Ji Chenjiao took the photo. Yu Qin looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, and Yu Qianming seemed to be just twenty. The photo was taken in winter. Yu Qin wore a light blue plush coat, a dark blue long skirt, and black leather boots, with a furry scarf and gloves. Yu Qianming was dressed entirely in black. Behind them was a forest, with snow on the ground and trees.

Ji Chenjiao immediately thought of the snow field Ling Lie mentioned.

It snowed in Cangyuan City in winter, and any surrounding mountain would have snow, so linking it to Wonder’s artificial snow field wasn’t entirely logical, but right now, this photo was the only clue!

Ji Chenjiao asked immediately, “Where is this place?”

Yu Yesheng was completely confused. “I don’t know. There’s a house here; could it be one of our family’s estates in the mountains?”

Ji Chenjiao said, “Let’s go ask the housekeepers!”

Early in the morning, everyone in the old mansion was woken up by Yu Yesheng. A few years ago, Sha Man and Yu Qianming moved out of the old mansion one after another, and the number of servants here dwindled. Those who remained had served for many years. Yu Yesheng showed them the photo, but even they shook their heads blankly, saying that when Mr. Yu was this age, they hadn’t come to the Yu family yet.

Yu Yesheng said anxiously, “What should we do? I remember the oldest batch of servants and housekeepers retired many years ago, and most have passed away. The remaining ones can’t be found immediately.”

Ji Chenjiao held the photo and calmed down. “Don’t panic. What you just said is also a possibility; this might be a Yu family property somewhere in the mountains. do you know which properties the Yu family has near Cangyuan City?”

“Let me think…” Yu Yesheng didn’t just think; he also called relatives far away in Dongye City and Xiarong City. Finally, he listed seven locations.

Ji Chenjiao cross-referenced them with a map. They were distributed in the mountains north and northeast of Cangyuan City, each corresponding to a township. Searching them would require manpower; he couldn’t do it alone.

Ji Chenjiao called back to Xiarong City. After listening, Xie Qing said, “I’ll contact the Cangyuan City Bureau. You think of other approaches.”

“Yes.”

At noon that day, the Cangyuan City Bureau sent out search teams. Ji Chenjiao followed one team into the mountains to confirm the location of the Yu family’s small building, but it didn’t look like the place in the photo, and there was no trace of Jin Liuyun.

By evening, other teams successively reported back: no place similar to the photo was found, nor were any suspicious individuals.

Yu Yesheng had been excited all day, but now his face fell. “Captain Ji, what should we do? Our family has some other villas in the mountains; should I recall them all for you?”

Ji Chenjiao shook his head. “No need for now.”

Wonder’s hometown, Jinxiang Village, had no snow year-round, just like Country L. His perception of snow came from Yu Qin. Yu Qin could see snow every year; snow wasn’t special to her. Searching all mountains with snow rashly might just be a waste of effort.

Ji Chenjiao closed his eyes, trying his best to put himself in Yu Qin’s shoes back then. When Yu Qin spoke of snow to Wonder, which snowfall would she mention? Where had she seen the snow? That place should have a certain significance.

The photo Yu Yesheng found surfaced in Ji Chenjiao’s mind again. Regardless of how the Yu siblings ended up later, at least when the photo was taken, Yu Qianming doted on his sister, and Yu Qin relied on her brother.

After orchestrating Yu Qin’s removal to Country L, Yu Qianming kept this photo, storing it alongside many seemingly insignificant items preserved for decades. What was his psychology? Guilt? Self-blame?

So many years passed, he turned against Yu Qin (Sha Man), yet he still didn’t dispose of this photo. Perhaps he forgot. But on his deathbed, he called Yu Qin’s name and hummed the song Yu Qin also hummed. Was Yu Qin the biggest regret at the end of his life? Was she what he couldn’t let go of even in death?

Then what about Yu Qin? Was this snow seen with her brother even more special, more memorable? So she would recall it many times, tell her lover about it, and hum that song gently to her child?

Ji Chenjiao hummed the song along with the recording. Soon, his phone ringtone interrupted the playback. Xie Qing said, “The identification result for your recording is out. It’s called ‘Liuyun Yao’ (Ballad of Floating Clouds), a folk song from the Langdie Village area!”

“Liuyun Yao,” Jin Liuyun!

Ji Chenjiao was instantly invigorated and immediately opened the map. Langdie Village was located at the foot of Langdie Mountain, southwest of Cangyuan City, separated by a city. Transportation there was relatively inaccessible, and even now, decent tourism resources hadn’t been developed.

“Langdie Village?” Yu Yesheng was surprised. “I can guarantee our family has no property there, and my dad never mentioned it. Could it be a mistake?”

Ji Chenjiao said, “We’ll know when we look.”

He wanted to set off immediately, but the weather at night was terrible. Not to mention Langdie Mountain often being closed due to weather and road conditions, even the highway in Cangyuan City wasn’t smooth currently.

Ji Chenjiao had to wait while discussing police deployment with the local police.

---

The next afternoon, the weather cleared up slightly, and the Cangyuan City Bureau dispatched a helicopter directly.

Smoke from cooking fires rose everywhere in Langdie Village, giving it a pre-New Year atmosphere. The local police station also received instructions to assist in the investigation. They took Ji Chenjiao to ask the villagers in dialect if they had heard “Liuyun Yao.” The younger ones shook their heads, but the older ones smiled, their faces wrinkling.

“Heard it, heard it, we sang it often when we were little!”

Saying so, they began to hum and sing. One led, and many joined in harmony. The singing was gentle and melodious, like the drifting rosy clouds in the mountains.

An old lady said this song was about snowy days. They praised snowy days because heavy snow would bring a good harvest in the coming year.

Ji Chenjiao took out the photo and asked if she had seen the place in it. The old lady looked for a while, called other villagers over, and finally said the place in the photo might be on Langdie Mountain. It looked like Langliu Ridge. Many years ago, outsiders occasionally went to Langliu Ridge to see the snow. That place was the most beautiful spot to view snow on Langdie Mountain, and the starry sky was especially clear. But later, a landslide occurred on the cliff next to Langliu Ridge in the summer, destroying the terrain, so few people went there anymore.

Ji Chenjiao’s heart beat uncontrollably fast. Was this it? Had they finally found it?

Suppressing his excitement, he asked if any outsiders had come recently.

The villagers spoke all at once, saying some people came to see the snow and climb the mountain, and they were still up there.

Ji Chenjiao showed them the video of Jin Liuyun from the surveillance. “Is he among them?”

Someone said, “Isn’t this Mr. Jin? I saw him; he even asked me for directions to Langliu Ridge!”

Yu Yesheng, following behind Ji Chenjiao, covered his mouth, too excited to speak.

Found him!

But Ji Chenjiao had to be calm, calm again. The person was on the mountain, but acting impulsively was the worst thing to do now.

Jin Liuyun seemed gentle, but he was an exceptionally terrifying person. Xing Yongdan died by his hand. Wonder, the leader of “Jasmine Tea,” was almost certainly him. He cooperated with “Floating Light,” and his hands were stained with the blood of countless people!

More practically, he had a gun, and the four people who entered the country with him were definitely elite mercenaries.

If they rushed up rashly now, it could very likely cause police casualties, and even implicate the tourists currently on the mountain and the people below.

The police station thought they were just going up to find an ordinary criminal. The station chief even wanted to lead the team up personally, guaranteeing, “I know Langdie Mountain best, I’ll go up!”

Ji Chenjiao quickly stopped him, discussed with the team members from Cangyuan City, and unanimously decided to hold their position for now and wait for the SWAT support to arrive before going up the mountain.

In the afternoon, fully armed SWAT officers descended from the sky. Ji Chenjiao changed into tactical gear and, led by local police, cautiously headed toward Langliu Ridge.

Silence reigned in the mountains. In this sparsely populated place, the wind seemed to speak, whistling through withered branches and lingering on a dilapidated wooden house.

There was a slight movement behind the wooden house. A figure in a dark gray down jacket appeared, dragging a wooden board.

It was Jin Liuyun.

He seemed somewhat tired, tossed the wooden board aside, and looked up at the leaden sky.

It was snowing again today, but the snow wasn’t heavy, not yet enough to cover the mountains and plains in pure white.

But he knew he might not live to witness that scene with his own eyes.

That shrewd police officer, his child, might find this place very soon.

Jin Liuyun sighed, sat on a small stool in front of the wooden house, and lit a cigarette. This cigarette had a long foreign name, but people in the Salingauke region called it “Jasmine Tea.”

The same name as his organization.

He didn’t rename the cigarette, but as he climbed higher and higher, naturally, the cigarette he loved to smoke became known as “Jasmine Tea,” and those who followed him considered changing their surname to Duan an honor.

But the person who should truly be surnamed Duan, his child, was not surnamed Duan.

Yu Ge was the name he and Yu Qin gave their child. That day in the park in Xiarong City, when talking about names, he actually didn’t say everything. That child couldn’t be surnamed Duan because Duan was a curse that would be fulfilled on him and Yu Qin.

Jin Liuyun raised his face, wrinkles and stubble meeting the fine snow.

In his memory, young Yu Qin was like a beautiful butterfly. In Country L, where it never snowed, Yu Qin often spoke of this place called Langdie Mountain (Mountain of Youth and Butterflies?), saying there was a Langliu Ridge here. Whenever it snowed, the whole ridge would be white, snow accumulating up to the calves, and starlight from the sky illuminating the snowy ground. There was also a wooden house, though very simple, it held a period of time she missed very much.

But Yu Qin never would say why, having seen so much snow, she had a special fondness for Langdie Mountain’s snow. He thought it was probably because the snow scenery on Langdie Mountain was exceptionally magnificent.

Jin Liuyun stood up, walked a few steps deeper into the woods, and slowly lay down, looking at the sky filled with branches. They looked like the sky’s blood vessels, but the blood inside had dried up.

The day he first arrived, it hadn’t snowed on the mountain. Golden leaves covered the ground, crunching under his boots.

Actually, he preferred that kind of scene. It was like the desert Gobi seen everywhere in Country L. Sniffing carefully, the air seemed to still hold the smell of gunpowder.

It turned out that compared to his homeland, he had grown to love that distant land more.

He thought, maybe he shouldn’t have stayed here so long. Maybe he should have left after killing Xing Yongqiang, not going to see that child, just as he agreed with Yu Qin back then—never to enter that child’s life.

But he was a father after all; that was his only offspring. For the first time in over twenty years, he was so close to him. He couldn’t convince himself not to take even one look.

“And you?” Jin Liuyun muttered to himself. “Do you want to see him?”

The withered branches swayed, the wind swayed too. Perhaps it was Yu Qin’s answer, but no one could hear it.

Lying there for an unknown amount of time, Jin Liuyun suddenly sat up and looked southeast. His senses had always been keen; otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived multiple assassination attempts. Someone was coming up from that direction, and there were many of them, not ordinary tourists.

Jin Liuyun frowned, stood up, and patted the snow and grass blades from his down jacket. His expression remained placid, but his brow furrowed slightly tighter than before.

He looked in the direction of the sound, seeing nothing for the moment. Soon, the sound split into three directions; the comers seemed intent on surrounding him.

He turned around, putting his back to the southeast.

---

To reach Langliu Ridge, one had to pass a landslide point. The rugged rocks there daunted tourists. Seeing the landslide point, Ji Chenjiao actually breathed a sigh of relief and asked the police officer how much longer after passing this point.

The officer said the area above wasn’t big; one could circle it in an hour.

Ji Chenjiao then had the officers without tactical gear stay behind, going up only with the SWAT team from Cangyuan City.

The higher they went, the quieter it became, and everyone’s nerves grew tighter. Jin Liuyun had let the police know of four entourage members, but perhaps more people were hiding on the mountain.

From a distance, Ji Chenjiao saw a dilapidated wooden house and immediately signaled the team to stop temporarily. Only the sound of wind existed in the mountains, blowing up small amounts of snow dust.

Moving forward again, combat boots stepped on the mud, each sound duller than the last. Suddenly, a team member let out a short breath. Ji Chenjiao looked over quickly, asking with a hand signal—What is it?

The team member pointed diagonally ahead—Someone!

Beside the wooden house stood a black silhouette. Ji Chenjiao raised his binoculars—it was Jin Liuyun!

Jin Liuyun just stood there, completely undefended, like a target set up.

Ji Chenjiao felt very uneasy. What was Jin Liuyun doing? Was it a trap? Once they rushed over, would gunshots ring out around them, catching them all in one net?

But Jin Liuyun was actually using himself as bait?

The team’s advance halted; no one dared to act rashly at this moment.

A hint of a smile suddenly floated onto the corners of Jin Liuyun’s lips. It held no mockery, but rather a trace of nostalgia.

Many years ago, he led the young people of the Duan family to flee to Country L. Weaponless and driven away, they hid in the mountains for a long time. He began to know what the breathing of the forest sounded like, and what the breathing of animals sounded like. Human breathing was different from both; even when desperately concealed, it carried greed.

Humans were the most impure creatures.

He easily heard the people’s breathing, heard them stop, as if afraid he would make another move.

He sighed, turned around, and seemed to speak to the world: “Who is there?”

No one answered, but Ji Chenjiao’s gun muzzle was aimed right at him.

“Is Officer Ji here?” Jin Liuyun said again.

Ji Chenjiao was startled and lifted his head from the sight.

“It must be you, Officer Ji.” Jin Liuyun said calmly. “Only you would search for me so urgently. Come out.”

The SWAT officers looked at Ji Chenjiao. After a moment, Ji Chenjiao moved. His footsteps rippled through the mountains like water, breaking the tense silence.

When he appeared in Jin Liuyun’s field of view, Jin Liuyun’s hands moved, seemingly to take something out of his down jacket pockets.

Ji Chenjiao immediately aimed his gun, and the other SWAT officers around also pointed their muzzles at Jin Liuyun.

In the earpiece, the sniper reported to Ji Chenjiao: “No ambushers found.”

Jin Liuyun’s hands came completely out of his pockets, empty. He held nothing. Surprisingly, he seemed to have no intention of resisting. He raised his hands in a surrendering posture. “Officer Ji, put down the gun. I want to disturb the peace of this ridge less than any of you.”

Ji Chenjiao’s mind stirred slightly; he seemed to understand the meaning in Jin Liuyun’s words. But his teammates were behind him. He couldn’t let his teammates pay the price just because he trusted this dangerous element.

He walked forward a few steps. A SWAT officer shouted from behind, “Captain Ji, let him come over himself!”

Ji Chenjiao shook his head. Jin Liuyun had no weapons in his hands, but there was no guarantee he didn’t have any on his body. If he came over like this and something happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He gradually approached Jin Liuyun. Jin Liuyun also walked slowly closer. Ji Chenjiao didn’t lower his gun, and Jin Liuyun showed no inclination to resist.

When only five steps remained between them, Ji Chenjiao said, “Turn around.”

Jin Liuyun complied.

Ji Chenjiao said again, “Take off the coat.”

The down jacket was thick and cumbersome. Taking it off made a sound of fabric friction. Though soft, it sounded very loud at this moment.

“I didn’t bring a gun.” Jin Liuyun dropped the down jacket. “My subordinates didn’t follow me either.”

Ji Chenjiao hooked the jacket over with his foot and checked it. No problem.

Underneath, Jin Liuyun wore a thin sweater. Although his age was similar to Xing Yongdan and Yu Qianming, he was much more upright than them.

Ji Chenjiao had to complete the body search here, confirming Jin Liuyun had no weapons that could threaten the SWAT officers, before taking him over.

He approached warily. Jin Liuyun raised his hands cooperatively. Suddenly, Ji Chenjiao heard familiar singing.

“You…”

Jin Liuyun was actually humming “Liuyun Yao.”