Mr. Li, whose knees had been shot through twice, looked incredibly pained, with cold sweat pouring down his head. He stared at the glock 34 in the hand of the man before him, who resembled a devil, and he was speechless.
That terrifying oppressive feeling made him shiver all over. After a long struggle, he finally recounted the truth.
"A month ago, I accidentally found some strange words written in Si Nuo's diary..."
As Mr. Li confessed, a sexual assault case unfolded before the three of them.
A month ago, while Mr. Li was tidying Si Nuo's room, he saw the diary hidden under the quilt. Out of curiosity, he opened it and began to read.
He continued reading until the content became increasingly strange. It turned out that a child named Dan had some peculiar interactions with her.
Si Nuo wrote in her diary, "Dan told me his father has been following me..."
It was only then that Mr. Li realized Dan's father had been secretly following his daughter and had some strange interactions with her.
This touched Mr. Li's raw nerve. As he continued to read the diary, he saw various strange ideas recorded in it, such as how to get rid of Song Pa, how to create an accident, how to stage a locked-room murder and escape, and so on, with detailed specifics.
All of this was written by his adopted daughter in anger and grief, but it was never carried out.
Driven by his protective instincts, he ultimately decided to fulfill his daughter's ideas, which led to his series of actions to kill Song Pa.
He created a perfect locked-room murder and a perfect alibi. The reason he returned today was because he knew Tang Ren and Qin Feng had been investigating the case and had frequently appeared at the crime scene.
He had also inadvertently left some evidence there, so he wanted to come back and retrieve it, only to be met by the three of them.
He hadn't expected to encounter a ruthless person like Johnny, who would shoot without a word, leaving him unable to escape and forced to confess to the murder.
It was only then that Qin Feng fully understood why Mr. Li wanted to eliminate Song Pa, and at the same time, he had another terrifying thought.
He had been to Si Nuo's house that day and had a conversation with her, but the Si Nuo he met then was completely unlike the one Mr. Li described.
Johnny put away his Pistol and glanced at Mr. Li, whose eyes were a bit vacant. "I don't know whether to call you foolish or clever. With your mind, you certainly couldn't have devised such a perfect plan, but your adopted daughter did."
After putting the Pistol back into its holster, Johnny looked back at Qin Feng and continued, "You saw through it, but you were unwilling to expose the truth. Instead, you willingly chose to help him carry out this perfect crime."
"I truly don't know if you're genuinely smart or merely pretending to be."
In fact, after listening to Mr. Li, Johnny had already formed his own judgment. Initially, Mr. Li might have acted out of a desperate desire to protect his daughter.
But halfway through, he realized he seemed to be led by the nose by his adopted daughter's diary. However, at that point, he couldn't turn back, so he decided to go all the way.
The reason he returned today was probably after a conversation with his adopted daughter. After all, as an intelligent person, based on Mr. Li's description, he could easily deduce what traces he had left at the scene.
That's why he returned to the scene to check, but he didn't expect to run into the three of them. If it had followed the original plot, he should have escaped successfully, but he didn't anticipate his own variable.
"Foolish!"
After saying that, Johnny took out two zip ties and tossed them to Tang Ren. Tang Ren quickly caught them, then looked at Johnny with some confusion.
"Why are you looking at me? Tie him up! That way you can clear your name!" Johnny rolled his eyes.
But Qin Feng was standing aside, lost in thought. Suddenly, he said, "If it was all a locked-room operation, and if Mr. Li did it, then he merely wanted to get rid of Song Pa. So, where did the gold go?"
"Are you stupid? Of course, after getting rid of Song Pa, he found so much gold and secretly took it away!"
Tang Ren jumped up and slapped Qin Feng on the back of the head, shouting.
But Qin Feng, with a serious expression, immediately refuted Tang Ren's statement.
"Incorrect!"
Qin Feng said with certainty.
"There was so much gold; he couldn't have carried it out by himself. And you pushed him out that day. You thought he was heavy because you pushed one person, but the gold was much heavier than him!"
Mr. Li, who had been sitting on the ground with vacant eyes, suddenly snapped back to reality. He frowned and looked at the three of them, asking with some confusion, "What gold?"
Seeing his reaction, Qin Feng was even more certain of his guess: he had not taken the gold, and the gold had been there all along, never having been transported out.
Originally, Song Pa was indeed going to take the gold, but he was unexpectedly killed that day, which meant the gold remained at the crime scene.
Tang Ren, on the other hand, became excited. He began searching everywhere, turning over every spot, but he couldn't find where the gold was hidden. He grew anxious.
"If I find the gold, I can get A Xiang a bracelet!"
"Where is there any gold here? It's all wood or stone, no gold at all."
Johnny looked at the eager Tang Ren and couldn't help but laugh. His gaze also began to scan the surroundings.
The dim yellow light shone down from the ceiling, directly illuminating the top of one of the Buddha statues. Streaks of light leaked down from the gaps at the top, making it appear somewhat solemn.
Johnny's gaze lingered on that particular Buddha statue. This statue was different from the others because it was a whole circle larger and also new.
Qin Feng's gaze was still scanning the surroundings, but it quickly also fell upon this Buddha statue.
No other reason, except that this Buddha statue was too extraordinary, completely out of place with the others.
Especially after confirming that the gold had not been transported away, finding the answer became even simpler.
"Hey, I say, you two great masters, can you tell me where the gold is hidden?"
Tang Ren was still frantically searching, but Johnny and Qin Feng exchanged glances; they had already found the answer.
"So far, yet so near." x2
The two said in unison, then exchanged a smile.
The Bodhi tree is not a tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?
This phrase originally comes from Buddhist tradition, emphasizing that enlightenment does not depend on external objects, and the Bodhi tree is merely an appearance. If one clings to the physical entity of a "stand," one falls into formal constraints.
But it applies equally well here; everyone's eyes were blinded, unable to see the essence of the matter.
After learning the truth of Mr. Li killing Song Pa, and the conclusion that he did not take the gold, everything became clear.
Even Johnny had found the answer to this puzzle, yet Tang Ren simply couldn't comprehend it.
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