The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 258 Border Hall
It was sweltering, an endless sweltering heat.

This is the climate of Yuanxi, located in the southwesternmost part of China, bordering a South Asian country.

Just as Zhong Kui said, it took several long journeys to reach this remote border.

Qi Fei stepped onto the rust-red muddy ground, knowing that he couldn't turn back from this high-stakes gamble—everything stemmed from Xi He's hints to him, and all he could rely on was the tacit understanding he had with Xi He in his hazy childhood memories—the tacit understanding from playing marbles.

Not far away, five or six children were reciting nursery rhymes and playing their own games in their local dialect. Under the bright sunshine, it felt as if he had been transported back to the distant past.

"Let's go to the dock. Xihe won't keep us waiting too long," Zhong Kui said behind him. Having come to the tropics, she changed into a breathable gauze dress, which gave her a unique charm.

However, this beauty made Qi Fei wary.

Zhong Kui never answered his question—how did she know that the deceased in the white building was Feng Yongshou?

The salty sea breeze blew in his face. The border was always busy. Qi Fei watched the endless stream of people entering and leaving the port, carrying large and small bags. He vaguely felt that Li Yang'er was among them.

“Let’s assume that the Xi River led Qidong County to the place where the first smuggled fabric was traded, the only waterway from Vietnam to Yuanxi…” Qi Fei said.

Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Kui interrupted him: "There are no assumptions. Since you're here, that's the fact."

Qi Fei understood what she meant. If this "assumption" was not true, they would not have enough time to look for Qi Dong County elsewhere—Xi He had to hide Qi Dong County nearby.

But where could it be?

Before they set off, they had already sent a request for assistance to the Yuanxi police, but so far, there have been no leads on Xihe or Qidong County.

"It's not an easy thing to hide a living person for a long time without being discovered," he murmured.

Zhong Kui, who was standing to the side, smoothed her hair, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze, and said with premeditation, "I thought you already understood that this is not an investigation, but a game."

Qi Fei turned to look at her, puzzled: "What do you mean?"

“He sent messages to everyone in the company using Qi Dongjun’s account. Isn’t that obvious enough?” Zhong Kui said, handing him a note.

Qi Fei took it and saw that it contained an account number and an initial password.

The account number is: 0002
"This is the company account of Dongjun Industrial that I had Lu Man register before we left. Instead of searching for them in the vast sea of ​​people, it's better to just tell Xi He that you've arrived in Yuanxi. If you make no progress, he'll just get bored."

"I know Xi He. He can't stand the boredom of life, and he can't resist the fun of dealing with you." Zhong Kui said, then suddenly saw what Qi Fei was handing her, and her eyes widened, revealing a rare look of panic.

Qi Fei handed her nothing more than a hair tie: "I asked Shan Qiu for this. You've been touching your hair a lot lately, intentionally or unintentionally. You're not used to Zhong Kui's hairstyle, are you?" He looked intently at "Zhong Kui," waiting for her reply. She paused, then chuckled softly, took the hair tie from Qi Fei's palm, and neatly tied her long, black hair back: "What? Did I imitate it badly?"

“Yes, very much so. After all, you created her, so you know what she should be like. But yesterday you brought up the crimes Xi He committed against the Zhong family, and you mentioned ‘family.’ You severed Zhong Kui’s emotional ties. She’s a solitary, orphaned shaman. Only Zhong Xiaoyu has family, or rather, she used to have family.” Qi Fei said calmly, these words seemingly prepared long ago. “This looks like a contest between me and Xi He, but I’m just a pawn in your game. The final victory or defeat is between you, not between me and him.”

Zhong Xiaoyu was slightly surprised, then sneered: "I didn't expect you to be so clear-headed."

“Zhong Kui taught me that the world isn’t just black and white. Sometimes things are just like that. I understand now, but those who are meant to be used by you will still be used. Your goal is to win or lose, my goal is simply to rescue Qi Dongjun, my father. No matter what kind of person he is, I have never thought of killing him. That’s the difference between me and Xi He. The difference between a normal person and a mentally ill person.” Qi Fei handed over his phone, his gaze towards Zhong Xiaoyu deep. “Dr. Zhong, how should we word the message sent to employee number 0001 to get Xi He to show up?”

Heavy rain is approaching, and the dazzling sun appears and disappears behind the rapidly moving clouds.

“It’s simple, just tell him you’re here.” Zhong Xiaoyu’s eyes were a mixture of light and shadow, far from the completely clear gaze of Zhong Kui.

However, there was no reply to the message sent out for a long time. Everyone sat in the border hall, while outside, the rain poured down and the mist rose, just like Qi Fei's anxiety at this moment—what if he was wrong?

The hall was getting more and more crowded, and the sudden downpour caused the scheduled ferry departure to be delayed.

Qi Fei was staring at the clock on the wall, feeling incredibly anxious about each passing second, when Wu Shanqiu's voice suddenly rang in his ears: "Hey, isn't that Feng Yongfu?"

As Wu Shanqiu pointed, a hunched-over old man was seen among the crowded people, and the profile he revealed when he turned his head was none other than Feng Yongfu.

Just then, Feng Yongfu also saw them and immediately walked over to them: "Officer Qi, great, we found you."

"How did you know we came to Yuanxi?" Qi Fei asked, somewhat surprised.

"It was someone from your police station who called me, saying there was progress in my brother's case and that you had come to Yuanxi. I was worried about you, so I rushed over without thinking much about it. I didn't expect to actually find you." Feng Yongfu was covered in greasy sweat, which made his already thinning hair stick to his scalp in strands, making him look even older than before.

"You're not young anymore, but you're still quite energetic," Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but say from the side.

"I have no regrets in this life, except for the matter of Yongshou. If I can see the person who killed him pay with their life before I die, I can die in peace." Feng Yongfu said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Qi Fei remained silent. He couldn't explain to him that, based on the investigation so far, all the clues pointed to a person who was no longer alive—Xi Ziyun.

However, this was not the time to dwell on it. All the people in charge of investigating the case were in the lobby, which aroused Qi Fei's suspicion. He asked Feng Yongfu, "Before coming to Yuanxi, I didn't ask anyone to notify you. Do you know who called you?"

Feng Yongfu immediately said, "She said it was Xia Qiao from the Nancheng Police Station."

“Xia Qiao? We don’t have anyone like that in our police station.” Wu Shanqiu said immediately.