Chapter 104: Side Effects

"Unless someone opened the window that night, causing the temperature to drop sharply, freezing the fresh green plants. So much so that when we performed the autopsy, we had a misjudgment about the time of death. Coupled with the fact that Hong Mei vomited the food in her stomach because she was pregnant, the auxiliary means of inferring the time of death through the digested food in the stomach also failed, invisibly covering up the true time of death.

I discussed with Shanqiu before and found that the people in the villa saw two kinds of ghosts: one with blood on their body, and one without blood. And the female ghost with blood on her body was only seen by Auntie Liu. The time she encountered the 'female ghost' in the backyard was around nine o'clock at night. Thinking about it this way, it is very likely that she saw Lan Die who had just finished committing the crime and was preparing to leave the villa?" Qi Fei finished speaking and overturned this conclusion himself. "However, even if it was nine o'clock at night, it would be too late for her to appear at the Lian Hu set at twelve o'clock to participate in filming, right?"

Zhong Kui glanced at the mountains and ridges outside the window: "Of course it's impossible to take a plane, because both the set and this villa are far away from the airport. But don't forget where you found that paparazzi Wang Defa."

"Mountain road?!" Qi Fei suddenly realized.

"If Lan Die didn't take a plane, but drove herself?" Zhong Kui said. "I've thought about your question and confirmed it long ago. Lan Die has her own car, it's on the set. Driving a car over mountains and ridges alone, just to kill a good friend who betrayed her, is truly touching perseverance. I think you should have many ways to check her dashcam. If nothing goes wrong, the itinerary that day must be abnormal."

"No, that's not right, Zhong Kui, I'm sorry, your inference doesn't hold. Hong Mei asked the front desk for red wine at twelve o'clock, and the waiter saw her when they delivered it." Qi Fei denied.

Zhong Kui, however, smiled: "In a while, we'll go to Hong Mei's room, and you'll understand. However, before that, let's binge-watch, Hong Mei's show." As she said this, she had already clicked on an urban idol drama starring Hong Mei. When the opening music started, she shook the red wine glass in her hand and said as if mentioning it casually: "Didn't they say Hong Mei was pregnant? Why would someone who knows they are pregnant still drink?"

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui walked into the room where Hong Mei was murdered again. The bloodstains in the room had completely turned black. Zhong Kui stood in front of the window, looking toward the direction outside the window.

"Hallucination is a highly personalized phenomenon; it's impossible for two people to have the same hallucination," she said. "And what they said they saw was all from this angle."

Under the gloomy sky, the smell of blood still remained in the room.

Zhong Kui analyzed the case calmly, but Qi Fei saw that scene that looked familiar—Zhong Kui, without her own awareness, began to shed tears.

Gradually, those normal narratives turned into whispers like a demon, in a language Qi Fei couldn't understand, low and mournful, even more terrifying in this room full of bloodstains.

"Zhong Kui?" Qi Fei called her name worriedly.

However, Zhong Kui's eyes were empty, seemingly immersed in her own whispers, not hearing his words at all.

Suddenly she turned her head, her eyes full of pleading, and said to Qi Fei: "Kill me, please, kill me..."

This expression looked familiar. Qi Fei was shocked in his heart. He knew that the person standing in front of him at this moment was not Zhong Kui, but Zhong Xiaoyu.

The only eyewitness to that tragedy, the only person who knew who the monster was.

"Hurry, tell me, who killed your whole family?" Qi Fei pressed immediately.

Unexpectedly, hearing this question, Zhong Xiaoyu didn't say anything, just raised her hand and pointed at Qi Fei. She lowered her head and looked up, staring at Qi Fei, as if saying, it's you.

Qi Fei didn't understand what she meant by doing this and wanted to continue asking, but suddenly saw Zhong Xiaoyu's expression change drastically. She decisively grabbed a pencil placed on the side, suddenly raised it, and stabbed it hard into her own arm.

"What are you doing?" Qi Fei shouted and stepped forward to snatch the pen from her hand. Zhong Kui's jet-black hair covered her entire porcelain doll-like face, and suddenly a cold voice came: "Hmph, not dead yet."

This tone, one could tell it was back to Zhong Kui.

Only, after saying the harsh words, Zhong Kui suddenly lost all her strength and fell into Qi Fei's arms.

Qi Fei saw Zhong Kui so weak for the first time and was extremely anxious holding her.

And Zhong Kui, clearly trembling all over, still said stubbornly: "So annoying, this woman Zhong Xiaoyu is playing dead again, it's no big deal."

Qi Fei didn't think so and immediately picked up Zhong Kui to find someone in the villa to treat the wound.

"What does this little wound matter?!" Zhong Kui struggled.

"Don't move! Listen to me!" Qi Fei was anxious. This time he didn't follow her.

Taking iodine and gauze, Qi Fei took Zhong Kui back to the room they were staying in and treated Zhong Kui's wound himself, repeatedly confirming if she was okay.

Zhong Kui raised her head stubbornly: "How can a man be so nagging."

Qi Fei wasn't angry: "I ask you, did you take the initiative to wake up Zhong Xiaoyu in Zizai Shan in order to know Lan Die's medical situation?"

Zhong Kui didn't make a sound.

Qi Fei felt extremely distressed: "When you were analyzing things logically before, I guessed it. I don't know what the experience of your situation is, but I guess, does that moment just now count as a side effect?"

"This is my own business, why do you care so much?" Zhong Kui said somewhat childishly.

"Even if it's to investigate the case, I don't want you to do it in a way that hurts yourself. You are just a consultant, I am the criminal police officer," Qi Fei said deliberately.

If it were before, Zhong Kui would definitely fight back immediately, and a few words would be enough to choke Qi Fei to death.

However, today, Zhong Kui didn't say anything unusually. The more she was like this, the more worried Qi Fei became.

He had to sit quietly by her side so that her body could lean against him.

The two of them leaned against the bed silently like this. I don't know how long it had been, Zhong Kui's body finally became tired. Without any warning, her head tilted, and she fell asleep leaning on Qi Fei's shoulder.

That transformation during the day seemed to have greatly consumed her spirit.

Qi Fei looked at Zhong Kui gently and used his hand to tuck a strand of hair that was hanging down behind her ear.

The sleeping Zhong Kui had a face as peaceful as an angel, but when she was awake, he always felt there were two fires burning in her body, one cold flame and one hot fire.

The sky gradually darkened, and the scene during the day made it impossible for him to linger in front of his eyes. That pointing finger and that incomparably resentful look still made his heart tighten when he thought about it now.

Clearly he asked who killed her whole family, why did she point at him.

Just when too many thoughts were about to surge out of his mind, Zhong Kui's hand grabbed his arm... ===== CHAPTER 105 =====