The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 21: Lonely Life

The tone and demeanor of Zhong Kui's words were full of scholarly air, completely different from his usual somewhat arrogant demeanor, as if he was possessed by another person.

Then she said to Qi Fei very politely, "Sorry, I have to excuse myself for a moment."

As she spoke, she hurried into the inner room and locked the door. After a while, he could vaguely hear whispers coming from inside the door, as if they were on the phone, but Qi Fei knew there was no signal in this place, and they were indeed talking to someone, back and forth, and he couldn't hear what they were arguing about.

Not long after, the bedroom door opened, and Zhong Kui appeared in front of Qi Fei again. She seemed somewhat cautious and said to Qi Fei politely, "I'm so sorry, a dead employer suddenly possessed you. Did it scare you?"

Qi Fei looked at her with confusion, not knowing whether to believe that her acting skills were too superb or to subvert his own worldview and believe that ghosts and gods existed in this world.

Zhong Kui sat down across from him as if nothing had happened, looked at the nearly dried monster pattern on the dining table, and said, "Qi Fei, since you can find me here, I want to ask you, are you willing to catch this monster with me?"

"Of course, you catch evil spirits and I catch bad guys, the difference between the two is just a breath. But you have to tell me what this pattern means." Qi Fei said, watching Zhong Kui's every move. Everything seemed too abnormal, but he was so sure that Zhong Kui knew the origin of this pattern.

"How could this happen? I should have been dead." Zhong Kui suddenly lamented, and there was an unprecedented sadness in her words. Then she repeated the whisper.

"What language are you speaking and what do you mean?" Qi Fei asked while observing her expression intently.

This time, Zhong Kui explained this strange language: "This is ancient Greek, which roughly means that people are looking for their other half throughout their lives. The pattern you drew is not a monster, but the first generation of humans created by the gods in the legend. They were born from the moon and were hermaphrodites. Later, they were split in half, and then there was a distinction between men and women. They separated, but wanted to reunite, so they began to look for the lost half as soon as they were born. This legend is about the fatalism of love. It believes that in this world, there is always someone who is destined to be reunited with another person, and they are originally the same body. It is very romantic and persistent..." At this point, Zhong Kui sighed softly, "I used to like this story very much, but I didn't expect that this story would eventually give birth to a monster. In other words, the monster you think is the person who drew this pattern, a monster created by me." Zhong Kui said, and the lifeless tone seemed to come from another world.

"Do you know Xu Wei?" Qi Fei asked immediately. Looking at Zhong Kui, who was still immersed in her own emotions, he changed the question, "Or was it someone else who painted this picture?"

Qi Fei's voice trembled. He felt that the answer he had been looking for for so long was about to come out, and his heart beat faster with excitement.

However, Zhong Kui fell into an anxious silence again, his expression changing strangely, and suddenly he shouted, "Enough!"

Then, she looked at Qi Fei with tears in her eyes: "Don't believe me, remember, don't believe me!"

After saying this, she vanished like a whirlpool on the lake, returning to calm. She swiftly wiped away the tears that threatened to flow, tossed her hair seductively, and said contemptuously, "Oh! Dead ghosts are really hard to deal with!"

"Who was that just now?" Qi Fei looked at Zhong Kui warily. Whether it was a performance or real, the woman who just talked about ancient Greek legends was definitely not Zhong Kui.

"It's just a dead man, it's okay." She said lightly.

"But she recognized the origin of this monster, saying that people are destined to find their other half. It seems that she knew that the person who painted this picture was not Xu Wei."

"Really? Maybe it's Xu Wei possessing you, confusing you. Sometimes, paintings and symbols like these can be the medium." Zhong Kui seemed unwilling to continue the topic and filled Qi Fei's wine cup with rice wine. "Tonight, let's just drink and not talk about these boring topics."

Qi Fei was a little surprised: "You came to me just to inquire about the progress of the case, didn't you?"

Zhong Kui smiled: "Since you think so, why did you tell me so much?" "I..." Qi Fei was stunned by the question.

Zhong Kui seemed to enjoy seeing Qi Fei in such an awkward state, and smiled slightly: "I just want to find someone to drink with."

"Don't you have any friends?"

"I thought we were just friends." Zhong Kui looked at Qi Fei with twinkling eyes, her slightly tipsy cheeks a peachy pink. "The God of Food controls the God of Death. This is your destiny... Do you want to know mine?"

"Zhong Kui, you're making me feel so divided. You just talked to me about Greek mythology, and now you're talking to me about fortune-telling. Who the hell are you?" Qi Fei was a little dazed by the alcohol. "Let me tell you the truth. All this nonsense is bullshit. I hate people playing tricks the most!"

Zhong Kui didn't get angry after hearing this, and smiled and said, "But what?"

"But I can't hate you." He seemed to know he was drunk when he said it, muttering, "I can't drink much, I'm a little drunk..."

"Qishash is sitting alone. This is my fate, a very lonely life. Qi Fei..." Zhong Kui looked at Qi Fei who was lying on the dining table and reached out to touch his head.

When Qi Fei woke up again, he was already in Wong Tai Sin Temple. Neither Zhong Kui nor the old woman were anywhere in the temple. Everything that happened last night seemed like a dream, both real and fake.

The rice wine had a strong aftereffect. Qi Fei rubbed his temples and had a severe headache.

He staggered out of the temple gate and walked along the bluestone road towards his car.

Before he arrived, he saw someone waiting for him by the car from a distance.

He remembered this person - it was Gu Ruyun's father, the old man with a very stubborn temper.

Unlike last time, when Old Man Gu saw him this time, he actually took the initiative to walk up to him.

"You're the police officer from Nancheng, right?" The old man even had a guilty look on his face. "Someone from your place came to inform me earlier that the person who killed that beast has been found. I saw your car parked at the entrance of town, and I wanted to apologize to you."

Qi Fei glanced at the dew on his hair and asked, "Have you been waiting for me here for a long time?"

Old Man Gu continued, "I'm sorry, I was rude to you the last time you and that girl came over."

"It's nothing," Qi Fei said magnanimously. After all, in his line of work, he'd encountered all kinds of people. "However, I'd like to understand why you're unwilling to accept the investigation. Logically, Yang Jinhan's death had nothing to do with you. There's no need for you to be so agitated."

(End of this chapter)