Genius Detective

"'New'? 'Tip'? What does that all mean?" Lin Dongxue asked.[1]

kk explained, "'New' means fakery, 'tip' means real skills or a real guy. This is what Jianghu entertainers used to say. The original saying is, 'One will starve just with real skills, but if it’s all fake, you’ll come out empty. Adding fakery to real skills, one can rival the immortals'. That is to say, the fake has to be mixed with the real, in order to actually get things going. Although experienced people in Jianghu all add fakery, they definitely have to have a skilled foundation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to make it… So I think this old Taoist priest maybe really does have some Taoist skills!"

"How much do you know about Taoism?" Chen Shi asked, "In the entire Taoist system, there’s no such skill that can be performed. The so-called subduing ghosts and demons, these demons are just metaphors for obstacles in their spiritual training. I'm sure the things in the video are all tricks."

kk said, "What I mean is that maybe there was a lot of hard work involved in the trick he performed, thus it was so ‘pleasant to watch’."

"Haha, you mean to say that this old Taoist master is actually a veteran magician?" Lin Dongxue understood what he was saying.

"That's more or less what I mean." kk smiled.

Chen Shi pondered, "In other words, he’s someone from Jianghu. kk, can you find more about this person through your personal network?"

kk smiled, as if he still had a card up his sleeve. He said, "The real information can't be found by typing on the keyboard while staying at home. Wait a moment…"

He opened the desk drawer, took out a large envelope, and handed it to Chen Shi. "Brother Chen, I’ve owed a lot of favors for these few pieces of paper."

"I'll give you the money later."

"No, no, President Wang will pay the bill… but you have to mention it to him."

Chen Shi sat on the sofa and opened the envelope. Lin Dongxue sat beside him and watched. The intimate actions of the two filled kk and Sun Zhen with envy.

It turned out that the old Taoist master’s real name was Liao Zitong. He was born in a county in Guizhou in 1975. Both his parents were workers. After graduating from junior high, he entered a technical school directly, where he started dating a girl. Due to his youth and ignorance, he got the girl pregnant. The girl’s elder brother sought him out to give him trouble. The girl’s family threatened to sue him. This wasn’t a trivial matter. At the time, there was still the fearful crime of hooliganism. In addition, the other party was a minor. If it went to court, his crimes would definitely be considered major and not minor.

The frightened Liao Zitong ran away overnight. In order to survive, he had been a scammer as well as a beggar. From 1997 to 1999, he mysteriously disappeared for three years. It’s speculated that he met an expert who taught him some skills. After 1999, a Taoist priest who called himself Liao Chunhuang appeared in Jianghu, focusing on targeting the wealthy.

Liao Chunhuang’s first transaction involved a Hong Kong investor. Relying on magic tricks and swindling skills, he earned quite a lot. However, he became addicted to the bad habit of gambling, and his savings were squandered in the blink of an eye. In Macau, he nearly had his hands chopped off while pinned onto the gaming table. 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝐞𝚠𝚎𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝚕.co𝚖

With his debts, he could only continue to target the rich. He only selected the most wealthy and elderly rich people. He earned a great deal, but he owed even more. Whenever he had some money in hand, he would think about doubling it at the gambling table to pay off his debts. The result was that he fell into a vicious cycle.

The last time he did this was in 2009. After ten years of silence, a team suddenly appeared beside him. The intelligence provider suspected that it had been organized by his creditors, in order to force him to use the money he earned to pay off his debts.

The intelligence provider also said that something happened after 2009 and his wife went to jail.

These few pages had been written by hand and were very subjective. The part about him targeting the wealthy was very detailed, but his wife’s going to jail wasn’t elaborated on. Chen Shi thought that this must be a collection of all kinds of hearsay.

Although it wasn’t very objective, it at least provided Chen Shi with a clue.

He said, "It's written like a novel and the handwriting is ugly too. It's really uncomfortable to read."

"Brother Chen, just put up with it. It wasn’t easy to find out about these. After all, their 'Star Taoist Master' industry is a relatively closed one. This was provided by another 'Star Taoist Master' in the same industry. He has had a meal with Liao Chunhuang before."

"'Star Taoist Master’"? Do you mean fake Taoist master?"

"Yes, those who claim to be able to subdue ghosts and demons are all fake Taoist priests. This is a kind of livelihood in itself. They’re a subset of swindlers. Do you know what the biggest advantage of doing this line of work is? It’s that it isn’t easy to be exposed. They go to rich people’s houses to subdue demons and catch ghosts as well as offer prayers for longevity. The rich people go through this mental health care program, and it may really have an effect. Those who have been cheated out of tens of millions even think they have benefited greatly."

Lin Dongxue asked, "If things are like this, aren't there many fake Taoist masters?"

"There aren’t many. After all, there are many wolves and a little porridge."

Sun Zhen mocked, "Whenever he speaks, he reveals his uncultured foundation. 'There are many wolves and little porridge'? Then wouldn’t another idiom be 'Many monks and little meat'?" [2]

"I’m deliberately being funny in front of Sister-in-Law! Can't I?" kk argued.

"Haha!" Lin Dongxue laughed dutifully. "What do you think is his motive for targeting Old Man Lu?"

"Money, what else could it be? People enter this business to earn money of course. kk said.

Chen Shi said, "Since we have encountered this incident, there is no reason to ignore it. There’s so much money being scammed that it’s almost no different from murder. That is why the heaviest sentence that a scammer can be given is death. In his current state, Old Man Lu might even give the entire company to Liao Chunhuang."

Sun Zhen said, "I heard from President Wang that Old Man Lu has been in hospital for almost half a year. Although he has money, no matter how much money he has, he cannot stop the terminal illness of aging. Ever since Liao Chunhuang arrived on the scene, he wouldn’t go for treatment anymore. He eats vegetarian meals and meditates all day long, regularly holding ceremonies for increasing longevity. After that, he even acknowledged someone as his son, it was as though he had gone crazy."

"Acknowledged a son?"

"It's the person we saw that day. It’s said that he is the reincarnation of Old Man Lu’s second son, who was his favorite. Liao Chunhuang had helped him find his second son through astral travel to the underworld and looking through the Register of Life and Death. The new son knows everything about the second son. Old Man Lu was so happy that he treats him as his own son, and keeps him by his side every day. He has even changed his will. President Wang is in misery right now."

Old Man Lu's fondness for his useless second son exceeded everything. This was known to everyone. Lin Dongxue said, "Oh my god, he actually believes this kind of nonsense? His second son died in a kidnapping six years ago. This 'reincarnation', is he only six years old? Wang Haitao only acknowledged his biological father when he was 40 years old. After being a rich second generation for less than two years, does he have to revert back to being an ordinary person again? That kind of blow is simply devastating."

Chen Shi nodded. "I saw that Wang Haitao had acquired quite a few white hairs that day. It was probably from all the worry. It seems that Liao Chunhuang is very ambitious. He wants to swallow Old Man Lu’s entire company. We have to think of ways to deal with him."

Lin Dongxue said, "It's easy to deal with him. Let’s inform the public security anti-fraud team. All of them are anti-fraud elites. They will be able to arrest Liao Chunhuang tonight."

"But his heart can't be won back. Old Man Lu is completely caught in this trap. This will only make him more rebellious and do extreme things."

"When have you become so 'considerate'? It's like rehab. You have to cut off the source of the drug before the addict can quit."

"Drug rehabilitation also has to use drug alternatives to slowly support the therapy…" Chen Shi pondered, "Wait, what if we fight poison with poison and trick Old Man Lu back?"

1. In the previous chapter and this chapter’s title, it has been edited to show the meaning for readability. However, slang was used in the saying that the average person wouldn’t understand. ?

2. The original idiom is “Many monks, but only a little porridge.” ?