Lin Qiupu said excitedly, “Miss Gu, what is the method?”

Gu You shook her head. “I don't know. I have to ask a real expert in that field. In fact, there was an expert in hypnosis at my clinic. When he was studying at XX University, he specialized in the field of hypnosis. He was once the leading hypnotist in China. The beta sleep state theory that I just mentioned was in an academic paper he published while he was in graduate school.”

“I didn’t know that your clinic had a hidden master!” Lin Qiupu praised.

“Is such an expert expensive to consult?” Xu Xiaodong said.

“No, like other psychologists, the consultation fee is only three hundred yuan per hour. By the way, you can go onto Baidu[1] to search for ‘Ji Changxin’. I believe that you will have a more comprehensive understanding of him...”

Everyone turned on their mobile phones or computers and started searching the keywords “Ji Changxin”. All the words popping up on the screen were phrases like “Wolf of the Tram”, “Sexual assault”, and “Perverted Old Uncle”. These shed new light on Ji for the officers.

Gu You said, “Originally he was in Shanghai. He worked as a professor at a university and as a psychologist. It could be said that his future had no limits, but due to this incident, he was forced to move and came to Long’an to start afresh... I didn’t expect that he wouldn’t change. Recently, I have received complaints from clients stating that they suspected him of committing sexual assault. After my investigation, I found out that it was indeed true, so I dismissed Ji Changxin on May 7th.”

Gu You glanced at Peng Sijue casually. She did not mention that Peng Sijue was present. After all, it would violate his personal privacy to mention that he had gone for treatment.

“May 7th?” Old Zhang smacked the table. “Isn't that the day when the three people were killed by the train? Miss Gu, did Ji Changxin normally pass through that station after work?”

“As far as I know, he doesn't seem to get off at this stop.” Gu You said.

“It’s not necessary to conclude that Ji Changxin is a suspect for the time being. He does possess this skill, but Miss Gu also said that hypnosis is a talent, and other criminals may have also learned about it.” Lin Qiupu said.

“Yes, the mechanism of hypnosis is complicated, but the means is extremely simple!” Gu You explained.

Old Zhang said, “I think we can visit Ji Changxin, mainly to ask him how violent hypnosis is done.”

“Sure, I'll leave this to you.”

Gu You said, “I also want to visit Ji Changxin. I’m a professional, and it’s easier to get to the point during the discussion with me present... I hope to serve as a consultant to the police in this case.”

Lin Qiupu immediately assigned tasks. The case was temporarily handled as a criminal case. Old Zhang, his partner and Gu You went to look for Ji Changxin. Xu Xiaodong, Lin Dongxue, and the others went to the school to investigate. Since it had been upgraded to a criminal case, autopsy requests did not need to be initiated by the families of the deceased. Peng Sijue and his subordinates went to persuade the family members to agree to autopsies.

Lin Dongxue, Xu Xiaodong and Luo Haifeng worked together. Luo Haifeng asked them to go to the local police station first. He said that he had some evidence to show them.

When they got to the police station, Luo Haifeng turned on his computer and found a folder marked with a date. He explained, “This is what I found on the five girls' mobile phones. I wanted to find the reason for their suicide. I didn't expect to find something else.”

Luo Haifeng clicked on a video. In the video, a girl in school uniform kneeled down in a place that seemed to be a women’s toilet. A stream of water was pouring over her. She was drenched in water and her body trembled while laughter could be heard from the side. The video was set to music and it lasted almost five minutes.

Lin Dongxue was shocked after watching the video. This is what junior high school students do?

Luo Haifeng said, “This girl is Fan Lixue whom they were bullying, and she is in the same class with the five girls and Han Jingming.”

Luo Haifeng showed them another video. The location seemed to be a corner somewhere. A short-haired girl held Fan Lixue's hair and kept slapping her in the face. “Go and tell the teacher. If you go again, see if I won’t tear up your fucking mouth. Have you all ever seen such a cheap person? Fan Lixue, stop coming to school. You should just go and sell yourself. See if anyone would want you for 50 yuan!”

The person shooting the video and the people around her laughed non-stop.

Lin Dongxue had flames raging in her heart as she watched. Xu Xiaodong walked directly to the wall and punched the wall three times, which attracted the surprised attention of people in the office. Xu Xiaodong said, “It's nothing. I’m just venting. I was also bullied like this when I went to school… School campus bullying. But in the eyes of the teachers and parents, it’s just kids quarrelling with one another. But back then I was… I really wanted to kill that group of people!”

Lin Dongxue said to Luo Haifeng, “We shouldn’t watch further. I'm afraid he'll spiral out of control.”

“I'm okay.” Xu Xiaodong said, even though his eyes had turned red.

“This is the situation.” Luo Haifeng concluded, “The small group of six girls had been bullying Fan Lixue for a very long time. It’s lasted for nearly a year.”

“The teacher really doesn't know about this?”

“It's impossible not to know. The class teacher and the substitute teacher said that they would tell them off whenever they saw them ‘getting into trouble’, but they said they didn't know that it was so severe. If they knew that it was so severe, they would have called their parents long ago.”

“It's all just hindsight... What's the school's attitude towards this now?”

“It was no small matter that five students died one after another. The school gates were packed with reporters for the past two days. Many parents did not want their children to attend school. The school's attendance rate during the past two days was only 60%. It seems that the principal has laid down a 'ban', forbidding any teacher to accept interviews or inquiries. If you question the teachers, you may not be able to get anything from them.”

“When something happens, they just think of reducing the impact first. What typical bureaucratic thinking!” Lin Dongxue scoffed.

“In addition, I do not recommend that you go to the parents of the deceased. They are very emotional. I heard that they formed a small gang and went to look for Fan Lixue’s mother in order to cause trouble, asking her to die in compensation for the five lives.”

“Aren’t the police handling it?”

“The police will only take action if they are called upon by the victim. Fan’s mother could no longer bear the harassment one night and she finally reported it to the police. That’s how we found out that the parents of the deceased had been harassing her for a few days already. She’s been forced to sleep at her workplace... Oh yes, she is a single mother and works at the Municipal Grain Bureau. Their lives are rather difficult.”

“If the upper beams aren’t good, the lower beams will become crooked. These barbaric parents have fostered barbaric children!” Xu Xiaodong said angrily.

“We can't say who is right and who is wrong. Both parties are victims and aggressors at the same time.” Lin Dongxue said.

“Yes, we can’t help that there’s such a contradiction. What we can do is to stop the dispute and not to worsen it so that it becomes violent. I also promised the deceased girls to give them an answer when I took on my shift that night. Which is why I’m asking the criminal police to help.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find out the truth!” Lin Dongxue nodded.

1. Chinese version of Google.