Yan Qing thought to herself: Xizi’s emotional disturbance had been triggered that day by hearing her mention the Chen family. And in one of his brief moments of lucidity, he had sent the badge to the guesthouse. His emotional shifts must have stemmed from that incident — perhaps somewhere in his subconscious, he had always been following the progress of this matter. It was just a pity that he had no way to express himself through normal means.

“Auntie, may I go in and see Xizi?”

Not only were the old couple startled, but Long Yunxiao stood up at once. “No.”

They had all seen with their own eyes just how dangerous Xizi could be — he had attacked his own father. He would absolutely not allow Yan Qing to put herself at risk.

“No, no,” the old couple said simultaneously, shaking their hands. “Xizi has a violent temper. If he hurt you, young lady, what would we do?”

“That’s right, look at my nose — he punched it until it bled,” the old man added urgently. “Young lady, he’s just a madman. What reason do you have to see him? When he goes into a rage, he doesn’t recognize anyone.”

The old man’s voice was full of helplessness.

Yan Qing looked at Long Yunxiao. He was shaking his head at her.

“Long Yunxiao,” Yan Qing said suddenly, “come in with me. If Xizi truly attacks me, you can certainly restrain him.”

Long Yunxiao frowned and thought for a long moment before finally relenting. “All right, I’ll go in with you — but you must stay behind me. Not even for a single second can you expose yourself to danger.”

“I know, I promise,” Yan Qing said, her eyes curving in a smile, the very picture of obedience.

Long Yunxiao knew perfectly well she was just coaxing him, afraid he would stop her from finding Xizi. But faced with her smile, he had not a shred of resistance left. At this moment, whatever she wanted to do, he would accompany her to the end.

“You two are — you’re really going in?” The auntie looked deeply worried. “He really will hit people. He’ll bite, too.”

“Auntie, don’t worry. Nothing will happen,” Yan Qing said reassuringly. “I know what I’m doing.”

Hearing Yan Qing speak this way, the old couple reluctantly consented, though they continued to urge the two to be careful.

Long Yunxiao walked in front with Yan Qing following behind him. The old man stepped aside and pushed the door open, saying softly, “If he goes into a frenzy, come out quickly. We’ll be outside to help.”

Long Yunxiao nodded and slipped into the room.

The room was extremely small, with only a bed and a table inside.

The table was placed beneath a window so small that only a child of three could squeeze through it while bent over. At this moment, slivers of light filtered through the window, keeping the room from seeming completely dark.

“Ahh!” The person who had just been lying in bed heard someone enter and instantly sprang up like a wild beast.

Long Yunxiao quickly threw out his arm to shield Yan Qing, on full alert for Xizi to launch an attack.

Xizi crouched like a leopard, staring at the two of them with pale, vacant eyes, looking as though he might lunge at them any second.

“Xizi,” Yan Qing suddenly called his name. “Xizi, don’t be afraid. I’m called Yan Qing. I won’t harm you. I just want to talk with you.”

Xizi stared at Yan Qing, who had poked her head out from behind Long Yunxiao’s back, and let out a low rumbling sound from his throat.

“Xizi, thank you for the badge you gave me. That badge helped us find Lin Zhi’s family.” When Yan Qing finished speaking, she carefully observed Xizi’s expression.

Xizi’s expression seemed to freeze for a moment, his whole body going utterly still.

“Xizi, Lin Zhi’s family all died in the fire. Only Lin Zhi’s son-in-law survived,” Yan Qing continued.

Xizi still wore that vacant look, as if he hadn’t heard a word Yan Qing was saying.

“Does he understand?” Long Yunxiao asked in a low voice.

“Yes, he understood,” Yan Qing said with certainty. “It’s just that his thinking is slower than a normal person’s. He may still be processing the first half of what I said — give him some time.”

Long Yunxiao made a sound of acknowledgment and continued to watch Xizi’s every move, ready at any moment to subdue him if he lunged.

The room was very quiet, broken only by the rise and fall of Xizi’s heavy breathing.

Xizi did not move, and Yan Qing did not speak either. She simply watched him with a gaze that conveyed quiet trust.

After an unknown span of time, Xizi’s drifting eyes slowly came into focus, and the aggression in his posture seemed to vanish.

Seeing this, Yan Qing immediately said, “Xizi, you know Chen Fangfang, don’t you?”

Xizi’s gaze finally shifted to her, passing over Long Yunxiao’s shoulder to meet that pair of eyes, crystalline as snow.

Those eyes were truly beautiful — resembling a pair in his memory, both radiantly bright like a clear sky.

Such eyes held beauty shimmering within them, drawing one in helplessly, unable to escape.

“Fan…Fang.” After a long silence — long enough that Long Yunxiao had begun to think the man might never speak — two syllables suddenly rolled up from Xizi’s throat. Though somewhat indistinct, they filled Yan Qing’s heart with wild joy.

Patients of this condition generally did not speak. As long as he opened his mouth, it likely meant his mind was in a brief moment of clarity.

“Xizi, can you tell me — is this person Chen Fangfang?” Yan Qing took out the black-and-white photograph, and Long Yunxiao took it and held it up for Xizi to see.

Xizi’s gaze shifted mechanically from Yan Qing’s face to the photograph. When he made out who was in it, his pupils contracted sharply.

“Fan…Fang.” Xizi suddenly recoiled and shot forward like a leopard.

Long Yunxiao quickly stepped back, spreading his arms to protect Yan Qing. Just as he was about to grab Xizi with one hand, Yan Qing suddenly said, “Give him the photograph.”

Long Yunxiao loosened his grip, and the photograph fell into Xizi’s hands.

Xizi cradled the photograph in both hands. He looked and looked at it — and then he sank to the floor and broke into deep, wailing sobs.

The old couple outside heard the crying from within and immediately came over, worried. When they saw their son crouched on the floor weeping, both were stunned.

Since Xizi had lost his mind, he had done nothing but shout, rage, hit people, and smash things. He had never once shown this kind of grief.

Listening to their son crying now, the old couple’s hearts grew complicated, and they too began to wipe away tears.

Yan Qing and Long Yunxiao waited quietly for Xizi to cry himself out and for his emotions to settle before attempting to speak to him.

“Xizi,” Yan Qing started to walk over, but Long Yunxiao caught her arm and shook his head disapprovingly.

Yan Qing gave him a firm look, signaling that he needn’t worry. She had no absolute certainty, but Xizi’s behavior suggested he had very likely recovered his senses — though how long this clarity would last was unknown.

So she had to act quickly.

Faced with her gaze, Long Yunxiao ultimately chose to yield. He stepped aside and opened a path for Yan Qing, while he stayed close by her side, vigilant at every moment in case Xizi reverted to savagery.

Yan Qing crouched down before Xizi and asked gently, “Xizi, were Chen Fangfang and Lin Zhi lovers?”

Xizi clenched his fists at his sides, and after a long pause, he nodded.

“How did Lin Zhi die? Who killed him? Were you at the scene?”

Hearing this, Xizi raised his head. His eyes were still somewhat unfocused, the whites showing in his gaze by nearly two-thirds, which was somewhat frightening.

Yan Qing had seen all manner of corpses. Facing this face, she felt not a trace of fear — if anything, her smile grew a shade gentler. “Tell me. How did Lin Zhi die?”

Xizi sniffled, and finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “He was ambushed in the forest and shot to death.”

“Who ambushed him?”

Xizi’s breathing became abruptly rapid. “I don’t know. I didn’t see them. But there was only one person he had ever offended.”

“Who?”

“A warlord,” Xizi said, his voice choked with a few strands of grief. “A warlord had people lie in ambush in the forest and killed him.”

“Do you know the name of this warlord?”

“Surname Shi,” Xizi said through gritted teeth. “A warlord with the surname Shi.”

Yan Qing’s eyes flew wide open. A warlord surnamed Shi — could it be the Commander? How could it be the Commander?

“Why did this warlord want to kill Lin Zhi?”

“Because he set his eyes on Miss Fangfang,” Xizi said, growing agitated. “But Miss Fangfang and Brother Lin were already deeply in love. That warlord forcibly had Miss Fangfang invited to dine with him, and after that dinner, Miss Fangfang came home and hanged herself. Before she died, she asked me to deliver a letter to Brother Lin. At the time I didn’t know it was her final letter, so I went to deliver it. When Brother Lin read the letter, his face went pale with shock. He came running with all his might to the Chen household, but Miss Fangfang’s body was already cold.”

Xizi said this and broke into anguished sobbing. “Miss Fangfang was such a good person — gentle, kind, beautiful. When I used to carry goods for the Chen family, I once slipped on the road and fell into the canal. All the spices were soaked and ruined. I sat by the canal thinking of jumping in, because even if I sold everything I owned I couldn’t afford to pay for those goods. It was Miss Fangfang who happened to pass by. Hearing that the spices were from her family, she forgave my debt and took me on as a regular carrier for the Chen family. You never met her. You don’t know how good she was.”

As they say, a face reflects the heart. Just by looking at Chen Fangfang’s photograph, Yan Qing could tell she must have been a gentle, magnanimous woman, as pure and giving as water itself.

Such a woman, naturally, could captivate a strongman like Lin Zhi — making him willing to sacrifice even his life.

Xizi paused and continued, “Brother Lin was heartbroken with grief and began to investigate the cause of Miss Fangfang’s death. And at that very time, Mrs. Chen, unable to bear the agony of losing her beloved daughter, fell into a daze and threw herself into the lotus pond in the compound. Master Chen jumped in to save her — and as a result, both of them drowned in the lotus pond.”