"Do you think your father was a good man? Back then, only he knew the whereabouts of that treasure. But when we asked him to hand it over, he refused. You said your father was a responsible man who cared about the public, didn't you? Yet, he was also a man who betrayed trust for profit and was greedy for money." Dao Liu Ye shooed away the imposter sitting on the stool and took his place.
"You're talking nonsense!" Hu Jia could not stand anyone insulting Hu Shi Long. "You kill people for money, your heart is full of greed, and now you're blaming my dad. I know what kind of person my dad is, how could you slander him?"
"Hahaha..." Master Liu laughed. "You, you're just like you were six years ago. At first, you didn't believe me, standing on the moral high ground, cursing me, 'You are a greedy person.' But what happened later? You had to admit that your father misappropriated that treasure. Oh, right, you don't remember what happened afterward."
Master Liu pinched his nose. "It's really troublesome. I've tried everything to make you regain your memory, but you still can't recall."
Lu Qing Qing had always reminded him that Master Liu was using him to find the treasure, so when he heard the other party so readily admit it, he was not surprised at all.
However, he did hear one sentence clearly. Master Liu said that he had to admit his father misappropriated the treasure.
"Bullshit! Don't blame my dad just because you can't find the thing yourself. How could my father have misappropriated that money? First of all, let's not even talk about him not being that kind of person. Let's talk about the time of his death. He was silenced by you shortly after you killed Huang Xuan and the other. How could he have had the time to misappropriate the treasure?"
Hu Jia firmly believed that Dao Liu Ye was slandering him.
"Heh heh! At first, I thought the same as you. But later, facts proved that making money is hard, but spending it is fast." Master Liu looked at Hu Jia. "Six years ago, you found that treasure. At that time, to make you reveal its whereabouts, I captured Mou Ji Xuan. I mistakenly thought this key was essential to unlocking the treasure. I interrogated him for a long time, but he wouldn't tell the truth."
"But then, you appeared. You wanted to save him, but you were also stubborn. At that time, I poured kerosene on his head, but you remained unmoved. Thus, he died before your eyes. What was the use of your stubbornness? It only added another soul to the departed."
Hu Jia's face turned pale. No, this wasn't true.
For the sake of solving a case, for information, for money, he couldn't stand by and watch his brother's life be endangered.
"You don't believe me?" Master Liu saw Hu Jia shake his head. "Indeed, I didn't believe it either. You weren't that kind of person! But you saw the final outcome, Mou Ji Xuan died."
Master Liu said, "When his screams came, when the fire burned on his body, you were scared. You shouted 'Xing Xing' and 'Xing Xing Zhi Jia.' But it was too late. Mou Ji Xuan died because of you. The fire was indeed started by me, but he died because of you."
Ah...
Hu Jia let out a roar. He couldn't take it anymore. This Dao Liu Ye was killing his spirit.
Hu Jia wanted to rush forward, but the Dao men stopped him. His skills were not weak, and he took down several men, but alas, he was outnumbered and pinned to the ground.
"So, what is Xing Xing Zhi Jia?" Master Liu looked down at Hu Jia. Although he couldn't see his face, he could feel the sharpness behind his mask.
Hu Jia was lying on the ground, his neck being pressed down.
Dao Liu Ye walked up to him. Beneath his long robe were cloth shoes and white socks.
"Where is Xing Xing Zhi Jia?" Dao Liu Ye squatted down, facing Hu Jia at close range.
Hu Jia looked at him. His entire face was covered by a mask, leaving only his eyes.
"I don't know, I don't know about any Xing Xing." Hu Jia genuinely didn't know. Gorillas were only known through word of mouth; he had never seen one.
"Yes, there are no gorillas in Chongqing. So I've always been curious, what method did you use six years ago? What clues did you find that led you to conclude the treasure was hidden in Xing Xing Zhi Jia." Master Liu smiled and patted Hu Jia's cheek. "The only person you interacted with in those years was Li Zhen Hui, so I captured him. But he was also stubborn."
Dao Liu Ye spoke as if discussing something unrelated to himself. "Too many people have died because of this. I don't want anyone else to die. Ouyang Wen is a good child, and so is Lu Qing Qing. She's quite a match for you. What if they died young, would you be sad?"
"Ah..." Hu Jia roared. "You dare! If you touch them, I'll kill you."
Master Liu laughed. "How will you kill me? I killed Lu Qing Qing this week, and you'll forget her next week. Really, how can you kill me?"
Sigh!
Master Liu sighed to himself. "This periodic amnesia of yours is really troublesome. Look, I can't even threaten you."
Dao Liu Ye spoke as if he were harmless, but every word hit Hu Jia like a heavy hammer. He knew that this Master Liu was truly capable of such actions.
As he spoke, Master Liu stood up and took a few steps. His toes were about to touch Hu Jia's nose.
Uh...
Hu Jia, who was struggling, suddenly quieted down.
He saw Master Liu's socks.
There was a green bamboo embroidered on those socks.
He had seen these socks before.
No, it was the green bamboo on these socks that he had seen.
Suddenly, Hu Jia remembered many things.
Just now, when Master Liu said, "The bullet was indeed shot from a distance of one to two meters," he had said, "To be precise, the cause of Shi Long's death was suicide."
He called his father Shi Long?
Also, when he said that Mou Ji Xuan died because he didn't reveal the secret, his original words were: "I didn't believe it either. You weren't that kind of person!"
Master Liu knew him. Not only did he know him, but he seemed to understand him well.
Also, he said, "Ouyang Wen is a good child, and so is Lu Qing Qing. She's quite a match for you."
Child?
He referred to Ouyang Wen as "child"?
This appellation was so familiar!
"Are you, Qiao Hua Li?" Hu Jia froze. He raised his head and looked at Dao Liu Ye. Those eyes, yes, it was him.
Qiao Hua Li!
The green bamboo on the socks was embroidered by Qiao Hua Li's wife. One year, Hu Jia and Ouyang Wen went to Qiao Hua Li's hometown and saw Mrs. Qiao embroidering socks for Qiao Hua Li, with this very pattern.
Obviously, Qiao Hua Li hadn't expected Hu Jia to recognize him. He was stunned for a moment.
Then, "Heh heh, it seems no matter what mask I hide behind, I can't hide from you father and son."
Hearing Qiao Hua Li's words, Hu Jia felt as if all his energy had dissipated. He had considered countless possibilities, but he never imagined that Qiao Hua Li would be Master Liu.
It was a kind of chill that washed over a person when struck by the truth, as if you had been desperately chasing the culprit, only to find out in the end that you were chasing one of your own. The momentary inability to accept it left him bewildered.
Hu Jia was stunned.
"So, my father knew your true identity back then?"
"Mm."
"Then you still say you didn't intend to kill him?"
"I only said I didn't intend to kill him that day!"
"Ah..."