Chapter 48: The Strange Neighbor

Xiao You, however, shook his head and said with childish innocence, "I don't remember."

"Then how did you get home?"

"Uncle Long-Legs brought me back."

Zhong Kui walked over and specifically asked a question: "Xiao You, can you tell me your home address?"

Xiao You did not seem to understand, saying, "It's just over there." As he spoke, he pointed a finger, clearly not knowing which way to go at all.

Zhong Kui straightened up and said to Qi Fei, "He doesn't know how to express his home address yet, which is very interesting. The person who instigated him seems to know his family situation very well."

Qi Fei heard this and agreed, "This matter is very strange. Whoever it is seems to know the situation of Lv Xiuxia's family very well, but this so-called 'good-boy medicine' and the 'uncle' story are too difficult to investigate."

"I see bruises on Xiao You's face," Zhong Kui said from the side.

Upon hearing this, Lv Xiuxia couldn't help but shed tears: "This was from yesterday when Lu Fengsheng got drunk and hit him. If I hadn't stopped him, I don't know what state Xiao You would have been beaten into!"

"Did he hit him before?"

Lv Xiuxia covered her face with both hands and sobbed: "It's all my fault for not protecting Xiao You well."

"Xiao You said he went to an alley last night. Has he ever gone out alone before?" Zhong Kui asked.

"Yue Fengsheng was going to hit Xiao You, so I told the child to run, and he ran out. I don't know where he went."

"Aren't you worried about such a small child running out alone?" Qi Fei asked.

Lv Xiuxia shook her head: "At that time, I was busy trying to stop Yue Fengsheng; how could I care about so much? I originally planned to go look for the child after Fengsheng stopped causing trouble here, but then I felt relieved when I saw Xiao You came back on his own."

"He said an Uncle Long-Legs brought him back."

"I know all the neighbors here; there is no such person as Xiao You described. I just said, Xiao You has mentioned an Uncle Long-Legs before, but with Yue Fengsheng causing trouble for everyone everywhere, who would be willing to play with Xiao You?" As she spoke, Lv Xiuxia cried again.

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui looked at each other; it seemed no valuable clues could be obtained from Lv Xiuxia, and finding this person would not be easy.

"Xiao You, the 'good-boy medicine' the uncle gave you, did you bring it back in your hand?" Zhong Kui turned around and continued to ask Xiao You patiently.

Xiao You gestured vividly: "The uncle gave Xiao You the 'good-boy medicine,' and Xiao You put it in his clothes pocket and brought it back."

"Which jacket was Xiao You wearing last night?" Zhong Kui immediately asked Lv Xiuxia afterward, "If Xiao You really brought something back and put it in his pocket, it seems we need to check it."

Emerging from Lv Xiuxia's home, many nearby residents had already gathered downstairs; it seemed the news had spread rapidly.

Qi Fei looked at the onlookers discussing animatedly and walked toward the crowd: "You all know Yue Fengsheng; do you know who he offended recently?" Qi Fei took out his notebook and said to them.

Upon hearing this, everyone started talking at once: "There isn't anyone here he didn't offend. With him living here, we couldn't have a single day of peace!"

"How so?"

"This Yue Fengsheng would cause trouble whenever he drank. Either he'd say a neighbor's flowerpot was blocking him, or he wouldn't let people keep dogs. They were all small things; he just didn't like the look of anyone."

"What about recently? Did anything special happen?"

When asked this, everyone looked at each other and, surprisingly, none of them answered.

Zhong Kui was on the side and pointed to the household on the first floor: "Does this family have a conflict with Yue Fengsheng?"

One of the neighbors was straightforward and blurted out: "How did you know?"

Zhong Kui smiled: "I'm a fortune teller..." Before she could finish, Qi Fei pulled her to the side, "You are representing the police station now, don't talk nonsense!"

Sure enough, the crowd had already started discussing: "Are the police with a fortune teller now?"

"Could it be that this Yue Fengsheng was killed by an evil spirit?"

"It's truly retribution!"

Qi Fei helplessly stepped forward to explain: "This lady is not from our police station. Regarding Yue Fengsheng's death, if you have any clues, please contact us. Stop watching the excitement and everyone disperse!"

Zhong Kui leaned in and whispered in his ear: "The more you say that, the more they think there's a problem!"

"Tsk, Captain Liu didn't have you come as a consultant to cause trouble." Qi Fei was speechless and dragged Zhong Kui by the arm toward the house with the tightly closed door.

As soon as they turned around, reproaches for the person who had let it slip came from the crowd: "Don't talk nonsense, such good people like the He family wouldn't kill anyone."

"Exactly, haven't they suffered enough from that man surnamed Yue?"

"Didn't the man surnamed Yue die because he drank too much himself?"

The two arrived at the door of Room 101, and Qi Fei knocked several times before the door opened.

The person who opened the door was an old man in his sixties, wearing thick cotton pajamas, his eyes filled with unpleasant vigilance.

"We are from the Nancheng Police Station. We would like to understand the situation regarding the death of Yue Fengsheng in Room 401 upstairs," Qi Fei said.

The man frowned: "We aren't familiar with him; there's nothing to talk about." As he spoke, his hand remained on the door, ready to close it at any moment.

Zhong Kui poked her head out from behind: "Yue Fengsheng got drunk and kicked your door until it was broken, causing your family not to dare go out for exercise for the past two days. Is that not being familiar?"

Surprise appeared in the man's eyes as he looked at Zhong Kui: "Did his wife tell you?"

"I calcu—" Zhong Kui was just about to say she calculated it, but Qi Fei interrupted hurriedly: "This is my colleague; please cooperate with our investigation."

Hearing this, the man opened the door reluctantly.

Behind him, a woman of similar age was looking at them with eyes full of worry.

"His death really has nothing to do with us," the man said while inviting them inside.

This was the same floor plan as Yue Fengsheng's home; the interior decoration and furniture, though old, were neat and clean, completely different from the situation in Yue Fengsheng's home.

"How should I address you?"

"My surname is He, He Zhixin, and this is my beloved wife Zhou Li. Just call me Lao He." Although Lao He was unwilling to have them enter, he still poured tea and invited them to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"Lao He, you live on the first floor. Theoretically, people coming and going here pass by your window." Qi Fei glanced at the north-facing kitchen window, which was right next to the apartment's stairwell, "Did you see Yue Fengsheng's son, Xiao You, pass by after dinner yesterday?"

"We watched TV at home after dinner and went to bed very early," He Zhixin said, looking indifferent.

Zhong Kui flipped through a few magazines left on the coffee table, pointed to the children's doodles on them, and asked: "Does the child named Xiao You from upstairs often come here to play?"