"Qi Xia."
Zhang Chenze said with her arms crossed and a blank expression, "You were the first person Han Yimo called out after he was injured. Did you know each other before?" Qi Xia didn't even raise his eyelids, answering with one hand on his forehead, "We didn't." "Then do you have any leads on his death?"
Zhang Chenze continued to ask. Qi Xia did not answer, instead turning his attention to examine the greatsword in Han Yimo's body. This sword had an ancient and classical style, like an exquisite piece of art.
It was covered in the scars of battle, looking as though it had been through many conflicts. But in this day and age, who would fight someone with such a greatsword?
"Qi Xia, I'm talking to you," Zhang Chenze said irritably.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"
"What do I need to explain?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Are you trying to say I killed Han Yimo?"
"Whether you're the killer or not, you should at least say something to clear your name, shouldn't you?"
Qi Xia still did not answer, instead reaching out to pull out the sword.
"Hey!"
Officer Li hurried over when he saw this.
"Qi Xia, whether you're the killer or not, we have to protect the crime scene! Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
Qi Xia cut in.
"Otherwise, when you police come to investigate, evidence might be lost?"
Officer Li's mouth twitched, but he was at a loss for words. Never mind waiting for the police to investigate; it was questionable whether he himself would even get out of here alive. Seeing Officer Li fall silent, Qi Xia gripped the sword with both hands and continued to pull.
He used almost all of his strength to completely extract the blade from the ground. Qiao Jiajin came over to help and only then realized the greatsword was much heavier than he had imagined.
There was no telling what kind of metal this pitch-black ancient sword was forged from, but it weighed roughly one hundred and fifty jin, equivalent to a strong adult man. Qi Xia panted heavily and threw the iron sword onto the ground, where it landed with a loud crash.
After a moment, once his breathing had steadied, Qi Xia finally spoke to Zhang Chenze.
"Lawyer Zhang, let me confirm something with you. This iron sword is as long as a person and weighs more than a hundred jin. You now suspect that I lifted this sword and, at the crack of dawn, silently killed the immobile Han Yimo, and that I also drove the blade deep into the ground?"
Zhang Chenze pressed her lips together, her expression unpleasant.
"And before that, to keep you all from finding out, this iron sword was hidden in my pants pocket the entire time, is that right?"
Qi Xia asked again. Seeing the tense atmosphere, Officer Li stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Qi Xia, since you didn't kill Han Yimo, why did you have to pull the sword out?"
Qi Xia didn't bother arguing with Zhang Chenze, instead looking down at the blood-soaked greatsword. He inspected it carefully, shook his head, and then turned the iron sword over. Sure enough, on the other side of the hilt, the three small characters for "Seven Black Sword" were engraved.
There wasn't much useful information in what Han Yimo had said earlier. He seemed to have been trying to accept some fact, but unfortunately, he died before he could figure it out. The only piece of information from his words that Qi Xia remembered was "Seven Black Sword."
"This sword is called 'Seven Black Sword'?"
Qiao Jiajin asked from the side. Qi Xia gently stroked his lower jaw and murmured to himself, "These three words were on the other side from Han Yimo's view, which means when he was impaled, he shouldn't have known the sword's name. So why would he mention 'Seven Black Sword'?"
"I think your line of reasoning is very unconventional," Officer Li said, shaking his head.
"Why bother with the name of a murder weapon? Shouldn't the problem now be to consider Han Yimo's cause of death?"
Qi Xia glanced at Officer Li, then said, "It was light out when Han Yimo was killed. Even if he was asleep at the time, an injury this severe would have definitely forced his eyes open. Theoretically, he should have seen the killer, yet he didn't mention the killer's name at all.
Instead, he mentioned 'Seven Black Sword' twice. Isn't that strange?"
"But he called your name..."
Xiao Ran whispered from the side.
"No matter what sword it is, Han Yimo did cry out your name first..."
"And so?"
Qi Xia asked.
"So you're the killer..."
Xiao Ran was a little timid. She hid behind Officer Li, not daring to look at Qi Xia. Qi Xia didn't offer any defense, but simply stared at Xiao Ran, as if trying to determine whether this woman was the real killer or just plain stupid.
"And our companion died, yet you're not sad at all. Instead, you're here calmly analyzing things. But you're a con man! What's the use of your analysis?!"
Xiao Ran said, her voice almost breaking into a sob.
"Who among us would believe you?"
"'Sad'?"
Qi Xia frowned, as if he didn't quite understand.
"Are you saying... I should be sad for this person I've known for less than a day?"
"You're so cold-blooded, that's why I said you seem like the killer!"
Xiao Ran's voice grew louder.
"Didn't you want to leave last night? Why did you insist on staying the night here? If you think about it, you deliberately stayed behind just to kill someone, didn't you?"
At this point, Qi Xia pretty much understood. The woman before him wasn't necessarily the killer, but she was definitely foolish. In the first room, she had also shouted something like, "Why should we believe this con man?"
To her, 'logic' was useless. She only believed in the outcome she wanted to believe in. Qiao Jiajin couldn't stand it anymore and said to Xiao Ran, "Hey, stupid girl, if you don't like using your brain, then don't interrupt people when they're talking.
I think what the con man is saying makes sense."
"But the three of you weren't good people to begin with!"
Xiao Ran retorted, aggrieved.
"Someone died here among us, so the three of you are the most suspicious, aren't you? So what if I'm stupid? Being stupid doesn't mean I'd do bad things!"
This statement was not only aimed at Qi Xia, but also included Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, who was standing nearby.
That's right.
The three of them were never really considered good people. Qi Xia nodded and replied, "You're right." He gave up on examining the body and the greatsword, instead slowly standing up.
"There's no need to look any further. I'm the one who killed him."
Hearing Qi Xia say this, everyone's faces remained expressionless. Only Xiao Ran seemed agitated.
"See! He admitted it himself! He was just blabbering on before to distract us with the name of that sword!"
Officer Li stood to the side, frowning, lost in thought.
"Hey! Con man!"
Qiao Jiajin couldn't understand.
"Even if you admit it, who's going to believe you? Never mind just you, even if you and I moved this sword together, it'd be impossible not to make a sound."
Qi Xia waved his hand dismissively and walked out of the convenience store.
"It doesn't matter. There are only ten days left anyway. So what if I'm branded a killer? Besides, I don't like arguing with foolish people."
Hearing Qi Xia say this, Qiao Jiajin curled his lip and followed him. Then came Tian Tian. From the very beginning, she had decided to go with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, and now there was even less reason to stay.
Lin Qin turned her head and gave Officer Li a meaningful look, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't. She shook her head and left. The team of only eight people had split into two. The four who remained all had complicated expressions.
Only Xiao Ran looked relieved.
"That's great... those people who looked so bad are finally gone..."
"Xiao Ran, I think we forgot something..."
Doctor Zhao whispered to Xiao Ran from the side. ... Xiao Ran ran out of the building and shouted to stop the four of them.
"Stop!"
Qi Xia turned his head coldly, wondering what she wanted now.
"Did you forget something?"
Xiao Ran asked.
"What about the 'Dao'?"
"'Dao'?"
"That's right, the four 'Dao'. The 'Dao' that the eight of us risked our lives to win back. You can't just take them all with you, can you?"