He completed all this in just a few minutes. After packing up his things, he shouldered his bag. Blood had splattered on the floor, his shoes, and his hands. But he paid no attention to any of it. Instead, he slowly raised his head and looked directly at the camera.

The surveillance cameras Guanjun had installed in You Mingxu’s home were top-of-the-line, with exceptional clarity. So now, the police could see that handsome face under the cap brim. He had grown much thinner than months before, with sharp eyebrows and a straight nose. His complexion was slightly pale, making his eyes appear even more profound.

He stared at the camera for a full half minute, his face expressionless.

You Mingxu was momentarily stunned.

She suddenly realized that Yin Chen’s eyes now showed no ferocity, no bloodlust. They were like the deep sea after a storm had passed, leaving only tranquil waters. Strangely, they reminded her somewhat of Yin Feng’s eyes.

Why did Yin Chen have such an expression?

What was he looking at?

Yin Chen lowered his head and left her home.

You Mingxu recalled Yin Feng’s words—he had come for revenge because he had nothing left.

He was the only one remaining. Everyone else was behind bars; there would be no more “Punishers” in this world. Did he know that he was just one of many in Fan Shuhua’s countless black notebooks?

The last one.

—

You Mingxu stood outside her apartment door.

The lock was intact.

She took out her key to open the door, with police personnel carefully entering behind her.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng walked in slowly.

Even though they had already seen it on video, witnessing it in person, You Mingxu could still feel a silent chill pervading the room.

Before them, blood covered the walls, like a monster baring its fangs and claws, or like a mysterious jungle silently growing.

The box Yin Chen had left was still on the table. Forensic personnel had already opened it, their faces suddenly changing.

You Mingxu walked over and saw the box in his hand.

It was a very ordinary, small wooden box, about half a palm in size. Inside the box was a finger. The severed end was a bloody mess, already dried, and the box was full of blood—the finger had been freshly cut off and placed in the box. Looking more carefully, You Mingxu noticed the details—the finger was relatively thin and slender, more like a man’s. The wrinkles were noticeably deep, with several age spots on the back of the finger.

Her heart sank.

Xu Mengshan came over, took the box, and examined it carefully, saying: “This finger was cut from a living person, probably less than 24 hours ago.” It was now 9 AM, meaning the finger had been cut off after 9 AM yesterday.

You Mingxu felt a weight on her shoulder as Yin Feng placed his hand there.

“Axu, you’re second,” he said.

You Mingxu’s eyebrows trembled slightly, and she said, “It doesn’t matter to me.”

Both Yin Feng and Xu Mengshan understood what she meant.

Yin Feng just gently stroked You Mingxu’s head once; he knew she didn’t need anyone to say much.

Yin Feng turned his head. Opposite the table where the severed finger had been placed was a wall with a cabinet against it. This was the direction Yin Chen had been gazing at before leaving, and also where the hidden camera was located.

On the cabinet was a memorial portrait of You Mingxu’s mother. Yu Ruixue’s appearance was sweet yet spirited, with clear eyes.

He had been looking at her with those eyes.

Something stirred in Yin Feng’s heart, but he set it aside for now.

You Mingxu looked up at the thick blood stains and asked, “The blood at Mengshan’s house belonged to Xing Jifu. Whose blood is this?”

Xu Mengshan remained silent. If this blood had been drawn from his parents, while not necessarily fatal, they might not have survived easily.

A mocking smile suddenly appeared at the corner of Yin Feng’s mouth: “Perhaps it’s not from Mengshan’s parents.”

Both You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan looked at him.

Just then, Yin Feng’s phone rang. It was Chen Feng again.

“Teacher Yin, I’ve found what you asked about. They… returned to the country three months ago, and I’ve found their address, right here in Xiangcheng. But it seems they haven’t been in contact with anyone… You know, it’s not strange for them to disappear for a few months. I’ve sent you the address, and Tuya is already on his way to check it out.”

When Yin Feng put down his phone, his expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t noticed the gazes of those around him. He stood silently for a minute or two before forwarding the address to You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan.

“Send someone to investigate this address immediately,” Yin Feng said. “See if anything has happened there.”

Xu Mengshan didn’t ask a single question and turned to leave.

You Mingxu looked into Yin Feng’s eyes: “What place is that?”

Yin Feng answered calmly: “That’s where my parents have been staying recently in China.”

You Mingxu’s heart jolted. Yin Feng suddenly smiled sarcastically and said, “Axu, I’m just like you—it doesn’t matter to me either.”

The police channels worked faster than Tuya’s investigation.

Because just last night, someone had reported an incident at that address. However, since it wasn’t in the same district, the Lushan branch station didn’t know about it yet.

Xu Mengshan quickly obtained the preliminary case report.

The person reporting the incident was a security guard from the community, and the time was after 9 PM last night.

It was a villa district.

The Yin couple lived in one of the villas.

Around 9:30 PM, that building suddenly caught fire. The property management immediately reported it to the fire department and organized firefighting efforts. The fire department arrived about 10 minutes later, and the fire was extinguished 20 minutes after that.

It had been determined that the fire didn’t start in the main villa, but in a separate two-door garage in the yard. By the time the fire was put out, it had spread to the main house, burning one wall black and gray, but it hadn’t reached the main structure yet.

No bodies were found in the burned garage.

Firefighters rushed into the main house and found it empty, but on the wall of the master bedroom, they discovered suspicious red liquid spread all over, not yet completely dry.

Xu Mengshan had photos of the scene on his phone.

A silent room, walls covered in fresh blood, grotesquely blooming. Strings of droplets rippling through the sea of blood.

Identical to the previous two scenes.

Nothing else had been left behind.

Beyond this, local police who arrived at the scene determined from the evidence that the house had been unoccupied for some time. They had already taken samples of the blood stains for DNA comparison. However, the database was too large, and without a specific direction, they hadn’t yet obtained results.

“Mengshan,” Yin Feng spoke up, “Have the police there compare the DNA with your parents’.”

It felt as if a long needle had suddenly pierced Xu Mengshan’s heart, but he said, “Alright.”

Yin Feng looked at the blood on the wall behind You Mingxu: “And compare this with my parents’.”

You Mingxu suddenly felt angry and said coldly, “What is he trying to do? Play games? Or just create mystery?”

Yin Feng said dispassionately: “No, it’s about ritual.”

—

You Mingxu had never heard Yin Feng mention his parents, not even once.

She had never asked about them either.

In some ways, she and he were the same kind of person.

So now, hearing that Yin Feng’s parents had returned to China and very likely met with misfortune, You Mingxu didn’t know what to say to him.

The group quickly went downstairs from the traffic control center.

You Mingxu hurriedly used the restroom, and when she came down, she saw Yin Feng standing by the police car waiting, with Xu Mengshan sitting in the driver’s seat. Yin Feng’s expression looked very calm; he even smiled at her with a hint of warmth. There was no trace of the panic one might expect after one’s birth parents had been taken hostage.

How ironic—she was the same.