Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1079 How

"Lin Lan's breathing stagnated. It was indeed related to Shen Yanqiu. "The five elders of the Scripture Guarding Society are responsible for keeping the secret scriptures, and I am their disciple." Jiang Mingyuan's fingertips brushed across the yellowed pages, as if stroking the fragile time, "In the 23rd year of the Republic of China, some people began to covet the secret scriptures. The first victim, Mr. Zhou, was the elder who kept the "Dan Fang Pian". On the day he died, I happened to see Shen Yanqiu coming out of his back door." "Shen Yanqiu?" Lin Lan asked, "Is he also a member of the Scripture Guarding Society?" "He is the consultant we invited to help authenticate the authenticity of the secret scriptures." The old man's voice sank, with a hint of regret, "I found out that he was secretly copying the secret scriptures, so I followed him secretly. That day outside the wall of Mr. Zhou's house, I picked this up." He took out a silver cufflink from the box, also engraved with the letter "J", "Shen Yanqiu's English name is John, we all call him J. "Lin Lan suddenly remembered the cufflinks in the archival photo of Shen Yanqiu, as well as the evidence at the modern crime scene. The three "J"-shaped cufflinks, spanning nearly a hundred years of time and space, point to the same person. "I told the other four old men about my discovery, but they didn't believe it." Jiang Mingyuan's eyes flushed, "They said that Inspector Shen was a great detective and it was impossible for him to do such a thing. It wasn't until the second, third... fifth old man was killed in succession that they panicked." He pulled out a yellowed photo from his arms, which showed six men in long gowns taking a photo under an ancient tree. The five old men sat in the front row, and the young Jiang Mingyuan and Shen Yanqiu stood in the back row. The two men put their arms around each other's shoulders, looking very close. "I forged a certificate to go abroad and left Nanhua with half of the secret scripture. Shen Yanqiu thought I was dead, but in fact, I was hiding my identity abroad just to keep an eye on him." "Has he found the complete formula? Lin Lan stared at the cufflinks around the old man's neck and suddenly realized they weren't ornaments but some kind of tracker. Jiang Mingyuan nodded, his knuckles white from the strain. "I returned to China ten years ago because I sensed his presence. These cufflinks were made from our blood, mixed with a formula from the secret manual, allowing us to sense each other's location. Over the past six months, his presence has grown stronger, and I knew... he was about to strike." Lin Lan's mind flashed through the faces of modern victims, all elderly people living alone, over seventy years old. "Why did he kill these elderly people?" "The secret manual states that longevity requires the 'longevity soul,' the vitality of those over seventy years old." Jiang Mingyuan's voice trembled slightly. "Shen Yanqiu's formula is incomplete. He needs to replenish the 'soul guide' every twenty years, otherwise he will age rapidly." At that moment, Lin Lan's phone suddenly rang sharply, breaking the silence in the room. Xiao Zhang's name flashed on the screen, a glaring red light in the background—an emergency case alert. "Boss, the fourth one has occurred! "Xiao Zhang's voice was filled with tears, and the sound of sirens wailed in the background. "In the old villa on Xihua Road, the victim was an eighty-year-old lady... The technical department found fingerprints on the windowsill, which completely matched the ones in Shen Yanqiu's file!" Lin Lan stood up suddenly, and the legs of the chair made a harsh sound on the floor. She looked at Jiang Mingyuan. The old man's face looked unusually pale in the smoke of sandalwood, and the silver cufflinks around his neck were slightly hot, emitting a faint red light. You have lived for so long, isn't it enough?" Lin Lan asked, with a hint of confusion in her tone. Nearly a hundred years of time is enough to see through everything in the world, why are you still obsessed with immortality? "Not enough, not nearly enough." A hint of madness flashed in Shen Yanqiu's eyes, rain running down his cheeks. "The formula for the elixir of life is incomplete. Every twenty years, my body begins to fail. I need more 'Soul Guides' to perfect it. Those old men were just the beginning." "You can't go on like this." Lin Lan drew his service pistol, aiming the muzzle steadily at Shen Yanqiu's chest. "Come back to the police station and surrender." Shen Yanqiu smiled, as if hearing something incredible. "Surrender? Officer Lin, you're too naive. I've lived for nearly a hundred years. I've seen everything. Do you think you can stop me?" He pulled a silver cufflink from his bosom. It gleamed coldly in the dim light. It was the one engraved with the letter "J." "This cufflink is made from my blood and a secret formula from an ancient book. It allows me to travel through time and space, evading capture. Do you think you can catch me?" Lin Lan's heart sank. So he could travel through time and space. That was why he could so easily disappear. But she didn't flinch. Still holding her gun, she declared firmly, "Even if you can travel through time and space, you can't escape the wrath of the law." "Law?" Shen Yanqiu sneered. "For me, immortality is the most important thing. For it, I'd pay any price." He suddenly raised his cufflinks and pointed them toward the sky. At that moment, a flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, striking the lightning rod atop the tower, emitting a blinding light. Shen Yanqiu's figure blurred in the light, as if being sucked into another time and space. "Goodbye, Officer Lin," Shen Yanqiu's voice tinged with mockery. "We'll meet again." Lin Lan's heart tightened, realizing he was about to flee. She immediately pulled the trigger: "Don't leave!" A loud bang echoed through the wind and rain. The bullet missed Shen Yanqiu, striking the stone railing beside him, sending up a shower of sparks. At that moment, Shen Yanqiu suddenly leaped from the tower. Lin Lan cried out in alarm, scrambling to the edge and looking down. There was a dark night sky under the tower, with wind and rain, and Shen Yanqiu's figure was nowhere to be seen. "He ran away?" Lin Lan gritted her teeth, her heart filled with unwillingness. Just as she was about to go downstairs to chase him, there was a crisp sound under her feet. Lin Lan looked down and saw that a silver cufflink had fallen to the ground. It was the one that Shen Yanqiu had just held in his hand. The "J" on it was particularly dazzling under the light of lightning. She bent down to pick up the cufflink, and the touch of cold metal spread from her fingertips to her heart. Lin Lan knew that Shen Yanqiu was not dead, he just returned to the era that belonged to him. But this cufflink might be the flaw he left behind. The rain was getting heavier, washing every corner of Nanhua Tower, as if to wash away this sin that spanned time and space. Lin Lan stood on the top of the tower, looking at the city lights in the distance. Those lights flickered in the rain, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching her. She clenched the cufflinks in her hand and swore in her heart: no matter what the price, no matter where Shen Yanqiu escaped to, she would bring him to justice.