Chapter 129

"The surgery was earlier than Xiao Tao estimated, 32 years ago—which means Huang Daqiu was only 16 at the time?" Qi Fei frowned as he looked at the date on the surgical record.

"The benefit of being a celebrity is that you can look up anything online!" Wu Shanqiu said, pulling out her phone. "Based on this timeline, Huang Daqiu should have still been in middle school. He went to Yingjiang Middle School. This guy was having kids with someone while still in middle school? Impressive."

"Impressive my foot. His son is very likely the murderer; I have to find out who this person is!" Qi Fei gave the back of Wu Shanqiu's head a light tap, then looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the bustling night scene, sighing, "It's been over thirty years; I expect many of the people involved are already dead."

"So, looking at it this way, is it a father-son grudge?" Wu Shanqiu muttered.

"Don't forget, the first people the killer murdered were She Xiaohui and her child. If he was going after Huang Daqiu, why go to Jiangting Island..." Qi Fei immediately dismissed Wu Shanqiu's theory.

Zhong Kui strolled over slowly: "I think you two should first figure out why Huang Daqiu went to Jiangting Island."

The corridor outside the ward echoed with the rustling of rubber soles against the floor. The guard on duty confirmed Ying Shuigen's vital signs through the observation window every seven minutes. The smell of disinfectant mixed with the stench of old blood felt like a dull blade stuck in Qi Fei's nasal cavity—he always felt this bloody smell belonged to Zhu Ming'en. Ever since the tragedy at the Nancheng Hospital morgue, the police hadn't dared to slack off for even a second.

Qi Fei looked at the soundly sleeping Ying Shuigen, puzzled: "His wife and child are dead, he's been rendered mute, yet he can still sleep this soundly. This guy has some nerve, doesn't he?"

Zhong Kui shrugged and brushed back her hair: "Kinship is nothing more than a quantifiable risk weight in his cognitive system."

Qi Fei walked up and tapped the head of the bed. Ying Shuigen opened his eyes, bleary with sleep. When he saw Zhong Kui, he struggled to sit up, attempting to pay respects to the "Great Immortal" he trusted, but he accidentally tugged on the IV needle in the back of his hand, and blood immediately seeped out from under the bandage.

Zhong Kui waved her hand dismissively, her voice languid: "No need for formalities."

"How is the homework I assigned you coming along?" Qi Fei patted Ying Shuigen's plump shoulder.

Having escaped death, Ying Shuigen was exceptionally humble. As soon as he heard Qi Fei, he immediately pulled the notebook he'd been given from under his pillow. The page was densely packed with writing—all of it names.

Qi Fei scratched his head: "I told you to write down your suspects, not to list all your clients."

Ying Shuigen made some "mm-hmm" gestures.

"What on earth?" Qi Fei looked at him impatiently.

From the side came Zhong Kui's charming voice: "He says these are his suspects."

Ying Shuigen looked at Zhong Kui with a worshipful gaze, as if he had found a lifeline, nodding frantically as if to say that was exactly what he meant.

Qi Fei dragged a stool to the side of Ying Shuigen's bed, sat down with a thud, and said, "Most of your clients know you weren't home on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, right? If they wanted revenge, they wouldn't pick a more suitable opportunity. Among these people, is there anyone who didn't know your travel schedule?"

Ying Shuigen looked blank and helpless, as if to say this was all he knew.

"We collected another person's DNA at the scene. This person is Huang Daqiu's son. Did you know Huang Daqiu had a son?" Qi Fei asked.

A sound like "Hmm?" came from the bottom of Ying Shuigen's throat; this was likely the only sound he could make now.

Zhong Kui's mind-reading worked again: "You didn't know."

Ying Shuigen nodded.

"That makes it very interesting. We asked Huang Daqiu's driver. Based on the timeline, he only changed his plans and went to Jiangting Island after receiving your money-laundering contract at three in the afternoon. But the killer was already on the island killing your wife and child by then. The killer couldn't have known in advance that Huang Daqiu would show up unexpectedly."

"So, we can conclude that the killer's target wasn't Huang Daqiu. Therefore..." Qi Fei's gaze fell on the list Ying Shuigen had written, "It must have something to do with your family. However, there's one thing I can't figure out: why did we find Huang Daqiu's son's DNA in the snake's fangs?"

Upon hearing this, Ying Shuigen seemed to think of something, and his hands began gesturing again.

Seeing Qi Fei remain indifferent, Zhong Kui spoke for Ying Shuigen once more: "Give him the paper and pen."

Ying Shuigen grabbed the paper and pen from Qi Fei's hand and began writing rapidly.

The paper was filled with writing. It turned out that Ying Shuigen and Huang Daqiu had indeed met because of fortune-telling. Ying Shuigen had said Huang Daqiu had a son, and Huang Daqiu believed it immediately, which led to their relationship deepening.

During this time, Huang Daqiu had asked about his son's whereabouts many times. Ying Shuigen actually couldn't tell fortunes at all; he only said Huang Daqiu had a son because he had seen news reports about Huang Daqiu's illegitimate child and made it up.

Who would have thought a blind cat would run into a dead mouse.

Qi Fei sneered: "You're right, he does have a son, and he killed your wife and child."

As he spoke, he tapped the iron bedside cabinet with the end of his fountain pen.

"You didn't tell us that Huang Daqiu contacted you that day. What did he say to you?"

When Ying Shuigen heard this question, his eyes drifted, which didn't escape Qi Fei's notice—he was hiding it on purpose. His sallow fingers twisted the IV tube into a knot. The heartbeat waveform on the monitor fluctuated violently with the sound of footsteps changing shifts in the corridor, and the blood pressure reading jumped back and forth between 120/80 and 160/100.

"I won't beat around the bush with you." Qi Fei opened his notebook. The paper brushed against the saline bottle's drip tube, making a rustling sound like a snake shedding its skin. "Whether you confess or not, the evidence that you helped Huang Daqiu launder money is ironclad."

Ying Shuigen handed over his phone with trembling hands, his expression one of utter despair.

Qi Fei took the phone and found Huang Daqiu among the dense list of contacts. The time of that unreplied message now seemed like the beginning of his life's countdown.

It wasn't Ying Shuigen who hadn't replied, but Huang Daqiu.

A copy of a procurement order from the Canaan Prayer Meeting slid from the pile of documents. The first party was Ying Shuigen's charity fund, and the second party was a company called Nancheng Hongde Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Various expensive Dharma artifacts and amulets made the bill absurdly high. This content had nothing to do with Huang Daqiu, but Qi Fei knew this was evidence of successful money laundering.

According to Wu Chun's recollection, the content that Huang Daqiu repeatedly zoomed in on was this very contract.

But, why on earth was that?

At this moment, Qi Fei felt like Huang Daqiu on that day, zooming this contract in and out, looking at it again and again.

"Room 2109, Block B, Jiasheng Center, No. 17 Binjiang Road, Nancheng City." Wu Shanqiu leaned in and read the information on the contract. "It has the second party's address and phone number. Wouldn't it be easier to just take the original contract and look at it?"