Back to Fallen Street, at a hot pot restaurant near the corner, Yi Wansan arrived first. He chose a table and sat down, thinking that since he was the one who invited Ma Chao, he should be the one to pay.

He took out his wallet and flipped through the bills inside, musing to himself: It’s truly unbelievable to think that today, I’m actually spending money and running around for that poisonous… woman…

For some reason, he felt uncomfortable calling Mu Dai a “poisonous woman” anymore.

Ma Chao arrived quickly, his face showing the delight of getting a free meal, his tone exceptionally warm: “Brother Jiang, what made you decide to treat me to dinner?”

Yi Wansan said casually, “We’ve finished our business and will be leaving in a couple of days. I thought since we’ve gotten to know each other, I’d call you out for a meal and a chat.”

Ma Chao was overjoyed. While saying he was embarrassed, he didn’t hesitate at all when ordering, choosing the most expensive seafood hot pot. Fortunately, the restaurant was small, so even the most expensive items weren’t that costly.

The hot pot arrived, with seafood soup bubbling in the pot, filled with cheap seafood flavors. Ma Chao took a ladle and stirred the soup, with steam rising before his eyes.

Yi Wansan pointed to an empty table nearby: “Quite a coincidence. The people at that table were just discussing the case on the bridge…”

He lowered his voice: “They said they had already caught that woman, but then she escaped.”

Ma Chao put a fish ball in his mouth, hissing from the heat: “I heard about that, too. Many people are saying she knows martial arts, that she jumped from the third floor without getting hurt at all.”

Yi Wansan hinted meaningfully: “Then you should be careful.”

Ma Chao didn’t understand: “Careful of what?”

Yi Wansan leaned forward, speaking with deep significance: “She killed someone, and you’re a witness. You’re going to testify against her. She’s on the run now and skilled in martial arts—what do you think you should be careful of?”

Ma Chao laughed nervously: “It can’t be that serious, right?”

Though he said this, anxiety gradually rose within him, and his appetite slowly diminished.

Yi Wansan observed him, feeling that his nervousness didn’t seem to be feigned.

Ma Chao found a reason for himself: “At that time, on the bridge, there was no one else but me and her. If she wanted to silence me, couldn’t she have just done it right then? Since she let me go, it means she doesn’t want to kill me, right?”

He looked eagerly at Yi Wansan, hoping to hear a confirmation from him.

Yi Wansan said, “But why would she let an eyewitness go? It doesn’t make sense. After all, killing one is murder, killing two is still murder.”

Ma Chao was stunned by his question, becoming confused himself, muttering: “That’s true…”

Taking advantage of his confusion, Yi Wansan threw out the bombshell question: “I heard that the police found you the next day based on another witness’s description—why didn’t you report it to the police?”

Ma Chao stared blankly at Yi Wansan.

That day, when the police came to his door, he wasn’t fully awake yet, still curled up in bed. After being woken up, he was dazed for a while, then suddenly cried out in terror: “My friend, my friend was killed by someone!”

The police’s expression immediately became serious. After understanding the situation, they also asked him why he hadn’t reported it.

He stammered in response: “I don’t remember, my mind was a mess. After running home, I… I don’t even know how I fell asleep…”

His mind was buzzing, his words disjointed. The police looked at him sympathetically. Later, sitting in the police car on the way to Zheng Shuiyu’s restaurant, the two officers chatted in the front, saying that this young man was usually quite a bully, but look how frightened he was—his mind had become confused.

Don’t remember? Too frightened to think clearly?

This answer was truly appalling. Yi Wansan thought to himself: Little Inn Owner, Little Inn Owner, you really shouldn’t have run from the police station back then.

Ma Chao’s “I don’t remember” obviously lacked credibility. Although the police might not pursue it immediately, they might investigate further later, but Mu Dai’s escape essentially confirmed her guilt: Ma Chao didn’t run, so if you weren’t guilty, why did you run?

Yi Wansan decided to press this point.

“That doesn’t make sense. You’re a big brother with a group of underlings—your courage can’t be that small. Your friend was pushed off the bridge by a woman. You should have grabbed her and restrained her, right? Even if you ran, you wouldn’t be so frightened that you couldn’t even report to the police.”

Ma Chao’s gaze was unfocused as he watched Yi Wansan’s constantly opening and closing mouth. His head suddenly began to ache severely, with fragmented scenes flashing before his eyes.

—Zhang Tong holding his pants, looking around, mumbling: “Where should I pee?”

—Himself dizzy from drinking, pointing foolishly at the bridge railing: “There, there, pee into the river. This river connects to the water plant; let the whole county taste your urine…”

Blue veins bulged on Ma Chao’s forehead, and cold sweat gradually seeped from his temples.

Yi Wansan stared at him, relentlessly pursuing: “Say something.”

Ma Chao’s lips trembled slightly, and the scene appeared again like a nightmare.

—Zhang Tong climbed onto the bridge railing, his fat body unable to muster enough strength, so he called for help.

—”Brother Ma, give me a boost, a boost, let me stand up there…”

—Himself snickering, going over to support Zhang Tong’s bottom…

His head was splitting with pain, and cold sweat was pouring down.

No, it wasn’t like that. Another scene suddenly forced its way in.

—He urged Zhang Tong to go back. Zhang Tong got up unsteadily, hand pulling at his zipper, saying: “Let me take a piss first. Where’s the toilet?”

—Zhang Tong uses both hands and feet to climb onto the bridge railing. He laughed loudly and turned his face away.

—Zhang Tong’s terrified scream. He turned his head to see Zhang Tong’s clumsy body falling off the bridge, while the girl who pushed him down slowly turned around…

“Ma Chao!”

Yi Wansan’s sharp call made Ma Chao’s body jerk. He looked up, almost horrified, his face deathly pale.

This reaction gave Yi Wansan about ninety percent certainty of his guess.

He smiled coldly, pressing harder: “It was you, wasn’t it? The person who killed him was you, right?”

Ma Chao hissed: “No… I told the police, it was that woman… not me!”

As he finished speaking, he suddenly seemed on the verge of collapse. He grabbed the hot pot on the table and threw it, pot and all, at Yi Wansan, then kicked away his chair and ran toward the door.

Yi Wansan was a bit slow to dodge, and half the pot of soup poured over his right shoulder. Strangely, he didn’t feel the pain and immediately ran after Ma Chao.

The shop owner also chased after them, jumping up and down at the door: “Hey, pay up! You haven’t paid!”

It was the dinner hour, and Fallen Street was crowded with people. Many restaurants had illegally set up folding tables on the roadside. Ma Chao crashed through the crowd, and seeing Yi Wansan about to catch up, he desperately grabbed a table from the side and dragged it into the middle of the road.

The customers at the table screamed in fear. The table was unstable, and all the soups, dishes, and porcelain crashed to the ground. Yi Wansan couldn’t stop in time and fell into the mess. His hands pressed into the broken porcelain and soup, with countless ceramic shards piercing his skin.

Damn it! That fierce determination rose in Yi Wansan’s heart: I can’t believe this!

Yi Wansan got up again and sprinted after Ma Chao. Seeing that Ma Chao was almost at the end of the street and about to reach the road, Yi Wansan, with strength from who knows where, let out a fierce roar and leaped forward in a tiger pounce.

With a thud, both he and Ma Chao fell to the ground. As Ma Chao struggled to get up, Yi Wansan pressed one hand against his face, smearing it with blood from his wounded hand.

Yi Wansan smiled coldly: “I’ll teach you to run…”

Ma Chao screamed in agony.

Nothing could be more heart-rending than this.

Was it necessary? It was just a collision, just pressing on his face.

Yi Wansan was shocked by his miserable cries. In a moment of distraction, Ma Chao suddenly flipped him over, got up, and, covering his face, stumbled away.

Yi Wansan raised his head from where he had fallen and saw the traffic lights flashing red and green at the street corner, like an ominous prophecy about to be written.

He shouted: “Ma Chao! Car! Car!”

It was too late. With a sharp braking sound, a truck abruptly appeared. Due to the violent braking, the long vehicle body almost turned sideways on the road.

Ma Chao’s body, like a clumsy piece of wood, drew an arc through the air in Yi Wansan’s line of sight, then fell heavily to the ground.

The person who had been running for his life was suddenly lying there.

Not completely still—he was convulsing, continuously convulsing.

Countless chaotic sounds arose as vehicles on the road gradually stopped, creating a traffic jam section by section, leaving only a large space untouched around the accident site.

A crowd gathered.

Yi Wansan took a couple of steps toward Ma Chao.

Ma Chao looked at him, with blisters forming on his face, as if the seafood hot pot he had thrown had not splashed onto Yi Wansan but onto himself.

He was still convulsing.

Yi Wansan looked around bewilderedly and saw the stopped cars on all sides. He even saw Luo Ren’s car, with Luo Ren getting out and Red Sand opening the passenger door.

Whispers and curious faces surrounded him.

Suddenly, a voice, from who knows where, spoke with certainty and a hint of indignation.

“He pushed him.”

This voice quickly found agreement: “He pushed him, that person, that person pushed him! I saw it too!”

That person? Who?

Meeting countless arrow-like gazes, Yi Wansan suddenly realized that he was the so-called “that person”!

Yi Wansan felt all the blood in his body rush to his head. He shouted: “It wasn’t me!”

These three words were so familiar.

Not long ago, Ma Chao had just said them.

Yi Wansan’s palms burned, the places pierced by ceramic shards both numb and itchy. Luo Ren and Yan Hongsha quickly pushed through the crowd. Luo Ren bent down to look at Ma Chao, while Yan Hongsha anxiously wrung her hands, looking at Yi Wansan, then at the circle of unfamiliar and hostile people.

The traffic police arrived, quickly reporting something on their radio. Yi Wansan saw many people crowding around the officer, saying something unknown, then pointing their fingers directly at him.

Damn it! It wasn’t me! I said it wasn’t me!

An enormous panic suddenly wrapped around him like plastic wrap, making everything he heard and saw no longer real.

…

Outside the crowd stood a woman, as ordinary as any passerby who happened to stop and watch. But she wasn’t eager to push in, nor was she excitedly asking those around her what had happened.

She looked at Yi Wansan, her gaze calm.

Then, she turned and left, as if she had no interest in the commotion.

She wore a pair of high-heeled shoes with heels worn down almost flat. The red leather was scuffed all over, the color having turned dark red. At the toe where the glue had come apart, a piece of leather had been patched on. When she lifted her foot, the front part flipped up, revealing the stitches that had been added along the edge to secure it.

Such shoes would have been discarded by even the poorest families long ago.