Chapter 417: On Earth’s Surface

Chapter 417: On Earth’s Surface (Update 4)

All evidence indicates that victim Gan Xinlei had been dismembered.

How could a dead man confess his relationship with Lu Juan to the police?

He couldn’t, but that didn’t stop Xiao Yu from duping Lu Juan.

From a psychological standpoint…

When the mind is under extreme stress,

it’s also when people are most prone to making mistakes.

It’s just like…

the brain insists, ‘I never err,’

while the mouth shouts, ‘Charge, let’s go all out!’

“How did you know Gan Xinlei was dead?”

A strange glimmer crossed Xiao Yu’s face as he asked coldly.

“…”

Lu Juan’s face turned ghostly white as she kept her mouth firmly shut.

“Will staying silent help?”

Xiao Yu sneered, “Gan Xinlei met a brutal end—dismembered into fifty-seven pieces… not sixty-seven.”

“Huh?” Lu Juan gasped in shock.

Her voice trembled.

Her expression was a mix of terror and disbelief.

Her fists were clenched so tightly that her sharp nails dug into her skin.

It was clear just how stunned and frightened she was—an indescribable dread!

What was she truly afraid of? Xiao Yu held his breath and fixed his cold gaze on Lu Juan.

Why was her expression so unsettling?

First: Lu Juan knew Gan Xinlei was dead.

Second: She never expected such a gruesome end.

Is there a difference?

The difference is enormous.

In the first scenario, she was complicit in the murder.

In the second, she only heard about it—having no part at all.

Her expression strongly suggested the latter.

She anticipated Gan Xinlei’s death, but never imagined it would end with dismemberment.

“Search the premises.”

Without further ado, Xiao Yu ordered.

Guo Qiang stood up and began searching Lu Juan’s home.

Twenty minutes later, two female officers arrived.

For dealing with a female suspect, such measures were necessary.

Male officers rarely acted so directly.

For a whole hour, Xiao Yu scrutinized every change in Lu Juan’s expression,

until the search was finally over.

“We found a lot of cash in the head area,”

Guo Qiang reported with a heavy expression, “About over 500,000 yuan hidden in the bed.”

“Over 500,000 yuan?”

Xiao Yu’s face turned even colder.

What sort of superstition scam could possibly net over 500,000 yuan?

This wasn’t a gang hit, nor a gambling scam—and definitely not a con against a Big Boss or major company.

Frankly, many ordinary people might never even see 500,000 yuan in cash in their lifetimes!

Considering Lu Juan’s previous scams,

it all depended on how much the victims willingly handed over.

That was because they feared leaving any evidence for the police.

And so, the mark would give money only when fate allowed it.

But is it really possible to swindle 500,000 yuan?

At that moment, Lu Juan’s face had completely drained of color.

Her panic had long since transformed into paralyzing terror.

She sat there shivering like a little quail.

“Still not confessing properly?”

Xiao Yu’s voice was as cold as a winter wind. “Or are you saying that you killed Gan Xinlei?”

“No, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!”

Lu Juan screamed hoarsely, trying to stand up,

but the two female officers held her down firmly by the shoulders.

“This is your last chance,” Xiao Yu growled.

“I… I say…”

Desperation flooding her face, Lu Juan finally blurted, “Maybe one of my junior disciples did it!”

“What do you mean by ‘junior disciple’?”

Xiao Yu pressed on with an oddly curious expression.

Could this case really be solved so easily?

Something just didn’t add up…

Then, Lu Juan began to tell a story.

In her tale, an old con artist collapsed outside a high school,

only to be rescued by five kind-hearted students.

In thanks, the con artist took them on as disciples.

He taught each one a unique scam that used superstition to extort money.

It was all about feigning divine powers!

As mentioned earlier,

the older generation was steeped in superstition; they believed in the ‘Four Immortals’.

Actually, more precisely, they believed in the ‘Five Immortals’.

Hu, Huang, Bai, Liu, and Hui.

These names corresponded respectively to the fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake, and rat.

After the con artist imparted these five swindling techniques to his disciples… he died!

After graduating high school, the five ‘junior disciples’ scattered and mostly lost touch.

It wasn’t until five years later that one of them reappeared.

Listening to Lu Juan’s account, Xiao Yu and the others absorbed the story as if it were just a tale.

That was until Lu Juan pulled out an old, hand-drawn manual.

Xiao Yu flipped through a few pages, his expression growing troubled.

There is indeed a legacy.

But some of the old arts have lost their foundations, while others endure.

Even scams have traditions and categories of their own.

Take, for example, the Scam Immortal Sect.

They specialized in using the myth of the ‘Five Immortals’ to deceive others.

The manual in Xiao Yu’s hand detailed the swindling methods of the ‘Huang Immortal’.

It was a bona fide con manual!

In bygone days,

folk traditions called the weasel ‘Old Master Huang Er’,

and even sculpted statues in his honor.

People revered the weasel for its cunning, bravery, and vengeful nature.

Furthermore, this creature roamed the night like a ghost—now here, now gone—adding an air of mystery.

There was another reason as well.

According to folklore, many believed the weasel could manipulate a person’s spirit and control their mind.

Once you incurred the wrath of the Huang Immortal, your body would become possessed.

Under such possession, the victim would descend into a nervous breakdown,

as if they’d become a completely different person!

Of course, these claims were baseless.

After all, these ‘immortals’ were nothing more than primitive deities.

Yet, that very primal worship was exploited.

As Xiao Yu stared at the manual, his expression shifted repeatedly.

Did he really think it was merely a description of simple scams?

No—it not only taught how to deceive but also how to manipulate the minds of demons.

It even covered techniques akin to hypnosis and brainwashing.

For example, methods for controlling thoughts and actions,

and leveraging human fears of demons to trigger psychological suggestions…

Naturally, those old con artists were no ordinary crooks.

How could regular people possibly have written such a manual?

And yet, they managed to pass it down through the ages?

Xiao Yu’s worldview shattered in an instant.

As an old saying goes,

Did you really think you were ascending to great heights?

No—in truth, you’re still stuck on the surface of Earth.

There’s so much out there that you’ve never seen!