Xiyun County was a small town surrounded by snow-capped mountains. There were no flights or direct trains leading there, and even the roads had only gradually been completed in the past decade or so. Ling Lie hadn’t come alone—three other members of the Major Crimes Unit’s field team were with him. But only Ling Lie knew about the relationship between Ji Chenjiao and the Ji family couple.

After getting off the plane, they contacted the local police and drove straight to Xiyun County. It was their first time on the plateau, and although they were all physically strong, they were used to living in the lowlands and couldn’t help but feel some discomfort. Ling Lie, who looked the weakest on the outside, acted as if nothing had happened—running, jumping, completely unaffected by the altitude sickness.

Xiao Li was a little worried. “Brother Lie, are you really okay? Maybe you should rest a bit. The plateau’s nothing to take lightly.”

Ling Lie smiled and asked, “Why are you all calling me ‘Brother Lie’ like Shen Qi does?”

Xiao Li scratched his head awkwardly. At over 1.9 meters tall, his face turned red. “Well, you’re the same age as our captain. What else would we call you if not ‘Brother Lie’?”

Ling Lie thought to himself, I’m older than your captain. Why doesn’t he call me ‘big brother’?

The Major Crimes Unit had come to Xiyun County with an urgent mission to find Ji Nocheng and his wife, but the team was suffering from altitude sickness and unable to act immediately. They could have asked the local department for assistance, but they couldn’t all just rest while expecting the locals to comb the entire plateau.

Ling Lie told Xiao Li and the others to rest at the guesthouse while he went out alone. Xiao Li felt guilty. “Brother Lie, have you lived on the plateau before?”

Plateau? Ling Lie smiled. The altitude here was only 4,000 meters—no different from the plains to him.

Plateaus, snow-capped mountains, jungles, deep seas, islands… where hadn’t he been? Where hadn’t he conquered?

“Keep your phones on,” he said. “I’ll call if I need you.”

As Ling Lie walked away, Xiao Li and the other two glanced at each other. Xiao Li said, “Have you guys ever heard the legend of our Major Crimes Unit?”

“What legend?”

“The informant from the last generation’s captain—he was a total godsend.”

“Oh! I remember now—Captain Ning’s informant!”

“Yeah, that one. Too bad I was still a student back then…”

“But wasn’t there also a rumor that something was wrong with him? That he had a shady background and Captain Ning ran into trouble because of him?”

“Forget it, forget it. Not our business to discuss. Go rest.”

Xiyun County was full of backpackers, drivers, and tour guides. Ling Lie checked his phone—Shen Qi had sent him some information.

On June 9th, Ji Nocheng and Zhou Yun had flown from Liyun City to the city nearest to Xiyun County. The next day, they rented an off-road vehicle and drove to Xiyun County themselves.

Self-driving was the most common way to travel here, but most tourists didn’t stay in Xiyun County for more than a day. They usually headed straight to other parts of the plateau, using Xiyun only as a stopover.

Those who wanted to wait out their altitude sickness before sightseeing would rest in the city, not Xiyun County—its accommodation was too rough for people used to comfort.

But Ji Nocheng and his wife had stayed in Xiyun for at least four days. During that time, they drove out occasionally but always returned to the hotel at night. Several guides had called to offer their services, but they hadn’t hired anyone.

Ji Nocheng’s last communication had been with Ji Chenjiao. After that, his phone was turned off. Zhou Yun’s phone hadn’t been used for three days.

Ling Lie arrived at the Yun Hotel in the western part of town, as Shen Qi had mentioned. Xiyun County had plenty of hotels, but this one was on the edge of town, isolated and especially shabby.

Ling Lie raised an eyebrow. With the couple’s status, they had no reason to stay in such a place—the central hotels weren’t full.

Their choice felt like they were hiding from something.

Ling Lie showed the front desk the police inquiry order and photos of Ji Nocheng and Zhou Yun. The owner gasped, “Isn’t that Mr. Ji? Did he do something wrong?”

Ling Lie asked, “Have you seen him today?”

The owner smacked his forehead. “I don’t think I’ve seen him since yesterday. Xiao Zhang, can you check if they checked out?”

The clerk shook her head. “Mr. Ji paid for half a month in advance and told us not to bother cleaning the room.”

The owner laughed. “Big city folks sure are domineering!”

Ling Lie asked to see the surveillance footage.

But it was a small, rundown hotel with old equipment. Ling Lie only saw patchy, broken footage—no Ji Nocheng or Zhou Yun appeared in it.

The owner explained nervously, “We’re poor. Only have one camera at the door. Power outages happen a lot here. I can’t guarantee the camera’s on all the time. Even if it is, no one watches it all day…”

Ling Lie wasn’t annoyed. He asked to see the couple’s room.

The door lock was a joke—any girl could kick it open. Inside, though untouched for days, the room wasn’t dirty. It was a standard twin. One bed was perfectly made; the other messy.

Ling Lie walked closer and saw men’s slippers under the messy bed—likely Ji Nocheng’s.

The owner pointed at the neat bed. “When they first moved in, our cleaning lady made the beds daily. This is her work. Later, Mr. Ji told us not to clean, so we stopped. Strange, though—it’s been days. This bed hasn’t been touched?”

He chuckled. “They must’ve shared a bed! So sweet! I asked why they wanted a twin instead of a double—they’re older, not like me, always thinking of that stuff. My wife laughed at me too. But see? I was right!”

Ling Lie asked, “When Mr. Ji told you to stop cleaning, was he alone or with his wife?”

“Alone… Hey, come to think of it, I haven’t seen his wife since then!”

Other staff confirmed this. The owner grew nervous. “Something bad didn’t happen, did it? I saw the news once—husband kills wife on a trip! Damn! I knew something was weird—tourists stay here one night max, then move on or complain about the conditions. But these two got addicted to staying!”

The owner was a bit ridiculous, full of nervous energy. Ling Lie smiled and asked him to help gather information from other hotels and local drivers and guides.

To locals, tourists were cash cows. Any hotel with tourists who hadn’t hired guides would be watched closely. Mentioning “Mr. Ji” set the guides talking. Ji Nocheng would never have guessed so many eyes were on him.

“Mr. Ji said his wife felt sick and needed to rest. I told him to go rest in the city—why insist on staying here?”

“I kept bothering them since they didn’t hire a guide—how else would they tour safely? But he never gave in! Once he asked about Xuehong Pass though. Cheeky—wanted free advice without hiring me!”

Ling Lie asked, “What’s the danger at Xuehong Pass?”

“Bad weather makes it deadly. Even locals fear it. Roads are rough—one misstep and you’re gone. Outsiders need guides! And the views aren’t even worth it—there are better places to see snow mountains. But hey, why ask if you’re not hiring?”

The hotel owner smacked him. “Fool! This is police business—we must cooperate!”

Ling Lie smiled. “Do you remember what day he asked about Xuehong Pass?”

“Last Friday, I think?”

Ling Lie pieced the timeline together. Ji Nocheng inquired on June 11th. On the 13th, he stopped housekeeping and paid for half a month more. No one had seen Zhou Yun since. Shen Qi found her phone had been switched on the day before yesterday, but there were no calls.

Maybe that nosy hotel owner was right—this was a one-way trip.

On the plateau, sunset came late. The day felt endless. As Ling Lie took a call from Ji Chenjiao, a giant sun was sinking behind him. Meanwhile, the distant city of Xiarong was already bright with lights.

Ling Lie reported his findings. Ji Chenjiao fell silent. Ling Lie could hear his breathing.

“Captain Ji?”

“I realized long ago that she wasn’t answering my calls,” Ji Chenjiao said. “When she said she wanted to leave work behind and travel west, I felt something was off. But I didn’t press her. When I couldn’t reach her, I called… called Ji Nocheng.”

Silence.

“I dismissed all the doubts—they were life doubts, not case clues. I…”

“Blaming yourself?” Ling Lie asked.

Ji Chenjiao said nothing. They held their phones in silence.

Finally, Ji Chenjiao exhaled. “Sorry. Useless talk.”

“Captain Ji,” Ling Lie said softly, “I’ll give you a hug when I get back.”

The wind swallowed his words. Ji Chenjiao didn’t hear. “What?”

“Nothing. The others are resting today—they’ll help search tomorrow. Okay?”

Ji Chenjiao sensed something hidden in Ling Lie’s tone but was too weary to ask. They talked a bit more. Before hanging up, Ji Chenjiao said, “Good night. Sleep early.”

Both men froze. Ji Chenjiao never said such things—too awkward. No one ever told Ling Lie to sleep early.

Ji Chenjiao cleared his throat. “Anyway. Talk tomorrow.”

He put down the phone and stepped onto the balcony. The night wind cooled his chaotic thoughts.

Just before the call, he’d spoken to Jaco’s adoptive parents. They seemed saddened but admitted they hadn’t seen him since he moved out at 18. Before he returned home, they saw him rarely. Now he was completely out of touch.

Adopting Jaco had gone from joy to despair.

They’d wanted an Eastern child. When they met Binbin, they thought they could handle his silence. Even though the orphanage warned them of severe psychological issues, they believed love and therapy would help him grow normal.

They’d overestimated their patience—and underestimated a troubled child.

Back in their country, they never felt any warmth from him, no matter what they did or how much they spent on therapy. He spoke to no one.

He fought viciously at school. They sent him to a boarding school for troubled kids.

In high school, he seemed brighter—made friends. But then he saved up to get plastic surgery.

Each time he came home, his face was different. It terrified them.

He tearfully said he just wanted to fit in, to look like their real child—without surgery, everyone could tell he was adopted.

His therapist said this was a good sign—a form of “self-help.” They reluctantly paid for more surgeries.

As an adult, he looked mixed-race, wore lenses, dyed his hair blonde, erasing all trace of his heritage.

But they grew afraid. His smiles seemed sinister. His words disturbed them. He spoke of returning to his homeland, where his dead mother was calling him.

They suspected he might become a criminal. But how could they warn the police? They feared revenge.

One day, he said goodbye—he was going home and might never return.

They felt no sadness—only relief. Their last meal together was fish stew he cooked, claiming the loaches came from a nearby ethnic store.

Their story confirmed Ji Chenjiao’s suspicion: Jaco had returned to take revenge. But not mere killing—that would be too easy for Kang Wanbin.

No, Jaco wanted the man who ruined his mother—the man who put his real child in an orphanage and raised another—to be arrested by the very boy he raised.

That man… was Ji Chenjiao.

Even the name “Jaco” had been given by his adoptive parents.

Jaco had plotted this for years—posing as a reporter, getting close, guiding him—watching as Ji Nocheng was captured by the son he adopted.

Abandon his real family, adopt another—only to be destroyed by that choice. Ironic, wasn’t it?

Standing in the dark, Ji Chenjiao almost heard Jaco’s triumphant laughter in the wind.

Ji Nocheng’s phone remained off. On this spotty plateau network, finding someone online was harder than in the city.

Standard search methods failed. Ling Lie gathered what footage he could. After a full day’s rest, Xiao Li’s team felt better—ready to work.

Ling Lie got local maps from the chatty hotel owner, who eagerly described the terrain as Ling Lie marked key points on the map while pretending to watch surveillance.

Earlier footage showed Ji Nocheng and Zhou Yun eating daily in town, buying fruit, cigarettes, refusing guides nervously.

Their rental SUV stayed parked outside the hotel. Zhou Yun rarely used it. But twice after lunch, Ji Nocheng wandered the town, then drove off alone.

Once he left town—no cameras followed.

This was why Xiyun was only a waypoint—beyond it, roads ended and wilderness began. Everything beyond was unknown.

No one knew what Ji Nocheng did when he drove out of town; the surveillance cameras only showed that every time he went out, he made sure to return not long after sunset, before complete darkness set in.

Based on what they had learned from the local guides the day before, Ling Lie figured he was out scouting locations.

On June 13th, under clear skies, Ji Nocheng and Zhou Yun got into the car together for the first time after having beef noodles. Nothing seemed unusual. This time they left town four hours earlier than Ji Nocheng’s two previous solo trips.

But the off-road vehicle returned an hour later than usual, after full nightfall. On the plateau outside the county, there were no lights other than the stars. For outsiders, driving at night was extremely dangerous.

Ji Nocheng surely knew the risks, which was why he’d always made it back before dusk on his earlier trips. This time, however, it was as if he deliberately used the cover of darkness to hide something.

He didn’t park the car in its usual spot. The motel’s cameras were off, so only other surveillance cameras in town caught sight of the vehicle returning—but none captured him getting out. After that day, no camera ever caught Zhou Yun again.

The overly friendly motel owner was still rambling on about how good their beef was when stewed over a high flame. Meanwhile, Ling Lie’s map on the table now had eight spots marked west of Xiyun County—five mountain passes and three villages.

The Xuezhong Pass that Ji Nocheng had asked about was over 200 kilometers away from Xiyun County. Considering how rough the roads were, a one-way trip could take six hours.

Looking at the map made things very clear. Xuezhong Pass was far off the popular tourist routes. To go there meant traveling the same difficult path twice, wasting time. The other four passes, by contrast, formed a fan-shaped route that allowed travelers to loop around and return to Xiyun County without doubling back.

Only someone deliberately avoiding people would choose the Xuexiong Pass.

As for the three villages, they lay scattered between these passes. Beyond them, the road simply ended. No one would pass through these villages on the way to somewhere else. The only way off this plateau was to return to Xiyun County.

Ling Lie was certain that Ji Nocheng was still somewhere on the plateau. He needed supplies and was likely hiding in one of the villages.

The village closest to Xuezhong Pass was Xuexiong Second Village. It was the most probable hiding spot for Ji Nocheng. With the tourist season in full swing, the other villages near the main roads would have plenty of visitors. To avoid the crowd, Xuexiong Second Village was the perfect place.

The motel owner noticed Ling Lie packing up to leave and hurried after him, shouting, “Take me along! I can be your guide!”

Ling Lie smiled. “This isn’t a sightseeing trip.”

The owner pouted. “Who said anything about sightseeing? I’m helping the police for free!”

Ling Lie said, “I’ll come back to eat your grilled beef.”

The owner beamed. “Deal! I’ll give you a discount!”

Three vehicles set out: the Major Crimes Unit, local SWAT officers, and a team with search dogs.

They reached Xuezhong Pass first. While a T-shirt was enough in the county, here the temperature dropped sharply with altitude, and the wind howled fiercely, snow dust blowing across the ground. The dogs were released to search while Ling Lie zipped up his jacket to his chin and stood by a cliff, gazing into the vast, white abyss below.

There were many cliffs like this along the route—a perfect place for someone with malicious intent, but a nightmare for the police to search.

Ling Lie returned to the vehicle and ordered Xiaoli to head towards Xuexiong Second Village.

About ten kilometers from the village, they spotted a car overturned in a ditch. On inspection, it turned out to be the off-road vehicle Ji Nocheng had rented.

The car was severely damaged, with bloodstains inside. There were marks showing someone had climbed out of the ditch, and footprints from more than one person. If Ji Nocheng had been driving when the car flipped, someone passing by must have rescued him.

They pressed on. By the time they arrived at Xuexiong Second Village, it was afternoon. The villagers thought they were tourists and gathered around to offer lodging. Ling Lie asked, “We saw an overturned car on the way. Is the driver staying here in the village?”

The villagers chattered excitedly, saying the man was “Boss Ji” and had been rescued by Old Wang. He was now resting at Old Wang’s house and didn’t seem badly hurt.

Ling Lie got directions to Old Wang’s house, split up with Xiaoli, and surrounded the small farmhouse.

Inside, Ji Nocheng lay on a kang bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had intended to cross the plateau and slip out of the country to the south—but there simply was no road to take. After struggling back towards Xuezhong Pass and managing all those treacherous roads, he had ended up flipping into a shallow ditch. Had this family not passed by, rescued him, and set his broken bones in a cast, he might have died right there in the ditch.

He shut his eyes in despair, memories flashing like a revolving lantern—these past days had been nothing but nightmares. Or maybe the last twenty years had been an unreal dream, finally shattered by that letter.

The letter had said:
“I know what you did. Tongqie County. Xu Yinyue. Xu Jiajia. You never dared have your own child because you knew your sins. You adopted a child to atone—but that child will be the one to arrest you. Are you happy? Surprised?”