I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 548 Tao Yong

The two arrived at the police station. Although Hu Qing was seriously injured, the station was still operational. After Hu Qing requested Cha Shengming’s file, a team member quickly brought over a stack of intelligence.

"Convene the team in the conference room!" Hu Qing ordered.

"Colleagues, these are photos from the crime scene. There were a total of five victims. The first was found in Cha Shengming’s room—his wife, Zhang Li. Cha Shengming strangled his wife with one hand while repeatedly stabbing her abdomen with a switchblade in the other, inflicting dozens of fatal wounds. The stab wounds were evenly distributed, not clustered, indicating the murderer was very calm, methodically delivering each blow and deliberately choosing the precise location for every wound..."

The crime scene’s brutality was comparable to a battlefield. The victims were two elderly people, a middle-aged woman, and a young man in his twenties—an elderly couple and their two children.

"After killing his wife, Cha Shengming entered the kitchen where Zhang Li’s mother was cooking. Cha Shengming grabbed a kitchen knife and began hacking relentlessly at Zhang Li’s mother. The commotion during the attack on Zhang Li’s mother alerted her father and younger brother.

Zhang Li’s father had recently broken his leg, so he was the third person Cha Shengming killed. Zhang Li’s younger brother was just twenty-two, an unemployed drifter. Logically, being in his prime, he should have been able to put up a fight against Cha Shengming for some time.

Indeed, the bloodstains of a fifth person were found at the scene, with a very large amount of blood loss. Blood analysis suggests that it resulted from a pierced carotid artery, causing blood to spray, and all this blood was Cha Shengming’s. This suggests Zhang Li’s younger brother initially gained the upper hand. Yet, in the end, Zhang Li’s younger brother was still hacked to death.

And when we found Cha Shengming, there were no signs of injury on him...

After Cha Shengming had killed everyone, he changed his clothes and then left in full view of the surveillance cameras, making no attempt to hide his tracks. What followed is what transpired when Director Hu apprehended him.

Now we can assume that Cha Shengming is no ordinary person. Since he was able to injure Director Hu, it means he possesses at least the strength of the Star Cloud Stage. Therefore, Cha Shengming is definitely not the person our initial findings suggested—just an ordinary programmer.

He must have hidden his strength and identity for some ulterior motive."

"Ulterior motive? For what? To slaughter an entire family?" Hu Qing tapped the desk and asked indifferently.

"Director Hu, we believe the family massacre was incidental. Perhaps his period of lying low had ended, so he simply killed those who had bullied him over the years.

By the way, I have Cha Shengming’s life history here. Cha Shengming, from Jiu City in Jiang Province, was admitted to Suzhou University in 5014. In 5018, while working at Suzhou University, he met his wife, Zhang Li. After dating for some time, he married into the Zhang family, becoming a live-in son-in-law.

From neighbors, we learned that Cha Shengming had very little dignity in the Zhang family. Zhang Li often yelled at him. Despite his monthly salary of over ten thousand, the Zhang family seemingly always saw him as the poor boy who had just graduated years ago.

The Zhang family often referred to Cha Shengming as the son-in-law who ’married in,’ frequently embarrassing him in front of neighbors and relatives. Cha Shengming gave the impression of being a quiet, reserved, and honest man, but they never imagined this ’honest man’ was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing."

Hearing the officer say this, Wang Lan’s brow furrowed.

"Cha Shengming is a wolf? Is it possible that years of being bullied by the Zhang family and having his dignity trampled made Cha Shengming become a butcher and pick up the knife?"

"That... should be impossible. Cha Shengming’s actions were clearly no longer human, which means that originally he..."

Hu Qing suddenly interrupted his subordinate, looking curiously at Wang Lan. "You don’t seem at all surprised by Cha Shengming’s transformation. Cha Shengming isn’t a Star Martial Warrior, just an ordinary person who strangely gained power and then brutally murdered his entire family, yet you show no surprise. Is there something you know?"

"Earlier today, I went to Hanming Temple for a visit and happened to encounter a case."

"The Hanming Temple massacre?" Hu Qing asked. Although the Tianjian Bureau took over the case—which occurred at Hanming Temple, Hanyan Temple, and White Horse Temple—the Suzhou City police department were still monitoring it.

"Yes, I was at Hanming Temple at the time. The murderer was a wealthy man named Han Cheng. He, too, was an ordinary person but suddenly obtained immense strength and an Undying Body.

I learned from him that he has an Ancestor above him, and his strength was bestowed by this Ancestor. The price for gaining this power was to kill one’s closest kin, severing all worldly ties to be free of attachments.

And Han Cheng was also a man who had despaired of the world. His family possessed great wealth, yet he tragically contracted a terminal illness and could only wait for death. His only son, it turned out, was not his biological child. After deeming the world absurd and deceitful, he killed his parents-in-law, wife, and son in exchange for the Ancestor’s power.

I think Cha Shengming and Han Cheng are in similar situations; years of oppression likely caused a twisting of their minds and led them to despair of the world."

"So, something like that exists... In that case, the mastermind should be this ’Ancestor.’ Wang Lan, do you have any further clues?"

"The Hanming Temple case just broke today, and your case here happened this evening. There could be many clues, but they haven’t been sorted out yet. It’s best to transfer your case to the Tianjian Bureau; the forces behind it are not ordinary."

"Director Hu," another officer interjected, "this is a report from the evidence department. The signs of struggle, bloodstains, and disarrayed furniture in Zhang Li’s home are highly consistent with the established timeline of events. However, why Cha Shengming would suddenly inflict such deadly violence on his family might be related to something called a Tao Yong."

"Tao Yong?" Hu Qing and Wang Lan both exclaimed in surprise. Their earlier analysis had only considered that Cha Shengming had also come to believe in the Ancestor, and killing his family was an offering to this Ancestor.

"Exactly. A fragment of a Tao Yong figurine was found in Zhang Li and Cha Shengming’s room. The couple must have argued in their room, and then, in a fit of anger, the Tao Yong figurine was smashed. This figurine might have been the catalyst for the conflict, and in his rage, Cha Shengming stabbed Zhang Li to death.

And then Cha Shengming, having gone this far, continued his rampage into the kitchen."

"Are you saying that Cha Shengming’s reason for murdering his entire family was this Tao Yong figurine, or that Zhang Li smashing it triggered Cha Shengming’s murderous rage?"

"The Tao Yong figurine was just the spark," the officer explained. "It’s like when two armies are at a standoff; sometimes a single cough or a sneeze can trigger a sudden battle. It’s possible that the shattering of this Tao Yong figurine caused Cha Shengming to lose his sanity in an instant."

"What is this Tao Yong? Bring it here, let me see."

Soon, the reassembled Tao Yong figurine was brought before Wang Lan. The figurine was only palm-sized, resembling some kind of idol, but it was impossible to tell which deity it represented.

Perhaps at that moment, Cha Shengming already harbored a murderous intent, and the shattering of the Tao Yong figurine unleashed his fury.

「That very night」

Zhang Li’s sister, Zhang Xin, and her husband rushed to Suzhou City. They hadn’t yet reached their family home when they were met by officers and brought to the police station. Zhang Xin was questioned immediately, and indeed, some details emerged.

"Has Cha Shengming been acting strangely lately? My husband and I are usually in Modu City and seldom come home, so I’m really not clear on any recent strange behavior from Cha Shengming. But my sister and Cha Shengming had been arguing recently.

My sister said that Cha Shengming had been coming home very late. She even suspected he might be having an affair. She followed him secretly once but found out he had become obsessed with night fishing; that was why he came home late every night."

"What are your impressions of Cha Shengming?" Wang Lan asked again.

"Cha Shengming... He’s a man of few words, but his silence is due to introversion, not moroseness. Honestly, I still can’t believe Cha Shengming could do such a thing," Zhang Xin stated objectively. From her expression, it seemed she also disapproved of how harshly her sister, Zhang Li, had treated her husband.

"Right, a few days ago my sister called me. She said she suspected Cha Shengming was messing around again and that the ’Brother Jiang’ he went night fishing with might be a pimp. My sister mentioned that once, during a meal, Cha Shengming received a call from this Brother Jiang. Afterwards, he immediately got up and left without a word, showing no respect at all for our parents.

Because of this incident, my sister and Cha Shengming had a big fight. At the time, I even advised my sister to be more understanding of Cha Shengming..."

"Brother Jiang? When did they meet?"

"I don’t know. Maybe during night fishing."

"When did Cha Shengming become obsessed with night fishing? Recently?"

"About a month ago, I guess. Before that, he always came home around six or seven. It was only last month that he suddenly started coming back very late every day."

After Zhang Xin was escorted to rest, Wang Lan and Hu Qing began to discuss the case. They agreed that becoming obsessed with fishing is usually a gradual process; it’s unlikely for someone to suddenly develop such an all-consuming passion for it. Moreover, Cha Shengming was previously an ordinary person, probably in a similar situation to Han Cheng.

He was likely suppressed in life, despairing of the world, using fishing as a refuge from the daily ordeal of returning home to a difficult wife. Then, through a chance encounter, he might have become convinced that worshipping an evil god could grant him the power to change his fate. A person on the brink of despair would cling desperately to any lifeline offered.

"It seems a joint investigation by the police and the Tianjian Bureau is needed," Wang Lan said. "You should look into Cha Shengming’s social circle. It was very small; previously, he had no friends other than work colleagues. Now, he has his night fishing circle. Check his communication records, sift through his contacts. I’ll head back first. The Tianjian Bureau is tracking down Han Cheng’s circle. Hopefully, there will be good news tomorrow."

"Okay, I’ll see you out," Hu Qing said, standing up.

"No need to be so formal," Wang Lan replied. "I don’t need an escort. I’m leaving."

「North of Suzhou City, river boat fishing lights blazed across the water. Amidst the tumultuous currents of the Yangtze River mouth, traversed by countless ships, a small boat bobbed on the surface. A person wearing a Ghost Face mask knelt devoutly on deck. In the boat’s cabin, an eerily depicted evil god was enshrined.」

As the masked man bowed with devotion, the evil god statue’s eyes suddenly opened, and a viscous black liquid began oozing from the idol.

"What have you done? Why have you incited a heavenly slaughter?"

"Master, I... I haven’t done anything."

"You’ve done nothing? How could there be a heavenly slaughter if you’ve done nothing? Out with it! What did you do yesterday, during the day?"

"I... I merely took advantage of Buddha Shakyamuni’s birthday to deliver him a ’grand gift,’ to teach Buddhism a lesson. Yesterday, I sent over a hundred monks to the Western Paradise."