Chapter 54: Guilt

"How is Xiao You?" Zhong Kui suddenly asked Qi Fei.

"Lv Xiuxia's maternal home is very far away. She has to cooperate with the investigation during this period and cannot go too far, so we found a place to settle the mother and child. Xiao You doesn't know he poisoned his new father to death, so he should be fine. Lv Xiuxia, on the other hand, is not in a good mental state; this is her second time being widowed," Qi Fei said.

"Hmph, that also sounds quite suspicious," Zhong Kui said coldly.

"Her first husband died in an accident at a construction site," Qi Fei said, still looking at the old photo, absent-mindedly. "We've already gone to look into that. I understand what you mean, but currently, it seems the first husband's death shouldn't have anything to do with Lv Xiuxia. Although I can't bear to do it, it seems we still have to ask Xiao You. Besides Zhou Li, he is the only one who has faced the killer."

Zhong Kui walked to Qi Fei's side and also looked at the group photo. She saw two motorcycles behind the two people: "This color, it looks like it was taken with a Polaroid, right?" As she spoke, she bent down to look closer. "Is this blood on it?"

Qi Fei looked and saw that there were indeed traces similar to blood on the photo. He carefully pulled the photo out from under the glass tabletop. In one corner of the photo was the date it was taken: March 24, 2000.

"This date is..." Qi Fei felt it was very familiar.

"It's the anniversary of Chen Liangdi's son's death," Zhong Kui said.

The portrait flashed into Qi Fei's mind; the date below the portrait was also March 24, 2000!

"Polaroid photos are taken and come out immediately. That is to say, this group photo was taken on the very day Chen's son died," Qi Fei frowned tightly.

"Looking at this photo, the two had an unusual friendship," Zhong Kui said.

"What a coincidence, Chen Liangdi and Yue Fengsheng's death have so many indirect connections..."

"If I remember correctly, when you were investigating, you said Yue Fengsheng went around picking fights, but he never provoked Chen Liangdi. It seems there are reasons for that," Zhong Kui said, walking downstairs.

Qi Fei also followed down impatiently.

This Guiyue Apartment seemed to have a kind of magic. After they entered, they couldn't get out, shuttling back and forth between different households.

The door to Room 202 opened, and Chen Liangdi seemed very happy to see Zhong Kui and Qi Fei appear again.

"Great Immortal, you're back again. Is there any news about my son?" Chen Liangdi's cloudy eyes looked at Zhong Kui with eager anticipation.

Zhong Kui got straight to the point, took out the group photo, and asked: "What happened between your son and Yue Fengsheng?"

Chen Liangdi's gaze became cold the moment she saw the photo. She didn't speak, just turned and walked toward the dim living room, sat on the sofa, and stared blankly at the portrait on the wall.

Qi Fei walked to Chen Liangdi's side: "It seems that whatever happened, it wasn't pleasant. Now that Yue Fengsheng has died in an unclear way, if your son's death is related to him, I have to suspect that your story about your son returning was fabricated to cover up your murder."

Hearing this, Chen Liangdi clearly felt offended. With tears in her eyes, she retorted to Qi Fei: "If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it more than twenty years ago when my son died. I wouldn't have waited until now, at seventy or eighty years old."

Zhong Kui's voice came: "You have a knot in your heart. This photo was found by us in the dark, allowing you to untie this final knot. Tell us about the grievances between you and Yue Fengsheng."

Chen Liangdi's lips trembled, as if she didn't know where to start. After a long time, she said one sentence: "My son was killed by Yue Fengsheng."

Qi Fei and Zhong Kui looked at each other. The bloodstains and date on that photo had long ago shown clues, but they didn't know why Yue Fengsheng had to press the photo on the dining table to see it every day.

Chen Liangdi took the photo from Zhong Kui's hand and fell into memories: "Those who live in this apartment are all old employees of the Guomao Company, and we are all very familiar with each other. Yue Fengsheng was a junior in the company, only a few years older than my son. For some reason, the two were very compatible and became good friends. In 2000, Yue Fengsheng encouraged my son to buy a motorcycle with him, and the two would go for rides together whenever they had free time. It would have been fine for young people to love playing, but this Yue fellow loved to drink himself and also encouraged my son to drink."

"On March 24, both of them were drunk. When they were riding their motorcycle home late at night, my son's bike hit a utility pole on the side of the road, and the back of his head hit the ground... The hospital said that if they had been rescued in time, maybe my son could have been saved. But Yue Fengsheng was so drunk at that time that he didn't even know who he was, and he delayed for a long time before calling for an ambulance. By the time my son was sent to the hospital, it was all too late!" As she spoke, Chen Liangdi sobbed. "I grabbed Yue Fengsheng and hit and scolded him, but he just stood there without saying a word. Everyone knew my son wasn't coming back! A few years later, my husband also passed away from excessive grief, leaving only me alone..."

"Others said Yue Fengsheng only loved to drink before and was a decent person. Did his alcoholism start after your son died?" Qi Fei asked.

"Hmph, he killed someone because of drinking, but not only did he not quit drinking, it became more and more serious, and he went around harassing neighbors. If my son knew, he would definitely be very disappointed," Chen Liangdi said indignantly.

Zhong Kui said: "He was punishing himself, wanting to reduce his guilt through drinking. Unfortunately, this is just drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Now that Yue Fengsheng is dead, I don't even know who to hate..." Chen Liangdi said faintly, making Qi Fei feel empty inside.

"Have you had any contact with his stepson, Xiao You?" Qi Fei asked.

"That child? He often goes to Old He's house on the first floor to play. I'm not familiar with him," Chen Liangdi denied.

Chen Liangdi's photo was placed in front of Xiao You. Qi Fei asked in the gentlest voice possible: "Is this grandma the one who gave you the 'good-boy medicine'?"

Xiao You shook his head like a rattle and pouted: "The 'good-boy medicine' was given by Daddy-Long-Legs, not the old grandma!"

"Are you sure it's not the person in the photo?" Qi Fei still wanted to confirm again.

Zhong Kui brought Xiao You's drawing book and pointed to the gray-haired stick figure on one of the pages, asking: "Is this person the old grandma?"

When Xiao You saw it, he immediately nodded: "The old grandma doesn't talk to Xiao You; she's not nice at all."

The old grandma on the drawing paper was living alone in a square box. It seemed the square box represented the house, but in this house, there was also a familiar thing—that cluster of long, thin, messy black lines standing upright.

Zhong Kui's finger moved to this black shadow and asked: "What is this?"

Xiao You blinked his innocent eyes and said to Zhong Kui: "Sister, have you forgotten? This is Daddy-Long-Legs!" ===== CHAPTER 55 =====