Hidden moth

Chapter 33 I came here for this
In order to determine that Liang Kai is the murderer of Lin Hualei, the chain of evidence is incomplete. For example, how can we prove that the mysterious man who threatened He Kao with a gun that night was Liang Kai?
But Lin Qingshuang was neither a police officer nor a judge. In fact, Lin Hualei only mentioned Liang Kai's name before he was killed. Combined with the subsequent investigation, it was enough for her to make a judgment.

What's more, Liang Kai has disappeared. If he really died, there would be no evidence to prove his mistake, and Lin Qingshuang would not be able to find anyone to seek revenge.

He Kao could understand Lin Qingshuang's unspeakable complex feelings, but he didn't know how to comfort this senior, so he had to continue grilling in silence.

He had been to various barbecue restaurants of different grades, and had seen waiters grill meat before, and he had also tried it himself. Now he was very skilled in using scissors and tongs, grilling meat very carefully and meticulously, and putting the meat on the plates in front of each person.

Unfortunately, no one picked up their chopsticks, not even he himself, as if he was just going through a ritual that should be done in a barbecue restaurant.

"Senior Lin, I can swear - I am not Yin Mo!" After a period of silence, Qian Guran finally spoke.

Lin Qingshuang, still staring at the pendant in her hand, said without raising her head, "I know it's not you, and neither is He Kao. I've already seen the surveillance footage from your company's restaurant. When Liang Kai got into trouble, you were all eating in the restaurant. No one disappeared."

Qian Guran: "That's right, Peng Xian is clearly trying to throw dirty water on me, but I can prove my innocence."

Lin Qingshuang: "You are not innocent, and you can't prove it. You know what you did, but how can you be called innocent? Lin Hualei is no exception, but his crime is not punishable by death. I am also responsible for what happened today.

Among all of you, there's only one person, Wu Yanjun, who hasn't been recognized by the sect yet and is relatively upright... and you, at least, have a conscience that hasn't been eaten away by a dog!"

Qian Guran lowered his head and said, "Senior, I am here to admit my mistake today. But I am really not a hidden moth. I have never obtained anything from a hidden moth. This can be proved."

Lin Qingshuang: "You can't prove yourself now. The surveillance record has been deleted. I didn't keep a copy, and I don't know if anyone else did."

Qian Guran: "Ah, who would do such a thing? Does it make sense?"

Lin Qingshuang: "I don't know either, but you have to be careful of Peng Xian. He and Zhao Zhenzhen are not good people..."

Before Lin Qingshuang went to Qile Villa, she had already investigated He Kao. After watching the surveillance footage from that day, she found that He Kao had an alibi. However, she only saw He Kao at the time and did not know Qian Guran.

After hearing Peng Xian "expose" Qian Guran yesterday and receiving news about Qian Guran, she also checked Qian Guran's background. At least she could find his photo information. Then, based on her recollection, she found that she should have seen this person in that surveillance video.

It should be noted that surveillance videos are not clear close-ups. It is possible to check whether a person was in a certain place at a certain time, but it is not possible for ordinary people to recall another stranger who appeared in the scene.

Lin Qingshuang only had an impression, so she wanted to confirm it again. So she checked the surveillance footage again this morning, only to find that the recording had been deleted. Don't ask her why she wanted to see it, because she had the means to do so. Such an expert has his own methods.

Lin Qingshuang had not thought of copying it down and preserving it at first. It only proved that He Kao "was not a hidden moth" or "was no longer a hidden moth". You would know it when you saw it, that's all.

Even if there is no surveillance, you can ask other people who were in the restaurant at the time, but after a long time, everyone may not remember clearly.

Even if no one deletes the records, they will be automatically overwritten by the system after seven days. However, the incident occurred on Monday, and today is Sunday, less than seven days have passed. This suggests that this was intentional, and it's unclear what the cover-up was.

It's impossible for the perpetrator to delete all the surveillance footage in the entire building. Lin Qingshuang saw Peng Xian in other surveillance footage. On Saturday night, that is, last night, Peng Xian had entered and exited this office building.

Peng Xian has business cooperation with the division, so there is nothing wrong with him entering and leaving this building, but he is a suspect.

No one else would have such a motive, but Peng Xian clearly wanted to throw dirty water on Qian Guran, so he had to do it thoroughly. He must have seen the surveillance video and knew that Qian Guran was in it, so he simply deleted it in a hurry.

There is a saying that those who wronged you know better than anyone else how wronged you are!
Qian Guran: "Even if there are no surveillance records, I have witnesses, such as you, Senior Lin."

Lin Qingshuang: "If necessary, I can testify for you."

At this time, He Kao spoke weakly, "Can I ask, Senior Lin just mentioned that Wu Yanjun has not yet been recognized by the Shu Sect? What does this mean?"

He didn't know how to address Lin Qingshuang, so he just followed Lao Qian and called her "senior".

Qian Guran: "Didn't Wu Yanjun tell you?"

He Kao: "He never mentioned these things at all."

"I don't think he would take the initiative to say that his master, Zhang Yanfei, has been expelled from the Weimen Sect..."

After Qian explained it, He Kao finally understood what was going on. No wonder Xiao Wu's reaction was so hesitant when he said he wanted to learn law.

Lin Qingshuang finally put down the pendant in her hand, looked up at He Kao and said, "Young man, I have a very important question. Please tell me the truth - when did you hear the name Lin Hualei?"

He Kao remained calm, but Qian Guran was startled. He turned around and asked, "Yeah, when did you hear about Lin Hualei?"

In their earlier conversation, both Lao Qian and Lin Qingshuang mentioned Lin Hualei. If one only listened to the live conversation, one would have no idea who Lin Hualei was or what had happened to him.

Lin Qingshuang's purpose of coming here was clearly to investigate Lin Hualei's death.

He Kao's reaction was strange. Even if he didn't dare interrupt, he should have been confused, right? But he just continued to grill meat obediently.

When he opened his mouth, he should at least ask, "Who is Lin Hualei?"

But he didn't mention it, nor did he even ask who Zhao Huanzhen, whom Lin Qingshuang had just mentioned, was. Instead, he asked why Wu Yanjun had not yet been recognized by the Shumen. This was not reasonable.

How could Lin Qingshuang not notice such a flaw?

He Kao smiled bitterly and said, "I was also at Qile Villa yesterday. I heard everything that Senior Lin said to those two people." Qian Guran: "What! How did you hear it?"

He Kao: "I don't know either. Anyway, I heard it and used my own method."

"Can you demonstrate... Now tell me, what is the front desk clerk at this hotel saying?" Lin Qingshuang snapped her fingers again, and the sound insulation in the private room suddenly disappeared, allowing all kinds of noise from outside to come in.

He Kao narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a while he answered, "Just now a customer came to check out. He had a recharge card for this hotel and asked how much was left. The front desk told him that there was 994 left.

His meal cost 1,230 yuan, and if he paid by credit card, he would need to pay another 236 yuan in cash. The waiter advised him to top up his card, saying, "Top up 1,000 yuan and get 300 yuan free." This was a good deal, and he would still have more than 1,000 yuan left on his card after paying.

Qian Guran couldn't help but want to applaud, looking at He Kao's face full of surprise.

Lin Qingshuang noticed another detail and asked, "There's a delay in your retelling. It's all about conversations that just happened, not the ones that are currently happening. Why?"

He Kao: "When I started talking, my own voice interfered and I couldn't hear the voice on the other side. So I can only tell you what I heard before I started talking. I can't listen and speak at the same time."

Lin Qingshuang nodded slightly and said, "Oh, that's how it is."

Qian Guran interrupted and said, "Senior, your request, while listening and speaking, I'm afraid it would take a third-level cultivation level to achieve it."

Lin Qingshuang turned her head and asked, "Then what level of cultivation do you think he is at?"

Qian Guran: "It seems...I can't tell."

Lin Qingshuang: "Which technique are you practicing?"

Qian Guran: "Not really."

Lin Qingshuang: "Then how did he do it?"

The question was not strange, but the person she asked was a bit strange, because she was not asking He Kao himself, but Qian Guran.

Qian Guran took a pendant and said, "I think the reason may be here. Senior, please take a look at this thing. I once thought it was the hidden moth's thing. He Kao has worn it for more than 20 years since he was a child."

Lin Qingshuang took the pendant and rubbed it in his hand for a long time, then pondered and said, "This item is quite precious. Young man, where did it come from?"

He Kao explained the origin of the pendant again. After all, it was given to him by his grandfather. As for what other details there were, he didn't know.

Lin Qingshuang: "You have worn it close to your body for twenty years, so it must have helped you build your foundation. But this is not enough. Tell me the truth, what other secret techniques have you practiced?"

He Kao finally lost his composure and waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no, can you first tell me what's so special about this pendant? I also think it's very special, but I can't put it into words!"

Lin Qingshuang pointed at Qian Guran and said, "You should ask him. I'm just starting out, but he's been studying it for a long time."

Qian Gu had to spend a lot of time explaining what this thing was and what its effects or uses were. The pendant's presence also proved one thing: Qian Gu was indeed the first to make a move, and the ones everyone else got were all fakes.

He never thought that the pendant he had worn for so many years would turn out to be such a treasure! He Kao was a little dumbfounded. Who did his grandfather ask to make it back then?

At this time, Lin Qingshuang and Qian Guran looked at each other, both of them were moved. Of course, they were not attracted by the pendant, but they were attracted by He Kao.

Qian Guran sighed slightly and secretly made a congratulatory gesture to Lin Qingshuang.

Lin Qingshuang nodded and winked at Qian Guran.

Old Qian coughed and said, "Xiao He."

He Kao: "Just call me Xiao Kao. Everyone in my family calls me Xiao Kao."

Old Qian smiled and said, "Xiao Kao, I heard you said earlier that you once asked Wu Yanjun how to learn magic?"

He Kao's eyes lit up and he quickly replied, "Yes, but it's a pity that he hasn't given me a definite answer yet."

He could not hide his inner excitement when answering. He had doubted whether this was a Hongmen Banquet, but he still came here with a brave face. Isn't this his purpose?
He even wrote a program to collect relevant information online, and used the company's AI platform for comparison and analysis, compiling a set of so-called "secret techniques". How could he not want to learn real techniques?
He didn't dare and didn't want to deal with people like Zhao Huanzhen and Peng Xian, but for the money in front of him, especially Lin Qingshuang, he really wanted to become their disciple.

Before I came here, I thought only Lao Qian was here, but I didn’t expect Lin Qingshuang to be here too. I must seize this opportunity!

Lin Qingshuang said with some reserve, "Xiao Kao, you haven't answered my question yet. Have you ever followed anyone, or practiced any secret techniques?"

Unconsciously, the way she addressed He Kao also changed.

**
PS: Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I’d like to give you a poem in return.

Red tubes, jade pendants and papayas, a thousand-foot pond calling for peach blossoms.

I am grateful for the sunshine of spring that comes to me, and I repay my life with articles and fine wine.

(End of this chapter)