Yan Hongsha was sleeping hazily, feeling the bedside lamp turning on and off intermittently.

She forced her eyes open and saw Mu Dai half-propped up, looking at something, her hand hovering over the switch.

Yan Hongsha yawned: “What are you looking at?”

Mu Dai turned off the light and lay back down, saying: “Nothing.”

Yan Hongsha muttered something, turned over, and soon her breathing became shallow and even again.

Mu Dai lay with her eyes open, reaching out again as if to confirm something.

This time, there was nothing unusual.

But just now, when she touched it…

She tried hard to recall the shape her fingers had traced.

It seemed like the shape of a small person.

The next day, the weather wasn’t good—a fine, misty rain, like ox hair, not heavy enough to need an umbrella.

Yan Hongsha and Mu Dai discussed that since they had decided to go treasure hunting, they should leave as soon as possible—if they timed it right, they could return in time for Phoenix Tower’s opening.

After their discussion, they called Old Man Yan, who said: “Then come back today. I estimate you can arrive by nightfall. I’ll pack up here, and we can set off tomorrow morning.”

They had thought they could stay home for a couple more days, but as soon as the call ended, time suddenly became pressing.

Yan Hongsha hurriedly packed their things on the bed. Mu Dai went downstairs to give Cao Yanhua his new martial arts training schedule: besides weighted running every day, he should start practicing tendon stretching, plus one thousand left-right kicks and one thousand left-right hand chops each morning and evening.

She demonstrated the kicks and hand chops for Cao Yanhua: “Keep your feet arched, toes pointed. This kick uses the power of the instep, not the toes—toes are so fragile, one kick and they’re ruined. The hand chop uses the edge at the base of the palm, the thickest part of the flesh, suddenly like this…”

She delivered a hand chop to Cao Yanhua’s neck, nearly knocking his soul out of his body.

Yan Hongsha was coming down with her and Mu Dai’s luggage and couldn’t help laughing at the sight of Cao Yanhua’s face contorted in pain.

Yi Wansan stood to the side, watching sidelong.

Yan Hongsha said, “Yi Wansan, why don’t you practice with Fatty Cao? Even if you can’t become a master, it’s still good for fighting, escaping, strengthening your body, and staying healthy.”

Yi Wansan glanced at her, snorted, and said: “Not interested.”

His attitude made Yan Hongsha angry.

She threatened Yi Wansan: “Then if you ever encounter danger in the future, I won’t rescue you!”

Yi Wansan mobilized his facial muscles to give her an expression of extreme disdain and contempt, saying: “Ha.”

After eating, Mu Dai went to say goodbye to Luo Ren.

On the way, she met Uncle Zheng with Pin Ting. Usually, Yi Wansan would spend mornings with Pin Ting, but these days, Uncle Zheng was busy with Phoenix Tower matters and had gotten into the habit of taking Pin Ting to the bar.

When asked about Luo Ren, Uncle Zheng said: “He’s not up yet.”

As he spoke, he handed Mu Dai the door key.

Luo Ren’s door wasn’t locked; it opened with a gentle turn.

Mu Dai entered quietly.

A room not yet risen from, still holding the warm breath of night, along with an indescribable scent—ambiguous, masculine, unimaginable.

Mu Dai approached, holding her breath.

Few people could sense her approach, as her qinggong was excellent, but she felt Luo Ren would surely detect her.

Yet surprisingly, he didn’t. He continued sleeping deeply, one arm tucked behind his head, face turned to the side, shadows falling in the hollows of his eyes. The blanket lay shapeless; the room was dim. His pajama collar was upturned, vaguely revealing the area below his neck. It wasn’t very clear, but it felt…

Yes, sexy—a man’s sexiness.

Mu Dai walked over, half-kneeling beside the bed, and blew air near his ear.

Luo Ren moved slightly, as if sensing something. After a moment, he turned his head toward her and opened his eyes drowsily.

Mu Dai said, “Luo Xiaodao, how can you call yourself a martial artist? I entered your room without you knowing, and reached your bedside without you knowing. If I had a sharp knife, one slash across your throat, and you’d never wake again in this life.”

Luo Ren looked at her for a while, changed his position, and reached back to press his neck as if feeling sore: “I was having a nice dream.”

Mu Dai stood up and asked: “What nice dream?”

“You.”

He suddenly reached out, grabbed her waist, and pulled her down. Before Mu Dai could understand what was happening, she fell into his embrace. He remained lying down, tugging and wrapping the blanket to hold most of her body.

He said: “Mmm, this is much more comfortable. I’m too lazy to get up and hug you—too tiring.”

Mu Dai laughed—how lazy could he be?

She propped herself up on her arms, trying to rise, but Luo Ren hugged her waist and said, “Stay for a while.”

Mu Dai said, “I’m crushing you.”

“You’re not heavy.”

Then he added: “Oh, is it raining outside?”

He was warm, but she was slightly cool, coming in from outside, bringing damp moisture, her hair brushing against his face, ticklish, with the scent of raindrops.

Mu Dai nodded, lowering her face, her chin resting against his shoulder.

Luo Ren said, “Relax, girlfriend. Your body is as tense as a bow. Are you planning to shoot a great eagle?”

Mu Dai laughed at his joke, releasing her tension and truly relaxing.

Luo Ren’s body had a man’s firmness, while she was soft. Relaxing, she could feel the contours of his body, their breathing seemingly falling into the same rhythm.

She said, “Did you not know I came in?”

“I vaguely knew someone had entered, but didn’t pay attention. Uncle Zheng often comes in and out of my room—I can’t jump up every time.”

“What if I were a bad person?”

“If you were a bad person, you’d already be lying horizontally on the floor.”

Mu Dai didn’t believe him.

Luo Ren smiled: “Really. You don’t judge danger by noise or footstep volume, but by the presence of malice and killing intent. Do you know, killing intent has a temperature.”

Killing intent has a temperature.

Luo Ren had a slight dissociation.

His thoughts suddenly flew far away, back to that mansion on the old island, where the house was so quiet that a pin dropping wouldn’t make a sound—because the carpet was about an inch thick, soft and yielding underfoot.

He hid behind a golden Buddha statue, watching Qingmu peek out from around the corner, making a gesture toward him.

Understood—meaning it was safe.

He stood up, holding his gun, about to step forward, when suddenly he felt a chill.

That feeling of the surrounding air growing cold.

Sure enough, from behind came that voice he would never forget in this lifetime.

“We meet again, Luo.”

“Luo Ren?”

Mu Dai waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Luo Ren smiled, caught her hand, and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

Mu Dai said, “I’ll be leaving soon.”

Soon?

She quickly added, “The earlier we go, the earlier we return. Hongsha and I should be able to reach Kunming tonight. Tomorrow we’ll set off with Old Man Yan. If all goes well, we should be back in about a week.”

Kunming to Lijiang isn’t a short distance. There’s a regular train that departs in the evening and arrives in the morning. Even by car, reaching Kunming “tonight” would probably be close to midnight.

Luo Ren prepared to get up: “Then I’ll see you off.”

Mu Dai said, “No need. Zhang Shu arranged a minivan for us downstairs. He also asked an acquaintance to reserve tickets at the station. If we arrive on time, we can board right on schedule.”

As if to confirm her words, a car horn beeped twice from below.

Yan Hongsha must be getting impatient.

Luo Ren said, “If you keep coming and going in such a hurry, next time you return, I truly won’t recognize you.”

Mu Dai laughed, breaking free from his embrace and getting up: “I have to go. Hongsha is probably already laughing at me.”

Luo Ren watched her leave, thought for a moment, then got up and went to the street-facing window, pushing it open.

Below was parked a small white minivan. Mu Dai was getting in with her head lowered. Yan Hongsha stuck her head out of the open window and happened to see him, shouting: “Luo Ren, I’m kidnapping your girlfriend!”

Luo Ren waved to her.

The minivan drove away along the bluestone-paved street.

After a while, a WeChat message came in, sent privately by Mu Dai.

“Look under the pillow.”

Under the pillow? Luo Ren’s heart skipped a beat. He walked back to the bed and lifted the pillow.

Under the pillow, near the bed frame, was a long black velvet bag.

As soon as he picked it up, just by feel, he knew what it was.

Cold, hard, sleek blade.

Opening it, he saw a straight steel blade, very similar to his previous one, with a black leather sheath. At the strap fastening, there was a small indented mark.

Luo Ren brought it closer, examining it against the light.

He could see now—it was a small pouch with a drawstring closure.

Luo Ren ran his fingers over it for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

After getting up, as usual, he first went to the adjacent room where the ominous slips were stored.

The computer screen had gone black. With a casual touch, the screen lit up again.

Seven photos, arranged in a row, with obvious differences.

Luo Ren stood motionless for a long time before turning to look at the fish tank.

What could such a change mean?

He pondered as he sat down in the single armchair.

The chair was low, so looking up was like gazing up at the phoenix. Through the tank water, he could vaguely see the blurred map on the wall.

The map?

Luo Ren felt a slight stirring in his heart.

To confirm, he found a laser pointer and went behind the fish tank. After turning it on and adjusting the angle several times, he selected a position.

The laser beam was precisely aligned with the phoenix’s slightly raised, sharp beak, extending to mark a bright spot on the map.

Originally, he would have needed to go to the map to confirm the position.

But now it wasn’t necessary, because the spot where the laser marked had a pin in it. To distinguish it from the red pins marking where the ominous slips were found, he had deliberately chosen a blue one.

Guizhou, Si Zhai.

To confirm, Luo Ren moved the fish tank to a different angle. As he moved it, the water swayed from side to side. When it was completely still, he tested the laser pointer from the phoenix’s beak again—it still pointed to the same location.

This meant that no matter where the fish tank was placed—higher or lower, left or right—the phoenix’s beak pointed in only one direction.

Luo Ren sent a message in the WeChat group.

—Recently, regarding the ominous slips, have you noticed anything unusual or different?

Yan Hongsha was the first to reply: “No.”

Cao Yanhua and Yi Wansan followed, both saying no.

Mu Dai didn’t respond. At first, Luo Ren thought Yan Hongsha’s reply represented hers as well. While he was pondering, her call came through.

The background noise was a bit chaotic, as one would expect on a highway bus. He heard Mu Dai say: “Wait a moment, the back of the bus is empty. I’ll go to the back seats to call you.”

She sat down in the last row by the window and recounted last night’s events.

“When I turned on the light to look, there wasn’t anything unusual, so I didn’t dwell on it. I thought I was just half-asleep and my perception was off.”

Luo Ren asked her: “Can you describe what shape it was, roughly?”

This was somewhat difficult for Mu Dai. Unlike Yi Wansan, she had low sensitivity to lines and shapes.

Luo Ren said, “No rush, let’s take it slowly. First, close your eyes.”

The bus was swaying slightly. Mu Dai slowly closed her eyes and tentatively extended her right hand, touching the back of the seat in front of her.

She tried hard to recreate the feeling from the previous night.

Luo Ren guided her: “What general shape was it?”

“It seemed like a person. But I don’t know if it was male or female.”

“An ancient or modern person?”

She couldn’t say for certain. After all, it wasn’t wearing long robes with large sleeves, so perhaps… modern?

Luo Ren thought for a moment: “What was the position of the person’s hands? Were the arms spread out, held together, or just hanging naturally?”

Mu Dai tried to recall carefully, with some hesitation: “One hand was hanging down, but it seemed to be holding something long. The other arm had something hanging from it…”

What was hanging? Last night, she had thought about it for a long time, feeling it was something round and lumpy…

In a flash of insight, she suddenly realized: “A basket was hanging from it.”

A basket?

Luo Ren blurted out: “And that long thing in the other hand, was it shaped like a broom?”

A broom?

Yes, a long handle with a triangular end—a broom.

Mu Dai was puzzled: “How did you know?”

Luo Ren was also puzzled: why had he immediately said it was a broom?

An image in his mind gradually became clear.

It was the figure of a young farm woman, wearing an apron and a blue printed cloth headscarf, her right hand holding a broom, her left arm carrying a basket with a bundle hanging from it.

That was… seen at Lian Yan.