It was already night when You Mingxu returned home.

Her own home.

While climbing the stairs, she glimpsed an inconspicuous sedan parked nearby with two silhouettes inside, completely still. They were likely staying quiet to avoid making her uncomfortable. She didn’t feel like greeting them either.

You Mingxu hadn’t lived here for a long time. Opening the door, she smelled accumulated dust. In her hand was just a simple travel bag.

She dropped the bag on the floor and collapsed onto the sofa, closing her eyes and resting for a while before getting up to clean.

The apartment was tidy and not very large. After a quick cleanup, she glanced at Yin Feng’s empty room before finally returning to her bedroom and falling onto the bed.

The curtains were half-drawn, dim and lightless, the room cold and empty.

She suddenly wondered what Yin Feng was doing now. Was he thinking of her too? Was he still in unbearable pain? How much of the Guizhou incident had he remembered?

He must already understand what kind of trouble he would face.

What would he do? Where would he go?

Was he the creator of the Punisher?

Yin Feng, have you truly seen yourself?

Can you still see A Xu?

—

It was a house in the mountains, on the border between Xiangcheng and Zhuzhou. With a tourist scenic area on the mountain in front, the house’s occupation drew less attention here.

The house was built entirely of wood, like a sturdy castle, but also like a cage. A moisture-proof wooden walkway led from the door to a small pond. Dense trees and overgrown weeds surrounded it. New lotus leaves were growing in the pond as if someone had gathered an armful of green to present to the house’s owner.

Tu Ya had acquired this house when he first returned to China. Back then, he still had troubles hanging over him but dreamed of one day being debt-free, living here like a wild man in this paradise. Later he went to prison, then followed Yin Feng, and the house was left abandoned. Unexpectedly, it came in useful today.

From midnight yesterday until today, they had switched cars and plates, changed countless modes of transport, paid people to divert police attention, tampered with surveillance footage… It wasn’t until after noon that they finally arrived here safely.

Yin Feng had awakened during their escape and remained silent, not stopping their actions.

From noon until now, Yin Feng had sat in the room without coming out or speaking a word to anyone. Chen Feng had brought lunch in, but when he returned for the dishes, found it untouched. Chen Feng left without saying anything.

The early summer sun had grown fierce.

Several people sat in the tree shade, lost in thought.

Champion had completely calmed down and was even playfully teasing Xiao Yan occasionally. Xiao Yan, with a huge weight in his heart, didn’t want to respond but couldn’t resist, and soon they were fighting again.

Tu Ya smoked gloomily, his body like a heavy mountain. Even Champion dared not provoke him at such times.

Chen Feng also smoked, his shirt and trousers wrinkled and filthy. He stared into the distance beyond the water, his eyes dark.

Hearing Champion and Xiao Yan making noise again, Tu Ya’s temper flared. He threw down his cigarette and shouted, “Enough! Does ignoring something make it stop existing? What are we going to do next? What about Teacher Yin?”

Everyone fell silent.

Champion was the first to respond coldly: “What’s there to be angry about? If Teacher Yin is with the police, then we’re with the police. If he’s the Punisher, then we’re the Punisher. Killing people, being killed. Is it really that important?”

Chen Feng cursed, “Shut up! How could Teacher Yin be the Punisher? He led us and the police to take down so many Punisher members, and nearly got killed by his brother! How could he have created the Punisher organization?”

Champion responded almost immediately: “Then how do you explain seeing him with Su Ziyi, imprisoning Li Mingdi? He can’t remember this either, can he?”

Chen Feng grabbed his hair in anguish, wishing he had never witnessed that scene. But even if he hadn’t seen it, what difference would it make? Last night Teacher Yin had attacked Li Mingdi and admitted it himself…

The usually silent Xiao Yan suddenly spoke: “What if he is the Punisher, but just forgot? Thinking he was on the side of justice?”

Everyone fell silent.

Xiao Yan’s clean face was tightly drawn as he continued: “Sometimes, when people experience severe trauma, they can forget certain things. Like me… I still can’t clearly remember what happened the night my parents were killed, or what I did. What if Teacher Yin just forgot, and Yin Chen and the others were forced to oppose him, maybe even… they hurt Teacher Yin, but not fatally, just to protect his identity?”

Everyone’s expressions changed at these words, but no one could find a way to refute them.

Tu Ya closed his eyes in pain and said softly, “You all heard him say he was the Punisher.”

—

Chen Feng entered the house and saw Yin Feng leaning in a rattan chair, looking out the window. He still wore last night’s clothes, muddy from their journey, but seemed oblivious to it, his expression peaceful.

Chen Feng’s heart ached as he placed the reheated meal in front of him, saying, “Teacher Yin, you need to eat.”

Yin Feng seemed not to hear, lost in thought.

Chen Feng added, “You Mingxu would worry if she knew.”

Yin Feng finally glanced at him, then at the food, saying hoarsely, “Leave it, I’ll eat later.”

Chen Feng didn’t know what else to say, or perhaps nothing needed to be said. He sat beside Yin Feng, joining him in gazing through the two-foot square window glass at the reflected tree branches and water surface.

“What do you think of things now?” Yin Feng asked.

Chen Feng smiled faintly: “We just discussed it. Wherever you go, we’ll go. Whatever you are, we are. That’s our view.”

Yin Feng fell silent.

After a while, he said, “Good.”

Chen Feng nearly cried, unsure if from excitement, pain, or loneliness.

But he didn’t see that when Yin Feng looked out the window, his eyes, deep as well, clearly showed tears that quickly vanished.

Yin Feng suddenly smiled, one hand against his lips, showing his usual cold, willful demeanor. He asked softly, “Chen Feng, that day three years ago, did you see me with Su Ziyi and Li Mingdi?”

Chen Feng lowered his eyes in silence.

That was confirmation enough.

Yin Feng said slowly, “Is what one pair of eyes sees necessarily the truth?”

Chen Feng’s heart jolted, not understanding his meaning.

But Yin Feng didn’t explain further, changing the subject: “Actually, strictly speaking, You Yingjun isn’t my second personality. He’s just part of my current personality. At that time, my brain was injured, combined with psychological trauma, but mainly due to the physical injury, which made me lose my mind and become childlike. There are many similar medical cases. When my brain injury healed, I recovered. I can remember everything he did. Only when I’m drunk when my nervous system is numbed, does that side show again? If You Yingjun were truly my second personality, I would never be able to consciously recall what he did. At most, I might see some memory fragments of the second personality in my subconscious.”

Chen Feng processed his words, suddenly understanding his meaning. He felt shocked, finding it unbelievable yet logical.

Yin Feng’s face remained calm as if submerged in a cold pond. He said, “If those things were done by Yin Feng, then it was him. That’s the only explanation.”

Chen Feng blurted out, “What do we do? What should we do?”

Yin Feng closed his eyes, finally seeming to feel exhausted. He leaned back in his chair and said hoarsely, “Go ask Champion if there’s a way to contact You Mingxu without the police knowing.”

—

These past few days, You Mingxu had been constantly thinking about that night’s events. What else had happened before she reached the ward? Otherwise, how could someone as composed as Yin Feng lose control and try to strangle Li Mingdi?

She kept seeing Yin Feng’s final look at her, desperate and painful. She wished she could grow wings and fly to his side right now, see how he was doing, and ask him why.

But he had disappeared with his people.

You Mingxu hadn’t given up though; she couldn’t. She found a way to bring home all cases that might be related to the Punisher over the years, carefully reviewing them, hoping to find even the slightest clue.

Besides this, during the day she went out running, doing intense physical training. The two police officers watching her just quietly followed, sometimes coming up to offer her cigarettes.

At night, when she finally had nothing left to do, sitting in the empty home, she felt the omnipresent loneliness. She could only pick up her tablet to watch TV dramas until she was exhausted and fell asleep.

It was the third day since Yin Feng’s disappearance.

The night was deep, the city seemingly silent, with only the heavy darkness threatening to rush in through the window.

You Mingxu sat with her tablet on the bed, watching expressionlessly, her eyes fixed on the screen.

Suddenly, the screen went black.

She froze, mentally cursing her bad luck, and was about to pick up the tablet when she saw some program automatically flashing on the screen, running rapidly for a second before going black again.

Then, on the screen, black and almost solemn, two white characters slowly appeared: “A Xu.”

You Mingxu stared at these two characters, tears suddenly brimming in her eyes, grief welling up from within.