Jiang Yin didn’t decide to investigate based on groundless intuition. There were mainly two points in the logical reasoning that didn’t make sense.
The first was Zhuo Xun’s notebook.
If all the members of the Guairen Club back then were prospective cultists in cahoots, why would Zhuo Xun leave behind such a notebook?
If he knew Li Zihan’s true identity, he wouldn’t have left such a notebook.
It would only increase their risk of exposure.
If he didn’t know and had always been kept in the dark, then why would he investigate Li Zihan’s death and even his own?
And how did he become wealthy within just two years after graduation?
The second point was these two attacks.
It didn’t make sense.
Both attacks clearly targeted Wen Ling to silence her. The first was an attempt at a silent disposal, the second a targeted assassination.
So many years had passed since the incident back then, even the Temple of Self-Inquiry, this hidden stronghold, had been abandoned. So what exactly did Wen Ling know that made them risk killing to silence her?
To commit murder so brazenly within the country, especially when Jiang Yin might be seen as a Bureau Investigator in their eyes.
Their chances of escaping successfully, even in the past, weren’t high.
If they did nothing, the Bureau would have no leads.
Yet it was their own actions that exposed their whereabouts.
Unless they were fools, such hasty action could only be to cover something up…
‘Maybe the mentally deranged Jia Yuhang and the Li Zihan who tried to kill us weren’t working together?’
‘Wait…’
Jiang Yin suddenly pulled out his phone.
“Zhang Ge, didn’t you say earlier that DNA verification showed the body buried at Li Zihan’s house was indeed Li Zihan!?”
So much had happened in a short time that Jiang Yin almost forgot this detail!
“Damn!”
“Then who the hell is the Li Zihan you guys saw!?”
Zhang Feng had been busy, so he hadn’t thought of this suspicious point right away. When he heard Jiang Yin’s words, goosebumps erupted all over him.
“Is it possible someone was using Li Zihan’s identity to operate?”
“If we analyze from this angle, then both of these people might not be using their real faces. When did the Yuan Ming Cult acquire the means to alter facial features!?”
“There is such a method.”
Ning Rong’s voice suddenly interjected, probably from Zhang Feng’s office.
“One of the Twelve Pillars of the Yuan Ming Cult, Ghost Face, has a similar ability.”
“What the hell are the Twelve Pillars? There are even high-level cadres like that?”
Jiang Yin looked utterly confused.
This was truly a knowledge blind spot for her.
“A bunch of lunatics who feed ghosts with their own bodies, and a breeding ground for the Yuan Ming Cult to nurture high-risk mutants.”
Ning Rong’s tone was obviously full of disdain, as if she was utterly disgusted by these so-called Twelve Pillars.
“In any case, this matter is already beyond your handling scope. Come back for now. Someone else will pursue the whereabouts of the Pillars.”
“You guys focus on thoroughly investigating what happened five years ago, check for any other suspicious points, and find out what exactly this group of rats is trying to hide.”
“Alright.”
***
After the call, Jiang Yin led Wen Ling through the Bureau’s internal channel and, under the protection of local Investigator colleagues, returned to Qizhou City, heading straight for Zhang Feng’s office the moment they got off the car.
Any variety show live broadcast was out of the question now.
Before it was unclear that the Yuan Ming Cult’s target was Wen Ling, there was a chance to let her continue working.
Now that it was clear the target was Wen Ling, how could she be allowed to run around with the program crew?
“Zhang Ge, any new information?”
“Yes.”
Zhang Feng had clearly grown haggard these past two days. His beard was scruffy, his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed for a while and shone with oil, and after taking a gulp of extra strong black coffee, he spoke rapidly.
“The tailing failed. Miss Ning Rong was right. The Yuan Ming Cult really does have the means to alter human appearance. It’s hard to track using facial recognition systems.”
“Have the remaining members of Guairen Club suffered any attacks?”
“Not yet. I’ve already arranged for people to secretly protect them. If anything unusual happens, I’ll be notified immediately. Besides, I suspect…”
He glanced at Wen Ling, who looked exhausted.
“That Miss Wen Ling holds some special information even she doesn’t know about, and its accidental exposure is what led to these two attacks.”
“Any theories?”
“I think… most likely, it’s the Change Face Plan.”
“What do you mean?”
Jiang Yin was stunned, but Wen Ling seemed to recall something, standing motionless.
“‘Lidai Taojiang’, then ‘Dark Passage’!”
Why are supernatural cases sometimes difficult for ordinary police detectives to solve, or even if they do, the Bureau has to re-investigate?
It’s because ordinary people’s thought processes have limits.
Before witnessing such methods that defy common sense, who the hell would think someone could alter their facial features to exactly match another person?
Even plastic surgery can’t do that, and there’s still a risk of failure!
“I know!!”
Wen Ling suddenly raised her voice.
After drawing the attention of both, she calmed herself.
“After that trip, Senior Zihan died, and the entire Guairen Club became strange. Everyone only chatted in the group and never met in person again. Only Senior Zhuo Xun would occasionally go to the club room.”
“Later, I once saw Senior Caijun offline, but he acted distant. At the time, I just thought he was in a bad mood, but now…”
Wen Ling hugged her arms, trembling.
Anyone would be half-scared to death if a friend beside them was silently replaced by someone else.
Jiang Yin injected some magic power into her to help her calm down, then asked.
“Is it possible you were mistaken?”
“Impossible. I remember it clearly. I even talked to Senior Zhuo Xun about it at the time. His expression was also…”
Past memories that once seemed unremarkable now felt full of uncanny disharmony with the hint that ‘he/she might have been replaced’.
“But I’m certain Senior Zhuo Xun was real!”
Jiang Yin immediately looked at Zhang Feng.
“When was their last departure from the country?”
“Half a year ago.”
Zhang Feng didn’t even need to check documents, answering with certainty.
“They left in batches, but all their destinations were in Mianbei.”
“Can we investigate what they did domestically with these identities?”
“Especially this Zhuo Xun. I feel he’s not simple either.”
Why was everyone else replaced but not you?
Because you’re handsome, or because you think you’re special?
This was a clue laid bare.
Now that it’s clear that the deceased Li Zihan was originally a missionary of the Yuan Ming Cult, then what is this Zhuo Xun’s identity?
Or rather…
Was the Zhuo Xun who died of a serious illness really ‘Zhuo Xun’?