The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 244 There are traces to follow
Qi Fei stared at that black and white photo silently for a long time.

The three handwritten characters "Xi Ziyun" on the side seemed to burn his eyes with a magical intensity.

In this black and white photo, the girl has braided pigtails, a youthful face, and big, dark eyes staring out of the screen, as if she might come to life at any moment.

The girl who didn't exist in Guqiao Street was found among the students in Yu Hongxia's class.

The girl's name is Xi Ziyun.

Back in Baishui Community, the elderly residents confirmed everything by pointing out the photo: the little girl in the photo was the one who played with young Feng Yongshou back then.

Everything has a traceable path, yet it's unclear how they intertwine.

“We found retired teachers who taught at the same time as Yu Hongxia. They said there was indeed a female student named Xi Ziyun in the class, and they all knew about the incident where Yu Hongxia was beaten. The old neighbors in Baishui Community had a good intuition. This man is Xi Ziyun’s father, who is…” Wu Shanqiu said, her hesitant gaze turning to Qi Fei, “This man, Brother Fei, is your maternal grandfather.”

Qi Fei ran his hand through his short hair in frustration: "In my life, my maternal grandparents were always a blank. Before I started school, I didn't even know that there was such a thing as maternal grandparents. It wasn't until my classmates started talking about maternal grandparents that I realized there was a relationship corresponding to paternal grandparents, namely my mother's parents, called maternal grandparents. I asked my mother many times where my maternal grandparents were, but she always avoided the question. Until she passed away, I still didn't know who they were."

“Well, our investigation only answered half of your questions, Brother Fei. We went through all of Xi Ziyun’s files from elementary school, and all we found was information about her father, Xi Changjiang; there was never any information about her mother.” Wu Shanqiu continued, referring to the information. “Oh, by the way, Captain Liu messaged us to go back this afternoon; he wants to know the latest developments in the case.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Fei frowned but didn't say anything more.
-
In the conference room, Qi Fei reported on the progress of the case so far.

Liu Tong put down his pen: "Qi Fei, who do you think is the right person to continue investigating this case?"

"Me," Qi Fei answered without hesitation.

"You know that, according to regulations, you should recuse yourself from the investigation of this case."

"Captain Liu, this situation is special. Xi He hasn't given us much time. If we change personnel midway, what if we can't find them before the deadline Xi He gave us..."

Liu Tong, who always appeared calm and collected, spoke with a smile this time, but his eyes were unusually serious: "Do you know this is like a moth drawn to a flame?"

His meaning was very clear: Xi He's intention in doing this was simply to entangle Qi Fei in something.

“Captain Liu, I understand. Qi Dongjun is not only my father, but also a citizen,” Qi Fei said solemnly.

“The principle of avoidance has its reasons, and I will let Jiang Tianyi join your team,” Liu Tong said abruptly.

"Dr. Jiang?" Qi Fei was slightly surprised.

“He’s your therapist, so there shouldn’t be any problem, right?” Liu Tong said.

"No, no problem," Qi Fei stammered, feeling a strange unease for some reason.

What he didn't know was that something even stranger was about to happen.

Liu Tong's lukewarm leadership style always makes people unpredictable.

When he came out of Liu Tong's office, Jiang Tianyi was already waiting for him in the main office—it seemed that Liu Tong had not planned to discuss the matter with Qi Fei at all, and had already notified Jiang Tianyi in advance.

Zhong Kui and Jiang Tianyi stood two meters apart, like magnets repelling each other, an invisible magnetic field preventing them from getting any closer. Liu Tong followed Qi Fei out.

As soon as Zhong Kui saw him, she strode up to him and angrily demanded, "Liu Tong, what do you mean? Qi Fei is mine, why did you bring him here?"

Liu Tong wasn't in a hurry; he simply leaned close to Zhong Kui's ear and whispered a few words.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Kui's expression brightened considerably.

Qi Fei was puzzled. He had always seen Zhong Kui control others, but Liu Tong was able to control Zhong Kui with just a few words.

Although Zhong Kui stopped arguing with Liu Tong, she still stubbornly put on airs and shouted at Jiang Tianyi: "Do whatever Liu Tong tells you to do. Remember that. I'm not Zhong Xiaoyu. Don't act recklessly just because we're old acquaintances."

Jiang Tianyi, however, maintained his refined demeanor, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses with his finger and smiling, "I know you're not Zhong Xiaoyu; she wouldn't be as arrogant and domineering as you."

"Arrogant and domineering?!" Upon hearing these four words, Zhong Kui raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied with the assessment.

Jiang Tianyi continued, "It's not surprising. Substitute personalities are the 'custodians' and 'reactors' of trauma. Behind extreme anger and abnormal boldness lies profound sadness and overprotection."

At first glance, this statement seems like a matter-of-fact analysis, but upon closer inspection, it is clearly a rebuttal to Zhong Kui's warning.

Zhong Kui naturally sensed the subtlety in the words, but he didn't argue further. He simply sneered, "As expected of Zhong Xiaoyu's senior brother, birds of a feather flock together."

Jiang Tianyi wasn't angry at all; he seemed to enjoy seeing Zhong Kui angry, and his eyes even held a hint of doting affection.

The atmosphere in the office became subtle. Qi Fei noticed that Jiang Tianyi was different from usual, a difference stemming from Zhong Kui. He seemed to be bothered by something, then suddenly grabbed Zhong Kui's hand and pulled her downstairs: "Only seven days left. We need to find out what happened between Yu Hongxia and Xi Changjiang quickly." He then called out loudly to Wu Shanqiu, who was still in the office, "You said Yu Hongxia's colleague is still alive. Contact him quickly, we'll go and ask!"

A five-seater car suddenly looked completely full.

Jiang Tianyi and Wu Shanqiu sat in the back row and chatted enthusiastically.

"I've never seen you in the consultation room before?"

"Hehe, maybe I'm just lucky. I've never encountered anything that has left me with psychological trauma."

"Hmm, that shows you have excellent mental fortitude; you're a natural-born detective."

"Really? I always feel like my brain isn't quick enough, and I have to try really hard to keep up with Fei-ge and the others!"

Qi Fei held back for a while before finally asking Zhong Kui, who was sitting in the passenger seat, "What did Captain Liu say to you just now?"

“If I could tell you, Liu Tong wouldn’t have whispered to me.” Zhong Kui’s words were offensive, yet she couldn’t refute them.

Qi Fei gave a wry smile: "Our team investigating cases is getting bigger and bigger."

As he spoke, an old-fashioned entrance to a residential complex came into view...