The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 37 Liver Protection Tablets and Hair
As he was speaking, Qi Fei received a phone call, and his expression suddenly changed after he answered the call.

Then he said to Zhong Kui: "Pan Ting is dead."

Soon, Qi Fei arrived at the tavern.

That’s right, it was the place where he and Zhong Kui eavesdropped on Feng Yi’s conversation.

Pan Ting died in the box where he had met Feng Yi before. He was lying on the table, bleeding from his mouth and nose, his face horrible, and it was obvious that he had experienced an extremely painful process.

"I asked everyone in the pub, and they said Pan Ting had called and reserved the private room himself. Before lunch, a man arrived, seemingly waiting for someone. The waiter poured him some tea and then left. Since there had been no movement inside, I went in to ask Pan Ting if he wanted to order food, but he was already dead, so I quickly called the police."

There was also a medicine bottle next to him.

"Liver protection tablets?" Qi Fei looked at the words on the label, but what caught his attention more was the inside of the medicine bottle. Under a pile of blue capsules, there seemed to be a furry thing.

After pouring out all the capsules, a ball of brown hair suddenly appeared in his sight.

He had seen this hair color before - in the photo taken before Niu Yinzhu disappeared, she dyed her hair this color.
-
It's colder in the autopsy room than outside.

Pan Ting lay on his back on the dissecting table, the skin on his face cracked like old tree bark, revealing dark flesh.

"What's wrong with his face?" Qi Fei asked.

"It's caused by the shedding of skin tissue after acute poisoning." Xiao Tao said as he sorted out the tools.

Wu Shanqiu said on the side: "It seems that, consistent with our analysis at the scene, the medicine in the liver protection capsules has been replaced with poison. People like Pan Ting who often socialize tend to take liver protection tablets before drinking, believing that this helps to sober up. It seems that he took the medicine on his own in the box and died of acute poisoning." Wu Shanqiu discussed with Qi Fei in front of Pan Ting's body.

"Where is your hair?" Qi Fei asked immediately, looking extremely solemn.

"I extracted DNA from the hair follicles and compared it. It is 100% consistent with the DNA in the blood sample we found on the highway before," said Xiao Tao.

"That means it is indeed Niu Yinzhu's hair." Qi Fei said immediately.

"Well, and it can be confirmed that Niu Yinzhu is dead." Xiao Tao said calmly.

"Why?" Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu asked in unison.

"Because the scalp was found to be involved at the root of the hair, it had become leathery."

"Speak human language!" As expected, Qi Fei said the familiar words to Xiao Tao.

As usual, Xiao Tao remained calm. He closed the tool box and smiled, saying, "It's like the scalp we found has already dried, just like the difference between a leather coat and fresh cowhide. And..." He clicked on a photo on his computer, "This is a magnified edge of the skin tissue. The shape indicates it was torn from a single piece of leathery scalp, not torn off while the person was still alive and then dried."

His calm words made Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

They knew that the person who made Niu Yinzhu disappear for three years had finally appeared.

Moreover, they actually killed Pan Ting during their investigation.

They don't know whether it is a provocation or a show of confidence.

"Pan Ting's phone was unlocked, and the last call was to a landline." Wu Shanqiu said, giving Qi Fei a phone number.

Qi Fei dialed the number without saying a word.

Soon the person on the other end of the phone picked up. "Hello?" came the unpleasant voice, and I knew who it was right away - Feng Yi.

...Feng Yi was the suspect with the worst expression in the interrogation room.

That expression was as if everyone present owed her millions.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't receive any call from this Pan at all. What does his death have to do with me?" She said, rolling her eyes habitually.

The lawyers nearby were embarrassed: "You can remain silent, this..."

"I did nothing wrong, why should I endure it?" Feng Yi glared at the lawyer beside him, as if he could disrespect the other party just because he spent money.

The lawyer was also helpless, as if he regretted taking the case. He leaned back in his chair and let her talk to herself.

"People from the group said that he came to see you early in the morning and then went to the pub. Don't tell me, you don't know what he was doing in the pub." Qi Fei didn't care about her attitude, he only cared about the case.

"I've never seen him before. I don't know what he was doing in that pub." Feng Yi blurted out.

Qi Fei stared at her and said coldly, "I never told him which pub he went to."

Feng Yi was stunned. She knew she had let something slip. She was usually very assertive, but now she was choked up. Then her attitude softened somewhat. "I don't know what he was doing there today..."

"Because you only met on Wednesdays, and Pan Ting died on Friday." Qi Fei pointed out.

Feng Yi's eyes flickered before he raised his head. "That's nothing. I have a business meeting on Wednesday. I usually have to work overtime and don't have time. By the way, you can ask the people in the group. I was in a meeting on Friday, so it was impossible for me to meet Pan Ting!"

"He died of poisoning, so there's no need for you to meet him. By the way, we also found this at the scene." Qi Fei said as he threw the photo of evidence in front of Feng Yi.

Feng Yi looked at it and was confused: "Is this hair or something else?"

"You're right, it's hair, and it's Niu Yinzhu's hair."

"Did you find her?" Feng Yi's tone was strange, and it was hard to tell whether it was indifference or curiosity.

"No, but it's dead man's hair."

Feng Yi was stunned again, seemingly digesting the news for a moment. Then he frowned, lowered his head and muttered, "Could it be that I saw a ghost?"

Qi Fei subconsciously glanced at the one-way glass next to him. Zhong Kui was next door. She had said before that Feng Yi had seen a figure appear in Niu Yinzhu's office.

……

"How much truth do you think Feng Yi is telling?" After finishing the interrogation, Qi Fei went to the next room and found Zhong Kui who had been observing.

"If I tell you everything is true, will you be disappointed?" Zhong Kui said.

"So, she didn't kill Pan Ting?"

"I'm a consultant, and my opinion can only serve as a reference. After all, a witch's words can't be used as testimony, right?"

Qi Fei remained silent. Although Zhong Kui's words always sounded unfounded but were always right, he naturally believed what she said at this moment.

"Also, don't you think Pan Ting's death was planned too meticulously? I checked the liver-protecting tablets. There were only three capsules left, and the powder inside each capsule had been replaced. After all, buying large doses of poison is likely to attract attention. And the dosage was precise. It was just enough to kill Pan Ting, with no waste at all."

Zhong Kui's words enlightened Qi Fei: "This person has some medical knowledge and has received training, just like how he dealt with blood coagulation after killing Niu Yinzhu!"

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(End of this chapter)