Since Shen Gun had arrived, it was essential for people connected to the Xiong Simple to meet and hold a discussion.
Everyone gathered in Luo Ren’s room. Even Cao Jiefang attended the meeting—it had regained consciousness but entered the least active period of its life, with a blank stare and slow movements, lying on the ground motionless for long periods, its presence almost unnoticeable.
Yan Hongsha kindly cut some thin gauze and wrapped it around the wounded part of its head. With its head drooping, it looked like an injured patient. Yan Hongsha thought it might just have become a vegetative chicken.
Zheng Mingshan remained at the bar. Qingmu had originally been watching over Luo Ren, but seeing that many people had arrived and nothing would happen for a while, he told Luo Ren that he had some personal matters to attend to and needed to go out.
Before discussing important matters, Luo Ren asked everyone’s opinion about whether they should inform Qingmu and Zheng Mingshan about the Xiong Simple.
Surprisingly, everyone unanimously agreed not to tell them, which somewhat surprised Luo Ren. He was quite inclined toward sharing information. Later, something Shen Gun said made him change his mind.
Shen Gun said that judging from the reactions of known people possibly connected to the Xiong Simple, Yin Erma had kept the secret until his death, and the so-called “Rushing to Observer Four Gates” was a secret perhaps only Meihua Jiuniang knew. Since these people kept it so tightly under wraps, there must be a reason. Unless necessary, they shouldn’t broadcast it for everyone to know.
Very well, Luo Ren pondered, organizing and consolidating all the currently known clues about the Xiong Simple to ensure everyone was on the same page before proceeding.
Then he opened his computer and showed everyone a photo sent by Wan Fenghuo.
In the photo, a young, petite woman was talking with a man, her head lowered. The background was a bustling street.
Cao Yanhua was the first to recognize her: “Isn’t that Yafeng?”
Luo Ren nodded. Back then, they couldn’t do anything about Qingshan and Yafeng. Though they knew it wasn’t appropriate, they had let them go—but they had kept one hand in play, asking Wan Fenghuo’s people to keep an eye on any developments from Yafeng’s side.
Yi Wansan also leaned in to look: “That’s not Cao Village. Cao Village isn’t this prosperous and busy. Did Yafeng leave?”
“They say she abandoned Qingshan and left quickly.”
Cao Yanhua spat hatefully: “Good riddance. Better not to harm my cousin.”
Yan Hongsha asked curiously: “Where was this photo taken? And who is this man?”
Luo Ren clicked to the next image.
It was a scanned passport cover with “PHILIPPINES” prominently displayed. Yan Hongsha immediately realized: “A Filipino? Leopard’s subordinate?”
Luo Ren said, “This photo was taken after Mu Dai’s incident.”
Yan Hongsha was confused: What did this mean? Was Yafeng also connected to what happened to Mu Dai?
Luo Ren looked at Shen Gun: “Shen Gun previously kept telling me that when doing anything, we should think about the connections and purposes involved.”
Is that so? Had he said that? Probably. He was always so wise, occasionally dropping enlightening and instructive remarks—Shen Gun was quite proud, sitting up much straighter.
“So I’ve been thinking, what is Leopard’s purpose?”
Initially, he thought it was revenge. Leopard was vindictive; her lair had been destroyed, and she had lost an eye—sufficient reasons for her to pursue him relentlessly.
Later, he discovered that Leopard had an Xiong Simple, but he hadn’t thought much about it, assuming only that the Xiong Simple would make Leopard more formidable, until this photo appeared.
“Even though Leopard has captured Mu Dai, her subordinates are still active elsewhere, even finding Yafeng. So I suspect… she wants to collect all seven Xiong Simples.”
Yi Wansan frowned: “What’s the use of finding Yafeng? Yafeng no longer has a Xiong Simple. We have five of them right here.”
Cao Yanhua thought for a moment, counting on his fingers: “She knows we have five here. She has one herself, and her subordinates are active everywhere… Is she looking for the last one?”
Luo Ren closed his computer: “Leopard is different from other people carrying Xiong Simples that we’ve encountered before. In her great-grandfather’s room, there was a map showing the positions of the Big Dipper stars. Her ancestors likely committed seven violent crimes. And in all matters related to the Xiong Simple, ‘seven’ is a sensitive number.”
The discussion seemed to stall at this point. Yan Hongsha couldn’t contain herself: “Luo Ren, does this have anything to do with Mu Dai?”
She couldn’t see the connection to Mu Dai, and she had no interest in matters unrelated to Mu Dai. But when it came to discussing Mu Dai, as long as Leopard didn’t make the first move, there seemed to be nothing to discuss—talking about it would only make everyone more depressed.
Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua felt the same way. The two sat glumly until they heard a light sound of wooden objects knocking together—on the other side, Shen Gun also seemed bored with the discussion and had opened his wallet, taking out seven wooden objects to play with, even examining the wooden hawk markings on them with a magnifying glass.
Luo Ren stared at those wooden pieces. In a flash of insight, a thought suddenly emerged in his mind, and he blurted out: “Mechanism!”
Shen Gun was confused: “What mechanism?”
“The one you mentioned before, the mechanism permeating the human world and universe, which Lu Ban called the Seven Star Killing Formation.”
Shen Gun began to grasp something: “Yes, observed by Lu Ban, and supposedly known by Mozi as well. There was also a great sage who gained early insight—that person was Laozi.”
Luo Ren’s heart raced: “What if this killing formation operates in multiple dimensions?”
He took out paper and pen, his hand slightly trembling, and drew two horizontal lines on the paper, dividing it into three areas.
In the first area, he marked the word “Heaven” and wrote four characters: Big Dipper Seven Stars.
In the second area, he marked the word “Earth” and hastily wrote a few words: Geographic distribution of the Xiong Simples.
In the third area, he marked the word “Human” and wrote only one Arabic numeral: 7.
Then he turned the paper around to face everyone.
“Shen Gun, I remember you telling me that everything in the world is connected. The same goes for celestial bodies. The distance between the moon and the Earth causes the tides. I’m not a professional and don’t fully understand what influence the Big Dipper has on Earth, but I know that ancient Chinese believed ‘the Big Dipper governs death,’ viewing the seven stars as an ominous sign. Why?”
Cao Yanhua was somewhat dazed: “Is it because ancient Chinese knew the Big Dipper had some influence on Earth?”
Then he muttered, “That can’t be right. Modern times are so much more advanced than ancient times; there’s no reason ancient people would know something we don’t.”
Shen Gun gave him a cold glance: “That’s not necessarily true. Many things ancient people knew have been lost in modern times: Ghost Valley Master’s astronomical divination and the eight trigrams, Zhuge Liang’s wooden ox and flowing horse, and Lu Ban’s flying wooden hawk. And abroad, how were the pyramids built? How was Stonehenge erected?”
Cao Yanhua shrank back and fell silent.
Luo Ren murmured: “Assuming ancient people knew exactly that the Big Dipper had an ominous influence on Earth, then the seven points where the Xiong Simples are distributed seem like corresponding reception points. And the series of violent crimes occurring around these points seems like triggers or mechanisms facilitating something…”
He suddenly looked up: “Yafeng mentioned the number seven-seven. The Xiong Simples automatically forming a Big Dipper-like distribution is one ‘seven,’ and the violent crimes occurring at certain points are another ‘seven.’ Leopard’s ancestors completed this series of actions. Is it possible that after completion, they underwent some changes?”
He remembered when they questioned Yafeng, her answers were profound yet vague.
—”Many people in Cao Village are different.”
—”Different how?”
—”Born different.”
—”What about you?”
—”I have a wicked heart.”
And that statement: “You’ll eventually become like us. All of us are the same.”
They must be able to change something; otherwise, why would she say “you’ll eventually become like us”?
In the silence, Yan Hongsha suddenly blurted out: “Leopard’s ancestor was activated.”
Everyone looked at her.
Yan Hongsha stammered: “No, I mean, half-activated.”
She had always been a character who didn’t use her head much, so suddenly coming up with this statement made her feel uncertain.
Surprisingly, Shen Gun showed great interest: “Tell us more.”
Yan Hongsha stuttered: “I, I’m just making this up. I feel that each Xiong Simple is accompanied by a violent crime. Is it possible that after these Xiong Simples are in position, they need blood crimes to activate them? After completing seven crimes, it’s like a ‘beep,’ and a light turns on. If all the Xiong Simples have corresponding completed seven crimes, then ‘beep, beep, beep,’ all the lights would turn on.”
Her words were jumbled. When she finished, her face turned as red as fire, feeling that her explanation was incoherent and certain they would laugh at her.
But strangely, no one laughed.
After a while, Luo Ren finally said, “That’s not wrong.”
Shen Gun also nodded: “In the letter left by Yin Erma, there was a phrase ‘seven stars shining continuously.’ Could it be referring to when the Xiong Simples are in position, the corresponding stars would light up? And as violent crimes continue to occur, the seven stars would ‘shine continuously’? At this time, the seven keys…”
He looked at the wooden pieces he was playing with: “These seven keys need to be rushed to Observer Four Gates, to find someone to stop this…”
Suddenly, Luo Ren connected everything: “According to Wan Fenghuo’s investigation, in Leopard’s ancestral town, shortly after the Seven People Pond case occurred, four or five outsiders came to the town and singled out her ancestor. Those four or five outsiders…”
Shen Gun interrupted: “We were sent from Observer Four Gates!”
Everyone fell silent. A strange feeling circulated in the room.
Yes, Shen Gun’s initial guess was correct. Everything was connected.
Yin Erma’s role was like an advanced sentinel. He was responsible for observation. When the Xiong Simples moved chaotically, the water surface of the Eight Trigrams Star Observatory would show no unusual activity. But once the seven Xiong Simples were in position, the seven stars would “begin to shine,” and if no one intervened, they would “shine continuously.”
When this dangerous moment appeared, his task was to find a way to rush the seven keys to “under the Yunling Mountains, Observer Four Gates.”
Within Observer Four Gates, someone must have been arranged to receive the keys. What the keys unlocked might be a secret, or a method. Afterward, people would be dispatched to various places to subdue the Xiong Simples.
This was an unknown cycle, operating in the shadows, designed long ago.
Luo Ren murmured: “The master of Observer Four Gates is Meihua Jiuniang. She wanted to pass her legacy to Mu Dai. Even Zheng Mingshan doesn’t know the sect’s secrets.”
“That night, she asked Mu Dai to meet her…”
“Mu Dai is the inheritor of Observer Four Gates.”
If Meihua Jiuniang’s transmission that night had gone smoothly enough, Mu Dai would already possess some secrets. Now, the keys were with them, and the secrets to be unlocked were with Mu Dai. If the two sides could meet, the origin of the Xiong Simples, which had troubled them all along, might finally come to light.
Where was Mu Dai now?
Leopard and Mu Dai stood face to face.
She looked at her mysteriously, as if looking at herself in a mirror.
They wore the same clothes—black leather jacket, mid-heel leather boots. She was even surprised to find that her build and figure were similar to Mu Dai’s.
The woman specially invited to do special effects makeup was helping Mu Dai arrange her hair. Leopard marveled at the magic of special effects makeup. God created people with blood, flesh, and bones, yet humans had God-like skillful hands, repeatedly changing established appearances, whether by knife or with appropriate adhesive materials.
Leopard took a photo of Luo Ren and slowly held it up in front of Mu Dai.
She instinctively frowned, her micro-expressions and eyes betraying undisguised disgust.
Leopard said, “It still doesn’t look quite right.”
She casually grabbed an ice pick from the ice bucket on the coffee table and thrust it directly toward Mu Dai’s right eye, then suddenly stopped. The person helping Mu Dai arrange her hair screamed in terror and cowered to the side. The pick’s tip was almost touching Mu Dai’s eye, but she didn’t blink. Her expression remained calm, her clear eyes like a pristine lake, reflecting the image of the ice pick.
Leopard smiled, talking to herself: “Not good. If he sees through you, you’ll still have to fight him. With one blind eye, your combat ability would be compromised.”
With a clang, she threw the ice pick back into the ice bucket.
She asked Mu Dai: “Who am I?”
She answered respectfully: “Master.”
“Who is Luo Ren?”
Murderous intent surged in her eyes: “Enemy.”
Leopard smiled, suddenly moving closer to her, lowering her voice: “Where exactly are the five Star Simples hidden?”
Her face was full of apology: “I truly don’t know. Luo Ren hid them.”