Chapter 68 Unusual Phenomenon
Qi Xia swiftly retrieved a lighter from his pocket, the one he had borrowed from Xiao Xiao.
He flicked the flame to life and held it out toward Officer Li.
Momentarily startled, Officer Li shielded the flame with his bloodied left hand before leaning in to light the cigarette that hung from his lips.
After a moment, he patted Qi Xia's hand in appreciation.
"Huu—" A plume of dense smoke billowed out, and Officer Li seemed to relax a little, his entire demeanor softening as he savored the moment.
"How relieving," Officer Li said with a weak smile. "At least now, death doesn’t seem so frightening."
"What do you want to convey?" Qi Xia inquired, taking a seat across from Officer Li with a solemn expression.
Instead of responding directly, Officer Li posed a question of his own: "Qi Xia, how did Tian Tian and Qiao Jiaqing meet their end?"
He extended the lighter toward Officer Li, placing it gently in his hand.
Officer Li’s gaze fell upon the green plastic lighter, his eyes reflecting a profound melancholy.
"Is that so…" he said softly, lifting his eyes to meet Qi Xia’s. "When that person killed Qiao Jiaqing and Tian Tian, did anything out of the ordinary happen?"
"Out of the ordinary?" Qi Xia stroked his chin, his brow furrowing as he sifted through his recollections. There were so many peculiarities to consider. He gathered his thoughts and relayed a detailed account of the events from the previous afternoon to Officer Li, including the woman’s strange physique and the perplexing poisoning.
He concluded, "I also heard the bell tolled twice—once before and once after the murder."
Officer Li took another trembling drag from the cigarette, allowing a cloud of smoke to escape before he continued. "When the bell rang, I happened to be in front of that enormous display screen."
"When the enormous toll of the bell echoed in my ears, it felt as though the entire world was collapsing," Officer Li remarked, "Do you know what was displayed on the screen?"
Qi Xia suddenly recalled that the screen would display text without any apparent reason and asked, "What did it say?"
"I hear the reverberation of {Adversity Shift (嫁祸)}." Officer Li replied, enunciating each word with deliberate clarity.
"Adversity Shift?" Qi Xia mused, his mind racing. "Previously it was {Beckoned Calamity}, and now it’s {Adversity Shift}…"
Officer Li extended the last cigarette from his pack towards Qi Xia. "Would you care for one?"
Qi Xia nodded, accepting the cigarette. Officer Li then ignited it for him with his left hand.
"I knew you smoked," Officer Li said, holding the cigarette between his lips as he tossed the lighter back to Qi Xia. "Smoking is just right for when you need to think, don’t you agree?"
Qi Xia didn’t immediately respond. He accepted the lighter and took a drag from the slightly moldy cigarette.
The flavor, long dormant and now harsh, bit into his senses.
"I gave up smoking a long time ago," Qi Xia remarked.
"Quitting is good," Officer Li said with a nod. "It’s certainly better for your health…"
He paused, and a contemplative silence enveloped them. They exhaled the smoke languidly, akin to students sneaking a smoke in a school restroom.
"What about the second toll?" Qi Xia asked, breaking the silence. "Did the screen display anything new?"
"No," Officer Li shook his head, the cigarette dangling from his lips. "During the second toll, the line of text vanished entirely."
Qi Xia contemplated the cigarette in his hand, feeling that the situation remained shrouded in enigma.
"What precisely does it all signify?" Qi Xia inquired. "The bell doesn’t seem to function as a mere {death knell} but rather as some other form of warning."
"That’s a puzzle for you to unravel," Officer Li replied, reclining against the wall and drawing deeply on his final cigarette. "I’m just sharing what I’ve observed. You have a better chance of surviving here than I do."
"Why?" Qi Xia’s voice carried a note of frustration. "Why can’t you survive here?"
"Because I’m a police officer," Officer Li said, offering a rueful smile as he lifted his injured right arm. "I sacrificed this hand to save Lawyer Zhang. I could have turned a blind eye, but my conscience wouldn’t permit it. You, however… Qi Xia, you’re unburdened by such constraints."
Qi Xia seemed to grasp the weight of Officer Li's words.
This man had been driven by a steadfast resolve to save others from the outset. His unwavering principle had remained constant, even as it edged him toward his own demise.
With a somber nod, Qi Xia inquired, "You didn’t detain me merely to share these observations, did you?"
"Correct…" Officer Li's visage grew even more ashen. "Qi Xia, there is a secret I have harbored in solitude, never divulged to another soul. I do not want to depart this world with it still buried within me, so I must disclose it before it’s too late."
"Then why me?" Qi Xia inquired, a hint of confusion in his tone. "You could have chosen to confide in Lawyer Zhang instead."
"Because, like {him}, you are a swindler as well…" Officer Li remarked with a wry smile, shaking his head. "Though you are quite different in every other respect, it seems as though fate has orchestrated this meeting."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xia took a deliberate drag from the cigarette, the smoke curling around him as he said, "Proceed. I am listening."
Officer Li’s eyes glazed over as he began to unfold his {true} story.
For a full ten minutes, Qi Xia remained a silent observer, absorbing every detail of Officer Li’s account.
Qi Xia's eyes betrayed a flicker of disbelief, reflecting the gravity and improbability of what he was hearing.
"Officer Li… So you were fabricating such a colossal lie during the first game?" Qi Xia asked, his voice quivering slightly.
Qi Xia had found Officer Li’s story peculiar, but he had not anticipated that it was built upon such a monumental deception.
"Yes," The rims of Officer Li's eyes turned red, "This is the gravest mistake of my life…"
"Just a {mistake}?!" Qi Xia's expression hardened as he stood, the respect he once held for Officer Li now thoroughly diminished. "You were conspiring with that swindler, aiding his escape while misleading us into believing you were on a stakeout. Although I’m no paragon of virtue myself, nothing infuriates me more than corrupt officials masquerading as righteous."
Officer Li tilted his head back, tears streaming down his face.
"Yes, a corrupt officer…" he managed a bitter smile, "I wasn’t surprised when I initially arrived here. I felt that this was my {arraignment}…"
"What…" Qi Xia’s brow furrowed deeply as he fixed a cold stare on Officer Li.
"Perhaps dying here is my atonement…"
As Officer Li’s words trailed off, a thunderous bell resonated from the distance.
Qi Xia turned his head toward the window, his face etched with astonishment.
Why had the bell rung once more? What message was conveyed on the screen this time?
Officer Li, seemingly indifferent to the sound of the bell, extended a trembling hand to retrieve the empty cigarette pack from the floor. He extracted a fresh cigarette from the pack and fished a metal lighter from his pocket.
To Qi Xia’s utter disbelief, Officer Li lit the cigarette anew, a look of palpable relief spreading across his face.
He then bowed his head, softly murmuring, "Qi Xia, my death is my atonement…"
Qi Xia gazed in stunned bewilderment at the pristine cigarette resting in Officer Li’s mouth. A profound sense of the uncanny enveloped him.
"Hey, Li Shangwu! Don’t die just yet…" Qi Xia implored, rushing to Officer Li’s side and kneeling beside him. But it was too late—he had ceased to breathe.
The cigarette remained steadfastly in his mouth, and he clutched an old Zippo lighter with a lifeless grip.