Chapter 7 Looking For the Murderer

One day the head of an Investigation Division Department brought two police officers with him for a consultation.   They waited in line quietly and when their turn came, they then revealed their real identities.  The division head started the conversation.  "We came for duty reasons, not for personal reasons."

"Should I tell everybody in the consultation room to leave for a moment?"  There were quite a lot of people that day, and the police officers might need privacy and space due to the nature of their job.

The division head replied, "dispersing so many people here is very difficult.  It is fine.  Just ask them to keep a distance of about two steps will be good enough."

I told everyone to step back about two steps from the consultation line and prohibited them from being too close.

The division head gave me two photos from his pocket.  The pictures in the photos were very tragic.  There was a body of an old woman lying stiff.  A sharp knife had sliced her body, half-naked.  The flesh was open with blood dripping.  Her feet and hands were chopped off.  Upon seeing these photos, it reminded me of a traditional market where pig heads were hanging, chopped pig bodies were lying on the table, pigs feet were arranged flat, and pig livers were hanging on a wire.  This was the common scene of the traditional market with a pungent smell.

I knitted my eyebrow.

The division head divulged more data.  "The victim is seventy years old.  Her name is Li Chun.  She has three sons and one daughter.  All three of her sons work outside her city whereas her daughter accompanies her.  Her family is poor.  This old woman never had any enemy.  She had lived a very simple life.  Her husband had passed away three years ago.  He was a very diligent farmer."  

The division head added, "She would not have been killed because of love. She was old and ugly.  A revenge victim would be impossible because she rarely went outside and socialized with anyone.  A robbery victim would be impossible because she had no business and income.  Her family is poor, so monetary motivation would also be impossible.  Besides, after searching around the crime scene, there is nothing robbed."

He continued, " if one examines the way the killer killed this old woman it is very sadistic.  The knife was stabbed into the body more than twenty times.  The killer chopped the body into seven to eight pieces.  A killing of this kind is not an accidental homicide, but was planned in advance for deep revenge.  It seems that the murderer planned it a long time ago.  We have investigated this case carefully, and up to now, we have no clue.  Our supervisor keeps on pressuring us to give the resolution immediately.  Our time is running out.  We have no other choice but to come to you."

Frankly, finding criminals is not new to me I have encountered countless of similar cases from the national security to the local police office.  Some of the crimes are homicides inside the political arena on a national scale.  Such cases are instructed by the top to ask for my spiritual guidance. I will relate the divination result for their reference.

He asked, "who is the murderer?  Where is the murderer now?  What is the connection between the victim and the murderer?  What is the motive?"

I replied, "Let me enter into the Samadhi for a moment!"

First, I emptied my mind and I slowly visualized the picture of Li Chun.  A moment after, I saw an angry young man take a knife to kill Li Chun.  The young man threw the murder knife into the bushes on a cliff near Li Chu's house.

The shape of the young man was quite vague. I prayed to see him from the front angle, but to no avail.  In a blur, I saw a dark scar on his neck, which was clearly visible in the visualization.

Then, I saw this young man running.  In one moment, he climbed to the top of the hill.  One moment later, he was at the beach.  A moment later, he was inside a train.  A moment later, he was eating at the night market.  One moment later, he was taking a rest.  None of these scenes were clear.

I saw this young man call a taxi.  This taxi advanced.

I saw clearly that this young man did not know the direction that he wanted to go.  The taxi stopped and opened the window asking for the way.  Someone walking on the side of the road and told him the way.  Finally, this taxi stopped right in front of my house.

Spontaneously, I became alert and startled in a cold sweat.

I called out, "It is coming!  It is coming!"

"What is coming?" the division head asked me.

"The murderer is coming!" I said accidentally.

"Where is the murderer?"

"The murderer is in....."

Right away, I realized that I could not tell people that the murderer was inside my house!

I stood up and replied,  "The murderer is right around here."

The division head and the two other police officers were startled.

"Where?" "Where?"

As soon as the people inside the room heard the whereabouts of the murderer, the situation stirred up.  They were surprised; they perceived it as a strange coincidence.

This incident was really a strange coincidence.  Police, and murderer were together in the same time and place.

If the murderer knew, that Sheng-yen Lu had already predicted all the details of this murder case, then what could he do inside my house?  Would he say that Sheng-yen Lu was wrong, attack me, and then escape?

On the other hand, he had already seen the three Policemen and a big crowd in the consultation room so he dared not to utter a word openly.  His best chance was to run away unnoticed.  I saw the shadow of the young man sneak away from the side door and quickly vanish.

Calmly I sat back on my chair.

I said to the division head, "I apologize!"

"It is just an unclear illusion, I just had a feeling that the murderer was nearby, but he should be far away.  Now, I will draw the killer from what I've just seen so that you can capture the murderer soon, and of course solve the mystery behind the criminal act."

Upon hearing this, they were relieved.

I drew two pictures.  The first one was of the crime scene and the bushes on the cliff where the murder knife was.  I clearly indicated the direction so it would be easier for them to locate the place.  The second picture was the dark scare on the neck of the murderer.

"Are there other things?" he asked.

"There's nothing more."  I replied.

The head division and the two police officers said nothing more.  They brought back the pictures containing the drawings with them.

The mystery was solved about a half month later.  The murderer confessed to his crime and went to court.

The police used my drawings as a guide to find the murder knife. From that knife, they found the shop that sold the knife.  From that shop, they trace down to the buyer.  The buyer was a young man with a dark scare on his neck.  It meant both of the pictures matched!  It was accurate!

The reason behind the crime was like this.  The daughter of the old woman sold sugar cane in front of her house and the young man was a frequent customer. One day, he teased her by proposing to her.

Li Chun's daughter said that she would have to ask her mother's permission first.

Days later, the young man asked, "what was your mothers answer?"

Li Chun's daughter answered, "Go eat dog shit!"

Only the "Go eat dog shit" made this young man's blood steam.  He thought that everyone was entitled to choose whomever he or she wanted to marry, but telling him to eat dog shit was intolerable.  It really humiliated him.  He thought "Li Chun, you tell me to eat dog shit?  You eat dog shit first!"

The more he thought about it, the more he became emotional.  The insult of going to eat dog shit was unbearable.  Then, he bought a big knife.  On a dark and cold night, this young man committed his crime.

Now the mystery was solved.

The division head received an honorable medallion and I was happy to hear it.

In fact, solving the crime like this, I, myself, am in great danger because it could bring trouble from the criminals.

On the night after the division head and the two policemen consulted me about the murder crime there was a telephone call.

"Are you Sheng-yen Lu?"

"Yes"

The caller without any reason became angry, "Bastard, Son of Bitch, Mother Fucker! I am your Grandfather...!?

Without waiting for him to finish his cursing words, I asked him directly, "Who are you?"

The caller does not answer my question and continued angrily, "You were lucky today. Watch what you say.  What did you tell them?  Watch your back!  I will fucking kill you."

I calmly listened.

He continued, "You are Son of Bitch. You have no shame.  How dare you help the cop.  I will kill you for sure!"

The caller kept cursing nonstop.

I asked, "have I ever offended you?"

"You know this yourself."

"I don't understand."

"Did you forget what just happened this morning?"

"Oh this morning."  I got it then.

"That's right!  The three cops, those three bastards, can go eat dog shit."

The caller continued, "What have you told them?"

"I didn't say anything."

"That is good you did not say anything.  If I find out that you betrayed me, I will definitely kill you!  Ha Ha Ha!"

"Click!" He hung up.

Maybe some people may ask why the murderer came to my place?

The answer is simple.  He also needed a consultation.  He wanted to see his future.  People who need consultations are ranged anywhere from prestigious people, ordinary men and women, gangsters, and even criminals and prostitutes.

How can it be such a coincidence?

This is called without a coincidence there is no great story.

Surely, I am not scared of the caller.  However, I often wonder about the impact of being able to communicate with the spiritual realm in life.

I contemplate this issue in samadhi.  There is no need to ask anymore.  Without doubt, in the future, my name will become known to the whole world.  My inconceivable spiritual power will enable me to travel to the Ten Dharma Realms as free as a Deva.

People will regard the spiritual power as a fortune; people will respect me as a sage.   Where else can you ask for it?  People are lining up to pay homage and render offerings.

However, behind this very fortunate person, there hidden is suffering which many do not know.

After a while, I became tired!

In the end, I decide to wander into seclusion inside the woods!

I threw away luxurious mansions, expensive cars, diamond rings, and money.

Eventually, I realize the nature of the Tathagata.  The divine capability and spiritual power appear to be invincible, but they are acquired and manifested naturally and unintentionally. Thinking deeply, they are byproducts of the cultivation fruition.

I learnt that, although I possess envious spiritual power, I cannot make all the sentient beings in this world happy, nor can I always deliver satisfying results to them.  Regardless of the double time and energy I always devote, I still cannot fulfill all my tasks perfectly.  Since all affairs in the mundane world involve karma, then it is expected that tangling factors will always affect the outcome.

I have pushed myself to a lonely spiritual abyss, that is my life. I can not have an ordinary life like the common people, and my life is not any easier than others.

There is no time for reminiscence.

There is no desire for pleasure.

I have put up with enough slander.  One careless action can easily perish my whole reputation. I am always put in the spotlight.  Living Buddha Lian-sheng is walking on thin ice.

The mission of liberating sentient beings is mixed with bitterness and sweetness.

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