Chapter 997

Xiao Jiu also focused on investigating Qiu Xuantong, but unfortunately Qiu Xuantong had been dead for several years.

Throughout the incident, Qiu Xuantong kept the Qiu family completely out of it and even avoided it himself; he practically carried the whole rotten affair to his grave.

Xiao Jiu felt a bit regretful; Qiu Xuantong was indeed a capable person!

He had foreseen the crisis and protected the entire clan; otherwise, if they had gotten involved in the Tang Yaocao affair, the Qiu family wouldn't know how many would have died.

Xiao Jiu values talent; missing such a person truly pains him.

The Qiu family now lacks anyone who can reach Qiu Xuantong's height; perhaps in ten or twenty years, they will completely decline in the appraisal business.

After piecing together all the clues and confirming the shrine's location, Xiao Jiu decided to go see it himself.

Tang Tang also wanted to go, but after being disturbed by the Ghost King Butterfly once, her body was still affected, so Xiao Jiu had her rest at home.

But before Xiao Jiu could reach the village where the shrine stood, Liu Junyan sent a message: "Xiao Jiu, you don't need to make a special trip; the shrine no longer exists."

Xiao Jiu immediately asked, "What happened? What about the Buddha niche and the ancient painting?"

"The shrine collapsed, and the Buddha niche and ancient painting are gone." Liu Junyan told Xiao Jiu the information she had gathered: "After the Buddha niche was sealed and returned to the shrine years ago, another group must have come, forcibly broken the seal, destroying the shrine and stealing the niche and painting."

"Another group?" Xiao Jiu wondered, "Just how much demonic power do that Buddha niche and ancient painting hold, that so many have died already, yet someone still dares to take the risk?!"

Liu Junyan said, "Since ancient times, even emperors cannot escape the fear of death, the longing for immortality, the obsession with eternal youth—let alone ordinary folk. Moreover, the more capable a person is, the more prone to arrogance; they think those who died horribly were simply inferior, and that they themselves are more able and can certainly subdue the Buddha niche and ancient painting."

Xiao Jiu agreed with Liu Junyan's view and asked, "So have you guys come back now?"

"We're planning to return." Liu Junyan said, "Mo Qiong is already tracking down the whereabouts of the Buddha niche and ancient painting; I believe we'll have news soon."

Xiao Jiu then stopped insisting, told Liu Junyan he would first handle some other matters, and they could discuss the next steps when he returned.

Liu Junyan still had things to attend to, so she didn't chat with Xiao Jiu for long.

After hanging up, Xiao Jiu turned the car and headed straight for the photo studio where Tang Qingshan had his photos developed years ago.

Back then, Tang Qingshan had burned the only photo that was developed; how did that same photo appear years later in a cellphone MMS?

Whoever took the photo and sent it to Tang Qingshan in an MMS—what was their intention?

The only person Xiao Jiu could think of who had both motive and opportunity to do this years later was the owner of that photo studio.

That photo studio had long been closed; after tracing through several leads, Xiao Jiu finally found the owner.

The owner is nearly eighty this year, sitting across from Xiao Jiu with great composure.

Xiao Jiu had a strong feeling that the owner had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"A couple of days ago, when I heard someone was inquiring about me, I knew the day would come." The owner spoke first: "Miss, you're here for Tang Qingshan, right?"

Xiao Jiu nodded: "Yes! So the one who took the photo back then, edited it, and sent the MMS to Tang Qingshan was you, right?"

The owner admitted: "Indeed, it was me."

Xiao Jiu frowned: "Wasn't there only one photo developed back then?"

"Yes, there was only one at the time." The owner smiled, "But miss, times have progressed; my husband died so suddenly, and Tang Qingshan's behavior before and after was so abnormal—how could I not suspect his death was connected to him?"

Xiao Jiu's heart jolted; now she understood.

"Back then, I was young and inexperienced; my husband's sudden death hit me like a bolt from the blue. After handling his affairs, it took me many days to stabilize my emotions, and when I later pondered it carefully, I noticed the oddness."

"Unfortunately, I had no evidence, and with elderly parents and young children to care for alone, I lacked the energy to confront Tang Qingshan. Still, I carefully kept another slightly blurry developed photo. Years later, when phones could take pictures and computers had photo-editing functions, I used those technologies to successfully restore that blurry photo, and you probably know what happened after."

Xiao Jiu couldn't help but admire: the owner truly could keep her composure and was very clever.

But she still had a question: "During the process of restoring the photo, did you encounter anything strange?"

"None." The owner said, pulling a jade pendant from her collar, "Tang Qingshan gave me an amulet that once helped me avert a disaster. I'm not foolish; since I began suspecting these supernatural matters, how could I not prepare in advance?"

"After all, only by preserving my own life can I avenge my husband, right? Such protective items can be bought with money, and I'm not short of cash—why would I be stingy about it?"

"Not only do I wear the protective jade pendant myself, I also had protective magical implements obtained for every family member; no one dare harm any of my loved ones again!"

Xiao Jiu saw the owner's eyes redden, and her heart filled with mixed feelings.

According to the owner, the picture she sent Tang Qingshan in the MMS was not complete, but had been restored through her photo editing.

No wonder Tang Tang said the presence she sensed was merely a wisp of resentful qi, not as strong as what Xiao Jiu had seen in Tang Qingshan's memory.

And the reason Tang Qingshan went mad and still cannot recover from the shock of that image is related to his own psychological makeup.

Back then he was already jumpy as a startled bird; the owner's MMS was enough to throw him completely off balance...

Having clarified the situation, Xiao Jiu bade farewell to the owner.

Before she could even return to Jiuzhou Fu to wait for Liu Junyan, Liu Junyan's phone rang again: "Xiao Jiu, we've made two new discoveries here; you can come over and meet up now."

Xiao Jiu exclaimed excitedly, "Two new discoveries? What are they?"

"Mo Qiong's side has already located the Buddha niche and ancient painting—that's one." Liu Junyan said, "Second, I discovered a sacrificial pit deep underground in the village where the shrine stood; it contains many skeletons, all kneeling as they died, and at the very center of the altar I found the skeleton of a girl in her early teens..."