The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 299 Not Closing the Net

Qi Fei felt as if the entire office had suddenly darkened, and the harsh winter from a thousand miles away seemed to have arrived early, with a bone-chilling cold seeping into his body. Zhu Ming'en, Ying Shuigen, Feng Yongfu... those dead faces flashed before his eyes in turn; these were all people that Xi He had targeted in advance.

He had to find Chen Zhuo! That was his first thought.

It was dusk when he headed to Huantai Residential Area. The autumn sun, as rich as gold, poured down on the yellowing tree canopy, but he couldn't see this rare autumn scenery. Instead, he kept seeing Xi He's gloomy face, his eyes staring straight at him.

Having worked as a criminal investigator for so many years, he had encountered many premeditated adversaries. Once he found the motive for a murder, the clues could be followed. However, Xi He was a madman; any destruction he committed was merely for fun, and that was the most deadly aspect.

Qi Fei didn't know why he got involved in Ma Ziqiang's case, nor when he got involved.

"What exactly does he want?" Qi Fei's question came from the bottom of his heart.

“That’s exactly how I want you to be, getting angry over him, going to great lengths for him.” Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhong Kui gave her answer without hesitation: “Cruel and childish.”

In the room on the 18th floor, the rose-red sunset shone through the glass onto Chen Zhuo's white T-shirt, and its light reflected on Chen Zhuo's pale and thin face, as well as his blank eyes behind his glasses.

"When did you meet Xi He? What did he ask you to do?" Qi Fei asked in a series of questions, but Chen Zhuo didn't understand any of them.

Who is Xihe?

"The person who gave you this dress," Qi Fei continued.

Chen Zhuo scratched his head and said, "This dress was given to me by Old Ma from across the street. I don't know the person you're talking about."

"Ma Ziqiang?" Qi Fei looked Chen Zhuo up and down, as if to confirm whether he was lying.

"That's right, he came to my house again that day after drinking too much and insisted on giving me this T-shirt. What are you guys drawing circles on this shirt?" Chen Zhuo muttered.

"Really?" Zhong Kui's voice came from the side. "Your body shape is completely different from Ma Ziqiang's. This T-shirt fits you so well. Did Ma Ziqiang tailor it for you?"

"Uh, this..." Chen Zhuo was unsure how to answer when they heard the door open behind them; Wu Weiwei had returned.

When she saw the people in the room, she was taken aback for a moment, then put on her usual enthusiastic demeanor: "Huh? Are you still investigating Old Ma's matter? Oh dear, my straight man didn't even think to prepare some food to entertain you."

"No need. By the way, we got this shirt dirty, could you please wash it? I heard it's a new one you bought?" Zhong Kui naturally handed Chen Zhuo's T-shirt to Wu Weiwei.

Wu Weiwei took it casually, glanced at Chen Zhuo as if by accident, and said, "That's right, I bought it. It's okay, it's not worth much."

Upon hearing her words, Chen Zhuo's face turned ashen.

When Wu Weiwei saw the triumphant smile on Zhong Kui's face, she realized she had said the wrong thing. The usually quick-witted Wu Weiwei was at a loss for words and stood there dumbfounded.

“It seems you know this garment has a complicated history, otherwise you wouldn’t have helped Chen Zhuo cover up the lie,” Zhong Kui said.

"I bought him too many clothes, I got it wrong. Didn't I buy this?" Wu Weiwei looked at Chen Zhuo, as if she really didn't remember.

Chen Zhuo sighed and said, "I told them it was a gift from Old Ma next door, but they didn't believe me."

Wu Weiwei blinked, as if hearing this statement for the first time.

"Are you dissatisfied with your husband?" Zhong Kui asked quietly, staring at her face. "No, we have a great relationship," Wu Weiwei replied with a smile.

“Masked face,” Zhong Kui suddenly said, using a term unfamiliar to everyone.

"What?" Wu Weiwei asked, frowning.

“It’s your expression right now, we call it the ‘mask face’ effect. You look like you’re smiling, but if you cover the lower half of your face, you’ll find that your eyes aren’t smiling at all, they’re even filled with resentment. You’re just trying to maintain a fake expression to cover up your true feelings,” Zhong Kui said, word by word. “Chen Zhuo messed up, he let it slip, you despise him, but you have to cover for him, it’s really annoying, just like countless times before, he’s just an incompetent husband, isn’t he?”

Zhong Kui, like a witch, seduces Wu Weiwei's most secret thoughts.

Those words seemed to pierce Wu Weiwei's heart like tiny thorns, causing her cheeks to twitch.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

Wu Weiwei and Chen Zhuo waited anxiously, as if awaiting some kind of judgment.

However, nothing happened. For some reason, Zhong Kui suddenly changed the subject: "It's just a piece of clothing. It's normal that you can't remember it."

"Huh?" Qi Fei was the first to exclaim in surprise, looking at her in confusion. It was clear that the two of them were about to break down psychologically, and he didn't understand why Zhong Kui suddenly stopped.

"Officer Qi, let's head back home," Zhong Kui said, turning to him.

"Well, this, didn't you say..." Qi Fei looked at Wu Weiwei and Chen Zhuo, then at Zhong Kui, and was somewhat incoherent.

Zhong Kui, however, revealed a mischievous smile and pulled his arm as they left Wu Weiwei's house.

It was completely dark outside, and the evening wind was blowing particularly hard on the eighteenth floor. From the door to the elevator, you had to walk through an open corridor.

"I was saying that Wu Weiwei was clearly panicking just now, why didn't you press your advantage and make her confess? The night Lin Yu died, she deliberately injured the security guard on duty, and Chen Zhuo replaced the surveillance footage. It's obvious that she was trying to murder Lin Yu," Qi Fei pressed Zhong Kui for answers.

"Officer Qi, don't you think it's too early to close the net now?" Zhong Kui said unhurriedly.

"Ok?"

“Don’t forget, the design on your T-shirt is incomplete,” Zhong Kui said, looking up at him.

"Hiss, I know it's incomplete, could it be..."

"Huh? You've dealt with Xi He so many times, don't tell me you think he made a mistake and didn't finish the drawing, right?" Zhong Kui finished speaking, her smile fading, and said coldly, "A perfectionist wouldn't make this mistake. If the net isn't even properly woven, rashly pulling it in will only scare the fish away."

Qi Fei nodded slightly, and the two walked forward side by side.

Zhong Kui stopped abruptly in the middle. In the darkness, the wind tousled her long, black hair, and her eyes reflected the newly lit city lights of the buildings. She turned her head slowly to look south.

"Will he see it?" Zhong Kui seemed to be talking to herself.

Qi Fei followed her gaze and saw that directly opposite was the back window of Lin Yu's house—the window from which he had fallen.