Chapter 27: Foolishness
"Qi Xia." Zhang Chenze crossed her arms and said expressionlessly, "The first person Han Yimo called out after being injured was you. Did you know each other before?"
Qi Xia didn't even lift his eyelids, supporting his forehead with his right hand as he replied, "No."
"Then do you have any idea about his death?" Zhang Chenze continued to ask.
Qi Xia didn't answer; instead, he began to examine the greatsword embedded in Han Yimo's body.
This sword had an ancient style and color, like a fine piece of art.
It was covered in battle scars, as if it had experienced many conflicts.
But in this day and age, who would wield such a massive sword to fight?
"Qi Xia, I'm asking you a question." Zhang Chenze said impatiently, "Aren't you going to explain anything?"
"What do I need to explain?" Qi Xia asked. "Are you saying I killed Han Yimo?"
"Whether you're the murderer or not, you should at least say something to clear your suspicion, right?"
Qi Xia still didn't answer; instead, he reached out to pull the sword.
"Hey!" Officer Li quickly stepped forward, "Qi Xia, whether you're the murderer or not, we need to preserve the crime scene! Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Qi Xia interrupted. "Otherwise, by the time the police come to investigate, it'll be easy to lose evidence?"
Officer Li's lips moved, but he was at a loss for words.
Now there was no need to talk about waiting for the police to investigate; even whether he could get out alive was a question.
Seeing Officer Li silent, Qi Xia used both hands and continued to pull the sword.
He exerted almost all his strength to completely pull the blade from the ground.
Qiao Jiajin saw this and came to help, only then realizing the greatsword was heavier than he imagined. This entirely black ancient sword, made of unknown metal, weighed about one hundred and fifty jin, equivalent to a strong adult male.
Qi Xia panted heavily and threw the iron sword to the ground, causing a loud clang.
After a moment, Qi Xia steadied his breathing and finally spoke to Zhang Chenze, "Lawyer Zhang, let me confirm with you. This iron sword is as long as a person, over a hundred jin. Are you suspecting that I lifted this iron sword, silently killed Han Yimo, who couldn't even move, at dawn, and then drove the blade deep into the ground?"
Zhang Chenze pursed her lips, her expression unpleasant.
"And before that, to keep you from noticing, this iron sword was hidden in my pants pocket all along, right?" Qi Xia asked again.
Officer Li, sensing the tense atmosphere, stepped in to mediate: "Qi Xia, since you didn't kill Han Yimo, why did you have to pull the sword out?"
Qi Xia didn't argue with Zhang Chenze but instead looked down at the blood-stained greatsword.
He examined it carefully, shook his head, and then flipped the iron sword over.
Sure enough, on the other side of the hilt, three small characters were engraved: "Seven Dark Swords."
Among the things Han Yimo had said earlier, there wasn't much useful information. He seemed to have been trying to accept some fact, but unfortunately, he died before he could figure it out.
The only thing Qi Xia remembered from that speech was the words "Seven Dark Swords."
"This sword is called 'Seven Dark Swords'?" Qiao Jiajin asked from the side.
Qi Xia gently stroked his chin, muttering to himself, "These three characters were on the other side of Han Yimo. That means when he was pierced, he shouldn't have known the sword's name. So why did he mention 'Seven Dark Swords'?"
"I think your line of thinking is very unorthodox." Officer Li shook his head and said, "Why bother with the name of a murder weapon? Shouldn't the issue now be considering the cause of Han Yimo's death?"
Qi Xia glanced at Officer Li and then said, "When Han Yimo was stabbed, it was light. Even if he was asleep, receiving such a severe wound would definitely have made him open his eyes. In theory, he should have seen the murderer, yet he didn't mention the murderer's name at all, but twice mentioned 'Seven Dark Swords.' Isn't that strange?"
"But he called your name..." Xiao Ran whispered from the side, "No matter what sword it was, Han Yimo did call out your name first..."
"So what?" Qi Xia asked.
"So you are the murderer..." Xiao Ran seemed a bit timid, hiding behind Officer Li, not daring to look at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia didn't defend himself either; he just stared at Xiao Ran, as if judging whether this woman was the real murderer or simply stupid.
"And our companion is dead, and you're not sad at all, but you're calmly analyzing here—but you're a liar! What use is your analysis?!" Xiao Ran almost cried, "Who among us would believe you?"
"'Sad'?" Qi Xia frowned, as if he didn't understand. "Do you mean... I should be sad for someone I've known for less than a day?"
"You're so cold-blooded, that's why I say you're like a murderer!" Xiao Ran's voice gradually grew louder. "Weren't you going to leave last night? Why did you insist on staying here overnight? If you think about it, you stayed just to kill someone, didn't you?"
Qi Xia now roughly understood—this woman in front of him might not necessarily be the murderer, but she was certainly foolish.
She had also shouted things like "Why should we believe this liar?" in the initial room.
For her, "logic" was useless; she only believed the results she wanted to believe.
Qiao Jiajin couldn't listen anymore and said to Xiao Ran, "Hey, stupid girl, if you don't like using your brain, don't interrupt people's conversations. I think Liar's analysis makes sense."
"But the three of you aren't good people to begin with!" Xiao Ran retorted aggrievedly. "With a death here, the three of you are the most suspicious, right? So what if I'm stupid? I'm stupid, but I don't do bad things!"
This statement targeted not only Qi Xia but also included Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian on the side.
Indeed, the three of them weren't exactly good people.
Qi Xia nodded and replied, "You're right."
He gave up inspecting the corpse and the greatsword, slowly standing up: "There's no need to keep looking. I killed him."
Hearing Qi Xia say this, everyone remained expressionless.
Only Xiao Ran seemed excited: "See! He admitted it himself! He was rambling just now to divert attention with the sword's name!"
Officer Li frowned on the side, lost in thought.
"Hey! Liar!" Qiao Jiajin couldn't understand, "Even if you admit it, who would believe you? Not to mention you, even if you and I moved this sword together, it couldn't have been done without making a sound."
Qi Xia waved his hand and walked out of the convenience store.
"Whatever. There's only ten days. What's the use of being labeled a murderer? Besides, I don't like arguing with foolish people."
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin also shrugged and followed.
Then Tiantian. She had decided from the start to go with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, and now there was even less reason to stay.
Lin Qin turned around, gave Officer Li a meaningful look, as if wanting to say something, but didn't. She shook her head and left.
The remaining eight people split into two groups.
The four who stayed had complicated expressions. Only Xiao Ran seemed relieved: "Great... those bad people are finally gone..."
"Xiao Ran, I think we forgot something..." Dr. Zhao whispered to Xiao Ran from the side.
...
Xiao Ran ran out of the building and called out to the four.
"Stop right there!"
Qi Xia turned around coldly, not knowing what she wanted.
"Did you forget something?" Xiao Ran asked. "The 'Paths'?"
"'Paths'?"
"That's right, four 'Paths.' The ones we nine fought to win with our lives. You can't just take them all, can you?"