Chapter 19: Scars

Fu Liansheng didn't understand why they were suddenly interested in this paint can and said, "This is for touching up coffin lids. Is there a problem?"

"I think Xu Wei didn't just use it to touch up paint," Qi Fei said, weighing the can.

The car sped on the way back to Nancheng. Wu Shanqiu looked at the information coming in on her phone and said to Qi Fei, "Fei-ge, the investigation report on Xu Wei from Lanhe has been sent over. This person is a native of Lanhe. His family was well-off when he was young. In the year he graduated from elementary school, his parents died in a car accident, and he became an orphan. Because of his paranoid personality, he often had friction with the relatives who adopted him and lived in different households. After becoming an adult, he lived alone, but none of his jobs lasted long. The funeral home job should have been the longest one he ever held."

"And what about his connection to Yao Leilei? Did they find anything?" Qi Fei asked.

"Fei-ge, you wouldn't believe it, but they actually did!" Wu Shanqiu's words carried a bit of excitement. "Yao Leilei and this Xu Wei were junior high classmates. It seems they knew each other, but other classmates who were contacted all said that the two didn't have much interaction during their school days."

"Whether there was interaction or not, we'll know once we go back and question him. Don't notify everyone yet, so as not to alert the enemy."

"Aren't you afraid he'll run away?"

"He appeared directly at the scene that day; it seems he is a person with extreme self-confidence. Running away would only increase his suspicion; he won't do that," Qi Fei said firmly.

In the basement garage of Nancheng, an inconspicuous old man hummed a song, holding a key ring as he walked toward the morgue. No one would ever take a second look at him, as if everyone's subconscious was avoiding this matter—most people don't like to face death, or things related to death.

In the quiet, the sound of a key opening the door came, and it was abruptly interrupted by a voice from behind: "Xu Wei!"

Qi Fei shouted.

The key continued to turn. The old man seemed not to have heard the voice, continuing to hum his little tune, preparing to enter the morgue.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot." Qi Fei's voice came again. With the increase in footsteps, more police officers appeared. This was a siege scene. Everything was arranged silently; no one noticed.

With his back to everyone, the "old man" loosened his grip on the keys with those hands that were still young, suddenly pulled something from his pocket, and turned around as if to shoot at them.

"Bang! Bang!" The sound of gunfire rang out. The old man fell to the ground in response, twitched twice, and then stopped moving. Only then did everyone see clearly that his hands were empty; there was nothing there.

Damn it! We were tricked! Qi Fei felt secretly annoyed.

Walking closer, the old face that no one had paid attention to lay facing upward under the flashlight's beam, revealing more details. Qi Fei peeled off the exquisite disguise mixed with silicone and makeup techniques bit by bit. Xu Wei's original face appeared in everyone's sight, exactly the same as in the photo, and just as lifeless as in the photo. He had used the mortuary makeup skills he learned at the funeral home on himself, dying with his disguise without leaving a word.

On Xu Wei's body, they found a dried human finger, where the mark left by practicing the cello was still faintly visible, remaining like a scar of time.

Xu Wei lived in the hospital staff dormitory, which was kept spotless. However, under his pillow, they found a photo. It was a junior high graduation group photo. Yao Leilei stood in the center, while Xu Wei was on the edge of the back row. Yao Leilei was looking at the camera with a bright smile, while Xu Wei was looking at her; no one knew.

Qi Fei held the photo, looking at the winter sun outside the window, and couldn't help but hum a melody, leaving Wu Shanqiu, who was searching for evidence nearby, confused: "Fei-ge, have you gone crazy?"

"Have you forgotten? Is this melody familiar?" Qi Fei prompted.

Wu Shanqiu thought for a moment and finally remembered: "It's the cello piece heard in the guesthouse."

"Right, Yao Beibei said this was her sister's original composition. Xu Wei was humming the same tune when he was arrested."

"Huh? I forgot that you're a grade ten pianist, Fei-ge. Honestly, I really didn't notice."

"Hmm, when I first heard it at the guesthouse, I felt it was familiar, just thought I had heard a similar melody somewhere. It wasn't until Xu Wei appeared humming the tune that I remembered it was the same one. And when handling the Zhu Ming'en scene, he was actually humming a few bars on the side. Unfortunately, at that time, I thought he was just a weird old man and didn't pay much attention."

Inside the police station, on Qi Fei's desk, a courier box lay quietly.

The sender was anonymous.

Qi Fei had a premonition, smiled at himself, and then picked it up and tore it open.

Inside was an exquisite small wooden box and a card. On the card, it was written neatly: "Zi Xun Chou Jian Geng, Tian De Zhi Shen, Yi Hui You."

This style, plus the sweet scent on the paper, was definitely Zhong Kui.

It seemed she knew the killer had been found.

In this regard, she was truly a "divine calculator." This cryptic invitation came at just the right time, unexpectedly bringing a glimmer of joy to Qi Fei's gloomy mood caused by the case. The joy in his heart was known only to himself.

The wooden box was opened, and inside was actually that wind chime—the one Zhong Kui had hung in that room on Zizai Shan.

Qi Fei picked it up and couldn't help but shake it. The wind chime made a crisp sound, tinkling, and suddenly he had the feeling of clouds clearing in his mind.

In an instant, all the memories about the mountain, those missing fragments, suddenly returned like a jigsaw puzzle.

This was an indescribable, wonderful feeling.

He remembered! Zhong Kui's home.

There was no safer way than this. All external evidence had been destroyed; in this world, only he himself knew where Zhong Kui's home was.

He was the invitation itself.

Although Qi Fei didn't know why Zhong Kui was so secretive about her residence, he still cooperated and didn't tell anyone. He took the Feng Shui compass and drove alone toward Sanwu Town.

Compared to last time, finding Zhong Kui was much simpler, because before he even arrived, the big gray cat Luosha was already waiting at the intersection to lead the way for him.

Successfully finding the killer Xu Wei seemed to have passed some kind of test for Zhong Kui, giving Qi Fei the privilege of finding her.

Before long, the alluring aroma of food drifted out from the withered winter woods, making Qi Fei unable to help but swallow his saliva.

Unlike the cold atmosphere last time, this time he was greeted by a sumptuous banquet, just like in the Huang Daxian Temple, and also like the situation in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*—the sky was turning dark, a beautiful woman, and a lonely house in the mountains.

"Celebrating your solving the case, Qi Fei." Zhong Kui was wearing a light purple cheongsam, with a warm-on-the-outside, cold-on-the-inside smile. She invited him to take a seat and handed him a cup of hot yellow wine... ===== CHAPTER 20 =====