The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 152 Blasphemy
Before Qi Fei finished his words, there was a "clang" sound at the scene, and a copper button that the skeleton was holding tightly in its right hand suddenly rolled off. The night wind, carrying the lingering smell of rain, blew through the hall, as if it was the ethereal evening prayers of a choir coming from afar. Seventeen mirrors simultaneously reflected the skeleton's face as if it was showing a strange smile.

Qi Fei picked up the copper button. The copper button with green embroidery in the moonlight silently told the story of Ye Ming's final battle - this was the physical evidence he had saved at the last moment before being murdered, and he had kept it in his palm for 42 years.

Moonlight, washed by the torrential rain, pierced the dome's mirror array, seventeen cold rays of light frozen on the mold-stained shoulder straps of the skeleton's uniform. The detectives present all stood in awe, their hands lowered, their left hands clasped around their pistols, their right hands raised to their temples, their hats tipped to their heads in a standard salute.

In the solemn atmosphere, only Zhong Kui's question was inappropriate: "Who is Ye Ming?"

……

Time returns to morning.

The sky, which had just begun to brighten at around six in the morning, became overcast from seven and it began to rain heavily in an instant.

Qi Fei sat in the office, looking through the photos collected on-site on Jiangting Island. He stopped when he saw one of the places.

"Brother Fei, what did you see?" Wu Shanqiu came over to see.

"Chen Shan confessed to the crime, but the murder weapon has not been found yet. I'm looking at this place, in the VIP lounge, do you think anything is missing?" Qi Fei asked.

Wu Shanqiu took a look and saw that there was indeed a rectangular base left on the ground, but the things on it were gone. Judging from the traces of dust, it must have just been pulled away.

"I don't remember any similar items at the scene," said Wu Shanqiu.

……

Ying Shuiwang said, "It really is a snake demon. I caught this yesterday while fishing at a farmer's farm. People in the village say it's a magical tool used in ancient times to suppress snake demons."

Qi Fei looked carefully at the bronze ornament, which was half a person's height and had a lifelike snake shape.

The snake also has a sharp dorsal fin on its back.

After watching for a long time, he suddenly laughed to himself.

"Brother Fei, what are you laughing at?" Wu Shanqiu asked in confusion.

"I know what the snake Wu Chun saw was about, Shanqiu," Qi Fei said. "Of course, we should have found the murder weapon."

"Remember Wu Chun said he saw a snake demon killing people? I don't think it was completely an illusion." Qi Fei was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "Chen Shan excitedly picked up the snake-shaped axe next to him. It must be the snake demon that Wu Chun mistakenly saw. He simply misjudged the proportions in his shock."

"By the way, Brother Fei, there's one more thing, not too big or too small."

"explain."

"Didn't we try to contact Tang Zhaoxu when we were investigating Huang Daqiu's illegitimate child? We actually found her. Her parents passed away, and she married a foreigner in Australia. She heard we found her son and is on her way back home."

Qi Fei felt mixed emotions after hearing this: "Then let's request a meeting between Chen Shan and Tang Zhaoxu."

"Well, it's quite touching. After a preliminary chat, Tang Zhaoxu said that the child was taken away by his parents without her even seeing him when he was born. Unfortunately, this time when she came back, it was the first and last time that mother and child met. In Chen Shan's situation, it will be difficult for him to escape the death penalty." Wu Shanqiu said with emotion.

At this time, Liu Tong slowly passed by them holding a thermos cup. When Qi Fei saw him, he immediately stood up and blocked Liu Tong's way.

Liu Tong opened his smiling eyes slightly as he looked at Qi Fei: "Qi Fei, I'm almost late for the meeting, what's the matter?" "Captain Liu, I'm just curious, how do you know that Zhang Juying's case is related to the Jiang Ting Island incident?" Qi Fei raised the question in his mind.

Liu Tong laughed: "You ask this, I don't know."

Qi Fei didn't believe it: "That's too coincidental. If we hadn't found out about Chen Shan's misdiagnosis of leukemia from Zhang Juying, we might have overlooked She Xiaohui's clue."

Liu Tong unscrewed the thermos and took a sip of wolfberry tea: "Then you should ask the person who brought Zhang Juying to me."

"Who?" Qi Fei asked impatiently.

"Jiang Tianyi." The name Liu Tong said surprised Qi Fei.

"Doctor Jiang? Why would he get involved in this?"

"What's the big deal? He and Dr. Li are alumni. He probably just doesn't want Li Liang to be imprisoned." Liu Tong said lightly, "Okay, it's too late for me." Without waiting for Qi Fei to ask any more questions, he was about to "escape" and ask more questions. Suddenly, both of their cell phones rang at the same time.

"The Old Church in Nancheng?" the two people said at the same time, and then looked at each other.

"Captain Liu, it seems you can't open it this time." Qi Fei knew that they had received the same message.

"Tap, tap, tap" the sound of high heels came from a distance, and Zhong Kui seemed to have the ability to predict the future, and appeared at the police station at the right time.

As soon as she saw Qi Fei's expression, she immediately said, "It seems that I came at the right time. Nancheng is really a restless place." The corners of her mouth raised slightly, and for some reason there was a sense of anticipation and excitement in it.

With sirens blaring, police cars sped through the urban area of ​​Nancheng in the heavy rain, heading southwest.

After passing through a cypress avenue that blocked out the sun, the old Nancheng Church appeared in their sight in the heavy rain like a skeleton split open by lightning.

Gothic spires pierced the lead-gray clouds, a broken cross was inserted diagonally on the top of the tower, and rust meandered down with the rain like solidified tears of blood.

The seventeen panels of stained glass had long been shattered, and the only remaining fragments of scarlet glass flickered in the thunder, like the devil's one eye in the Bible story.

On the brick wall entangled with vines, a bronze bell half-hung on the edge of the bell tower, and the strong wind blew it out intermittent whimpers, like the roar of the seven-headed, ten-horned beast in the Book of Revelation.

Moss had devoured the faces of saints on the relief of the main entrance; only the drain outlet of the devil's mask was still spewing muddy water. The fang-shaped cast iron gutter shattered the rainwater, which merged with the distorted shadow cast by the church.

The moment they stepped into the church, everyone held their breath unconsciously.

This Catholic church, built a hundred years ago, carries a heavy sense of theology and history, which makes people feel awe unconsciously.

However, the smell of fragrant oil mixed with the stench of sewage made this sacred feeling mixed with the filth of desecration.

"The recent heavy rains caused underground water to backflow into the old church in Nancheng. Workers discovered something unusual while repairing the water pipes." The police officers who arrived early made way for the passage. The floor tiles under the altar were pried open. In the drained mud, a hemp rope winding like a snake was tied around a blackened arm, half of which was exposed in the black mud.

The church priest stood aside, made the sign of the cross on his chest, and muttered: "May the Lord forgive this holy place that has been desecrated by the devil..."

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　　(End of this chapter)