Yan Qing prided herself on being able to read people well, but at this moment, she found she could not quite see through the man before her.

He appeared to be careless and frivolous, yet seemed to possess great wisdom beneath a simple exterior. His face wore a smile, but behind his eyes lived a layer of dim shadow.

“Don’t you know better than I do?” Yan Qing answered with a composed expression. “Why come and ask me?”

“I just want to confirm.” Long Yue turned to look out at the water. “I want to know — how far along has he gotten in his investigation?”

“I was only responsible for the post-mortem examination. As for everything else, you would be better off asking Long Yunxiao directly.”

“Yan Qing, I have some regrets.”

“Regrets about what?” Yan Qing raised her gaze. “About introducing me to your elder brother? There was no need to feel that way — once he had his suspicions, he would inevitably uncover the truth. Even without me, there would have been someone else.”

“Don’t you want to ask me something?” Long Yue turned around, his gaze intense and burning as it fixed on her.

“Ask you what? Whether you killed Shu Banxue?”

Long Yue was silent. His gaze gradually gathered into a sharp, concentrated light.

“If before I suspected you based only on inference, now I can say with certainty — you are the one who killed Shu Banxue.”

Long Yue quirked the corner of his mouth. “And do you think my brother knows?”

“What do you think?” Yan Qing countered. “Do you think your brother is a person without a brain?”

Long Yue nodded. “You’re right. He must already know.”

“Not only does he know — were you just being chased just now?” Yan Qing said. “It’s November, and yet you have sweat all over you. Other than running as hard as you can, I can think of no other cause for that.”

Long Yue let out a short laugh. “All right, yes — he has people searching for me everywhere. If not for my quick reflexes, I would have been caught already.”

“So what do you plan to do next?”

“Return to where I came from.”

“You’re going abroad?”

He gave a sound of assent. “Do you think he would let me go?”

“I don’t know. I’m not well-acquainted with his character.”

“He may not kill me, but he will never forgive me for the rest of his life.” Long Yue let out a quiet sigh.

“You already knew there would come a day when it was exposed. Why did you still do it?”

Long Yue shook his head. “He fell in love with his own blood sister and remained oblivious, even wanting to spend his life with her. I knew he was in great pain — unable to let go of Shu Banxue on one hand, yet tormented by reason on the other. Apart from killing Shu Banxue, there was no way out of it, but he was never capable of killing her himself. So it fell to me to be the villain.”

Yan Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Shu Banxue was too pure of heart. Placing a little aconitine in her food and drink to create the false appearance of an epileptic episode — it wasn’t difficult. What I never anticipated was that my brother would be so relentless as to keep her body all this time.”

“You didn’t know before?”

“When Shu Banxue was buried, I was there as well. We all believed she was in the coffin.” Long Yue let out a quiet sigh. “If I had known he still had the body, I never would have gone on praising you so effusively in front of him. I dug my own grave.”

“In truth, you didn’t kill Shu Banxue entirely for your brother’s sake.” Yan Qing turned her gaze back to the still surface of the river. “Your parents died young. Your brother is the only family you have left. You felt you were entitled to have his love entirely to yourself. But then you discovered Shu Banxue’s existence — not only was she your brother’s lover, she was his blood sister. You could not bear to share his love with anyone else. And so, under the banner of acting for your brother’s sake, you eliminated a rival. On the surface, you appeared selfless — but you were, in truth, the most selfish person of all.”

Far from appearing embarrassed at being seen through, Long Yue simply smiled carelessly. “Yan Qing, I knew I was right about you.”

“Shu Banxue was also your sister…”

“She was not.” Long Yue’s gaze was deep and fathomless. “In this world, I have only my brother. I have no need of sisters.”

“If that is what you truly believe, then I have nothing more to say.”

Long Yue nodded. “It has been a pleasure knowing you. But I regret that we must say our farewells here.”

“You’re leaving right now?”

“Yes. Before he finds me, I have to go.”

Yan Qing grew still and studied him quietly. “Long Yue, do you truly want to leave?”

Long Yue was startled. “What do you mean?”

Yan Qing offered no answer. “Nothing.”

“In that case — I’ll be going.” He glanced at his watch and, with a thoroughly carefree manner, turned and walked away, raising a hand in farewell. “Goodbye.”

Yan Qing watched Long Yue disappear into the distance and let out a soft sigh. She had barely begun to settle from that exchange when a commotion erupted, growing louder as it drew closer.

More than ten figures in black came running into the park, looking around as though searching for someone.

Yan Qing recognized the man at the head of the group — it was the one she had met at the Long household, whom Long Yunxiao had apparently called Black Serpent.

“Miss Yan?” Black Serpent was visibly startled. “Why are you here?”

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Yes.” Black Serpent answered.

The words had barely left his mouth when Yan Qing spotted Long Yunxiao. He was wearing a black trench coat, striding over in long, swift steps.

The men went forward one by one to report.

“Mr. Long, we haven’t found him.”

Long Yunxiao glanced in Yan Qing’s direction, clearly surprised. “Miss Yan?”

Yan Qing gave him a slight nod.

“Have you been here long, Miss Yan?”

“Not long — ten minutes at most.”

“Have you seen Long Yue?”

“I have.”

The other figures in black couldn’t help but let their faces light up at this. It seemed their search had been heading in the right direction — Long Yue had indeed come to the Malan Bridge area.

Long Yunxiao asked, “Which direction did he go?”

Yan Qing did not answer.

Long Yunxiao didn’t press her, and instead signaled a few of his men to continue searching, while he himself stayed behind.

“Once Mr. Long finds Long Yue, what do you intend to do? Kill him in revenge for Miss Shu?”

“He is my brother. I could never kill him.”

“Since that is so, why not let him go? You must already know where he wants to go.”

“He is my only family. I cannot let him go to a foreign country again.”

“Then you plan to keep him confined?”

Long Yunxiao took out a cigarette and held it between his lips. “To be frank, I haven’t decided. If I don’t punish him, I have no answer to give to Banxue. But if I do punish him, he is still my brother. I am caught between two impossible choices.”

On this matter, Yan Qing had no good advice to offer. From a legal standpoint, Long Yue had taken a life and deserved to die — but Long Yunxiao had not reported the matter, choosing instead to handle it privately. He wanted to show leniency for the sake of kinship.

Long Yunxiao had smoked half the cigarette when his gaze wandered involuntarily behind him — and his expression suddenly sharpened into alertness.

“Move quickly.” He stepped forward, took hold of Yan Qing’s wheelchair, and swiftly departed along a small path running along the side of the park.

“What’s happened?” Yan Qing sensed that his footsteps were as fleet as the wind.

Long Yunxiao said, “It’s Xi Men’s people.”

Yan Qing had a vague recollection of Shi Ting mentioning it — among the several major guilds in Shun Cheng, the largest was the Long Yun Guild. The only one capable of rivaling it was the Xing Gang, whose leader was called Xi Men.

Xi Men’s people had likely spotted Long Yunxiao alone and decided to seize the opportunity for a surprise ambush.

“You don’t need to bring me along. Wouldn’t it be far easier to escape on your own?”

“They saw you with me. They won’t let you go if I abandon you now — that would only put you in danger.” Long Yunxiao brought Yan Qing into the nearby marketplace — this was the far end of the Malan Bridge market, where the crowds had thinned.

Yan Qing glanced behind her, and sure enough, there were people close on their heels.

Having only ever seen pursuit and combat on television before, Yan Qing was now experiencing it firsthand. To say she wasn’t frightened would be a lie.

In modern society, guilds and gangs still operated with some degree of restraint. But in this era of violence and lawlessness, human life was as cheap as grass — especially when rival guilds clashed. Such confrontations did not end until blood was spilled.

Long Yunxiao slipped into a reed-awning stall. The vendor selling shoes and socks inside startled and nearly cried out, but a handful of silver coins was tossed into his arms.

The gleaming coins filled the vendor’s heart with delight — enough money to run his stall for half a year.

The vendor was quick-witted. He picked up a pair of shoes and began hawking his wares with a completely natural manner.

“Don’t be afraid.” Long Yunxiao shielded Yan Qing in the corner with his body. “If they find us, I’ll go out and lead them away. You find a way to escape on your own.”

Long Yunxiao’s body carried the scent of gunpowder — the particular smell that clung to those who had long lived among the underworld.

“I’m sorry.” Long Yunxiao lowered his voice. “I’ve dragged you into this.”

Yan Qing didn’t know what to say. She shook her head quietly.

He peered through a gap in the reed awning and saw several figures in black searching the stalls one by one — upending fruit and vegetables as they went.

Long Yunxiao was rarely caught alone. Now that they had seized this opportunity, they were not about to let him go easily.

“Take this.” Long Yunxiao pressed a cold, heavy pistol into Yan Qing’s hands. “The safety is already off. Grip it here, aim, and fire.”

“What are you going to do?” Yan Qing asked, her voice tense.

“I’ll go draw them away.” Long Yunxiao’s eyes gleamed with resolve. “Don’t rush out. Wait until there’s no more commotion outside before you move.”

“You’ll die without a weapon.” Yan Qing pressed the gun back into his hands. “I have my own way. You keep it.”

Long Yunxiao looked at her with a burning intensity in his gaze, then suddenly smiled. “You are truly the most remarkable woman I have ever met.”

He pressed the gun back into Yan Qing’s hands, said “Take care of yourself,” and charged out.

Just as expected, the black-clad figures spotted Long Yunxiao almost at once.

“There he is — after him!”

Yan Qing crouched in the reed stall, clasping the pistol tightly in her arms, heart in her throat. The figures in black passed one by one before the stall at a run, and before long, gunfire rang out in the distance.

The vendor had already been frightened into a trembling heap, and it took him quite a while to collect himself.

“Sir, could you check if they’re gone?” Yan Qing asked softly.

The vendor looked around in every direction. “All gone.”

“Which way did they go?”

The vendor pointed south. “That way. A whole crowd chasing one man.”

Long Yunxiao was now entirely alone and without a weapon. If they caught up to him, he was as good as dead.