Chapter 122: A statistic.

Weijun missed the chance to read the cues as he was busy watching the picture around. “Not only where you a student but you were one of the prodigies.”

Liwu kept her eyes on He Xiao Yu. She noticed the tenseness in his jaw, the clenching of his fists and narrowing of his eyes. This was a subject that he disliked greatly.

“I thought Qinghe town had never produced a student for the campus.” Linlin said.

Weijun, with a big grin flicked the picture. “You thought wrong. Xiao Yi looks fourteen or fifteen in this picture. He…” The picture was snatched from his hands and he was shoved back, cutting his words off.

As Weijun bumped his hip against the corner of the desk, He Xiao Yi ripped the picture into five pieces and pocketed them. Then, he looked at the others and said coldly, “I suggest we focus on the case and we should start by looking into the twenty personal mentees of the professor. That position came with a lot of pressure because only one can win the Ring of Ce.

A ring awarded to the best of the best among the professor’s favorite students. It guaranteed the winner one opportunity to get help from the professor at any point in their lives. Pressure makes diamonds…or cracks them.” He pointed to the wall. “It was tradition for the twenty to have their pictures on the wall. The professor would eliminate them one by one after a set of challenges. I don’t see any pictures.”

They all traded glances and sealed their lips. Some of them looked at the bin, wondering if those pictures had been set on fire. They had suspects to question. As they walked the corridors, He Xiao Yi stayed ahead of everyone, tension falling from him in volumes.

Every corner of this place whispered memories. The air of this town alone wanted to suffocate him. Memories of the past were whispered in his mind. Years, ago, a murder had rocked the town–a ten year old girl that lived next door to his family. Suspicion had fallen on him. He Xiao Yi had been sure that the townsfolk conspired to frame him. His family didn’t believe him.

Without evidence, they turned on him, forcing him to admit to the crime. Professor Ce had pushed him out of the twenty best students. The academy had suspended him. After two years of living a suffocating life in a town that hated him, at the age of seventeen, he had fled and never returned.

It was his first time back, and he was investigating another murder.

Liwu rushed forward, falling into step beside him. “You okay?”

He Xiao Yi’s jaw tightened, “I am fine.” He increased his speed, rushing to get away from her. But she just caught up with him anyway, refusing to let him suffer alone.

Majesty hopped onto her shoulder. “He is not fine. He is walking like a man carrying ghosts.”

“Shut up.” He Xiao Yi muttered.

Reaper barked ahead of them. “Would you all hurry, I caught the first scent.”

Liwu turned around. “Everyone, stop. Time to divide and conquer. Xuanji and Su Jin, you take the principal and teachers. Linlin and I will interview the people Reaper leads us to. He Xiao Yi is on retracing the professor’s last thoughts, projects and speaking to some of those super smart twenty.

Weijun and Majesty will study the architecture and see if there are hidden passages. They are also is also on gossip duty and sniffing around to get a sense of how the academy has been fairing. We will meet back at the hotel in three hours and share what we know.”

They split up as Liwu arranged. As they walked to a lab, with Reaper Linlin asked a question that had been burning. “Has he told you what his deal is with this town?”

Liwu shook her head. “Majesty says ghosts.”

“Ghosts of the past.” Linlin stretched her hands and allowed her fingers to brush against those of a passing student. This was her own way of investigating. During investigations, people were not always eager to let her touch them when she shared what kind of system she had.

“That boy put sleeping pills in the pie of his roommate yesterday to make him miss an exam today.” She whispered to Liwu. Linlin whipped out her handcuffs.

Liwu grabbed her hand. “Not why we are here. Also, your visions are not evidence in the court of law.”

They came to the mechanics lab which smelled of oil. Tools hung neatly of pegboards and half-dissembled drones littered the benches. Sparks occasionally popped from a welding torch in the hands of the student Reaper nudged with his nose.

“How old is this kid?” Linlin asked. The kid looked twelve, he had no business holding a welding torch.

The startled boy dropped the welding torch and it landed on Liwu’s boot. She kicked it away before it could do any harm.

“See what I said?” Linlin shouted.

The student, a wiry boy with grease on his cheeks, raised his hands. “Sorry, that was an accident.”

“It’s okay.” Liwu shrugged, “We are here because of what happened to Professor Ce. Reaper found your scent in the office, around the chair. Do you mind sharing why you were there?”

The boy nodded and then shook his head. “I didn’t kill anyone! I was fixing the professor’s hover-chair stabilizer. He asked me to test it last week. That’s why I was in his office.”

Linlin arched a brow. “Was the before or after he was found dead?”

“Of course before. He wasn’t in the office when I dropped off the schematics. It was yesterday, around 6:00 PM. From there, I went to the library and I was there until 3:00 AM. You can check.” He looked at the welding torch nervously. “Can I get back to work? This is my end of year project. I can’t afford to die.”

Linlin gasped. “Your professor just died! Can’t you take a day off to cry?”

The boy arched his brows and replied bluntly, “1.8 people die per second. 106 per minute. 6000 per hour. 15000 per day and at least 56.9 million annually, world wide. It may sound harsh but the professor is nothing more than a statistic. We all are. The world has not stopped existing, so why should I put my life on hold?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep