The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 275 Ruifen
Qi Fei couldn't help but become suspicious upon hearing this: "When was the last time you contacted each other?"

“Just three days ago, I asked her when she was going back to her hometown, and she said she was too busy at the shop to leave.” Huang Xuewen said, taking out his phone and opening the WeChat chat history.

Qi Fei scrolled up and, sure enough, Huang Ruifen would contact Huang Xuewen every now and then, but the context of their conversations was always that she was helping out at the Sheng family's scrap metal recycling station: "Hmm? Recently, all your video requests to her have been rejected?"

“Oh right, look, she said the baby is sleeping and she didn’t want to disturb him,” Huang Xuewen said.

Qi Fei frowned and continued scrolling up: "There are a lot of typos in the things she and you have been sending lately."

"What typo? I was wondering why Afen kept sending me messages with so many words I didn't recognize. I had to ask Axiang to help me check them. That girl has been acting strange lately. I got worried when she didn't reply to my messages these past two days." Huang Xuewen panicked. "Could something have happened to Afen?"

Qi Fei glanced at the father and son, then asked the younger Huang Ruixiang, "What about you? Has Huang Ruifen contacted you during this time?"

Huang Ruixiang, who had been silent all along, murmured but didn't say anything, only shaking his head.

Huang Xuewen quickly explained, "My son is honest and shy, please don't take offense."

Qi Fei sized up Huang Ruixiang. He was almost thirty years old. To be honest, it was understandable, but being shy was not in line with the maturity expected of someone his age.

Seeing that Qi Fei insisted on asking, Huang Ruixiang finally spoke, his voice very soft: "I don't contact my sister much."

“You feel guilty.” Behind Qi Fei, Zhong Kui, dressed in a light purple cheongsam, leaned against the desk, her sharp eyes fixed on Huang Ruixiang.

Seeing such a beautiful woman suddenly staring at him, Huang Ruixiang was startled and lowered his head even further.

Zhong Kui mischievously approached Huang Ruixiang, pressing him aggressively: "What are you feeling guilty about? What did you do to offend Huang Ruifen that makes you ashamed to contact her?"

Huang Xuewen stood in front of Huang Ruixiang, protective of his own, and said to Zhong Kui in an annoyed tone, "This is my family's business. Where did you come from, you woman? I can tell you're not a decent person."

Zhong Kui wasn't angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "Oh, I was wrong. It seems you did something to wrong Huang Ruifen?"

"Nothing much, it's just that Afen married someone for her brother's sake, it's nothing. It's because Axiang is kind and said he was sorry to his sister." Huang Xuewen acted like Huang Ruixiang's spokesperson.

“Oh, no wonder. I saw in the information that Huang Ruifen is only 19 years old, which means she had a child at 18. So she was forced to get married so early.” Zhong Kui glanced at Huang Ruixiang. “That’s true. With such an introverted personality, it won’t be easy for her to find a wife.”

Qi Fei didn't understand Zhong Kui's intention either, and whispered to her, "This has nothing to do with the case, right?"

"A young, new mother, missing with an eight-month-old baby, shouldn't we at least find out if her marriage is happy?" Zhong Kui said loudly and bluntly, then looked at Huang Xuewen, "Has your daughter told you anything about her situation in the Sheng family?" As she spoke, she took Huang Xuewen's phone from Qi Fei and scrolled through it, "You two had several late-night phone calls, each lasting more than an hour. What did you talk about? It wasn't just Huang Ruifen coming to you in the middle of the night because she couldn't sleep, was it?"

Huang Xuewen didn't try to hide anything: "It's nothing. Which couple doesn't quarrel? Afen is a bit spoiled. What's wrong with me, her father, saying a few words of advice to her in the middle of the night? Everyone in the village knows I spoil Afen. There's an old saying that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl, so we shouldn't interfere in Afen's affairs anymore."

Tianbao is a rough guy, just like me. It's okay for a man to have a temper, but Ruifen just can't stand it. I came here because I was worried Ruifen would throw a tantrum and run away. Speaking of which, I can't get in touch with Tianbao either. Have you found him?

As they were talking, Zhong Kui's phone rang. It was Huang Xuewen's phone, and the caller ID read: "Mother-in-law".

Zhong Kui turned on speakerphone, and as soon as the call connected, Zhang Yingdi's hysterical voice came through: "Why isn't Ruifen answering the phone? Tianbao is in trouble, waaaah!" She was already wailing uncontrollably.

Huang Xuewen was a little at a loss and shouted into the phone, "Tianbao, what happened? I was just about to ask you, where did Afen go?"

Upon hearing this, the person on the other end suddenly became aggressive: "Was it your daughter who released the poison gas?! My son is dead! He was killed by your vicious daughter!"

These words caught Huang Xuewen off guard: "How dare you falsely accuse me? I still need to ask you for my daughter back!"

Seeing that the two sides were about to start arguing, Zhong Kui hung up the phone and then told Huang Xuewen without hesitation, "Sheng Tianbao is dead."

Huang Xuewen's dry lips were half-open, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Who, who died?"

“Sheng Tianbao, your son-in-law,” Zhong Kui repeated coldly.

"When did it happen?"

"Three days ago."

"Ah, it was the same day my daughter went missing?" Huang Xuewen said casually, but Qi Fei, who was standing next to him, thought of something and immediately gave Wu Shanqiu a few instructions.

After listening, Wu Shanqiu left the office immediately and returned shortly afterward. She was carrying a cell phone that had been placed in a transparent evidence bag.

Qi Fei opened his phone and looked through something carefully. Suddenly, he looked up and said, "Tell me exactly what your daughter said to you about Sheng Tianbao before she disappeared."

Seeing his serious expression, Huang Xuewen became even more uneasy. She swallowed hard and stammered as she recalled, "Just like before, she said Tianbao hit her. I said it's nothing for young couples to bicker. Her mother and I used to fight when we were young too. Then she cried and said that we shouldn't have married her off to the Sheng family and that she wanted a divorce. I got anxious when I heard that and scolded her, saying that the village wouldn't tolerate a divorced woman. She said she had food and clothing with Tianbao and was too ungrateful. But Afen said that Tianbao beat her to death, so I said that I would come to Nancheng to see her when I'm not working in the fields and have a good talk with Tianbao."

"She said Sheng Tianbao hit her, not that the two of them fought. You're really good at twisting the facts." Zhong Kui couldn't stand it anymore. "So, if Sheng Tianbao often hits Huang Ruifen, and she called you late at night for help, is that all you told her?"

Unexpectedly, the angrier person present was not Zhong Kui, but Huang Ruixiang, who had been silent all along. Suddenly, Huang Ruixiang pushed Huang Xuewen and said, "How are you going to talk to your son-in-law? We've taken so much money from them, and we can't even stand up straight!"

"You ungrateful wretch! Your sister did this for you!" Huang Xuewen reached out and slapped Huang Ruixiang across the face.

"You're doing this for your own face! I don't have a wife, so you can't hold your heads up high!" Huang Ruixiang shouted, covering his face.

"Stop arguing." Qi Fei held up the cell phone wrapped in an evidence bag. "Huang Ruifen's disappearance is related to Sheng Tianbao."