You Ming Xu felt a slight tremor in her heart.

Only these few sets of prints remained traceable. The later footprints became chaotic and indistinct. Multiple sets overlapped and crossed, trampled and incomplete. Several deep mud holes appeared to have been repeatedly kicked, but the shoe prints were unidentifiable. Based on You Ming Xu’s experience, this likely indicated a struggle.

And the outcome of that struggle?

After carefully searching the area, she found three clear sets of footprints in another direction from the “struggle zone.” After comparison, she confirmed these belonged to the three people other than Guo Xing. These prints were notably deeper than before.

She followed these tracks forward, away from the fish farm’s entrance and toward the mountains. The farm was open, without walls, surrounded by mud and increasingly dense vegetation. The three sets of prints continued for over a hundred meters until reaching a mountain path that led upward. The prints disappeared there.

You Ming Xu lay down to examine the area more closely, but the mountain path’s soil was too hard and dry to show discernible footprints. She stood up, her face covered in dirt, wiped it off carelessly, and looked at Jing Ping.

His brows were deeply furrowed as he asked, “What do you think?”

You Ming Xu said: “Guo Xing arrived at the pond first and fished for some time. Of the three others, the first jumped into the pond. Guo Xing saw this and, for whatever reason, ran to save them.

After the rescue, he was likely performing first aid or checking on the person who fell in. The other two attacked from behind. There’s no obvious blood, so they probably used rope to strangle him. Guo Xing struggled, leaving repeated kick marks, but was overpowered. The three carried away an unconscious or dead Guo Xing into the mountains.”

Jing Ping just smiled and said, “Interesting.”

You Ming Xu asked, “How skilled was Guo Xing in combat?”

Jing Ping replied, “Someone like him, who climbed over corpses and bullets to get ahead—how could he not be skilled?”

You Ming Xu said, “Exactly. They knew this, so they planned to lure him into saving someone from the water, waiting until he was tired and off guard before ambushing him. The question is, how did they know he would try to save someone? And why did he do it without hesitation? They must have known each other. Were they from Xiangcheng’s drug trafficking organization? Guo Xing’s contact? Or different forces?”

Jing Ping had no answers to these questions either.

Just then, Xu Meng Shan ran over, saying: “Got the list. Two other groups came that day. Two elderly retired fishing enthusiasts. And a family of three with a child. All regulars. Colleagues at the station did preliminary checks—likely no suspicions. The owner said they were all fishing at other ponds and didn’t go near Guo Xing.”

You Ming Xu nodded; this matched the inconsistency with the footprint owners. The fish farm was open on all sides—those people wouldn’t need to use the main entrance and could slip in unnoticed from any direction.

After briefly exchanging information, Xu Meng Shan said, “I’ll contact the station immediately to gather all surveillance footage from around the mountain.” You Ming Xu agreed but feared cameras would be scarce in such a location.

As Xu Meng Shan turned to make calls, You Ming Xu gestured to Jing Ping toward the mountain. Jing Ping said, “Let me take point.”

You Ming Xu said, “No need, follow me.” Jing Ping wasn’t from a criminal investigation, so she naturally took the lead.

But Jing Ping said, “Is this how you do things in Hunan? Men following behind women?” His tone was lazy, but he moved to the front.

You Ming Xu suddenly thought of Yu Ying Jun, always swaying behind her like a human tail.

She remained silent.

Xu Meng Shan, overhearing while on the phone, laughed and said, “Brother Jing, You Ming Xu isn’t a woman.”

You Ming Xu elbowed him.

Jing Ping smiled, glanced at You Ming Xu, and told Xu Meng Shan, “Nonsense.” He walked ahead, rolling up his sleeves to reveal muscular forearms.

You Ming Xu knew that men capable of catching drug dealers were invariably tougher than imagined. Nothing like his clean-cut, mild appearance suggested. A thought struck her, and she said, “Old Jing, let’s spar sometime.”

Jing Ping didn’t even raise an eyebrow: “I can’t control my strength, don’t fight women.”

You Ming Xu laughed now, saying, “What a coincidence, I can’t control mine either.”

Seeing this, Xu Meng Shan said, “Brother Jing, fight her! Sister Yu may look slim, but she’s a demon—judo champion. Plenty of guys at the station have been taken down by her. If you can handle her, we’ll all treat you to dinner.”

Jing Ping: “Deal.”

You Ming Xu: “It’s settled then. Old Jing, don’t say I didn’t respect my senior.”

Jing Ping said, “Little Yu, I was shooting drug dealers when you were still practicing at the police academy.”

Xu Meng Shan laughed heartily while You Ming Xu replied, “Oh, each wave of the Yangtze River pushes at the wave ahead until the old waves die upon the shore.”

Jing Ping maintained his smiling expression, unhurried as ever, saying, “Fine, come push me then.”

They all laughed, the initial awkwardness from Jing Ping’s addition to the team seemingly dissipated. As they walked on, about to turn deeper into the forest, You Ming Xu’s phone rang.

She checked the caller ID, her expression cooling as she hung up immediately.

But they called right back, quite thick-skinned.

You Ming Xu answered irritably, her voice ice-cold: “What do you want?”

That person’s deep, pleasant voice came through: “Stand still, wait for me.”

You Ming Xu froze, lowered her phone, and looked back. As she stopped, Jing Ping and Xu Meng Shan also stopped and turned.

The man emerged from the pond where Guo Xing had been. Sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating him. He wore a black down jacket, grey sweater, black casual pants, and sneakers, showing a different air than before. He approached step by step, pants muddy, grass clinging to his clothes, yet none of it diminished his striking handsomeness.

You Ming Xu neither knew where he’d come from nor how he’d found them. She watched expressionlessly as he walked up the mountain path, his eyes fixed on her while she looked away indifferently.

Xu Meng Shan muttered, “Why is he here?”

Jing Ping asked quietly, “Who is he?”

Seeing You Ming Xu’s silence, Xu Meng Shan sighed internally and said, “That’s Yin Feng, a criminal psychologist, sort of our consultant. He’s helped solve many cases before.”

Jing Ping: “Oh.”

When Yin Feng reached them, he stopped looking at You Ming Xu and focused on Jing Ping. Jing Ping returned his gaze with interest.

Then Yin Feng smiled, a smile warm enough to feel like spring sunshine, and said kindly, “You must be Officer Jing. I’m Yin Feng, a team member. I’m late—pleased to meet you.”