The L Country police had joined the search and rescue efforts. News continuously came from the mountain, and charred bodies were constantly being moved out for processing. At the foot of the mountain, the police found the injured and unconscious Xiao Ling and A’Xun. They had seized equipment from “Jasmine Tea” mercenaries the moment the incident occurred, and after being injured in the fierce battle, they had gone into hiding.

The good news for now was that Ji Chenjiao’s body had not been found on the mountain, and Su Yi, “Black Peacock,” and the others were nowhere to be seen. They had likely moved to a shelter unknown to outsiders before the machine room exploded.

Among those mountains. Ling Lie stared at the frequently vibrating mountain body, thinking that his Xiao Ji must be among those mountains. Xiao Ji was swallowed by the mountains but hadn’t died. Even if he had died, Ling Lie would dig him out with his own hands.

The situation was urgent. The L Country police quickly mobilized excavation equipment. They had detected the existence of secret passages within the mountain, but without a map, there was no way to start digging. Moreover, the explosion caused mountain tremors and continuous aftershocks. Severe landslides and collapses had already occurred outside; the situation inside must be even worse.

None of the “Jasmine Tea” members who could speak knew the internal structure, and the police hadn’t found any design blueprints. At this moment, Shen Xun was anxiously guarding Duan Wande in the prison, waiting for him to draw the map.

Upon learning that the carnival was attacked, the ski resort exploded, and Ji Chenjiao was there, Duan Wande burst into tears. But he had no time for grief. Shen Xun told him that Ji Chenjiao might still have a chance of survival, provided he quickly supplied the map of the underground shelter!

The shelter was personally designed by Duan Wande. He knew every passage, every cave, every secret room, and mechanism by heart. He drew the key points as fast as possible and explained to Shen Xun, “The purpose of the shelter is to allow people in the ski resort to go directly down the mountain without passing through the external security checkpoints. The passage only goes from top to bottom; you cannot go up the mountain in reverse. To stop pursuers, there are a total of seven isolation points. One wrong turn, and you’ll be trapped inside.”

Duan Wande circled the last isolation point. “If they successfully reach the foot of the mountain, they will definitely escape from this place. Rescue personnel should go here immediately.”

Shen Xun quickly contacted the scene, but Asak was yelling, “Collapsed! It’s already collapsed!”

Shen Xun frowned. “Isn’t the excavation equipment already in place?”

A slightly more emotionally stable captain took over on the other end. “But according to the assessment, rapid excavation cannot be carried out at this location. Forced excavation would take at least three days.”

Three days! Shen Xun broke into a cold sweat. With these continuous tremors, the people inside couldn’t last a day!

Shen Xun asked them to try other methods and returned to Duan Wande. “Is this the only exit? Mountain tremors caused a collapse; this point is already blocked!”

Intense sorrow surfaced on Duan Wande’s face. It took him a long time to say, “Collapsed…? Then… then there’s no way!”

When he designed it, he had the intention of mutual destruction. If the enemy couldn’t be stopped at the last checkpoint, then they might as well die inside together. Moreover, although the shelter had some earthquake resistance, the continuous mountain tremors caused by the machine room explosion were immeasurable. He said tremblingly, perhaps the internal structure had completely changed!

Shen Xun paced rapidly. Was it really up to fate? Even the designer couldn’t point out a clear path? But he didn’t want to give up!

“Think again. Is it possible to directly break through these isolation points further back? They are already very close to the foot of the mountain! Didn’t you just say the collapse caused by the tremors might change the internal structure? What if this change is beneficial to us?”

Duan Wande’s hand holding the pen trembled constantly.

Shen Xun shouted, “Your son! Ji Chenjiao is inside! Are you willing to let him die in there?”

Duan Wande drew on the map, sketching several paths at the second and third to last isolation points respectively. Shen Xun left without stopping. The moment the door closed, Duan Wande gently raised his head, looked at the half-lit ceiling, clasped his hands, and murmured, “Alice, protect our child…”

“Did you hear the explosion just now?” Yan Xi asked.

Ji Chenjiao was carefully probing the path. The blueprint he memorized was no longer of much use. He tried several passages, all blocked by collapses. He turned back twice, and the return path was also blocked.

They could only go down by feel.

“Xu Jiajia found explosives,” Ji Chenjiao said calmly. “He wants to blast open the blocked places.”

Yan Xi smiled. “Not very smart. In this situation, won’t blasting make it collapse faster?”

Ji Chenjiao suddenly looked at Yan Xi. “But he is a subordinate of you and ‘Gray Peacock.’ It seems he is a subordinate you trust relatively well. You think he’s not very smart?”

Yan Xi’s face showed an expression Ji Chenjiao found hard to decipher again. “Trust? Just someone arranged by my side, that’s all.”

Ji Chenjiao found it even stranger. For “Black Peacock,” who turned clouds and rain in “Floating Light,” who else could arrange people by his side?

“What exactly are you…” Ji Chenjiao couldn’t find the right words for a moment. He wanted to ask if Yan Xi hesitated at all when putting Ning Xiechen to death back then? Wanted to ask if Yan Xi couldn’t stop after getting revenge? Also wanted to ask Yan Xi everything about A’Dou.

But in this situation, saying these things seemed superfluous.

“When we caught Bai Lingxue, we thought he was you, that ‘Black Peacock’ and ‘Gray Peacock’ were the same person.” Ji Chenjiao shook his head. “Pity we only learned later that you are truly too cunning. You simply didn’t give us a chance to catch you.”

Hearing “Bai Lingxue,” the corners of Yan Xi’s eyes widened slightly. “Actually, you weren’t wrong.”

Ji Chenjiao was surprised. “What did you say?”

A trace of a smile appeared on Yan Xi’s lips, very much like that informant back then. “I said perhaps he is me. You want to catch me, the real ‘Black Peacock,’ but maybe the ones truly eliminated will be you.”

Ji Chenjiao was almost dizzied by his words.

Yan Xi shrugged. “It’s not ‘maybe’ anymore. Look, aren’t you about to die in here?”

Ji Chenjiao huffed coldly. “Can you escape alone?”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t care even about dying?”

“Hanshan’s revenge is taken. I have nothing left to care about.”

Before Yan Xi said this sentence, Ji Chenjiao had a momentary absurd thought—Yan Xi wasn’t the real “Black Peacock.”

But if he wasn’t “Black Peacock,” why was he obsessed with avenging Yin Hanshan?

“You seem very interested in my story,” Yan Xi said. “Not just about me, but also about me and A’Dou.”

Thinking of Ling Lie, a dull pain rose in Ji Chenjiao’s chest.

“Then I promise you one thing.” Yan Xi turned to Ji Chenjiao, a peaceful smile flickering in his eyes. “If we can get out alive, I will tell you the real truth.”

Real truth?

Before Ji Chenjiao could speak, tremors struck again. This time it was still an explosion from inside the mountain.

Mud and sand fell, stones flew. A passage was blocked in front of the two, and the way back was gone too. They could only choose the sole remaining path.

Ji Chenjiao was covered in mud and dust. The further he walked, the colder he felt the surroundings becoming. Yan Xi sneezed. “We might freeze to death here.”

It was normal for inside a mountain to be cool, but this was too cold, as if someone had turned on refrigeration equipment.

Ji Chenjiao looked up at the ceiling, holding his breath, and sure enough heard the sound of machinery operating.

There was actually refrigeration equipment here? Who would turn them on at a time like this?

“Officer Ji, cold?” Xu Jiajia’s voice came.

Ji Chenjiao immediately searched for the source of the voice, but due to the structure, Xu Jiajia’s voice seemed to come from all directions.

“What are you doing?” Ji Chenjiao said sternly. “You caused the explosion just now?”

“Yes, because I don’t want to sit and wait for death. I want to get out!” Xu Jiajia’s tone carried despair and madness. “You should thank me. I really blasted open a path. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know where you’d be blocked right now!”

Ji Chenjiao finally determined the precise direction of the voice; it was diagonally below the cave they were currently in. But how to get down?

There were only two sloping paths ahead, one of which was already blocked.

“You are below? Did you find the exit?”

“Almost found it.” Xu Jiajia screamed. “This is the management room! Lots of important equipment is here!”

Hearing this, Ji Chenjiao immediately shouted, “Don’t fucking touch anything!”

“Too late, it’s already too late, Officer Ji, ‘Black Peacock.'” Xu Jiajia laughed miserably. “I seem to have blown up a freezing mechanism. Can’t turn it off. It’s so cold. Do you feel it?”

At this moment, even the usually unresponsive Yan Xi showed astonishment in his eyes.

No one had time to think about why there was a freezing mechanism in such a place. To freeze intruders to death?

Maybe they were about to be frozen to death here.

Ji Chenjiao quickly ran toward the only passable path, but after circling through various caves a dozen times, he couldn’t enter the management room Xu Jiajia mentioned. They were clearly very close, but couldn’t get there. If they wanted to go, they probably could only…

Yan Xi suddenly reached out, holding a grenade with not much power. He was very pale, not only because of his naturally fair skin but also because of the current temperature.

“Use it or not, up to you. Use it, and it might collapse directly. Don’t use it, and we’ll freeze to death inside before long.”

Ji Chenjiao took the grenade, hesitated repeatedly, but still didn’t use it.

“The management room Xu Jiajia found is likely the last checkpoint, which means we are very close to the exit.” In the increasingly cold temperature and hypoxic environment, Ji Chenjiao had a terrible headache. “If there is a rescue, once they get the map, they will definitely go to the last isolation point. But the isolation point has collapsed, so they will look for other suitable places to dig.”

Yan Xi found a place to sit down, responding weakly, “Mn.”

“They might find the management room. If we hold on until then, we’ll be fine!” After saying this, Ji Chenjiao laughed at himself. He was already having trouble breathing. Every breath felt like his lungs were being frozen by ice shards. His legs were becoming weaker and weaker, as if stuck in deep snow.

He had no doubt the Special Action Team would mobilize all forces for search and rescue, but could they find this place in time? Even he, inside the mountain, couldn’t say clearly where this was.

It got colder. The temperature was dropping at an accelerated rate.

Ji Chenjiao stood up tremblingly, groping his way toward the next passage entrance. His vision was a bit blurry; he couldn’t see the road clearly. It seemed like a vast expanse of white in front of him.

He suddenly thought of Ling Lie again, but what appeared in his mind was the six or seven-year-old Xiao A’Dou.

Xiao A’Dou was dressed so thinly, his thin face red from the cold, stumbling and running in snow as high as a person, falling every few steps. Xiao A’Dou’s eyes were very red, but he didn’t cry. Wiping his snot, he continued to run, tireless, desperate to leave that sinful cold, that sinful snow.

He could finally understand Ling Lie’s fear of snow. Snow could kill people, making a living person lose breath, lose warmth, and become a frozen corpse.

“Hah—hah—”

Unknown how long he walked, Ji Chenjiao’s ears were filled with his own panting, and he seemed to hear Xu Jiajia’s mad laughter. When he lifted his leg, he heard his knee make a crisp sound, as if it had been frozen shattered.

Want to take another step, just one more step. This way I can be closer to Xiao A’Dou.

Body falling, sliding down endlessly.

“Hah—hah—”

There was no oxygen left. Surrounded by an icy sea composed of cold air.

Ji Chenjiao struggled to keep his eyes open, daring not let himself sleep.

He wanted to get out. He wanted to return to Ling Lie’s side. His mission wasn’t finished yet. The “Black Peacock” the Special Action Team had tracked for a year was not far from him.

---

The blueprint had been transmitted to the scene. The L Country police shook their heads repeatedly upon seeing it. The excavation area drawn by Duan Wande was on higher terrain than the area they originally surveyed. Excavators couldn’t get up there. Moreover, to race against time, five places needed to be worked on simultaneously, which was impossible for the L Country police.

A’Chang lost control, grabbing a man by the collar. “Then we just give up like this? Do you have no idea why my teammates are trapped inside?”

Asak personally drove an excavator, roaring, “I’ll lead the digging! If I can’t dig them out, I’ll die inside!”

Before his voice faded, the mountain began a new round of shaking. Boulders rolled down from the mountain, crushing past Asak’s excavator. The sky was covered by yellow sand, losing its color.

Impulse and arguments couldn’t solve the problem. Zhao Fan wanted to take A’Chang and Xiao Hui to the five points drawn by Duan Wande to check the situation. Even if it was a gamble, they had to find a point to bet on. Before leaving, he subconsciously looked for Ling Lie, wanting to settle him down, but couldn’t find him!

“Where is Ling Lie? Who saw Ling Lie?”

Everyone looked at each other. Yeah, where was Ling Lie? The scene just now was extremely chaotic; none of them noticed where Ling Lie, a cripple with a useless hand and deafness, had run off to!

Zhao Fan looked at the mountain where rocks were constantly falling and the excavators parked on standby, shouting, “Crap! Ling Lie must have gone over there!”

When Shen Xun spoke with him and Asak, Ling Lie was still there. They saw the hand-drawn map, and Ling Lie saw it too. No one could question Ling Lie’s memory. While they were still arguing about being unable to dig, digging requiring time and manpower, and that height being unreachable, Ling Lie, this cripple and deaf man, had already left behind all realistic problems that had to be considered and rushed over alone!

A few simple strokes on the blueprint… only standing under that unrecognizable mountain could one truly realize how insignificant humans are. The area drawn by Duan Wande had become a broken cliff. Excavators had to transport sand and stones from other places before they could start digging, and who knew how long that process would take.

It was even more difficult for a person to climb up.

Let alone a cripple.

That section of the broken wall wasn’t long, but it was steep. There were fresh bloodstains on it, obviously left by someone who had just passed.

Zhao Fan’s eyes heated up. He immediately decided to let A’Chang and Xiao Hui climb up to catch up with Ling Lie, while he turned back immediately to ask Asak for men.

Hearing that they had to take individual excavation tools up and dig by hand, Asak’s face turned green.

Zhao Fan shouted angrily, “My team members are inside! We don’t have enough hands!”

A quarter of an hour later, Asak finally gathered more than twenty strong police officers to climb up with Zhao Fan.

---

Half an hour ago, when Ling Lie climbed up that collapsed cave entrance, the pain almost made him crush his teeth. His injured leg seemed to have lost sensation, but the pain made his mind unusually clear.

He looked at the dark cave ahead, not knowing which path to take.

The mountain continued to shake. Stones fell, hitting his shoulders. His world was so quiet there was no sound, yet his eyes, skin, and even sense of smell were “listening” to movements from all directions.

The mountain was like a living thing at this moment, having swallowed his lover, chewing and digesting somewhere. These actions would bring movement. Even if it was imperceptible movement, he had to capture it!

He walked toward one of the paths, shoveling away the stones blocking the way. The wound on his arm split open, blood filling his respiratory tract.

He hated this smell; it prevented him from smelling Ji Chenjiao.

Just now he “saw” others arguing, saying digging now was futile because they didn’t know where the people inside were. What if they were far from the excavation point?

All bullshit!

Xiao Ji would definitely come to the place easiest to be found.

When they played hide-and-seek that time, Xiao Ji always waited in the place he would find!

Xiao Ji was like him, a police officer. Police officers were born to trust and wait for their partners!

A’Chang and the others arrived, asking nothing, shoveling gravel with him. L Country police also came, constantly talking, seemingly having different opinions. But it didn’t matter. He couldn’t hear. His world had only his own voice, firm and resolute. No one’s opinion could sway him. He used his entire body to feel Xiao Ji’s call.

Suddenly, he felt cold. Not normal cold. Which direction did this cold come from? He stopped, capturing the airflow that was impossible to see, then walked in the direction he believed to be correct.

“Ling Lie!” Zhao Fan shouted, realizing he couldn’t hear at all, and hurriedly told teammates to follow.

When the mountain shook, everyone crouched down to protect their heads and necks, but Ling Lie didn’t. He was still digging, refusing to waste even a second.

Gravel smashed his head bloody, and his body was covered in wounds, but he couldn’t feel it. All perception was used to search for that faint breath that might exist in the mountain.

He rushed toward the coldest direction, the shovel in his hand striking the wall, emitting strings of sounds of varying lengths. This code only he and Ji Chenjiao knew was transmitted in the tremors, like vitality pumped out by a pacemaker.

---

Ji Chenjiao’s fingers moved. He couldn’t open his eyes, his body couldn’t move, even his thinking seemed frozen.

But he saw Ling Lie.

Two Ling Lies. One was the Ling Lie when they walked through the maze. Ling Lie ran around randomly in the maze, not playing the maze, but clearly playing him. Ling Lie also invented a string of codes. Hearing the code, he knew Ling Lie came looking for him, and he had to appear in front of Ling Lie, otherwise this naughty cat would be angry with him.

There was another Ling Lie, a Ling Lie covered in blood. He didn’t know why Ling Lie was hurt like this, face full of blood, body covered in wounds. He felt so uncomfortable he couldn’t breathe, a hole in his chest. He didn’t know if he was crying, because of the wounds on Ling Lie, or because he was about to die and could never hug his Xiao A’Dou again.

He wanted to respond to Ling Lie’s code, just like when they walked through the maze.

Ling Lie came to find him!

But he couldn’t make a sound. He clenched his fist in vain, wanting to use his last strength to make a noise. He knew just a little sound, and Ling Lie would definitely discover him.

Suddenly, he gripped something hard.

What was that? He couldn’t see, his thinking very slow.

It seemed to take a long time before he finally remembered. That was a grenade with not much power, given to him by Yan Xi.

When he took this grenade, rationality still filled his mind. Even if the passage was blocked, he couldn’t let himself do what Xu Jiajia did.

But now, only this grenade could let Ling Lie know he was here.

Where to throw it? Blast open the wall blocking the front? But if Ling Lie was just nearby…

He bit open the safety, rolled the grenade as far as possible in the direction opposite to where the code came from, then stiffly raised his hand, wanting to turn over, but couldn’t.

He counted down silently in his heart. When he counted to the last number, dull pain came from his sluggish nerves. The earth trembled, many things fell, cold air poured back in. He let out a long neighing sound and lost consciousness.

BOOM—

The explosion was more violent than what Ji Chenjiao could feel. Ling Lie was shaken directly against the wall. He couldn’t hear. The shockwave blew up his hair.

He looked at the source of the shockwave, light suddenly erupting in his eyes. He ran almost at the fastest speed a cripple could manage, the shovel dragging a harsh sound on the ground.

Zhao Fan also understood immediately, leading everyone to rush in the direction of the explosion.

The collapse blocked the passage. Ling Lie didn’t care if it could be dug open or not; he just focused on digging. His eye sockets were burning hot. He was one hundred percent sure Ji Chenjiao was inside!

Needed more hands, preferably small excavation equipment.

L Country police ran to the cliff edge, calling more people. Excavators hoisted people and equipment up. Gravel was moved. The cold air became more and more turbulent. Almost dug through!

Finally, light connected the two isolated spaces. In the moment the space was opened, even Zhao Fan felt it was incredible. Even Duan Wande, the designer of the shelter, couldn’t find this passage. No one present could be sure where anyone was.

But Ling Lie, this deaf man who couldn’t hear anything, found the only correct path.

Ling Lie crawled in through the hole that was temporarily only big enough for one person. No one could stop him. He limped, but his movements were faster than anyone else’s. Excavation continued, the hole expanding, cold air rushing to their faces.

Ling Lie’s voice came from inside, one cry after another, containing hot tears, making people’s eyes inexplicably sour.

“Xia Honest! I’m here! Xia Honest! Where are you!”

Ji Chenjiao seemed to hear a call from another time and space. It was the still very young Xia Xiaodou.

Lily of the Valley Orphanage often played games, but he didn’t like to participate. Whenever a child shouted “Where is Xia Honest,” he would hide, letting no one find him.

Would Xia Xiaodou play the same game at Lily of the Valley? Would he also urgently call another child’s name?

A child as cute as Xia Xiaodou definitely would.

He thought, if they could meet at Lily of the Valley, that would be great. When Xia Xiaodou couldn’t find him and called his name, he would definitely answer more actively than anyone.

“I’m here!”

He couldn’t make a sound. He responded to Xia Xiaodou in his remaining soul. Then if he couldn’t survive, his soul would belong to Xia Xiaodou forever.

He seemed to hear footsteps, very urgent, getting closer and closer, running toward him.

Then, his ice-block-like body was picked up, held in a familiar, warm embrace.

Surrounded by the smell of blood. His blood mixed with Ling Lie’s.

He opened his eyes slightly. In the blinding light, he saw Ling Lie’s blurred outline. His body felt like it had survived a long winter, reviving in that scorching body temperature. He desperately wanted to see Ling Lie more clearly, wipe the blood off Ling Lie’s face, but he couldn’t lift his hand. After struggling to move it to his chest, he couldn’t move it anymore.

Leaving it there was fine too, he thought. Hidden there was the little tail Ling Lie gave him. He held onto Ling Lie’s little tail.

The person in his arms was frozen pale, hand lifted, then motionless again, as if dying quietly. Ling Lie’s tears, held back for the whole journey, fell patter-patter. He hugged Ji Chenjiao tighter, leaned down, and kissed Ji Chenjiao.

Ji Chenjiao couldn’t see, only feeling the warmest, softest things falling on his face.

Like the benevolent, silent spring rain that gives the most boisterous life to all things.