His.

This You Mingxu, was his.

A strong and exhilarating sense of satisfaction surged through his heart. Yet his face revealed nothing as he said, quite inappropriately: “Interesting. Call me husband, and I’ll tell you where he’s going.”

—

After the briefing, Ding Xiongwei didn’t immediately rush to the front line but headed to another place.

The detention center.

After exchanging greetings with the warden, Ding Xiongwei was soon seated in a visitation room. Because the suspect he was about to meet had committed heinous crimes, the detention center specifically assigned several armed police officers for security both inside and outside.

Ding Xiongwei watched silently, thinking it was unnecessary.

That person’s power lay in her mind, in controlling people’s hearts; she was physically harmless. And from now on, wasn’t her heart filled with despair?

So she would never get out.

After waiting a few minutes, the door opened, and a woman in a prison uniform with chains on her hands and feet slowly walked in. Ding Xiongwei immediately noticed her short hair, still neat as usual, and her remarkably clean and orderly prison uniform. Suddenly, his eyes stung a little.

But when he raised his head again, his expression was completely composed and calm.

Fan Shuhua also appeared serene as she sat down across from him, not saying a word.

Ding Xiongwei said, “Where is Yin Chen?”

Fan Shuhua sighed softly and answered: “So he has finally taken that path?”

Ding Xiongwei: “What path?”

Fan Shuhua: “Indeed, everything is over, and he wants to end it too.”

They seemed to be talking past each other.

Ding Xiongwei held his patience for a moment, then almost growled: “Fan Shuhua! You were once a respected intellectual! You received the respect and trust of our police force and the gratitude of those victims. After doing all these things, don’t you feel any guilt or hesitation? Do you—do you have any humanity left? Have you ever told me a single word of truth?”

Fan Shuhua just smiled slightly. At first glance, she still appeared as serene and wise as before, her eyes bright. But if you looked carefully, you could see that hint of wildness at the corner of her lips and the hostility hidden in her eyes.

“History is written by the victors, Old Ding. There’s no need to say more. You simply don’t understand me.”

Ding Xiongwei remained silent for a while, no longer dwelling on this topic, then said: “Last night, Yin Chen kidnapped Xu Mengshan’s parents. Xing Jifu and Yin Feng’s parents are also in his hands. Involving innocent people, especially the parents of police officers, is this the doctrine of you Punishers? Didn’t you claim to punish evil and promote good?

Xu Mengshan, You Mingxu, Yin Feng—which one isn’t a good child? Which one hasn’t risked their life to protect ordinary people? Yet now, Yin Chen’s revenge falls on their parents. Is this fair? Fan Shuhua, I ask you just one question: is this fair? Is this something a human being would do? If we can’t rescue their parents, what’s the point of being police officers? If you still have any conscience, tell me where Yin Chen would take them. ‘Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto yourself.’ Perhaps some parents aren’t good people. But some parents consider their children to be everything in the world. Like Mengshan’s parents. Fan Shuhua, do you understand what I’m saying?”

Fan Shuhua looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: “Old Ding, you don’t understand criminal psychology at all, nor do you understand what it is—it’s you who doesn’t understand.” She paused, then said: “You’ve got it wrong. The Punishers organization no longer exists; everything has come to nothing, never to be pursued again. Yin Chen understands this, too, so what he’s doing now has nothing to do with the Punishers or with me. Those are just his demands. I am not him; I don’t know where he’ll go.” She stood up and turned to look at the police officers who had escorted her: “Let’s go.”

Ding Xiongwei watched her walk away, then turned and left with an expressionless face.

As Fan Shuhua followed the prison guards toward an iron door, the image of a black soft-cover notebook floated in her mind. The notebook opened in her thoughts, and lines of text danced before her eyes like ghosts.

She suddenly lowered her head and smiled, murmuring: “Where does he want to go? His path was written long ago. He wants to go home…” Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes: “A child who wants to go home… how could I stand in the way of his final wish?”

—

You Mingxu, facing Yin Feng’s intense gaze, very much wanted to punch that handsome face to make him act normal.

But he didn’t seem to be flirting with her; he had sincerely proposed this exchange.

What a nutcase.

You Mingxu simply grabbed his collar: “Stop fooling around. Solving the case comes with a reward—just tell me.”

Yin Feng smiled slightly.

“He wants to go home.”

You Mingxu released his collar: “Which home?”

Yin Feng raised an eyebrow. Talking with a smart woman was indeed effortless.

He said, “What kind of person is Yin Chen? He suffered parental abuse from a young age, never received any positive affirmation, grew up like a wild animal, very lonely. His feelings toward me, his brother who once stole our parents’ love and later suffered the same abuse, are complicated—love, jealousy, and hatred mixed. As an adult, he engaged in fraud and deception, living at the bottom of society. I don’t know what happened between him and my mother-in-law, but undoubtedly, when he hit rock bottom in his life, she was his only light.”

You Mingxu felt uncomfortable hearing this: “Stop calling her your mother-in-law with every sentence.”

Yin Feng continued: “But this light was destroyed by a serial killer. Because of her, he hated Xing Jifu and infiltrated the Kaiyang Group. During this time, he had contact with Fan Shuhua, or was discovered by her—after all, the portrait of the real culprit in that case was created by Fan Shuhua, so it’s not surprising she discovered Yin Chen. He became a Punisher, and from then on, above his goal of revenge, he had a higher ‘faith’ in life. It’s terrifying when a person has faith, even if that faith is a false paper garment. That’s why he could stay at Kaiyang for decades, why he appeared so crazy and violent, fearless, because he was supported by belief.

But just before they were about to complete their ultimate punishment, just when he thought he had defeated me, his brother, trampling me in the mud in total victory, overnight, the Punishers organization was eliminated, his spiritual mother was imprisoned, and the Punishers were thoroughly defeated. Xing Jifu had already fallen into his hands, and his revenge was complete. So I ask you, what meaning does his life have now? What is there left for him to pursue?”

You Mingxu said, “So he came after us, wanting revenge.”

Yin Feng nodded: “With his violent nature, revenge is certain. But he also understands that there are countless police officers in this world—300 were mobilized just to catch them this time. He can never truly get revenge, nor is there anyone left to avenge.

When a person’s spiritual pillar of decades is destroyed, what does he have left? Where would he think to go? There are many ways to take revenge on us, yet he chose his current method, which precisely reflects his deepest true desire—he is a person without a home, so he wants to destroy our homes.”

You Mingxu remained silent.

Wasn’t Yin Chen’s home also Yin Feng’s home?

Yet as he spoke of Yin Chen having no home to return to, he seemed like an observer—calm, rational, ruthless.

Yin Feng continued: “However, he didn’t kill them on the spot and leave their bodies for us to find, which would have achieved the best revenge and destruction. Instead, he took them away.

Two very obvious behaviors confirm his inner feelings—from the timeline, there were lunch leftovers on the table at Xu Mengshan’s home, and he sat down and ate a bowl of home-cooked food. Was he sitting in Xu Mengshan’s place? At the other two locations, he left immediately after completing his task, his actions very compact, not wasting a moment. Only at his parents’ home did he stay for an hour. Simply setting a fire and pouring some blood wouldn’t take that long. He lingered at his parents’ home and, from the scene evidence, didn’t do anything else. So what was he thinking during that time alone?

All signs indicate that his deepest true desire is to go home. However, in his half-lifetime of wandering, he’s had many identities. For him, what truly constitutes a home in the real sense?”

You Mingxu’s gaze deepened.

Yin Feng interlaced his fingers and placed them against his lips, saying: “There are four places that hold the meaning of home for him.