After finishing the conversation with the assistant, Jian Jing reorganized the case again.
Now, the cause of Shao Meng's death had become very clear: he was frightened to death. What shocked him should be the hallucinations caused by meningitis. Going further back, it was why he was infected with meningitis.
Meningitis is usually caused by viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms.
Up to this point, it was actually close to an accident. The only thing that caught her attention was Tao Actress. She and Shao Meng got sick one after the other, and both had hallucinations. Were they related?
If so, it would be related to The Great Song Detective from ten years ago.
According to Xie Wei's account, Shao Meng and Tao Peach met each other ten years ago due to an accident, and fell in love. And ten years ago in The Great Song Detective, there had been several accidents.
After that, Xie Wei's career went downhill, but Shao Meng and Tao Peach became hugely popular.
Xue Xiaosheng mentioned "little ghosts", and Shao Meng's assistant directly pointed out the key.
Borrowing luck.
Xie Wei mentioned "luck" several times. He said many people said he was very lucky to become so popular.
Could he have already known what Shao Meng did?
Jian Jing thought for a long time, and called He Daoist again to ask: "Daoist, do you know borrowing luck?"
He Daoist asked: "Which borrowing luck? The living borrowing the living, or the living borrowing the dead?"
"There was someone who was supposed to become popular nationwide, but his luck got snatched by someone else. He didn't become popular, the other person who borrowed his luck did." Jian Jing inevitably spoke with some hesitation as she didn't believe in these things.
Unexpectedly, He Daoist fell silent for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Where did you hear this from?"
She was taken aback: "Is there really something like this?"
"Luck is a very uncertain thing. You can't prove its existence, nor can you prove its nonexistence. It can also be explained from a psychological perspective, it just depends on whether you believe it or not."
"Do you believe it, Daoist?"
He Daoist thought for a while, but said: "I know similar examples."
Jian Jing became interested and asked him to elaborate.
"In fact, what you said is not called borrowing luck, it's called stealing luck. There is a saying that deceiving heaven and changing luck, killing people and stealing their lifespan. Borrowing lifespan means giving someone else's remaining lifespan to another person. The person who got borrowed from loses lifespan and dies, right?" He Daoist was professional and knowledgeable, "Stealing luck is different. It means stealing someone's fortune, for example someone was supposed to get rich, destined to be a billionaire, but his luck got stolen, so he couldn't get rich anymore."
Jian Jing: Is this real?
He Daoist continued: "However, whether it's borrowing lifespan or luck, they don't belong to you, it's impossible to get an exact copy transferred over. If you steal 10 years of someone's lifespan, you only get 1 or 2 years for yourself. When time's up, not only do you have to return everything, but you also have to pay the price."
This was similar to what the assistant said.
Jian Jing thought: "Then, what characteristics would someone who has done this have?"
"Generally there would be taboos, but it varies depending on the person who did it." He Daoist answered and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Why, have you come across some evil witchcraft again?"
Jian Jing smiled wryly: "I guess so. Daoist, I'll send you a picture, see if you recognize what it is."
She sent over the tattoo pattern on Tao Actress's body.
He Daoist took a quick look and laughed: "Don't you recognize this bird? It's a red-footed falcon, the 'cuckoo' in the idiom 'A cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest'."
A cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest? That was practically spelling out the answer.
Jian Jing asked: "Does someone with this tattoo mean they borrowed someone else's luck?"
"There's such a possibility." He Daoist pondered for a long time and muttered, "This tattoo style looks familiar, I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
Jian Jing: "Where?!"
He Daoist: "I can't remember."
Her: "..."
At the very least, it could be confirmed that Tao Actress, like Shao Meng, was also someone who borrowed luck.
Whose luck did she borrow?
Considering the special 10-year time frame and the low probability of becoming instantly popular, suspicion had to be cast on the same person.
If Shao Meng and Tao Peach borrowed Xie Wei's luck, and they were now first-line celebrities, how much more successful would Xie Wei himself have been?
Thinking this way, she involuntarily felt some sympathy.
—No, no.
Feudal superstition is unacceptable.
Jian Jing knocked on her head to get rid of the sympathy and continued thinking about the case.
The borrowing luck story didn't absolve Shao Meng of the suspicion of being murdered. On the contrary, this became Xie Wei's motive for murder.
If he knew what Shao Meng and Tao Peach had done, he was very likely to redirect his resentment from years of failure onto them, harboring hatred and seeking revenge.
This made complete sense.
The problem was the method and process of the murder.
Jian Jing racked her brains for a long time, but was still completely clueless.
At night, Liang Yi, who had returned, informed her of the latest news.
Tao Actress's test results were out. She didn't have meningitis, it was a mental health issue.
Half a year ago, leaked photos caused her to suffer from depression. Her agency secretly sent her for treatment, and she improved after a few months. But this time, for some unknown reason, her condition worsened again, showing signs of schizophrenia, and needed continued observation.
Jian Jing asked: "Could any information be obtained from her?"
Liang Yi: "No."
The lead went cold.
Jian Jing also had to start doubting whether Tao Actress's sudden illness was a subsequent victim after Shao Meng, or just a coincidence?
"Teacher Jingjing." Jiang Baiyan came over hugging a cat. "Why are you still not resting?"
Jian Jing tilted her head and slumped on the table, frustrated. "No clues."
Jiang Baiyan said: "Is there anything I can help with?"
She sighed: "I want to know whether Shao Meng died from an accident or murder."
Jiang Baiyan: "Er..."
"Or, was Tao Peach's sudden illness a coincidence, or was she another victim after Shao Meng?" Jian Jing thought aloud, "Or the other way around, was Tao Peach the first victim? Who leaked her photos out?"
Jiang Baiyan knew this: "It was her previous manager. They had a fall out and he gave her photos to the paparazzi."
Jian Jing immediately searched for the manager. This was Tao Actress's third management agency in 10 years. The manager was an online marketing expert, and had no connection to Xie Wei.
How could this be? Was her luck really running out?
"System, please don't give missions about metaphysics anymore." She muttered to herself.
[System: Please do your best to complete the mission. If you encounter difficulties, you can use the draw card system. This system is at your service.]
Jian Jing sighed again. She wouldn't draw cards if she could avoid it. Using the draw whenever she encountered problems would greatly diminish the joy of solving mysteries.
Seeing her still frowning worriedly, Jiang Baiyan recalled something and hesitantly said: "Last night, I saw Zhang Xi talking with Sister Tao."
"When?" Jian Jing immediately sat up straight.
"Last night." He lowered his voice. "Zhang Xi said she had something to discuss, and pulled Sister Tao to the hot springs."
Jian Jing supported her chin in thought. After a while, she suddenly got up: "Thank you, I have something to do, good night."
Jiang Baiyan reminded her that since she couldn't find a breakthrough with Xie Wei and Tao Peach, she should try Zhang Xi. But her mouth was tight, she had to think carefully about how to pry it open.
*
Zhang's full name was Zhang Xi. After graduating from secondary vocational school, she started working as a nurse at a hospital. At that time, she was already the hospital's beauty due to her exquisite looks. Even the director's son was pursuing her.
If there hadn't been that accident on the set of The Great Song Detective, she might have chosen one of her many suitors to become a leisurely rich housewife, or switched careers to the cosmetic surgery industry and started her own business as a rich woman.
But fate works in such mysterious ways. She chose to join the entertainment industry and become an actress instead.
Unfortunately, after 7-8 years in the industry, she was still neither hot nor cold.
Would luck finally smile upon her this time?
Zhang Xi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
She was startled: "Who is it?"
"Ms. Zhang, it's me." Jian Jing said.
Zhang Xi hesitated. Before the case happened, she felt Jian Jing was just a simple young girl, aloof from worldly affairs, a bit prideful, but easy to coax. But after the case, her bearing changed, becoming keen and persistent, which made people afraid.
"Can you open the door?" the person outside asked.
Zhang Xi took a deep breath, knowing she couldn't avoid this or it would be even more troublesome.
"Ms. Jian." She opened the door, puzzled. "It's so late, do you need something?"
Jian Jing smiled gently, "I want to soak in a hot spring, but it's so late that I'm afraid to go alone. Could you go with me?"
Zhang Xi was relieved that it was just soaking in a hot spring. Of course she wouldn't miss this chance to curry favor. She said gently, "No problem, I'll come right away."
She changed into a swimsuit and went to the pool wrapped in a bathrobe.
Jian Jing was already in the pool. She waved a can of cold beer at her, "Want some?"
"Sure." Zhang Xi was used to drinking socially, so she readily agreed.
The warm pool and cool beer slowly lowered her guard.
Jian Jing said, "At this time two days ago, it was still lively next door. Now..." She shook her head with a sigh, "Shao Meng became popular just a few months ago, yet this is how it ended up."
Following her lead, Zhang Xi said, "Yeah, life is unpredictable. Who could've thought?"
"Demon 2 doesn't know what to do now." Jian Jing's pit-digging skills were becoming more and more polished. "The audience might not accept a different actor."
Zhang Xi bit her lip, then suddenly said, "Xie Wei acts better than Shao Meng. If it was him, there definitely wouldn't be a problem."
Jian Jing pretended to be ignorant about show business and asked, "But I heard nowadays TV shows don't care as much about acting skills. More popular actors are more useful. Xie Wei isn't very popular, is he?"
If it was about the case, Zhang Xi would be more guarded. But discussing a circle she was familiar with but the other wasn't naturally made her feel safer.
She had a chance to get closer, so she hinted, "Xie Wei just had bad luck. If he could act in Demon 2, he'd definitely be more popular than now."
Jian Jing looked unbelieving.
"I heard, I heard people say Xie Wei has the fortune to become very popular and successful," Zhang Xi said. "It's just that petty people sabotaged him before, which kept him from becoming popular. He just lacks one opportunity."
She tried hard to persuade, "Teacher Jian, you saw Xie Wei's performance today too. Of all the actors I've worked with, he's absolutely one of the best."
Jian Jing sighed, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.
After a long time, she avoided the topic and asked, "Ms. Zhang, let's not talk about him. Tell me about you - how did you get to know Boss Wan? He said such offensive things that day. Are you...alright?"
Zhang Xi was startled, and calmly said, "I'm already used to it."
"He doesn't respect you at all," Jian Jing consoled like a friend. "What's good about a boyfriend like that? You're so pretty, why would you have trouble finding someone else? How long have you known each other?"
The earlier words confused Zhang Xi, and she answered, "Ten years."
The same as the leaked post said. Jian Jing's heart steadied. She pretended to be curious, "Ten years? So you knew him when you were a nurse?"
"Yeah, our relationship also has feelings," Zhang Xi instinctively avoided this topic. "He always supported me and gave me many opportunities, but unfortunately my fortune isn't great either."
She tentatively asked, "Teacher Jian, do you think I can play Mrs. He?"
