February 15th, Luohua Village.

The sky had just begun to brighten. When Li Si found Xia Jiuying, he was crouching by the river like a wooden stake, completely motionless. The wild flowers in the grass, having experienced the brilliance of night, were walking toward withering.

Flowers bloom and fall. Time flows like water, repeating in cycles.

Among the wilting flowers, only one light blue wild flower stood out, different from the other white wild flowers, appearing magnificent and dreamlike.

“Blue Water-head flower.” Li Si said slowly. The wild flowers by the river were called Water-head flowers.

Xia Jiuying shifted his feet but didn’t stand up. He looked up at Li Si. “Don’t… speak. It will… be afraid.” Xia Jiuying hadn’t spoken with people for many years, so when he spoke, he stuttered.

Li Si smiled without speaking. The hour of the Rabbit was about to pass. All the Water-head flowers had already withered.

Li Si spoke again. “Xia Jiuying, do you know why only the Water-head flower before you turned blue?”

Xia Jiuying froze, staring at the withered touch of light blue. “You tell me.”

“Very simple. Because when you ground the iron fangs, the crushed iron powder fell into the soil and was absorbed by the Water-head flower closest to you. That’s why it bloomed light blue.” Li Si said easily.

Xia Jiuying showed an expression of sudden realization. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned upward slightly, as if smiling. “Light blue… very beautiful.”

“You only care about flowers, not about what I just said.” Li Si sat by the river, facing the calm waters.

Xia Jiuying maintained the same posture. “You… spoke, so why not… continue.”

Li Si nodded. “Alright, where should I start? Let’s begin with the iron-fanged demon’s true identity.”

“After the method of iron fangs biting people was exposed, I spent much energy on the iron fangs, thus overlooking some other clues.” Li Si paused. “For example, the bruises on the backs of Ji Liang, Huang Mazi, and even Chen Er’gou.”

“The bruises were all left from impacts from below upward. Though the bruise positions on the three people were slightly different, excluding height differences, the bruises were all at the same height.” Li Si said with eyes closed. “The killing method was this: habitually leaping to a specific height, then using the entire body’s force to strike the target, making them lose resistance, before delivering the killing blow.”

“Humans are lazy animals, not accustomed to jumping attacks. So I theorized that the iron-fanged demon might not be human.”

“I had evidence.” Li Si spoke as if chatting with a friend, smiling. “Though Chen Er’gou appeared fierce on the outside, he was actually someone who feared death. He was afraid the iron-fanged demon would bite him to death, so he hid a dagger in his bosom.”

“On the night the mourning hall was set up at Chen Er’gou’s house, the iron-fanged demon attacked Chen Er’gou but was blocked by my brother Wu Wen. In the chaos, the iron-fanged demon was cut by the dagger Chen Er’gou had hidden and bled.”

“Wu Wen smelled the blood—fishy and thick, definitely not human blood.” Li Si suddenly opened his eyes, saying deeply, “It was wolf blood.”

“The iron-fanged demon is a wolf.”

Xia Jiuying’s wooden expression moved slightly, but remained as before, not speaking.

“The wolf-fanged demon’s true identity has been explained. What should I talk about next?” Li Si said leisurely. “Well then, how about we discuss that white wolf.”

Xia Jiuying’s body obviously swayed several times before maintaining balance. He turned his head slightly to look at Li Si. After a long while, Xia Jiuying said, “Continue… speaking.”

“Ji Liang wanted to dig out a den of wolf cubs in Black Tiger Mountain but was bitten by a fierce white wolf. So Ji Liang ordered you to kill the white wolf.” Li Si spoke as if he had personally experienced it, then continued, “In the bloody battle between man and wolf, both you and the white wolf were injured, but you won. Just as you were about to kill the white wolf, the wolf cub ran out from the den and ran toward the white wolf. You hesitated. When the small wolf and white wolf embraced, your heart softened. The blood of close kin, the mutual protection and reliance—wasn’t that exactly what you had exhausted your life pursuing and waiting for?”

“You didn’t kill the white wolf. You even helped the white wolf family avoid capture and killing by Ji Liang and his gang of villains.” Li Si smiled. “Wolves are spiritual animals, and white wolves even more so. It saw you as its benefactor and repaid your kindness.”

“Xia Jiuying, you! You used the white wolf’s gratitude to train it, hone it, making it your killing tool.” Li Si said with melancholy. “It should be said this way: there were two iron-fanged demons. One was the white wolf, and the other was the white wolf’s commander, Xia Jiuying.”

Xia Jiuying stood up. His disheveled hair swayed in the breeze. He slowly walked to Li Si’s side and sat down. The two looked at the river’s surface together.

“How do you… know about… the white wolf?” Xia Jiuying asked.

“An attendant from Shanhai Tower discovered the white wolf in Black Tiger Mountain. He happened to be a member of the group that hunted the white wolf. He recognized the white wolf and also knew you hadn’t killed it.” Li Si said. “Combined with the unusual killing method and wolf blood, I deduced the white wolf was the killer.”

“And the white wolf only obeys you.”

“How do you… know I gave up… killing the white wolf… for the cub?” Xia Jiuying looked at the water surface, his eyes rippling slightly.

“This, I have no evidence. I guessed.” Li Si smiled faintly. “Because you are Xia Jiuying. You can cold-bloodedly fight any enemy and kill them. Only in matters of familial love are you hesitant and weak.”

Xia Jiuying, unusually, reacted to Li Si’s words. He nodded. “You understand me better than… many, many people, perhaps even… myself.”

Perhaps conversing with Li Si gradually helped Xia Jiuying recover his ability to speak. His stuttering was no longer so severe and obvious.

“The gloomy weather from the past few days has cleared. The sun is truly nice today.” Li Si raised his head, speaking naturally. “Let’s talk about the iron fangs.”

“To kill Ji Liang, you understood that sooner or later someone would suspect you. Moreover, you hoped Ji Liang would die by your hand, to count as avenging yourself personally. So you chose iron fangs similar to your long teeth to bite Ji Liang to death.” Li Si paused. “After killing Ji Liang, you deliberately arranged for the white wolf to knock the iron fangs and shatter them, leaving behind blood-stained iron particles to leave clues telling the authorities that the killer used iron fangs, not real teeth, thereby clearing your suspicion.”

“Oh, right. The white wolf’s paws should have been bound with animal hide or similar foot wrappings to avoid leaving conspicuous tracks.”

“Did I say anything wrong?” Li Si asked.

Xia Jiuying gazed abstractedly toward the opposite riverbank, at the dark mountain range several miles away. Then Xia Jiuying nodded again. “You’re… right. I wanted revenge… I also wanted to live.”

“I want to… spend more time with her. She’s been alone in the wilderness… for too long. She definitely doesn’t want to… be lonely alone anymore.” As Xia Jiuying spoke, he actually smiled—much more naturally than his previously twisted face.

Li Si didn’t ask. He understood that the “she” Xia Jiuying spoke of referred to his mother.

Li Si exhaled. “Chen Er’gou confessed that seven years ago, Ji Liang’s group encountered your mother in Black Tiger Mountain. Your mother was bitten to death by wild wolves, and they buried her. But these things don’t seem real, and couldn’t be the reason for your revenge killing.”

“I want to know the truth.” Li Si withdrew his gaze, looking at Xia Jiuying’s scar-covered profile.

Xia Jiuying didn’t move for a long time. Then he slowly took something out from the innermost layer of his tattered clothes—a tooth.

Xia Jiuying placed the tooth before him and said, “Ji Liang used Mother’s remains… to coerce me, to work for him. Then he would return the remains piece by piece… to me. I followed Huang Mazi, who went to Black Tiger Mountain to retrieve remains, and found Mother’s burial place. Opening the bone pit, I found… it inside.”

Li Si understood and picked up the tooth. The tooth was sharp and cold, with the middle part smooth. Li Si said in surprise, “This is a dog tooth!”

“Yes.” Xia Jiuying admitted. “Mother’s wrist and other bone remains still had gnawing… marks. Those marks were also left by dog teeth.”

“What bit my mother to death wasn’t wild wolves… it was dogs! A pack of vicious dogs!” By this point, Xia Jiuying’s body trembled violently from anger and hatred.

“Ji Liang’s guard dogs.” Li Si finally understood the root of Xia Jiuying’s hatred. What Chen Er’gou said was indeed untrue. He couldn’t help but clench his fists. “Ordering dogs to bite a person to death alive—Ji Liang’s death was too good for him. Damn! He deserved to die!”

Xia Jiuying froze, staring at Li Si for a while. “You actually don’t seem much… like someone from the yamen.”

“Then what do I seem like?”

“The first time you followed me, I saw you… felt like I was seeing myself.” Xia Jiuying said with a trace of confusion. “Your eyes hide the seeds of… hatred, only buried deeper than mine, and greater.”

“Seeing you, I also feel like I’m seeing myself.” Li Si said. “That’s why I was so relentless with you, haha.”

“In seven years, the real world only made me feel cold and illusory. I’d rather stay in… my own world, my own dream.” Xia Jiuying’s tone was ethereal, as if flying away to another realm.

“Heh.” Li Si smiled. “How about I guess? In that world, there’s a river, a simple grass hut, a field, a meadow blooming with wild flowers, and you and your mother. Back then you were still small. Your mother took care of you, combed your hair, washed your clothes, told you stories about the stars in the sky.”

“All these years you haven’t combed your hair or washed your clothes—are you waiting for your mother to come back to comb your hair and wash your clothes for you?” Li Si said with a smile.

“You’re… quite frightening.” Xia Jiuying smiled again. “To lose to you, I’m convinced.”

“Xia Jiuying, don’t you feel there are parts of this entire case that are strange to you, that you don’t understand?” Li Si said slowly. “For example, the painter Lu Qianbo being caught.”

“Someone is framing him. Don’t you want to know who?”

Xia Jiuying was stunned. “Who is it?”

“Very soon, we’ll know.” Li Si smiled mysteriously.