The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 219 Tenosynovitis

The wind from the north bank blew across, and in the pitch-black night, the weeds on the riverbank swayed and rustled.

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu got out of the car and walked towards the hotel, facing the river breeze.

“This author’s pen name is Black Apostle, and his real name is Xu Liang. According to the registration information, he has been in Nancheng for half a month, perfectly covering the time frame of the cyber killer’s crimes,” Wu Shanqiu said as they walked.

The hotel is located near the river, and although the decor is ordinary, it is very new.

“A hotel with these conditions would cost double if it were south of Yingjiang,” Qi Fei said, looking around the lobby. “It seems our Black Apostle has taken costs into full consideration.”

"Brother Fei, do you mean he planned to stay in Nancheng for a long time before he came?"

"Of course, it could also be to be closer to Hao Weiwei's rented place," Qi Fei said, pressing the button for the floor leading to the Black Apostle's room.

The doorbell rang twice, and a young man with dark skin, a round face, and a slightly chubby appearance opened the door.

"Xu Liang?" Qi Fei asked.

The man nodded blankly: "Yes, it's me." His small eyes looked at the two people in front of him with a hint of unease. Like Ji Peng, these authors who could write thousands of words online were awkward and distant when interacting with people in real life.

After confirming his identity, Qi Fei showed his badge: "Qi Fei from the Nancheng Criminal Investigation Brigade, I need to get some information about a recent case from you."

"Qi Fei? Wait a minute!" Xu Liang became inexplicably excited after hearing his self-introduction, and suddenly slapped himself.

This action left Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu completely bewildered.

"What are you doing?" Qi Fei looked at him suspiciously. "Don't try anything funny with us."

However, Xu Liang was lost in his own world, muttering, "My face hurts, so it's not a dream. Amazing!"

"What are you saying?" Qi Fei said, exchanging a glance with Wu Shanqiu.

Wu Shanqiu whispered in Qi Fei's ear, "Is this Xu Liang a lunatic?"

Xu Liang seemed to have calmed down a bit more at this point, and he was exceptionally polite as he invited Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu inside: "Oh dear, I was so surprised and made a mistake earlier. Please come in, please come in!"

The hotel rooms were small, but they were kept fairly clean.

Xu Liang seemed somewhat flustered by the sudden arrival of the "guest," boiling water, moving stools, and running around in the cramped space.

"You don't need to bother. We're here to investigate, not to be guests." Wu Shanqiu couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Xu Liang over to sit down in a chair.

"Yes, right, you said you were here to investigate. What do you need me to do? Just tell me!" Xu Liang said, looking at the two people in front of him with an expectant expression. His enthusiasm seemed completely inexplicable to Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu.

"Do you know Hao Weiwei?" As soon as Qi Fei mentioned the name, the fervent anticipation on Xu Liang's face vanished.

His tone lowered: "As expected, you've come to ask about this scoundrel." "Isn't 'scoundrel' an exaggeration? It seems you hate him quite a bit," Qi Fei said, observing Xu Liang's expression.

"How else can I describe him? Bastard, villain, beast?" Xu Liang's lips trembled as he spoke.

Qi Fei couldn't understand this hatred: "It's all just virtual grudges on the internet, it can't be that serious, can it?"

"My last novel was cyberbullied because of him. Do you know how much effort it takes to write a million-word novel? To become a writer, I quit my stable job and fell out with my family. That novel was my best-selling one. Just because he felt he was in his way, he wrote an article criticizing my novel. His comments were distorted and taken out of context. But spreading rumors is easy, but refuting them is incredibly difficult. That article caused my novel to be labeled as bad and lost many potential readers."

Because subscriptions were decreasing, I recently reluctantly shut down the novel.

"Now I have to start from scratch, starting all over again, and I don't even know when I'll be able to turn things around!" Xu Liang became more and more excited as he spoke, then suddenly changed the subject, "However, seeing you all today, I feel like my new novel can be a success!"

Qi Fei asked in confusion, "What does our relationship have with your new novel?"

"Because the new novel I'm conceiving is based on the case you handled. When I was conceiving the new novel, I happened to see the case of the Golden Snake Immortal on Jiangting Island that you handled, and I was immediately inspired."

So I immediately bought a ticket to Nancheng, stayed by the Yingjiang River, and wrote articles while facing the river every day. My thoughts flowed like a spring.

Even now, I still feel a sense of unreality. The real-life inspiration for the character I wrote about has come knocking on my door—it's like a dream!

"Me? The original?" Qi Fei pointed to himself, now it was his turn to be at a loss, the direction of the conversation was something he hadn't expected.

Wu Shanqiu also seemed incredulous: "Is this why you stayed in Nancheng for half a month?"

Xu Liang replied matter-of-factly, "Otherwise what?"

“Otherwise…” Qi Fei suddenly said coldly, “it could also be to kill Hao Weiwei.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang clapped his hands excitedly: "I knew there was no smoke without fire! It seems this guy is really done for!"

"I know, it's all over your circle." Qi Fei recalled what Ji Peng had said at the last stop.

"Of course, and many people say this is Supreme's new trick, releasing this kind of deliberately mysterious content to hype things up. I even argued with them that it definitely wasn't, that he couldn't possibly write something of this caliber!" Xu Liang couldn't hide his disdain for Hao Weiwei.

After saying that, he looked at the two policemen staring at him and came to his senses: "You, what you just said meant that you suspect I killed Hao Weiwei?"

Seeing this, Wu Shanqiu said helplessly, "Your reaction time is really slow. Otherwise, why would we come over in the middle of the night? Are we here to give you inspiration for your new novel?"

"Ah, I couldn't have killed him, I can prove it!" Xu Liang answered with inexplicable confidence. "Judging from what you just said, the content in those published chapters is true, right?" As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing plasters on his wrists. "Because of the high-intensity typing every day, I developed severe tenosynovitis. I can't exert any strength at all. Let alone doing the knife-wielding killing actions described in the chapters, I'm even tired of cutting cucumbers with a kitchen knife."

Qi Fei found it hard to doubt his statement, after all, the plaster had been applied to Xu Liang's wrist before they arrived, so there was no possibility of it being faked.

Nevertheless, he still had to say, "Do you have tenosynovitis? We'll take you to get it checked later."

Xu Liang shrugged, appearing quite nonchalant: "No problem, go ahead and test." He then looked at the two of them and said, "However..."