Chapter 81: Five Stars

The way business cards appear, the cash that disappears, time-sensitive pills, one-time login URLs…

These things are all strange.

At first, Yan Xianghua wanted to investigate.

But he found nothing.

The medicine was indeed effective, and that was enough.

Thinking of the two sentences on the business card, he thought, perhaps this is a miracle.

His love for his daughter moved the gods and demons, giving him the chance to keep his child.

He had an open and honest conversation with his wife.

After that, the couple no longer tangled over the source and truth of the medicine; what they wanted was always just the result.

A healthy child, even healthier than before.

Six hundred thousand a year for medicine is indeed expensive, but when spent on his daughter, it doesn’t seem like much.

Yan Xianghua pulled himself together and continued his business.

He couldn’t guarantee that the price of the medicine wouldn’t rise; he needed enough cash flow.

As the year was coming to an end, during the last delivery of medicine, a small note indicated the location for the next year’s payment.

This time, after preparing the money and placing it at the designated spot, Yan Xianghua suppressed his curiosity and didn’t even send anyone to watch.

But he knew the other party received the money, and the first batch of medicine for the new year arrived on time.

This was feasible.

Throughout the year, he and his wife kept their mouths shut. When outsiders asked, they all claimed the child had been misdiagnosed.

Only once did Yan Xianghua feel a pang of compassion.

That was the parents of a former hospital friend of his daughter.

They happened to encounter Yan Miao playing at an amusement park.

He saw in those parents the desperate version of himself from the past.

The couple cried out to him like they had found a lifeline, pleading for his medical route.

According to the note, he couldn’t say anything.

In fact, even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t know what to say.

So, he only told those parents two words: miracle.

Later, they somehow learned about some temples he had visited and went to each one, sincerely bowing and praying.

It seemed to gain some traction online.

Yan Xianghua couldn’t bear to watch.

Because as long as they were still praying, it proved that the business card hadn’t reached them.

Without that business card, that couple would have ended up like him and his wife.

Yan Xianghua never expected to encounter another person who knew about the existence of the business card, and that person was a police officer.

She brought him terrifying news.

The muscles in Yan Xianghua’s arms trembled.

If Miao Miao’s medicine came from someone else’s life… then he had forced Miao Miao to become a killer.

He couldn’t bear to think about it.

“What evidence do you have?”

“It’s just a guess. I think Mr. Yan must have many speculations; I’m just stating one of them.”

Qin Qing said calmly, “But we have indeed found some clues in certain investigations. Some people suddenly fall ill or die, which goes against biological logic. Currently, there’s no direct evidence linking these ‘lives’ and ‘deaths.’ But precisely because of this, we need to uncover the truth.”

Hearing her say this, Yan Xianghua relaxed a bit.

For his daughter.

But he didn’t relent: “How do you know that phrase?”

Qin Qing: “You don’t need to worry about that, Mr. Yan; I have my channels.”

“I can’t say!”

Qin Qing thought for a moment, flipped through her phone’s photo album, and paused on one of the pictures.

She placed her phone in front of Yan Xianghua.

“Why don’t you take a look at this first?”

The photo was a live shot of a chubby little boy, whom Yan Xianghua recognized.

He couldn’t remember the name, but he knew it was the child of that couple.

Judging by the size, it wasn’t an old photo.

It was recent, and the child was healthy.

Yan Xianghua’s pupils trembled.

“This child…”

Qin Qing knew what he was doubting.

She said, “No. They found other doctors and tried different treatment methods.”

She continued slowly, “Safe and reliable. Effective once.”

Yan Xianghua looked at Qin Qing.

After a long time, he said, “I need this doctor’s information.”

“Sure,” Qin Qing replied, “I can introduce you.”

At this point, Yan Xianghua finally revealed his experiences to Qin Qing and Lin Feng.

This information had long been extracted by Qin Qing from his System Panel.

Now, with Yan Xianghua narrating, it only added some details and subjective emotional color.

Her goal wasn’t this; she wanted to see the business card.

“Is the business card still there?” Lin Feng asked.

“Yes, I’ve kept it safely.”

Yan Xianghua stood up and walked to his desk, reaching under the table and tapping a spot twice, opening a hidden compartment.

Inside was an exquisite box; opening it revealed the business card.

It was clear he had indeed preserved it carefully.

The box was placed on the table in front of everyone.

Lin Feng stopped Qin Qing’s hand, put on a pair of gloves, and then picked up the card.

The card was made of off-white textured paper.

There was nothing particularly special about it.

Both the front and back were printed with text, just as Yan Xianghua had described.

She also saw the five irregularly arranged stars in the center of the card.

There were also some small paper bags in the box, with the same star pattern in the center.

Nothing was visible to the naked eye.

After getting Yan Xianghua’s consent, Lin Feng took one of the medicine bags in a evidence bag to analyze it later.

Yan Xianghua: “That’s all I know.”

Lin Feng stood up, extended his hand to shake Yan Xianghua’s: “Thank you for your full cooperation, Mr. Yan.”

But Yan Xianghua only stared at Qin Qing: “Officer Qin, you promised.”

Qin Qing jotted down the landline number for the Baiyun Temple free clinic and handed it to him.

“Tell them I referred you. They’ll take care of your daughter.”

After leaving Yan Xianghua’s office, Qin Qing asked, “Do you think that medicine pouch will be of any use?”

“Send the inner lining to the lab—check for any drug residue,” Lin Feng replied. “What about you? Did you pick up anything while you were there?”

“Not really. But that star pattern might be a clue.”

“Oh? Isn’t that just a logo?”

Qin Qing shook her head: “That’s not a simple logo; it has a prototype. The arrangement arc of those five stars completely matches ‘Polar Five Stars.’”

It all relied on Qin Qing’s recent cramming for the Taoist certification exam.

In astronomical terms, the Polar Five Stars are located in the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, near the North Celestial Pole.

Culturally, the North Star has always held a significant position and was regarded as the center of the heavens in ancient times.

The Polar Five Stars represent the Crown Prince, Emperor, illegitimate sons, harem, and Tian Shu, surrounding the North Star, symbolizing cosmic order and stability. From their naming, it’s evident that in ancient times, the North was often associated with royal power and the fortunes of dynasties.

In religious culture, the Polar Five Stars are often seen as symbols connected to the deities of heaven and earth, and mysterious powers. They are believed to represent different divinities and strengths.

The ideals pursued by Taoism, such as longevity, unity with the Dao, and harmony with the natural world, all have explanatory connections.

In Yin-Yang Theory, these five stars correspond to the five elements.

Qin Qing explained all this to Lin Feng.

“Ha?” Lin Feng held the evidence bag containing the medicine bag in front of him, “Are you saying this thing might have been created by some religious group?”

“Very likely,” Qin Qing said, “And those two sentences on the business card sound very familiar. Do you remember I reported a cult once? You laughed at me then. Those phrases seem to be the slogan of that group.”

Lin Feng had always had a good memory: “That’s true.”

He rubbed his face, somewhat incredulous.

“Don’t tell me that group of rascals could pull off something so elaborate? Yan Xianghua is always followed by someone; he rarely goes solo. To sneak in and leave things under the noses of so many people without anyone noticing is no small feat. And six hundred thousand isn’t as small as a business card; that’s a considerable volume. To move that amount of money would require meticulous planning and coordinated efforts. This isn’t something a bunch of fake medicine peddlers could accomplish.”

“Then it will depend on you, Team Leader Lin, to unravel this. This group calls themselves the Taiyi Ziwei Sect, and they don’t just sell fake medicine. Before the high school entrance exam and college entrance exam, they also sold Wenqu Star Talismans, which are said to be quite expensive.”

Lin Feng rubbed his ears: “That doesn’t sound much better than selling fake medicine.”

“A clue is still a clue.”

“I’ll look into it when I have some time.”

Today’s trip was entirely based on their personal speculation; there was no case filed related to this.

It’s not that Lin Feng isn’t concerned, but he really needs to find time to investigate. Current cases take priority over this.

Right now, there are only scattered clues, unless they can find concrete evidence to file a case.

Unfortunately, Qin Qing didn’t see in Yan Xianghua’s journal who had placed these business cards and medicine bags inside.

The journal only states, “On xx month xx day at xx hour, a medicine bag was found in package xx.”

However, it wasn’t entirely without gain.

Driving back to the police station, they passed through a neighborhood.

Qin Qing called out to Lin Feng: “Wait, I think I see someone I know.”

They had just been to this residential area a few days ago, which was the home of one of the sudden death victims.

So she looked more closely as they passed by, and that’s when she spotted a somewhat familiar figure.

At a glance, it looked like Gao Yang.

That Gao Yang, who was involved in the funeral business, the granddaughter of Granny Shun.

Her appearance here might not be a coincidence.

Qin Qing got out of the car and jogged a short distance to catch up.

The closer she got, the more she confirmed she wasn’t mistaken.

“Gao Yang.”

The tall woman with long hair turned her head, surprised to see Qin Qing.

Gao Yang had braided her hair today and wore a wooden hairpin.

She was dressed in a loose black cotton robe with a diagonal opening.

On her forearm, there was still a string of thin silver bracelets that jingled softly as she moved.

“Master Qin, long time no see. Were you also invited by the Liu family?”

“Liu family?” Qin Qing recalled the name of the sudden death victim from the case file, “Liu Anhe?”

“Yes. Liu Anhe died suddenly in the prime of his life. His family doesn’t believe it was just an accident, but I heard they reported it to the police, and the police closed the case as an accident based on the coroner’s report. His family found out about us and plans to go the Mystic Arts route. The funeral is being handled by me and my grandmother.”

“Did you find anything?”

Gao Yang didn’t hide anything, sighing: “In his case, Master Qin, you might as well have stayed home today. Even for you, it probably won’t be of much use.”

“Why do you say that?”

Gao Yang stared blankly ahead, murmuring: “His soul is gone.”

“Uh…”

Qin Qing felt awkward, torn about whether to go along with her performance.

Seeing her expression, it was Gao Yang who smiled first.

“I’m sorry to make you laugh. I truly can’t see ghosts. However, when someone dies not long ago, especially during the first seven days, at least during the funeral, through special rituals, one can feel the spiritual response. But this person…”

Gao Yang shook her head heavily: “This person, even my grandmother can’t feel the spiritual response.”