I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 62

When it comes to a motive for murder, one must delve deep into the relationships between the characters. This requires an intensive investigation, and Qi Yan, playing the role of an investor, likely lacks the authority to conduct such an inquiry. Their team would need to rely heavily on Yin Xin.

However, before they could discuss a detailed plan, the police summoned them to the pastoral district’s assembly tent. The authorities had borrowed this space to provide a preliminary briefing to all involved parties.

“Based on our initial investigation, we have narrowed the suspects down to those present in this room,” the leading criminal police captain said, his sharp gaze sweeping across the group.

Qi Yan wore an appropriately shocked expression. She looked around and noticed that, aside from the police and the special investigator Yin Xin, everyone present was connected to the development project.

“I understand that you were all invited here by the victim regarding a certain project. Your luggage is still at the hotel in Zhucheng, is that correct?”

Everyone nodded. Hong Jing, whose temperament was slightly more impatient, spoke up first. “That is why we need to return to the hotel. We did not bring many daily necessities to the grasslands since the original plan was only to stay here for three days.”

The restless Meng Jiumo added, “I would like to ask, Officer, on what grounds have you narrowed the suspects down to us?”

The captain explained, “This pastoral area is sealed off at night.”

“What does that mean?” Jiang Miao asked with a frown.

“It means there is a curfew in the district at night,” Dai Qi remarked casually while filing her nails, looking as if the matter did not concern her. “The grasslands hold many unknown dangers at night. Generally, the pastoral districts where people have lived for generations have curfews, and specific personnel are assigned to enforce the lockdown.”

The captain nodded. “As this lady said, this district, which frequently hosts tour groups, is no exception. Within the designated boundaries, there is a curfew at night. Therefore, when the crime occurred last night, it would have been impossible for an outsider to enter.”

“Tsk, even if outsiders could not get in, that does not mean it was one of us! This district is huge, and we are not the only ones staying here. We are just guests! Why do you not suspect the locals? What if they were blinded by greed and killed Director Zhao for his money?” Meng Jiumo shouted, clearly agitated by being labeled a suspect.

The officer replied, “It was not a robbery. The victim’s finances suffered no loss. As for the other residents in the district, everyone is under equal suspicion. However, we have conducted a round of investigations, and they all have alibis proving they did not step foot out of their homes that night.”

Hong Jing frowned and crossed her arms. “The locals can just vouch for each other? As far as I know, they are all very close. They are either relatives or lifelong friends. What if they are protecting one another? If a simple statement can clear someone of suspicion, then we can do the same. I was with Meng Jiumo last night, chatting and drinking until quite late.”

Meng Jiumo, suddenly being called upon, flinched before quickly reacting. “Yes, exactly! Hong Jing and I can testify for each other! We were drinking together last night!”

Hong Jing spread her hands. “There you have it.”

The captain looked at them and asked, “Until what time did you drink?”

Meng Jiumo and Hong Jing exchanged a look, both appearing thoughtful. Then, Meng Jiumo stammered, “Three forty? I think it was three forty in the morning. I was a bit drunk and dizzy by then, so Hong Jing helped me back to my room.”

“How do you know it was three forty?”

“Because I checked the time! Whether it was my phone or my watch, the time was roughly the same!”

“Are you certain? Your watch could not be wrong?”

Meng Jiumo grew angry. “Of course not! I have both my watch and phone with me right now. I have not adjusted the time, so you can check them yourself!”

Hong Jing lit a cigarette and looked at the officer with a half smile. “What? Do you suspect us of giving false testimony for each other?”

The captain shook his head. “No, this is just a standard inquiry. We need to eliminate all possibilities and uncover the full truth of what happened.” He paused and added, “By the way, I said the locals are excluded because their residential area is equipped with security cameras. According to the footage, no one left their area during the time of the crime. The area where you are staying, however, is a section the locals set aside specifically for tourists. To protect guest privacy, there are not many cameras installed here. There are only cameras outside the perimeter, but they were unable to capture who entered Zhao Ruibin’s yurt last night.”

The room fell into a collective silence. No one was more professional than a criminal investigator when it came to solving crimes. Now that the facts were laid out, the guests could no longer argue against the reality that the suspect was among them.

After a moment, the captain continued, “If no one has any further questions, I hope everyone will continue to stay here until the case is solved.”

Before he could finish, Meng Jiumo lost his patience again. “On what grounds? Most of our luggage is still at the hotel in Zhucheng. If you make us stay in this place, how will we handle our basic needs?”

“There is no need to worry about that. If you need anything from your luggage in Zhucheng, let us know. we will send someone this afternoon to collect your belongings from the hotel. The police will also handle the communication regarding accommodation costs for the next few days. Once you are cleared of suspicion, you will be free to leave.”

Yin Xin scanned the reactions of the crowd. Some looked indignant while others accepted the news calmly. She leaned in and whispered to Qi Yan, “This is only possible in a storybook world where the rules are set by the narrative. In the real world, if the police tried to detain people without evidence, they would be reported instantly.”

Indeed, in the real world, legal procedures and order were paramount. It was impossible to detain suspects on the spot without evidence. But this was a storybook world, and its rules were absolute. Players had no choice but to follow them.

Among the people present, some were players and others were NPCs, but all were bound by the story’s logic. While an NPC might protest based on their character setting, players tended to remain silent.

Qi Yan’s gaze lingered on those who remained calm. While this did not prove they were all players, it reinforced her belief that Meng Jiumo was likely an NPC.

“Please return to your rooms and wait. We will send personnel to fetch your luggage. If there is anything specific you need, please inform us.” The captain’s gaze lingered on the group. “Do not be nervous. Your movement is not restricted. If you wish to go out for fresh air, you may do so, but please do not wander too far.”

With the briefing concluded, the captain nodded and led the way out of the yurt.

“What should we do? Are we really going to stay here?” After a long silence, the first to speak was the publicity manager, He Xueyan, who had been acting timid and cautious.

Hong Jing exhaled a cloud of smoke and chuckled. “What else? Do you want to pick a fight with the police?”

“But one of you is a murderer!” Meng Jiumo paced back and forth. “What if the killer wants to kill someone else? No, I need to get back to my room and stay away from you all!”

A grown man, he was clearly terrified by the hidden killer. He hurried away in a panic. Hong Jing watched him go with a look of pure mockery in her eyes.

Dai Qi looked at the group and asked, “Actually, shouldn’t Director Zhao’s assistant be the prime suspect? Why do we not see him?”

Hong Jing laughed. “You said it yourself; he is the prime suspect. Because of that, his treatment is likely much worse than ours. The police are probably interrogating him somewhere right now.”

“Maybe we should return to our rooms as well,” He Xueyan suggested softly. “There is nothing for us to do here in the assembly tent.”

“There is nothing to do back in the rooms either,” Hong Jing muttered. Despite her words, she stood up first and walked toward the exit. As she passed Qi Yan, she asked casually, “What about you, President Shi? What are your plans?”

Qi Yan blinked, remembering her character setting. she was not a regular college student; she was a top tier heir!

She reacted quickly, frowning as she said, “I have already contacted my father.”

The implication was clear. She was being detained at the police’s whim, and her father would likely not take the matter lightly. The authorities would have a difficult time dealing with the fallout.

Hong Jing seemed pleased at the prospect of the police facing trouble. She smiled and left. Qi Yan followed shortly after, giving Jiang Miao and Tang Shanshan a look to signal that they should meet up later.

Back in her own yurt, Bai Qing emerged from the ring. “When everyone was together just now, I took a close look. I did not detect any trace of the ghostly aura left over from the crime scene on anyone. Either the aura was not left by these people, or the culprit is incredibly powerful, at least twice as strong as the bosses from the previous two storybooks.”

Qi Yan asked, “What do you think?”

Bai Qing’s eyes were bright, and she looked almost excited. “I think it is the latter. This entity is very powerful. Powerful enough to make me feel excited!”

The Demon King, silent for a hundred years, seemed to have finally found an opponent worthy of her interest. She rarely met her match, and the century spent sealed within the storybook had been lonely and dull. Now that the seal was broken, although her soul was damaged, her spiritual power had recovered significantly through constant cultivation. With Qi Yan acting as her “power bank,” her long dormant blood was finally beginning to boil.

No matter how much she disciplined her character, Bai Qing was a demon at heart, a snow fox nurtured by Heaven and Earth. It was difficult to escape the innate combativeness and wild nature of her kind. Previously, she had not shown this side because her power was low and she had not met a worthy foe. She also deliberately maintained her image in front of Qi Yan, fearing that the girl would be terrified by her demonic nature. Since Qi Yan had shown fear of demons at the start, Bai Qing felt she should restrain herself.

Qi Yan had never seen this side of her. Instead of being afraid, she found it refreshing. She even felt that Bai Qing possessed a special charm in this state. It was a charm unique to the demon race, distinct from humans and the ghosts of the storybooks, a demonic nature tempered by reason.

Qi Yan could not help but hug her. “You look so good like this!” she said excitedly.

Bai Qing paused, looking down at her. “Like what?”

“Like you were just now! You have a powerful, peerless charm!”

It seemed this was how the Demon King of the Kunlun Realm was meant to be, a figure who looked down upon the world, protecting her own kind and disregarding the laws of men. She was a being with few rivals, possessing absolute strength.

Since they met, Bai Qing had been suppressed by her damaged soul and depleted energy, giving her a fragile kind of beauty. Coupled with their frequent bickering, Qi Yan mostly thought of her as an unreliable, arrogant, and sharp-tongued fox.

But she was truly meant to be like this: powerful, noble, and wild. In Qi Yan’s eyes, she was far more captivating this way.

Bai Qing smiled softly, her beautiful fox eyes narrowing. “Others would be terrified of a demon’s true nature, yet you find it charming?”

“Tsk, that is because they do not know how to appreciate it. You are a demon; if you did not have a bit of a demonic nature, where would your charm come from?”

Amused by her words, Bai Qing pulled Qi Yan closer by the waist. The two sat by the yurt’s window, side by side, watching the snow fall on the grasslands.

“It is so cold on the grasslands. It is still late autumn in the city, but the snow is already this heavy here,” Qi Yan remarked. Growing up in the south, she rarely saw heavy snow. Even in the coldest winters, the snow in the south never lasted long because the ground temperature was too high.

Bai Qing looked at her and said, “If there is a chance in the future, I will take you to the Kunlun Realm to see the snow.”

The Yuxu Peak of Kunlun was covered in snow year-round, offering the most beautiful winter scenery imaginable. Qi Yan’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she nodded in agreement.

Although this was currently just a distant promise, given their situation, simply living in Kunlun for a while was a luxury. As long as the storybook issues remained unresolved, neither could be at peace. Qi Yan leaned her head on Bai Qing’s shoulder. Initially, she had only wanted to escape the storybook and even considered leaving Bai Qing behind. She had thought that if she escaped, Bai Qing, who was tied to the storybook’s talisman, would be left behind as a prop, effectively ending their contract.

However, as time passed and they faced life and death together, their bond had deepened. Qi Yan realized that whether her feelings for Bai Qing were simple “affection” or true “love,” she could no longer be as cold as she once was. She could not leave Bai Qing behind. She wanted to survive the storybook and take Bai Qing with her, severing the demon’s ties to the trials forever and bringing her into the real world.

When that happened, she wanted to live a good life with her and visit the Kunlun Realm. She even thought about introducing her to her parents when they finally returned home.

Qi Yan stopped her wandering thoughts. Realizing she was already thinking about introducing Bai Qing to her parents, her face turned bright red. Fortunately, Bai Qing was not reading her mind at that moment, or she would surely have teased her.

“The ghost in this storybook is stronger than the previous ones. But if a fight breaks out later, do not hesitate. I have the Divine Wood Branch with me, so you can fight to your heart’s content. We will always have a way out,” Qi Yan said, shifting the topic back to business to hide her embarrassment.

Bai Qing murmured in agreement and then asked, “Do you know who the ghost is?”

Qi Yan spread her hands. “I do not know yet. But we will find out sooner or later. The circle of suspects is quite small. Excluding me, Sister San Shui, Shanshan, and Sister Xin, the suspects are Meng Jiumo, Dai Qi, Hong Jing, He Xueyan, and the assistant. Personally, I do not think the assistant is the killer. He is too obvious; if I were the killer, I would never kill Director Zhao in a place like this. So, excluding him, we are left with the other four.”

“Meng Jiumo behaves too much like an NPC, so I am inclined to think it is not him for now, unless we find more evidence. That leaves the three women. Among them, everyone looks suspicious yet none of them seem quite right. Hong Jing even has an alibi with Meng Jiumo. We will need more clues to find the truth.”

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