"Qi Xia." Zhang Chenze stood with his arms crossed, his expression emotionless. "When Han Yimo was injured, the first person he called out to was you. Did you know each other before?"


    Without even lifting his eyelids, Qi Xia rested his right hand on his forehead and replied, "No."


    "Then do you have any clues about his death?" Zhang Chenze continued.


    Qi Xia didn''t answer but instead examined the massive sword lodged in Han Yimo’s body.


    The sword had an ancient design, resembling a finely crafted piece of art.It was covered in battle scars, as if it had seen countless fights.But in this day and age, who would wield such a massive sword in combat?


    "Qi Xia, I''m asking you a question," Zhang Chenze said impatiently. "Aren''t you going to explain anything?"


    "What is there to explain?" Qi Xia asked. "Are you suggesting that I killed Han Yimo?"


    "Regardless of whether you’re the murderer or not, shouldn''t you at least say something to clear your name?"


    Qi Xia still didn’t respond. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the sword.


    "Hey!" Officer Li quickly stepped forward. "Qi Xia, whether you’re the killer or not, we need to preserve the crime scene! Otherwise—"


    "Otherwise what?" Qi Xia interrupted. "Otherwise, when you police start investigating, you might lose evidence?"


    Officer Li opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.There was no need to talk about preserving the crime scene—right now, he wasn’t even sure if he could make it out of here alive.


    Seeing Officer Li fall silent, Qi Xia tightened his grip and continued pulling at the sword.


    He exerted almost all his strength before he finally managed to pull the blade completely out of the ground.


    Qiao Jiajin stepped forward to help, only to realize that the sword was even heavier than he had imagined.This pitch-black ancient sword, made from an unknown metal, weighed about 150 pounds—roughly the weight of a strong adult man.


    Qi Xia gasped for breath and threw the iron sword onto the ground with a loud clang.


    After a moment, once he had steadied his breathing, he finally turned to Zhang Chenze and said,"Lawyer Zhang, let me confirm this with you: this iron sword is as long as a person and weighs over 150 pounds. Are you seriously suggesting that I lifted this sword, silently killed the immobilized Han Yimo at dawn, and then plunged it deep into the ground?"


    Zhang Chenze pursed his lips, his face darkening.


    "And before that, to keep it hidden from you all, I must have stuffed this giant sword into my pocket, right?" Qi Xia added.


    Sensing the tense atmosphere, Officer Li stepped in to mediate. "Qi Xia, if you didn’t kill Han Yimo, why did you insist on pulling out the sword?"


    Qi Xia ignored Zhang Chenze and instead lowered his head, studying the bloodstained sword.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    After carefully examining it, he shook his head and flipped the sword over.


    Sure enough, on the other side of the hilt, three small characters were engraved: "Seven Black Sword."


    Of all the things Han Yimo had said before his death, very little was useful.It seemed like he had been trying to come to terms with something—but unfortunately, he hadn’t figured it out even in his final moments.


    The only thing that stuck with Qi Xia was the phrase "Seven Black Sword."


    "This sword is called ‘Seven Black Sword’?" Qiao Jiajin asked from the side.


    Qi Xia stroked his chin and muttered,"These three words are engraved on the opposite side of the sword hilt. That means Han Yimo, when he was stabbed, shouldn’t have been able to see the name of the sword.So why did he mention ‘Seven Black Sword’?"


    "I think your thought process is really strange," Officer Li shook his head. "Why do you care about the name of the murder weapon? Shouldn''t we be focusing on Han Yimo’s cause of death?"


    Qi Xia glanced at Officer Li and said,"Han Yimo was attacked after dawn. Even if he had been asleep, such a serious injury would have woken him up.Logically, he should have seen the murderer.But instead of naming the culprit, he mentioned ‘Seven Black Sword’ twice.Isn''t that strange?"


    "But he called your name…" Xiao Ran whispered. "No matter what that sword is, the first thing Han Yimo did was call out for you…"


    "And?" Qi Xia asked.


    "So you’re the murderer…" Xiao Ran said hesitantly. She hid behind Officer Li, not daring to meet Qi Xia’s gaze.


    Qi Xia didn’t argue, he simply stared at Xiao Ran, as if trying to determine whether she was the real killer or just an idiot.


    "Besides, our companion is dead, and you’re not even sad. Instead, you’re just calmly analyzing things. But you’re a liar! What’s the use of your analysis?!" Xiao Ran''s voice trembled with emotion."Who among us would trust you?"


    "Sadness?" Qi Xia frowned, as if struggling to understand. "You’re saying… I should feel sad for someone I’ve known for less than a day?"


    "You’re so cold-blooded! That’s why I said you’re the killer!" Xiao Ran’s voice grew louder. "You were going to leave last night, weren’t you?Why did you insist on staying here overnight?If you think about it, you must have stayed behind just so you could kill him!"


    At this moment, Qi Xia had mostly figured it out—this woman might not be the murderer,but she was definitely stupid.


    Back in the first room, she had also loudly questioned, "Why should we trust this liar?"


    For her, logic was meaningless.She only believed what she wanted to believe.


    Qiao Jiajin, growing irritated, turned to Xiao Ran and said,"Hey, stupid girl, if you don’t like using your brain, at least don’t interrupt.I think this liar’s analysis makes sense."


    "But you three aren’t good people!" Xiao Ran retorted, aggrieved."Someone was murdered here, and you three are the most suspicious!So what if I’m stupid? At least I wouldn’t do anything evil!"


    Her words weren’t just aimed at Qi Xia—they also included Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian.


    Yes, the three of them weren’t exactly good people.


    Qi Xia nodded. "You’re right."


    He gave up examining the corpse and the sword, instead slowly rising to his feet."There’s no point in investigating further.I killed him."


    The others stood frozen, their expressions unreadable.


    Only Xiao Ran appeared triumphant. "See?! He admitted it! He was just going on and on about that sword to distract us!"


    Officer Li furrowed his brows, deep in thought.


    "Hey, liar!" Qiao Jiajin frowned. "Even if you confess, who would actually believe it?Even if you and I lifted that sword together, there’s no way we could have done it quietly."


    Qi Xia waved dismissively and walked out of the convenience store.


    "It doesn’t matter. There are only ten days left—what difference does it make if I’m labeled the killer?Besides, I have no interest in arguing with idiots."


    Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin sighed and followed.


    Then Tiantian—she had already decided to stick with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, so there was no reason to stay behind.


    Lin Qin turned back to glance at Officer Li, as if wanting to say something.But in the end, he shook his head and walked away.


    The remaining four looked conflicted—except for Xiao Ran, who seemed relieved."Finally… those bad people are gone…"


    "Xiao Ran, I think we forgot something…" Dr. Zhao whispered.


    …


    Xiao Ran ran outside and shouted after them.


    "Stop!"


    Qi Xia turned back coldly, unsure of what she wanted now.


    "Aren’t you forgetting something?" Xiao Ran demanded. "What about the ‘Dao’?"


    "Dao?"


    "That’s right! The four ‘Dao’ we risked our lives to win—You’re not just going to take them all, are you?"