The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 5 The Cooperating Suspect
"Do you mean that person is the real murderer?" Qi Fei asked.

Zhong Kui remained noncommittal and smiled contemptuously, "What's interesting is that you caught the man who killed Chen Xiaojing, Zhu Qi, a fifty-year-old man. He doesn't seem to be the same Xiao Zhu I met."

"Zhu Ming'en?" Qi Fei blurted out a name. This person was Zhu Qi's son. All the evidence pointed to Zhu Qi as the murderer. In addition, he fled for fear of punishment. No one cared about this person who had been under their noses the whole time. He suddenly realized, "So you went to the police station to check on Zhu Qi?"

"Oh, I just want to verify my guess."

"Such an important clue, why didn't you tell me when you came to the police station?!"

"I accepted the money. The Chen family asked me to get Zhu Qi to confess his guilt, but they didn't ask me to help you solve the case."

"You?!" Qi Fei couldn't help but feel angry when he heard this.

But Zhong Kui ignored his anger and changed the subject: "I heard that Chen Xiaojing's body was well preserved after being soaked in wine. Was it cut up beautifully?"

Qi Fei was uncomfortable with the word "beautiful" used to describe the dismemberment, and replied unhappily, "The cuts are neat, so what?"

"Oh, Zhu Qi's hands were not steady when he drank the soup!" She said casually, and plucking the wind chimes beside the tea table, the crisp sound rang out again, "If you don't leave now, it will be dark soon. After drinking tea, you have to get on the road."

……

With a bang, an iron axe was thrown in front of Zhu Qi.

Wu Shanqiu looked at Qi Fei, who was acting out of character, with concern, and whispered, "Brother Fei, what if he goes crazy and starts hacking people?"

Qi Fei stepped forward and untied Zhu Qi's handcuffs, pointing to the wooden stake at his feet: "Split the stake for me."

Zhu Qi looked at Qi Fei not with despair but with surprise. He then gritted his teeth, stepped forward, picked up the axe, and chopped down the wooden stake with all his strength. However, the axe seemed to slip and only knocked down the wooden stake without leaving even a mark.

"Do you recognize this axe?" Qi Fei asked.

"I recognize it. It's the same one I used to dismember the body." Zhu Qi answered without hesitation, just like a good student rushing to answer a question. Ever since Zhong Kui came, he has been very cooperative, even too cooperative.

"If you can neatly cut Chen Xiaojing's cervical vertebrae, it should be no problem for you to chop a wooden stake, right?" Qi Fei said coldly.

"I'm not just old now. I can't compare to when I killed someone." Zhu Qi is a habitual fraudster. He answered without any panic.

"Is it because of your age or a shoulder injury that you can't lift the axe?" Qi Fei stared at Zhu Qi and said word by word, "We checked your medical records. You had surgery for a right shoulder injury when you were 25. You had trouble even holding a bowl of soup, let alone dismembering a body with an axe. You're still lying to us about Chen Xiaojing's death."

"Okay, okay, I'll confess. I asked my second uncle for help in dismembering the body, and he also helped me bury it in his yard." Zhu Qi said immediately.

"You really don't lie without thinking. Your second uncle is dead, so there's no evidence, right?"

"I've already confessed. Why are you still asking me questions? I was the one who killed Chen Xiaojing."

"Tell me again how you killed Chen Xiaojing?"

"I'll cover her face with a pillow, like this," Zhu Qi demonstrated. "Your right hand doesn't have any strength at all. You need to use both hands to hold the pillow. Chen Xiaojing is 1.68 meters tall, not much smaller than you." Qi Fei stared directly into Zhu Qi's eyes and pressed forward.

Zhu Qi avoided Qi Fei's gaze and defended herself, "It's been too long. I forgot. I put sleeping pills in her wine. It's been so many years. You can't find this in the test. The ingredients are normal."

"You seem to be quite familiar with our reconnaissance work." Qi Fei's eyes were sharp. "Let me ask you, Zhu Qi, didn't you tell me that the presumption of guilt is innocent? What are you doing now?"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Qi was obviously panicked.

Qi Fei stepped closer to him and said, "You're desperately trying to prove your guilt. Don't you think that's abnormal? You know that if you're convicted of murder and dismemberment, it's going to be hard for you to escape the death penalty. Who is worthy of your life?"

The answer was about to come out. Zhu Qi's dry and chapped lips trembled, and his voice was dry: "I won't defend anyone. I deserve to die and go to hell. You can kill me and let Chen Xiaojing take me away..." His eyes suddenly widened and realized, "It must be that woman. Is Chen Xiaojing back again? What did she tell you? Even ghosts can lie. Didn't you say that the evidence is sufficient to prove that I am the murderer!"

Looking at the chattering Zhu Qi, Qi Fei interrupted him calmly: "Chen Xiaojing is dead, and there has never been a ghost of her. We only believe in evidence, and now the evidence shows that you may not be the real murderer. Innocent until proven guilty, we will continue to investigate and clear your name."

No one has ever felt so desperate as Zhu Qi when hearing the word "innocence".

……

The Zhu family's door was knocked open.

A young man who looked somewhat similar to Zhu Qi opened the door. He was less than thirty years old, but much stronger than Zhu Qi. He recognized the visitor and asked politely, "Are you here to inform me about my father?"

"Zhu Mingen, we suspect that you are involved in the murder of Chen Xiaojing. Please come back with us to assist in the investigation." Qi Fei had been here several times and this time he showed his ID and said.

"Are you mistaken? We told you police when our woman disappeared. My son and I had no idea what that beast did." Zhu Qi's wife Xu Li appeared behind Zhu Mingen, nervously took off her apron, and stood beside Zhu Mingen.

"Mom, don't be nervous. You have to trust the police. They might just be verifying some information. We haven't broken any laws, so don't be afraid." Zhu Ming'en acted completely frank, but the next sentence he said couldn't hide the gloom in his eyes. "It's all that person's fault."

……

"What else do you want to know? My father has a mistress and kills people. My mother and I have suffered a lot. I just hope you can put an end to this matter quickly!" Zhu Mingen said as soon as he sat down.

Qi Fei waited quietly for him to finish, then said in a deep voice, "Thirteen years have passed. Did you think there would be no evidence to expose you?"

Zhu Mingen looked bewildered: "Officer, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"I'm going to ask you one last time, are you related to Chen Xiaojing's death?"

"Of course not! My mother and I are also victims! That man is not my father, he is a beast, you can do whatever you want!" Zhu Mingen said righteously.

"But Chen Xiaojing told us that you are the real murderer." Qi Fei suddenly said. Wu Shanqiu on the side looked at him in surprise. Seeing his mysterious tone, she thought he was possessed by Zhong Kui.

(End of this chapter)