Chapter 639: Chapter 608 Discovery_1
Mr. Fang Dongsheng pursed his lips, he couldn’t outtalk Liu Yufei after all, as every word she said struck a chord within him. Zhao Xinli waved his hand and approached with a smile.
"Mr. Fang, don’t get too anxious or upset. Mrs. Fei going there as a tourist is actually the safest, and we’ve been here for several days already. Whether it’s the vendors or any of the locals, as soon as they hear our accent, they try to speak Mandarin and are extremely welcoming.
When we went to the Colorful Danxia before, we met many herdsmen. Even from a long distance, they greeted us, took photos with us, and shared their food and drink. The locals are indeed very simple and honest. They know that these tourists are bringing them money, which, in turn, drives the local economy.
It’s the 21st century now. Don’t tell me about suffering in this life to enjoy the next. Who doesn’t know to live in the present? If I can change my life with my own strength, why would I suffer and cultivate my mind and body? Oh, I don’t even know if I’ll be human in the next life. Isn’t it better to strive for happiness now?"
You have to say, Mr. Zhao comforting people is quite adept at grasping human nature.
Although, even now, there might still be disputes arising from issues like grazing, and even occasional conflicts, when it comes down to it, isn’t it all about money?
In the early days of the founding of Hua Country, to respect local characteristics and because there wasn’t spare money to resettle their lives, nomadic migration was only to let the livestock eat a bit more, to exchange fodder for necessary goods.
Now, it’s all rows upon rows of brick houses; grazing is done collectively in cooperatives, with scientific management of pastures and harvesting fodder for feeding, along with adding various grains and necessary feeds, preventing cattle and sheep from dying from minor illnesses.
Life is prosperous, and even many families have built small western-style houses, purchased cars, and bought properties in the city. Some have gone out to broaden their horizons, starting up tourism-based cultural industries.
Mr. Fang Dongsheng looked at Mr. Zhao and burst out laughing.
"I didn’t expect that in the three days you’ve been here, Mr. Zhao has seen more clearly than I have. Just like the old lady said, there haven’t been any rituals here for sixty years.
The reason is actually quite simple. There’s no need. What clan? What afterlife? What prayers? It’s more practical to do something solid for yourself.
If you want to pretend to be tourists to investigate, I won’t oppose it. However, our people must follow you at a distance to provide protection, to prevent any accidents, and to ensure that we can offer support if needed."
Liu Yufei gave an OK gesture, and Zhou Ning pursed her lips, not speaking for a long time.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, what are you thinking?"
Zhou Ning shook her head.
"It’s not about what I’m thinking. It’s that according to the old lady, if the ritual of summoning Asura with this knife is true, that would be an act of ’deity creation’ by the Z Religious Association.
If that’s the case, wouldn’t it need to be spread, and wouldn’t there need to be believers? This place is also considered an origin point. Without followers, even putting on such a ritual wouldn’t make sense, right?
But from the old lady’s expression, such things have never happened around Ganzhou. Although it’s called the Ganzhou Su’nan Yugur Autonomous County on the map, it’s also shown that there are many ethnic enclaves here, with complex belief systems. How could a Z Religious Association with no basis spread its message?"
The group fell silent. The question posed by Zhou Ning was very key. No matter how mysterious and solemn you make it, if it’s in a closed location and no one has ever heard of it, what kind of Religious Association is that, and what kind of influence does it have?
After a moment of silence, Zhou Ning continued:
"I think we should report this and request information on the Z Religious Association in Hua Country, and even those that appear within its borders over the last twenty years, to see if there are any similar gods or Buddhas.
Moreover, didn’t Mr. Fang contact the Z Religious Association? They might have their own opinions on it. The process of opening the coffin must be advanced."
"We can also revisit the crime scene and retrieve the remaining cocoons, continuing the exploration of the cave on the west side. After all, there’s a breeze coming from inside, and I think there might be another exit," Zhou Ning said.
Fang Dongsheng was overwhelmed, jotted something down, and then said:
"In that case, I will invite our bureau chief over for a special case meeting later. Whether it’s to report and request information on the Z Religious Association or to conduct a second site survey, we need the support and advancement of our leaders. As for those coffins, that should be easier to handle. What do you all think?"
Liu Yufei waved her hand dismissively.
"We have no objections. It’s getting late, so let’s make arrangements quickly. That way, we can split up into two teams for the follow-up investigation first thing tomorrow morning. After all, I don’t want to lose our only lead," she said.
Fang Dongsheng went to make a call for instructions, while Liu Yufei started organizing the follow-up for tomorrow. She was ready to depart at any moment, but Chen Cheng wasn’t a professional, so how to reassure him and how to mobilize his emotions was something Liu Yufei needed to handle.
Mr. Zhao followed Zhou Ning back to the small two-story building behind. Some people were observing the barrel containing Lu Feier’s preparation, and others were looking at the autopsy records that Zhu Xingxing had compiled on the whiteboard.
Mr. Qu was busy with his notebook, tinkering with something with Xia Momo, while Peng Shinian observed the microscope next to them, probably still focused on those plants.
Mr. Zhao coughed in Mr. Qu’s direction, attracting everyone’s attention with the noise. Mr. Zhao glared.
"What are you all looking at? Get back to your work," he barked.
Zhu Xingxing and Xia Momo came over, looking inquisitively at Mr. Zhao. Mr. Zhao shot them a look, and they all moved to the next room, closing the door behind them. Zhu Xingxing hurriedly asked:
"It seems the old lady has left. Did she leave us with anything useful?"
"Don’t ask so much. The old lady said a lot, too much to explain in a short time. However, get ready, as we’ll be revisiting that cave. This time we’ll have more people," Mr. Zhao replied tersely.
Xia Momo turned her notebook around for everyone to see.
"Mr. Qu and I tweaked the software settings a bit. These are the facial reconstruction results of the two victims. Though this is our first time doing facial reconstructions of individuals under ten, look at the face of these two children. Don’t they look different from the Han ethnicity?" she explained.
Zhou Ning leaned in closer. Clearly, both children had deep-set eyes and prominent nasal bridges. Despite the sunken appearance caused by prolonged deprivation of food and water, the shape of their noses was noticeable. They closely resembled minority ethnicities from the Tianshan region, or to put it plainly, they likely had Europa race ancestry.
"After all, the local Yugu People do not share these features. They rather resemble the Mongolian People, with covered inner canthus, outer eye corners higher than the inner ones, high cheekbones, and less pronounced jaws.
"Both children’s appearances lean towards the ethnic minorities around the Tianshan area. I wonder if it would be possible to extract DNA from the samples previously sent in for testing, to at least perform kinship comparisons," Zhou Ning mused.
Xia Momo glanced up at Zhou Ning, surprised by his calm demeanor.
"Aren’t you surprised? We’ve just unwrapped the hair of the two mummies, and it’s all brown, their natural hair color, not dyed at all. The temples, behind the ears, the nape of the neck, and even the curled structure. They both had natural curls. And after scanning, we found that their fingernails all have longitudinal stripes," she said.
Zhu Xingxing quickly added:
"Their hair was also dry and frizzy. The few remaining molars in their mouths were heavily worn down, and a close examination of the X-rays reveals that even though this child appears to be around six or seven years old, there are less than six permanent tooth buds in total – a severe case of developmental delay."
