The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 54 Guilt

"How is Xiaoyou?" Zhong Kui suddenly asked Qi Fei.

"Lv Xiuxia's parents' home is far away. She has to cooperate with the investigation and cannot go far during this period. We have found a place to accommodate the mother and daughter. Xiaoyou doesn't know that she poisoned her new father, so she should be fine. However, Lu Xiuxia's mental state is not very good. This is her second time as a widow." Qi Fei said.

"Humph, that sounds quite suspicious." Zhong Kui said coldly.

"Her first husband died in an accident at a construction site," Qi Fei continued, staring at the old photo. "We've already looked into this. I understand what you mean, but it seems like Lü Xiuxia had nothing to do with her first husband's death. It's hard to believe, but I think I need to ask Xiaoyou about it. Besides Zhou Li, he's the only one who's faced the murderer head-on."

Zhong Kui walked over to Qi Fei and also looked at the photo. She saw two motorcycles behind the two people. "Looks like this was taken with a Polaroid camera, right?" She bent down and took a closer look. "Is that blood?"

When Qi Fei heard this, he took a look and saw that there were indeed bloodstains on the photo. He carefully pulled the photo out from under the glass table. There was a date in the corner of the photo: March 2000, 3.

"This date is..." Qi Fei felt it looked very familiar.

"It's the death anniversary of Chen Liangdi's son." Zhong Kui said.

The photo of the deceased suddenly appeared in Qi Fei's mind. The date below the photo was also March 2000, 3!
"The Polaroid photo was taken directly on the spot, which means that this photo was taken on the day Chen's son died." Qi Fei frowned.

"Looking at this photo, the two people have a special relationship." Zhong Kui said.

"What a coincidence! Chen Liangdi and Yue Fengsheng's death have so many indirect connections..."

"If I remember correctly, when you were investigating, you said that Yue Fengsheng was looking for trouble everywhere, but he didn't bother Chen Liangdi. It seems there is some reason." Zhong Kui said as he walked downstairs.

Qi Fei couldn't wait to follow.

This Guiyue Apartment seemed to have some kind of magic. Once they entered, they couldn't get out and had to shuttle back and forth between different residents.

The door of Room 202 opened, and Chen Liangdi seemed very happy to see Zhong Kui and Qi Fei appear again.

"Master, you are back again. Is there any news about my son?" Chen Liangdi looked at Zhong Kui with her cloudy eyes, full of eager anticipation.

Zhong Kui got straight to the point and took out the photo and asked, "What happened between your son and Yue Fengsheng?"

Chen Liangdi's eyes turned cold the moment she saw the photo. Without saying a word, she turned and walked towards the dim living room, sat on the sofa, and stared blankly at the portrait on the wall.

Qi Fei walked over to Chen Liangdi and said, "It seems that whatever happened wasn't a pleasant one. Now Yue Fengsheng's death is unclear. If your son's death is related to him, I have to suspect that your story about your son returning was fabricated to cover up the murder."

Chen Liangdi was clearly offended by this and retorted to Qi Fei with tears in her eyes, "If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it more than 20 years ago when my son died. I wouldn't have to wait until I'm 70 or 80."

Zhong Kui's voice came, "You have a knot in your heart. This photo was found by fate so that you can untie it. Tell us about the grudge between you and Yue Fengsheng." Chen Liangdi's lips trembled, as if she didn't know where to begin. After a long moment, she finally said, "My son was killed by Yue Fengsheng."

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui looked at each other. The bloodstains and date on the photo were clues, but they didn't know why Yue Fengsheng kept the photo on the dining table so they could see it every day.

Chen Liangdi took the photo from Zhong Kui and lost herself in memories. "Everyone who lived in our apartment was a veteran of the International Trade Company, and we all knew each other very well. Yue Fengsheng was a junior employee at the company, only a few years older than my son. Somehow, they hit it off and became good friends. In 2000, Yue Fengsheng persuaded my son to buy a motorcycle with him, and the two of them would go for rides together whenever they had free time. It's fine for young people to have fun, but this Yue guy loves to drink and even persuaded my son to drink.

On March 3th, both of them were drunk and riding their motorcycles home late at night. My son's motorcycle crashed into a roadside utility pole, and his head landed on the ground... The hospital said that if they had rescued him in time, my son might have been saved. But Yue Fengsheng was so drunk that he didn't know who he was. It took a long time to call an ambulance, and by the time my son was taken to the hospital, it was too late! "Chen Liangdi sobbed, "I grabbed Yue Fengsheng and beat and scolded him, but he just stood there without saying a word. Everyone knew my son would never come back! A few years later, my husband passed away from excessive grief, and I was left alone..."

"Other people say that Yue Fengsheng just liked to drink before and was a nice person. Did he develop this alcoholism after your son died?" Qi Fei asked.

"Humph, he killed someone because of his drinking. Not only did he not quit drinking, but it got worse and worse. He also harassed the neighbors everywhere. If my son knew, he would definitely be disappointed." Chen Liangdi said angrily.

Zhong Kui said: "He is punishing himself and trying to alleviate his guilt by drinking. Unfortunately, this is just drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Now that Yue Fengsheng is dead, I don't know who to hate..." Chen Liangdi said softly, making Qi Fei feel empty inside.

"Have you ever met his stepson Xiaoyou?" Qi Fei asked.

"That kid? He often goes to play at Old He's house on the first floor. I'm not familiar with him." Chen Liangdi denied.

……

Chen Liangdi's photo was placed in front of Xiaoyou, and Qi Fei asked in the gentlest voice possible, "Is this grandma the one who gave you the obedient medicine?"

Xiaoyou shook her head like a rattle and pouted, saying, "Daddy-Long-Legs gave me the medicine, not Granny!"

"Are you sure this is not the person in the photo?" Qi Fei wanted to confirm again.

Zhong Kui took Xiaoyou's sketchbook and pointed at the gray-haired stick figure on one page and asked, "Is this person an old lady?"

Xiaoyou nodded immediately when she saw it: "It's not good at all for the old lady not to talk to Xiaoyou."

I saw an old lady on the drawing paper living alone in a square. It seemed that the square represented a house, but there was another familiar thing in the house - a group of vertical, thin, and messy black lines.

Zhong Kui moved his finger to the black shadow and asked, "What is this?"

Xiaoyou blinked her innocent eyes and said to Zhong Kui, "Sister, you forgot, this is Daddy-Long-Legs!"

(End of this chapter)