Chapter 331: Soul Returning Incense (2/2)

“Nothing much on its own!” I replied.

After our surroundings were filled with smoke, I placed the second pill into the portable incense burner and told Xiaotao to watch carefully. Soon, black smoke permeated the air filled with fragrance, like ink in water. At first it was erratic, but a human figure gradually appeared in mid-air.

Xiaotao exclaimed but I hissed, motioning for her not to talk. This sort of smoke was so sensitive that even a murmur could disrupt the process.

Right then, the human form was divided into two parts, one kneeling on the ground with his head in his arms, partially overlapping with the victim while the other standing in front of the former who very much looked like Deng Chao. The two men maintained this position for five minutes as if they were talking. Then, the man standing waved his hand and the kneeling man collapsed.

That was the end of this miraculous picture, and the black smoke slowly drifted back into the incense burner.

Only then did Xiaotao dare to speak, ”It's amazing. It's like watching a movie. What sorcery is this?”

I explained that the black smoke was actually a kind of bacteria that was harmless to the human body. It had an extremely keen ability to capture the breath of the living. My ancestors discovered its magical characteristics and named it “Soul Returning Incense.” The Soul Returning Incense was usually in a dormant state, and only the photinia could temporarily awaken it. Grandpa once used it when he was tracking down the Jiangbei Daggers.

The Soul Returning Incense could reproduce the scene of the crime for a short period of time, but there was a strict restriction–it could only be used in a closed environment. I expected it might come in handy tonight, so I went back to school in the afternoon to fetch it.

Xiaotao gave a thumbs up, ”Amazing! It’s nothing short of a miracle!”

”Let's continue analyzing the scene!” I urged.

From the Soul Returning Incense, we clearly witnessed the victim having a conversation with the murderer for about five minutes before his death. From this, we could infer what the murderer was interrogating him. After successfully obtaining information, he killed the victim with a slit across the throat.

The victim was a man of about thirty years of age, gentle in appearance, and from his clothes, a white-collar worker.

I picked up his right hand and noticed there were some old scars caused by corrosive chemicals on his fingernails and ligature marks on his palm, which seemed to be left by snatching an object out of his hand, perhaps a briefcase.

I dug into the dead man's pocket, then found an identification card on his chest that read: Director XXX of Xinghai Biochemistry Research Institute.

”It’s highly unlikely for a senior researcher and Deng Chao to have any enmity,” remarked Xiaotao. “Looks like this is another kill order from the organization.”

A sliver of doubt reared its head. Was this really the case? Could Deng Chao be cooking up a big conspiracy?

There was nothing else worth investigating so Xiaotao and I got off the truck. Only when Xiaotao called the research institute did I realize the high level of confidentiality involved. The institute refused to reveal the project the victim was working on.

”It seems we’ll have to make a trip down to the institute in person!”

So far, my thoughts revolved around Deng Chao's motives. Xiaotao asked me if I would like to go with her but I replied, ”No, I’d like to be alone and organize my thoughts.”

After I went back, I found an empty classroom to perform the Triple Divination Technique but failed to obtain anything.

The next day, Xiaotao called to inform me that the second victim studied organic chemistry. Shortly after he was murdered, someone accessed the research institute’s system. The information that Deng Chao tortured from the victim must have been the access code. Among the accessed contents were neurotoxins newly developed by their research institute.

When I heard the word “neurotoxin,” I was ill at ease. ”Could Deng Chao be planning to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack?” I wondered out loud. “Wait a minute. The day after tomorrow is our graduation ceremony. Returning at this point in time cannot be a coincidence.”

Xiaotao inhaled deeply, ”Do you think he’ll take his revenge on you at the graduation ceremony?”