Just recalling the contents of that letter made sweat pour down Ji Nocheng’s back as his limbs began to spasm. His heart was racing wildly, as if sensing that “judgment” was about to fall.

“Are you looking for Mr. Ji?” Wang Tou’s voice came from the courtyard. Ji Nocheng stiffened all over, trying desperately to stand up—but his legs refused to obey.

The wooden door creaked open. Wang Tou spoke warmly: “Mr. Ji refuses to go to the hospital. It’s good that you’ve come to pick him up. I set that cast for him myself, but he really should have a doctor take a look.”

Light poured in through the open door, so bright Ji Nocheng couldn’t keep his eyes open. Once they adjusted, he finally saw the figure standing outside—a young stranger.

In that instant, Ji Nocheng relaxed. What he feared most was seeing Ji Chenjiao at this moment. What he feared most was that the foster son he had raised so carefully would come to arrest him.

Ling Lie’s gaze swept over Ji Nocheng. He stepped aside to make room for Xiao Li to perform the arrest.

Wang Tou was bewildered, pulling Ling Lie aside and whispering, “Did I… did I save a… a criminal or something…?”

Ling Lie smiled. “Thank you for helping us keep this suspect under control.”

In the car, Ji Nocheng sat in silence, staring out the window. As they passed Xuezhong Pass, he suddenly sat bolt upright. The SWAT officers were still searching there, and Ji Nocheng looked extremely anxious. Ling Lie watched him for a while and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Xiao Li caught on and slowed the car to a crawl.

As they drove past a cliff, Ji Nocheng suddenly averted his eyes, refusing to look—but he also didn’t dare meet Ling Lie’s gaze. “I… I wasn’t looking at anything.”

“We’re searching for your wife, Zhou Yun,” Ling Lie said bluntly. “Don’t you have anything you want to say?”

Ji Nocheng suddenly turned his head, his lips trembling.

Ling Lie gestured for Xiao Li to stop the car. He opened the door, and a freezing wind rushed in, making Ji Nocheng instinctively hunch his shoulders.

“Is it there?” Ling Lie said. “Is she down at the bottom of that cliff?”

Ji Nocheng’s eyes reddened. “No, no, I didn’t hurt her…”

Ling Lie waited a moment. “Alright. I’m just here as a stand-in for Captain Ji. Whether you want to confess or not—it’s not my concern. Save it for when you get back to Xiarong City and tell him yourself.”

Suddenly, Ji Nocheng grabbed Ling Lie’s arm. Ling Lie glanced at the hand, then up at that ordinary face. “Hm?”

“Zhou Yun fell… but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t kill her.”

Ling Lie’s eyes flashed with disgust. He shook the hand off. “Mr. Ji, I’m not qualified to interrogate you. You can explain yourself to Captain Ji later.”

With that, Ling Lie got out of the car and ran toward the nearby SWAT team, pointing to the cliff that had caused Ji Nocheng’s panic. “It should be this spot. Give me the safety rope—I’m going down.”

The cliffs of the western plateau were far more treacherous than those of Fengyi Mountain. The SWAT team, unfamiliar with Ling Lie, refused to let him go alone. After some discussion, they sent one officer to accompany him, so they could look out for each other.

The cliff was deep. The descent alone took nearly half an hour.

Judging from the height and fall distance, Ling Lie trudged through mud and frozen soil until he found several still relatively “fresh” body fragments.

The temperature at the bottom was low; the corpse hadn’t rotted yet. But because of the high fall, body parts were separated. The SWAT officer turned pale, unable to bear the sight. Ling Lie completed the photographs and evidence collection alone, then carefully packed each body part, tied them to the safety rope, and had the team above haul them up.

The moment the corpse was pulled to the cliff’s edge, Ji Nocheng began trembling like a leaf. After disinfecting himself, Ling Lie returned to the vehicle, the narrow space now filled with the pungent scent of disinfectant.

Right in front of Ji Nocheng, Ling Lie dialed Ji Chenjiao. “Captain Ji, we’ve got him in custody, but he injured his leg.”

“Is it serious?” Ji Chenjiao asked.

Ling Lie glanced in the rearview mirror. “Not too bad. The villagers gave him first aid. And one more thing—based on what he said, we found a female body at the bottom of the cliff. We’ll bring it back for autopsy immediately.”

There was a long silence. The car was so quiet that only breathing could be heard.

“…Understood,” Ji Chenjiao finally said. “Good work.”

Ling Lie didn’t feel like saying anything more. He had thought this would be an easy field operation, far less challenging than his past missions. But ever since seeing Ji Nocheng, he’d felt a deep discomfort.

He could tell that Ji Chenjiao cared deeply about this family. His values and character had been shaped by this couple. But Ji Nocheng… was such an ordinary, cowardly, and venomous man.

Ling Lie felt sorry for Ji Chenjiao—maybe even a touch of heartache. When they returned to Xiarong City, how would Ji Chenjiao face this crippled foster father and his scattered, broken foster mother?

Ling Lie remembered playing video games at Ji Chenjiao’s home. Ji Chenjiao had said that the apartment was bought by his foster parents while he was still an intern—so he’d have a home in Xiarong City and could focus on work without worrying about housing.

Such good foster parents… Why did they have this dark side? Even adopting Ji Chenjiao had been part of a sinister plan.

It was too late to leave. The Major Crimes Unit had to stay in Xiyun County for the night. The extroverted hotel owner invited Ling Lie to eat roast beef, but Ling Lie had no appetite. The owner was disappointed but still stuffed a bag of rock-hard dried beef into Ling Lie’s hand the next morning as they left.

The body was transported through a special channel to Xiarong City. When forensic officer An Xun assembled the remains, Ji Chenjiao stood silently by. Ling Lie hadn’t missed a single piece. An Xun nodded, confirming that nothing was missing.

Ji Chenjiao stared at that unrecognizable face, saying nothing.

He didn’t seem especially sad—just as if something had been hollowed out inside him. The warmth and harmony of the past twenty years had been false. He was still that abandoned orphan from the welfare home, living alone. The adoption had been a lie; the affection had been a lie; he had been a tool for their redemption.

Yet his eyes grew hot, and his vision blurred. He heard Zhou Yun’s gentle voice in his ear, reminding him to make soup for himself sometimes, not to always eat out.

One winter, when he couldn’t go home because of work, Zhou Yun and Ji Nocheng had come to Xiarong City to spend New Year’s Eve with him. He remembered it well—everyone else had gone home for dinner, and he’d told his foster parents not to come. But when he got home, the lights were on, the kitchen smelled of food, and Zhou Yun had even prepared a red envelope for him. Their uninvited presence had made him feel warm and surprised, like he truly had a home.

He tilted his head back, willing the tears away. An Xun noticed his strange expression. “Captain?”

Ji Chenjiao shook his head. “I’ll step out for a moment.”

In the hallway, Ling Lie leaned against the wall with folded arms. When he saw Ji Chenjiao come out, he straightened and opened his arms.

Ji Chenjiao said nothing.

Ling Lie walked over and hugged him, gently patting his back. He’d never comforted anyone before—but after such a huge blow, even though Ji Chenjiao hadn’t broken down, was still calmly leading the investigation, Ling Lie simply wanted to hold him.

Ji Chenjiao’s tense shoulders actually relaxed. The next moment, he lowered his head and leaned against Ling Lie’s shoulder.

Ling Lie froze.

Uh… I was just going for a brief hug. Why are you leaning on me?

Ji Chenjiao said nothing, didn’t move—but Ling Lie could feel his breath warm against his shoulder. After a few seconds, Ling Lie carefully stroked his back. “Captain Ji… it’s going to be okay.”

The autopsy was completed. The deceased was indeed Zhou Yun. Cause of death: high fall. No signs of poisoning or drug use. Some defensive wounds and struggle marks—ruling out suicide. She had been pushed.

The prime suspect was Ji Nocheng, the only one who’d left Xiyun County with her.

The Fengyi Mountain case, the 20-year-old disappearance of Xu Yinyue and her son, and the death of Zhou Yun were combined into a single investigation, thanks to clear leads. But the puppet master, Jaco, remained missing—like he had evaporated into thin air. The only person left to speak was Ji Nocheng, whose injuries had been treated and who was now brought to the interrogation room.

When the door opened, he flinched—then looked up and was surprised not to see Ji Chenjiao.

Xie Qing sat down; Liang Wenxian and Ling Lie came in with him. Ling Lie stood in the shadows, staring coldly at Ji Nocheng.

“Were you expecting Captain Ji?” Xie Qing asked.

Ji Nocheng smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

“He wanted to question you himself, but rules forbid it. You’re his foster father, after all. So I’ll be handling this interrogation,” Xie Qing cleared his throat. “Did you kill Zhou Yun?”

In another monitoring room, Ji Chenjiao stood with his back to the camera, but the audio was clear in his ear.

“Is Xiao Chen watching?” Ji Nocheng asked.

“He probably is,” Xie Qing replied.

Ji Nocheng lowered his head, trying to speak several times but pulling back, unprepared.

Ling Lie spoke coldly, “Are you afraid he’ll despise you?”

Ji Nocheng glanced at Ling Lie quickly. Ji Chenjiao turned around too.

Ling Lie said, “He’s waiting for the truth. Every second you stay silent is torture. If you still feel any shred of fatherly care for your son, speak up. Stop torturing him.”

Ji Nocheng struggled, then began, “Zhou Yun… she fell by herself…”

Xie Qing tapped the coroner’s report. “There were signs of struggle. She was pushed. And the only one with her was you.”

“I… I didn’t mean to. She tried to push me… I lost my balance and—”

Ling Lie interrupted him. “But you were the one who asked the local guides about Xuezhong Pass. You were the one who drove out three times before the incident to scout the location. Mr. Ji, you planned long in advance to kill Zhou Yun at Xuezhong Pass, didn’t you? Why? Wasn’t she your wife?”

Ji Nocheng buried his head in his hands, shaking it over and over.

“You two could’ve picked a much better hotel, but instead you stayed in the worst possible place. What were you hiding from? When Xu Yinyue disappeared all those years ago—you two just happened to be in Tongqie County. That wasn’t a coincidence, was it? You thought you had covered every trace perfectly. But twenty years later, someone suddenly approached you and said: ‘I know the truth.’” Ling Lie loomed over him. “That’s when you realized disaster was upon you, and there was no time left to prepare.”

Ji Nocheng let out a painful scream. “I should never have let him live—”

Time rewound to when Ji Nocheng had just turned eighteen and was tutoring at Xu Yinyue’s house. His grades were among the best in Tongqie County—but still not enough. Having grown up under the oppressive shadow of the Kang family, he was desperate to escape this place with his family, never to return.

To make it in the big city, he needed a stable job. Laboring on construction sites wasn’t his goal; he wanted to be someone who gave orders. So he had to get into a top university.

Xu Yinyue had returned from Xiarong City. Though she hadn’t managed to get a teaching position at Tongqie High School, she had chatted with Ji Nocheng, and he realized she was very talented. They agreed to try a few tutoring sessions—and after just one, Ji Nocheng had ranked first in the entire grade.

After that, their tutoring sessions became regular. Sometimes, when Xu Yinyue was in a good mood, she would invite him to stay for dinner—stewed loaches fresh from the field, cooked with pickled radish, chili, and fermented bean paste until the meat melted in the mouth and all the fishiness was completely gone. Ji Nocheng would eat three bowls of rice with the soup alone, proving with his appetite just how delicious it was.

Xu Yinyue was delighted and cooked more and more often.

When college entrance exams came, Xu Yinyue was even more nervous than he was. It was her first time tutoring; his first time taking the gaokao. Both of them gave it their all.

The results came out—Ji Nocheng scored far above the county’s second-place student and got accepted to Liyun Institute of Technology. Full of pride, he brought loaches to Xu Yinyue’s house, along with lots of marinated dishes, to thank her for her guidance.

After he left for Liyun City to study, the tutoring became a memory. The university campus was full of young people dating, and Ji Nocheng—handsome, top of his class—was popular among the girls. But strangely, no matter how pretty they were, he didn’t like any of them. Whenever he thought of romance, it was always Xu Yinyue’s face that came to mind.

She wasn’t his teacher anymore. So why not pursue her?

He began writing letters to Xu Yinyue—simple greetings at first, chatting about university life and news from Tongqie County. Xu Yinyue, older by a few years, gave him advice about handling classmates and occasionally complained about lazy students who wasted their parents’ money.

Their correspondence grew more frequent. Ji Nocheng began pouring his feelings into these letters—short poems about his campus, lines borrowed from love poetry. For artsy youth at the time, this was a common way to court someone.

He was nervous—afraid she’d see through him and cut off contact, but also afraid she wouldn’t notice at all. When he sent the letters, every day felt endless until her reply arrived. She never said anything directly—but once, she copied back a love poem in response.

Their relationship was set.

That winter break, Ji Nocheng returned to Tongqie County. They secretly went on dates, basking in sweetness, and he wanted to tell everyone about their love.

But Xu Yinyue said, “No hurry. Wait until you graduate, until you’re settled in Liyun City.” He didn’t understand—he said he only ever wanted her; they were adults now. Why hide?

Xu Yinyue, because of her family’s ties to the Kang family, felt she might drag him down. She also thought that once he was out in the wide world, meeting more people, he might not care about this relationship anymore.

He was angry, feeling that she didn’t trust him. She coaxed him with a smile. They fought little lovers’ quarrels—then quickly made up.

Sometimes Xu Yinyue made trips into the city, under the excuse of shopping for supplies, just to secretly stay with him in an inn outside the school.

Everything changed in his third year. That year, Ji Nocheng met Zhou Yun—the beautiful, lively daughter of a local industrialist. They met when he interned at her family’s factory, and Zhou Yun fell hard for him at first sight, pursuing him relentlessly. By then, his feelings for Xu Yinyue had faded, but he enjoyed being chased by Zhou Yun. He didn’t tell her right away that he had a girlfriend back home.

Suddenly he was glad he’d never impulsively introduced Xu Yinyue to friends or family. She had been right—his stage was the city, and in the city were better loves.

By then, he was no longer a simple boy. If he got together with Zhou Yun, he’d quickly become a workshop supervisor in her family’s factory, maybe even climb higher. And what could Xu Yinyue offer him?

In a letter, he said he wanted to break up. Xu Yinyue didn’t try to stop him. He thought the matter was settled and confessed his past relationship to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun was devastated and wanted to break up. Ji Nocheng panicked—he didn’t want to lose her too. He pulled every trick he knew to win her back, and finally succeeded. His career at the factory and university life both smoothed out.

But when he returned to Tongqie County, he learned Xu Yinyue was pregnant. The dates made it clear—the child was his.

Having an ex was one thing. A child was another. He rushed to find Xu Yinyue, but she was cold now. She said she wanted nothing to do with him, would raise the child alone, and would never tell anyone.

Ji Nocheng returned to Liyun City in a daze, too scared to tell Zhou Yun the truth. The higher he rose in the Zhou family’s factory, the more terrified he became of the secret coming out. Xu Yinyue said she’d keep quiet—but who could trust that? Even the most loving couples divorce someday. They’d only briefly dated.

He thought of how distant she’d become. Back then, she had said not to tell family and friends—as if hinting that if he found someone better, she’d let him go. But now she treated him like a stranger.

His anxiety grew—pushing him toward collapse when he officially became Technical Director at the factory. Zhou Yun felt their relationship was solid enough to start talking about marriage.

Her father, though satisfied with Ji Nocheng’s education and skills, looked down on his background. He’d even had a fortune-teller read Ji Nocheng’s face, declaring him burdened by unresolved past loves—not a good match for Zhou Yun.

But Zhou Yun firmly took his side, promising her father that Ji Nocheng would be loyal.

Later, alone with him, she asked calmly if he was hiding anything.

Ji Nocheng broke down, sobbing, and confessed everything about Xu Yinyue and the child. Zhou Yun was shocked speechless. They reached one clear conclusion—where there was a child, there was a risk. Xu Yinyue’s promise meant nothing. One day, the child might need money…

Ji Nocheng couldn’t bear to think of it. He feared that all he had worked ten hard years to achieve could vanish at Xu Yinyue’s whim.

How could he silence her forever?

Zhou Yun said, “Let’s kill them both.”

Ji Nocheng was stunned. Zhou Yun stared into his eyes. “You said you loved me—that you’d do anything for me. Prove it. Do you dare?”

Zhou Yun stood up, towering over him. “If you dare, I’ll pretend I know nothing and marry you. If you can’t do it, we go our separate ways. You’ll be you. The Zhou family will have nothing to do with you.”