The investigation into the Yu Group had already fully commenced. Yu Qianming was still in no state to leave the hospital, but all his trusted aides had been taken to the City Bureau for questioning.

Cooperation with “Floating Light” was top secret within the Yu Group. Only a very small number of people knew about who was to be killed or what conflicts and crises were to be manufactured in the business world.

Yu Qianming confessed that three people from “Floating Light” had been in contact with him. One was named “Nasheng” (Soft Voice), and another “Grey Peacock.” All “business” was conducted through these two. “Nasheng” was “Grey Peacock’s” subordinate. The true boss of “Floating Light,” “Black Peacock,” was elusive and allegedly had never been to the country.

Regarding the “Feng Shui Fish” matter this time, the person from “Floating Light” was a very young psychologist named Zhuo Suyi. Not only was he proficient in psychology, but he also had conducted extensive research into obscure Feng Shui practices from various countries. It was he who proposed finding a “Feng Shui Fish” to ward off disaster, and it was also he who calculated that Yong Huihao and Luo Manchai fit the criteria.

The string of codenames from “Floating Light” was confusing, but the name Zhuo Suyi was an “old acquaintance” to the Major Crimes Unit.

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Zhuo Suyi started working at Rongmei this year. Did you know about this?”

Yu Qianming nodded weakly. “That was his request. He said that since he had to stay in Xiarong City to accompany me during my treatment, he needed a legitimate job.”

Ji Chenjiao asked again, “He came for Yin Hanshan. He used mind control on a patient at Rongmei, manipulating the patient to say that Yin Hanshan died at Rongmei. Do you have no recollection of Yin Hanshan?”

Yu Qianming said, “I don’t remember this name at all. Maybe Yu Qin knows.”

Ji Chenjiao stared intently at Yu Qianming. Over several confrontations, Yu Qianming had openly and covertly pushed the police toward Yu Qin. His goal was obvious.

“Oh right, there’s one more thing,” Yu Qianming added. “I don’t have any evidence for this, but since you’ve already investigated this far, I won’t hide it anymore.”

Ji Chenjiao: “Go on.”

A sinister light appeared in Yu Qianming’s eyes. “‘Nasheng’ revealed the ‘Executor’ to me. I suspect it might be Yu Qin.”

This was an unexpected clue, absurd enough to sound like a joke.

Yu Qianming and Yu Qin were fighting for power. Would Yu Qin really kill a “Feng Shui Fish” for him just to help him “live longer”?

“What if Yu Qin doesn’t know at all?” Ling Lie said. “Didn’t Yu Qianming say that Yu Qin’s cooperation with ‘Floating Light’ runs deeper than his? Maybe Yu Qin has become a knife for ‘Floating Light’ without knowing it.”

Ji Chenjiao said, “‘Floating Light’ is using both Yu Qianming and Yu Qin at the same time…”

Ling Lie said, “Yu Qin knows the truth now. She might be furious. It’s a good opportunity for interrogation.”

After speaking, Ling Lie checked the time. “I’m taking half a day off.”

Ji Chenjiao was about to ask what for, when he suddenly thought of the DNA test report and frowned. “I should go pick it up.”

Ling Lie hooked his finger under Ji Chenjiao’s chin. “Why? Think I’ll tamper with the report?”

“No.”

“Relax, I’ll bring the original report back for you to see. You’re a captain; you need to hold down the fort. Why run around at the drop of a hat?”

Ji Chenjiao indeed couldn’t leave, so he had to let Ling Lie go. The two separated in the corridor; Ling Lie went downstairs, while Ji Chenjiao went to the technical investigation office area to find Shen Qi.

The communication devices belonging to Yu Qianming and his aides had been brought to the City Bureau. Their communications with “Floating Light” were all encrypted through the dark web. Shen Qi was in the process of deciphering and tracking them. “Grey Peacock,” “Nasheng,” and Zhuo Suyi were currently missing without a trace, but Shen Qi discovered they had all previously stayed at the Yurong Yongge Hotel, a subsidiary of the Yu Group.

“Yurong Yongge?” Ji Chenjiao immediately thought of Bai Lingxue, whom he had met there. Bai Lingxue’s appearance had been very abrupt. Relying on the entry ticket Bai Lingxue had swindled, he had met Yu Qin at a private banquet.

At that time, Yu Qin’s gaze toward him had been very strange and surprised.

A chill suddenly shot up Ji Chenjiao’s spine. Was Yu Qin surprised not because she saw him, a police officer, but because she saw Bai Lingxue with him?

Did Bai Lingxue deliberately lure him up there so Yu Qin would see them? Was Bai Lingxue a member of “Floating Light”?

Ji Chenjiao quickly opened Bai Lingxue’s science popularization homepage and saw that he had updated a video about quantum entanglement just three days ago. He immediately said to Shen Qi, “Track this Uploader.”

Shen Qi took a look. “Isn’t this that Bai Lingxue you asked me to check last time? Okay, I’ll check the foreign trade company he works for as well!”

After giving these instructions, Ji Chenjiao went straight to the interrogation room. Yu Qin had already been brought in and was staring unkindly at the surveillance camera.

The moment he faced Yu Qin, Ji Chenjiao suddenly thought of the paternity test report, the subtle resemblance between himself and Yu Yesheng, and that inexplicable look in Yu Qianming’s eyes when he looked at him.

Could this woman be his birth mother?

No, because the mother he saw in his dreams was gentle and peaceful, her voice like the wind.

Yes, because she was vicious and cruel, consistent with the malice from blood relations he had often sensed in his childhood.

Ji Chenjiao couldn’t help but take a deep breath. This action fell into Yu Qin’s eyes, causing this unfathomable woman to reveal a mocking smile.

“Officer Ji, if you have questions, ask them quickly. Why isn’t Officer Ling here today?”

Ji Chenjiao calmed down. “Yu Qianming confessed to us that the Yu Group has deep cooperation with the transnational criminal organization ‘Floating Light.’ The Yu family hires ‘Floating Light’ for assassinations, and ‘Floating Light’ eliminates obstacles for you. Are you aware of this?”

Yu Qin said, “Why should I be aware? This is Yu Qianming’s doing. You should be arresting him, not letting him hide comfortably in Beizhi Hospital while you come to interrogate me.”

Ji Chenjiao: “He said your cooperation with ‘Floating Light’ runs deeper than his.”

Yu Qin sneered. “That’s just his side of the story. He wants to push the crimes he committed onto me. I can analyze his motive clearly for you—because he doesn’t want me to become the head of the Yu family. He thinks that if I take power, his faction will be purged by me. So he’d rather gamble with his life and drag me down with him, so that the remaining assets of the Yu Group can be firmly grasped by his faction.”

Ji Chenjiao: “So you deny any connection with ‘Floating Light’?”

Yu Qin spread her hands. “I didn’t know of ‘Floating Light’s’ existence before this. The Yu Group is a vast business; Yu Qianming and I have always taken separate paths in our work. His collusion with a criminal organization doesn’t prove that I am also problematic.”

Ji Chenjiao added, “Yu Qianming also revealed one thing. He knows who killed the ‘Feng Shui Fish’ for him.”

Yu Qin shifted in her seat, vigilance appearing in her eyes.

“‘Floating Light’ mentioned a thing or two to him. Although they didn’t explicitly say who it was, he judged it to be…” Ji Chenjiao met Yu Qin’s gaze. “You.”

Yu Qin’s thin lips instantly pressed tight, her expression becoming even more severe. After a moment, she scoffed, “My big brother really won’t stop until he drags me down to be buried with him for his own mistakes. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Making up stories about me being involved with ‘Floating Light’ might have some logic, but saying I acted as a hitman for ‘Floating Light’ and took orders from them? Isn’t he delirious from illness? I manage a company as large as the Yu Group; would I be distracted by being a hitman?”

Ji Chenjiao didn’t expect her to admit it, but he had caught a flash of anger from humiliation on her face just now. Was she angry about being toyed with by “Floating Light”? Or about killing for Yu Qianming?

Yu Qin denied all of Yu Qianming’s accusations, and currently, the Major Crimes Unit had no further leads. So Ji Chenjiao presented the expert group’s appraisal results and posed the next question: “Take a look at this authoritative appraisal report. The construction of Rongmei completely conforms to the shape of the sacrificial altar on Mikelan Island, and the other three county projects also match. Do you have anything to say?”

Frowning, Yu Qin finished reading the appraisal report and then threw it on the table. “But the construction of Rongmei involved no crimes from beginning to end. I am completely unaware of what its design borrowed from. I have so many projects in hand; a small project like Rongmei only gets a glance from me. For design issues, I suggest you find the designer.”

“What designer would be so considerate of your Yu family? Would a designer do this without authorization from the higher-ups?”

“Officer Ji, you are speculating now.”

Ji Chenjiao surprisingly didn’t refute. “Then let me continue speculating. Detective Yin Hanshan, who came from Feng City to investigate Bi Jiang’s death, was the final victim needed for the construction of this altar at Rongmei. The superstition of Mikelan Island requires an odd number of victims. You were afraid secrets from the past would leak, so you had to kill him to silence him. He just happened to become that odd number.”

Yu Qin’s cheekbones twitched. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. Yin Hanshan? Who is this again? I was born in the Yu family and grew up in the Yu family. What secrets could I have?”

Ji Chenjiao observed Yu Qin for a while. “Yes, I also really want to know your secrets from the past. Ms. Yu, you just said you were born in the Yu family and grew up in the Yu family. That statement isn’t exactly accurate, is it?”

Yu Qin’s expression turned cold. “What do you mean?”

Ji Chenjiao: “You grew up in Country L. Why did you omit such an important experience?”

Yu Qin pursed her lips again, her gaze growing even colder.

“You deliberately didn’t mention it, right?” Ji Chenjiao provoked her emotions layer by layer. “Your secret is hidden in Country L. Bi Jiang, who once pursued you, accidentally learned this secret, so he had to die. The Feng City police hunted the murderer for over a decade, searching Bi Jiang’s entire social network, but found nothing. Yin Hanshan was the person closest to the truth. He tracked it to Xiarong City and locked onto you, so he also had to die.”

Yu Qin slammed the table. “You are inducing a confession!”

Ji Chenjiao leaned back in his chair. “I’m just stating my guess. You can refute it.”

After a brief moment of agitation, Yu Qin was as composed as before. “I won’t refute things that never happened. That’s as absurd as asking an innocent person to prove their innocence. Officer Ji, what I can tell you is: First, I did not participate in Rongmei’s design. Even if you prove it is superstitious and evil, I was unaware. Second, I have had no contact with ‘Floating Light,’ nor do I know anything about Yu Qianming’s ‘Feng Shui Fish.’ Third, I don’t know Yin Hanshan, and Bi Jiang’s death has nothing to do with me!”

Xie Qing was watching the surveillance. “Tsk, she’s a tough nut to crack.”

The City Bureau could detain Yu Qin for forty-eight hours, but if no further evidence was found within that time, they would have to release her temporarily. Yu Qianming’s self-destruction had blown up half of the Yu Group’s empire, yet Yu Qin still managed to “stay out of it alone.”

Ji Chenjiao left the interrogation room, sat with Xie Qing for a while, and returned to the Major Crimes Unit office. He spaced out for a moment, then suddenly remembered Ling Lie had gone to get the appraisal report. Just then, his phone rang; the caller was Ling Lie.

He stared at the phone, his heartbeat quickening like a student unwilling to check their grades.

There seemed to be nothing to fear. Even if he was blood-related to Yu Qin, he could accept it calmly. There was no long-formed affection between them. The shock given by Yu Qin was far less than when he learned his adoptive parents were murderers.

But as his finger reached for the answer button, he trembled for no reason and accidentally pressed hang up.

Annoyed, he immediately called back.

Ling Lie’s relaxed voice came through. “Slip of the hand just now?”

Ji Chenjiao: “What’s the result?”

Ling Lie laughed. “Xiao Ji, you’re very nervous.”

Hearing Ling Lie’s tone, Ji Chenjiao felt slightly relieved. “No relation?”

Ling Lie: “Mm, no match. No kinship whatsoever. I’m coming back right now. If you can’t wait, I’ll send you a picture.”

A stone dropped from Ji Chenjiao’s heart. Only then did he realize his palms were sweating. “It’s fine, we’ll talk when you get back.”

“Okay, coming back now.” Hanging up the phone, the smile on Ling Lie’s lips retracted. He held the appraisal report in his hand. It clearly stated that Yu Qin and Ji Chenjiao were indeed not mother and son, nor were they relatives.

But the cloud of suspicion did not disperse because of this.

He stood for a moment, then found the appraiser again and took an evidence bag out of his bag. “Trouble you to do another comparison using this sample.”

These gray area appraisal centers worked for money. The appraiser asked nothing, took the evidence bag, and left.

The results wouldn’t be ready that day. After leaving the appraisal center, Ling Lie found a McDonald’s to eat.

The sample he had just given the appraiser was Yu Qianming’s. A still-vague guess appeared in his mind. Ji Chenjiao had no blood relation to Yu Qin, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t a descendant of the Yu family.

When Yu Qianming brought him to the Yu family back then, it was very strange. The appraisal was done by Yu Qianming through a foreign institution, stating that he was Yu Ge, Yu Qin’s child.

Yu Qin had never questioned it. But with Yu Qin’s personality, shouldn’t she have questioned it? Not only should she have questioned it, but she also had the ability to personally do another appraisal. Yet, she didn’t.

She accepted him just like that, treating him as Yu Ge. But when he was eighteen and wanted to leave home, abandoning the name Yu Ge, she coldly made no attempt to stop him, as if she had long known he wasn’t her child.

She never mentioned the DNA test. Was it because there was also a problem with her own bloodline?

Fiddling with the chicken wings on his tray, which tasted the same as always, Ling Lie had no appetite. He looked out the glass window. The sky was clear and cloudless, yet evil was stirring.

Ling Lie didn’t let Ji Chenjiao know about comparing Yu Qianming’s sample. At the City Bureau, neither mentioned the appraisal report. It wasn’t until they returned home late at night that Ling Lie stuffed the report into Ji Chenjiao’s arms.

Ji Chenjiao kept a straight face. “Take it away, take it away. I’m not looking.”

Ling Lie: “Who was so nervous their hands shook? Who was burning with impatience to pick it up themselves? Who thought I would lie to him?”

Ji Chenjiao: “Who? Anyway, not me.”

Ling Lie put one arm around Ji Chenjiao’s waist and shook the report noisily with the other. Won’t look? Then I insist you look. “Here, see clearly? You have no kinship relation whatsoever.”

Ji Chenjiao said he didn’t want to look, but he still wanted a glance. After glancing at it, he snatched it over, tossed it on the table, and hugged Ling Lie back.

The two pushed and shoved until Ling Lie’s back was pressed against the high table.

Ji Chenjiao leaned into his neck, sniffing the heat radiating from him after a busy day. There was a bit of sweat, but this scent made him feel safe and comfortable.

Ling Lie raised his neck, letting Ji Chenjiao kiss him. After a while, Ji Chenjiao sealed his lips, sharing a sweat-dampened kiss.

“So tired,” Ji Chenjiao said, hugging Ling Lie and resting on his shoulder.

Ling Lie patted his back. “Then I hope the case gets more complicated.”

Ji Chenjiao was truly relaxed at this moment, humming nasally with a muffled sound, “Mm?”

“I’ve discovered a pattern. Our Xiao Ji only acts spoiled with me when he’s too tired for his brain to turn.”

“…”

“You’ve already acted spoiled; I’m looking forward to the next step.”

Ji Chenjiao straightened up instantly, just about to retort, when Ling Lie pulled him back into his arms. “So what if you act spoiled? Acting spoiled with your own boyfriend—afraid of losing face?”

Ji Chenjiao grunted twice and gently bit Ling Lie’s earlobe.

Following Ji Chenjiao’s arrangement, Shen Qi conducted a detailed investigation into Yangtu Trading, where Bai Lingxue worked. The company’s main business was overseas; the branch in Xiarong City was just a very small outpost with only a dozen or so employees.

While searching for online traces, Shen Qi accidentally discovered that Yangtu was actually using the convenience of import and export to engage in drug and wildlife smuggling. Ji Chenjiao handed this lead to a sister unit, and Yangtu was swiftly brought under control.

The person in charge of the outpost was a middle-aged man who complained incessantly, claiming he was just an employee and knew nothing about problems with the goods. But this was obviously a lie. Smuggling requires internal and external cooperation. As the person in charge, the goods passed through his hands and required his management; how could he not know?

The interrogation of the Yangtu staff was not conducted by the Major Crimes Unit, but Ji Chenjiao watched the surveillance. Bai Lingxue was not among those arrested this time. The employees turned on each other, but not a single one mentioned Bai Lingxue.

Ji Chenjiao applied to interrogate the person in charge personally. Seeing a different interrogator, the manager thought it was a “tag-team” tactic and looked even more terrified. “I’ve said everything I know. what else do you want?”

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Where is Bai Lingxue?”

The manager froze. “You, you mean that Bai…”

“Isn’t he a translator for your company? Why didn’t we see him?”

“What translator! He basically doesn’t come to work!”

“Then why don’t you fire him?”

At this point, the manager excitedly poured out his grievances. “What right do I have to fire him! He’s the Big Boss’s man. Putting him here is like supervising us! At first, I thought he was just here to slack off, but later I figured it out—he’s the Big Boss’s spy!”

Ji Chenjiao had seen Yangtu’s registration documents. The names listed were not among those arrested by the police this time, and weren’t even in the country. This group at the domestic outpost worked for them, sharing the money and taking the blame themselves—it indeed fit the common pattern of smuggling.

Ji Chenjiao asked, “Who is the Big Boss you mentioned?”

The manager gave a name, then added, “They say this Bai Lingxue is the Big Boss’s lover!”

The Big Boss’s name was neither on the registration documents nor on the police watch list. Who was it? Real name or alias?

The Yangtu employees couldn’t provide more information, and the subsequent investigation continued to be handled by the sister unit. However, Ji Chenjiao noted a detail: Yangtu’s business was mainly spread across the Southern Hemisphere, which included Mikelan Island.

After investigating Yangtu, Shen Qi proceeded to check the IP address Bai Lingxue used when posting videos, discovering he lived in a residential complex next to the Cultural Corridor in the North District.

Ji Chenjiao rushed there immediately.

The residential complex was originally quite upscale, but influenced by the Cultural Corridor, most units had been converted into studios or small inns. Very few people actually lived there as a residence.

Building C, 7-2. A reasonably clean sign hung on the door, reading: “Miss Xixi’s Nail Salon.” The surrounding walls were painted with dreamy, cute patterns. Anyone passing by would never guess a dangerous criminal lived inside.

The real Miss Xixi hurried over to open the door, pale with fright. “A man with the surname Na rented it from me. I was losing money keeping the shop open. He offered high rent and said he wanted to open a gym. I rented it without thinking, afraid he’d change his mind. How… how is the renovation unchanged!”

The door opened. Nail polish and various makeup tools were all there. Because the doors and windows had been closed tight for a long time, the room smelled of cheap cosmetics mixed with stale air.

Miss Xixi looked ashen. “I really don’t know anything. He paid a year’s rent in one lump sum. I never came back to check.”

Ji Chenjiao comforted Miss Xixi briefly and found a photo of Bai Lingxue on his phone. “Is it him?”

Miss Xixi exclaimed, “This man is so handsome!”

Ji Chenjiao: “…”

Miss Xixi gestured to show height. “It was a man this tall, with rather dark skin—that healthy wheat color. He looked quite fierce, but didn’t sound fierce when he spoke. Oh right, I felt his Mandarin wasn’t very standard, a bit choppy.”

Surname Na, tall, wheat-colored skin. Was he Bai Lingxue’s accomplice? Was this person in charge of Bai Lingxue’s account?

Xi Wan was already searching for traces inside the room and called out, “Boss, we’ve initially collected two types of footprints. One of them I feel… looks familiar.”

Ji Chenjiao immediately went over. “Familiar how?”

Xi Wan was usually calm, but this time she felt sweat on her back. She frowned tightly. “I can’t draw a conclusion yet, but I’m eighty percent sure this footprint might belong to the murderer who killed Liu Yixiang and Wei Liang!”

Ji Chenjiao’s gaze tightened. “That person…”

“The Liu Yixiang case and the Wei Liang case—I inspected both scenes. The cases haven’t been solved, so the footprints are branded in my mind,” Xi Wan said. “Boss, I’m going back immediately to do a comparison. I’ll have to trouble you with checking the surveillance.”

Ji Chenjiao nodded. “Contact me as soon as there’s a result.”

“Yes.”

The Major Crimes Unit had chased Bai Lingxue’s IP here, only to discover clues suspected to be linked to two unsolved homicides. Moreover, in these two cases, the murderer seemed to be targeting Ling Lie. On the surface, it looked like framing Ling Lie, but fundamentally, it was dragging Ling Lie into this massive vortex of crime.

Bai Lingxue, the man surnamed Na, “Floating Light,” Ling Lie… Threads as thin as spider silk connected them all together.

Xi Wan had only extracted footprints of two people in the room, while fingerprints and biological samples had been wiped clean. Ji Chenjiao went to the property management center and requested the surveillance footage for Building C.

In the past month, Bai Lingxue appeared in the elevator six times. Twice, he was accompanied by a very tall man wearing a baseball cap, whose face couldn’t be seen clearly. However, judging from the exposed skin color, this person was very likely the Na Sheng that Miss Xixi mentioned.

Since Bai Lingxue appeared here, the other set of footprints in the room likely belonged to Bai Lingxue.

Ji Chenjiao was preoccupied. He had known earlier that the purpose of the Liu and Wei cases lay with Ling Lie, but he could never deduce why. Now, with the element of “Floating Light” added, could it really be as Ling Lie feared last time—that the defunct “Chen Jin” hadn’t forgotten him, the one who escaped, and had chased him across borders?

The more Ji Chenjiao thought about it, the more forced it seemed. Ling Lie was only six or seven when he left “Chen Jin.” How much hatred could such a small child attract?

Calming down, Ji Chenjiao composedly arranged for a search of the surrounding area. Bai Lingxue and Na Sheng had already left in advance, but since they lived in this complex, they very likely had activities in the Cultural Corridor. Investigating and retrieving surveillance from shops might yield results.

In the evening, the Major Crimes Unit discovered at “Autumn Pool” that Bai Lingxue had come many times to drink sparkling water. This was the very shop where Mou Ying sold his works.

The owner had an impression of Bai Lingxue. “That customer, he never bought anything from us, but he liked our tangerine sparkling water. Every time he came, he sat right there.”

An unexpected figure suddenly appeared in the video. Ji Chenjiao immediately pressed pause, rewound, and zoomed in. Wasn’t that man wearing glasses walking into the shop Fu Chixun?

Fu Chixun actually knew Bai Lingxue?

At the same time, in the Major Crimes Unit’s trace evidence workspace, Ling Lie took the comparison report from Xi Wan. He looked nonchalant, but Xi Wan’s brow was knit tight as if it couldn’t be undone.

The appraisal results were out. Footprint A extracted from Miss Xixi’s Nail Salon matched the murderer’s footprint extracted from the Wei Liang crime scene.

“Mr. Ling, this…” Xi Wan didn’t quite know what to say. She imagined if a giant net had covered her head without her knowing, filled with deadly spikes, how would she face it?

She didn’t know. At least for this moment, she didn’t know what to do.

“Thanks for your hard work.” Ling Lie, however, smiled relaxedly. “The cafeteria is out of food. Shall I order you a stir-fry?”

Xi Wan shook her head. “I’m fine with anything. What do you plan to do?”

“Me?” Ling Lie raised an eyebrow. “I think it’s just right.”

Xi Wan was stunned. “Just right?”

Ling Lie: “Ms. Xi, do you know what the biggest difficulty for police in investigating a case is?”

Xi Wan thought for a moment. “Can’t outrun time? Clues disappearing quickly?”

Ling Lie said, “It’s being outside the entire conspiracy.”

Xi Wan pondered silently.

“In a suspect’s scheme, the police are usually not included. Even if they have anti-reconnaissance awareness, that is only an indirect, auxiliary measure,” Ling Lie said. “So during an investigation, the police are actually outsiders. Although they can sometimes view the problem from a global perspective, they cannot become a member within the game. But now…”

Ling Lie narrowed his eyes, smiling a bit slyly. “From the beginning, the opponent arranged a position for me in this game, seemingly a core, starring position. By going deep into it, won’t it be easier to break the game?”

“This is an unprecedented advantage for the police.”

Xi Wan digested this for a while. She understood Ling Lie’s logic but couldn’t be as fearless as he was. “But they are targeting you. You are in danger.”

Ling Lie used a gentle tone reserved for ladies and said very sincerely, “Thank you.”

Xi Wan froze. Accustomed to Ling Lie and Ji Chenjiao’s glib bickering, this Ling Lie felt a bit unfamiliar.

“Thank you for worrying about me,” Ling Lie added. “I should be able to take care of myself. If worst comes to worst, I still have you guys and Xiao… and Captain Ji.”