Chapter 352: The Goddess's Duty

"A very simple reason," Jiang Tianyi continued. "There is one more thing. I was also there when Xi He detonated the marble game machine under the Yuanxi Bridge. If I hadn't dodged in time, I would have died. You and I both know that Xi He wouldn't do such a risky thing."

"He never cares about the lives of his believers. Killing you doesn't require special consideration," Zhong Kui said indifferently.

"There is one more point. The last time I came to Yuanxi, it was Liu Tong who asked me to come, not me who actively applied. If I were to do things for Xi He, I couldn't predict that Liu Tong would make such an arrangement, unless you even suspect Liu Tong." As he spoke, he looked at Zhong Kui's eyes sincerely: "I believe you can see whether I am lying or not. I don't want both of us to fall into the trap of self-proof."

Zhong Kui never spoke. She just focused on observing Jiang Tianyi's expression.

Jiang Tianyi didn't have the joy of being cleared of suspicion, but sighed: "There is something I want to say, but I don't hope my guess is right. What I want to say is that our group was not four people at that time, but five."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Fei, who had been silent, blurted out: "Zhong Xiaoyu." This name had been lingering in his heart like a ghost recently, so much so that he thought of it immediately when Jiang Tianyi prompted him. He didn't expect things to go in this direction, and Zhong Xiaoyu, this mortal enemy of Xi He, now looked more and more like Xi He's accomplice. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but mutter, "Perhaps, the answer is not in Yuanxi, but in Baicheng ten years ago."

A roar like a beast's whimpering came from the depths of the culvert, followed by a cold, strong wind that poured in, blowing the strong light lamp to shake violently. Zhong Kui said sinisterly: "It seems the wronged souls of Baicheng are summoning you."

Villa No. 3 in Yueya Mountain in Baicheng no longer existed. But because the case had not been solved, and the case back then was too tragic and sensational, no one had taken over this foundation, and even the surrounding neighbors had moved away.

A slaughter killed four members of the Zhong family and also killed the former wealth and tranquility of Yueya Mountain.

Baicheng didn't snow, only intermittent freezing rain made the road surface icy, and it couldn't be cleaned up no matter what.

The road to Yueya Mountain could no longer be driven, and the group could only walk into the mountain.

Qi Fei always stayed close to Zhong Kui. He didn't know when Zhong Xiaoyu would wake up from this trip down memory lane.

The garden that was carefully managed by the gardener back then had now merged with the wilderness. One had to push aside the weeds that grew wantonly to find the rusty doorplate "Yueya Mountain No. 3."

That fire swallowed all the blood and sin, and only the broken limbs of the building mourned silently.

Zhong Kui walked into here with the shell of an ancient person, and it seemed there were not many ripples on her face.

Perhaps it was Zhong Xiaoyu's setting for her, and for everything in Baicheng, she was just a cold bystander.

"January 7th," Zhong Kui said. "Today happens to be the anniversary of the case, right?"

"What a coincidence," Wu Shanqiu couldn't help but say, "It's as if fate brought us back here."

Jiang Tianyi seemed to see something and walked in one direction. It was a remaining windowsill. He reached out and touched the cold countertop, where the remaining carved patterns could be vaguely seen. He said with emotion: "This is an iris. When we were studying together, Xiaoyu often mentioned this place, saying that her father knew she liked irises and decorated many corners of the house with iris marks."

"She said she liked irises because it is the symbol of the goddess Iris in ancient Greek mythology. Iris is the rainbow goddess, the messenger of the gods in the human world, responsible for communicating between the divine world and the human world. She said she hoped she could be the Iris of the human world, upholding the will of the gods, leading people trapped in pain to freedom and light. The Xiaoyu I knew was noble and selfless."

"Oh!" Wu Shanqiu suddenly realized, "No wonder she would give iris origami to patients who recovered. Is it to bless them to walk out of the haze?"

"Heh, hypocritical," Zhong Kui said disdainfully on the side.

Jiang Tianyi turned to look at Zhong Kui, not blaming her for her disrespect, but pitying her: "Sigh, you are like the bitter fruit after her disillusionment, rebelling against everything she believed in. I really want to know, what happened to her to make everything have such a big change?"

As he was speaking, footsteps mixed with broken ice came from not far away. The four people looked in the direction of the sound vigilantly. Along the road they walked, a woman walked toward them holding a bouquet of flowers.

In the season when all things were withered, the blue-purple flowers in her hand looked particularly bright.

This woman looked about forty years old, wearing rimless glasses, with short hair to her shoulders, and carrying a strong scholarly atmosphere.

Seeing four people here, she didn't seem surprised, until Zhong Kui revealed her face from behind Qi Fei.

The flowers in the woman's hand "plop" fell to the ground, and her face turned pale.

Zhong Kui immediately noticed the abnormality and walked to her front and asked: "Do you know me?"

"Xiaoyu, you are still alive?" The woman tried to touch Zhong Kui, her hand trembling in mid-air and not daring to touch her.

This intense emotion, it seemed they were not just simply acquainted.

"I'm living well. Who are you?" Zhong Kui's indifference undoubtedly poured a bucket of cold water on the woman's excited emotions.

Qi Fei saw that the two couldn't talk clearly, so he hurriedly stepped forward to pull Zhong Kui away and showed his ID to the woman: "We are from the Nancheng Criminal Police Brigade, here to investigate the case of Zhong Xiaoyu ten years ago."

"She is Xiaoyu!" The woman's gaze never left Zhong Kui, still in shock and not having come out of it.

"She is not Zhong Xiaoyu. I will explain this to you later. May I ask who you are?"

"I am Professor Zhong's student, Lv Dandan. Today is the professor's death anniversary, I come every year..." Lv Dandan said and couldn't help but look at Zhong Kui, "She is clearly Xiaoyu, impossible..."

"Iris?" Zhong Kui, who was on the side, picked up the bouquet dropped by Lv Dandan and recognized the variety of the flowers at a glance. "It's not easy to find this kind of flower in this season." As she spoke, she looked at Lv Dandan with sharp eyes. "You know Zhong Xiaoyu very well. It seems your relationship with the Zhong family is not just as simple as being Zhong Huaiting's student."

"I am Professor Zhong's student, Lv Dandan. Today is the anniversary of the professor's passing, and I come every year..." As Lv Dandan spoke, she couldn't help but look toward Zhong Kui. "She is clearly Xiaoyu, it's impossible..."

"Irises?" Zhong Kui, standing to the side, picked up the bouquet Lv Dandan had dropped and recognized the variety at a glance. "It's not easy to find this kind of flower in this season." As she spoke, she looked at Lv Dandan with a sharp gaze. "You know Zhong Xiaoyu very well; it seems your relationship with the Zhong family is not as simple as just being Zhong Huaiting's student."