Ling Lie said: “How long is this ‘long time’?”

Bai Lingxue raised his eyebrows.

Ling Lie: “Starting from the bus at Fengyi Manor, or from when I fell off the cliff?”

After a brief silence, Bai Lingxue said: “Long time no see, Adou.”

Ling Lie had already anticipated this. “As I thought, it’s you, A’Xue.”

The two were separated by half a room, both armed, yet neither made any move to attack.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, bringing a hint of an old halo.

More than twenty years ago, they had also been together in one room. The difference was that back then, many peers surrounded them, his sister was still alive, and the sunlight was cold—even particularly dazzling sunlight carried the desolation of ice and snow.

They huddled together like chicks for warmth. Some children were nearly beaten to death. The room was filled with the smell of blood and excrement. None of them could go out. They whispered about things they’d heard at mealtime—who died, who was taken away, when would the snow stop, could they leave here alive.

In the blink of an eye, only the two of them remained in a similarly sized room.

Ling Lie vaguely remembered that when he and A’Xue were together before, there was always a child secretly watching them from not far away.

What was that child’s name? Ling Lie couldn’t remember.

“Chen Jin” fell, “Floating Light” replaced “Chen Jin,” Adou was no longer Adou, and A’Xue was different from memory too.

Ling Lie said: “Why?”

Bai Lingxue smiled: “You’re like the ‘Wicked Queen.’ Before she died, she also asked me why.”

Ling Lie said: “Looks like you want to finish me here.”

But Bai Lingxue shook his head. “Adou, I never originally intended to take your life.”

Ling Lie showed no interest in this answer. It didn’t matter.

But Bai Lingxue was quite curious about his reaction.

“Since I learned that Yin Hanshan had inexplicably disappeared in Weiti Town, I guessed your real target was Yu Qin. Oh, her real name is Sha Man.” Ling Lie said: “As for me, it’s just because I have a fake mother-son relationship with Sha Man that you treated me as a ‘side quest.'”

Hearing Yin Hanshan’s name again, all the cynicism and nonchalance on Bai Lingxue’s face disappeared. He looked at Ling Lie solemnly, then said after a moment: “Adou, I’ve never hated you for leaving us behind.”

Ling Lie instinctively wanted to explain—falling off the cliff was an accident, it wasn’t part of his plan. He had wanted to take A’Xue with him to escape…

But times had changed. Any explanation had become pale.

Ling Lie said nothing.

“What I resent fate for is that after you left ‘Chen Jin,’ you could meet a police officer like Wei Zhiyong. After you fell into the Yu family’s clutches, you met that Special Operations Team. You’re like being favored by the gods—every wrong step you took, someone corrected it for you.”

Bai Lingxue narrated in a tone so calm it was nearly sorrowful, the cadence like chanting a poem. But ripples gradually rose in Ling Lie’s eyes as names flashed before him one by one—Wei Zhiyong, the old director, Xiao Yu’an, Fu Zhong… and Ji Chenjiao.

From a certain perspective, Bai Lingxue was right. He had indeed received divine favor.

“After you left, all of us bore the punishment you should have borne. More children died. The instructors said we conspired to deceive the adults and sent you out to tip someone off. I was tortured the worst because I watched you leave. The instructors determined I was your ‘accomplice.’ The children who got beaten also took their anger out on me.”

That must have been an unbearably cruel period, yet in Bai Lingxue’s words, it became pale and inconsequential.

Ling Lie had imagined A’Xue’s situation, but back then, he could barely protect himself—how could he have helped A’Xue?

“Before, it was always Sister and you protecting me. You know, among all the children in the village, I was the stupidest one. After you were both gone, no one shielded me anymore. But Adou, I never hated you for this. I knew you didn’t abandon me on purpose. I hoped you’d survive and see the southern spring Sister talked about.”

Bai Lingxue turned on the tap again, playing with the clear, cool water. “Remember? Sister said in the south we could play with water freely like this?”

Ling Lie nodded. In “Chen Jin’s” small village, the water was melted ice and snow, cold enough to freeze off a layer of skin. They couldn’t imagine what playable water would be like—gurgling liquid seemed to only be fresh blood.

“I’m grateful for the cruel treatment I endured then.” Bai Lingxue changed the subject. “If I hadn’t experienced such hellish life, I couldn’t have stood out among all the children and been chosen by ‘Chen Jin’s’ higher-ups. So you see, Adou, your departure actually opened a door for me. After they took me from the village, that village was exterminated. Everyone was killed. Interpol didn’t even spare the children.”

“When you were playing Yu Ge at the Yu family, when you worked for the Special Operations Team, I was struggling in ‘Chen Jin’s’ mire. Actually… I had a chance to reform like you did, to be an informant for the police. Accumulate enough merit, wash away all the sins on my body.” Bai Lingxue laughed miserably twice. “After all, when I met him, I hadn’t yet committed any unforgivable crimes. I was just an ordinary ‘Chen Jin’ killer, still in training, with no blood on my hands yet.”

Ling Lie connected all the threads. “‘He’ is Yin Hanshan?”

Bai Lingxue turned toward the window. Sunlight fell into his eyes. He sighed. “Yes. That year, Hanshan came to Weiti Town. He was in danger while hiking in the mountains. I saved him.”

Ling Lie was puzzled. “But you had already left the village, and the village no longer existed.”

“Can’t I go reminisce about the past?” Bai Lingxue said: “Only part of ‘Chen Jin’s’ forces remained. I had a complete opportunity to escape and live like a normal person from then on.”

Ling Lie: “You wanted to enter the country from Weiti Town?”

“Yes. I always remembered you fell from there. If you were still alive, I thought maybe I could find you. If I could really break away from ‘Chen Jin,’ I also wanted to start a new life from there.”

“But it was hard to truly make a decision. I was born in ‘Chen Jin.’ All I learned were killing and criminal skills. I had no nationality, no identity. Without ‘Chen Jin,’ could I still survive?”

“I lingered at the border, not daring to enter, but also unwilling to just go back. Right then, I met the lost and unconscious Hanshan. I didn’t know he was a police officer. I rescued him to my temporary dwelling and waited for him to wake up.”

In the life experiences Bai Lingxue could recall, that brief time was the only period linked to goodness, hope, and love.

When Yin Hanshan woke up, he immediately recognized he wasn’t an ordinary border resident.

Right—how could ordinary people carry weapons and smell of gunpowder?

He also sensed the visitor wasn’t an ordinary outdoor sports enthusiast but a police officer.

A criminal and a police officer shared a room in the pine forest at the border, mutually suspicious, yet neither harmed the other.

It was Yin Hanshan who broke the silence. “You saved me?”

Bai Lingxue looked at this man nearly ten years older than himself and nodded warily.

Yin Hanshan actually smiled—openly, without gloom. He patted his shoulder and said: “Thank you.”

He stared blankly at Yin Hanshan. Yin Hanshan then brought paper, wrote his own name, and asked if he could read characters.

He was a bit angry. Although he’d never set foot in the country beyond the mountains, he knew he came from there. He was quite fluent at listening, reading, and writing.

“Your eyes are beautiful.” Yin Hanshan said again: “You have Russian blood, right?”

Bai Lingxue was silent. He didn’t like these eyes. “Chen Jin” was rooted in Russia. Dark green eyes represented the evil flowing in his bloodline.

Hearing him finish, Yin Hanshan laughed: “Not learning to be good yourself, yet blaming it on your eyes. What fault could your beautiful eyes have?”

He argued with Yin Hanshan, pouring out all his experiences from childhood to now. He said what choice did he have? Born in “Chen Jin,” to survive, he had to become a killer, become a mercenary.

But Yin Hanshan asked: “Then why did you come here? You clearly have no mission, and this isn’t ‘Chen Jin’s’ territory anymore.”

Bai Lingxue froze. Why come here?

He knew the answer but couldn’t say it to a police officer.

“You haven’t become true ‘Chen Jin’ yet.” Yin Hanshan said: “You still have a way back.”

“I…”

“You want to return to your homeland and become an ordinary person.”

Bai Lingxue’s heart beat rapidly, his blood seemingly boiling. Yes, he wanted to see the southern snow. He wanted to become an ordinary person. He wanted to find Adou!

“You wish.” Yin Hanshan said with a smile.

Bai Lingxue’s just-relaxed nerves tensed up again. He was still too young to distinguish how many meanings were in one sentence.

“Not everyone can become an ordinary person. You’re ‘Chen Jin’ people. Before becoming an ordinary person, you should pay the price for what you’ve done.”

Bai Lingxue asked: “What price?”

At this point, Yin Hanshan put away his joking tone, his eyes gradually becoming serious. “I can’t take you away directly, but I can give you a mission. If you can complete it, maybe one day you can walk openly in the sunlight.”

Bai Lingxue asked urgently: “What do you want me to do?”

“Return to ‘Chen Jin,’ find a way to enter ‘Chen Jin’s’ upper ranks, and obtain intelligence.” Yin Hanshan said: “Chen Jin’ hasn’t perished. It’s just temporarily dormant. If Interpol relaxes now, the previous sacrifices will have been in vain. When ‘Chen Jin’ recovers, it’ll be too late.”

Bai Lingxue felt his soul clamoring, his voice trembling slightly. “You mean, I’d be your informant?”

Yin Hanshan said: “Are you willing?”

Bai Lingxue couldn’t speak.

Willing? From then on, he’d work for a police officer he just met, oppose “Chen Jin,” and die miserably if he wasn’t careful.

Over the years, Interpol had sent countless undercovers. He knew what became of them. No one understood “Chen Jin’s” cruelty better than “Chen Jin” members.

But if one day he really washed away the sin of being a “Chen Jin” member, he could return to his homeland he’d never set foot in, have an identity, have friends, become an ordinary person.

The enormous temptation made it difficult for him to react and choose immediately.

Yin Hanshan changed back to a cynical expression and smiled: “It’s okay. There’s plenty of time.”

“Plenty of time”—like a sweet curse, it bound itself to Bai Lingxue’s bloodline.

Hearing this, Ling Lie had already sketched out the general aftermath, even momentarily having an unrealistic guess—that A’Xue, even now, was both righteous and evil, bearing some responsibility.

“You… became Yin Hanshan’s informant?”

“Clang”—Bai Lingxue threw the surgical scissors he’d been playing with into a stainless steel dish. The sound was extremely crisp, like shattering an unreal yet crystal-like period of time that had existed.

“No. I had plenty of time, but he didn’t.”

Yin Hanshan wasn’t seriously injured, but he didn’t leave immediately after recovering his strength, as if enchanted by the mountain scenery.

Bai Lingxue didn’t leave either, finding things every day to feed them both.

One day, Bai Lingxue couldn’t resist asking: “Why are you still here?”

Yin Hanshan smiled improperly: “Aren’t you still here too?”

Bai Lingxue frowned. “I’m not a police officer. I can stay as long as I want.”

“Police also have vacations. I finally fought for annual leave. Haven’t played enough yet, not going back.”

Bai Lingxue thought this person was strange. He’d encountered police from many countries, but none were like him—casual and full of nonsense. Was he really a police officer? Could he be a human trafficker wanting to trick and sell him?

“Hahahaha—” Yin Hanshan laughed so hard he swayed back and forth, tears flying out. He patted his shoulder and said: “Are you overestimating me or underestimating yourself? You’re taller than me, a dignified ‘Chen Jin’ killer. Could I still sell you?”

“Never seen a police officer like you.”

“Aren’t I pretty good? Hey kid, have you thought about what I said a few days ago? Will you be my informant or not?”

Bai Lingxue’s face darkened. After a long while, he said: “I don’t know. Also, don’t call me kid. I’m an adult. I’m a killer.”

Yin Hanshan laughed again until he swayed.

Bai Lingxue had never seen anyone who loved laughing more than Yin Hanshan in all his years. At night, lying in the same room together, he thought it would be nice to live like this forever.

He wouldn’t be a killer anymore, wouldn’t aspire to be any ordinary person, just settle here with Yin Hanshan telling him jokes every day.

When he realized what he was thinking, he felt alarmed.

He came back here to escape. The police officer he met wanted to push him back into that deep darkness, to trade his life for future freedom. What a bad police officer—yet he still wanted to live here with him forever.

Before sleeping, he thought—treat this as a dream. In the dream, there was ordinariness and happiness he didn’t dare hope for.

It was a dream, so there would be a moment of waking. This moment came particularly fast.

On the ninth day of knowing each other, Yin Hanshan packed his bags. Bai Lingxue nervously asked: “You’re going back?”

Yin Hanshan shaved the beard he hadn’t shaved in days in front of the mirror. “Yeah, have to go back to work.”

“You, aren’t you an undisciplined police officer!”

“Hey! What nonsense!” Yin Hanshan knocked on Bai Lingxue’s forehead. “There’s no more disciplined police officer than me under heaven.”

Bai Lingxue panicked. “But I haven’t made up my mind yet. I…”

He didn’t want to admit his weakness, but he could clearly have escaped. He was really afraid of returning to “Chen Jin.”

He thought Yin Hanshan would mock him like many times before, but Yin Hanshan’s broad palm pressed on his head, rubbed it, then patted it.

“If it were me, I’d hesitate like you too.”

Bai Lingxue was stunned, not knowing why Yin Hanshan would suddenly become gentle.

“Weakness isn’t shameful. Not wanting to risk your life for others isn’t shameful either.” Yin Hanshan’s smile carried a tolerant meaning. “If you figure it out in the future and are willing to be my informant, you’re always welcome.”

Bai Lingxue chased after him and shouted: “Yin Hanshan!”

Yin Hanshan stopped and turned around. Behind him stretched endless mountains and rivers.

“No manners.” Yin Hanshan said with a smile.

“You’re not arresting me?” Bai Lingxue said urgently: “I’m ‘Chen Jin’ people. You’re not taking me back?”

“I said I came out to travel, not on a mission.” Yin Hanshan paused, then said: “And maybe before long, you’ll change from ‘Chen Jin’ people to my informant.”

Bai Lingxue wanted to say more, but his heart felt blocked. At that moment, he was even willing to be arrested by Yin Hanshan. Going to jail would be fine.

Yin Hanshan finally waved at him. His upright body melted into those mountains and rivers under his unblinking gaze.

When it got dark, Bai Lingxue sat in front of the house, looking at the stars in the sky, listening to occasional quiet sounds from the pine forest. He looked back at the house—inside, there was no longer Yin Hanshan’s annoying laughter.

That man came suddenly and left suddenly, recklessly dropping a seed in his heart without caring for its growth.

He could originally have escaped back to his homeland, mixed with all walks of life, been a bad person who could hide in society’s rules.

But now he couldn’t go back. Once he thought this way, Yin Hanshan’s words rang in his mind—be my informant, be an ordinary person openly and honestly in the future.

This was simply the most delicious cake he’d ever received in his life. It represented blessings and light.

He walked toward the darkness he came from, his gaze becoming firm. He suddenly felt that if he could become the ordinary person Yin Hanshan spoke of, even if his life ended tomorrow, there was nothing to fear.

Ling Lie said: “So you returned to ‘Chen Jin,’ and according to Yin Hanshan’s idea, rose step by step in ‘Chen Jin’?”

“‘Chen Jin’ was besieged, giving newcomers like me a chance to rise.” Bai Lingxue’s face no longer showed the childishness when facing Yin Hanshan. “As long as I gave the intelligence to Hanshan, ‘Chen Jin’s’ last forces would be completely eliminated. I thought this would be the best gift I could give Hanshan. I could finally wash away the sin of growing up in ‘Chen Jin.’ But…”

Ling Lie took a deep breath. “Something happened to Yin Hanshan.”