321: Chapter 321 Opening the Heavenly Eye

The crowd stirred, and an Old Man in his sixties was pushed into the courtyard.

The Old Man looked around the courtyard timidly and asked in a low voice, "Binzi, did you… did you need me for something?"

The manager looked at Han Jingyang.

Han Jingyang glanced at Zhou Laosan and said to the manager, "Search him. He must be wearing some kind of oil painting decoration."

"An oil painting?"

"Yes, a small piece."

The manager's expression changed again. In an instant, he made many connections. He rushed to Zhou Laosan's side, pulled open his collar, and ripped off the gold-plated locket from his neck. He opened it, took one look, and fury surged. He slapped Zhou Laosan on the head, cursed, "Beast," and then hurried to Han Jingyang's side. "Is this it?"

Han Jingyang took a glance. It was a low-quality locket frame, and inside was embedded an oval miniature oil painting. The woman in the painting was Dou Dous Mother, and her pose was very… risqué. It was obvious that the killer had specifically customized this for Zhou Laosan.

No wonder the manager cursed.

This Zhou Laosan was not wronged in the slightest.

If Zhou Zhenhua hadn't already died, he would definitely have caught this Zhou Laosan and beaten him severely.

It was bad enough for an Old Man to wear a portrait of someone else's wife, but to depict her in such an indecent manner was unforgivable.

In the village, if Zhou Laosan had been beaten to death by Zhou Zhenhua's family, no one would have had anything to say.

Han Jingyang swept his gaze over it, saw the faint black qi on the locket, and nodded. "This is it. If I'm not mistaken, Zhou Laosan was nearby when Zhou Zhenhua met with his accident."

The manager grabbed Zhou Laosan by the collar. "Tell me, is that true?"

Zhou Laosan was both shocked and terrified. "I, I don't know. I was sleeping at home, and I just… I went outside in a daze. When I opened my eyes, I saw him. He was already gone by then…"

Han Jingyang coughed. "That is the problem. The killer's methods are very strange; they can completely control one or even several people through this thing. If I'm not mistaken, the killer used this item to control Zhou Laosan, approach Zhou Zhenhua, and then launch an attack that caused Zhou Zhenhua's accident."

The manager looked troubled. "This…"

This was indeed difficult to handle. There was no way to convict him.

Could Zhou Laosan be considered a murderer?

Obviously not.

But could it be said that Zhou Laosan was truly innocent?

From a legal perspective, even if a crime is committed unknowingly, one still bears some responsibility.

Yet, this kind of thing was impossible to gather evidence for; even calling the police would be useless.

What to do?

The manager was in a dilemma.

The other villagers were panicking.

Oil paintings?

Controlling one or even several people?

There were not a few villagers who had oil paintings at home. Even if they hadn't known there was an issue with these oil paintings before, they would have noticed some abnormalities to some extent. Now, reminded by Han Jingyang, they naturally made the connection.

Consequently, the crowd became restless. Some villagers quietly pushed through the crowd to go home, but they were stopped by the people brought by Deng Darong on the perimeter.

Thus, the commotion grew more severe.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Is it a crime to go home now?"

"You can make as much trouble as you want, I'm going home to sleep."

"Are you asking for death? Daring to stop me."

"Screw you, get out of the way!"

"That little bastard with the surname Deng, who gave you the right?"

"Charge out! I don't want to watch the show here anyway."

"Charge out, there are few of them, they can't stop us."

"Charge—"

The commotion quickly escalated into a minor conflict.

Deng Darong and the manager hurriedly looked at Han Jingyang.

Right now, they could only rely on Han Jingyang, and they could only trust him. Otherwise, this matter today would be impossible to resolve. If the killer took the opportunity to stir up trouble, Shen Village would definitely fall into great chaos, and there might even be more deaths.

The two of them realized the cruelty and terror of the killer more deeply than the other villagers.

They had to, and could only, rely on Han Jingyang to turn the tide.

Han Jingyang nodded slightly at the two of them, meaning everything was under control.

Besides, even if these villagers went back, it would be useless, because the things they cared about were no longer at home.

Thinking of this, he coughed. "Why are you in such a rush to go home? First, take a look at the gift I've prepared for you."

After speaking, he abruptly pulled off the black cloth on the flatbed cart.

The small flatbed cart was packed with oil paintings of all sizes, almost all of them portraits—singles, groups, paintings with pets and houses, and landscapes; everything one could expect.

The painting technique was as detailed and realistic as ever, and the figures were exceptionally lifelike. At a glance, they looked almost like photographs, but upon closer inspection, the atmosphere was far more intense than a photograph. The layers and colors, after being processed, created a tone and atmosphere that was extremely infectious.

What is a good painting?

This was it.

However, these paintings, just like the one on Zhou Laosan's neck, all contained varying degrees of black qi.

As soon as these oil paintings were revealed, the villagers immediately quieted down.

The eyes of some villagers changed; they became vacant, stunned, and seemed to gradually lose their luster.

Wisps of black qi emerged from the oil paintings and drilled into the brains of these villagers.

Han Jingyang narrowed his eyes and watched this scene.

Was the killer about to make a move?

What would the killer do?

Create chaos?

Launch an attack?

Or manipulate these villagers into self-harm?

However, it didn't matter.

Han Jingyang coughed and said loudly, "While everyone is here, let me tell you a story. It's closely related to all of you here. However, before I tell the story, I must first resolve the hidden danger that has been hiding by your side for many years."

At this moment, a villager asked with a stiff neck, "What hidden danger?"

"Just these oil paintings?"

"It's just a painting, what kind of hidden danger could it have? I think you're just fear-mongering."

"Fear-mongering? What would I gain by scaring you?"

"What would you gain? Scammers always say they don't want anything at first, but once someone takes the bait, they become obsessed with money. I've seen this trick many times."

Han Jingyang stared at this villager for two seconds and smiled. "You are a bit clever, but unfortunately, you haven't used it in the right place. Instead, you think too highly of yourself. Your life will remain like this. It's a pity, you should have achieved something."

Having said this, his expression became serious. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. I will let you see with your own eyes what these dangerous factors actually look like."

As he finished speaking, he pinched a seal, recited a mantra, performed the spell, and shouted, "Open the Heavenly Eye!"

At the same time, he activated the "Manifestation of Holiness" attribute.

The function of the Manifestation of Holiness attribute was to allow people within its range to temporarily possess the effect of Qi Observation, although it was a watered-down version of Qi Observation.

But it was more than enough for a display of power in front of people.

Shouting "Open the Heavenly Eye" was naturally to fool these villagers; the term "Open the Heavenly Eye" was more grounded, easier to understand, and more imposing.

Otherwise, shouting "Manifestation of Holiness," these villagers wouldn't know what it was, and he would have to explain it, losing all his mystique.

Sure enough, upon hearing the three words "Open the Heavenly Eye," the villagers immediately realized something and hurriedly looked around.

Then, the whole place exploded.