The footprints here became chaotic, clearly showing where someone had stopped before departing toward the other side of the pool.

The four exchanged glances, and Jing Ping said, “I’ll go down,” and began removing his outer coat.

Xu Mengshan said, “The pool’s too big—let’s search together,” as he also started undressing.

You Mingxu removed her jacket and tightened her hair tie. Since this was an investigation, she couldn’t worry about appearances and removed her outer pants, revealing thermal leggings underneath.

It was the dead of winter, and ordinary people couldn’t handle cold-water swimming—mountain stream water was especially bone-chilling. The two men stripped down to their underwear, revealing their well-muscled, proportioned builds and long legs. You Mingxu averted her eyes. They jumped into the water, both shivering from the cold, before diving beneath the surface.

You Mingxu, wearing her undergarments, was about to jump when someone grabbed her hand. She looked at Yin Feng with cold eyes.

He said, “You Mingxu, the water’s too cold, and you’re a woman. Get in and out quickly, don’t push yourself.”

You Mingxu remained silent.

Suddenly, she thought that if this were You Yingjun, he probably wouldn’t let her enter the water at all, insisting on stopping her—she would have had to argue quite a bit to convince him.

But Yin Feng before her, although slightly frowning, only cautioned: get in and out quickly, don’t overdo it.

You Mingxu’s expression unconsciously softened slightly as she said quietly, “I know.” Remembering how useless he became around water, she added after a pause, “Stay put, call if anything happens.”

Yin Feng made a “heh” sound, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

You Mingxu jumped into the water.

Being mountain stream water, visibility was better than in regular bodies of water. You Mingxu dove several meters deep, immediately feeling her entire body ache with cold, a searing pain. She gritted her teeth and endured, seeing the outlines of the other two ahead. She scanned the area, couldn’t hold her breath any longer, surfaced for air, then dove back down.

After searching for about ten minutes, all three were frozen pale with blue lips, but no one spoke, persistently continuing.

They had nearly searched the entire bottom.

Jing Ping dove in again, the icy water hitting his face once more. This time he went deeper, determined to find a definitive answer. Gradually, he reached a section of the pool bottom tangled with water plants, putting him on alert. Gritting his teeth, he slowly parted the water plants. The bottom was like looking through a thin fog, and when he suddenly saw the human shape among the plants, his heart lurched violently. By then he was out of the air, forced to surface, gasping heavily for breath before forcefully slapping the water’s surface.

The other two noticed and surfaced. Jing Ping pointed to the spot, and all three dove down together.

Guo Xing’s ankles were both bound with rope, tied to a massive stone that had sunk him. Xu Mengshan took out a knife, cut the ropes, and the three lifted Guo Xing’s body to the surface.

Swimming to the edge, they heaved the body onto the shore. Xu Mengshan and You Mingxu immediately ran ashore to find their clothes. Jing Ping stared at the body for a moment before climbing up to dress.

You Mingxu grabbed her clothes and ran into the dense undergrowth behind them, changed out of her wet clothes, and put on her sweater, coat, socks, and shoes, but was still shivering violently. She hugged herself tightly and emerged from behind the brush to find Jing Ping and Xu Mengshan already dressed. Xu Mengshan walked aside to make a phone call, while Jing Ping produced cigarettes from somewhere, his normally fair face now deathly pale, taking deep drags as he crouched down in front of the body, his back to them.

As You Mingxu was about to walk toward Jing Ping, Yin Feng approached her, took off his down jacket, and draped it over her shoulders.

The heavy garment, still warm and carrying a faint trace of cologne, enveloped her. You Mingxu looked at him in just his sweater and said, “No need.” She tried to remove it, but Yin Feng’s hand pressed down on her shoulder: “What, you’re expecting those two frozen chickens to offer you their coats?”

You Mingxu: “…”

Yin Feng had already turned away, walking to the side. You Mingxu watched him with his hands in his pockets, his expression slightly dark, seeming impervious to the cold. She was indeed frozen, still trembling, and only after putting on the down jacket did her limbs gradually regain feeling. Too tired to be polite anymore, she simply zipped up the jacket to warm up quickly.

Now, You Mingxu stared at Jing Ping’s back, as did Yin Feng.

For some reason, You Mingxu sensed that Jing Ping’s usually calm demeanor had undergone some inexplicable change. He knelt on one knee beside the body, one hand resting on his knee, the other holding a cigarette that drooped downward, ash falling bit by bit, though he wasn’t smoking, his fingers trembling unconsciously from the cold.

Was he frustrated because the suspect they’d been tracking had suddenly died, cutting off their leads? You Mingxu frowned slightly.

Yin Feng returned to her side, bent down, and whispered near her ear: “Your new follower seems troubled.”

You Mingxu glanced at him and said flatly: “He’s not my follower, he’s my boss. You used to be my follower.”

Yin Feng rarely faltered in speech, but now he laughed and said, “You trust him so easily? After knowing him just a few days.” His tone carried a hint of coldness.

You Mingxu thought Yin Feng seemed off today, radiating a sinister air, yet still insisting on following them around like a stubborn plaster.

She looked again at Jing Ping’s back—even though he appeared somewhat dejected now, his back remained straight, the familiar stubborn old detective pose she knew well.

She answered: “Some people, you trust them the moment you see them.” Without further acknowledging Yin Feng, she walked toward Jing Ping.

Yin Feng’s expression darkened as he followed.

When You Mingxu reached him, Jing Ping had already stood up, his profile expressionless: “When will backup arrive?”

You Mingxu answered: “Probably will take a while.”

He turned: “Keep watch, I’ll check the surroundings for more clues.”

You Mingxu, who had been watching him intently, suddenly moved to block his path. Jing Ping kept his head down, frowning, motionless.

“Old Jing,” You Mingxu called out.

Jing Ping let out a bitter laugh and slowly raised his head. His wet hair still clung to his forehead, making his face appear even paler. His eyes were rimmed with red, clouded with darkness.

You Mingxu’s heart sank, an ominous feeling washing over her.

“Guo Xing was…”

He looked at her, and after several seconds, slowly nodded once.

You Mingxu looked at the waterlogged corpse beside them. If they hadn’t found him, this police officer would have remained forever in the cold, unknown depths. So Ding Xiongwei and Jing Ping hadn’t told the truth before—they weren’t looking for a drug dealer but for a missing undercover officer.

An indescribable tremor ran through her heart.

She also knew clearly what it felt like to lose a comrade. Her heart ached as she reached out to grip Jing Ping’s shoulder, saying nothing, just pressing firmly. Jing Ping continued to smile self-mockingly but didn’t shake off her hand.

Yin Feng stood behind them, having also understood Guo Xing’s situation. However, the scene before him was inexplicably jarring—a handsome man and beautiful woman, fellow detectives, silently supporting each other, spiritually connected.

Yin Feng hadn’t figured out what he wanted to do with You Mingxu.

But watching her fall into another man’s hands—that was something else entirely.