Han Kuan said with both shame and anger, “You deserve your big name, detective Zhao. I thought that my plan was flawless, but I didn’t expect that my wife’s recording would fail to remove your suspicion about me!”
He then added, “I really want to know what the loophole was in my plan! What was it that aroused your suspicion?”
Zhao Yu replied seriously with his own question, “Do you really want to know the reason? Ha ha. I forget! All I remember is that your performance was too perfect. All of the evidence seemed like it waiting for us to find it.”
Then, Zhao Yu tried to recall, “Actually, I think that if it wasn’t for that recording, maybe I wouldn’t have suspected you at all! But… I can’t be sure…”
Han Kuan had his head bowed and became even more depressed. “It seems that I ruined my plan with that extra recording pen. In fact, she recorded that a long time ago. At that time, she had not yet discovered my secret.”
He shook his head, then said, “I wrote a few short stories and wanted to send them to a magazine, but that magazine went bankrupt. So, she recorded the audio and wanted to publish a small collection of audio stories on an audio website. However, because of copyright issues, she ended up not doing that.”
He paused, then added, “Actually… If it hadn’t been for the audio… I… Maybe I wouldn’t have killed her!”
Han Kuan shook his head again, then asked with regret, “Why did I kill her for a silly piece of audio? Detective Zhao, do you think I’m mad?”
“Well… You have to ask yourself… Was it really for the audio? How did your wife discover your secret?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Everything… It’s all my fault!” Han Kuan waved his hand and his eyes became watery. “I totally forgot about my devil suit, just like 11 Kills… Left it in my parents’ basement!”
“Huh? You forgot?” Zhao Yu asked in surprise.
“Yes!” Han Kuan said helplessly. “I finally understand why the Buddha and the Devil went two different ways. Mahayana seeks enlightenment not for themselves alone, but for all sentient beings. But, the Devil is born in one’s heart and will eventually lead you to destruction!”
He shook his head, then said, “Detective Zhao, I guess you don’t know that I destroyed my original devil suit when I came back from Jiangxing County to Beiqian.”
“Oh?” Zhao Yu was quite surprised to hear this.
“I panicked, as I knew that the suit was evidence of my crime, so on my way back to Beiqian, I found a deserted place and burned everything!” Han Kuan sighed, then said, “That’s one of the reasons why I stopped killing at that time!”
Only then did Zhao Yu understand why the Devil Case murders had come to an abrupt end so suddenly.
“But, the devil had taken root in me by then, and burning the suit alone couldn’t eliminate my desire to kill!” Han Kuan continued. “A year later, the police started to investigate the Devil Case, and I had to make a new suit to frame Mr. Lang for the murders.”
He paused to take a breath, then continued, “While I was making the new suit, I was almost unable to resist the impulse of killing again! It’s like there was a real devil calling me, telling me what to do…”
Han Kuan once again fell into a state of seeming insanity as he said mysteriously, “So, even though it was a long time after I made the first suit for the Devil Case, I made an even better devil suit at that time! The mask, cloak, fire, sound effects… Everything was perfect! Then… I just needed a victim.”
Upon hearing Han Kuan’s words, Zhao Yu felt a chill run up his spine. It felt as if a devil with sharp teeth and claws had really appeared in front of him!
Unexpectedly, when Han Kuan came to the most critical point, his nervous look suddenly changed and his eyes showed tenderness as he said, “But… At that time, three things completely changed my life! First, the chat forum was closed, so I couldn’t find any suitable targets. Second, my novel was published! Third… I met my wife.”
He smiled as he recalled, “Our sweet love eventually eliminated my desire to kill people. She is the one who always appreciated my talent and understood me the most in the world! Even when I quit my job, she married me without hesitation…”
He swallowed hard, then said, “After we got married, we lived a very happy life. Her cheerful personality complemented mine. We never had any conflicts, and every day was wonderful. I didn’t disappoint her, either. With the publication of my novel, I earned more money than my old salary at work and could provide her with better living conditions.”
He then added, “Although we had no children, this never affected our love. At that time, I devoted myself entirely to writing and forgot all about my past guilt and crimes. I put the devil suit in a metal box and buried it under the bricks in the room in the south!”
He paused for a moment, then continued, “In the years after we got married, I thought several times about getting rid of it… But I always thought that it was okay to leave it there. Even when the police found it, they couldn’t take it as decisive evidence, as it was found too many years after the Devil Case occurred.”
Han Kuan then said hopelessly, “However, I just thought about the police… Totally forgetting about my wife! She went to school in Beiqian, so she knew a lot about the Devil Case! One day, when she unexpectedly dug out the box, everything came crumbling down!”
He then looked up at Zhao Yu, and before the detective could even ask, he said, “Don’t ask me… I don’t know! I really don’t know how she found the box and dug it out. It was buried under the bricks. But, anyway, she found it!”
Han Kuan then said uncomfortably, “That day, when I got home, I saw that my box had been dug out! Then, she was acting like a totally different person toward me! She wouldn’t say a word to me, and no matter how I tried to explain it, she wouldn’t listen.”
Han Kuan then admitted, “Detective Zhao, you were right! I was not worried about her reporting me, because I firmly believed that that box was not enough evidence to prove anything! But, I really couldn’t stand her change in attitude toward me!”
Han Kuan then said frantically, “Her attitude towards me changed completely, and she became indifferent to me. What made me suffer the most was that she looked at me with horror in her eyes.”
Han Kuan twisted his body as if her was in agony, then said sadly, “I couldn’t bear that! My purpose of becoming the devil was to seek justice, not to frighten my wife! I simply couldn’t bear it!”
He shook his head, then continued, “So… So… I couldn’t let her live in fear forever… So… I…”
Han Kuan grabbed his fists and said, while trembling all over, “I… I… God… What on earth have I done to her? I killed her! And… In a way that I thought was flawless!”
Han Kuan then asked hopelessly, “Officer Zhao, is everything you have shown me true? Was she really going to forgive me? I… Why did I kill her?”
“Your killing her was real, and your feelings are real now…” Zhao Yu looked at Han Kuan indifferently, then said, “But, your selfishness is also real! The Devil is just an excuse that you are using to comfort yourself!”
“Excuse… You really think that is just an excuse?” Han Kuan’s eyes blurred with his tears.
“Han Kuan, you need to wake up!” Zhao Yu said solemnly. “We all must pay for what we do! Do you think that you can escape the law?”
At this point, Zhao Yu finally smiled with relief as he added, “Even if I’ve never been to Golden City and I’d never met you, you couldn’t get away with it. I would definitely catch you in the end!”
Han Kuan said with both shame and anger, “You deserve your big name, detective Zhao. I thought that my plan was flawless, but I didn’t expect that my wife’s recording would fail to remove your suspicion about me!”
He then added, “I really want to know what the loophole was in my plan! What was it that aroused your suspicion?”
Zhao Yu replied seriously with his own question, “Do you really want to know the reason? Ha ha. I forget! All I remember is that your performance was too perfect. All of the evidence seemed like it waiting for us to find it.”
Then, Zhao Yu tried to recall, “Actually, I think that if it wasn’t for that recording, maybe I wouldn’t have suspected you at all! But… I can’t be sure…”
Han Kuan had his head bowed and became even more depressed. “It seems that I ruined my plan with that extra recording pen. In fact, she recorded that a long time ago. At that time, she had not yet discovered my secret.”
He shook his head, then said, “I wrote a few short stories and wanted to send them to a magazine, but that magazine went bankrupt. So, she recorded the audio and wanted to publish a small collection of audio stories on an audio website. However, because of copyright issues, she ended up not doing that.”
He paused, then added, “Actually… If it hadn’t been for the audio… I… Maybe I wouldn’t have killed her!”
Han Kuan shook his head again, then asked with regret, “Why did I kill her for a silly piece of audio? Detective Zhao, do you think I’m mad?”
“Well… You have to ask yourself… Was it really for the audio? How did your wife discover your secret?” Zhao Yu asked.
“Everything… It’s all my fault!” Han Kuan waved his hand and his eyes became watery. “I totally forgot about my devil suit, just like 11 Kills… Left it in my parents’ basement!”
“Huh? You forgot?” Zhao Yu asked in surprise.
“Yes!” Han Kuan said helplessly. “I finally understand why the Buddha and the Devil went two different ways. Mahayana seeks enlightenment not for themselves alone, but for all sentient beings. But, the Devil is born in one’s heart and will eventually lead you to destruction!”
He shook his head, then said, “Detective Zhao, I guess you don’t know that I destroyed my original devil suit when I came back from Jiangxing County to Beiqian.”
“Oh?” Zhao Yu was quite surprised to hear this.
“I panicked, as I knew that the suit was evidence of my crime, so on my way back to Beiqian, I found a deserted place and burned everything!” Han Kuan sighed, then said, “That’s one of the reasons why I stopped killing at that time!”
Only then did Zhao Yu understand why the Devil Case murders had come to an abrupt end so suddenly.
“But, the devil had taken root in me by then, and burning the suit alone couldn’t eliminate my desire to kill!” Han Kuan continued. “A year later, the police started to investigate the Devil Case, and I had to make a new suit to frame Mr. Lang for the murders.”
He paused to take a breath, then continued, “While I was making the new suit, I was almost unable to resist the impulse of killing again! It’s like there was a real devil calling me, telling me what to do…”
Han Kuan once again fell into a state of seeming insanity as he said mysteriously, “So, even though it was a long time after I made the first suit for the Devil Case, I made an even better devil suit at that time! The mask, cloak, fire, sound effects… Everything was perfect! Then… I just needed a victim.”
Upon hearing Han Kuan’s words, Zhao Yu felt a chill run up his spine. It felt as if a devil with sharp teeth and claws had really appeared in front of him!
Unexpectedly, when Han Kuan came to the most critical point, his nervous look suddenly changed and his eyes showed tenderness as he said, “But… At that time, three things completely changed my life! First, the chat forum was closed, so I couldn’t find any suitable targets. Second, my novel was published! Third… I met my wife.”
He smiled as he recalled, “Our sweet love eventually eliminated my desire to kill people. She is the one who always appreciated my talent and understood me the most in the world! Even when I quit my job, she married me without hesitation…”
He swallowed hard, then said, “After we got married, we lived a very happy life. Her cheerful personality complemented mine. We never had any conflicts, and every day was wonderful. I didn’t disappoint her, either. With the publication of my novel, I earned more money than my old salary at work and could provide her with better living conditions.”
He then added, “Although we had no children, this never affected our love. At that time, I devoted myself entirely to writing and forgot all about my past guilt and crimes. I put the devil suit in a metal box and buried it under the bricks in the room in the south!”
He paused for a moment, then continued, “In the years after we got married, I thought several times about getting rid of it… But I always thought that it was okay to leave it there. Even when the police found it, they couldn’t take it as decisive evidence, as it was found too many years after the Devil Case occurred.”
Han Kuan then said hopelessly, “However, I just thought about the police… Totally forgetting about my wife! She went to school in Beiqian, so she knew a lot about the Devil Case! One day, when she unexpectedly dug out the box, everything came crumbling down!”
He then looked up at Zhao Yu, and before the detective could even ask, he said, “Don’t ask me… I don’t know! I really don’t know how she found the box and dug it out. It was buried under the bricks. But, anyway, she found it!”
Han Kuan then said uncomfortably, “That day, when I got home, I saw that my box had been dug out! Then, she was acting like a totally different person toward me! She wouldn’t say a word to me, and no matter how I tried to explain it, she wouldn’t listen.”
Han Kuan then admitted, “Detective Zhao, you were right! I was not worried about her reporting me, because I firmly believed that that box was not enough evidence to prove anything! But, I really couldn’t stand her change in attitude toward me!”
Han Kuan then said frantically, “Her attitude towards me changed completely, and she became indifferent to me. What made me suffer the most was that she looked at me with horror in her eyes.”
Han Kuan twisted his body as if her was in agony, then said sadly, “I couldn’t bear that! My purpose of becoming the devil was to seek justice, not to frighten my wife! I simply couldn’t bear it!”
He shook his head, then continued, “So… So… I couldn’t let her live in fear forever… So… I…”
Han Kuan grabbed his fists and said, while trembling all over, “I… I… God… What on earth have I done to her? I killed her! And… In a way that I thought was flawless!”
Han Kuan then asked hopelessly, “Officer Zhao, is everything you have shown me true? Was she really going to forgive me? I… Why did I kill her?”
“Your killing her was real, and your feelings are real now…” Zhao Yu looked at Han Kuan indifferently, then said, “But, your selfishness is also real! The Devil is just an excuse that you are using to comfort yourself!”
“Excuse… You really think that is just an excuse?” Han Kuan’s eyes blurred with his tears.
“Han Kuan, you need to wake up!” Zhao Yu said solemnly. “We all must pay for what we do! Do you think that you can escape the law?”
At this point, Zhao Yu finally smiled with relief as he added, “Even if I’ve never been to Golden City and I’d never met you, you couldn’t get away with it. I would definitely catch you in the end!”
