Mu Dai stumbled upstairs to change her clothes. Cao Yanhua’s face was beaming with joy, and he also wanted to call others to go to the hospital together, but Yi Wansan grabbed him: “Don’t you have any sense? Of course, our little proprietress should go first. We’ll head out later.”

True enough. In this vast world, lovers come first.

A customer demanded, “Boss, why did the music stop? Keep playing the music!”

Yi Wansan tilted his chin in that direction: “Just a moment.”

After fiddling with the computer for a while, cheerful music started playing.

“Hey~ Today is a good day, all your wishes can come true. Tomorrow is a good day, open the door~ and welcome the spring breeze…”

After a brief silence, the customers burst into laughter.

Some shouted, “Boss, that’s so uncool,” while others yelled, “This is all about personality! Those European and American love songs are so boring that they make my stomach turn. Our Chinese tunes are much more pleasant to listen to.”

Since some customers supported it, this New Year’s song continued playing, the drumbeat-like music penetrating through the floorboards, filling the rooms and corridors of the second floor.

Mu Dai changed her clothes and hurried out, nearly bumping into Huo Zihong.

She smiled sheepishly and said, “Auntie Hong, I’m going to see Little Knife Luo.”

Huo Zihong nodded with a smile, but didn’t move. After a pause, she said softly, “Mu Dai, dye your hair first before you go.”

When Mu Dai arrived at the intensive care unit and pushed open the inner door with trembling hands, she saw Qingmu sitting by the bed. Luo Ren wasn’t awake; he was still sleeping.

She suddenly felt lost, her heart sinking abruptly.

Qingmu realized she had misunderstood and quickly explained: He had indeed awakened earlier, said a few words, but didn’t stay conscious for long before drifting back to sleep. However, the doctor said this was an encouraging, excellent sign, and the family could breathe easier now.

Is that so? Mu Dai smiled, standing there holding the door, not knowing whether to enter or retreat.

She asked Qingmu, “What did Little Knife Luo say?”

“He asked if you were all right, if everyone was safe, if the Leopard was dead, and how long he had been asleep—just these few questions.”

Mu Dai said, “Oh,” nodding and smiling continuously. Her vision blurred a bit as she said: Yes, that’s good, that’s good.

After standing for a while, Qingmu came over and said, “You stay with him. I’ll go down for some food.”

Mu Dai was stunned for a moment. After Qingmu had walked past her, she turned and asked him, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill Little Knife Luo?”

Qingmu ignored her and strode toward the end of the corridor, the external steel frame on his leg clanking as he walked.

The door closed, and the room became extremely quiet. The lights were adjusted to the gentlest brightness suitable for a patient’s rest. The digital numbers on the monitors recording various vital signs flickered, and Luo Ren’s breathing was even and strong.

Mu Dai sat down by the bed, staring intently at Luo Ren’s face—his high, straight nose, the shadows under his eyelids when closed, his furrowed brows, and slightly pursed lips.

Keeping her voice as low as possible, she said, “Little Knife Luo, are you awake?”

“I won’t disturb you. Sleep well.”

She let out a breath, crossed her arms, and rested them on the edge of the bed, continuously watching him with a smile. She felt that life was truly wonderful, that everything in this room was perfectly arranged. Senior Brother hadn’t lied to her—she wasn’t the luckiest person, but she wasn’t the most unfortunate either. From childhood to adulthood, she still had some small bits of luck that had landed on her head with a thud.

There’s an English idiom that says, “pain past is pleasure”—pain that can be peacefully endured becomes lasting joy. How true those words are. Little Knife Luo was awake, and there was nothing left to worry about. In the future, she might encounter formidable opponents, but how many Leopards could there be in this world?

Even the Leopard had bowed his head in the dust of the past. What lay ahead was a wide, smooth road.

Mu Dai gently closed her eyes, a smile still on her lips. She didn’t even know when she had fallen asleep.

When Qingmu returned, looking through the observation window, this was the scene he saw. Strangely, after all these days of being tense about Mu Dai being alone with Luo Ren, at this moment, he was no longer anxious.

Suddenly, he thought of Yukiko.

When Luo Ren was in a coma, he had called Yukiko, hesitantly asking if she had met anyone suitable during the time he’d been away.

Yukiko had responded seriously, “Qingmu-kun, that’s my business. If I remember correctly, we are no longer in a relationship.”

Qingmu was too embarrassed to speak. Was this a case of being treated as he had treated others? When he left her, he had forcibly pried open her hands that were holding onto him tightly and said, “Yukiko, forget about me. We are no longer in a relationship.”

He didn’t want to hang up. Heavy breathing passed through the receiver, across the strait between the two countries, reaching the other end.

In Japan now, the cherry blossom season is over, and snow will soon start falling on Mount Fuji. In the northern islands, cold waves were slapping against the coast, and whaling ships might soon set sail. In this era, how many gentle women still sang pillow songs?

Yukiko said, “If Qingmu-kun wants to pursue me again, it seems you’ll have to put in some effort. After all, I already have prejudices against Qingmu-kun, and I’m familiar with the tactics Qingmu-kun used to pursue me last time, so it won’t be so easy to move my heart again.”

Qingmu smiled. From Yukiko’s words, he heard hope, like a seed beneath the soil pushing through the earth, sprouting.

Like the haiku says: The small grass in my garden sprouts again; the infinite world will soon turn green.

The infinite world turning green, how like hope unfolding, just as Luo had planned for him: Live a good life, have many children, be surrounded by descendants, and be an old man who can still fight even when all his teeth are gone.

He should return to Japan.

……

Coming back to his senses, Qingmu suddenly saw that Luo Ren had opened his eyes.

He first saw Qingmu, smiled a little, then turned his gaze to his side.

Life had not treated him badly. Having escaped from death’s door, when he opened his eyes, he was accompanied by a brother who had been through life and death with him, and also… the girl he had been concerned about all along.

This little girl, why was she sleeping on the edge of the bed?

Luo Ren struggled to lift his hand and gently stroked her hair.

Perhaps due to his severe injuries, plus the various monitoring devices connected to his body, and the traction device on his neck, it was difficult for him to move, barely able to extend his hand.

In his palm, a few strands of hair left faint ink marks. Luo Ren was stunned for a moment, slowly parting her hair. A bit further down, where the surface hair was covering, the hair dye hadn’t completely dried. His fingertips brushed over it, picking up some of the dye.

Mu Dai stirred and quickly woke up. She looked at him with wide eyes, confused for a second, then suddenly realized what was happening and was overjoyed: “Little Knife Luo!”

Luo Ren’s hand slid from her hair to gently touch her face, saying, “You’ve lost weight.”

Qingmu said he had slept for twenty-four days, and the little girl had come every day. How had she endured all these days?

Mu Dai hugged his arm, smiling extremely happily: “Are you hungry, Little Knife Luo? Do you want some water? You’ve just woken up, are you very tired? Then don’t talk too much.”

Luo Ren asked her, “Were you badly injured? Has it healed?”

He remembered clearly that at that time, in the cage fighting, he had given her a knife wound, starting from her collarbone and slicing downward, causing a lot of bleeding.

Mu Dai didn’t speak, her gaze secretly drifting to the wound. Luo Ren frowned slightly, his hand sliding to her collarbone. Inadvertently pressing down her collar, he seemed to see something and looked at Mu Dai in surprise.

She… had gotten a tattoo?

Mu Dai still didn’t say anything. Seeing she didn’t object, Luo Ren undid her first button and pulled the collar aside.

At her wound site, she had tattooed a… dagger.

Straight, black, slanting downward among the white skin texture, following exactly the trajectory of the wound, looking very much like the one he had used.

On the handle of the dagger, two letters were left blank, the initials of his name, l.r.

Luo Ren looked for a long time, then said, “How silly, how could you tattoo a knife or sword, such fierce weapons with heavy killing energy, on your body?”

Mu Dai lowered her eyelids, with an expression that said, “What’s done is done.”

“And with my name too. In the future, if you have a new boyfriend and he sees it, won’t he be upset?”

Probably knowing he was teasing her, she didn’t get angry. She raised her chin, still with that “do as you please” disdainful little expression.

Luo Ren smiled, then, after a pause, softly said, “Lower your head a bit.”

Mu Dai didn’t understand but still lowered her head. Luo Ren put one arm around her body and pressed his palm on her back. Mu Dai wasn’t careful and, with a gasp, fell onto him. For a moment, her mind was buzzing: Luo Ren was injured, so it wouldn’t be good to press on him.

She frantically tried to brace herself on the pillow. Before she could recover, a warmth suddenly touched her collarbone—Luo Ren had kissed her tattoo.

What… should she do?

Mu Dai’s face turned completely red. She was caught in an awkward position, neither able to get up nor stay down, supporting herself in an incredibly embarrassed posture. The warm, tingling sensation at her collarbone was like small electric currents jumping and dancing across her skin.

Was Qingmu still watching? With a red face, she stole a glance at the observation window. Qingmu had already turned his back, arms crossed, shoulders facing this way, as still as a mountain.

Her mind was in chaos, thinking:…

Really what? She couldn’t even articulate it to herself.

In her daze, she suddenly heard Luo Ren say softly, “I’m sorry, Mu Dai.”

Mu Dai’s body trembled, her eyes gradually warming. She looked down at him and asked, “Sorry for what?”

“I know I didn’t do well this time, involving you in trouble.”

Mu Dai smiled. She reached out and gently stroked his brow and eyes, saying softly, “Little Knife Luo, no one can be perfect every time. You’ve taken care of us, people who didn’t know anything, all along. Now it’s time for you to rest, and for us to take care of you. That’s fair.”

Without you, how could we have come so far? When you’re tired, we all work together to support you. How wonderful—everyone passes the test, everyone… is safe.

Luo Ren had just awakened and easily became tired after talking for a while. Mu Dai didn’t let him speak, tucked him in his blanket, and chattered to him about many things.

The sixth deadly clue had been collected. The street performance water vision was even more realistic than last time. The dog really could recognize characters—even Shen Gun, who was accustomed to strange things, found it amazing.

According to Senior Brother, the Leopard seemed to be dead. Interpol had taken over and conducted a physical examination. His spine was shattered, leaving him completely incapable of any action. They found it strange—if this had been the diagnosis earlier as well, how had a man destined to spend the rest of his life paralyzed managed to enter the country?

Luo Ren’s car had been returned. “Owner” Uncle Zheng had stepped forward, signed the papers, paid the fine, and was severely reprimanded.

Tasha had undergone several more mental rehabilitation therapies. The doctors regretfully stated that because Tasha was so young, the aftereffects of brainwashing could not be eliminated. She still harbored an almost innate hostility toward Luo Ren.

For this reason, Mu Dai had specifically called Dr. He Ruihua. Dr. He pondered and said, “In the future, even if Tasha can return to normal, Luo Ren may still be like a shadow to her. It’s similar to how children fear monsters hiding in closets when they’re young—even after growing up, this fear remains in their subconscious, impossible to completely dispel.”

It was a wound that neither bled nor scabbed over. Malice had been injected, entwined with the flesh, invisible, untouchable, coexisting and growing together.

Mu Dai suspected that the seventh deadly clue might be with Tasha. During this time, she had specifically asked Qingmu to arrange a meeting with Tasha. She had tried testing her with the blood of five people. Tasha sat on the small white stool in the hospital rehabilitation room, humming “Hey Diddle Diddle,” showing no reaction to the blood mark Mu Dai smeared on her forehead…

As she was speaking, she suddenly realized something and quickly stopped: “Little Knife Luo, is listening to me talk tiring for you? We’re not in a hurry. We can talk slowly later.”

Luo Ren said softly, “How can we not be in a hurry? Twenty-four days—half of the seven sevens have already passed.”

Mu Dai sighed somewhat melancholically.

They would have to face the deadly clues again.

But the good news was, it was the last one.

Just as she was thinking this, Luo Ren suddenly said something.

“Mu Dai, the one who was brainwashed, was one of your personalities, it was Little Pocket, right? How… did you manage it?”

How did she manage it?

Mu Dai’s thoughts slowly returned to that brick house with a cement floor, a small window high up, and a signal tower visible in the distance.

At that time, she had witnessed Tasha’s inability to distinguish friend from foe, and from the Leopard’s conversations, she had vaguely detected the ominous possibility that the Leopard might brainwash her too.

She couldn’t be controlled, and even if she was, she needed to always hold the switch that would allow her to return.

“The room had a small window high up, through which I could see a signal tower. In the night, its light blinked, flashing at regular intervals.”

“I calculated the interval between the light going on and off—about three seconds.”

The most commonly used tool for self-hypnosis and hypnotizing others is a clock, with the second hand moving at one-second intervals. That signal tower moved at three-second intervals—it was heaven-sent, a natural clock without the characteristic shape of a dial.

That night, in the darkness, she kept staring at the intermittently bright signal light.

“The switch you set to wake from the hypnosis… was my whistle?”

Yes, she had thought about it for a long time.

Dr. He had taught her that the awakening command could take various forms: a specific sentence, a stimulating scene, a unique sound.

All these were too difficult to set up, and if set too simply, there might be unintended triggers.

For instance, if she set it to be the sound of a clock, she might hear this “switch” anywhere at any time. If she set it to be a simple phrase, what if the Leopard or his subordinates happened to say those exact words? And if it was set too complexly, she might never wake up. Plus, how could she convey this message to Luo Ren so that they would understand it someday?

“You said it yourself—it’s unique in the world. Even Yuris and Qingmu could never learn it, no matter how hard they tried.”

Luo Ren’s whistle was the most secure and feasible option.

“And then? That’s the switch to wake up. Even if the main personality awakens, Little Pocket is still there. She’s not the same Little Pocket as before. How did you ensure the main personality could suppress her immediately? And how did you ensure this rapid switching in such a short time?”

The last time, after Lian Chong designed Mu Dai, the main personality returned and quickly took control because of a prerequisite: all personalities had a unified goal of protecting Mu Dai.

But the Leopard’s approach was different this time. The Little Pocket personality had essentially been turned against them.

Mu Dai slowly sat up straight. She moved her chair forward a bit, her chest rising and falling. She reached up to adjust her hair and unconsciously licked her lips.

Seeing her so solemn, Luo Ren felt a bit uneasy.

“Dr. He once told me that with multiple personalities, when the main personality holds absolute dominance and there are no deviant secondary personalities, one can strive to achieve control and guidance. But if the personalities compete with each other, harm each other, or even endanger those around them, he recommended… eliminating them one by one.”

“Luo Ren, I couldn’t keep a personality in my body that would obey only the Leopard and constantly want you dead. My mental state has been stable because both Little Pocket and Mu Dai No. 2 have inclinations consistent with my main personality. But if Little Pocket suddenly stood on the opposing side, it’s hard to say whether she would trigger my disorder, and it’s also hard to say which personality would dominate the body after a struggle.”

“So?”

“So, I performed a nested hypnosis on myself.”

The main personality was hypnotized while simultaneously hypnotizing the secondary personality.

The main personality yielded, entered dormancy, with Luo Ren’s whistle as the awakening switch.

The secondary personality took position, but before it fully awakened, it received a subconscious command, with the switch still being Luo Ren’s whistle.

“What was that subconscious command?”

“Suicide.”

At that moment, the room became frighteningly quiet.