CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 33: THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I CAME

To identify Liang Kai as the murderer of Lin Hua Lei, the evidence chain is not complete, such as how to prove that the mysterious person holding a gun threatening He Kao that night is Liang Kai?

But Lin Qingshuang is neither a police officer nor a judge. In fact, Lin Hua Lei only mentioned Liang Kai’s name before he was murdered, and combined with the subsequent investigation, it was enough for her to make a judgment.

Moreover, Liang Kai has disappeared. If he is indeed dead, then there is no witness to the incident, and Lin Qingshuang cannot find someone to take revenge on.

He Kao could understand Lin Qingshuang’s indescribable complex emotions, but did not know how to comfort the elder, so he continued to quietly grill meat.

He has been to all kinds of barbecue restaurants of different grades, seen waiters grill, and also tried himself. At this moment, he was very adept with scissors and tongs, grilling very seriously and carefully, placing the meat on each person’s plate.

Unfortunately, no one touched their chopsticks, and he himself did not eat a bite, as if just performing a ritual that should occur in a barbecue restaurant.

"Elder Lin, I can swear—I am not Hidden Moth!" After the silence, Qian Guran finally spoke.

Lin Qingshuang still looked at the pendant in her hand, without raising her head, said: "I know you are not, and He Kao is not. I have checked the surveillance of your company’s restaurant, and during the incident with Liang Kai, you were all eating there, none of you disappeared."

Qian Guran: "Exactly, Peng Xian obviously wants to throw dirt on me, but I can prove my innocence."

Lin Qingshuang: "You are not innocent, nor can you prove it. You know very well what you have done, does such behavior deserve the word innocence? Lin Hua Lei was also similar, but the crime does not deserve death. He ended up like this, I also bear responsibility.

Among all of you, only Wu Yanjun, who has not been recognized by the Magic Sect, acts fairly... As for you, at least your conscience hasn’t been entirely devoured!"

Qian Guran lowered his head and said: "Elder’s teaching is correct, today I just came to admit my mistake. But I really am not Hidden Moth, I have never obtained the Hidden Moth Object, this can be proven."

Lin Qingshuang: "You can’t prove it now, the surveillance footage has already been deleted. I haven’t kept a copy, nor do I know if anyone else has."

Qian Guran: "Ah, who would do such a thing, does it mean anything?"

Lin Qingshuang: "I don’t know either, but you should be careful of Peng Xian, he and Zhao Hai Zhen are not decent..."

Before going to Qile Manor, Lin Qingshuang had already investigated He Kao, watched the surveillance from that day, and He Kao indeed had an alibi. But at that time, she was only watching He Kao, and did not know Qian Guran.

Yesterday, after hearing Peng Xian’s "reveal" about Qian Guran and receiving Qian Guran’s information, she also checked into Qian Guran’s background. At least photo records were accessible, then based on memory, she realized she might have seen this person in the surveillance.

Be aware that the surveillance video is not a clear close-up; it’s possible to check whether someone was at a certain place during a certain time, but to recall another stranger appearing in the scene is not an ordinary person’s ability.

Lin Qingshuang just had an impression, so she wanted to confirm again, and early this morning she went to check the surveillance again, but found the records had been deleted. Don’t ask her why she can view when she wants to, such a person has her own means.

Lin Qingshuang didn’t initially think to specially copy and save it; it only proved He Kao is "not Hidden Moth" or "no longer Hidden Moth". Seeing it was enough.

Even without surveillance, one could inquire other people from the restaurant at that time; but since time has passed, they may not recall clearly.

Actually, even if no one deletes it, surveillance records are automatically overwritten after seven days. But the case occurred on Monday, today is Sunday, not yet seven days, indicating that it was man-made and it’s unclear what is being covered up.

The doer couldn’t have deleted all the surveillance in the entire building. Lin Qingshuang saw Peng Xian in other surveillance records; on Saturday night, he entered and exited that office building.

Peng Xian had a business collaboration with the department, entering and exiting the building is not unacceptable, but he is suspicious.

If it were someone else, they wouldn’t have the motive, but Peng Xian clearly wants to throw dirt on Qian Guran, so he must do it thoroughly. He must have seen the surveillance, knew Qian Guran was in it, so he simply rushed to delete it.

There’s a saying, those who wrong you know better than anyone how wronged you are!

Qian Guran: "Even without surveillance records, I have witnesses, for example, Elder Lin, you."

Lin Qingshuang: "If necessary, I can testify for you."

This is when He Kao weakly asked, "May I ask a question, Elder Lin mentioned earlier, Wu Yanjun has not been recognized by the Magic Sect, what does this mean?"

He also didn’t know how to address Lin Qingshuang, so simply followed Old Qian and called her elder.

Qian Guran: "Didn’t Wu Yanjun tell you?"

He Kao: "He never mentioned these things."

"It seems he wouldn’t say it on his own. Actually, his master Zhang Yanfei has been expelled by the Micro Realm Sect..."

Qian Guran explained for a while, only then did He Kao understand what’s going on, no wonder he was so hesitant back then when I said I wanted to learn techniques.

Lin Qingshuang finally put down the pendant in her hand, looked up at He Kao, said: "Young man, I have another very important question, please answer honestly—when did you hear Lin Hua Lei’s name?"

He Kao remained quite calm, but Qian Guran was surprised, turning his head: "Yes, when did you hear about Lin Hua Lei?"

In the previous conversation, Old Qian and Lin Qingshuang both mentioned Lin Hua Lei. If you only listened to the conversation, you wouldn’t understand who Lin Hua Lei is or what happened to him.

And Lin Qingshuang’s purpose in coming here was clearly to investigate Lin Hua Lei’s death.

Then He Kao’s reaction becomes very strange, even though he didn’t dare interrupt randomly, he should feel puzzled, right? Yet he just quietly grilled meat beside them.

When he spoke, he should at least first ask "Who is Lin Hua Lei?"

But he didn’t mention it, didn’t even ask who Zhao Hai Zhen was whom Lin Qingshuang mentioned earlier, instead asked why Wu Yanjun hasn’t been recognized by the Magic Sect, which doesn’t make sense.

Such a flaw, how could Lin Qingshuang not notice?

He Kao smiled bitterly and said, "I was also at Qile Manor yesterday. I heard the conversation between Elder Lin and those two people."

Qian Guran: "What! How did you hear that?"

He Kao: "I don’t know, I just heard it, using my own method."

"Can you demonstrate it... tell me now, what is the receptionist of this restaurant saying?" Lin Qingshuang snapped her fingers, and suddenly the soundproofing of the private room disappeared. All sorts of noises from outside came in.

He Kao narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a while, he replied, "Just now, a guest was settling the bill. He had a prepaid card for this restaurant and asked how much balance was left. The receptionist told him there was still nine hundred ninety-four left.

He spent twelve hundred and thirty-three on this meal. If he used the card, he would need to add two hundred thirty-six in cash. The waiter advised him to recharge again, saying if he recharged a thousand he would get an extra three hundred, making it a good deal, and after settling the bill, there would be over a thousand left in the card."

Qian Guran couldn’t help but want to applaud, looking at He Kao with a face full of amazement.

However, Lin Qingshuang noticed another detail and asked further, "Your recounting has a delay. It’s all about conversations that have already happened, not what’s currently happening. Why is that?"

He Kao: "When I start to speak, my own voice interferes, so I can’t hear the sounds from that side. As a result, I can only tell you what I heard before speaking, not listen and speak at the same time."

Lin Qingshuang nodded slightly and said, "Oh, I see."

Qian Guran chimed in from the side: "Elder, your kind of requirement, to listen and speak at the same time, probably requires Tier Three Cultivation to achieve."

Lin Qingshuang turned her head and said, "Then what tier cultivation do you think he is?"

Qian Guran: "It seems... it’s hard to tell."

Lin Qingshuang: "In what technique is he cultivated?"

Qian Guran: "Can’t really say."

Lin Qingshuang: "Then how did he manage it?"

The question wasn’t peculiar, but who she asked was a bit peculiar, as she was not asking He Kao himself but Qian Guran.

Qian Guran picked up a pendant and said, "I think the reason might lie here. Elder, take a look at this object. I once thought it was the Hidden Moth Object. He Kao has worn it for over twenty years since childhood."

Lin Qingshuang took the pendant and rubbed it in her hand for a long time, pondering, "This object could be considered precious. Young man, how did you come by it?"

He Kao introduced the origin of the pendant again, saying it was given by his grandfather. As for any further backstory, he didn’t know.

Lin Qingshuang: "You’ve worn it close for twenty years, so it likely had the effect of establishing your foundation, but that’s not enough. Tell me truthfully, have you practiced any secret techniques?"

He Kao finally lost his composure and waved his hands, saying, "No, no, can you first tell me what significance this pendant has? Now I feel it’s extraordinary, but I can’t explain it!"

Lin Qingshuang pointed to Qian Guran: "You’d better ask him. I just got a hold of it, but he’s studied it for a long time."

Qian Guran expended much effort to clearly explain what this object was and what effects or magical uses it had. The pendant was here, proving one thing: Qian Guran was indeed the first to act, and everyone else got fakes.

Unexpectedly, the pendant he had worn for so many years turned out to be such a treasure! He Kao was momentarily dumbfounded, wondering who his grandfather had it processed by back in the day.

At this moment, Lin Qingshuang and Qian Guran exchanged a glance, both with looks of interest, not in the pendant but in He Kao himself.

Qian Guran even sighed slightly, making a congratulatory gesture towards Lin Qingshuang in private.

Lin Qingshuang nodded slightly, giving Qian Guran a look.

Old Qian coughed and said, "Xiao Kao."

He Kao: "Just call me Xiao Kao, everyone at home does."

Old Qian smiled, "Xiao Kao, I heard you earlier say you asked Wu Yanjun how you could learn techniques?"

He Kao’s eyes lit up, and he quickly responded, "Yes, but unfortunately he hasn’t given me a definitive answer yet."

There was a barely concealed excitement in his voice. He had suspected this might be a Hongmen banquet, but he had come despite his fears. After all, his purpose was just this!

He had even written a program to collect related information online and used the company’s AI platform for comparison and judgment, organizing a set of so-called "secret techniques." How could he not want to learn real techniques?

Zhao Hai Zhen and Peng Xian, he neither dared nor wanted to associate with, but Qian Guran and especially Lin Qingshuang, he very much wanted to apprentice to.

He thought only Old Qian would be here, but didn’t expect Lin Qingshuang to be here as well. He must seize this opportunity well!

Lin Qingshuang, somewhat reservedly, spoke, "Xiao Kao, you still haven’t answered my earlier question. Have you ever followed someone, or practiced any secret techniques?"

Unknowingly, her way of addressing He Kao had also changed.

**

PS: Thank you all for the birthday wishes! Feeling moved, I’ve composed a poem in return—

Jade pipes and melons from quince, the water of the pool calls the peach blossoms from a thousand feet deep.

Your spring shines on me much, repay life’s course with beautiful writings and fine wine.