Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 254 - 238: Fighting Fire with Fire

Qian Huan hung up the phone, lying awake against the pillow, his eyes slightly squinting into slits.

"Chang Wei is missing too?!!" Qian Huan murmured to himself, "He’s gone to look for his nephew, Cang Qingsen."

Qian Huan glanced down at his phone, realizing the intention behind Ma Xuan’s late-night call was both a report and a test of his attitude.

"Even Ma Xuan suspects that I did it, then Zhou Hu would probably insist that I did it, right?"

Qian Huan let out a cold laugh. He knew full well it wasn’t his doing, but he didn’t mind shouldering this blame for the time being; after all, the other party wouldn’t be able to find conclusive evidence to pin it on him, so he might as well let them maintain this beautiful misunderstanding.

Qian Huan was an outsider in the Second Prison, without his own team, making it difficult to establish authority through normal means.

He could only find another way, using some unconventional "terrifying" methods.

"If they can’t willingly respect and submit to me, then they’ll have to fear me instead."

Qian Huan thought this way and acted accordingly; the implementation of [the elimination system] was based on this logic. Now, he half-jokingly took on the murder blame, also out of such calculations.

Habitually, Qian Huan picked at the dead skin on his lips with his fingers, then sat up, walking to the fridge.

He took out a sterile raw egg, gently cracked the shell with his finger, and directly poured it into his mouth.

Qian Huan’s cautious and meticulous nature led him to place great importance on life and health; thus, he hardly touched cigarettes, alcohol, or any drinks.

Even when unavoidable social engagements arose, the occasional cigarette he smoked contained no nicotine, and the alcohol was customized non-alcoholic, even the drinks were definitely sugar-free.

His only "unhealthy" habit was eating raw eggs.

Though these sterile eggs were produced using 3D printing technology, they perfectly retained the pure taste of eggs, both in texture and nutritional value, gaining Qian Huan’s approval.

The cold egg liquid spread a subtle sensation in his mouth, and the raw taste made Qian Huan’s thoughts clearer.

"If both this time and last time weren’t my doing, then it must be..."

Qian Huan crushed the eggshell in his hand, picked up the phone, and dialed a number directly, asking, "Is Li Bashan on night duty at the prison tonight?"

A clear voice came from the other end: "Yes, Director Qian, tonight’s schedule shows Li Bashan is responsible for the night watch."

Qian Huan asked further: "Can you confirm he is indeed inside the prison?"

The voice responded: "Confirmed, he is currently patrolling various floors. I can clearly see him on the surveillance."

Although this answer surprised Qian Huan a bit, it did not completely surprise him.

He gently hung up the phone, quickly pressing another number.

The call soon connected, and Qin Liang’s slightly intoxicated voice came through: "Prison Director Qian, so late, haven’t you slept yet?"

Qian Huan ignored Qin Liang’s question, directly asking: "Forensic Doctor Qin, is Feng Mu with you now?"

Qin Liang hiccuped, slurring his words: "No, the dinner ended, I took a cab, and am heading home now."

Qian Huan quickly asked: "How long ago did it end?"

Qin Liang replied: "Not long, I just got in the car, about two or three minutes ago."

Qian Huan’s brow furrowed slightly, his tone revealing a hint of gravity: "So, two or three minutes ago, Feng Mu was still with you?"

Qin Liang answered truthfully: "That’s right."

Qian Huan notably paused: "During this time, did Feng Mu leave your sight?"

The warm air in the taxi made one sleepy; Qin Liang rubbed his temples hard and said: "Feng Mu stepped out to take a call midway, but returned within two minutes."

Qian Huan pursued: "Are you sure?"

Qin Liang affirmed: "Sure."

"Okay, I understand." Qian Huan paused for two seconds, preparing to end the call.

Qin Liang hurriedly asked: "Director Qian, you called late to ask about this. May I know if something happened?"

Qian Huan didn’t intend to hide from Qin Liang, he said quietly:

"Chang Wei is dead, oh no, it should be said Chang Wei’s sister is dead, and Chang Wei is missing, right when you were having dinner, about an hour ago."

Listening to the dial tone, Qin Liang suddenly jolted awake; the lethargy from alcohol turned into a tightening bladder.

"Chang Wei is missing? The prison director suspects Feng Mu did it?"

Qin Liang’s heart raced; the confusion from alcohol replaced by panic.

"Wait a minute, isn’t this what Feng Mu meant by a ’gift’? No, no, Feng Mu was with us the whole time tonight, he couldn’t have gone out to commit the crime; we can all vouch for Feng Mu, Director Qian’s suspicion is unfounded."

However, despite this self-assurance, cold sweat began to seep uncontrollably down Qin Liang’s spine, and a more terrifying thought was forming and lingering in his mind:

"Could it be, this was Feng Mu’s true motive for inviting everyone to dinner tonight, to make them all his alibi witnesses?"

Qian Huan hung up, his face shifting between shadow and light.

"Did Feng Mu do it?"

"Feng Mu didn’t do it!"

"No, he... did it!!!"

Qian Huan’s thoughts churned, licking the yellow egg liquid from his lips, muttering:

"Interesting, seems I’ve underestimated Feng Mu; this pawn’s methods seem more formidable than I anticipated, ha-ha—"

"Able to kill and eliminate himself as a suspect beforehand; not only formidable but also clever."

Qian Huan’s eyes shone with icy light, pondering:

"He deserves to be drawn in, used for me, used to kill. The only problem is if a knife is too sharp and too smart, it becomes very dangerous, easy to cut oneself."

Soon, Qian Huan made up his mind:

"I need another sharp knife, to use a knife against a knife, so who should I find?"

A struggling, conflicted, ultimately betraying face loomed in Qian Huan’s mind.

"A suitable choice, indeed."

Qian Huan thought hard; he had very few cards to play, so he should make the most of them. He sighed:

"Seems Wang Cong, this discardable piece, shouldn’t be casually abandoned, he still has some value, I just wonder if he’s still alive or, like Chang Wei, also missing?"

Qian Huan felt his attitude toward Wang Cong in the afternoon was too cold; he was worried now about Wang Cong’s whereabouts, whether alive or dead.

After some thought, Qian Huan decided to call Wang Cong to regain some of the points lost in the afternoon, if Wang Cong was still alive.

The dial tone quickly responded with a mechanical, cold female synthesized voice:

——Hello, the number you dialed is turned off, please redial later...