Li Ang continued, "Unfortunately, Fushen Pingyuan was later persuaded by his wife to bring his mother, Fushen Miyoshi, from the countryside to live with them.

His mother had always been very strict with him since childhood, and this did not change after she developed Alzheimer's disease. Her temper became even more volatile, often causing trouble at home and mentally tormenting Fushen Pingyuan.

Under the influence of Meidai Zi, Fushen Pingyuan's migraines worsened, and he frequently suffered from memory lapses. This meant that the third personality, a believer in Tennyo Yiji, was growing stronger. Sometimes, it could even take control of Fushen Pingyuan's body and erase his memory.

Under the influence of Fushen Miyoshi and Fushen Rihui, Apricot and Bo also slowly became followers of Tennyo Yiji. It's suspected that the doctor Apricot later married, who worked in a sanatorium in Wakayama City, was also a member of the Tennyo Yiji cult organization.

Within the entire family, only Fushen Pingyuan was kept in the dark.

Or rather, only Pingyuan's primary personality was kept in the dark. His second personality witnessed everything and silently counted down to the sacrificial ceremony that occurred every twenty-one years.

Finally, the twenty-one-year cycle arrived. Yiji Shrine selected the Fushen family's youngest member, Weimen Ziyuan, as the next sacrifice. The second personality then devised a way: to use a coded message to directly and secretly contact Pingyuan's main personality. This would bypass Fushen Pingyuan's third personality and his family, allowing him to prevent the tragedy before the festival in May 2019."

"..."

The Police Chief took a deep breath. "An interesting hypothesis, but that's all it is—a guess. You have no concrete evidence to..."

"The birthplace of the purple pigment,

An elegant thief with a golden wand twined by two snakes passes through,

The white Moon Goddess Diana rises slowly into the night sky,

Signaling the regretful departure of the father of the Constantine dynasty,

Nine Muses offer flowers for this."

Li Ang used the poem from Fushen Pingyuan's diary to interrupt him. "Do you know what this means?"

"How would I know?" the Police Chief replied impatiently. "Isn't it just the ravings of someone with multiple personalities?"

Li Ang shook his head. "Fushen Pingyuan's main personality did not know what exactly happened to his uncle. He even suspected at one point that the Fushen family's bloodline might carry a gene that inevitably causes madness. After adulthood, he never revisited the path of folklore studies that his uncle had wished for him.

But his second personality remained there, together with those warm, rational memories.

These poems were written for Fushen Pingyuan—coded messages that only he, only his main personality, could understand."

The Police Chief exclaimed in amazement, "...What?"

Li Ang said with a sneer, "I assume you've all been poring over that diary countless times. Although these verses are written in Japanese, you won't get the answer by analyzing them in Japanese. Taking out every other character, or picking the first, second, or third character of each line, would yield nothing but gibberish. Translating it into English would be just the same."

The Police Chief was silent.

"The first sentence, 'The birthplace of the purple pigment,' refers to the city of Tyre (Tell). Established around 3000 BC, it was an important Phoenician city-state under a system of slavery, where the Phoenicians discovered and refined the earliest purple pigment—Tyrian purple. The keyword is Tyre.

The second sentence, 'An elegant thief with a golden wand twined by two snakes passes through,' refers to Hermes, the god of commerce, travelers, thieves, and livestock in ancient Greek mythology. The keyword is Hermes.

The third sentence, 'The white Moon Goddess Diana rises slowly into the night sky,' refers to the ancient Greek city of Ephesus. This city is located near the mouth of the Cayster River by the Aegean Sea and was the center of worship for Artemis, later subsumed by the Roman goddess Diana. The keyword is Ephesus.

The fourth sentence, 'Signaling the regretful departure of the father of the Constantine dynasty,' refers to the city where Constantine the Great's father—Constantius I—died: York, England. The keyword is York.

The fifth sentence, 'Nine Muses offer flowers for this,' refers to Apollo, the god of light, prophecy, music, and medicine in ancient Greek mythology—he was always accompanied by the nine Muses. The keyword is Apollo.

The sixth sentence, 'The first king, wearing the crown of the southernmost tip of the Aegean Sea,' refers to Rhadamanthys, King of Crete and a judge of the Underworld. The keyword is Rhadamanthys.

The seventh sentence, 'A hero, envious of the one who stole the Golden Fleece, resolves to embark on his own adventure,' refers to Jason, the prince of Thessaly, who sailed the Argo to seize the Golden Fleece. The keyword is Jason.

The eighth sentence, 'Bestowing gold coins to the ferryman of the Styx,' refers to Charon, Hades' boatman and the ferryman of the river Styx. The keyword is Charon.

The ninth sentence, 'Presenting the Mu Ma to the ignorant Trojans,' refers to Ulysses, the hero from the Greek coalition forces who, during the siege of Troy, proposed the strategy of the Mu Ma. The keyword is Ulysses.

The tenth sentence, 'Mediating the conflict between the charioteer and the bear,' refers to Lynceus, one of the Argonauts, who later became the constellation Lynx, situated between Auriga and Ursa Major. The keyword is Lynceus.

The eleventh sentence, 'Who conquered the cannibalistic Minotaur,' refers to Theseus, the hero who navigated the Labyrinth of Minos and defeated the Minotaur. The keyword is Theseus.

The twelfth sentence, 'The six-winged creature, covered with eyes inside and out, sings "Holy, holy, holy," day and night,' refers to a Seraph, a six-winged angel from Revelation 4:8. The keyword is Seraph.

The thirteenth sentence, 'He who wields the Sword of Flame delineates territories—the territories of the archangels,' refers to Akira, associated with the second heaven in the seven heavens of Christian tradition. The keyword is Akira.

The fourteenth sentence, 'Within the sacred city of this world,' refers to the Vatican. The keyword is Vatican.

The fifteenth sentence, 'The mother of all sins,' refers to Eve, who consumed the forbidden fruit, leading to humanity's original sin and the beginning of all other sins. The keyword is EVA.

The sixteenth sentence, 'Turning mortals into chariots of gods,' refers to Thrones, which Judaism regards as the divine chariots that Hebrew ancestors become upon ascending to heaven. The keyword is Thrones.

The seventeenth sentence, 'Crossing the river in tribes,' refers to the Hebrew people, led by the patriarch Abraham who crossed the Euphrates and Jordan rivers to reach Canaan. 'Hebrew' means 'those who came across the river.' The keyword is Hebrew.

The eighteenth sentence, 'The firstborn son, red and hairy,' refers to Esau, the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah according to the Book of Genesis in The Bible. The keyword is Esau.

The nineteenth sentence, 'Praying for God's help,' refers to Gadrel from The Bible, considered the progenitor of meteorology, who taught humankind how to make tools and weapons. The keyword is Gadrel.

The twentieth sentence, 'Ultimately promoted to the angel bearing a spear,' refers to Ithuriel, the angel holding a spear. The keyword is Ithuriel.

The twenty-first sentence, 'Yet it attracts retribution concerning the world of light,' refers to Raguel, the "Friend of God," charged with monitoring the good deeds of angels. This is from the Book of Enoch. The keyword is Raguel.

The twenty-second sentence, 'Oh Lord, I hope all this is worthwhile,' refers to the Lord, my God. The keyword is Lord.

All the keywords described by the poems, when put together, form the coded message written by the second personality to Fushen Pingyuan."

The Police Chief was completely stunned. Forget analyzing it; he found it difficult to even remember this lengthy discourse.

Luckily, the bald doctor was clever enough, murmuring to himself, "Tyre, Hermes, Ephesus, York, Apollo, Rhadamanthys, Jason, Charon, Ulysses, Lynceus, Theseus, Seraph, Akira, Vatican, EVA, Thrones, Hebrew, Esau, Gadrel, Ithuriel, Raguel, Lord.

This doesn't form a sentence at all?!"

"The first letters, put together," Li Ang said indifferently. "They are cult. Save the girl."

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