CHAPTER XXIV

Xiaolan died tragically

When the bad news came, Fang Xin shook off Xiaolian's hand and rushed into the house. He would never believe that Xiaolan would really die, right under his nose.

The house was dark, the lights were not turned on, and there was a smell of decay everywhere. In the dilapidated home, you can't find a little breath of living people. All you can see is mottled walls and dirt-strewn furniture. It's as if no one has ever lived in this family.

The entrance to the door is the living room, or rather the place to eat. Across a muddy wall, behind is the kitchen. The staircase to the second floor is against the wall on the kitchen side. It is a very rudimentary wooden staircase that looks crumbling.

Fang Xin was very familiar with this place, he had been here countless times, and he was as familiar as his own.

I quickly ran to the second floor and quickly came to the room of the two girls. There are two rooms on the second floor, and the stairs go up, one on the left for the sisters and one on the right for the parents.

Therefore, Fang Xin ran to the left. In fact, Fang Xin didn't know where Lu Dao Xiaolan was, but instinctively ran to her boudoir.

The scene in front of him surprised Fang Xin a lot, his whole person seemed to have lost his soul, and he stood at the door of the room in a daze. Because, from his current perspective, he saw Xiaolan at a glance. It's a pity that Xiaolan doesn't have a little sign of life.

Xiaolan's corpse was suspended in the air, lonely, like a lonely ghost, which made people feel very distressed and pity when they saw it.

Yes, Xiaolan hanged herself and died tragically in her own boudoir. Before the investigation is clear, no one knows whether Xiaolan committed suicide or killed him.

However, no matter what the reason, Fang Xin's heart was almost about to collapse. His most beloved and favorite good sister died inexplicably, and he couldn't do anything about it, there was nothing he could do. He tried everything possible to rescue all this, but in the end it was all in vain.

What else can he do, what else can he do as a man! He can't save his wife, and he can't save his daughter. To this day, even Xiaolan is the same. Is he still a man?"

Fang Xin insulted himself fiercely in his heart, scolded himself for being useless, and scolded himself for being incompetent.

But what about it? The facts have already happened, and no amount of repentance he does will help.

Xiaolian didn't know when she could go upstairs, and when she saw her sister's body again, her legs softened unconsciously, and she sat on the ground with her ass. Two lines of sad tears, rolling down his cheeks.

Her sadness is well known, there is no need to hide it, and there is no need to run away from it.

For a short minute, it seemed as long as countless centuries had passed. A minute later, Shen Kuo, Liu Ting and Du Zijuan also came upstairs.

Shen Kuo didn't stop, he rushed directly to Xiaolan's body, hugged Xiaolan's legs, and shouted at Fang Xin, who was still stunned: "Hey! What are you still doing in a daze, come and help."

The room was full of people, but there were only two men, Shen Kuo and Fang Xin. Normally, corpses are much heavier than they were alive. Because of this, it was difficult for Shen Kuo to move the body alone.

Being called by Shen Kuo like this, Fang Xin woke up from his trance and grief. He didn't have time to think about it, and Shen Kuo and the two of them worked together to gently and gently lay Xiaolan's body on the bed nearby.

Looking at the quiet and peaceful Xiaolan, Fang Xin felt unspeakably uncomfortable. Even at this moment, he didn't believe that Xiaolan was just leaving. It went so suddenly, so bleakly.

But for what? Why would Xiaolan die? What kind of secret is hidden behind Xiaolan's death? For what fate the god will befall an innocent girl. She's still so young and so pretty.

Fang Xin sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Xiaolan quietly. It was as if she wasn't dead, but just asleep, just having a long, long dream that she would never wake up from.

Oh, yes! Xiaolan's current appearance, who can believe that she is dead, and she is still so miserable.

Shen Kuo touched Xiaolan's body and came to a conclusion. He said: "The corpse is still soft, and there is still temperature. According to my judgment, she should have just died and would not have been more than ten minutes. That is to say......"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Fang Xin: "That is to say, as long as we are ten minutes early, we can save Xiaolan, right?" You say, human life is not very fragile, just in just ten minutes, Xiaolan and I are separated from each other. Tell me, 'What is this for?' Fang Xin's emotions were very excited, and he was very unstable.

Shen Kuo can understand this. He patted Fang Xin's shoulder earnestly, and said comfortingly, "I can understand your mood at this moment. But Fang Xin, the matter has come out, and it is already like this. Too much complaining is useless, what we need to do now is to find out the truth, find out whether Xiaolan committed suicide or he killed him. This is very important to us. Don't you want to know the truth of what happened in the Dao?"

At this time, Fang Xin had already clenched his fists: "No matter who this person is, if he kills Xiaolan, I will want him to be torn to pieces."

However, no one noticed that when Fang Xin said this, someone suddenly trembled. It's so faint that no one notices.

At this time, Shen Kuo seemed to have discovered something. He snorted, and then went to pull Lan's fingers.

Xiao Lan had just died, so her whole body was not completely stiff, and Shen Kuo easily let go of Xiao Lan's right hand. I saw that in Xiaolan's right hand, there was a very small scrap of paper, as if it had been torn from a book.

Shen Kuo took the scrap of paper, there were still words on it, but there were only two. The word "Little Lotus" is written on the scrap of paper.

What does that mean? Everyone was puzzled.

Shen Kuo asked Fang Xin: "Look at it, does it look like Xiaolan's handwriting?"

Fang Xin just glanced at it, then shook his head and said, "I don't know how to do it, I rarely see Xiaolan writing."

So, Shen Kuo handed the scraps of paper to Xiaolian, who was still sobbing faintly, and asked, "Xiaolian, look, does it look like your sister's handwriting?"

And Xiaolian only glanced at it, and said very excitedly: "Yes, it's my sister's handwriting, she wrote it."

Shen Kuo's face finally showed a little smile, and he said, "It seems that we have hope!"

Liu Ting and Du Zijuan glanced at each other, and Liu Ting asked, "Cousin, what is hopeful, what are you talking about?" Du Zijuan also asked with a puzzled face: "Yes, did you think of something. Don't sell it, say it."

So, Shen Kuo began to analyze. He took the piece of paper and said, "This scrap of paper was left by Xiaolan, and even if she died, she still held it tightly in her hand. What does this mean, this shows that Xiaolan is very likely to leave some clues before she died. I don't know if Lu Dao is the murderer's cleverness or stupidity. He may have destroyed some of the confetti, but he didn't notice that Ran still had a small half of it in her hand."

"What does that mean?" Liu Ting still didn't understand.

"At least one point." Shen Kuo continued, "Xiaolan was killed by him, not by suicide." He squatted down and asked Xiaolian gently, "Xiaolian, do you think your sister may commit suicide?" Or, with what you know about your sister, what was her motive for committing suicide? What was the reason for her suicide?"

Xiaolian finally stopped crying, she thought carefully and thought about it, and then said, "Does falling out of love count?" Sister, she just got dumped."

"What you say may be a reason to commit suicide, but it is not credible." Shen Kuo stood up again and said, "In this world, there are people who are falling out of love every day, but who of you has heard that people commit suicide every day because of falling out of love."

Du Zijuan laughed: "Committing suicide for falling out of love, that's a fool among fools, an idiot among idiots. It's worthless to die for love."

No one spoke anymore, and the room was silent. Everyone is thinking about their hearts, and they are all thinking about how Xiaolan died? For what to die for?

Shen Kuo paced back and forth in the room, and he was also thinking. After a while, he said, "The murderer is very cunning, and there are no obvious signs of a fight in the house. From this point of view, it is very likely that an acquaintance committed the crime. Only people who are familiar with Xiaolan will kill Xiaolan behind their backs and unknowingly."

"Who do you think of it?" Liu Ting asked.

Shen Kuo shook his head and said, "Not yet, because I don't know anything about Xiaolan and the living environment she lives in. But one thing is for sure, Xiaolan left us a little clue before she died." As he spoke, he shook the scrap of paper in his hand.

Du Zijuan hurriedly took a step forward and said, "I understand what you mean, you mean, the murderer is Xiaolian?" Because on that scrap of paper is Xiaolan's own handwriting, the name of the murderer." As she spoke, she also glanced at Xiaolian with a strange gaze. It seems to be telling everyone that the murderer is around.

The first person to object, of course, was Fang Xin. He said fiercely: "This is absolutely impossible, I won't believe that Xiaolian is the murderer, the two of them are sisters. If you want to say that Xiaolian killed Xiaolan, then may I ask, what is the motive? You can't make a wrong judgment for no reason."

Fang Xin's mood can be understood by everyone.

Liu Ting also said: "Yes, I don't think it will be Xiaolian. She didn't have to."

Xiaolian, who hadn't spoken for a long time on the side, was also excited at this time. She staggered two steps and came to Fang Xin's side. As if he didn't stand firm, he suddenly threw himself into Fang Xin's arms. Tears couldn't help but flow down again, and she said pitifully: "Brother, it's not me, it's really not me."

Fang Xin also stroked Xiaolian's soft hair meaningfully, and said, "Okay, Xiaolian, Brother believes in you. As long as Brother is here, no one will hurt you."

This scene was extremely ambiguous, which made everyone present feel a little overwhelmed. If it weren't for the huge age difference between Xiaolian and Fang Xin, he would really think about it.

Shen Kuo coughed twice, which broke the embarrassment at this time. He said: "Don't think about it, it's not very likely that Xiaolian is the murderer. If it's really Xiaolian, just imagine, she will stay here, waiting for us to catch her. If it were you, you would have run away, wouldn't you?"

"So, how could Xiaolan have a handwritten handwritten by her, Xiaolian?" Liu Ting raised her question.

"That's the crux of the matter." Shen Kuo said, "From the scraps of paper, it can be judged that it is a corner torn from a whole piece of paper. Well, the possible scenario is...... Before she died, Xiaolan wanted to tell us something. For example, who the murderer is and who wants to harm her. But she didn't have time to finish writing, another possibility, she finished writing, but she also happened to be discovered by the murderer. So, the killer snatched the note and destroyed the message. But Xiaolan still clung to the piece of paper at the last moment of losing consciousness. That's why we found that scrap of paper in Xiaolan's palm."

It seems that, in the eyes of others, the head of Shen Kuo's analysis is the Tao. But Du Zijuan still had doubts: "No, when we found Xiaolan, she didn't hang herself!" Could it be that she can still write a suicide note while being hanged?"

Shen Kuo explained: "Of course not, we can't be blinded by superficial phenomena. Xiaolan did hang herself, but she can't be completely sure that she must have hanged herself. There are two possibilities, one is that Xiaolan died before she hanged herself. The killer just made a fake of her hanging herself to deceive us. The second is that Xiaolan was not dead before she hanged herself, or she was not completely dead. When the murderer thought she was dead and was about to hang her with a rope, Xiaolan hurriedly wrote down some information. Look at these two words on the scraps of paper, although you can tell that they are Xiaolan's handwriting. But the handwriting was very sloppy, and it was definitely written in a hurry."

Fang Xin seemed to be a little impatient when he heard this: "What's the use of saying so much. We still don't know who the killer is."

"Let's try our luck." Shen Kuo said.

"Trying your luck?" Liu Ting asked suspiciously, "Cousin, what do you mean?"

Shen Kuo cleared his throat and said his thoughts: "It's very simple, let's treat Xiaolan as a message with more than two words. And the other scraps of paper may not have been completely destroyed, and they are still in this house."

Du Zijuan said dissatisfied: "What you said, even if the remaining scraps of paper are still there, it is equivalent to looking for a needle in a haystack, how can we find it?"

"It's better to have hope than not to have hope, we have to try. What do you say, Fang Xin." Shen Kuo cast an inquiring glance at Fang Xin, he was waiting for Fang Xin's answer.

At this time, Fang Xin was still holding the heartbroken Xiaolian, he finally sighed and said, "That's fine, you go and find it, I'll stay with Xiaolian."

Being able to get Fang Xinzai's acquiescence, Shen Kuo was very happy. In fact, Shen Kuo's heart was very clear, in fact, Fang Xin had thought of it a long time ago, but he didn't say it.

After going through so much, Shen Kuo knew that Fang Xin was not stupid. Many times, in many ways, Fang Xin is still quite smart.

So, the rest of the matter is logical. Shen Kuo clapped his hands and commanded: "Liu Ting, Du Zijuan. Let's go and look for clues. Even if you turn this home upside down, you have to find it."

Liu Ting and Du Zijuan obediently followed Shen Kuo downstairs. In fact, they don't know if the so-called clues can be found, and whether they still exist. But now, even if there is only a glimmer of hope, they have to try to find it.

It was already completely dark, and at some point in the room, an incandescent lamp lit up. The dim light shrouded Xiaolian and Fang Xin, and they could only vaguely see the expressions on each other's faces.

Finally, Fang Xin raised his hand slightly, gently wiping the tears that remained on Xiaolian's cheeks. I don't know if Xiaolian has grown up, her face is slightly flushed. Under the illumination of incandescent lamps, it is particularly obvious.

Xiaolian had stopped crying, she didn't move, she was still snuggled in Fang Xin's arms. Thinking crankily in her little head, she didn't know what she should do and what to do at this time.

Finally, Fang Xin still spoke softly: "Xiaolian, why are you alone at home?" What about your mom and dad? Something so big, where did your mom and dad go?"

Xiaolian said weakly: "Brother, have you forgotten that my parents have divorced a long time ago. Mom is in Wuxi, and she rarely comes back."

Yes, yes, Fang Xin sighed, how could he forget this stubble. As early as many years ago, when he first met the lovely sisters Xiaolan and Xiaolian, their parents had separated. One is in Wuxi and the other is in Gangzi Village. Fang Xin remembered that at that time, their parents were already in the process of divorcing. Come to think of it, it's long overdue to leave.

Fang Xin sighed heavily, and he said, "What about your father, every time I come here, I rarely see him at home. As a father, why can't he care about you two sisters?"

Although Xiaolian is still young, she can still understand some things between adults. She said: "I know that my parents divorced because my father is a gambler. I gamble every day, I go home very late and I don't even go home at all. My mother couldn't stand this kind of life, and looked down on my lazy father, so she was ruthless and abandoned me and my sister."

Hearing this, Fang Xin's heart was also sour. Thinking of the hard life of the two sisters, he couldn't help but hug Xiaolian tightly again.

It didn't take long for the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs at the top of the stairs. It's messy, and it looks like three people who went down to look for clues have come up. There was laughter mixed in, could they really have found a clue?

Fang Xin let go of Xiaolian and looked back. At this time, Liu Ting was the first to jump up, like a naughty little girl, and appeared in front of Fang Xin.

Seeing Fang Xin, Liu Ting said excitedly: "We found it, we found it. I'll tell you, I was the first one to find it. Well, I'm still smart!"

Fang Xin didn't want to laugh, but he still squeezed out a little smile. He asked Liu Ting, "What did you find, so happy?"

Liu Ting handed the second scrap of paper to Fang Xin, and then said, "This is it. My cousin was right, that Xiaolan really left some clues. It was difficult, but I was able to find it."

Unexpectedly, the clue was found so quickly. Fang Xin immediately looked down, only to see that on the scrap of paper, there were more than two words written crookedly.

It reads: Run, Daddy!

What does that mean? If it is interpreted literally, Xiaolan is telling her dad to run. In other words, when the murderer was committing the murder, Xiaolan's father was also present. Xiaolan left a note, not to tell us who the murderer was. Instead, she was to warn her father and tell him to run for his life.

So, who exactly will the murderer be?

Fang Xin couldn't think of it for a while, he immediately asked Liu Ting, "Where did you find it?"

Before Liu Ting could boast about her skills, Shen Kuo, who was walking behind her, poured cold water on her: "She was just lucky, that confetti was lying on the ground, waiting for her to pick it up."

Liu Ting stomped her feet and said coquettishly: "Cousin, why are you like this!" The only two men present gave goosebumps when they heard it.

Shen Kuo didn't pay attention to Liu Ting anymore, and he also had a scrap of paper in his hand. "We found it downstairs in the Westinghouse, and these two scraps of paper were on the ground and were easy to spot," he said. Look at it."

Fang Xin took the piece of paper, only to see that it was written: I have lost my mind!

"I have another idea." Shen Kuo said, "Do you think this could be deliberately left by the murderer?"

"What do you mean?" Fang Xin placed the three scraps of paper he found on the bedside table in turn. He turned around and asked Shen Kuo, "Why did the murderer deliberately stay?"

Shen Kuo thought for a while, and then said, "Whether the murderer left it on purpose or not, I can't guess yet. But let's think about it the other way around. If the murderer wants to destroy the clues left by Xiaolan, there will be a thousand reasons not for us to find them. For example, burn it, or take it away. Even if time is pressing, the murderer can eat it in a panic. But now, such an important clue was easily found by us. Do you think it's possible?"

If the murderer of Xiaolan is a fool with an IQ close to zero, no one will believe it. If not, then it is very likely that the character they have encountered is extremely painful. So much so that Fang Xin and the others really couldn't figure out what the murderer's intention was in doing this.

Fang Xin glanced at the bedside table, and at this time, Xiaolian was staring at the three scraps of paper on the bedside table in a daze. Suddenly, Xiaolian said, "Xiaolian, run!" Daddy has lost his mind."

It's not ...... Isn't that what the three confetti are about? I really don't know how to look at it alone, and I can't imagine that it means another thing when it is connected.

All the people are dumbfounded, they are not stupid, the meaning of the confetti is too obvious. Anyone can understand the meaning of confetti.

Xiaolian couldn't believe it, she shook her head and said, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it, Dad won't be a murderer. What is Dad trying to do to my sister, what is it for?"

She was emotionally agitated and a little out of control. Fang Xin had no choice but to grab Xiaolian's hand, control her and say, "Okay, Xiaolian, we all believe that your father would not do such a stupid thing. With my brother here, I will definitely find out the truth."

Shen Kuo held his chin and pondered, he was also surprised by the content on the confetti. I didn't think it would turn out like this.

"Is it really Xiaolan's father who did it?" Du Zijuan suddenly burst out with a sentence.

Shen Kuo waved his hand and said, "Not necessarily. Literally, there is no doubt that the murderer is Xiaolan's father. But then again, it's still what I just mentioned. The murderer could have destroyed these confetti, but no, and we found them easily. I have to suspect that the real murderer is asking us to turn our attention to her dad. This man is cunning."

Fang Xin also said: "Make a hypothesis, assume that the murderer is really Xiaolan's father. There was no reason why he couldn't see the message left by Xiaolan. As a normal person, knowing that this information is directed to himself, he is extremely unfavorable to himself and is indifferent, and he does not take any measures. There is another point, I really can't find the motive and reason for her father to kill Xiaolan. As a father, no matter how bad his children are, they will never be able to kill them."

"I agree with you." Liu Ting raised her hand and said, "I don't believe that her father did it."

Shen Kuo leaned against the window and looked out at the dark night. After a while, he said, "Whether her dad is the murderer or not, I think all we can do at the moment is to find her dad as soon as possible. If you find it, maybe the truth will be revealed. That's the only clue we've ever had."

No one spoke anymore, Shen Kuo was right, as far as the current situation is concerned, only to find Xiaolan's father and learn what happened from his mouth.

There is reason to believe that Xiaolan's father was at home when she was killed. It's even possible to witness the whole thing. Of course, the premise is that he is not a murderer.

And the only clue that can be found is Xiaolian. She should know her father well and the odds of finding her should be high.

However, no one would have thought that Xiaolian would say, "Maybe...... Maybe Dad did it!"

This left everyone stunned and incomprehensible. No one else doubted it, but it was her daughter who doubted her father.

Fang Xin immediately asked, "What is it for?" Xiaolian, why do you say that?"

"You don't know, my dad has been mentally abnormal since he got divorced. Sometimes it's like this, sometimes it's something else......"

"Dual personality?" Shen Kuo interjected and asked his question.

Xiaolian continued, "I don't know what you mean by dual personality. Dad will only be kind to us if he doesn't gamble, or if he wins. And it's very, very good. However, once he loses a bet, especially when he loses a lot, whether it is right or wrong, Dad will be furious with us. Sometimes they will add punches and kicks and beat us to the point of crying."

"According to Xiaolian's meaning, it doesn't look like a dual personality." Shen Kuo interjected again.

Liu Ting said impatiently: "Cousin, don't interject, let Xiaolian continue."

"But then, things got worse and worse." Xiaolian said, "Dad always loses his temper for no reason. We couldn't find a pattern at all, and we might be dragged out of the bed one morning and beaten up. Chances are, a delicious breakfast will be made for us."

"Typical dual personality." This time, Shen Kuo went on to say, "If that's the case, the loss of mind mentioned in the note is likely to refer to her father. That way, the content on the note is easy to understand."

"Wow." Du Zijuan sighed, "So, was it really her father who did it?" It's cruel."

Shen Kuo said: "Whether her father did it or not, we must find her father now. If you find it, you will know the truth." As he spoke, he set his eyes on Fang Xin.

Of course, Fang Xin understood what Shen Kuo meant, he took Xiaolian's hand and said, "Xiaolian, tell Brother A, where is your father most likely to go?"

However, Xiaolian just shook her head: "I don't know the Dao, I really don't know the Dao."

"Alright, okay, little lotus. Brother didn't force you, but you have to know that we have to find your father. If we want to know about it, we'll have to find your father. Xiaolian, you think slowly, think well. We'll be here with you."

In this way, after about half an hour, Xiaolian suddenly said, "Broken temple?"