The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 14 Habitual Offenders
"Have you read my palm?" Qi Fei looked like he knew a lot.

Zhong Kui smiled knowingly: "It seems that you have done your homework during this time we haven't seen each other. It's not a good thing for a police officer to be interested in fortune-telling and physiognomy."

Qi Fei did not expect that when he heard this, he felt a little secretly happy in his heart, as if a student who had done his homework well was praised.

But Zhong Kui quickly denied his statement: "Unfortunately, I can't read his palm. Yang Jinhan doesn't have any palm lines at all."

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't know what Zhong Kui meant by this, but Qi Fei, a police officer, immediately reacted: "Has his hand been burned?"

"There are obvious burns on both hands. What's interesting is that only both hands are burned." Zhong Kui deliberately reminded.

Qi Fei knew the answer. "I handled an arson case. The suspect got gasoline on his hands when he poured it on them, and burned both hands when he set the fire. Are you saying that Yang Jinhan himself has a history of arson?"

"It's up to you to investigate. I only know that when I told him that I saw a fire burning on his body, he suddenly got angry and smashed an incense burner on my table. Ha, how annoying!" Zhong Kui was still brooding over it and said coquettishly.

Hearing this, Qi Fei's eyes flashed with cold suspicion, and then he said deliberately: "Did you tell Gu Ruyun about Yang Jinhan's arson?"

"If I tell you that I didn't tell her, will you start to doubt me again?" Zhong Kui once again predicted Qi Fei's prediction.

That's right, he remembered what the hunchbacked old lady had told him. The Gu family made a wish to Wong Tai Sin, asking Yang Jinhan to die, but why he was burned to death was something worth pondering.

"I heard that Yang Jinhan threatened the Gu family with a gasoline barrel. Isn't this the first time he did this?" Wu Shanqiu said from the side.

"The old street where the Gu family lives hasn't had a fire for many years. This place is very humid and it's not prone to fire." Zhong Kui said immediately.

"So, what you mean is that Yang Jinhan's arson didn't happen here."

"Only Gu Ruyun thinks that her husband is possessed by evil spirits. I think the evil one is Yang Jinhan himself." As he said that, Zhong Kui suddenly grabbed Qi Fei's hand. His cold fingers touched Qi Fei's palm, making him feel as if he was traveling back to the scene on the steps of the Central Garden. His ears turned red all of a sudden.

But Zhong Kui asked him intently, "If it were you, with your hands burned so badly that not even the lines on your palms were left, would you still threaten others with setting fire while holding a gasoline can?"

This question was a revelation, giving Qi Fei a new perspective on her initial comment about "born bad," saying, "That is to say, not only did he set a fire before, but he also showed no remorse."

"I think what's more important is that he has successfully threatened others in this way before. People are always accustomed to repeating behaviors that have previously brought success." Zhong Kui supplemented Qi Fei's words.

The two of them chatted back and forth, and it seemed that even the fog outside the living room had dissipated a little.

"Yang Jinhan died of burns, so no one noticed the old burns on his hands. Fortunately, you saw them before." Qi Fei said sincerely, but after saying this, he still pulled his hand away from Zhong Kui's fingertips. "I still have to ask you, where were you on the day Yang Jinhan was burned?"

"Oh, you don't need to ask me about this, just ask the people in Sanwu Town and you will know. That day was the first day of the new year, the day I tell fortunes, and I never break an appointment." Zhong Kui felt no guilt at all.

"But you knew Yang Jinhan would die, just like you knew Zhu Mingen would die, otherwise you wouldn't have accepted the money from the Gu family." Qi Fei said seriously.

"Haha, I'm a fortune teller, of course I can tell fortunes. It doesn't seem illegal to charge money for fortune-telling, right? And if they're really dead, I can't even be considered a fraud." Zhong Kui spoke with such confidence that even Qi Fei, who was always quick-witted, was speechless. Zhong Kui stood up after he finished speaking. "It's getting late. Sanwu Town is very dark at night, which is not something you city folks would enjoy. The Gu family's money was well spent. After Yang Jinhan died, Gu Ruyun has recovered. She now lives a healthy life on her own and enjoys running. She passes by the temple gate every morning at six o'clock, rain or shine."

"Well, that means we should get up early tomorrow and wait here to find Gu Ruyun and question her?" Wu Shanqiu said immediately.

……

Just as Zhong Kui said, the night in Sanwu Town was so quiet that Qi Fei could only hear the strange sound of the wind and the roar of wild beasts in the distant mountains. He tossed and turned all night, half asleep and half awake, until dawn.

At six o'clock in the morning, the light gradually rose and finally dispersed the thick fog.

Wu Shanqiu obviously didn't sleep well either. With heavy dark circles under her eyes, she met Qi Fei at the entrance of Wong Tai Sin Temple.

Sure enough, after a while, a slender figure gradually moved towards them in the mist, and soon Gu Ruyun appeared in front of them in sportswear.

If Zhong Kui hadn't said it the night before, Qi Fei might not have recognized at once that this person was the same Gu Ruyu whom they met when they came here to investigate a year ago.

A year ago, Gu Ruyun was a little overweight, with a swollen and haggard face, but now with the sunlight shining on her face, she looks full of energy.

Gu Ruyun, who was too focused on running, obviously didn't notice the two people until Qi Fei stood in front of her.

Gu Ruyun took off her headphones and recognized them. She said calmly, "My dad told me you were coming, and I thought you had already gone back." Her tone was much more confident than before.

"There are some new circumstances regarding Yang Jinhan's death, and we would like to find you for more information," Qi Fei said.

Gu Ruyun didn't seem very excited after hearing this. Instead, she sighed and said, "I know you suspect our family, but we've said it many times. When that man was doused with gasoline, our whole family was in town. Our neighbors can all testify. It's impossible that we can teleport, right?"

"I believe his death has nothing to do with you. We just want to know more about his background, such as how you knew each other. Yang Jinhan is not from Sanwu Town, right?" Qi Fei said patiently.

Gu Ruyun frowned. "Since I didn't kill him, does it matter how I knew him?"

"Important, because he may have hurt other people." Qi Fei said solemnly.

Gu Ruyun was stunned, as if taking time to understand Qi Fei's words, and then murmured:

"The Immortal said he was born a bad guy, and it seems he was right..."

"Well, I heard that he disguised himself very well when he first met you." Qi Fei deliberately used the word "disguise", and this sentence successfully opened Gu Ruyun's heart.

(End of this chapter)