The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 180 Real Nightmare
"You don't understand what it's like to be tormented by guilt all the time.

I often wake up from nightmares. In the dreams, my mother is in the dark cave. She suddenly opens her eyes and stares at me, asking me why I don’t save her and why I don’t expose my father’s crimes.

I can't find a way to resolve it.

I went to the Da Baoen Temple to confess, and I went to the church to confess.

Those gods just looked down at me numbly, waiting for me to give an answer myself."

"Why did you choose these women?" Qi Fei asked coldly.

“If the company hadn’t sent me to Dongji Town to handle the environmental assessment of the new aquatic products building, nothing would have started.

Returning to Dongji Town was God's will, because my mother couldn't rest in peace. She needed me, needed me to atone for her sins. This was my sin. If it weren't for my scribbling on paper, my mother wouldn't have died. Because of this job, I met the woman from the aquatic products company.

"Chen Afeng." Qi Fei said her name.

However, the name didn't elicit any reaction from Cui Nian—he couldn't remember the victim's name at all. He was simply immersed in his own narrative: "This woman, about the same age as my mother, was cursing her husband with her colleagues. I thought, 'If only my mother were still alive, how wonderful it would be!' She complained to others about the fight last night, and they quickly reconciled. But my mother didn't have that chance."

From that time on, my mother's voice would appear in my ears, or rather, the sea mother used my mother's voice to convey oracles to me. She said that my sins could only be redeemed through sacrifice.

"So you abducted Chen Afeng?"

“Humph, I just told her that I can hear the voice of the sea mother and can fulfill her wish.

She believed it without thinking much.

I told her I could help her out of her misery, and I wasn't lying."

"She thought you would help her pay off her husband's gambling debts, not let you torture and kill her!" Qi Fei said indignantly.

However, Cui Nian, who always looked ordinary, grinned and showed his yellow teeth: "She knows I am helping her."

“Why did you gouge out the eyes of these victims?”

"I don't want to see the look in their eyes before they die, because it reminds me of my mother, lying on the ground like that, helplessly looking at me with her eyes wide open.

They are sacrifices, sacrifices for my sins.

"These eyes see nothing but illusions. I am helping them escape from these worldly illusions." Cui Nian said the most insane words in a calm tone.

"The same goes for the others. You used the promise of satisfying their wishes as bait to lure them into your trap, and in the end, they all became your so-called sacrifices for atonement." Qi Fei's cheek twitched as he spoke, trying hard to control his emotions. "So what about Ye Ming?"

The name "Ye Ming" is finally not as insignificant as the other victims.

Cui Nian's face suddenly lost its arrogance: "I don't want to kill him. Xu Chunxia should be my last sacrifice."

"Why is Xu Chunxia the last one?"

"Because, after Xu Chunxia was sacrificed, the voice of the sea mother disappeared. I believe that because she was from Baijiazhai, my mother was finally satisfied and she forgave my sins."

"No, it has nothing to do with your mother. Your auditory hallucinations disappeared because you met Chang Rong at that time." Qi Fei said bluntly, "You fell in love, and the pain of your childhood was healed by love." Cui Nian didn't respond, but Qi Fei knew that he was right. For a moment, Cui Nian, who was sitting opposite him, seemed to have briefly returned to his normal self in his body, and then dissipated like smoke and dust. "But this policeman named Ye Ming kept chasing me. He got too close and even found my father.

When my father told me what the police had said to him, I realized that he knew.”

"Who is this 'he'?"

"My father, Cui Zhan." Cui Nian's answer surprised everyone.

"Did Cui Zhan suggest that you kill Ye Ming?"

"Ye Ming, I remember that winter, I learned from my father what Ye Ming had discovered. It won't be long before the secret hidden deep underground in Dongji Town is revealed."

"So you planned to use the same trick to lure Ye Ming into a trap."

"No, I think it was a trap between us. He knew I was targeting him. He used himself as bait. Unfortunately, I won this duel.

Do you know where he lost?

He trusted my father too much, and his analysis of me was completely correct. The only thing he didn't guess was that he told my father his discovery without reservation.

Haha, until his death, he never knew who betrayed him."

An angry roar came from Qi Fei's headphones. It came from Li Jianjun who was listening to the interrogation next door. Cui Nian's contemptuous attitude towards Ye Ming angered him.

Qi Fei knew that he had to remain calm. He had to use the most fair means to bring this demon in front of him to justice.

"In the autumn of 1984, you started committing crimes again. Why?" he asked according to the established interrogation rhythm.

After hearing this, Cui Nian shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know either. Ever since I found out my wife was pregnant, my mother's voice has been ringing in my ears day and night, asking me to atone for my sins. I can't control myself and can only do what she says."

"Because you know in your heart that you don't deserve such a happy life. What you heard wasn't your mother's voice, but your own guilt." Qi Fei's voice was resounding. "I'm sorry that the person who killed Ye Ming was a coward who didn't dare to face his own heart."

"Alas..." Cui Nian sighed deeply, "After my daughter was born, I really regretted it. I was afraid that you would find me. I knew that if I was caught, it would be a death sentence.

I haven't had nightmares about my mother since I got married."

"Hmph, you can actually sleep peacefully?!" Wu Shanqiu said angrily on the side.

"No, I mean the nightmare about my mother disappeared. It was replaced by another nightmare, in which you found me and told me you were going to execute me. Every time I dreamed of it, I was so scared that my hands and feet were cold, knowing that I couldn't go back to what I had done, and I woke up suddenly with a start.

After waking up, I was glad that it was just a nightmare and that I could still live. This has been my life for the past forty years..."

"This little bit of pain can never repay the victims who died tragically at your hands." Qi Fei said coldly.

"Am I really not having a nightmare now?" Cui Nian asked with hope.

"No, this is reality." Qi Fei answered firmly.

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