Chapter 197: She is the Murderer (Extra for Monthly Votes)
Xu Dongsheng was speechless, watched by everyone, and he was about to cry, "I, I, I, I didn't kill anybody... When I found her, she was already dead, I don't know how long she'd been dead!"
As soon as Xu Dongsheng finished speaking, Doctor Lu, who was checking Jiang Xueying's condition, turned his head and looked at him suspiciously, "Already dead? Xiao Xue's body still has residual warmth."
"Not completely cold yet?"
Xiao Ji suddenly turned his head to look at Doctor Lu, exclaimed in surprise, and then, full of grief and indignation, his eyes reddened. He pulled the machete from the wall, pointing the blade at Xu Dongsheng, wishing he could stab it directly into the other's cheek.
He gritted his teeth and yelled, "Still spouting nonsense! How could you not know how long she's been dead! You must have just rushed down and attacked her! In such a short time, apart from you, who else could have come to this restaurant?"
"You beast! What did Xiao Xue do to offend you that you treat her like this!"
The seeds of suspicion planted in the heart of every villa resident, everyone watched Xiao Ji targeting Xu Dongsheng, and not a single person stepped forward to stop it.
Wen Nan stepped forward, placing his palm on the back of Xiao Ji's hand that held the knife, softly saying, "Xiao Ji, perhaps this is a misunderstanding. Why don't you put down the knife first, and we'll calmly sort this out, okay?"
Xiao Ji was still very angry, but eventually, on Wen Nan's account, he slowly lowered the knife, but he still didn't intend to let Xu Dongsheng go, keeping him trapped in the corner with no intention of letting him leave.
Wen Nan said somewhat helplessly, "Now that the entire Snow Mountain Villa is sealed off, if he really is a suspect, where could he run if he wanted to?"
Xiao Ji thought about it and finally compromised, lowering his foot and stepping back from Xu Dongsheng.
He turned around, walked to the table, sat down heavily on the dining table, raised one leg high, resting his foot on a chair, and supporting the hand with the machete on his bent knee, the knife tip swaying toward Xu Dongsheng,
"Tell me, if not him, who else could have done it?"
Wen Nan didn't answer Xiao Ji's question, only said, "Doctor Lu just mentioned, it seems the incident with Xiao Xue Butler happened not long ago. This means, if Xu Dongsheng is really the killer, then right after murdering Xiao Xue, he immediately alerted everyone in the villa, claiming there was a murder. Isn't that just waiting for everyone to catch him red-handed?
"If I were him, wanting to evade guilt, after committing the crime, isn't the first thing you'd do is hide the body, or destroy the crime scene, or at the very least, leave the scene before sounding the alarm?"
Xiao Ji frowned and thought carefully for a moment, feeling what Wen Nan said had some logic.
However, Maid Susu, standing on the other side, spoke up, "What if Mr. Xu is counting on us thinking that way, using reverse logic, a thief shouting to catch the thief, to clear himself of suspicion?"
Hearing what Susu said, Xu Dongsheng was about to cry again, "Do I look like someone who can think so much in such a short time?"
Susu indeed gave him a once-over, then said in a low voice, "You don't seem very smart..."
"This matter might not be as simple as it seems," Doctor Lu stood up at this point, saying, "There's no visible wounds on Xiao Xue, nor any signs of suffocation or blunt force trauma death."
Susu looked at Doctor Lu perplexed, "Then how did she die?"
Doctor Lu shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I regularly check Xiao Xue's health. I can confirm she didn't have any potential diseases like heart disease that could cause sudden death."
Standing on the other side, Azi thought for a moment, then asked, "Poisoned?"
Doctor Lu followed her thoughts, saying, "If it were a contact poison, it would show traces on the body in such a short time. Without any traces..."
Azi said, "Then it must be food poisoning?"
Upon hearing this, Susu thought about it, her brow furrowed lightly, "Xiao Xue is currently strictly controlling her figure, not eating after midday, and to prevent water retention, she doesn't drink water after the afternoon either."
The group of guests was only invited into Snow Mountain Villa after dinner, so if someone wanted to poison Jiang Xueying's food or drink, the suspects could only be narrowed down to the villa's original residents.
And speaking of meals...
Everyone's eyes fell simultaneously on Chef Xiao Ji who was sitting on the table.
Xiao Ji quickly transitioned from being the aggressor to the object of suspicion, her aura instantly wilted, "What are you all looking at me for!"
"Xiao Xue's three meals a day are personally and carefully prepared by you, Xiao Ji, aren't they?" Susu asked aggressively, "That thief shouting to catch a thief, that's you?"
"Susu, don't you slander me!" Xiao Ji slammed the machete onto the table with a loud "bang", "If it comes to that, isn't the coffee she loves brewed by you? Do you mean to say you don't have any suspicions either, Susu?"
After saying this, Xiao Ji pointed to Azi, "And you! Azi, aren't you the one who takes the meals I make for Xiao Xue to her room each time?"
Then, she looked at Doctor Lu, "And Doctor Lu, you can't escape suspicion either! Aren't the supplements Xiao Xue takes every day prepared by you?"
The characters in the instance started biting each other, which was for the best.
This way, it would create opportunities for players to engage in side quests.