the car. Going out to handle something.”

“Qiqi, was that your dad just now?” Liu Xiaopeng asked.

Yu Qi nodded. “Yes, it was my dad. He wants me to go back to the Taoist temple and stay there for a while.”

“Then why didn’t you go?” I asked.

Yu Qi sighed. “I can take care of myself. My dad is too controlling. And the temple is too lonely—there’s no atmosphere like the dormitory.”

“Your dad… got angry with you?” Liu Xiaopeng asked cautiously.

Yu Qi nodded helplessly.

“He just has old-fashioned thinking. He can’t accept girls going out together. He’s too controlling. Our roommates are all decent girls, but he always thinks I’m being led astray…”