The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 144 Murder Target

Zhong Kui's fingertips gently caressed the rim of the teacup, the celadon gleaming coldly on the iris patch on her nails. "You said he spoke like magic..." She suddenly leaned forward and brushed her hand across his eyes. The silver pendant on her wrist swayed, reflecting Chen Shan's distorted face.

Chen Shan's pupils suddenly contracted, and his entire body stiffened like a puppet. Qi Fei was about to speak when Zhong Kui suddenly retreated and chuckled, "Just kidding, why are you sweating, Mr. Chen?"

"Maybe the heating is too strong." Chen Shan tugged at his collar, and the jujube wood beads on his wrist made a crisp sound. Zhong Kui's gaze lingered on the beads for two more seconds, then he turned to Qi Fei and said, "I think Mr. Chen doesn't mind if we take a look around the room? Maybe there are traces left by the suspect."

"Uh, that fake doctor has never been to my house..." Chen Shan muttered.

Zhong Kui ignored him and reached out to push open a room next to the living room. It looked like a study, but Chen Shan was not a cultured person, so he placed more Feng Shui ornaments inside.

One of the toads had a jade ring in its mouth. The moment Zhong Kui stretched out her hand to touch it, Chen Shan's hand suddenly reached out, trying to stop her.

Zhong Kui instinctively grabbed the beads on his wrist in defense. There was a loud noise, and the wrist strap was broken, and the beads fell to the ground.

Zhong Kui picked up one of them and greedily inhaled its scent. "It has the unique scent of jujube wood, but here... it seems to have something else..." She looked at Chen Shan and suddenly said, "Lightning-struck wood must not be stained with blood. If it's stained with blood, it won't work to attract wealth. Has Mr. Chen killed any animals recently?"

Chen Shan's face turned pale and he pointed to the kitchen: "I bought a fish today, but I forgot to pick it when I killed it. Why don't you stay and have dinner together?"

Zhong Kui raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "No need~" and winked at Qi Fei, "I don't think we can gain anything from Mr. Chen, let's withdraw."

Having said that, he went out without saying goodbye to Chen Shan.

Qi Fei felt embarrassed and explained to Chen Shan in a low voice: "Our consultant has a rather unique personality. Sorry for the inconvenience!"
-
In the police station, Wu Shanqiu came to Qi Fei with an inquiring look on her face and asked, "Brother Fei, what happened when you went to see Chen Shan?"

"Huh? No, another day of returning empty-handed." Qi Fei said with some regret.

"Hiss~~~This is strange." Wu Shanqiu said.

Qi Fei put down the information in his hand and looked up at Wu Shanqiu: "What's wrong?"

"Ha! It was Xiao Tao who told me that it was very strange that Zhong Kui sat there, facing She Xiaohui's corpse, without saying a word. It was the first time I heard such a strange person like Xiao Tao say that others were strange." Wu Shanqiu raised her eyebrows, looking very puzzled.

When Qi Fei heard about Zhong Kui's situation, he naturally became particularly concerned and immediately stood up and walked towards the forensic room.

The late spring cold snap in Nancheng has finally ended. The temperature difference when entering the forensic room is so great that no matter how many times I come in, I get goose bumps.

Xiao Tao saw Qi Fei coming over and winked at him. Following his gaze, Zhong Kui was sitting in front of an open freezer, looking at the body inside, observing it as if silently communicating with the body. Qi Fei walked over to Xiao Tao and whispered, "How long has she been like this?"

"She came as soon as we got to work in the morning and didn't even have lunch." Xiao Tao seemed to be quite accustomed to this way of getting along. While answering Qi Fei, he continued working and examining the tissue sections of other deceased people under the microscope.

Qi Fei walked over to Zhong Kui and spoke softly, as if coaxing a child: "What's wrong? You're so engrossed that you didn't even eat lunch?"

"Shh..." Zhong Kui put her slender fingers on her lips, interrupting Qi Fei's words, her eyes never leaving She Xiaohui's body.

Qi Fei had no choice but to be patient and accompany Zhong Kui to watch She Xiaohui's seriously injured body.

"He hated her so much." Zhong Kui finally spoke, touching She Xiaohui's face with her rubber-gloved hand. The bruises from her five fingers were clearly visible on her cheek. "He slapped her." She grabbed She Xiaohui's hand again. A deep purple wound on her wrist was like a wristband wrapped around the gray skin. "He grabbed her hand and questioned her." Then, her fingertips moved and stopped at She Xiaohui's temple. "He grabbed a heavy object nearby and smashed it on her head. Everything was getting out of control. She Xiaohui was dizzy. Her mother's instinct made her run to the second floor, not knowing that this would bring death and her two young sons would be buried with her.

How could the injured woman outrun the adult man who had mutated into a demon? She was struck on the head in just two steps, once, twice... until the woman stopped moving. Until he heard the crying of a child on the second floor, the bloody blade pointed at the innocent child..."

In this situation, coupled with Zhong Kui's ethereal voice, Qi Fei listened attentively, as if he could see the scene of the crime at that time.

The body of She Xiaohui in front of him finally seemed to have a different meaning at this moment - he couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!", with regret and self-blame in it - he had to admit that because Huang Daqiu was a wealthy businessman, he paid more attention to him.

He immediately found the freezer where Huang Daqiu was stored and pulled it out.

Comparing the two bodies on the left and right.

Obviously, comparing the scars, Huang Daqiu's injuries were much more simple. If it weren't for his initial fixed mindset, he might have discovered that the murderer had invested much more personal emotions in She Xiaohui.

Even if Qi Fei didn't say anything more, the "Ah!" he exclaimed had already let Zhong Kui know what he was thinking. "That's normal," she said slowly. "You're not the first person to have an attribution bias due to the victim's unique identity, leading to a misguided investigation. Furthermore, with all the gossip flooding the internet at the beginning, it's hard not to be distracted."

"We never expected that what confused us was actually a corpse, but I can't understand why the sample found by Xiao Tao, who has a parent-child relationship with Huang Daqiu, appeared at the scene?" Qi Fei murmured.

Zhong Kui sneered, "Look, you still haven't gotten over your own fixed mindset. Who said... that since you and Huang Daqiu have a father-son relationship, your target is his father?"

"Could it be that this illegitimate son of Huang Daqiu's target of murder is She Xiaohui?" Qi Fei's brain was working rapidly, reviewing all the previous clues. "After killing She Xiaohui, the murderer did not leave the crime scene. He waited until Huang Daqiu arrived and killed him. The only problem is that no one knew that Huang Daqiu and She Xiaohui would appear on Jiangting Island at the same time on this day. If this is the case, it is impossible that..." All the clues led Qi Fei to an incredible direction.

(End of this chapter)