The police car sped along the road toward the Yellow River, carrying Chen Yi, who was lost in his wandering thoughts.
Contrary to the grand and roaring descriptions often found in books, the Yellow River near Quancheng was nothing more than a wide, slow-moving expanse of muddy water.
Just as they had done when searching for Thief San, Luo Yan drove slowly while Chen Yi sat in the car, calculating hexagrams and observing the feng shui of the land.
The officers following behind no longer showed impatience. They had witnessed Chen Yi's abilities firsthand and knew that his insights into feng shui could uncover clues far more efficiently than their methodical searches.
After half a day of driving, Chen Yi finally identified a peculiar spot.
It was a small hill situated by the Yellow River.
By all logic, the river, carrying vast amounts of sediment from the Loess Plateau, should have slowed down near Quancheng, depositing silt and forming a flat plain. A hill in such a location was an anomaly.
Yet here it stood, a solitary mound, its presence both strange and unsettling.
Chen Yi instructed Luo Yan to drive to the base of the hill.
When everyone disembarked, Geng Bo, adorned with his usual clinking trinkets, approached Chen Yi and asked, "The water here flows so slowly. Could the criminals really have chosen this place to dispose of the bodies?"
The sluggish current made it unlikely for anything thrown into the river to be carried far. Without special measures, the bodies would have been discovered quickly, making it impossible for the case to remain unsolved for over two months.
"They didn't throw them into the Yellow River. They dealt with the bodies on the riverbank," Chen Yi replied.
Initially, he had assumed the criminals would use the river to carry the victims away. But upon seeing the water's languid flow, he dismissed the idea.
He pointed to the hill and asked Geng Bo, "What does this hill look like to you?"
"What does it look like?" Geng Bo glanced at Chen Yi, annoyed by his cryptic demeanor. Suppressing his irritation, he replied, "It looks like... a giant grave mound."
"Do you think the criminals would go to such lengths just to find a grave-like hill? After killing someone, would they really bother with a proper burial? Unless they're insane, no one would waste effort on something so pointless," Zhang Fei, the burly officer, chimed in with confusion.
The others also turned to Chen Yi, awaiting his explanation.
Though they had witnessed Chen Yi's capabilities before, there was always the possibility of error. Besides, it seemed unnecessary for the criminals to choose such a specific location. In a city as large as Quancheng, they could have buried the bodies anywhere.
"Look at the trees on the hill. Don't they seem... unusual?"
The more curious they became, the more enigmatic Chen Yi acted, pointing to the trees on the hill as he spoke.
Reluctantly, the group turned their attention to where he was pointing.
"Yes, they do look strange. The hill itself resembles a grave mound, standing alone like this. And the trees... they give off an unsettling vibe, as if they're clawing at the sky in madness," Luo Yan observed.
As a woman with a keen eye for detail, Luo Yan was the first to grasp Chen Yi's point.
"Exactly. The trees here are unlike any others. It's as if they're struggling to break free from something," Chen Yi said.
Frowning slightly, Luo Yan asked, "Struggling? Trees can feel? What could possibly make them feel trapped?"
Chen Yi explained confidently, "Of course trees can feel. I've read about experiments conducted by foreign scientists on bioelectric currents. They discovered that plants do respond to external stimuli and sensations—just not as intensely as animals due to their lack of a nervous system."
"Then what exactly are they trying to escape from?"
Unconsciously, everyone began pondering along with Chen Yi's words.
This was one of Chen Yi's talents as a so-called "mystic." With nothing but his words, he could weave a web of intrigue, leading people to follow his line of thought until they willingly handed over their trust—and sometimes their money.
The only one visibly unimpressed was Geng Bo, who found a rock to sit on with a loud plop.
To him, Chen Yi was no different from the old eccentrics in his department—cryptic, long-winded, and insufferably pedantic. Why couldn't he just get to the point?
If not for the fact that he couldn't beat them, Geng Bo would have long since punched the smugness out of those old men.
"They're trying to escape the malevolent energy," Chen Yi finally revealed.
"Malevolent energy? Are you saying there's malevolent energy here?"
"Yes, and not just a little. This place is teeming with it. To be more precise, it's filled with yin energy. The north side of a river is yang, while the south side is yin. This hill, situated on the southern bank of the Yellow River, naturally accumulates yin energy. Its isolated position makes it a focal point for the river's yin energy, like a tumor growing on the dragon's back."
"Then why would the criminals choose this place to bury the bodies?" Luo Yan asked, steering the conversation back to the original question.
"This type of terrain has another name: a burial ground. It's not a place where bodies should be buried, but rather a place where those who live nearby are prone to death. If someone were to actually bury a body here, it would bring misfortune to their descendants. This is an extremely dangerous feng shui site. Notice how there are no houses nearby? That's because people instinctively sense that this isn't a good place—what we often call a sixth sense."
"A burial ground? You're saying this is a burial ground? No wonder! Then this must be the spot," Geng Bo exclaimed, leaping up and clapping his hands. "You're something else, man. You can even identify a burial ground!"
Chen Yi wasn't sure whether Geng Bo was mocking or praising him. Was identifying a burial ground really so difficult? To Chen Yi, the hill was shrouded in thick black malevolent energy, swirling like dense fog around the trees. It was so obvious to him that he couldn't understand why others couldn't see it.
Unbeknownst to Chen Yi, his heightened spiritual perception was rare among feng shui practitioners. Before reaching his current level, he too had been unable to see such energies. Back then, he had relied on the symbolic clues described in The Dragon Manual, which, while effective, were far more cumbersome than his current methods.
Ordinary feng shui practitioners would need extensive groundwork—studying dragon veins, observing yin energy patterns, analyzing wind directions, vegetation growth, and even using a compass—before they could identify a burial ground. Chen Yi's ability to discern it at a glance was virtually unheard of.
"If people instinctively avoid this place, why would the criminals choose to bury the bodies here?" Luo Yan asked, voicing the group's collective doubt.
"It's different for them. Carrying corpses tainted with death energy, they would have been unconsciously drawn to this spot, compelled to bury the bodies here," Chen Yi explained. Sensing his reasoning might sound far-fetched, he added, "This is the mystery of feng shui—what appears to be coincidence is often inevitability, though it's difficult for us to perceive."
With that, Chen Yi began ascending the hill.
The others, half-convinced and half-doubtful, followed closely behind.
Geng Bo, meanwhile, darted around like a mischievous monkey, hopping from one spot to another as if searching for something.
Halfway up the hill, Chen Yi suddenly stopped and veered toward a dense patch of trees.
Through his heightened perception, he could clearly see a thick, crimson aura of blood energy emanating from the area—a sign of buried corpses.
Pushing aside the overgrown branches, Chen Yi soon found patches of disturbed earth, evidence of recent digging.
The officers behind him noticed it too. Their excitement was tinged with sorrow, for it seemed the missing girls had indeed been buried here.
"Those bastards! They're so d*mn cunning, burying the bodies in a place like this. Who would ever come here?" Zhang Fei spat angrily. The dense undergrowth and lack of paths made the area nearly inaccessible. It was no wonder the police had made no progress after two months.
Before long, the first grave was unearthed. As the body was retrieved, a nauseating stench of decay filled the air.
Though the corpse was severely decomposed, everyone present gasped in horror.
It was a young girl, likely one of the fourteen-year-old victims. Her body was naked, marred with scars, and her limbs showed signs of having been broken. The terror and pain etched into her face made it clear she had suffered unimaginable torment before her death.
Who could be so cruel as to inflict such horrors on a mere child?
Luo Yan's eyes reddened. She had carried the weight of the last victim's disappearance on her shoulders, and now, faced with this tragedy, her guilt and self-reproach deepened.
She blamed herself for not seeking Chen Yi's help sooner and for failing to solve the case in time.
In truth, the fault didn't lie with her. When she took on the case, the eighth girl had just gone missing, and based on the criminals' previous patterns, there should have been a lull before they struck again. No one could have predicted they would act again within just two days.
At that moment, Chen Yi instinctively reached out and held Luo Yan's hand. This time, she didn't pull away. Instead, she gripped his hand tightly, her strength so intense that it caused him pain.
One by one, the bodies were exhumed. Forensic examiners arrived to begin their work, and the scene became a flurry of activity.
When the last grave was opened, the count revealed only eight bodies.
Nine girls had gone missing, but only eight had been found.
This meant one girl might still be alive.
Luo Yan's guilt-stricken face lit up with a glimmer of hope and urgency. Gripping Chen Yi's hand even tighter, she pleaded, "Find her for me. Please, help me find that girl!"
Chen Yi looked into her eyes, filled with desperation and determination, and replied, "I'll do my best."
"No, you must find her. Whatever it takes, I'll agree to any condition you ask," Luo Yan said firmly, her gaze unwavering.
Chen Yi hesitated. Normally, he avoided making absolute promises. As a fortune-teller and feng shui practitioner, he knew the risks of overcommitting—one mistake could ruin his reputation and cause unnecessary trouble. "I'll do my best" was usually the most he would guarantee.
But Luo Yan, clinging to her last shred of hope, misunderstood his words.
Sensing his hesitation, Chen Yi was about to clarify when the sound of two sharp whistles cut through the air.